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Carpool
The safety of all students is one of the most important matters pertaining to school each day. Please review all carpool details below.
Each family will receive a carpool number & hangtag; these will be distributed at Meet the Teacher. Please ensure the hangtag is visible and hanging from your rear view mirror during carpool.
It is very important to display these numbers throughout the entire school year. **Please have your child memorize his or her carpool number prior to the first day of school.
Parents/ guardians are not allowed to park and accompany children to and from their cars. Parents and children crossing the street during carpool is strictly prohibited. Due to students transitioning for dismissal, students may not be checked out after 2:15 p.m. We cannot call students down for dismissal before you are at the front office
All curbs of Belhaven and Pinehurst Streets (all the way to Jefferson Street) are for drop-off/pick-up only from 7:15-8 a.m. and from 2:15-3:15 p.m.
If you are parking and exiting your vehicle, park in the lots. No vehicle should be parked in any curbside lane during these times.
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MORNING CARPOOL (7:30 a.m. - 8 a.m.)
K3 and K4 parents only may pull through the porte-cochere on Belhaven Street for preschool teachers to get children from the cars and down to their classrooms safely in groups. (Older siblings of preschoolers may exit here as well.) K5 students are dropped off on Pinehurst Street; a kindergarten teacher will be on duty.
K3 and K4 are not permitted to open a car door to get out of the car.
Please have your child unbuckled and ready to exit the vehicle.
Children exit through the right side. Preschoolers are not permitted to exit the car onto the sidewalk.
Parents should remain inside the vehicle during carpool. You may pull up and over to the curb to safely buckle your child in.
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12:15 CARPOOL
Our first dismissal of the day for K3 - K5 is from 12:15-12:25 through the porte-cochere on Belhaven Street.
Daily at 12:15, parents should form a line along the curb of Belhaven Street. Teachers will load children into their cars.
After 12:25, any child not picked up will be taken to after-school care and a hot lunch will be charged to their account if they do not have a lunchbox.
From 12:25-2:15, parents must walk in and sign students out at the Front Office for dismissal.
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Parents should drop-off students on Pinehurst Street and Belhaven Street next to the curb only, not into the streets.
Access to Kindergarten and 1st Grade classrooms is easier for students from the Pinehurst Dropoff line. Students 2nd and above may use Pinehurst or Belhaven entrances.
The porte cochere on Belhaven Street is for families of K3 and K4 students only.
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Students in 2nd grade and below will be dismissed on Pinehurst Street.
Students in grades 3rd through 6th will be dismissed on Belhaven Street.
Cars will flow continuously along the curbs on each of these streets. Please use caution as traffic may back up from Belhaven Street onto North State Street; also take care not to block intersections or driveways along Pinehurst Street.
Once your child is safely in the car, you are free to exit the line.
Families with children in both carpool sessions may send older children to Pinehurst Street for pick-up. *Younger siblings may NOT be picked up with their siblings on Belhaven Street.
After 3:10, any child not picked up will be taken to after-school care.
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On rare occasions when tornado warnings or severe thunderstorms are present at 2:45 p.m., students will not be dismissed to stand outside in dangerous weather conditions. The students will be held in groups according to their carpool numbers inside the main entrance. Please allow for extra time.
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Our last dismissal for the day takes place at 2:45. After 3:10, any child not picked up will be taken to after-school care; a member of our after-school care staff will be at a front desk inside the Belhaven Porte-Cochere entrance with the sign-out clipboard.
Please park and come in to sign your child out.
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Drop off begins at 7:15am each day. All children shall be signed in and out of the facility each day by an authorized individual.
You may park in the parking lot on Pinehurst Street in the mornings and bring your child in through the entrance at the ramp.
Parents (NOT Siblings) must drop off and pick up their child from the prospective classroom. All children must be checked out by 6:00pm each day.
(Note: A $15 per quarter hour, or any part thereof, will be charged for children picked up after 6:00pm.)
Lunch
Lexington Independents provides food service for FPDS. New students will be assigned an identification number that will be the same each year. These numbers, along with instructions on how to activate, will be sent via email prior to the first day of school. Instructions may also be found at www.myschoolaccount.com. At the time of activation, parents should be sure to set “low balance alerts” to ensure you do not go into negative balances without notification.
A variety of food choices are offered each day. Prices will be determined prior to August, and parents will be notified. Monthly lunch menus are posted to fpds.org in the Parent Resources section.
K3 through 6th grade students should bring their own snack and water bottle daily, which may be refilled at our filtered water stations throughout campus.
Parents should contact your child’s homeroom teacher if you wish to send a birthday snack for the class or join your child for lunch in the cafeteria. Please note that outside food such as fast food or take-out from local restaurants should not be purchased from outside vendors and brought to school. If this occurs, your child will be asked to keep the lunch in the school office until the end of the day and purchase a lunch from the cafeteria.
For questions about lunch accounts and balances, contact Food Service Manager/ Lexington Independents Joseph Bonner (joseph.bonner@lexingtonindependents.com).
Uniform and Dress Code
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All approved uniforms must be purchased through Lands’ End or at the FPDS Uniform Swap Shop. Visit landsend.com to view required and available uniforms.
Uniforms, outerwear, and shoes should be in good condition (not ripped, faded, ragged, or with holes) and should be appropriately fitted to each child.
Be sure to label all jackets and clothes with your child’s name
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All approved uniforms must be purchased through Lands’ End or at the FPDS Uniform Swap Shop. Our school number for Lands' End is 900185422.
K3 & K4: White, baby blue or navy collared FPDS shirts with khaki or navy blue shorts or pants.
K5-6th: White, navy or hunter green collared FPDS shirts with khaki shorts or pants.
1st - 6th grade boys are required to wear belts with pants and shorts, with all shirts tucked in.
A plain, white undershirt or long-sleeve t-shirt may be worn under shirts, but must be tucked in.
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K3 - K4 PRESCHOOL
Light blue preschool dress, navy skort or navy jumper. White and baby blue collared FPDS shirts.
For chapel and school picture days, K3-K4 girls are required to wear the light blue preschool dress.
K5 - SECOND GRADE
Navy skort, plaid skort or plaid jumper. White or navy blue FPDS collared shirts.
For chapel and school picture days, kindergarten through second grade girls are required to wear the plaid jumper with the peter pan (rounded) collared white shirt.
3RD THROUGH 6TH GRADE
Plaid skort or navy skort. White or navy FPDS collared shirts.
For chapel and school picture days, third through sixth grade girls are required to wear the plaid skirt with square-collared white shirt.
Jumpers and skirts must be no more than 6 inches above the floor in kneeling position. Skorts must have the original hemline from the store — no hemming. Girls must wear plain, navy blue modesty shorts, leggings, or bloomers.
Skirts, shorts, and jumpers must show at the bottom underneath sweatshirts.
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All shoes must be closed-toe, rubber soled, with heels no higher than 2 inches and top no taller than ankles. Students attend either PE or recess every day; therefore, for the safety of the student, please adhere to this guideline.
All socks must be visible and white, navy blue, or gray-colored. Small branding logos are allowed as long as the socks meet the prescribed guidelines. Students may also wear FPDS socks sold at The Crusader Clothing Co.
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Only FPDS outerwear is allowed to be worn in the classrooms/buildings and at PE/recess during academic hours. (Outerwear must be purchased through Lands’ End or The Crusader Clothing Co.)
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All hair should be neat with no extreme styles or hair colors. Boys’ haircuts must be trimmed neatly above the eyebrows, not touching the back collar of the shirt, with sides no longer than the earlobes.
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For chapel and school picture days, the following uniforms are required:
K3-K4 girls: light blue preschool dress
K3-K4 boys: short or long sleeve navy or light blue shirt with khaki shorts or pants
K5-2nd girls: plaid jumper with collared white shirt
3rd-6th girls: plaid skirt with collared white shirt
K5-6th boys: short or long sleeve navy or green shirt with khaki shorts or pants
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Security
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First Presbyterian Church and FPDS have invested heavily in a superb team of security professionals. FPC’s Executive Director, Lee J. Webb, and our Head of Security, Chris Dill, lead a team of nine professional security officers who are equipped with the experience and resources they need to keep our students, members, and staff safe. These are well trained law enforcement professionals whose experience and skills in the field are of the highest caliber. We have a great deal of confidence in them. This team is equipped with security lighting in their vehicles and a roving golf cart that can easily monitor parking lots.
There are at least three armed guards monitoring the building at our most high-volume times and three guards posted on both the Belhaven and Pinehurst Street sides of the building 24 hours a day.
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All staff are equipped with keycards that enable access around the building. This secures the building by keeping the many doors to our facility locked throughout the day. Visitors to school are asked to enter through the door at the Day School ramp on Pinehurst. During the week, we encourage you to use the Pinehurst Street parking lot and entrances for all school events.
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Our camera system allows our security department the ability to monitor activities inside the building and outside the entire property. Additionally, we have joined with other organizations in Belhaven by contributing to the JPD Blue-light camera program, which allows two cameras on Belhaven and Pinehurst to be directly connected to the JPD Command Center.
The safety of our families, students, and staff is extremely important to us. Be assured that we are committed to making our facility as safe as possible. We are constantly reviewing our security measures and will continue to update our systems as we see opportunities for enhancements. Only authorized adults will be permitted to pick up a child.