The school day for Mauldin Middle School students is from 8:30 AM to 3:15 PM.
Students who are eating breakfast will report immediately to the cafeteria. Band students who are practicing or storing instruments will report to the cafeteria. Eighth grade students will report to the designated area in the cafeteria. Sixth and seventh grade students will report to designated areas in the gym. Sixth and seventh grade students will report to the gym when they finish breakfast.
Teachers desiring students to report to their classrooms or to the library prior to 8:00 AM should give the student(s) a written pass the previous day. Students without written passes will not be allowed to leave the designated area.
All car riders and walkers must exit the building by 3:25 PM. unless under the supervision of a teacher. Car riders must be picked up no later than 3:45 PM. Any students not picked up by 4:00 will need to be signed out in the office. Students who are designated walkers will exit out the 6th/7th grade loop door.
Punctuality is a critical work-related skill that a person can learn. It directly correlates to an individual’s success in the business world. Parents should have students at school on time each day. Furthermore, students are expected to be in their individual classes on time. Late arrival (tardiness) results in interruptions to the learning process.
The school day begins for students at 8:30 AM. Students who arrive to school after 8:30 AM need to be signed in at the front office by a parent upon arrival to school. Tardiness will be excused for doctor or dentist appointments or for a late bus. Parents are expected to provide a note in the event of a late arrival to school. The tardy will be entered into the student’s attendance record. Students are allowed three unexcused tardies to school per quarter without a consequence. After the third unexcused tardy, the following consequences will be assigned:
Bus riders will receive a “Late Bus” pass and will have four minutes from the time on the pass to get to their first class.
The School District of Greenville County has adopted uniform rules to ensure that students attend school regularly. Each day that students are not in school, they miss hours of valuable instruction and opportunities for learning that they will not have again. Students are counted present only when they are actually in school, on homebound instruction, or are present at an activity authorized by the school principal. A student is considered in attendance when present for at least three (3) hours of a school day.
All absences beginning with the first shall be approved or disapproved by the board's designee, the building principal. In making this decision, the principal shall be guided by the procedures as presented herein. Decisions regarding approval of absences and eligibility for credit may be appealed in accordance with district policy.
Any student who misses school must present a written excuse, signed by his or her parent or legal guardian or a healthcare professional, for all absences within two (2) days of the student’s return to school. The written excuse should include the reason for and the date of the absence. If a student fails to bring a valid written excuse to school, his or her absence will be recorded as unlawful. Schools will use the criteria below when deciding whether an absence is lawful or unlawful.
A. Absences caused by a student's illness and whose attendance in school would endanger his or her health or the health of others. These absences must be verified by a physician statement within two (2) days of the student's return to school.
B. Absences due to an illness or death in the student's immediate family verified by a statement from the parent within two (2) days of the student's return to school.
C. Absences due to a recognized religious holiday of the student's faith when approved in advance. Such requests must be made to the principal in writing.
D. Absences for students whose parents/guardians are experiencing a military deployment. Specifically absences when the parent or legal guardian of a student is an active duty member of the uniformed services and has been called to duty for, is on leave from, or immediately returned from deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting, shall be excused as long as such absences are reasonable in duration as deemed by the principal so that the student can visit with his or her parent or legal guardian relative to such leave or deployment of the parent or legal guardian.
E. Absences due to activities that are approved in advance by the principal. This would include absences for extreme hardships. Such approval should be pre-arranged when possible.
A. Absences of a student without the knowledge of his or her parents.
B. Absences of a student without acceptable cause with the knowledge of his or her parents.
C. Suspension is not to be counted as an unlawful absence for truancy purposes.
A. Absences
For students in grades K-12, principals shall promptly approve or disapprove any student's absence in excess of ten (10) days, whether those absences are lawful, unlawful, or a combination of the two. A student does not exceed the 10 day absence limit until the student has reached his or her 11th unlawful absence.
B. Carnegie Credit
The school year consists of 180 school days. To receive credit, high school students or students in middle school taking courses for graduation credit must attend at least 85 days of each 90-day semester course and at least 170 days of each 180- day year course, as well as meet all minimum requirements for each course.
In order to receive high school credit after the 10th unlawful absence, “seat time recovery” is required for every subsequent absence that is unlawful. (Note: the 10 day absence limit applies to each 180-day course and should be considered 5 days for each 90-day course.) A student must attend the majority of a class session during a school day to receive credit for that class.
C. Early Dismissals
Early dismissals will occur only near the end of a class in order to avoid excessive disruption of class. The student who needs an early dismissal must bring a note written and signed by the parent or guardian to the main office before 1st period. The note must contain the following information: date, name of student, time of dismissal, reason for dismissal, name of person picking up the student, telephone number where the parent can be reached for verification, and signature of the parent. A student is required to attend three periods (of the school day) in order to be counted present for the entire school day.
The definition of an absence at a Greenville County Middle School is missing more than one half of any singular class period for which a student is enrolled, or multiple class periods for which a student is enrolled, during a school day. Absence in any part of the school day for a minimum of more than one half class period, even if the student was present for all other portions of that same school day, by definition excludes a student from being determined to have Perfect Attendance.
The parent or guardian will be required to come into the office to sign the dismissal sheet. If anyone other than the parent or guardian is to pick up the student, identification will be necessary before the student is permitted to leave. No early dismissals are allowed after 2:45 PM.