Student Absences
Since the leading cause of student and employee absence each year is an illness, we ask parents to please use discretion when deciding whether or not to keep their child home from school. Unnecessary absences should be avoided; however, we ask that you keep your child home until they have been free of ALL of the following symptoms for AT LEAST twenty-four hours WITHOUT the assistance of medication.
○ Vomiting
○ Diarrhea
○ Temperature above 100 degrees F
○ Undiagnosed rash
Late Arrival / Tardiness
We provide a full twenty-minute arrival period to allow for unpredictable traffic conditions and to ensure that your child is able to settle in before Morning Gathering starts. Due to the importance of this Gathering time, we ask that parents attempt to limit late arrivals to only unavoidable circumstances. If you cannot avoid a late arrival, please contact the school office before 8:20 a.m. to notify us that your child will be late.
Individual Early Dismissal
Early dismissals should be kept to a minimum and parents should limit early dismissals to only unavoidable circumstances. Early dismissals are considered unexcused unless a designated exception applies (see Excused or Unexcused). You must pick up your child before 2:30 pm. If you arrive after 2:30 pm, you will be asked to join the carpool line on Coolidge Ave. to pick up your child with the rest of the students.
COVID-19 Health Agreement
Polaris Charter School places great value on the health and safety of our students and staff. Per NH DHHS Guidance and Recommendations, parents/guardians are asked to work with the School District by taking an active role in the required daily assessment of their child(ren), before they arrive at school. Parents/guardians need to assess/screen their children for symptoms of contagious illness or risk factors daily before allowing them to travel to school. Please note that if a child has any signs of illness, even if they are mild and singular, they must be kept home, to protect the school. These guidelines may continue to change throughout the year.
Guidelines for student school attendance:
1. Any student showing symptoms of COVID-19 should not be at school. A wide range of symptoms have been reported, ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. Students with any of these new and unexplained symptoms (that are not related to a chronic condition that is medically documented in the student’s school health record) even if mild, may have COVID-19:
● Fever/chills - Fever is considered 100.0 degrees or higher
● Cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
● Fatigue, muscle or body aches
● Headache
● New loss of taste or smell
● Sore throat
● Runny nose or nasal congestion
● Nausea or vomiting, diarrhea
2. Any student who has had household contact (any individual who lives and sleeps in the same indoor shared space as another person) with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 should not attend school.
3. Any student who has traveled internationally or on a cruise ship in the past 10 days is required to quarantine upon arrival to NH and should not attend school.
Please note: If students test positive for COVID-19, or have had symptoms and were not tested, they are unable to return to school until they have met the NH DHHS criteria for return. These include: (1) At least 24 hours after resolution of fever (≥100.00F) without the use of fever reducing medicines. (2) Symptoms have improved. (3) It has been at least ten days since