School Policies

The building will open at 9:00am.  Morning announcements will begin at 9:15am.  Students will be considered late after 9:15am.  Buses will begin letting students off at 9:00am and they will proceed into the front door of WES to their homeroom classes.  Walker and car riders will enter through the Parks & Recreation door.  Please try and arrange your schedule to have your child arrive on time in order to take advantage of every moment of his/her learning experience.  Also, for safety and inclement weather reasons, please do not drop your child off prior to 8:55am.  There is not staff available to supervise students prior to 9:00am.

Students are expected to arrive at school on time. Students who are late to school are to report to the office before going to class. We require parents to provide a written note for late arrivals.

If a student is absent, it is the parent's responsibility to notify the school by written note regarding the date and reason for the absence. Students with a fever should not be sent to school until they have been fever free for 24 hours. Students who develop a fever during the school day will be sent home.

A written request to have a student excused from class early should be sent with your child to school. The time and reason for leaving must be included. We encourage parents to make medical and dental appointments outside school hours whenever possible.

A student will be released only to the parent, legal guardian unless the school has been notified in writing that permission is granted for someone else to pick up your child. The parent, guardian, or authorized person, must come to the office and present identification when signing out a student.

The school will NOT take phone messages that change your child's afternoon routine. If you wish your child to change his/her regular routine, a request must be made to the office in writing. This is for your child's protection.

In the event of inclement weather, parents should listen to the radio or watch television (instead of calling the school) to learn of school closings, late openings, or early dismissals. The Baltimore County website also posts notification when schools are closed due to inclement weather. Go to http://www.bcps.org and look at the top of the page.

Students are expected to dress appropriately for a two story school. Parents should not send students to school in items of dress that will be detrimental to classroom instruction or that will create distraction. Parents are asked to use sound judgment in the choice of garments. Footwear, such as roller skate sneakers or flips-flops and sandals that will not stay on a child's foot, are not acceptable.

The only time students should bring toys, games, etc. to school is when they are instructed to do so by their teacher. The student will assume full responsibility for any item brought to school. A "Lost and Found" will be maintained throughout the year. Unclaimed items will be donated to charity four times a year. Labeling clothing, lunch boxes, book bags, and other belongings with your child's name will help minimize lost items.

All parents coming into the school to meet with an administrator should wait and check-in with one of the secretaries.  Confidentiality is of the utmost importance.  Therefore, the secretaries will be able to inform you when an administrator is available to meet with you.  This includes prior scheduled appointments.  Please do not go back to an administrator's office until the secretary indicates that an administrator can see you.

Before and after school child care is available through Open Door, a private company. For more information regarding the hours and fees, call 410-825-6300.

Field trips are an extension of classroom instruction and enhance BCPS curriculum. We welcome parent chaperones on our field trips. As teachers evaluate and plan for trip itineraries, student safety and the instructional value of the trip is also considered, therefore, the format of the trips may vary from year to year. For safety reasons we urge all of our chaperones to ride the bus with the students in their assigned groups. In addition, as tour guidelines, building restrictions and transportation limitations are met, the number of chaperones accompanying our students may be adjusted.

Permission slips and money for the trip are due prior to the date. A field trip is considered part of the classroom experience, and students are expected to go. Students may be prevented from going on a field trip if their behavior in school has been such that an administrator feels the student would create an unsafe environment on a trip away from school. In this case, parents and students will be notified in advance.

County policy requires all visitors to report to the office to check-in and receive a visitor's badge, which must be worn throughout the duration of the visit, when they arrive at the school.  In addition, parents must have a specific room and teacher to whom they will be reporting.  Any volunteer work must be scheduled with the staff member ahead of time (by phone, email, or calendar).  Visitors should not walk throughout the school building to other classes or staff including the administration, without a prior arranged, specific appointment.  In order to further provide for the safety and well-being of our students, Westchester maintains a locked door policy and has a security system.

Students will need to sign up at CMS and complete a contract signed by the student, parent and WES staff.  The student will be provided with a special badge that must be worn while at WES.  Student helpers will have a set schedule.  These assignments will be arranged on a quarterly basis.

Please do not have your Middle School student come to WES without this in place.  We are unable to manage the increasing number of students in the building and are responsible for these helpers while they are here.  Students who are not on the approved list of helpers will not be allowed into WES.