School Hours
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday | 8:15AM - 2:45PM
Wednesdays | 8:15AM - 2:15PM
Breakfast
7:35AM - 8:05AM: Breakfast in the cafeteria
Arrival
As the school day starts promptly at 8:15AM, it is important for parents and guardians to say goodbye to their children outside the school no later than 8:12AM so that students may proceed to classrooms and begin their day.
- There is no parking directly in front of the school from the staff parking lot to the end of the playground. Please do not block our neighbors’ driveways.
- Parents stay in the car and drop off students in front of the building. Students are welcomed by C’Port staff.
- Buses drop students off at the front of the school and students are welcomed by C’Port staff.
- Students may enter classrooms as early as 8AM.
Arrival/Drop off locations vary by grade level
- Grades 1st – 5th: enter the main front door on Elm Street
- Preschool: students enter through the cafeteria door
- Kindergarten: students gather at the playground to meet teachers (Cafeteria during inclement weather)
Bicycles, Scooters, Skateboards, and Skates
To ensure pedestrian safety, bikes, and scooters may not be ridden on school grounds. Bicycles and scooters should be walked to and from the bike racks (located by the playground and in the staff parking lot entrance) where they should be stored during school hours. Please provide a lock for your child’s bike. Similarly, skateboards and rollerblades (skates) are also not to be used on school property. Small, non-motorized scooters may be stored in our basement during school hours.
Parking at Cambridgeport
There is street parking only. The front of our school is a no parking zone.
Dogs
Please keep dogs on the other side of the street during drop off and pick up
Dismissal 2:45PM (Wednesdays Early Release: 2:15PM)
Early Release Wednesdays (2:15PM)
Every Wednesday is an early release day. On early release days, school ends at 2:15PM for purposes of allowing teachers time to prepare for and hold parent/teacher conferences or to attend special curriculum workshops. Lunch is served on these days. Note: the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, December 23rd, and the last day of school are traditionally early release days and we will be released at 12:45PM.
- The front of our school (including in front of the playground) is a no-parking zone.
- Staggered Dismissal: We begin dismissing students from the classrooms at 2:40PM, starting with students who ride the bus on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday and 2:10PM on Wednesdays.
- Parent/Caregiver Pick-Up: Teachers will escort students to the playground. Parents/Caregivers should remain outside the playground fence until all students have been dismissed.
- Students riding the bus will have a yellow bus tag attached to their bag or backpack. This tag has important information, such as the student’s bus stop. Students report to the main lobby doors for bus attendance and are then escorted to the appropriate bus by a staff member.
- After-school Students with Elm Street Community School will report to the cafeteria.
- Beginning in 3rd Grade, parents can opt to sign a release to let their child walk home without adult pickup.
- Car Reminders:
- The front of our school (including in front of the playground) is a no-parking zone.
- Car Idling… Following the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws chapter 71, section 37H, the Cambridge School Committee prohibits all operators of school buses and all operators of personal motor vehicles, including students, faculty, staff, and visitors, from idling cars on the school grounds of the Cambridge Public Schools or within one hundred (100) feet of the school grounds of the Cambridge Public Schools.
Changes in Afternoon Plans
Email the school clerk and classroom teacher by 9AM the morning of a schedule change. If an emergency comes up and if it is possible, please call the Main Office by 1:15PM at 617.349.6587.
Picking a Child Up Early
As part of our commitment to safety, we would like to ask for your cooperation in following this protocol when releasing a child early from school.
- Report to the office to sign out your child. The school office will call the classroom and have your child sent down to the office.
- If you come back to school later in the day, please check your child back in at the main office before returning to class.
- Only caregivers or authorized adults may pick up students.