Weekly Update - August 23, 2025
A message from POPLIN ELEMENTARY
Good afternoon Parents, this is your Principal Shanda Lauri with some important information. With the first day of school quickly approaching we are reaching out to update you on a few changes to our morning car rider process, tardy policy, and nutrition update. This is a lot of information so please listen and take note. We are requesting your assistance to make the morning car rider line run safely for all of our students and staff. Please read the email in its entirety. Share with others as they may not have received this message.
Transportation:
Arrival Procedures:
- Poplin opens its doors at 7:00 each morning.
- Please do not drop students off prior to 7:00 as there is no supervision.
- Our tardy bell rings at 7:30 am.
- CHANGE:
- ANY student not inside the building at 7:30 will be counted as tardy.
- A parent will need to walk them inside the building and sign them in the front office.
- Do NOT let your child(ren) get out of the car to run/quickly walk into the building. This is not safe with cars still moving through the line.
- When the school bell rings if your child(ren) is not inside the building they will be marked tardy.
- Please plan your morning routine to get into the morning car rider line as early as possible to ensure that your child(ren) are able to enter the building by 7:25 to ensure they are not tardy.
Daily Transportation Changes:
- If your child’s transportation changes, a note from the parent/guardian must be sent in writing to your child’s teacher noting the date(s) of the change.
- Due to safety, phone calls are not accepted.
- Due to our afternoon transportation procedures, students may not be checked out for early dismissal after 1:30 pm.
Car Riders (AM):
Arrival:
If you choose to drop your child off each day this will designate them a “car-rider” in the morning, all parents must utilize the car-rider line.
- CHANGE:
- Our car-line will utilize two lanes to ensure cars are off the main road and not backing up traffic. If you are here early, pull to the cones in both lanes directly in front of the building.
- Do not release your student from the car until you are signaled. It is imperative that you follow and adhere to the traffic director and staff’s signals. The traffic director is in control of driving directions for your safety and all others. There will be police present as well as cameras. Follow all traffic signals. You cannot turn RIGHT into the school until the traffic director signals you.
- CHANGE:
- This year we will have car riders continue 2 lanes of traffic all the way through to the front. Follow the staff’s directions. School staff will facilitate traffic.
- You will stop and release the student on the right side of the car. School Staff will then walk to the middle of the two lanes to make sure all students are out safely then staff will direct each lane separately starting with the outside lane. The outside lane will merge over following traffic through the bus lot and exit. The inside lane will follow behind.
- Parking and walking your child across the parking lot to the building to avoid the car-rider line is not permitted!
- Please be patient as we work through this change for morning drop-off. We will do this in an orderly fashion and appreciate your patience as we ensure that all of our Patriots are safe and secure.
Nutrition: Last year the DIstrict was in over a $300,000 deficit. There is a new Board Policy 8-04 that states if a student owes more than a week’s worth of lunches then they will get an alternative lunch (sandwich, fruit, milk) until the debt is paid.
- Go to PaySchool Central - REGISTER https://www.payschoolscentral.com/
- You can put money and pay your student’s account.
- You can apply for Free/Reduced Lunch.
- You can get notifications when your student balance is too high.
- You can put notes to cafeteria for student’s accounts (i.e. Snacks only on Friday).
- We want to avoid students getting an alternative lunch so please keep up with payments and/or students bringing their lunch.
- Sometimes parents don’t realize their students are using the money in their account for ‘snacks’. They may get 1,2,3 snacks in one day. Set a snack limit. Talk to your student/teacher about what they can purchase. Write a note to let the cafeteria know how many snacks if any can be purchased.
- If you had a balance it should transfer over.
- If you owe money from the previous year it will be attached to your students account in Infinite Campus and needs to be paid.
You can email me if you have any questions. shanda.lauri@ucps.k12.nc.us We are looking forward to a great year!
Principal
Shanda Lauri
