Creek Community,

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! Our team at Mallard Creek High School consists of 2,234 students and staff members — you as parents/guardians are just as critical to the success of our school. Each of us have a pivotal role to play in ensuring our young people reach their true potential and we fulfill our vision for this school community.

Mallard Creek High School prepares students to succeed in a global society through a quality education.

OPEN HOUSE & POWERSCHOOL

Tuesday, August 20th – Grades 10-12, 5:00-6:00pm & Grade 9, 6:00-7:30pm. Please make every effort to arrive during your designated time slot. Student’s first day of school is Monday, August 26th! Students need to be in class by the 7:15am tardy bell each day. 

In this mailer, you should find your child’s tentative schedule. Beginning August 12th, you will be able to view your child’s most up-to-date schedule in PowerSchool. At our open house, we will also have hard copy schedules available. Parents are recommended to utilize PowerSchool to monitor student progress. Teachers will post grades within five school days of the assignment due date. Information regarding Powerschool can be found on the school webpage.

PARENTSQUARE COMMUNICATION

Classroom teachers, support staff, and administration will continue to use ParentSquare as our primary communication tool with families. Information on how to create your ParentSquare account can be found on the website. ParentSquare pulls contact information from PowerSchool, if you need to update your contact information (primary phone or email) in PowerSchool please email latonya.watson@cms.k12.nc.us.

TECHNOLOGY & CELL PHONE POLICY

Students will be assigned a Chromebook at the start of the year. Students who did not turn in their Chromebooks should bring them in to be reactivated for the new school year. We want to remind all students to limit personal cell phone usage during school hours, in accordance with Rule 5 of the Code of Student Conduct. Cell phones must be stored away during instructional time. Possession of a cell phone by a student during school hours is a privilege, which may be revoked for violations of the Code of Student Conduct. Violations may result in confiscation and/or other disciplinary actions. The district and school are not responsible for theft, loss, or damage to cell phones or other PTDs brought onto CMS property. This measure will contribute to a focused and distraction-free atmosphere, allowing our educators to deliver the best possible education to every student. Students will continue to have access to the internet using district-issued devices

DELIVERIES

Deliveries for students should not be sent to the school, this includes DoorDash, UberEats, etc. Parents, family members, friends, etc. should not bring food, balloons, candy, cake, flowers, etc. These items will not be accepted or delivered to the student.

VISITORS/CLASSROOM VISITS/INTERRUPTIONS

Visitors are welcome on campus. Parents wishing to conference with a teacher must contact the teacher by email to make an appointment. Conferences must always be scheduled in advance and are held outside school hours or during the teacher’s planning period. We will not interrupt class to call students, relay phone messages, or to call students who have forgotten items. You may drop off messages/items in the main office.

BUS TRANSPORTATION

If you have a question or concern about bus times, routes, or drivers please call CMS Transportation at 980-343-6715. Only in an extreme circumstance will an administrator approve a student to ride a different bus. Safety is one of our top priorities. Please remind your student(s) about behavior expectations on the bus. If students are misbehaving and a referral is written, it could result in a bus or school suspension.

MEETING REQUESTS WITH ADMINISTRATORS

Generally, administrators are not available at the beginning of the school day until all students are in class and all buses have arrived.  Additionally, administrators may already have scheduled appointments and classroom observations. Parents should call/email their assigned administrator to schedule a meeting. Front office secretaries will take a message with your contact information for the administrator to follow-up with you.

EVOLV SCANNING SYSTEMS

We will continue to utilize Evolv body scanners for all students and visitors, this effort demonstrates the district’s commitment to providing a secure school environment where students can thrive academically, socially and emotionally. Everyone entering the building must remove larger metal items from their backpacks and hold these items in their hands before walking through the scanners.

CARPOOL LINE

Parents who drive or pick-up their children should adhere to the carpool lanes during arrival and dismissal. Please follow Mallard Creek’s unique carpool route during morning and afternoon dismissal – entering campus on Binghom Road, making the first right, and exiting through the front of the school. If you do not follow the established traffic pattern you will not only cause a delay in traffic flow but will put our students in danger. Whether you are picking up or dropping off your child, please abide by the local traffic laws and go all the way through our carpool line. There is no parking on Johnston-Oehler Road for student pick-up/drop-off.

EARLY RELEASE

Students with early release must exit the campus within 10 minutes of conclusion of their final class. Students who do not leave campus for early release will be scheduled into additional classes.

STUDENT DRIVERS

Students must have a student parking pass to park in the student parking lot. Complete the form on the webpage, pay online via OSP for the pass, and see a JROTC instructor. Students may pick up passes during open house. Seniors can pick up their parking pass on Aug 22, 10am-1pm, and Juniors and Seniors can pick them up Aug 23, 4-6pm in B104.

NEW   TARDY POLICY

This school year, Mallard Creek will be implementing a new tardy policy listed below. Class attendance directly relates to positive class performance. These policies are designed to keep students in the classroom for maximum learning potential. Students that are not in the correct location (Skipping/Out of Area) during the school day will receive a consequence in accordance with the CMS Code of Student Conduct.

1st infraction – Warning; 2nd infraction – Parent contact; 3rd-4th infractions – Lunch detentions and/or After-school detentions; 5th-6th infractions – ISS; 7+ infraction – Admin referral/OSS, loss of driving privileges, & access to that season’s after school activities.

DRESS CODE

Students at Mallard Creek High School are expected to dress appropriately for school and school-related events. The following should be used as guidelines for what is considered acceptable school attire. 

• Clothing must completely cover all undergarments and may not expose any part of the midsection (no core exposed, hem of the shirt overlap waistband, in any position), or bust. Sheer or see-through clothing that also exposes these areas or shows undergarments through fabric is not permitted.

• Pants/shorts/skirts must be worn at the natural waist line and securely fastened.

• Skirts, shorts, and dresses should be reasonable in length, using palm length (bottom of your palm to fingertips) as a general rule. 

• Shoes are required at all times.  

• No abusive, suggestive or profane language, symbols of illegal drugs, or any other words, symbols or slogans on clothing or jewelry that disrupt the learning environment.

• Athletic uniforms worn to school must conform to dress code.

• Jeans/pants with tears or holes above palm length must have an article of clothing beneath, like leggings/tights.

• Pajama pants, blankets, bedroom slippers, or other loungewear are not permitted.

• Bandanas are not permitted.

• Sunglasses & ski masks are not permitted

All students will be responsible for following the dress code as established by Mallard Creek High School and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Student dress or grooming that is deemed by the staff as disruptive or inappropriate is not permitted. Failure to comply with the dress code will result in disciplinary action. Students may be denied access to class when found to be out of dress code and parents/guardians will need to bring a change of clothes.

IMMUNIZATIONS/MEDICATION

All students entering NC Public School for the first time are required to submit immunization records and a health assessment. The health assessment must have been within the past year, signed and dated by the provider. Health assessments from out of state are acceptable and they do not have to be on the NS health assessment form.

All students that need to take medication at school must have a completed medication authorization form submitted to the Nurse. All students that self-carry must have an medication authorization form and a self-carry authorization form submitted to the Nurse for review. Please contact dana.anderson@mecklenburgcountync.gov.

ATTENDANCE

Students must attend school each day and arrive at each class on time.  We will implement the CMS attendance policy for high schools and implement an attendance recovery program for support. Students missing more than 10 days in any class, excused or unexcused, will fail the course regardless of grade earned. Attendance recovery will be completed via the Edgenuity platform on the student’s own time. 

A written note or email must be sent to the school in order for an absence to be excused. All absences are unexcused until that note or email is received. Please report your child’s absences to kimberlyn.armstrong@cms.k12.nc.us. Include student name, parent's name, reason for absence, and date(s) of absence. The process to change an unexcused absence to an excused absence may not be immediate and this is an important distinction should any student submit an attendance recovery waiver request.

We know that it is not always easy to get to school each day, and many situations can cause a student to be absent from school. However, we also know that with a partnership between the school and families, we can work together to find solutions to many of the barriers and situations that prevent students from being in school. Please contact your counselor for assistance. We are happy to work with you to help your student maintain regular attendance.