Campus Safety & Inclement Weather

All visitors, including parents, must check in at the main office upon arrival on campus. Visitors will be issued a Visitor's Pass, which they must wear while on campus. Visitors must return to the main office upon departure.  We ask, however, that no visitors come to the school during exam weeks or when other schools are out of school for inclement weather. "Shadow" visitors should check in to the Admissions office at the beginning of the day. *Students should not open the outside doors to anyone for safety reasons.
We encourage students to communicate with the Admissions office to invite a friend interested in enrolling at JPII. These are called "shadow" days. A student who wishes to bring a friend to the school must adhere to school policies. The JPII student's parents must notify the school 24 hours in advance if their son or daughter wishes to bring a guest to school. A school representative will confirm the request. On the day of the visit, the JPII student should report to the main office to receive a Visitor's Pass for their guest.  The guest should return to the main office to check out before leaving the school's campus. 

Students should be courteous to all visitors and report anyone who does not have a Visitor's Pass.  Students should provide directions and answer questions for visitors when asked. 

We do not allow visitors to come to school for lunch with their friends unless they are part of a shadow day to maintain safety and order. Alums are welcome to visit only during lunch, not class time, and alums will be given an alumni badge to wear while on campus. Visiting alums must be registered in the Alumni Portal of our database with updated contact information.

Pope Saint John Paul II Preparatory School uses an SMS Text system for communication during emergencies. The system pulls parent cell phone numbers from Veracross, our online data management system.

Emergencies include an incident or condition, expected or unexpected, that threatens life or safety and requires immediate action. Examples of when we use the emergency notification system are school closures or delays, unanticipated early dismissals, emergency lockdowns, fire, or sheltering in place for severe weather. You do not need to sign up for the notification system but must have a current cell phone number in Veracross. It is up to the parent to keep the school informed of any contact information updates. We will NOT use this system for general announcements; it is reserved for emergencies only.

School Closing
Pope Saint John Paul II Preparatory School follows an independent policy regarding school closings for inclement weather. The most important priority for these decisions is the safety of students. However, because JPII draws students from ten different counties, there may be occasions where conditions are safe in Hendersonville and the school opens, but conditions are unsafe in the outlying counties. Parents must make the final decision whether or not to send their child to school; if a child is absent or late for class due to inclement weather, parents need to send a note explaining the reason, and the absence or tardy will be excused.

Because of distance and geography, there are occasions when buses are canceled, and students who ride those buses are excused while the remainder of the student body must attend.

We will try to keep these days to an absolute minimum.
When making the decision to close the school, the School Administration seeks advice from local law enforcement, drives area roads, and considers other schools' decisions. The decision to close will be made by 5:00 a.m. A decision about after school activities and athletic events will be made by noon.
 

Late Opening
Occasionally, the school will open late due to weather or other factors. The decision to start school on a two-hour delay will be made by 5:00 a.m. If delayed, the school day will start at 9:55 a.m., unless the decision is made to close school if weather conditions continue to deteriorate. This decision will be made by 6:45 a.m.

Early Closing
Pope Saint John Paul II Preparatory School follows an independent policy on early closing, i.e., closing after school has already begun. The decision to close early will be made by noon. A decision about after school activities and athletic events will be made by noon. When the school closes early, student drivers will be permitted to leave immediately. Therefore, parents of student drivers must discuss early closing situations and agree on the best course of action before the day of the early closing. The School Administration cannot "check on" every student driver and must assume that student drivers who leave do so with their parent's permission.

Communicating School Closing or Delay
The decision to close school, close early, or start on a two-hour delay will be communicated by email and SMS Text message and posted on social media. Decisions will also be posted on television Channels 2, 4, and 5. 

Fire, severe weather, and school lockdown drills will be conducted during the school day at the discretion of the Administration. Students are expected to respond quietly and orderly according type of drill.

Students and parents are asked to follow posted directional signs at all times. The speed limit on school roads is 15 miles an hour. Failure to follow guidelines can result in a student's campus driving privileges being revoked, and for more serious driving infractions, local law enforcement can be contacted. Students are accountable for keeping their parking lot clean of trash. Students can be transferred to the lower field to park for special events. Students may not change for practices at the lower parking lot, play music from their car, and loiter before or after school.
Parking privileges may be revoked at any time for speeding or reckless driving, or other violations.

IDs are to be worn on the appropriate school-issued lanyard around the student’s neck. IDs must be worn for the entire duration of a student being in the building, including after school hours. Students may remove their lanyards for PE classes, sports, or when deemed appropriate by a teacher, i.e., labs. Students are required to have their ID when buying lunch.