School Services

Attendance

The Maryland State Compulsory attendance law requires that children must attend school from ages 5 to 18. The Maryland State Department of Education has defined full and partial day attendance as follows: A student is “present” or “attending” for a partial day of attendance if the student is attending an instructional program approved by the State, local school system, and/or school for 10% to 50% of the school day.

To comply with this, schools will use the following definitions to determine present or full-day/half-day absences:

Elementary Schools

• The student is full-day absent if the student is present for less than 40 minutes.
• The student is half-day absent if the student is present more than 40 minutes but less than 3 hours and 15 minutes.
• The student is present for the day if the student is present for more than 3 hours, 15 minutes.

A note from the parent must be submitted to the school after the student’s return, indicating the date and reason for tardiness or absence from a regular school session. A doctor’s note is required in cases of long-term absence or excessive absenteeism due to illness. A note should also be submitted to request early dismissal or exclusion from activities (e.g., physical education). Chronic absences are referred to the Office of Student Well-Being.

Note: If a child has an excused absence due to behavioral health reasons and the family would like information about resources available through the school or community, the student or the parent can reach out to their school counselor.

For additional information, see Policy 9010 Attendance.

SESABSENCE@HCPSS.ORG 

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Menus

Swansfield Elementary School's school menu can be accessed through the LINQ Connect portal or mobile app. Families do not need a LINQ account to view menus, which are available to the public.

Free and Reduced Meals (FARMs)

HCPSS participates in the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs. Students from households that meet federal income guidelines are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals. Parents/guardians must submit a new application every school year to maintain their student's eligibility. To apply, go to the HCPSS FARMs webpage.

Payment

Meal payments may be made via credit card using the LINQ Connect portal. On-site payments and prepayments may be made using cash or check. Parents/guardians will need to create an account to make online payments to their child’s meal account, monitor their child’s account, schedule automatic recurring payments, set up low balance alerts, submit a Free and Reduced Meals program application, and more.

A La Carte/Snack Items Available in the Cafeteria

Snacks are available to purchase for students. Children who get lunch from the cafeteria and who bring their lunch from home will be able to purchase a snack after all lunches are served.  Please note that if a family qualifies for free or reduced meals, snacks are available for purchase only-there are no free or reduced price options for snacks. 

Below is a list of the snacks that are available to purchase.  
Cookies 50￠
Pretzels 75￠
Icee Cup 75￠
Rice Krispie Treat $1.00

Please read below for additional information and have a conversation with your child about snacks in the cafeteria:
1. Parents must discuss acceptable snack purchasing for their children. For instance, is it okay to purchase one snack every day, once a week, or is snack purchasing not allowable for the family? 
2. Children may not purchase snacks for their peers, and snacks cannot be shared (just like other food items).
3. Snack sales can either be made by cash or monies available on student lunch accounts.  
If sending in cash, this must be the exact amount for the one purchased snack, or a bill of $1.00 
Change for purchased items will be placed back on to the child’s account.  
4. Parents have the right to restrict a la carte/snack purchasing for their students by logging into their personal accounts and selecting those features.
 

Wellness and Quality Commitment

Information on the HCPSS wellness policy and commitment to quality is available online.