Located in the heart of Mumbai, India, the American School of Bombay is a coeducational, independent, IB day school from Pre-K to Grade 12.
The Kurla Campus is open for student arrival at 7:40 am. Students should not arrive prior to this time unless in a pre-arranged supervised activity. Students are required to go to the appropriate iCommons or playground between 7:40 am to 7:55 am.
Students are expected to be in their classrooms by 7:55 am. The school day begins at 8:00 am. Parents must notify the school by calling 6131 3600 in the event that a child will be late for school or absent from school.
The Sibling Care service at the ES Kohinoor campus only is for students in Pre-K who have siblings in grades KG - 5. This service is offered between 2:10 and 3:00 pm, once Pre-K children start their full day program. During their time in sibling care, trained staff will care for children. They will have time to rest and take part in age-appropriate activities.
Students will be dismissed from their floor and escorted to either the front of the school for private car pick-up or to the bus boarding location for boarding school transportation.
The school day ends at 2:10 pm for Pre-K and 3:00 pm for grades K-5. There is a Sibling Care program that parents can avail for students in Pre-K who have siblings in grades KG - 5. Students who are not in a supervised activity after regular dismissal are expected to leave the campus no later than 15 minutes post their dismissal time. Those who stay for after-school activities will be dismissed at 4:00 pm.
On the few days of the school year when the students are dismissed early, bus transportation will leave ES Kohinoor Campus at 11:05 am, and parents will be responsible for picking up non-bus students at 11:00 am. Parents will be notified well in advance of early dismissals.
If the child’s regular dismissal procedure is altered, the school Help Desk MUST be informed by 10:00 am at the latest. Anyone collecting students from the ES needs to carry their school or attendant ID card. If the child is leaving with someone else for the occasional play date or birthday party, written permission must be given prior to release.
Whenever a student is absent for any reason, parents should call the school by 8:00 am on 61313600 or email: [email protected]
A child should not return to school until they have been free from vomiting, diarrhea or fever for 24 hours. If absence is unavoidable, we ask that parents use good judgment in taking their child from school and should consider the impact of the absence on the child’s learning and performance in the classroom. Any planned absence except for unforeseen illness requires the parent or guardian to fill in the Planned Student Absence form, found on the Veracross Parent Portal. Here is the link to the form. Details of the absence will be forwarded to the class teacher. Please email your Associate Principal for further assistance.
Water bottles, labeled with your child’s name and class, are a necessity for each child to bring every day. We encourage students to refill their bottles at school and avoid using paper cups as far as possible.
All students have a mid-morning snack and lunch break. For both snack and lunch students have a choice of either bringing food from home or taking part in the Rainbow Buffet.
We encourage all children to bring healthy food to school like fruit or yogurt as opposed to snacks/ treats like cookies or cake.
If parents choose to opt for the school Rainbow Buffet, which is for both snack and lunch, an order must be placed on our online system by Friday for the following week. New parents will be shown how to place food orders online during technology orientation sessions at the start of the new academic year.
We keep a lost and found box in which all items left behind, misplaced, or have not been labeled are stored for safekeeping. Parents are encouraged to go through this box to claim any items that may belong to their child on a regular basis.
Upon completion of scheduled classes and after school activities, students are expected to leave the campus promptly. Students are not permitted to leave campus and return unless accompanied by an adult or with parent permission to the middle school office.
Students may stay after school to:
It is expected that students be picked up within 15 minutes of the conclusion of any activities. In the event that further use of school facilities is necessary, a student must be supervised by a parent or obtain permission from the appropriate school Principal. ASB campus closes at 5:15 pm. Tuesday afternoons are reserved for faculty meetings and there are no supervised activities at the school. Students should depart campus by 3:45 pm on a Tuesday unless they are directly supervised by a parent or teacher.
At lunchtime, students may:
We encourage students to eat, refresh, socialize and have fun during this time.
The Head of School will be the final authority regarding the closing or delayed opening of the school because of inclement weather or other causes. The information will be communicated by an SMS message as well as through the parent WhatsApp groups.
Students are expected to attend school every school day. Simply being present is one of the best predictors of success in school. We can best help educate students when each student meets this expectation. Parental contact is required when a student will be absent from school.
We understand that all students occasionally miss school due to illness, co-curricular participation, or family emergencies. We will work with families to balance these absences with the value of the student being present in the classroom.
Notify the divisional School Office before 8:30 am on the day of an unplanned absence.
If the school has not been notified by then, every effort will be made to call the parents for confirmation of absence. Absences due to reasons other than illness or family emergencies are discouraged. If a student is absent five times in a trimester for health related reasons, the school will seek a clear understanding of health concerns through school-home communication. After the eighth absence in a trimester, a meeting will be convened with the student, parent or guardian and the Associate Principal/Principal or Counselor to assure on-going support for the student’s health concerns.
If a student is ill and unable to attend school, parents should follow the process above. Students who become ill during the day must go to the nurse’s office. If the nurse determines that the student is too ill to remain at school, she will contact the parents to inform them of the situation and to arrange transportation for the child. In no case should a student contact their home before seeing the school’s healthcare professional.
A student who is present at school but is absent from class is considered to have cut class. A cut class has major academic consequences. Students will be required to stay after school to make up the work under supervised conditions. Any pattern of cutting classes may result in a values learning plan, parent conferences, in-school suspension or in habitual situations, withdrawal from ASB. Truancy is defined as a student’s absence from school grounds unauthorized by a parent. Students who skip school will be required to stay school to make up work under supervised conditions. A record of the incident will be entered into Veracross.
Absences for educational purposes such as college visits and civic and religious programs must be arranged at least three school days in advance by parents and students. The student has the responsibility for making prior arrangements with the principal and the teachers for the satisfactory completion of work missed. To avoid negative impact on the student grade, such activities should be planned during vacation periods, weekends or on holidays whenever possible.
ASB high school students are not permitted to participate in or attend a high school activity on a day they are absent from school. In order to participate in an activity, students must be present at least half the day (2 Blocks), if late to school, should arrive by 11:40 am on the day of the event. The only exceptions to this procedure can be made by the principal.
Schoology is the most reliable source for families to keep up with assignments in Middle School classes. In addition, students should also email their teachers to ensure that they get the most up-to-date information. Students may contact a peer to get any important notes and assignments from classes missed. Parents may email teachers directly.
Regular and punctual attendance is required to enable each student to take full advantage of educational opportunities at ASB. It is an expectation for students to be on time in the morning and for all classes during the day. Students who are late to class and miss half of the period will be marked as absent. It is, therefore, important that students are on time to every class!
Students should arrive by 8:30 in the morning. If a student arrives after 8:30, they are to report to the Secondary School Office and receive a tardy note for their first period. Students will be held accountable for consistent lateness within a semester. Consequences could include the following:
Students who must depart early from school for personal reasons must have permission from a parent or guardian and must receive a pass from the HS Office to exit the premises. Students who depart early due to health concerns must see the school nurse. The nurse will contact/notify the HS Office and contact parents prior to departure. A pass to exit the premises can be received from the health clinic or the HS Office. Absences leading into holidays and returning from holidays are not permitted. Please plan your holidays carefully so that they do not disrupt student learning.
ASB discourages the departure of a student prior to the end of any grading period. In the event that early departure is absolutely necessary, the following procedures should be noted. If families know of an interruption of studies in advance, the High School Principal must receive a formal written request at least two weeks prior to the departure. This notice will then be communicated to teachers. Once notified, teachers will provide the student with assignments of work missed or appropriate equivalent to give to the departing student. This work will be graded when returned to the teacher by the student or his/her representative.
Until all missed work is made up and graded by the teacher the grade on the student report card will show as ‘I’ (Incomplete). Please note the explanation of “Incomplete Grades” found in this handbook. Incompletes must be “made up” within ten school days of the beginning of the next semester.
At the end of each semester, final examinations or culminating assessments are administered. Students are disadvantaged in their assessments if they take the exams prior to or after the appointed dates they are scheduled. If a family emergency necessitates a student missing the final exams they will have to take the finals at the beginning of the next semester. If there is a reason, an exam will be missed; please contact the High School Principal.
We discourage students from taking leave from school during the academic period. Learning opportunities in the classroom are often difficult or impossible to make up due to the collaborative and/or performance nature of the work students are involved in to demonstrate their learning.
Students are encouraged to make use of the holiday periods to take part in other activities outside of school. We do understand that in an international community a family may decide that a particularly important occasion takes precedence over attendance at school.
In these events, teachers will do their best to keep students informed of the work that is going on in class so that the child may complete it independently. If students plan to be away for a day or two, they must inform their divisional School Office in advance and contact their teachers for their assignments.
For all absences, parents need to fill out a planned “ Absence form ” in advance before the intended absence. It is at the teacher’s discretion to provide homework in advance. However, students are responsible for checking Schoology and communicating with their teachers about assignments and completing all work they have missed.
If a child is absent on a school trip such as ASIAC, they are encouraged to plan ahead so that they are able to keep up with their homework. A child will have an additional day to complete the homework for each day they are absent. A child on academic probation may not be eligible to attend a school trip.
Parents will notify the MS office when an absence due to illness or emergency will prolong a student’s return to school. Teachers will make every reasonable effort to provide learning materials, assignments and assessments to students faced with this challenge.
A student’s assessments and proficiency results may be adjusted at the teacher and Principal’s discretion to reflect what the student was reasonably able to accomplish.
ASB Middle School students are not permitted to participate in or attend a Middle School activity on a day they are absent from school. In order to participate in an activity, Middle School students must be present all day or, if late to school, should arrive by 12:15 pm on the day of participation.
If a student cannot participate in PE, he/she should not participate in after school athletics. The only exceptions to this procedure can be made by the divisional Principal. Absent students should not contact any other students during the school day by phone, SMS, email or any other electronic means. All messages to the school should come through the divisional School Office by 9 A.M..
Students arriving in Mumbai or at the Mumbai airport after 10pm as part of a school-related trip/flight are excused from class for the following 10 hours after arrival.
Student-athletes are not excused from class the day after a tournament and are expected to attend class after this excused period of 10 hours. As on other occasions, student athletes are responsible for their transportation to and from school.
Beginning school and classes on time is essential to guarantee to each student full access to all of the educational opportunities that ASB has to offer. Students are expected to arrive at school and to be in class on time. Five minutes before class starts, students should be heading to class so that they are in their seats and ready to learn at the start of class. When arriving late in the morning, students are expected to have a note from parents and report to the divisional School Office for a tardy pass so that we may remove their name from the absentee list.
At all other times of the day, teachers will report tardiness to their divisional School Office. When a student is frequently tardy to school or class(es), there is a series of progressive consequences for these choices, as follows:
From time to time, it may be necessary for parents to travel while their child(ren) remain in Mumbai. Parents should complete the Temporary Guardianship form on Veracross and inform the school if this is the case and must complete the temporary guardianship form and notify the divisional School Office as to the identity of the person who will be legally responsible for the safety and care of their child if both parents will be out of town.
If a student has a guest/friend who would like to spend a day at ASB, we welcome the opportunity to share our school. Please let the divisional School Office know of this plan at least one week in advance by completing the form on Veracross. The guest should expect to participate in classes as a student. The host should be sure that the guest knows our general expectations of students. The host should check in at the office on the day(s) of the visit. The host should also introduce the guest to each teacher before class begins. The host and guest must stay together throughout the day. Guests may visit for one school day only. Returning student guests may spend two days at the school. Please note that during the first two weeks of school we cannot accommodate guests in our classes as the establishment of routines and relationships with current students takes precedence.
