By ROBERT LINNEHAN
About 20 years ago this article never would have existed, but today it’s a necessity. School is just around the corner and students and parents alike will be flocking to the different school district website to see their class lists, download permission forms, physical forms, and even track their grades.
Parents and students can visit the Medford Township Public School website (www.medford.k12.nj.us) and the Shawnee High School website (www.lrhsd.org) for information on the district and all of the elementary and middle schools.
The welcoming screen of the K-8 website introduces visitors to the district and provides a news and information screen that is updated with new data and changes within the district. General school information, which can be found on the left hand side of the website, allows parents and students to access the yearly school calendar, administration and BOE sites, and individual school sites for the seven schools in the district.
At this front page parents can find up to date information about school closings — a linked tab is on the left of the screen — and yearly lunch menus for all seven schools. Copies of “The Bridge,” the publication for the district, can also be downloaded and can be found on the welcome screen.
Parents can also sign up for an account with the Genesis Parent Access program, which can be found at the very top of the welcome page. The access program allows parents to track the progress of their children as they go through their respective schools, enabling them to see upcoming homework assignments, reports, teacher notes, and grades. The program’s link can be found at the top of the district’s homepage.
Parents can also take advantage of the school district’s Café Prepay service, which allows parents to pay school fees conveniently online via credit card. Parents can pay for school lunches and snacks, bus transportation, school pictures, field trips and athletic fees. Also, it allows parents to track what their children are purchasing for lunch as far back as 30 days.
Interested visitors can also check out the board of education page on the district’s website, which lists all of the BOE members and contact information for each individual. Plus, BOE meeting agendas are posted prior to each meeting and budget information for the current school year are available as well.
Parents can also take advantage of a “community input” link in the BOE’s page that takes suggestions and comments from district parents.
Parents of high school students should visit www.lrhsd.org for regional school district information. Plus, on the left hand side of the website are the individual pages for the high schools in the district, including Shawnee High School.
Current students can apply for parking permits under the “student parking” tab of the school’s students/parents section. The student parking permit fee will be assessed to senior students with a valid driver’s license and several other factor. Additional parking may be offered to eligible junior students, based on availability and on a first come, first served basis during the school year.
Parents can also pay student activity fees on the website as well.
The Shawnee High School page also allows incoming freshman to download orientation packets.
