MCCSC SAFE
SCHOOL HOTLINE --- 330-2494
A confidential means of reporting unsafe conditions that could harm students, staff or the school.
School Day
The school day is from
9:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Students who walk
to school or are driven by their parents should not arrive before 8:45 a.m.,
but no later that 9:00 a.m. Doctor and dentist appointments should be made so
as not to conflict with the normal school day whenever possible.
Attendance
Attendance at school each
day is required. However, on those days
when a student is absent, it is the parent's or guardian's responsibility to
notify the school office. Call the
office between 8:10 and 9:00 a.m. Homework arrangements should also be made at
this time.
Absence Procedures for MCCSC Schools:
¨ absences will be excused with a parent phone call or note;
¨ parent call or note must be received within twenty-four hours
of absence (or by next school day if absence is followed be non-school days)
for the absence to be excused;
¨ after five absences in a semester, the school principal may
refer the matter to the social worker and/or the Probation Department for
intervention;
¨ after three unexcused absences in a semester, the school may
move for expulsion.
Homework Requests for Ill Children
We encourage parents to call the school by 9:30 a.m. to
request homework especially if a child is going to be absent for more than one
day. Parents should inform the school
office at that time if the homework is to be sent home with another student or
will be picked up at school. Homework
will be ready for pick-up in the school office by 3:00 p.m.
School Arrival/Dismissal
Students are to go
directly to the gymnasium upon getting off the bus in the morning, unless they
are having breakfast at school. Teachers
will be on duty at that time. The
students sit in lines according to their classes and wait until they are
dismissed to the rooms. At dismissal
time (3:15 p.m.) students are brought to the gym and wait in their bus lines or
meet their parent(s).
Late Arrivals/Early Dismissals
Students arriving at
school after 9:00 a.m., leaving and returning during the same school day, or
leaving and not returning before 3:15 p.m. must always check in/out at the
office. Parents who need to take their children out of school during the day
must sign them out in the main office. Students who are 15 minutes late or less
will be marked tardy. Students who are late due to a school issue (ex. late bus)
will not be marked tardy. Students who arrive more than 15 minutes late, leave
and return in the same day, or who are picked up prior to the end of the school
day will be marked as having a partial day absence. However, when a physician’s
statement is provided to the office by the next school day for any of these
times, the attendance record will be updated and the “tardy” or “partial day
absence” will not be reflected on their report card. We will not release your
child to someone other than those listed as authorized. I would appreciate it if you would caution
your child never to leave the school grounds without first receiving permission
from his/her teacher and the main office.
School Security
In an effort to maintain
a safe school environment we ask all visitors to the school to adhere to the
following procedures:
¨
all visitors to
the building for an extended visit must register in the office and obtain a
Guest Tag. Parents who are picking up
their child for a doctor or dentist’s appointment or other early dismissal
should come to the office where the student will be paged;
¨
parents who choose
to meet their child inside the school at the 3:15 dismissal time are to enter
through the gymnasium doors on the east side of the building and wait in the
gym until the teacher brings the class to the bus lines.
In addition:
¨
the doors leading
to the playground will be unlocked during recess;
¨
all doors except
the front entrance will be locked during the school day.
These policies are not
intended to discourage parents, relatives or friends from visiting our school
at any time for any reason. We also hope
this does not, to any degree, diminish the welcoming atmosphere we feel
pervades our school.
School Visitors and Parking
West Parking Lot
- This is the designated school bus parking lot and is restricted for use
during arrival and departure times: 8:45-9:15 a.m. and 2:30-3:15 p.m. Parents are welcome to park in this lot
between the hours of 9:15 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. when visiting the school.
East Parking Lot - This parking lot is available for use at all times
during the school day. Students should be
dropped off and picked up in this lot during regular arrival and departure
times.
Fire Lanes - Cars are prohibited from parking alongside the red
painted curbs on either side of the building.
These fire lanes have been created by the fire department and are to
remain clear of all vehicles twenty-four hours a day.
Notes To School
Parents are requested to
send notes with their children to notify school personnel when:
1. Your child is to take a different bus home on
a particular day;
2. Your child is being picked up by someone
other than an authorized person;
3.
your child needs
to be dismissed early or will arrive late the next day;
(Please state
reason)
4.
Your child cannot
participate in physical education class.
A doctor's statement is required for an extended time.
Contacting Teachers
When the need to contact
teachers arises, please make an effort to reach them at school. Individual teachers may make other
arrangements. A teacher is often better
able to discuss any problems or concerns regarding your child at school since
records are usually kept at school.
Communication
School newsletters are sent home at the end of the
month. Additional newsletters are sent
home whenever necessary. A calendar of
the subsequent month is included with each school newsletter to keep parents
informed of upcoming events. Class newsletters from individual teachers are
sent home to keep parents informed on specific activities in the classroom.
Student Dress
Students are expected to
dress neatly, cleanly, and appropriately for school activities. Policies of the
Monroe County School Corporation prohibit student dress or grooming practices
which:
1. Present a hazard to the health or safety of
the student or to others in the school;
2. Interfere with school work, create disorder, or disrupt the
educational program;
3. Cause excessive wear or damage to school property;
4. Prevent the student from achieving his/her own educational
objectives because of blocked vision or restricted movement.
Head coverings must not
be worn inside the building unless on a specified "Hat Day". This is
generally on a Friday. Shorts/skirts
shorter than mid-thigh or shirts revealing bare midriffs are not
permitted. Pants must be secured around
the waist. Student dress must not advertise or represent topics which are
illegal, immoral, suggestive, or disruptive.
Student dress may not disrupt the order of the school.
Conduct Code
Students are taught and expected to behave as
responsible individuals while on school grounds immediately before or during
school hours, or immediately after school hours, or at any other time when
school is being used by a school group; off school grounds at a school
activity, function, or event; or traveling to or from school or school
activity, function, or event.
There are also classroom rules that teachers discuss with students the first week of school. Students are expected to abide by these rules and risk losing privileges when not followed.
Two general grounds for a suspension and/or an expulsion
from school are
student misconduct and substantial disobedience. Examples of student misconduct
and substantial disobedience include, but are not
limited to:
¨ Fighting
¨ Being disrespectful or defiant to school personnel
¨ Stealing
¨ Cheating
¨ Defacing or destroying school property
¨ Using profane language
¨ Bringing any of the following to school: tobacco, firearms,
illegal drugs, alcohol, or knives.
Discipline
The students are verbally warned when any of the school
rules are violated. After repeated
violations, a written discipline notice is sent home stating the offense and
what action was taken. Parents are asked
to sign the form and return it to school.
The teacher or principal will call the parents to discuss reoccurring
problems and may request a conference.
Threats of Violence
Any threat of violence
toward another individual, (especially a threat of homicide, or a threat
implying potential homicide) whether that individual be a school employee,
another student, or a visitor on campus, is a serious health and safety issue
for the school. It is a violation of
Medication
All medication, prescriptive and non-prescriptive, must be brought to the office by an adult family member. A written authorization from the parent or guardian must be on file before any medication can be administered. Written directions from the prescribing physician must be received by the school before any prescription drug can be administered. Students new to the school system must have current immunization records on file prior to attending school .
Health Services
Each health office in the
schools of the Monroe County School Corporation maintains a list of students
with medical problems and concerns. At
the beginning of each school year, the faculty at each school receives a copy
of the list of any of these students who attend their school. This information is necessary for the faculty
to have in order to alert them to any medical problems the students might
experience while at school.
The procedure is in
accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. If parents do not want this information
disclosed, they should indicate their objection in writing and be certain it is
delivered to the health office in their child’s school.
Book Fees
You will receive a book bill in the mail from the MCCSC
business office approximately six weeks after school begins. Do not send book fees to school. Financial assistance for book fees can be
requested on the free\reduced lunch application forms.
School Lunches and Breakfast
Unionville Elementary offers students the opportunity to eat breakfast
and lunch at school during regular school hours. We have a computerized lunch
accounting system. This is a prepaid
system which sets up an account for your child to deposit money for lunches,
extra milk, or ala carte items.
Therefore, please make sure that your child has sufficient funds
deposited in the account to take care of these items. To use the account, you
may pay by the week, month or semester. You may pay ahead for as many days as
you would like. The account is used by all children in the family. Each child will have a bar-coded envelope in his/her classroom to make
sure money is deposited into the correct account. You may also make a payment
on-line by visiting our website, www.mccsc.edu. Payments must be made by
7:00 a.m. to be available to your child that day.
All students (free, reduced and full pay) will be
assigned a PIN (Personal Identification Number) number that they will key in
daily as they go through the lunch line.
To speed up the lunch line, K+ students are not required to key in their
PIN number. They will have a card which
cafeteria staff will scan using a bar-code scanner until the number is learned.
Please be aware that students are not allowed to charge
lunch items or to pay for lunch items while being processed through the lunch
line. This tends to slow the lunch line.
School Lunches and Breakfast (continued)
Students will be notified if their account balance gets
low as they come through the lunch line.
If a student’s account reaches a zero balance, the student will be
allowed to charge one lunch meal only.
If a second charge is necessary, the school will provide a peanut butter
sandwich and milk at no charge to the student.
When the family account has a balance of $10.00 or less,
a statement will be sent home with your youngest child. You may request a printout of your family’s
account from the cafeteria. You may also view your account on line if you have
signed up for the Family Access service. Details are on the following page. If
you have any questions regarding your lunch account, please call Food Service
at 349-4762.
Writing Checks
Separate checks should be written for each area; i.e.,
you should not combine lunch money with school pictures, etc. If you have more than one child in
Money
All money brought to school by students must be in an
envelope in the correct amount. The school is unable to make change for large
bills. The envelope should have the money's purpose (i.e. lunch, Weekly Reader,
etc.), student's name, teacher and amount written on it.
Paper, Pencils, and Poster board
Paper, pencils, erasers, poster board, and black dry
erase markers are available in the office for purchase by students.
Lost and Found
Lost and found articles
are placed in the cafeteria. Parents are welcome to look through them anytime
during the school day. Items of value such as watches, necklaces, and keys
should be inquired about in the office.
We advise parents to write their child's name on coats and lunchboxes.
PTO - Parent-Teacher Organization
PTO holds monthly
meetings and sponsors special events during the school year. Parents are encouraged to join and support
the organization. Volunteering to help
coordinate activities and offering input aids our overall educational program.
Telephone calls and Messages
Students will not be
excused from class to accept or make telephone calls except in an
emergency. The office will take messages
of importance and relay these to students when possible. Because school phones are for staff use only,
students may not use these phones except in special cases.
Electronic Devices
Students are encouraged to leave electronic
devices at home. This eliminates the chance for them to be lost or stolen. The
school is not responsible for the protection of these or any other type of
valuables.
Cell Phones
Students are not allowed to use their cell
phones at school. If your child brings a cell phone to school, it must remain
in his/her backpack during the school day. Cell phones found in the possession
of a student during school hours will be held in the office for a parent to
retrieve.
Our fifth graders will
attend Bradford Woods April 19 – 21, 2010.
Family Access
Family Access allows
parents/guardians to view their child’s or children’s attendance, report card grades
(middle school and high school only), food service balance, schedule,
immunization record and standard address, phone number and other demographic
information. It is totally secure and
easy to use. In order to begin using
this service you will need to obtain a User ID and password. Please stop by the school office and show a
photo ID to receive them.
Student Harassment
MCCSC has a policy which
addresses student harassment and is included in this handbook for your
information. The enforcement officer is:
Director
of Human Resources
Phone
number: (812) 330-7700
Tobacco Free Environment
The MCCSC School Board
has a policy which states that all MCCSC buildings are to be tobacco free. We ask that you help us comply by not using
tobacco in or around Unionville Elementary.