Students entering kindergarten must be 5 on or before September
30. The State of Tennessee requires a
year of kindergarten before admission
to first grade.
REGISTRATION
The parent/guardian of each student
is required to fill out registration papers when the student enters for the
first time during the school year, even if the student was enrolled the previous
year. PLEASE NOTE: It is very important that the information on these papers
be updated as necessary during the year—e.g., any change in telephone numbers,
restrictions on pick-up, etc. Emergency phone numbers should give us immediate
access to someone who can give directions about medication, allergies, illness-related
pick-ups, etc.
SCHOOL HOURS
The school day begins at 8:00 A.M.
Students arriving before this time will go to designated areas to await
dismissal to their classrooms. Any student arriving after 8:05 will be counted
tardy, and must report to the front office to fill out a tardy slip.
School doors will not open
until 7:00 A.M., and there will be no supervision of students before
this time.
Kindergarten has an optional early
dismissal time of 1:30 P.M.; other students stay until the end of the day, which
is 3:00 P.M. Students who ride cars are dismissed at 2:45 so the parking lot
will be clear for bus traffic. The “ride” students are assembled in the gym
prior to dismissal, and parents should wait until all students are seated before
asking for a child to be dismissed. At 3:00 all “ride” students left in the gym
will be taken to the cafeteria so bus duty teachers can supervise them along
with the bus students who are called to the cafeteria at 3:05.
Students who have restricted pick-up
provisions will be sent to the cafeteria with a staff member to await pick-up.
Parents must come inside and sign for the release of these children.
Parents/guardians unknown to the staff will be asked for identification. A court
decree is required before we can deny pick-up privileges to a biological
parent.
Parents who transport their children
are asked to observe the starting and ending times as strictly as possible.
Tardiness/early dismissal not only places a burden on the individual child, but
it also causes disruption of the entire class. PLEASE NOTE that tardy events and
early dismissals count toward the cumulative total time missed at the end of the
year. Also, tardy and early dismissal events will count against perfect
attendance awards, even if the student has actually been present every day.
ATTENDANCE
Standardized Attendance Policy for Claiborne
County Schools Approved by Director, Dr. C. Eddie Shoffner.
Student attendance records shall be given the same level of confidentiality
as other student records. Only authorized school officials with legitimate
educational purposes may have access to student information without the consent
of the student or parent/guardian.
Absences shall be classified as either excused or unexcused as
determined by the principal or his/her designee. Excused absences shall include:
Absences may be excused by a written parent note for a total of three days
per semester. Each day of absence constitutes on parent note. The principal
must approve all exceptions.
Written parent notes should be utilized for whole day absences or tardies that
constitute a whole day (entering after 11:30 a.m. or leaving before 11:30 a.m)
Students who are not in attendance
for at least 3 hours 31 minutes (more than half the school day) due to
tardiness/early dismissal are counted absent for the entire day.
MAKEUP WORK
The Board of Education policy states
that when a student is present and an assignment is made, he/she will be held
responsible for that assignment on its due date. If the student is present when
an assignment is made, but absent on the due date, the assignment will be due
the day he/she returns to school. Makeup work will be provided for those
students who miss assignments due to excused absences (see above section for
excused absences). The following conditions apply to makeup work for third and
fourth grade students
Makeup time allowed will be equal to
the time missed—if a student misses two days of school, two days will be allowed
after returning to school to complete makeup work.
A zero (0) grade will be applied to
any assignment not turned in when due, with “due” being determined by
the
provisions listed above.
Makeup work will
be given to students upon their return to school when they present a written
excuse for the absence. Excuses will be accepted for three days after the
absence; after that, the absence will count as unexcused. A reminder will be
sent home if your child returns to school without a written excuse.
REPORTING TO PARENTS
Report cards, midterm reports and
parent-teacher conferences are the usual methods of reporting pupil progress.
Report cards are sent home each six weeks. Kindergarten and first grade reports
show progress on required skills rather than a numerical/letter grade. The
grading scale for second, third and fourth is:
93 – 100 = A
85 -- 92 = B
75 -- 84 = C
70 -- 74 =
D
Below 70 = F
Midterm reports are sent only for
those students who are not making satisfactory progress (less than a C average).
Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled at the end of the first, third and
fourth six-weeks periods. Teachers are willing to schedule additional times upon
request, so long as the conference is planned in advance and does not interfere
with instructional time.
Report cards may
be held if students owe money for legitimate school bills: e.g., lost/mutilated
library and textbooks, pictures, and lunch bills.
GENERAL RULES OF CONDUCT
Students are expected to:
In addition, students are not
allowed to bring the following items to school: tobacco products, chewing
gum, knives, glass jars, radios, toys/games, collectibles, and drugs and
medications not authorized by parents.
DISCIPLINE POLICY
We will emphasize and praise good
behavior. At the same time, no student will be allowed to disrupt the learning
of others. While there may be slight variations from one grade to another in the
methods of establishing a system of consequences, the general order is:
1st Offense – Warning
2nd Offense – Time-out
3rd Offense –
Loss of some privilege
4th Offense – Letter to parents
5th Offense – Sent
to principal’s office
Inflicting deliberate physical harm
on another student and/or causing deliberate damage to the property of others is
justification for moving to a more serious consequence without the “Warning”
step.
Each student will start each week
with a clean record; younger students (K and 1) may start each day, or alternating
days, with clean records. If a student moves through all the consequence steps
on a regular basis, it will be necessary for the parents to come in for a
conference with the teachers and the principal. Snack and P.E. will not be
taken as punishment, but students may be required to have snack and P.E. away
from their group. Suspension and corporal punishment are two options for continuous
disruptive behavior. Parents will be notified before either of these two options
is exerised.
TEXTBOOKS AND SUPPLIES
Books supplied to the students are
loaned, not given, and parents are expected to accept full responsibility for
the proper care and return of books issued to their children.
Students are expected to have paper
and pencils at all times. If these items are not brought from home, they may be
purchased at school from the supply cart.
LUNCHROOM
Breakfast and lunch are served every
full day of school. Prices are announced at the beginning of each year, and
application forms are made available to those who qualify for free/reduced
meals.
Lunchroom money should be sent in
a sealed envelope, separate from any other money, and should have the student’s
name clearly marked on the outside along with the amount to be applied to
breakfast/lunch. Parents are urged to pay for one or two weeks in advance;
credit is extended for prepaid meals not eaten when the student is absent.
Students are allowed to buy extra items for
breakfast or lunch if they have money in hand or a credit balance on their
account. No a la carte items will be charged. If a parent does not want their
child to have extras at all, that should be explained to the child and to
the homeroom teacher, who can make a notation on the lunch form.
FEE WAIVERS
Parents whose children qualify for
free/reduced meals may request a waiver of any school fees for activities that
occur during the regular school day. This includes fees for supplemental
workbooks and materials as well as fees for field trips. Fee waiver forms are
handed out in the registration packet, and must be returned to the school with a
parent’s signature in order to qualify for waiver privileges.
FIELD TRIPS
Curriculum-related field trips may
be planned to various points of interest in this area. Parents are asked to sign
permission forms and return them to school in advance of the trip—many trips
will have cut-off dates for the permission slips to be returned because of
arranging for tickets, transportations, etc. No student is allowed to leave the
school campus without written permission, and no calls will be made to obtain
verbal permission.
Parents may be asked to contribute
an amount to cover the cost of their child’s admission/transportation on some
trips. Payment is entirely voluntary, and no child will be denied a trip for
financial reasons. Students may, however, be denied permission to go on a trip
because of severe/persistent behavior problems.
ACCIDENTS AND ILLNESS
In the event that an accident or
illness requires medical attention, every effort will be made to contact the
parent/guardian immediately. If this is not possible, the principal will, after
consulting the student’s information file, use his/her discretion in obtaining
proper and speedy medical attention.
For minor ailments and injuries, the
teacher/principal will use his/her judgement in calling the parent for advice or
removing the student to a quiet place for observation.
Any student who shows symptoms of a
contagious disease or condition—such as chickenpox, impetigo, head lice—will be
sent home and must remain there until the condition is corrected.
MEDICATION
State law prohibits the
administration of any medication, prescription or nonprescription, without
written authorization and specific instructions from the parent/guardian. Forms
are available in the school office, and must be completed before medicine is
administered. Verbal instructions/permission will not be acceptable. Also,
medicine should be brought to school by a parent, not the student.
USE OF THE TELEPHONE
Students are to use the phones only
in case of emergency, and with the permission of their teacher. Parents calling
with a message for their child should let the school secretary convey the
message. Also, parents who wish to speak with a teacher should leave a message
for the teacher to return the call rather than expect the teacher to be pulled
from class.
CONDUCT OF STUDENTS ON
BUS
Students are expected to conduct
themselves in an orderly manner while on the bus, and to follow the directions
of the bus driver. The bus driver shall report any misconduct to the principal,
and a student may be declared ineligible for transportation services if
disruptive/unsafe behavior continues.
Students are not allowed to ride a
bus other than the assigned one, or to get off at a different house unless a
written, date-specific request has been received from the parent and approved by
the principal.
VISITORS
The faculty and staff welcome
participation and involvement from parents and the community. However, safety
concerns require some restrictions on visitors. All visitors must report to the
office and obtain a visitor’s badge upon entrance into the building.
PERSONAL
PROPERTY
The school does not assume responsibility for
the loss of any personal property. Personal property that must be brought
to school--jackets, backpacks, lunch boxes, etc.--should be clearly marked
with the students's name. Anything that is not necessary should be left at
home (please refer to the section on "General Rules of Conduct").
INCLEMENT WEATHER
It is the parent/guardian’s
responsibility to monitor the local media for announcements of school closings
during hazardous weather conditions. Knoxville, TN, stations WATE, WBIR, and
WKXT carry the announcements, as well as local radio stations WNTT and WCTU.
AFTER-SCHOOL SERVICES
Ellen Myers has a 21st CCLC grant
that allows us to provide an extended-hours service at no cost to parents.
This program, EDGE, (Extending the Dimensions of General Education), has an
academic emphasis; it is not for occasional drop-in use. Students will be
required to attend a minimum number of days per week. The hours are 3:00-5:00,
Monday through Friday and regular school personnel are used to staff the program.
Because of budget constraints, there will be a limit to class sizes; however,
a waiting list will be maintained and students will be added when space becomes
available. EDGE ends promptly at 5:00—any time students are here after that
time will be considered child care time, and parents will be charged at the
rate of $10 for each 15 minutes or any portion thereof.
STUDENT WELLNESS
In adherence to Rule 0520-1-6
of the State Board of Education, the Claiborne County Board of Education has
adopted wellness standards which are to take effect this year, 2006-07. The
entire Wellness Policy may be reviewed in the school office, or by calling
the Board of Education and asking for a copy. This policy will drastically
change what can be offered for daily snacks and refreshments for parties.
We will continue to offer snack items for sale, but all items will meet the
new nutritional guidelines. You may send snack items from home, but we would
like to request that you follow the same guidelines as those required at school.
In summary, beverages that can be served are:
-- Fluid milk that is flavored or unflavored - reduced fat, low fat or non-fat
-- 100% fruit and vegetable juices
-- Water that is non-flavored, non-sweetened, and non-carbonated
-- Low calorie beverages (includes flavored, sweetened, and non-caffeinated
water) that are flavored, and non-carbonated, containing no additional caloric
sweeteners and no more than 15 calories per serving - no beverage serving
can exceed 8 oz except for plain water.
Food Guidlines:
-- Maximum calories from fat: 35%
-- Maximum calories from saturated fat: 10%
-- Maximum sugar by weight: 35% (exceptions--fresh, dried, frozen fruits)
-- Maximum sodium: 230 mg per serving
Birthday parties will not be allowed,
since the new policy allows no more than one party a month and no more than
one refreshment item that does not meet the above standards. We will have
parties for the entire school for Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day.
Parents are welcome to attend these parties, but we will ask room mothers
to coordinate the refreshments.
