Parent Handbook

TIMES AND DATES
WHEN DOES SCHOOL START AND END? School starts at 8:15 a.m. and ends at 3:00 p.m. The tardy bell rings at 8:20 a.m. Students who come late to school must check in at the office. In order to protect your children, EVERYONE is required to check in at the office when entering the building. You must obtain a visitor’s pass before going to your child’s classroom. Your child will not be released to anyone without a pass/checkout slip.
 
WHEN SHOULD I DROP OFF/PICK-UP MY CHILD IF HE OR SHE DOES NOT RIDE THE BUS? Please DO NOT drop your child off any time earlier than 7:45 a.m. Picking up your child earlier than 3:05 p.m. should be avoided except in the event of an emergency. Educating students is our #1 priority, but they must be here for us to do our jobs. Students picked up after school in private cars will be loaded by the duty teachers parked in our student pick up area. Our pick-up area is located by the gym. ALL PICKUP STUDENTS MUST GO TO THE PICKUP AREA. NO CHILD IS TO CROSS THE PARKING LOT OR WALK IN FRONT OF PARKED CARS WITHOUT ADULT SUPERVISION. NO EXCEPTIONS! Please NO parking in Fire Lane (along curbing in front of building) and Handicapped Parking Area.
 
DISCIPLINE
WHAT TYPE OF DISCIPLINE IS USED AT THIS SCHOOL? We are here to educate children. We expect your child to come to school prepared to learn and be well behaved. If your child misbehaves, a referral will be filled out by a staff member. Depending on the severity of the behavior, your child could miss recess, be sent to lunch detention, go to in-school detention, or be suspended from school.
 
BUSES
IF THE BUS DOES NOT STOP TO PICK-UP/DROP-OFF MY CHILD, WHAT SHOULD I DO? Call transportation! The buses have radios and can be contacted by transportation only.  The telephone number for the transportation department is 598-5545.
 
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I DO NOT WANT MY CHILD TO RIDE THE BUS TODAY? Write your child’s teacher a note with instructions for the change. If we do not have a note your child will be put on the bus despite what they say.
 
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I WANT MY CHILD TO RIDE A DIFFERENT BUS? Write a note for your child to bring to the Office for an alternate bus slip. Include the bus number, and address of the alternate stop.
 
MEDICATION
IF MY CHILD NEEDS TO TAKE MEDICINE AT SCHOOL, WHAT SHOULD I DO? Any non-prescription or prescription medication that your child needs at school must be sent to school in the original package or prescription bottle with a signed note from the parent stating:

IF MY CHILD IS SICK, HOW SHOULD I GET HOMEWORK? Contact the school and we will have your child’s homework in the office by 3:15 p.m. Please do not expect your child’s teacher to prepare homework during instructional time when they are busy with students.

 

WHAT IS YOUR ATTENDANCE POLICY? It is the responsibility of the parent to get his/her child to school on time. If the child misses school for any reason, the parent MUST contact the school either with a written excuse or by calling the school with the excuse. Only absences falling in these categories will be excused with parent contact; illness, bereavement, major religious holidays of the family’s faith, or absences that have been approved by a school authority. All other excuses will be considered unexcused, unless approved by a school authority. All absences not verified by parental and administrative authorization will be considered unexcused.

 

If a child misses 3 or more consecutive days because of illness, a doctor’s excuse or approval by a school authority is needed. If a child misses 3 or more consecutive days for other reasons, a school authority must approve the absences.

 

If absences are unexcused we will follow the following procedures:

WHAT HAPPENS IF MY CHILD IS TARDY? After the fifth tardy in a nine-week period, a student will be assigned to After-School Detention. After-School Detention is on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If we are running an after school bus, the student will ride the bus home; if not the parent will be required to pick their child up between 3:45 and 4:00 p.m. from the office. Detention will be assigned for each tardy thereafter until the beginning of a new nine-week period.

 

PERFECT ATTENDANCE AWARD, WHAT’S THAT ALL ABOUT? At the end of the school year, if a student has missed no full school days, (a child must be present the entire day in the classroom, not sick in the nurse’s office, not here part of the day, or in detention) and has less than 5 tardies for the year, they will be eligible for a Perfect Attendance Trophy.

 

WHEN ARE REPORT CARDS GIVEN OUT? Report cards will be passed out 5 school days after the nine weeks grading period has ended, either to the students or to parents at Parent/Teacher conferences.

 

HOW CAN I FIND OUT IF SCHOOL HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO BAD WEATHER? Channel 4 KOB does a good job reporting school closures or delays. Calling the school is another way of finding out; however, if the roads are very bad, no one will be at school until it’s safe to travel.

 

DO CHILDREN STAY IN FROM RECESS ON BAD WEATHER DAYS? Students will be kept in from recess during rainy days or when the outside temperature is lower than 25 degrees with the wind-chill factor. Parents are responsible for making sure their children are properly dressed for the outside conditions before leaving home.

 

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I DON’T WANT MY CHILD TO GO OUT TO RECESS? Write a note to your child’s teacher or call the office.

 

DOES KIRTLAND ELEMENTARTY HAVE A DRESS CODE? Yes, please look on page 12 of this handbook for details.

 

HOW CAN I BE A VOLUNTEER AT KES? There are many ways in which you can volunteer at KES. First, contact the classroom teacher and let them know when you can help and what you can do for the teacher and students. Second, contact our librarian. She often needs help cleaning books and putting books back on the shelves. Third, be part of our Parent Advisory Committee/PTO committee. Fourth, contact the principal if you are interested in serving on a committee representing our school. Finally, you can activity support our school by attending our many functions.

 

WHAT IS THE PARENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE/ PTO COMMITTEE? The Parent Advisory Committee works with the principal and gives advice, consistent with state and School District rules and policies, on instructional issues, curricula, and on our school’s budget. The PAC/PTO committee will develop ways to involve parents in the school, champion for students, build community support, and encourage community participation in the school. All KES parents are invited to come to the meeting. At our first meeting we will set plans for the year.

 

CAN MY CHILD BRING TOYS TO SCHOOL? No toys are to be brought to school; only balls such as footballs, basketballs, soccer balls, etc. are allowed. Weapons, whether real or look-alikes, are prohibited at school. Absolutely NO electronic games or equipment like Gameboys, Walkman radios, Laser lights, Pokemon cards, iPods, etc. If any of these are found on a student, a staff member will take it away and wait for a parent to come get the item. We will not be responsible for lost or stolen items.

 

CAN MY CHILD BRING HIS/HER CELL PHONE TO SCHOOL? Students can bring their cell phones to school; HOWEVER, they must be turned off and in the students’ pack back, not on them. If they are found on a student or heard by a staff member, they will be taken away and held until the parent comes to pick up the phone.

 

WHAT HAPPENS TO LOST ITEMS? Small lost items are brought to the office. Any type of lost clothing item will be hung up in the cafeteria. At the end of each semester, unclaimed items will be given to the Salvation Army.

 

CAN I COME EAT LUNCH WITH MY CHILD? We encourage parents to come eat lunch with their child. Please call the office to find out your child’s lunchtime and purchase a lunch ticket from the cafeteria. In order to protect your children, EVERYONE is required to check in at the office when entering the building.

 

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I CHANGE TELEPHONE NUMBERS? Inform the office immediately! It is extremely important that you keep us informed about any changes in telephone numbers, home addresses, places of employment, guardianships, emergency telephone numbers, etc. We must have a way of getting in touch with you in case of an emergency.

 

I NEED TO TALK WITH MY CHILD’S TEACHER. WHEN CAN I COME IN? CALL or COME IN to the office to make an appointment to see your child’s teacher. Teachers are not available for appointments during instructional time. If you just want to visit or volunteer, you still need to make an appointment. When coming to the school ALWAYS go to the office first to obtain a visitor’s pass before going to the classroom.

 

MY CHILD LOST HIS/HER LIBRARY BOOK OR TEXTBOOK WHAT SHOULD I DO? Library books and textbooks are property of the school and must be paid for if lost. If your child loses a library book they will not be allowed to check out another one until it’s paid for. Lost textbooks will be replaced, BUT the student will not be allowed to take it home. Homework will have to be done at school, either before school or after school until the textbook is paid for. Call the office for the cost of the lost book.

 

WHEN CAN I SEE MY CHILD’S GRADES? You can check your child’s grades ANYTIME by using our district’s Power School Parent Portal. To do this you must have a username and password which the office will give you at your request, in person. We cannot give you the information over the phone or through e-mail. If you don’t have a computer at home, we have a Parent Computer Center in our lobby.