Important Parent Information

LOST LAKE ELEMENTARY PARENT HANDBOOK 2012-2013

“ Pride of Clermont…Success at the Heart” A+ SCHOOL

LLES Mission Statement: “Lost Lake Elementary, through dedicated participation of staff, parents, and community provides children with a safe learning environment where all students can acquire success presently and for their future goals”

Office (352) 243-243 ELC (352) 243-1340 Fax (352) 243-3541 Website http://lake.k12.fl.us/loe/site/default.asp

Lost Lake Elementary has been servicing the students of South Lake County since 1999. During this time, Lost Lake has received an “A” school rating. Our staff is dedicated and committed to the success of all students. Through the hard work and collaboration of the staff, parents and community students will be successful learners. We greatly welcome your participation and support at LLE. Agendas All students will receive an agenda in grades 1-5. Student agendas are the primary communication tool between home and school. Please utilize your child’s agenda to communicate with the classroom teacher. Agendas will also have information on class work and homework. Please sign the agenda daily. Allergies If your child has a food allergy or is required to have an Epi Pen, please see the school nurse and fill out the proper medical paperwork. Please notify your child’s teacher right away of any allergies. Food restrictions can be placed on your child’s lunch account. We are a peanut free school. Attendance is taken at 8:30 a.m. After two days of absence the teacher will call home to check on your child. Absences require a note from the parent to the teacher. After 10 days of absence a doctor’s note is needed. Please do not check students out during the day unless for emergency. Birthday celebrations at school: Parents may bring store bought item of their choice only for birthday parties to be passed out by the teacher at lunch time. Please do not send items with PEANUTS. We are a peanut free school. No invitations to birthday parties are allowed to be passed out at school. No balloons or deliveries to school for birthdays. Buses Busses are stationed in the front of the building and are supervised on arrival and departure by school staff. Questions about busses call Transportation at 352-253-6740. Car Pickup Areas Car riders are picked up and dropped off at the side of the school. Cars will enter from John’s Lake Road through gate 2. In order to protect our students and keep the traffic flowing as quickly as possible, please follow the guidelines listed below: Mornings  8:00 a.m. is the earliest that a student may be dropped off.  Pull all the way forward. The staff and safety patrol will assist your child in getting out of the car.  Do not pull around the car in front of you unless the person on duty directs you to do so.  Please drive slowly and safely in the car loop area. Afternoons  Plan to arrive no earlier than 2:50 p.m.

1  Please display the school card with your child/children’s name(s) written in dark bold letters in the window of the passenger’s side of the car.  If the school card is not present, you will be directed to the front office for identification and your child will meet you in the front office. Counseling If you have special concerns about your child, please contact one of our guidance counselors. Mrs. Chen works with grades K,1,2 and Ms. Gault works with grades 3, 4, 5. Discipline In order to provide a good learning environment, Lost Lake has established Positive Behavior Support (PBS). Simple rules to follow are PAWS:  Positive Attitude  Act Responsible  Work Hard  Safety First These are simple rules and will be applied to all areas on the campus. In order to provide consistency throughout our school, discipline steps are followed by teachers:  Warning (s)  Reteach and Redirect behavior  Time Out / Loss of privileges  Parent contact  Send to office with a discipline pass  Send to office with a possible referral Please feel free to contact administration if you have any discipline concerns. Dress Code Monday through Thursday- Tops: Knit polo style collared shirts in white, navy blue, hunter green, light blue or pink. No T-shirts allowed Monday through Thursday. Tucked in shirttails are preferred. Bottoms: Shorts (fingertip length) or long pants (not baggy or form fitting), skirts, skorts, jumpers, or culottes in black, navy or khaki (solid color only). Belts are preferred but optional. Leggings or stockings in solid black, blue or white only and must be worn under approved jumper or shorts/skirts. No athletic type of materials for shorts. We will be glad to help any family who is in need of clothing. Please contact Mrs. Rahaman in front office. Fridays only- Jeans on Friday must be fully intact appropriately worn jeans (not baggy or form fitting), without fashionable rips or tears. Jeans can be worn with any Lost Lake shirt or solid color polo. Footwear: Tennis shoes or shoes with an enclosed heel are preferred. Sandals must have a heel strap. No shoes with wheels. Hair color should not be altered either by permanent or temporary means. If a student arrives to school with his or her hair color altered, parents will be contacted. We expect all students to follow the dress code. The principal shall determine when a student’s personal hygiene, appearance (including hairstyles such as Mohawk type cuts), or dress is such that it disrupts or interferes with the educational process of the students. Emergency Procedures Lost Lake Elementary follows the district policy regarding emergency procedures. Our school practices emergency drills monthly. Extended Learning Center The extended day staff will be on duty from 7:00a.m.–8:00a.m. and from 3:00p.m.–6:00p.m. Extended daycare is only for grades K-5th. Please contact Sheila Klung, Site Coordinator at (352) 243-1340 for more information.

2 Field Trips All field trips are directly related to our curriculum and we want all children to have a positive experience. We welcome parents to chaperone. The Lake County School Board requires all chaperones/volunteers to have completed volunteer paperwork and have a background check completed, which takes a minimum of 3-4 weeks. Siblings may not attend field trips because of insurance and liability risks. All students must ride on the bus to and from field trips. Once student seats are filled, parents will be given the opportunity to ride the bus if seats are available. Parents will be required to chaperone their child if there are behavior concerns. Students that do not attend a field trip will receive an unexcused absence unless it is due to illness. Please see Connie in the front office for a volunteer form. Grading Scale In accordance with Florida state law, the students’ grading scale is as follows: A = 90 – 100 B = 80 – 89 C = 70 – 79 D = 60 – 69 F = 0 – 59 Homework: Is given daily 10 minutes per grade level for extra time an practice along with reading nightly. Please support your child and teacher by monitoring your child’s homework completion. Lice Regular lice checks are conducted by LLE staff. Students must be free of lice to attend school. Lunch and Breakfast Program For the school year 2012-2013 the lunch price is $1.85 per day or 40 cents for families that qualify for reduced meal prices. Breakfast is $1.00 per day for full pay or 30 cents for reduced students. Students wanting to eat breakfast should be here no later than 8:10 in the morning to be served breakfast. For those students who bring lunch, milk and juice can be purchased separately. Extra milk is 50 cents and juice is 40 cents. Lunch prices are subject to change. Students are offered a variety of low fat milk, hot and cold entrees, hot and cold vegetables and fresh or canned fruit daily as well as a variety of 100% fruit juices. They are able to choose milk, entrée and up to two sides which are the fruit and vegetables. Lake County school food service also offers healthier a la carte snacks for all students to purchase at an extra charge. Snacks prices range from 50 cents to $1.00. All students have a lunch account and will use a lunch number to receive lunch/breakfast or for a la carte and snack selections. Parents/ Guardians are encouraged to use Mylunchmoney.com to prepay for your students meals and snacks to ensure that your child has money to receive the daily offerings for breakfast and lunch. You may also send cash with the student. Please put the money in an envelope with the student’s name and lunch # on the front and have the student give the envelope to the teacher in the morning. If your child has no money, it is Lake County Food Service policy that the child will receive a piece of toast and white milk for breakfast or a cheese or jelly sandwich with white milk for lunch. It is your responsibility to make sure that your child has money in their lunch account. As a courtesy we will try to give hand stamps to students that have less than $3.00 in their accounts regardless of a reduced status or full pay. Please send/or prepay online money the following day to ensure your child is offered a hot meal. If you have any questions or concerns about your child/children’s account or our lunch program, please contact Nancy DeNapoli our Food Service Manager by calling 352-243-1006. Lunchroom Rules All students are expected to: 1. Remain quiet and orderly in line. 2. Talk softly at the table. 3. Raise hand for assistance. 4. Keep feet under the table and in front of the bench. 5. Observe good table manners 6. Keep your space clean Parents are always welcome to eat with their child outside at the picnic tables only. Students are not allowed to invite fellow classmates. When having lunch with your child, please sign-in, display your visitor’s pass, and use the designated parent tables outside and not in the lunchroom. Please call to verify your child’s lunch time as the schedule may occasionally change.

3 The month of April parents will not be allowed to eat lunch with their child due to preparation and implementation of FCAT exams

Medications The Lake County School Board has a very strict policy in place regarding prescription and non- prescription drugs. Please read the following carefully. 1. A medication form is necessary for each medicine given at school. 2. Medications must be brought in and picked up by the parent, never the student. 3. All medications must be in the original container with a current date. 4. The first dosage must be given at home. 5. No more than a four-week supply of prescription medicine can be accepted. 6. Antibiotics may be accepted only if taken more than 3 times daily with physician approval. 7. Students may keep inhalers with a physician’s consent on file. The inhaler should have a label affixed to the inhaler for easy identification or must be in the original box with the pharmacy prescription on it. 8. Lake County Schools may not administer and students may not carry the following non- prescription medications: cold remedies; throat sprays; herbs; vitamins; cough drops; cough syrup; eye, ear and nose medications; medicated chap stick or Blistex. Cold remedies are available that last 8-12 hours and should be given at home before the child leaves for school. 9. Medications for fevers are not allowed to be dispensed by school personnel. If a child has a fever, he/she should be at home. PBS Lost Lake is a Positive Behavior Support School. PBS is a school wide behavior plan with common procedures for students. All staff, students and parents will be included in the maintenance and implementation of PBS. There will be regular student rewards for earning Lion Loot in special areas, cafeteria, common areas and the classroom. Parent-Student Conferences Parent conferences must be scheduled with the classroom teacher in advance. If you would like to schedule a conference, please contact the office and leave a message for a return telephone call from the teacher or write a note to the teacher in the student’s agenda. All school parent-student conference will be held in October. We want parent and child to come together. Photography/Video Recording If you want to photograph or video record your child, please be sure to record only your child. Photography and video recording of other students requires parent permission. If you do not wish for your child to be photographed or videotaped, please complete the parent release form found in the Code of Student Conduct. School pictures will be offered twice a year. For the fall pictures, uniform is mandatory. For the spring pictures, students can wear other clothing that follows Lake County Dress Code. PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) is an organization that supports the school through fundraisers and volunteer work. PTO is comprised of parent volunteers that plan and organize events that benefit the students and staff. PTO is always looking for volunteers to join the organization. Please sign up at the front desk. Report Card/Progress Reports Esembler will be available for you to view your child/children’s grades online. Information on Esembler can be found on the Lost Lake Elementary Website. You will receive a progress report midway through each nine weeks. SAC (School Advisory Council) Lost Lake Elementary School Advisory Council (SAC) is a statutory body established by the Florida Legislature. Its main purpose , monitor, and maintain the School Improvement Plan (SIP). SAC is also an advisory body to the principal and staff of Lost Lake Elementary School. It is comprised of parents,

4 teachers, classified staff, and community business leaders. The SAC meets monthly. Meetings are open to the public and everyone is welcome to attend. School Hours Our school hours are from 8:30a.m.–3:00p.m. (Wednesday 8:30 a.m. - 2:00p.m.). Students must be in their classrooms by 8:30a.m. or they will be counted tardy.

Security When parents complete their child’s information sheet a security code is created. The parent designates adults as emergency contacts and provides alternative adults allowed to pick-up the child from school. Please call the office and provide the security code to make transportation changes. If you need to make a change on the information sheet, please stop by the office. Please be prepared to show identification. If there is a custody issue, please provide a copy of your most recent court order to the office. If you have any questions regarding this, please call the front office. Student Records/Information Please be sure to keep all information current such as address, phone numbers (home, cell, beeper and work). Carefully choose an emergency contact person that will be available to pick up your child should you be unreachable. It is imperative that we can locate you or your emergency contact person quickly in an emergency. If you request a copy of the student records, please make the request in writing to Mrs. Rahaman at the front office. Student Recognition Quarterly: An A Honor Roll breakfast for parents and students. AB Honor roll recognition in the classroom. Lost Lakes students have opportunities to be recognized monthly for positive behaviors. The incentives available are Principal’s Breakfast (grades 3-5), Random Acts of Kindness (grades 1-5), Student of the Month (grades K-5) and Terrific-Kids (grades K-5). Parents will be notified if their child is selected for one of these incentives. More information on these incentives can be found on the school’s website. Textbooks It is the responsibility of your child to take care of his or her books. If a book is lost, a letter will be sent home for payment of the lost book. The average cost of a textbook is about $50.00. If the book is found later and in good condition, your money will be refunded. Visitors All visitors must check in at the front office and wear a visitor sticker.. Please make arrangements with your child’s teacher in advance regarding the day and time you wish to visit. Volunteers Parent involvement is critical to the success of Lost Lake. We hope that each family will be able to volunteer during the school year. Working at home for teachers, chaperoning field trips, and attending PTO meetings are all ways to volunteer. We encourage you to complete your volunteer paperwork early in the year. Please remember to make arrangements in advance with the teacher if you plan to volunteer in the classroom. All volunteers are required to complete a volunteer form prior to entering the classrooms. Please see Connie at the front desk for a volunteer form. If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact an administrator at 352-243-2433. PLEASE SIGN BELOW AND RETURN TO YOU CHILDS TEACHER BY AUGUST 27th

I have read the LLE PARENT HANDBOOK for the 2012-2013 School Year

Parent ______Child______Grade____

Teacher______Date______