Parent/Student Handbook 2017-2018 “Engage – Educate – Empower” Belle Sherman Main Building (Pre-K & Grades 2-5) Main Office & Principal: 274 2382 Main Building Attendance: 274-2207 Belle Sherman Annex Building: (Kindergarten & Grade 1) Annex Office & Annex Attendance: 274-2383 1 2 Welcome To Our School Dear Students, Parents, Caregivers and Community Members, We hope you had a restful and relaxing summer! Our halls and classrooms have been quiet over the summer and we are excited for your return! Welcome to the Belle Sherman Parent/Caregiver Guide. In this resource you will find important contact information, calendars, and basic information about our campus. Parent/Caregiver communication is critically important. Every week we provide our Friday News Notes, which includes important dates, school information, and campus highlights. In addition I strongly encourage parents and caregivers to join our community listserv at [email protected], which will provide important school news and announcements. As always, your feedback is very important to us so please let us know if you have any questions, ideas, or comments that can help us improve at [email protected]. Thanks for your partnership, Dan Breiman Principal 3 4 Ithaca City School District Board of Education Members Robert Ainslie, President [email protected] 273-2558 Dr. Sean Eversley Bradwell, [email protected] 342- 3249 Vice President Bradley Grainger [email protected] 257-3268 Eldred V. Harris, JD [email protected] Nicole LaFave [email protected] 255-0094 Moira Lang [email protected] 379-6394 Christopher A. Malcolm [email protected] 342-3249 Ann Reichlin [email protected] 274.2102 Dr. Patricia H. Wasyliw [email protected] 277-2708 5 A Letter from the PTA The Belle Sherman Parent Teacher Association (PTA) welcomes you and your family to a promising new school year! We believe that as wonderful new friendships emerge between children and their families in our community, the 2017-18 Belle Sherman Directory is a great way to initiate and reinforce these relationships. Throughout the school year, the PTA sends notices about community events at the school, has open and informative PTA meetings, hosts festive Belle Sherman events, and helps foster our school’s educational environment. We look forward to getting to know you! The Belle Sherman PTA Belleshermanpta.org PTA OFFICERS: To be determined…. 6 About Our School The school consists of two buildings. The main building houses our pre-kindergarten classroom, grades 2 through 5, and the administrative offices. The “Annex” is across the street, on Cornell Street, and houses Kindergarten through 1st grade. Each school has its own library, gym and playground. You will notice that each classroom has been given a name: Rainbow, Sun, Moon, Castle, etc. We strive to maintain a safe and secure school. One way we do this is by limiting the entry points to each building. At the Main Building, the Mitchell Street door will remain open. In the morning, the 2/3 wing door will be open from 7:40 to 8:00. At the Annex, the North door will remain open. When you visit/enter the school, please sign in to receive a Visitor’s badge. The School Day The school day begins promptly at 8:00 a.m. No supervision is provided on the playground before school or after school. Your child will be considered tardy if he/she arrives at 8:01 a.m. and will be required to go to the office area to sign in and receive a pass to deliver to the classroom teacher. This process will alert the teacher that the student has signed in. If the student does not sign in and arrives after 8:00 a.m., he/she may be marked as “absent” and you will receive an automated call. School Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Morning Drop Off When dropping your child off: Please follow the traffic flow and pull up to the farthest point. Please only park in designated parking spots. Please only park in the Handicapped Parking spot if you have a permit. Please do not make U-turns. Early Dismissal/Pick Up Please make sure to sign out students who are picked up during the school day. If you can, please notify the office that you will be picking up your child early. Late Arrival Students arriving after 8:00 AM are considered Tardy and will need a late pass. A written excuse for tardiness is required. (A parent/guardian signature on the sign in sheet is acceptable.) 7 Dismissal Pre-K Students board the bus at 1:50 p.m. Grades 2nd – 5th are called for dismissal at 1:58 p.m. At 2:00 p.m. all “walkers” are dismissed. At approximately 2:05 p.m., buses go to the Annex and pick up students K – 1st. Absences/Tardies If your child is ill, please call the Annex attendance line at 274-2132 or the Main Building attendance line at 274-2207 before 7:00 a.m. or after 2:00 p.m. If there is no message on the attendance line and your child is absent from class, an automated call will be made around 10:30 a.m. to inform you of your child’s absence. When your child returns to school from an absence, you are required to send in a signed note which states the reason for your child’s absence. The following is a list of absences, tardies, and/or early departures that the Board considers to be excused and unexcused: Legal Excused: Personal Illness, Medical, Mental Health Appointments, Court or Legal Hearings, Religious Observance, Illness or Death in Family, Impassable Roads or Weather. Unexcused: Truancy, Shopping, Vacations, Oversleeping, Birthday Celebrations, Personal, Babysitting, Missing the Bus. Written Excuses, Tardiness and Consequences for Illegal Absence and Tardiness: Since school attendance is mandatory, all absences require a written excuse from a parent or guardian indicating the date and reason for absence. If a note is not received, the absence will be recorded as illegal. Tardy is defined when a student arrives in their classroom any time after 8:01 a.m. A written excuse is required for tardiness, stating why the student was tardy. Signing your child in is considered a written excuse. When a student accumulates 5 tardies or 5 absences (legal or illegal), a tardy/attendance notice will be sent home from the main office. If the child reaches 10 tardies or 10 absences a conference request may be made with the parent/guardian, principal and appropriate faculty and staff. When absences from school appear to continue and become a pattern, or become excessive to the point they interfere with the child’s ability to learn, the case will further be reviewed by the principal to determine appropriate action. The ICSD Comprehensive Attendance Policy # 5160 can be found and accessed through the following link: http://boarddocs.cnyric.org/ny/icsd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=A4SN825EA16B 8 Afterschool Care Belle Sherman offers an after-school care program run by dedicated staff and guided by a parent board. Families may sign up to participate in this program. For more information, please contact Tara Bricker at 273-1297 or you can email her at [email protected]. Appointments with Teachers We welcome families at Belle Sherman and urge you to conference with teachers as needed and appropriate. Please check the school phone directory for the best way to schedule an appointment, or call the school and leave a message, or send a written note. Bad Weather/School Cancellation Local radio and T.V. stations, as well as the District website, will announce information regarding delays and closings. In the event that school may be dismissed early, have a plan in place if your child needs to go somewhere other than their usual destination. One form of communication that the ICSD may use in the event of an emergency closing or other school emergency is an automated telephone or email message. Please make sure your child's school has your most up-to-date contact information on file. When appropriate, a news release will also be distributed as soon as possible. Please view the Ithaca City School District’s District-Wide School Safety Plan for more information: http://www.ithacacityschools.org/tfiles/folder242/District%20Wide%20Safety%20Plan%2 02013-2014.pdf Emergency Closings You can get up-to-date information about school closings on the ICSD homepage newsfeed, on our Twitter or Facebook page. The following local newspapers, radio and television stations also have information on emergency closings: • WHCU 870AM/WYXL 97.3FM/ WQNY103.7FM/WNYY1470AM/ • WIII 99.9/100.3FM/HOTS 103.3 FM/The Vine 98.7FM • WVBR (FM 93) • WSYR (shared w/620WHEN) • Y94FM, B104.7 and HOT 107.9 • WIXT (Ch9 Syracuse) • WSKG FM/WSKG TV (Bing.) • WICB FM 91.7 • WIQT-WQIX (Elmira) • WSTM (Ch3)/WTVH (Ch5) • WENY-TV (Elmira) • WETM (Elmira/Corning) • Z95.5 • News 10 Now • Ithaca Journal 9 Two-Hour Delay Procedures The Ithaca City School District has developed a two-hour delay procedure. This procedure will take effect when weather or building conditions require a delayed start. On these days, parents are encouraged to develop a plan so their children can safely stay home for an additional two hours. In the event that a two-hour delay is activated, the following procedures will be followed: Local news and radio stations will be contacted to report the delayed start, notices will be posted on the District website, Twitter and Facebook pages and emails will be sent to families using the SchoolMessenger system.