Faculty PTO Greetings to our Parents and
Students, Please take a little time to read through this handbook as
it contains important information that will make the school year 2006-2007 go
smoother and more successfully for your child.
The last page is to be signed and returned to school immediately. School is one of the most important parts of your child’s
life both now and for their future. We
hold that responsibility in great regard, but recognize the fact that we can’t
do it alone. The home must follow up and
support the schools efforts. If parents
are involved and positive, the student is much more likely to be
successful. If you have questions, feel comfortable about calling or
coming by! Most
respectfully,  Micaville Elementary does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, or handicaps in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its programs and activities, in compliance with applicable federal and state laws. School Operation Policies The school will not be open until 7:35am. Buses will unload at 7:35am. Breakfast is served from 7:35am until 8:00am. Academic instruction will begin promptly at 8:00am. It is very important that students arrive on time, but not be dropped off before supervision is available. Parents leaving children unsupervised risk legal problems. Students arriving late miss instruction that can not be repeated because of time restraints. Please note attendance policy. School is dismissed at 2:40pm. Students should be picked up by 2:50pm. Parents wishing to drop off or pickup students, and enter the building, need to park at the side parking area not in the faculty parking area. Access to the rear of the building will be restricted for safety reasons. All parents and students should enter and leave by front doors only. Attendance The Yancey County Board of Education, the State of North Carolina and the staff of Micaville Elementary all agree that being at school regularly increases your child’s chances of getting a quality education. The first responsibility for good attendance habits will be formed in the early years of a students schooling, by parents who are committed to training their child to attend. It is to the child and parents advantage for the child to be here and receive instruction. This reduces the parents responsibility to teach subject matter missed while the child was absent, and reduces make up work for the student. Kindergarten students are under the same attendance guidelines as other grades. It is never pleasant, and often causes ill feelings toward the school, when we must take legal steps to assure a child’s attendance. It is our responsibility to report excessive absences, particularly when they are unexcused. The new attendance policy is included, and is very specific about absence limits, tardies, early departures, and excusable absences. Please read this carefully. It is the parents responsibility to know the policy, and act accordingly. School Closing or Early Dismissal of School Decisions about school closings or early dismissal are made at the Board of Education office, not at the school level. Generally announcement will be made on local radio and television stations. Parents should have a plan for your child to follow if school is closing early or starting late. The school phone is for communicating with the central office, bus drivers, highway department, etc. during these emergencies. Students will not be allowed to tie the phones up. Perhaps a community car pool/child care arrangement could be made among neighbors or friends that would give peace of mind to you and your child. You will be providing that plan to the school early in the year from the back of this handbook. We will follow your directions when the occasion arises. There is not time to “track parents down” when the situation arise. Students without a plan will be kept for pickup or bussed as usual. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view this document:. Parent Return Form Visitors All visitors must check-in at the office when entering the building. All visitors are expected to leave promptly when their business is completed. Entrance should be through the front door only. To see a teacher, please call and make an appointment first. Avoid going directly to classrooms, as this may trigger a safety alert. This includes the picking up of students for whatever reason. Sign-out notebook is in office Student Evaluations Nine week report cards are given four times a year. Grade K-2 receive readiness and mastery assessment, while grades 3-5 receive numerical grades. Students and parents will be notified early on if a student’s work is not adequate for promotion. Parents as partners should also assume their responsibility to periodically check on student performance. Ask your child often how it’s going and to see students work, or progress reports at midterms. Oct. 19th is scheduled as Parent Day. Homework and Study Habits Students will be given homework as a follow-up to regular classroom activities or as needed. Students are expected to fulfill all assignments given by teachers, and it is the student’s responsibility to ask questions of the teacher if an assignment is not understood. Homework assignments may be considered as part of the grade. Absence does not excuse a student from work missed. Excess amounts of “homework” may indicate a student is not using class time properly. Forty-five minutes a day would be average. Some students will take more or less time depending on ability and work ethic. Students are expected to develop good study habits, respect teachers and other students through attention and participation. A student will not be allowed to disrupt the learning of others. Students are expected to come to class with paper, pencils and other required supplies, as requested by the teacher. Paper and pencil machines are available for students between 7:45 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. and as scheduled by the teacher. Textbooks and library books not brought to school can cause a child to get behind as well as disturb other children. It’s our job, and we want to do it well, but it’s your child’s future we’re building. Field Trips Class trips may be scheduled by the teacher throughout the school year. Before a student is allowed to leave the school grounds, a permission form is required from the parent or guardian. Absence form the trip is still an unexcused absence, so students are encouraged to participate in these educational trips. School wide local trips do not require permission notes. Trips taken with a class other than the students are considered an absence. They may be unexcused if not cleared with the homeroom teacher. Sponsoring teachers have the right to refuse participation by students other than there own. Transportation Every effort is being made to provide safe, reliable transportation for students attending Micaville School. School buses will unload students at the front of the school in the morning and load them at the rear of the building in the afternoon. Parents should park in the side parking lot when picking up or bringing in children. Please don’t arrive before 2:40pm. The teacher should be notified well in advance when you wish to pick up your child in the afternoon or have him/her ride a different bus. A note sent to your child’s teacher the morning you wish to make a change will be sufficient. Verbal messages sent by children cause problems every year. Don’t have your child calling to get daily instructions. Every effort will be made to see that no student is allowed to leave with anyone in a private car without the permission of the parents. You should provide the school with a list of names of persons who will be allowed to pick up you child. I am sure you realize that this is done for the protection of your child. It shall be the policy of the Yancey County Board of Education to provide safe bus transportation for the students of Yancey County Schools. It is the intent of this policy to provide standard procedures to be followed by each principal or his designee in the control of student misconduct while said student is being transported to or from school. Students may be removed from buses for continued misbehavior. (#5430)Board of Education Policy. Discipline It is the belief of the administration and staff of Micaville Elementary that an undisciplined child will not learn. Class rules will be posted and explained to students. Students who willfully break those rules will be punished. Corporal punishment (paddling) will be used as a last resort. Parents may refuse the school the option to paddle, and students will be suspended instead. Buses will also be a safe and orderly place, and students disrupting the driver or other students will be put off the bus at the discretion of the principal according to the policy of Yancey County Schools. Safety has become a pressing issue in the schools. We intend to make the environment in which your child attends school the safest and most orderly that we can. Teachers will handle discipline first. Parents will be contacted for reinforcement at home, or simply a matter of information. General discipline issues are the responsibility of the principal. CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY TO GOOD DISCIPINE. Drug, Tobacco, Alcohol, Weapons Micaville Elementary, as part of its safe school plan, will not allow the use or possession of tobacco products, alcohol, weapons of any kind or non-regulated medicines on school property (including buses). Any medications will be accompanied by a parent note and given to teachers to administer. Possession of any forbidden item may result in suspension, expulsion, notification of the Sheriff Department or any combination thereof. Parents may also be subject to prosecution for the actions of their minor children. Controlled substances should not be transported by students. Telephone Please respect the telephone as a business line. Personal messages to students or staff will be delivered in a timely manner. Please do not ask to pull students or staff out of classrooms except in an actual emergency. The phone becomes a crucial tool during emergencies, which is why we want on file a plan for handling your child in case the regular school day is interrupted. Again, we stress the need for every child to know what he/she is to do in the event of a school disruption. In this age where both parents are at work a plan that tells the school what to do with your child will be kept on file and followed. Please fill in the place provided for this and return promptly. Adobe Acrobat Readeris required to view this document: Student Information Form P.T.O. and Volunteerism The PTO is a coordinating agency between school and the home. Meetings are called as needed. The PTO has projects of their own, as well as a support group for school initiated projects. Your attendance shows your child that you are part of the team! Some teachers request volunteer help in the classroom. They will let you know how you can be a part of an ever-growing volunteer program here. All fund raising projects go to provide resources that would normally not be available to your child and their teacher. Support us generously and in the spirit of pride for this community school! Communications We will attempt to keep parents informed of school matters on a regular basis. Make sure you keep the school up to date on phone numbers to be used. We use the automated phone system to convey messages. Teachers will occasionally send home personalized notes with important information. We ask the same line of communication to run from the home to school. Here are some very important things we must have from home:
Differentiated Curriculum Micaville Elementary tries to offer programs that fill needs of all of its students. The differentiated curriculum program offers direct and indirect consultative services to those students who qualify. These services are based on performance in the classroom as well as on the North Carolina testing program. We try to stimulate a child’s natural curiosity and desire to learn new things. Some of the educational opportunities include: the Accelerated Reader computer based literature comprehension software; the Young Authors creative writing exhibition and competition; the Academic Fair which is a spring presentation of student displays and class accomplishments done during the year; and other offerings done by individual teachers. Board of Education Policies: Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view these documents. Policy 5100 – Attendance Policy Policy 5400 – Drug and Alcohol Use, Use or Possession of Tobacco Prodcts in Schools, Student Behavior on School Buses FERPA Directory Information Notification Policy 6520 – Internet and E-Mail Acceptable Use Permission Form Parents picking up students Parents should wait until 2:40 p.m. to do so. Students being picked up early to avoid traffic are losing educational learning time; and disturbing the learning of others. Parents are asked to wait in the lobby for students: NOT go to the rooms and doorways. Any work missed by students due to early dismissal is the responsibility of that child. If this wasn’t important, we wouldn’t bother asking you to wait. The same rule applies to dropping off late in the morning. We can’t ask teachers to reteach students arriving after instructions is given. Again these attendance problems are addressed in the Yancey County attendance policy #5100. Three early dismissals become one absence! Parking is very limited, and waiting in line on Hwy. 80 is clearly unwise and unsafe.
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