Parent Information
Helping You Stay Safe
The school must have up-to-date medical information and emergency phone numbers to reach a parent/guardian. If there are any changes to this information, please advise the office immediately.
School Expectations
- Lates: Being late is disruptive to the child, the teacher, and the other students. It is not conducive to learning and parents will be contacted by administration for repeated lates.
- Absences: Please call the office’s absence line stating your child’s name and homeroom, this request is for the safety and well-being of the students.
- Visitors: All visitors and volunteers are required to sign in at the main office and receive their visitor/volunteer badge.
- Valuables: As neither the school nor the bus company are responsible for any lost or stolen items, students are discouraged from bringing items of any value to school or on the bus. This includes toys, collectables and electronics.
Emergency School Closing
Whenever possible, an ERMS message will be sent out to all homes to inform families of sudden school closures. Please listen carefully to local radio broadcasts between 6:00 AM to 7:30 AM. Should the school be closed, the office will not be open to receiving calls or emails.
Medication and Illness
Any medication is to be given to the Daycare and Lunch Coordinator, or the secretary. In order for medication to be provided to students at school, a Medication Distribution Form must be filled out and returned to the main office ahead of time. Additionally, medication needs to be in its original bottle.
Not feeling well? If your child is too sick to go outside during recess, they need to stay home and rest. We cannot honor parental requests for indoor recess for individual students.
Dress Code
Every student is expected to be well-groomed and to dress appropriately for school in neat and clean clothes. The dress code is as follows: Plain navy, white socks, or stockings (when wearing a skirt or shorts).
Tops
Plain white/red dress shirt, or blouse with collar
Plain white/red polo with collar, short/long sleeves
Plain white/red turtleneck or mock turtleneck
Plain navy/red sweatshirt, cardigan, or V-neck
Bottoms
Plain navy dress pants
Plain navy corduroy pants
Plain navy jogging pants
Plain navy shorts
Plain navy tunic or skirt (appropriate length)
Clothing with logos, pants with stripes, tabs, snaps, or cargo-style pockets, halter tops, leggings and platform shoes may not be worn. Indoor shoes should be worn at all times while in the building.
Shoes with wheels or heels are not permitted. Tops must cover midriff and pants must not be rolled down. Skirts must be an appropriate length. Hats, hoods, and headgear (except for religious or medical purposes) are permitted outdoors only. Please try to place name tags on all clothing and clearly mark all of your child’s belongings.
Dismissal - Change of Routine
For the safety of your child please be sure to establish a regular routine at dismissal. Whether a child uses daycare, takes the bus, or walks to school; it is important to be consistent.
- If there are any changes to the routine of your child at dismissal, put a note in your child’s agenda and notify the office. Please make arrangements with family, neighbors, or friends in cases where you get held-up in traffic and will not be home or at the bus stop to greet your child. The school cannot guarantee we will get the message to your child for changes to dismissal routine if you have not sent a note or left a message by 1:00 PM (unless there is a drastic emergency, ex: accident, sudden illness).
- Students are not permitted to ride any bus other than the one they are assigned to. If students wish to visit with friends after school who are on a different bus route, arrangements must be made from home for alternate transportation.
- If a student wishes to disembark their assigned bus at an alternate stop, they must have a signed written permission note from a parent or guardian.
- Arrangements for visiting with friends after school must be made in advance from home. Students will not be permitted to use the office phone to make social arrangements.
Transportation
Riding the Bus: Student behavior needs to be respectful and safe. Bus rules must be followed. Students will not be allowed to ride on the bus if their behavior endangers their safety or the safety of other children and the driver. Bus transportation is a privilege, not a right. Please click here for more information on Transportation.
Field Trips
A permission slip needs to be signed every time a student goes on a field trip. A behavior contract needs to be signed for all overnight field trips. A student’s school behavior can influence a teacher’s decision to permit a student to attend a trip.
Deadlines for returning permission forms must be respected.
Homework Policy
We believe that homework reinforces newly learned skills and helps a child master new knowledge. It is practice time at the child’s own pace. We also believe that homework should not be excessive, as children must experience a variety of non-school related activities and experiences in order to develop all aspects of his or her own character as an individual.
We give homework designed to acknowledge individual differences, to build self-confidence, and to help children develop initiative, independence and responsibility. Homework should encourage self-discipline, foster good study habits, and motivate a child to want to learn more.
We value your guidance and support. Everyone needs to experience the feeling of accomplishment when providing one’s best effort. Parents/guardians play a valuable role by discussing homework and being a supportive coach. A good rule of thumb for the time spent on homework is 10 minutes multiplied by the grade level. Please let your child’s teacher know if your child is experiencing great difficulty or frustration. This is not the purpose of homework!
Communication With the School
- The most efficient way to communicate with the teacher is through the agenda.
- If you wish to speak with or meet the teacher, you may either call the school to leave a message for the teacher to contact you, or you may write a note in the agenda requesting an appointment.
- Three formal report cards, one portfolio night, and one interview night, as listed on the school calendar, are scheduled to keep you updated as to your child’s progress.
Nut-Free Environment
Kingsdale Academy has been designated a nut-free environment.
Amongst our student population, we have several children who have deadly peanut allergies. For them, contact with the slightest trace of peanut residue on a table or a doorknob can bring on an anaphylactic shock and, if not treated immediately, death.
Please do not send peanut butter or peanuts to school in any form (i.e. sandwiches, chocolates, snacks, or crackers). Please respect these rules even when packing field trip lunches and daycare snacks. Please explain to your child that a student with a nut allergy does not have to ingest the product to have fatal consequences.
Thank you for your cooperation in making Kingsdale Academy a safe school for everyone!