| Iron County School District | |
 |
Parent/Student Handbook
Table of Contents
| Attendance | Drop off/Pickup | Expectations & Belongings | Extended-day Kindergarten |
| In-district Transfers | Kindergarten Registration | Placement Requests |
Schedules |
| School/Parent Communication |
Student Birthdays |
Student Dress Standards |
Student Injury |
| Student Retention |
Attendance
Consistent attendance is critical to success in school. Students must be in attendance to learn. It is difficult for a child to catch up with what they missed because they missed much more than just the actual work that was handed in. They missed important instruction and social interaction that cannot be recovered. Iron County School District and Fiddlers Elementary provide services for extended illness, counseling for students who are having difficulties, special needs services for students who are struggling academically, and a caring staff who wants all of our students to enjoy their schooling at Fiddlers Elementary. Please do your best to ensure that your child goes to school prepared to learn every day.
Utah Law
Utah Code mandates that parents/guardians of children between 6 -18 years of age shall enroll in and send their minor to school. It is a misdemeanor for a parent/guardian to willfully fail to comply with this requirement. It is the school’s responsibility to report these behaviors.
Children who are ill should stay home to recover and to avoid the spread of disease to other students. Our school nurse has instructed us that students with the following symptoms should not attend school:
In like manner, we urge all parents to avoid keeping their children out of school for sports events, visits to relatives, vacations, etc.
If a student begins to show poor attendance patterns, the school will take the following steps, as needed:
It is our goal to work together with parents to ensure success in school. Please make your child's attendance a priority.
Bus Transportation
Riding the bus is a privilege for students. Proper behavior is required for safety. Students are to remain seated, keep their hands, feet, and other objects to themselves, use clean language and treat the driver and other students with respect. Inappropriate behavior may lead to a revocation of riding privileges.
Dropping Off & Picking Up Children from School
Please load/unload your student in the following locations:
Please do not load/unload your student on the West side of the school, Wedgewood Lane. This is where the busses load/unload.
Expectations and Belongings
Students are expected to behave in such a way as to increase their opportunity to learn. In short they are expected to obey school and classroom rules and follow teacher direction. Most expectations are communicated through the classroom teacher.
Common Misbehavior
Most misbehavior relates to disrupting the learning process during instruction. These behaviors are benign in nature and are to be corrected by the teacher through clear expectations, modeling, practice, and discipline. The teacher meets with students to discuss ongoing issues. If the behavior persists then the teacher calls a parent/teacher/student conference to discuss how to proceed. Every effort will be made to evaluate the problem and establish a written plan. Everyone involved will sign the agreement showing his or her active commitment to follow the plan.
Fighting
Fighting is prohibited. It is important to note that it does not matter who started a fight. Anyone involved in a fight will receive disciplinary action.
Defending Oneself
Often a student or parent will justify their part in a fight by saying they were only defending themselves. According to law, defending oneself is using force to get away from a threat. For example, it is okay for a person to force another person out of their way in order to get away. Accepting a violent challenge from another is not self-defense. It is a willful decision to be involved in a fight.
Bullying and Conflict
All forms of bullying are prohibited. We take bullying seriously and work closely with both children to rectify the situation and ensure safety for all students. It is important to note the difference between bullying and student conflict. When students are at odds with each other they are in conflict, neither one is bullying or being bullied. We handle student conflict through conflict resolution skills while working with both parties. Bullying is when there is an obvious imbalance of power, intentional, aggressive and repetitive behavior, a consistent victim and a lack of provocation/reciprocation. We handle bullying through consequences and support while working with the parties independently. It's important to understand the difference so we don't use the terms 'bully' and 'bullying' unnecessarily. In using those terms unnecessarily we vilify an innocent student. We take all cases of bullying and conflict seriously and ask for your support in this important matter.
Language
Students are expected to use clean and wholesome language. Employees are to correct students whenever they fail to meet this expectation.
Student Belongings
Students are expected to leave non-school related items at home, such as toys, make-up, and valuables. All school related items such as; coats, backpacks, etc. should be labeled with their name and phone number. Items that are lost and not claimed will be donated to a welfare agency at the end of each month.
Cell Phones and Electronic Devices
Student cell phones and electronic devices are prohibited at school. Teachers confiscate electronic devices that are out during school hours. In the first instance the student may pick up the device after school is over. Every instance thereafter the parent must pick up the device.
Bikes, Scooters, etc.
All forms of student transportation are the responsibility of the family, not the school. Students need to lock these to the bike racks each day to prevent theft.
Extended-day Kindergarten
Optional extended-day Kindergarten's purpose is to remediate students that are performing well below their peers and to prepare them to be successful in future years. The program is optional and by invitation only. It comes with criteria for enrollment. Due to the fact that only 16 students can be enrolled at any time, only the most committed parents should involve their children in the program.
Enrollment Criteria
This program is exclusive by definition. We reserve the right to offer or deny this service to anyone. The following criteria are required for enrollment:
Temporary Nature of the Program
The goal of the program is to remediate students in Kindergarten curriculum to the point that they no longer need remediation. As students progress and reach an acceptable academic level they will exit from the program. The school determines when to exit a student from these services. This can happen at any time during the year. Teachers will give one week of notice.
Download: Extended-day Kindergarten Policies
In-district Transfers
Utah code outlines three provisions to make open enrollment available:
Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten registration usually occurs in the month of March. At registration we will ensure that all age and immunization requirements are met. The following is district policy based on Utah law for enrolling a student into Kindergarten:
Parents are able to request teachers for their children during an appointed window at the end of the year, usually the first two weeks of April. We will do our best to grant as many requests as possible; however, we are not able to grant all requests.
Mid-Year Requests
Mid-year placement changes are discouraged because they are difficult on students and teachers. Only after a meeting of all people involved will we consider displacing a student, and then only if we feel that he or she would do significantly better in another environment. A parent not liking a teacher does not warrant student displacement.
Schedules
Students are not to arrive at school until 8:30am. Breakfast does not start until 8:30 and it is difficult to provide supervision for students before that time. Please help us by not allowing your student to come earlier than 8:30.
School Day Schedule
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday = 8:50am to 3:30pm
Wednesday = 8:50am to 1:30pm
AM Kindergarten Schedule
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday = 8:50am to 11:35pm
Wednesday = 8:50am to 10:50am
PM Kindergarten Schedule
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday = 12:45pm to 3:30pm
Wednesday = 11:30am to 1:30pm
SEP Week Schedule
All days including Wednesday = 8:50am to 2:30pm
AM Kindergarten = 8:50am to 10:50am
PM Kindergarten = 12:30pm to 2:30pm
School / Parent Communication
It is our goal to foster a healthy, two-way communication with parents. All teachers maintain a class web site that contains important information about the class. Teachers also send newsletters and other correspondence home regularly. If you would like to contact your child's teacher please call between 8:20am and 8:40am or after 3:40pm at 586-2860. Also, each teacher can be contacted via e-mail by using their firstname.lastname@ironmail.org.
Student Birthdays
A store-bought birthday treat may be sent to the school with your child on his/her birthday. The health department requires that no homemade treats be brought to school. To ensure the happiness of all students, party invitations may be sent to school to be passed out to students only if every child in the class is to receive one.
Student Dress Standards: Code JFCA: Printer-friendly version
Alll students have the right to a safe, healthy school environment. All students have the responsibility to dress appropriately and observe basic standards of cleanliness and good grooming. A student's dress and appearance should not cause a disruption or distract from the educational process or create a health or safety concern for him/herself or others.
These are minimum Iron County School District Standards. Individual school dress policies may include additional standards to provide an educational environment as free from distraction as possible.
Parents have the responsibility of assuring that students are dressed properly for school. Students who are in violation of the approved dress policy will be sent to the office. The student in violation of the dress policy will not be allowed to return to class until their appearance is in compliance with this policy. Covering inappropriate clothing with a jacket or other article of clothing is not acceptable.
Student Injury
Iron County School District does not carry an accident insurance policy for students. Students are covered by their parent’s medical plan. There are applications for student accident insurance in the school office. In case of an accident we will call parents. If parents are unavailable school personnel will take the student to the emergency room. Written parental permission and a physician’s order must be provided giving the school district authorization to administer medications.
Student Retention
Student retention is only to be considered if a parent is persistent in desiring it and after having tried everything else to improve their student’s learning. We know that remediation is more effective than retention and research links retention to a 30% higher dropout rate. When remediation has failed to improve the student’s learning and a parent is considering retention, a team must meet to review and discuss the implications of retention with the parent. Only a parent can initiate a retention request.
Official District Stance
Students may be retained upon parent request but it is against the district’s judgment and the parent must sign a waiver releasing the district of all future consequences of retaining a student. The social, emotional, and academic implications associated with retention rest entirely with the parents.
Appropriate Time to Retain
A student may only be retained at the end of the school year. The best conditions for retention are: the child will be repeating Kindergarten, the child is small or young, or the student is moving to another school. At Fiddlers Elementary, no child will be retained once they have become a third grader or higher.
According to Utah state law, all students must have full immunizations before they are allowed to enter school. For parents who, for religious or other reasons, do not want their child to receive immunizations, waivers are available at the State Health Department Office located on DL Sargent Drive. Our school also operates an optional fluoride rinse program under the direction of our school nurses and PTA. If you have health questions, please check with the school or Wendy Wood, Iron County School District nurse (559-0601).
Fiddlers Canyon Elementary strives to promote active and positive interaction and communication between our school and the families of our students. Emails, newsletters, phone calls, grade reports, and notes home are just part of our efforts to inform parents of students’ progress and activities here at school.
Iron County student dress code states that student clothing and appearance cannot interfere with the educational processes at our school. For more specific information, you may pick up a copy of this dress code in the office.
Each year our lost and found reaches monumental proportions. Please label clothing and other items brought to school. Unlabeled or unclaimed property is donated to a welfare agency at the end of each month.
We love parents to visit our school and actively participate in the education of their children. For the protection of students, the outside classroom doors will be kept locked during the school day. The main doors on the north and on the south are the only doors that will be unlocked during the school day. Whenever parents/visitors enter Fiddlers, they are required to check in at the office. School-provided ID is now required of all adults who wish to continue past to hallways or classrooms. Adults who frequent the school have been instructed to challenge any visitor who does not have ID. Anyone needing to give a child a message, medication, homework, lunch money, supplies, etc. should check with the office. Interrupting class hinders valuable instruction time. Students that need to leave before school is out should provide their teacher with a note from their parent. They should come to the office at the appointed time, where an adult may sign them out.
We invite all parents to take an active role in their child’s education by volunteering in the classroom, joining the PTA, helping with homework, and keeping in touch with their child’s teacher. Please feel free to contact the office for any concerns or comments you might have as well. When home and school work together, great things happen in the life of a child!
Buses will pick-up and drop off students on Wedgwood Lane. There will be no parking in the bus-loading zone on Wedgwood from 8:20 – 9:00 AM and from 3:20 to 4:00 PM.
Parents dropping off or picking up their children should use the old bus loading zone (south side of school) or at the gateways provided in the north (2015 N/DL Sargent) and east (Fiddlers Canyon Rd) fences. Please be courteous of other drivers and do not park in the thru-lanes of the drop-off/pick-up areas.
Please be sure to NEVER drop off /pick up your child in the staff parking lots on the north and south sides of the building. These can be very dangerous places during busy school times! There should be plenty of room in the old bus zone for all parents who want to pick up/drop off their children there. The southernmost lane in the bus zone is for through traffic only. Parents picking up/dropping off students should park diagonal to the curb on the north side of the loading zone. Do not ask your child to run through parked cars to get to your car in the through lane. This is an accident waiting to happen!
Students may ride bicycles, skateboards, or scooters to school; however, the school cannot accept responsibility for the safety of the bikes. Locks are strongly recommended. Students should dismount from their bikes and walk them onto the school grounds when arriving at school or leaving for the day. Bikes skateboards, or scooters are not to be ridden during recess or break times. These should be walked by the student whenever s/he is on campus. Helmets are encouraged.
The following elements should be taken into consideration as parents plan their child’s walking/riding route to school:
When desired, a store-bought birthday treat may be sent to the school with your child on his/her birthday. The health department requires that no homemade treats be brought to school. To ensure the happiness of all students, party invitations may be sent to school to be passed out to students only if every child in the class is to receive one. If only a few students are to be invited to the party, arrangements must be made at home.
Parents, please inform the school of your work telephone and/or emergency numbers in case your child becomes ill or is injured at school and requires that we contact you. Please remember to notify the school of any change of address, telephone number, or a revision of information contained on the yearly registration form.
The school telephone is for business calls and emergencies only. Necessary plans for after school activities should be made with children before they leave home in the morning. If you wish to speak to a teacher, please leave a message with the office and s/he will return your call as soon as possible. If you have an important message for your child, the office will be happy to deliver it to your child as well. Please do not call the school and ask that your child be dismissed from class to answer the phone. This disrupts the learning environment for your child and all others in the class.
Special Note Regarding Cell Phone Usage: Cell phones can be useful tools but can also be a great distraction in class. Students who use cell phones during class or in other ways that disrupt the educational process are hereby notified that their cell phone may be confiscated and held in the office until a parent can pick it up.
Field Trips
Throughout the year, classes will be involved in educational field trips. A permission form for field trips to be taken can be signed at the beginning of each school year. Teachers are to inform parents of all field trips ahead of time. If the field trip will continue through lunch time, a school sack lunch may be ordered. Cost for the lunch is the same as eating in the lunchroom.
In order for effective education to take place, classroom management/discipline is required. The Iron County School District has a skill-building program in place at all schools. Skill-building provides a quiet place for students to assess the situation in an interactive teaching situation, rather than just receive a consequence for unacceptable behavior. Students rotate through the skill-building program according to the infraction. Any behavior or inappropriate language which causes the learning atmosphere to deteriorate or be disrupted or which infringes upon the rights of others in the school will not be tolerated and may subject the student to corrective measures. Students are expected to put forth their best effort and conduct themselves in a manner that will promote a safe, orderly learning environment. School and classroom rules and behavior expectations are explained to students and reinforced through the Fiddlersburg life skills.
Safe Schools Policy
The Iron County School District has adopted a safe schools policy. Students are required to have a signed safe schools document on file with the school each year.
This policy states that students who disrupt their own education or the education of others may be removed from school for up to one year. As part of this effort, the school district has employed an officer from the Cedar City Police Department to act as a school resource officer (SRO). As a district employee, the SRO may be called upon by the school administration to investigate when there is a reasonable suspicion that a student has violated the Safe School Policy.
Fiddlers Elementary is a school dedicated to children. Becoming involved in PTA provides an opportunity to contribute to the educational program. Our PTA is an active one. Throughout the year, many enjoyable educational opportunities will take place. Please be involved.
Physical fitness is offered to all elementary students in grades K-5. If a student’s participation has some limitations, it will be necessary to submit a written note to the teacher to be excused from physical education activities. Regular school clothing is satisfactory for physical education activities. Shoes should provide support and be safe for physical sports. Dresses and skirts for female students are discouraged on PE days. Students will be challenged to improve their own individual fitness skills.
Our community council is comprised of representation from school staff and parents. The committee deals with school improvement, budget items, planning, and acts as a liaison between our school and community. Council members are elected each spring. Contact the school office if you are interested in being a part of our community council. If you have a concern you would like to express to a community council member, please let us know and we will help you get in contact with him/her.
We are proud of our school, our students, and the tremendous parental support we enjoy. We eagerly look forward to helping your child reach his/her full potential. If you have any questions or comments that relate to our school, please feel free to contact me. Together we will find a solution!