Assertive Discipline Plan: As parents you are important to your child s success. It is our responsibility to stay in touch with you and let you know how your child is doing and what we can do to work together. The teacher will be your first contact person. More serious problems may require the involvement of an administrator. Teachers will send home a copy of their classroom rules. These are individually designed by each core and posted in their classroom. It is very important to talk to your child about behavior at school. A child cannot learn when there is disruption of any kind in the classroom. Campus General Rules of Behavior 1. Follow Classroom Discipline Plan. 2. No littering or taking food out of the cafeteria. 3. Stay in assigned areas. 4. No running, rough play or cutting in line. 5. Keep hands and feet to oneself and off the walls. 6. Students must have a hall pass. 7. Students are not allowed to use cell phones during the instructional day for any reason. 8. All students are responsible for their school items at all times. Playground Rules: 1. No words or actions give anyone the right to hurt another person. Fighting is never allowed at school. 2. If students are fighting, get help. Do not become involved or attempt to separate them. 3. Rough play is never allowed as it can lead to fights. 4. Use of profanity, ethnic slurs, and bullying will not be tolerated. 5. Rock throwing, picking up rocks or the throwing of any object in a harmful way is not allowed. 6. Games where students can get injured by climbing on another student s back are not allowed. 7. Students may play touch football only. (Tripping, shoving or tackling is not allowed.) 8. Students must use designated areas for activities. 9. Food, snacks or drinks are only allowed in the cafeteria. Trash must be thrown away in trash cans. Students who litter will be given campus community service. 10. Only those students who have a pass and are supervised by their teachers may go into their classrooms during lunch 11. All toys/electrical device should be left at home unless requested by the teacher. 12. Children or adults may not sell any items to other students at school. 13. Students may not bring magnets or laser pointers to school, unless requested by the teacher as they are dangerous to the computers. Consequences for Office Referral Documentation of incident/discussion with student Parent contact by administration/ Parent conference with administration Detention during lunch period or after school In-house suspension (SAC) Short-term out of school suspension (fighting, rock throwing, threats etc.) Referral to a District Alternative program (i.e., Keys Academy) Police citation/ Other punishment agreed by administration and parent
Attendance: It is very important to your child s education that he/she attends school on a regular basis. Missed days of school can leave gaps in the educational process that may be very difficult to make up. Please make every effort to get your child to school on time every day. In order to maximize their learning and reach their highest potential, students must be present at school. School funds are awarded by the state on the basis of student attendance. Please see to it that your children attend school. Incentives are provided for students with perfect attendance each nine weeks. When a student is absent, the parent needs to call the school to report the reason for the absence. Upon returning, the student must bring a note to the attendance office that states the child s first and last name, date, the reason for the absence, and it must be signed by the parent or guardian. Notes must be received within two (2) days of the absence for the absence to be excused. An original doctor s note must be provided when a student has accumulated six or more (6) absences or has been absent three or more consecutive days. Absences may be excused for illnesses, death, family emergencies or religious holidays. In order to receive an excused absence for any other reason, the parent must personally contact one of the campus administrators in advance. A student who is absent 18 or more days during a school year will be in danger of being retained. Students who are absent excessively (3 unexcused absences in a 4 week period or 10 unexcused absences in a 6 month period) will receive a letter of warning and a possible court hearing. Tardiness: It is important that students arrive to school on time. Children who arrive late disrupt the learning of the rest of the class. Being on time to school sets a pattern of responsibility for later life. Please have your children at school by 7:30 a.m. so that they may get to class on time. Students will be counted as late and as a partial absence if they do not arrive by 7:45 a.m. Teachers will document each time a student is tardy. On the third tardy, a parent conference is required. Repeated tardiness can result in a referral to court. Students will be issued a tardy slip if they are not in the classroom by 7:45 AM. Students who are tardy will receive lunch detention. Cafeteria: Breakfast is served from 7:00 7:30 a.m. each morning. Cafeteria doors close promptly at 7:30 a.m. at which time no students will be allowed in the serving line. A lunch application must be completed in order to qualify for free or reduced breakfast and lunch. All families will complete and turn in an application. A new application must be completed each school year. Children who qualified for free or reduced lunch the previous year will receive the same benefit during the first 2 weeks of school. After that time, if a new lunch application has not been completed, children must pay for breakfast and lunch. Those new to the school district must pay for lunch until applications are approved. Applications may be obtained in the cafeteria. Meal prices are as follows and are subject to change. Cafeteria staff can be reached at 937-5825. Breakfast: reduced- $.30 6 th 8 th $1.15 Lunch: reduced- $.40 6 th -8 th $2.05 Children who pay for any portion of the meal and forget their lunch money will be given an alternate meal. Parents may set up an account with the cafeteria cashier or at www.mylunchmoney.com. This account must always have money in it. It cannot be used as a credit card. Parents may deposit any amount of money into the account and as the child eats in the cafeteria, the cost will be deducted from the account. When the child uses his/her last few dollars, the parent will be notified. Parents may also send lunch money on a daily basis. If a student has lost his/her meal card, the cafeteria will issue a replacement card. Three replacement meal cards will be issued free of charge, thereafter, students will
be expected to pay $3.00 for a new meal card. Students will be issued one Campus ID free of charge. Students will be charged $5.00 to replace a campus ID card each time. Students who share or steal meal or Campus ID cards will receive office discipline. Checks are not accepted. All students must utilize their lunch ID everyday if eating the cafeteria lunch. Students must have their ID with them at all times. Counselors: There are two counselors at Montwood Middle. The counselors conduct a comprehensive counseling program which includes: individual and group counseling, classroom presentations such as conflict resolution, peer mediation and career education. They also are involved in presenting parenting classes, parent counseling, information, and referral services. Please contact the counselors at 937-5812 or 937-5810. Crossing Guard: A crossing guard is on duty at Pebble Hills and Arambide and at Pebble Hills and Saul Keinfeld from 7:00 a.m. till 7:50 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. till 3:45 p.m. Students are never allowed to go to Wal-Mart. Never speed through a school zone. Always obey the speed limit. Take care and be patient when driving children to school. Obey all school zones. Please use the designated drop off areas when dropping your child off or picking him/her up. Students should have all belongings ready to get out of the vehicle quickly so traffic is not backed up. Do not park in the drop off zones. We are aware of the traffic congestion at Montwood Middle School and ask for your patience and care when driving children to school. Your child s safety is of utmost importance to us. Leave home with plenty of time and be thoughtful of others. Day Care: Please make arrangements for the supervision of your children after 3:30 p.m.. The YWCA has a daycare program where children may remain to wait for older siblings or parents. The hours are 2:30 6:00 p.m. Contact the YWCA for further information at 593-1289. Criminal Trespass Warnings can be issued to students who are on campus and in violation of rules or policies after school hours. You are responsible for your child after 3:30 p.m. Drop-off Locations/Parking/Traffic Safety: It is the goal of Montwood Middle School to provide the safest environment for all children. Parent cooperation with traffic around the school is needed in order to fulfill our goal. Please abide by traffic laws and drive the speed limit. No parking is allowed within the school zones and the bus loading and unloading areas. No parking or stopping is allowed in crosswalks. Traffic laws are enforced by the El Paso Police Dept. and the school has no authority to keep parents from receiving traffic tickets. No parking is allowed in student drop off zones or designated marked spaces. For the safety of all students, please follow all safety rules. Parking is available in the lot on the west side of the building. Safety: For your child s safety, all outer doors will be locked during the school day. All visitors must enter and exit through the front of the building. Anyone entering or exiting the elementary campus must use the front entrance. Students, parents and visitors must enter and exit through the main entrance. Excusing Children from School: Students are not permitted to leave school before the regular dismissal without the consent of parents or guardians. Parents or guardians must come to the office to
sign out children. Children will not be released to relatives or friends. Please limit early dismissals from school as children miss valuable learning time. Parents who must take children out of school for more than one day for emergencies must contact an administrator prior to the absence. Update your emergency card if any information changes. Extracurricular Activities: There will be opportunities for children to participate in a variety of contests, clubs and activities. Each year the campus and district hold an art show, science fair, and Literary Anthology contest. The University Interscholastic League (UIL) is held once a year and includes a variety of events. Athletics is available to all 7 th 8 th grade students. If you are interested in any of these programs for your child, you may contact the office for the sponsor s name and contact information. Inclement Weather: If the weather is such that school might be canceled for the day, listen to KHEY 690, Y-96 or one of the local TV stations for information after 6:00 a.m. Library: The library is a learning resource center. It is open from 7:25 a.m. 4:00 p.m. daily for students to check out and return books. The librarian or library aide is available to assist students. Make-up Work: When children are absent, they have one day for each day absent to complete make-up work. The work must be made up outside of class. It is the responsibility of students to check with the teacher to find out what work needs to be made up. Nurse: A nurse is on duty from 7:30 a.m. 3:30 p.m. daily. If your child has any kind of medical condition the school should be aware of, please give written notification to the nurse. If your child is on medication (either short or long term), please notify the nurse. All medication at school must be administered by the nurse. District and State policy require a Licensed United States physician to provide documents and prescribed medication for a student. Medications prescribed by a physician from Mexico cannot be administered at school. Students may not bring nonprescription medications (cold tablets, aspirin, etc. to school) Parent/Teacher Conferences: Parent/Teacher Conferences are held once each semester. Consult the monthly calendar for the date. In addition, you are encouraged to contact the office to schedule an appointment with your child s teacher during his/her conference period at any time. A calendar is sent home each month for upcoming events. Parent/Volunteer: Parents are encouraged to volunteer in school. Adult volunteers are needed in individual classrooms, the library, main office and the nurse s office. Parents interested in volunteering may contact Amanda Oropeza, CIS or Carole Lindsey, Parent Liaison. All volunteers must have a yearly background check before performing any volunteer duties and volunteers must wear a volunteer badge. Volunteers are asked to go to the office daily to sign-in and pick up their volunteer badges. Report Cards/Progress Reports: Progress reports are sent out the 4 th week and 7 th week of each nine weeks and are sent with all students to inform parents of progress. Report cards are usually sent home one week after the end of the nine weeks on a Wednesday. The end of the nine weeks is marked on the calendar or may be found on the school s website at www.sisd.net.
Always review these with your child. SIT (School Improvement Team): This is the campus committee that is involved with site-based decision making. The committee is composed of teacher representatives, administrators, paraprofessional staff, a counselor, parents and community members. SIT provides input to the principal in many school areas.