Welcome Welcome to another exciting year at Greenbrier Intermediate School, home of the Panthers! The faculty and staff want to wish you a wonderful school year. All of us plan to work hard and play hard. The teachers here are a very dedicated group of professionals who will be a great resource to you as you grow and learn. As part of the Virginia public schools, each student will be required to learn and master the Standards of Learning for your grade level. These standards (SOLs) are very important and are the basis for all we do while you are at school. All grade levels will take SOL tests in English and Math. Grade 5 will test in Science and Social Studies as well. Partnering with your parents, the staff at GRI will do everything possible to teach you these standards and make you ready for the SOL tests that are given in the months of May and June. YOU, the student, must make a commitment to do your best each and every day at school. You must listen in class, complete classwork and homework, participate in discussions, behave appropriately, and study a little each night. Part of your preparation for class each day is to be organized. We will help you by providing you with this planner, free of charge. Parents are asked to check this planner each night, sign it in the appropriate location, and send it back to school with you each day. If a planner is lost or damaged, an additional one may be purchased from the school. Please remember that this planner is a very valuable resource for you and your parents as it will identify daily homework and provide a tool for communication between the school and home. We look forward to working with each and every one of you this year. Our staff is always ready and willing to assist you in any way possible. Thank you in advance for your support and cooperation. Sincerely, Keith C. Hyater Principal 1
ABSENCES/TARDIES Parents should notify the school of all absences. ALL absences and tardies will be considered unexcused unless a written excuse is received from the parents. We must receive written documentation of illnesses, doctor appointments, etc. The following will be considered legitimate excuses for absences or tardies: Illness of student, medical appointments, severe illness or death in the family, exposure to contagious diseases, religious holidays, or extenuating circumstances such as fire, accident, or extremely inclement weather Absences for any other reason must have advance permission of the principal, and such requests must be made in writing stating the reason and time of the absence. Travel or vacation is NOT an excused absence! Teachers will not provide work in advance for extended absences. Please note that students will not be eligible for Perfect Attendance Certificates if they do not attend at least ½ of the day. ATTENDANCE & DISMISSAL School hours are from 7:50 a.m. until 2:19 p.m. Supervision cannot be provided for students by the school before 7:30 a.m. or after 2:19 p.m. Parents should NOT drop students off at school until 7:30 a.m. Because of the amount of content delivered each day, it is very important that students attend school on time every day. Students are required to be in their classes ready to work at 7:50 a.m. and NOT walking in the building. Students arriving at school and not in their classroom when the bell has rung at 7:50 a.m. are considered tardy and must report to the main office or security desk to sign in BEFORE reporting to class. As per the code of Virginia, students who are consistently tardy, absent, or leave early will be considered for referral to Truancy Court. ALL students not riding the bus or being picked up by day care are to be picked up by 2:19 p.m. To inquire about the after school program offered here at GRI by the YMCA call (757) 366 9622. Students are not allowed to leave the school with anyone other than the parent or guardian unless a written request is made by that parent or guardian. Students must be signed out on the blue form at the security desk or in the office prior to leaving the school grounds. Adults who pick up children will be asked to provide identification. We cannot, in the best interest of your child, honor any requests for changes of student pick-up or bus transportation, by telephone or e-mail. ALL REQUESTS MUST BE IN WRITING. When providing their own transportation from school, parents must place their child on the call list by 2:10 p.m. A Permanent Pick-up Form for those students who are picked up daily must be completed and returned to the office. This form provides the opportunity for parents to list all persons authorized to pick up their child without prior notification. Permanent pick-up students will not be announced over the PA in the afternoon, but will be dismissed from their classrooms to the cafeteria at 2:17 p.m. to be signed out by authorized persons. If there is any change in the persons authorized to pick up your child, you must notify the school in writing. A new form must be completed each year and submitted to the office. 2
CELL PHONES & ELECTRONIC DEVICES Electronic devices are permitted on school grounds with the understanding that they are to be used in compliance with the following Chesapeake School Board Policies and associated regulations. An annually updated Electronic Device Permission Form outlining these regulations is required to be on file in the school office. P 9-20.1 - Cellular Telephones, Other Portable Telecommunication Devices, and Electronic Devices P 9-20.2 - Privately Owned Electronic Devices R 6-36 - Acceptable Telecommunications and Internet Use for Students CLASS RULES AND EXPECTATIONS Remember to treat others the way you want to be treated. Every student at GRI is an important member of the GRI community. All students belong, and every student brings something unique to our school. 1. We will not bully others. 2. We will try to help students who are bullied. 3. We will make attempts to include students who are left out. 4. When we see someone being bullied, we will report it to an adult. If You Are Being Bullied Ask the bully to stop and try and get away from the situation. Stay positive. Stay with friends so you are not alone. Tell a trusting adult. It is NOT tattling - All students should feel safe at our school. CLOSING INFORMATION The Parent Alert System will be activated in the event of an early dismissal, delayed opening, or school closing due to inclement weather or other emergencies. Please monitor the following media/resources for accurate and timely information on changes in the published schedule: WFOS-FM (88.7) Operated by Chesapeake Public Schools CPS-TV (Cox 46 / Verizon 42) Operated by Chesapeake Public Schools Division Website - Operated by Chesapeake Public Schools Parent Alert System (PAS) Operated by Chesapeake Public Schools 3
DISCIPLINE POLICY All students are expected to conduct themselves in a respectful and orderly manner while at school and on the buses. Students should learn the rules of their classroom. Students are not allowed to leave their room without the permission of their teacher. NO student will be allowed to disrupt the learning of other students. Teachers will do everything possible to deal with inappropriate behavior before a referral is made to the office. If a referral to the office is made, the consequences will depend on the severity of the referral and/or the number of prior referrals. Consequences may include notes or phone calls home, loss of resource classes such as art, music, P.E, in-school suspension, loss of field trips or class parties, and out of school suspension. A student may be referred to the office immediately for lying, stealing, cheating, mistreating or damaging school or personal property, physically abusing a student or staff member, bullying, and using foul language or being disrespectful to others. Bus referrals are handled by the administration. Subsequent referrals may result in loss of riding privileges. In-School Suspension (ISS) is assigned by the school administrators. Students are removed from the classroom and are under the supervision of a staff member. All students are expected to complete a work packet generated by their teacher. The assignments parallel those being done in the classroom. Students will not be released from ISS until the end of the day and are counted as present. Out-of-School Suspension (OSS) is assigned to students who are habitual ISS offenders or are guilty of serious rule violations. Students are required to remain out of the school setting for the number of days specified by the administrator. Each day of OSS is considered an unexcused absence. In the event of a school suspension, the parent must participate in a conference either by phone or in person with an administrator. In some instances, a personal conference is the only option. DRESS CODE Students should dress appropriately for school. The following ARE NOT allowed: tank tops, spaghetti straps, shirts showing the midriff or belly button, shorts and skirts that are shorter than the fingertips when arms are hanging to the side, shoes without a back strap, shoes with retractable skates, t-shirts with inappropriate pictures or sayings, hats, head scarves, basketball jerseys, and loose fitting pants that fall below the waistline. If a student comes to school wearing any of the above items of clothing, the parents will be called to bring appropriate clothing to the school. GRADING/HOMEWORK POLICIES The Chesapeake School Board considers homework to be an important integral component in the learning process. Homework is an extension and reinforcement of the classroom learning through independent practice. Suggested time standard for students in grade three is an average of 20-45 minutes per night and for grades four and five an average of 30-60 minutes per night. Usually reading is part of the assigned homework every night. Students will be evaluated frequently to determine their progress. Evaluation will consist of homework, classwork, tests, projects, teacher observation, and class participation. Parents may access regularly updated grade reports through the school s website. 4
HOME/SCHOOL COMMUNICATION Agenda planners have been purchased by your PTA for each student. These agendas serve as a means for students to record daily assignments and for teachers and parents to communicate with each other on a regular basis. The planner is to be taken home and brought back to school each day. Replacements for lost or damaged planners will cost $5.00. Brown Envelopes are provided for each student. These envelopes go home EVERY Thursday and contain such items as the weekly grade report, completed assignments, teacher generated newsletters, notes, progress reports, report card, parent bulletins, PTA notices, etc. Parents should check their child s envelope every Thursday night, sign in the appropriate place to indicate receivership, and return it to school on Friday. Replacements for lost or damaged brown envelopes will cost 25. Parent Bulletins are sent home the first Thursday of each month. Included is a calendar of events for the month and other pertinent information. Parent/Teacher conferences will be held at least once during the first nine weeks of school and several times during the school year, as needed. Conferences may be requested with the teacher at any time, but should be scheduled ahead of time to ensure the teacher s availability. Conferences may be conducted over the phone or in person. Please call the school to schedule an appointment with your child s teacher. Teachers will make every effort to return your call within 24 hours. The administration wants to respond to your concerns. If you have any concerns that need to be discussed after speaking to the teacher first, please call the office to schedule a phone or personal conference. We encourage our parents to be involved in our school. Parents may visit classrooms and observe or volunteer to assist students in the class, the media center, the clinic, or the office. If you would like to observe in a classroom, advance notice must be given so as not to interfere with instruction. All observations are scheduled for 30 minutes. Please call the teacher to schedule the observation. ALL visitors must report to the visitor s desk in the main hallway or to the main office to sign in and receive a visitor s badge. ALL VISITORS TO CLASSROOMS MUST CHECK IN THE MAIN OFFICE FIRST! MAKE-UP WORK Students shall be permitted to make up work due to excused or unexcused absences upon the request of a parent. Teachers need 24 hours to provide the makeup work as they cannot stop their instruction to get work together the same day. PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA) Your membership and support of the Greenbrier Intermediate School PTA helps provide meaningful activities throughout the year and helps fund special projects like the purchasing of student planners for each child in the school. Please consider joining for just $5.00 per adult. WEAPONS, DRUGS, ALCOHOL, & TOBACCO NO student, while on school property, or under the jurisdiction of Chesapeake Public School, will be allowed to possess, handle, or transport any object which can reasonably be considered a weapon. Also, any object that looks like a weapon (toy guns, toy knives, etc.) will be treated in the same manner as a real weapon. The possession, storage, selling, purchasing, or use of alcohol, tobacco, drug paraphernalia, illegal drugs, prescription drugs, and over-the counter-drugs will not be tolerated on school property. All school facilities are considered weapon and drug free zones. Violations will be handled in accordance with Virginia Law and Chesapeake School Board Policy. Students needing to take medication at school must be accompanied by an adult to the clinic office to have that medicine turned over to the health services specialist. She will then administer it as prescribed in the clinic and store it there until the parent picks it up. Students may NOT bring medicines to school. 5