GUIDELINES FOR OAKWOOD STUDENTS Grade

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1 GUIDELINES FOR OAKWOOD STUDENTS Grade We are happy to welcome new and returning students to Oakwood and look forward to an exciting, productive year together. The following School Standards and guidelines should be reviewed before the first day of classes to ensure students begin the school year smoothly. It is important that you and your parents read over the Parent/Student Handbook as well and keep it as a reference. It contains more detailed information about the school policies and guidelines. School Standards Oakwood School is dedicated to being a learning community where everyone feels welcome, engaged, and safe. The school therefore depends on the goodwill and decency of each and every member of the school community. We require students and parents to be committed to the school s health and well-being, and to core values such as courtesy, honesty, tolerance, and respect for the feelings, rights, safety, and property of others. We also require students and parents to act responsibly and respectfully toward the school s neighbors and property. As members of the Oakwood community, all students are obligated to act in a manner that upholds the school s values. Examples of unacceptable behaviors include racial, religious, and sexual slurs; personal attacks of any kind; vulgarity in language or visual form; unruliness; defacing, damaging, stealing, or otherwise displaying disregard for neighborhood, school, or personal property; bringing dangerous, or controlled substances to campus or the school neighborhood; and aggressive, hostile behavior and language, including any form of bullying (in person or online). The school will not tolerate any intentional acts which can result in humiliation, intimidation, or physical or emotional injury. Oakwood does not require uniforms or other prescribed school wear. However, we do require appropriate school-day dress. Accordingly, we do not permit clothing which is inappropriately revealing, or which contains hostile or vulgar language, sexual references, or references to alcoholic beverages or dangerous or controlled substances. When students behave in a manner that violates the standards and expectations set forth above, they are subject to educational and disciplinary measures at the discretion of the school. Consequences include, but are not limited to, restrictions placed on a student s privileges and/or on participation in school activities; financial reimbursement for property damage; disclosure of the incident on college applications; behavioral probation; suspension; and expulsion. I. School hours School starts every day at 8:30 a.m. Dismissal is at 3:30 p.m., Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tuesday and Thursday dismissals are at 2:30 p.m. There is a 10-minute passing period between classes; a warning bell rings at 8:25 a.m. to signal it is time to go to first period classes. Promptness is expected throughout the day; every student should be at his/her desk with all required supplies when the bell rings. Library hours are Monday-Thursday 7:30-5:00 p.m. and Friday 7:30-4:00 p.m. II. Attendance The Attendance Voice Mail Number is (818) Daily attendance is expected and required at all classes, study halls, assemblies, town and grade meetings and class trips. Repeated absences interfere with class work and with the continuity of the school program.

2 Parents must call before 9:00 a.m. each morning a child is absent for part or all of the day. Please leave a message with the name and grade of the student and the reason for the absence. Notes are not accepted. Phone calls later in the day do not excuse a student. Daytime Appointments: doctor's appointments should be made after school hours whenever possible. If a student must leave school for an appointment, a parent needs to call the school before 9:00 a.m. the day of the appointment and the student needs to sign out (and back in) with the front office secretaries. Notes are not accepted. Planned Absence: please arrange vacations with the school calendar in mind. Except in emergencies, family trips during the academic year are strongly discouraged. For a planned absence, a student must pick up a planned absence form from the High School Dean approximately one week in advance, have it filled out by all the teachers, signed by a parent, and return it to the High School Dean. Students are responsible for getting all assignments and turning them in promptly. Parents must call (818) before 9:30 a.m. the day of the planned absence (or a day or more in advance). If the previous procedures are not followed, a student s absence will be considered unexcused. Unexcused absences: A student who misses a class and is unexcused on the day of a test, quiz, or paper will receive a zero for that work. If a student has an unexcused absence in a P.E. class, he or she will be required to make up the time, participating in activities under the supervision of a P.E. teacher. All unexcused absences will be reported home. They will also impact a student s class participation grade and can ultimately have a negative effect on the student s academic standing in the class. An unexcused absence may result in the loss of free periods or other consequences. Additional Attendance Policies: Students must be present for two or more classes in order to participate in after-school activities such as athletic practices or contests, performing arts rehearsals or performances, dances, concerts, or other school events. Returning from an absence: Students are responsible for contacting their teachers for all assignments, tests, notes or other materials as soon as they return from absence. In general, in the case of an absence due to illness, students have one school day per day absent to make up all work. Esecessive Absences: Students will not receive credit for a course that is missed for any reason more than 20% of the class meeting times per semester. III. Town Meeting, Break, and Lunch Town meeting will take place in the Music/Dance/Athletic Center on Monday, at 10am.. unless we don t have school on a Monday, it will be on Wednesday at 10am. Attendance is required; check in briefly with your advisor at this time. There will be a 15-minute break and a 60-minute lunch period daily. Students are encouraged to bring a healthy, balanced lunch from home. Students may, however, purchase a morning snack and/or lunch from the Student Store or catering vendors. Food and drinks are not permitted in classrooms. IV. Lockers During Orientation, students will be assigned lockers. Students are required to use locks provided by Oakwood School and should not change lockers or use a second locker without permission from the High School Dean of Students. If there is a problem with a lock or locker, the student should see the Dean.

3 Students should use their lockers to ensure the safety of their personal property. The locker is the only private space for students at school. Students should protect that privacy by not sharing combinations with anyone and actively using their locks. Tampering with another student's lock or locker is a serious school violation. Theft of another student s possessions is grounds for suspension or expulsion. Defacing the outside or inside of a locker with writing is considered vandalism of school property and subject to disciplinary action. Students should not: bring valuables or large amounts of money to school. leave anything other than books and notebooks in their lockers overnight. leave belongings, including in their backpacks or sportsbags, unattended. Lockers need to be used to ensure the safety of personal property. Students need to keep their wallets with them or locked in their lockers PE LOCKERS: During PE periods or after school sports, students should lock their belongings in the locker room lockers. Students are required to purchase an additional lock for this purpose. The school is not responsible for any materials kept in lockers. V. Safety VI. Free Time When students need to cross the street, they must do so only with the light and must obey the crossing guard. No skateboards, roller blades, squirt guns, lighters, matches, or weapons of any kind are allowed on campus. Skateboards brought from home for use after school must be stored in the front office or the High School Dean s office during the school day. Pets or other other animals are not allowed on campus at any time. Students in grade 9 may leave campus only if accompanied by an adult and must sign out and back in the front office. They may also leave campus during finals week, with parental permission. If families approve, students in grade 10 may leave campus on foot in groups of two or more when they are not scheduled for classes, after signing out in the front office, and if their families have approved their off campus priviledges. Students in grade 10 may not drive to or from school until mid-may and may not go off campus in other students' cars. Students in grades 11 and 12 may leave campus in cars when they are not scheduled for classes or other school activities after signing out in the front office. The school requires that all students sign out on one of the designated clipboards before leaving and upon returning to school. The school must be informed of the whereabouts of students at all times. Failure to sign out may result in revocation of off-campus privileges. Students must carry their school I.D. cards when they leave campus or risk being stopped by a police officer for truancy. The use of music players or cell phones during school hours is limited to break, lunch, and free periods. The use of music players and cell phones is prohibited in the library. Parents and students need to go through the front office for important phone messages and in case of an emergency. Student are not to engage in gambling games of any kind on campus.

4 VII. Cell Phone Policy. Cell phones may be used during free periods, lunch, before and after school. Cell phones are to be turned off and put away in students backpacks during all classes and school meetings, assemblies and school trips. Cell phones may be used in class only for educational purposes with the expressed permission of the instructor. Inappropriate use of a cell phone in class, school meetings, assemblies or on school trips, will result in the following consequences: 1 st - Phone will be taken and given to the High School Dean 2 nd - Phone will be taken, given to the High School Dean and returned at the end of the day 3 rd - Phone will be taken, given to the High School Dean and student s parents will be contacted Photographing or recording of class or school activities is not permitted without prior approval of a teacher, Dean, or Principal. Posting personal communication (e.g., , photographs, video or other images) without the author or subject s consent is not acceptable. VIII. Visitors If a student wants to bring a visitor on campus, he or she must check with the High School Dean at least one day prior to the visit to obtain permission and a visitor's pass. Visitors without prior approval will be asked to leave campus immediately. IX. Homework Students are expected to keep track of assignments and to turn work in promptly. All Oakwood High School students are provided planners at Orientation. When they are absent, students are responsible for getting assignments from peers or the teacher and promptly making up the missed work. X. Advisors Each student is assigned to an advisor who meets with the student regularly. High School Advisory meets on Fridays. Advisors monitor the students progress and offer guidance when needed. Advisors meet with students and parents in the spring to discuss goals, review grades, and to help with course selection for the following year. XI. XII. Conferences Teachers are available outside of class for extra help, additional discussion or supplementary activities. If a student has trouble understanding material or wants to pursue an issue further, he or she should ask the teacher after class for an appointment during a free period. Teachers enjoy meeting with students and expect students to ask for extra help when they need it. School Events Policies and guidelines apply to all school trips and activities. During after-hours school events, students are not allowed to leave and return. If a student leaves, he/she will not be permitted to reenter. XIII. Parking and Driving The 28 spots in the Lemp Avenue parking lot are assigned to junior or senior carpool drivers with the largest carpools who submit their forms prior to the August due date. The student lot to the west of North Hollywood Park is reserved for all other student drivers. All student drivers must submit a form to obtain a parking sticker, which they are to display in their cars whenever they park in a school lot. Street parking is not permitted at any time. Left turns in the vicinity of the campus are not permitted except from Lemp Street onto Magnolia Boulevard. Students must be courteous to the school s neighbors.

5 The school reserves the right to deny driving/parking privileges to any student who drives recklessly or fails to follow the above guidelines. XIV. Behavior Kindness and courtesy are expected at Oakwood both in and out of the classroom. Students should clean up after themselves and respond positively when they are asked to join a general clean up effort. Students are held accountable for damage to school property and may be asked to pay for broken or damaged items and/or make amends by doing extra school service. On campus, we ask that students refrain from littering, running, and shouting in the atrium. In accordance with our Conditional Use Permit with the city of Los Angeles, and as a courtesy to our neighbors, students are not permitted to use the walkways behind the Math/Science Building. XV. Dress Code: As emphasized in our School Standards, we expect students to dress in a manner appropriate for school. Clothing with slogans that belittle the beliefs or rights of others; or that contains hostile, vulgar or sexually suggestive expressions, is not acceptable. Neither is clothing that is inappropriately revealing (e.g. bare midriff, showing undergarments), or that condones or makes light of drug or alcohol use. For safety reasons, students may not be barefoot on campus. Parents are responsible for ensuring that their children wear proper footwear to school. If students are unable or unwilling to change their attire, they will be sent home. XVI. Harassment (from the Parent/Student Handbook) Members of the Oakwood community are expected to treat each other with respect; furthermore, the school is committed to providing a learning environment free of unlawful harassment. Prohibited unlawful harassment because of sex, race, religious creed, color, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical conditions, age, sexual orientation or any other protected basis includes, but is not limited to, the following behavior: Verbal conduct such as epithets, derogatory jokes or comments, slurs or unwanted sexual advances, invitations or comments; Visual conduct such as derogatory and/or sexually-oriented posters, photography, cartoons, drawings or gestures; Physical conduct such as assault, unwanted touching, blocking normal movement or interfering with work because of sex, race or any other protected bases; Threats and demands to submit to sexual requests as a condition to avoid loss, and/or offers of other benefits in Retaliation for having reported or threatened to report harassment. Any of the above also applies to online and electronic communication. XVII. Secondary School Physical Education and Wellness Philosophy Oakwood School believes that the school should develop not only each student s mind, but their body as well. While a wide variety of physical activities are offered such as badminton, yoga and tai chi, Oakwood PE is about more than just physical activities; it is about stress relief, nutrition, anatomy, and first aid/cpr. The goal of the Physical Education and Wellness curriculum at Oakwood is to teach each student about their physical well-being so they can lead a healthy and productive life. Requirements All students in grades 7 through 10 are required to take Physical Education. Middle School students take PE all three trimesters. Middle School Athletic teams practice during their PE period. Contests are after school.

6 High School students are required to take four trimesters of PE for graduation. 9th and 10th graders have a set curriculum and will rotate through numerous different lifetime activities and academic components. Students who have met the minimum requirement may take the opportunity to choose an elective in which to specialize. High School Athletic teams practice and play after school. High school in-season athletes are exempt from the physical excercises during PE periods, although they will be required to attend class for the academic portion of the course to earn their required graduation credits. This will entail them coming to approximately 1/4 of the PE classes. Receiving Credit In order for an Oakwood student to receive credit for PE, they must attend class, be prepared for class, and give a full effort with a positive attitude during class. Each time a student fails to meet those expectations they will receive an unexcused absence in the grade book. Three unexcused absences in a semester will result in the student failing to receive credit for PE. Unexcused absences may be made up after school.. Please refer to the Parent/Student Handbook for more detailed information. Academic Integrity Oakwood School expects students to understand the nature and necessity of academic integrity and to uphold the rules of scholarship. A student who copies someone else s work, seeks, or gives improper help on an assignment or test, or obtains a grade through any fraudulent means is guilty of cheating. A student who makes use of an author s words or ideas without properly citing and crediting the source is guilty of plagiarism. In grades 9-12, a student who cheats on a quiz or test or who plagiarizes on a paper will earn a zero on the work involved. The High School Dean will discuss the violation with the teacher, the student and the student s parents. The student will be placed on behavioral probation for the duraction of the current and/or subsequent semester. Repeat incidents may be grounds for expulsion. Oakwood School expects students to understand that academic integrity extends beyond the areas described above. Unacceptable behaviors include, but are not limited to the following: Giving or receiving answers on homework, except where collaboration is expected Sharing the contents of tests and quizzes with students who have not yet taken them Having access to unauthorized materials (notes, textbooks, flashcards, etc.) in the testing environment. Unacknowledged use of anyone else s writings or ideas, even unpublished Fabricating or otherwise falsifying footnotes Over-reliance on parents, tutors, or other aids (e.g. Spark notes, Cliff notes) Frequent absences on test days or deadline days Computer Usage: Rights and Obligations Oakwood offers computers and intranet/internet access in the computer lab, library, and classrooms. Further, each student is issued an Oakwood School , may bring their own personal laptop or tablet computer to school, and may store their work through their school Google accounts. In exchange for these privileges, we expect students to use computer resources appropriately and honor our guidelines for use.

7 The guidelines are outlined below; please read them carefully. Any student who disregards these guidelines may have his or her computing privileges revoked. 1. Student Google Accounts: Each student has access to a Gmail address and Google drive through Oakwood School. This is a place to store school-related work, collaborate on projects with other students, and communicate with teachers and administrators. 2. Downloading: Students are asked not to download any programs or other files to school computers without prior consent from an instructor or librarian (this includes all music files). 3. Games: If computers are not needed for school-related assignments, games may be played in the library at lunch and after school at the discretion of the librarian. Games may not be played on computers in the computer lab at any time. 4. System Performance: Students should not change system settings on school computers in any way. This includes adding or removing programs, changing display settings, screensavers, etc. Any student found to have tampered with system settings on a school machine may have his or her computer privileges revoked. 5. Behavioral Expectations: Students should not at any time use computers or other electronic devices to bully, harass, or denigrate any member of the Oakwood community or the community at large. Students use of the computers and Internet access should at all times remain consistent with Oakwood s School Standards. 6. Personal Laptops and Other Electronic Devices (ipads, Kindles, etc.): Such devices are allowed to be used on campus, and parents may register their student s device for wifi access on campus. Students may use their personal laptops and other devices for school work and during class at the discretion of the teacher or school administrator. Students using electronic devices on campus are required to adhere to the acceptable use policy of the school. 7. Testing Accommodation: Students who require the use of a laptop as an accommodation for testing must secure permission from the Director of Support Services. A school computer will be provided for this purpose.