Memorial Spaulding School Handbook 2014-2015 Personal Achievement Communication Effort Kindness 250 BROOKLINE STREET NEWTON CENTRE, MA 02459 617-559-9600 ABSENT/TARDY NUMBER 617-559-9617 EXTENDED DAY NUMBER 617-630-5151 Rev. 6/27/14
PRINCIPAL S MESSAGE Dear Memorial-Spaulding School Families, Welcome to Memorial-Spaulding School. I d like to send a special welcome to all the new families joining us this year. I know you are all as excited as we are about starting the new school year. At Memorial-Spaulding School we are proud to be a fully inclusive school that offers an engaging, challenging and exciting educational experience for all children. We believe that all children should feel safe and confident to take risks and engage in a learning environment that values; communication, achievement, kindness, and effort. We are a community where all teachers and families work together as partners so all children can thrive. We believe that the best possible learning environment is a place where individual differences are recognized, valued, and celebrated. This handbook is intended to provide families and students with helpful information about Memorial- Spaulding School. I hope you find this handbook helpful and if you have any suggestions, please let me know. The Memorial-Spaulding School Council updates this handbook annually. Sincerely, Lisa McManus, Principal lisa_mcmanus@newton.k12.ma.us Dear Parents, PTO Message Welcome to Memorial Spaulding! My name is Matthew Miller. I am your PTO president. I am proud to be part of this exciting school and look forward to having you as a member of our school community. The primary goal of our PTO is to promote our incredible Memorial-Spaulding community-spirit. We do this by organizing fun events throughout the year, supporting teachers and staff, fundraising, helping conserve resources and promoting other important events. Here is a list of some of our activities. Fun Events: Back to school dinner and a movie night (September 19th) Halloween Party (October 25th) Mystery Dinner (December 6th) International Night out (February 28th) Color Day (June) Enrichment Events: Book Fair and Guest Speaker, Donna Pincus (November 13th) Kindergarten Party (January 24th) International Festival (March) Fundraising: While it is our goal to keep fundraising to a minimum, we do provide every teacher with a PTO allowance to help support his or her classroom activities. This is made possible through fundraising. ASCA (Fall, Winter, Spring) Kindergarten Soccer (Fall, Spring) SpringFest (May 30th) The Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) includes every parent. There are big and small ways to get involved. I look forward to working with you to create an unforgettable experience for our children. Once again, welcome to the Memorial Spaulding Community. Rev 9/15/14 2
Fondly, Matthew Miller MEMORIAL SPAULDING SCHOOL OUR VISION School is a community in which all children have the right to learn, to grow, to be valued for who they are and who they can become. As the faculty and families work together in a true partnership all our children will prosper. We recognize that each child is unique and deserves to have the opportunity to learn the meaning of freedom and responsibility; respect and compassion for others; and to contribute to the larger world. Our school recognizes, values, and celebrates individual differences and creates a safe environment for all learners. MEMORIAL-SPAULDING CORE VALUES Communication Achievement Kindness Effort COMMUNICATION Students should: Be open, honest and clear communicators. Strive to improve their verbal and written skills Be active listeners Share ideas and opinions that are intended to help fellow students Use a tone of voice that conveys respect for the listener ACHIEVEMENT Students should: Learn to set both short and long term academic and social goals Reach for goals that exceed the boundaries of their comfort zone Strive for excellence in all school endeavors Recognize and celebrate the achievements of themselves and their peers KINDNESS Students should: Value human differences Demonstrate consideration for the thoughts and feelings of others. Help each other overcome obstacles to learning Rev 9/15/14 3
Show respect for themselves, each other, teaching and learning, and property Be respectful and responsible human beings who can contribute to the larger world. EFFORT Students should: Consistently put their best effort forward Challenge themselves to take risks even when there is a chance of failure Engage families, teachers, and fellow students as partners in the learning process. GRADE ORGANIZATION AND CLASS SIZE Memorial-Spaulding School is a school of approximately 440 students from Newton and Boston (through participation in the METCO program), grades K 5. There are currently 21 classrooms with an average class size of 21 students. PARENT-TEACHER ORGANIZATION Memorial-Spaulding is fortunate to have an interested, talented, and involved parent community. Each year the PTO sponsors a rich program, which both supports and enriches the school program. PTO copresidents Early Morning Program Newton Public Schools will be offering an Early Morning Program for students in Grades K through 5 in each of the elementary schools. The program is designed to provide a needed service by giving parents the opportunity to bring their children to school prior to the beginning of the regularly scheduled school day. Within the program, each elementary school will offer supervised before school care from 7:30 a.m. until 8:20 a.m. when the school day begins. More information about the Early Morning Program is available at their web site http://www3.newton.k12.ma.us/earlymorningprogram. Please call 617-559-9051 to sign your child up for the early morning program. After-School Program Memorial-Spaulding has an Extended Day Program in the building, and has had it housed here for the over 20 years. It is a semi-structured, recreational program, which operates from 12:30 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Information can be obtained by calling the administrator, Bonnie Croopnick, or the lead teacher, Esta Nissenbaum, at 617-630-5151. SCHOOL RULES: 1. School officially begins at 8:30 am. Students are allowed in the building at 8:20am. This gives them time to get settled. Students are unsupervised outside before school begins. If you accompany your child to his/her classroom please keep your good-byes brief. 2. Changes to dismissal or pickup plans will not be taken over the phone unless you set up a password to identify yourself. Password forms are found in one of the mailboxes in the front lobby. 3. The blue zone is a drop off/pick up area. It is a drive through, no parking area. 4. There is NO Parking in the faculty lot. 5. For the safety of your child, all parents who volunteer in the school as library help, room parents, field trip chaperones or PTO committee people, must be CORIED. Please come to the office with your license and fill out the form. It only takes about 2-3 minutes. CORIs are good for 2 years. Rev 9/15/14 4
6. All children will be assigned a locker where they will place their backpack, outerwear and other belongings. Your child may also have his/her own cubby in the classroom, which will act as a personal mailbox. 7. Check your children's backpack daily for work they have completed, and for letters to parents. School wide and citywide flyers are usually sent home on Fridays. 8. Dress your child appropriately. The children will go out during the winter months. It is helpful to have a change of clothes left in lockers for younger children. 9. Ask your child about assignments to be done at home. This aids the child in developing responsibility for out-of the-classroom work. 10. Establish a consistent pick-up place for your child. Let your child s teacher know your daily dismissal routine 11. Due to so many students having food allergies, we do not celebrate special occasions with food in our classrooms. Please check with your child s teacher on how she would like the class to share in any celebrations. 12. If, in an emergency, you must drop off something for your child, leave the item at the school office. The child s name and teacher s name should be written on the item. The classroom will be called and the child will be sent down to pick up during a break in instruction time. 13. Please approach your child s teacher with any problems, questions or thoughts you have. You may leave a note in the teacher s box, email the teachers or call the school to leave a message to have a teacher call you. If you would like to be your child s teacher to contact you by email, leave a note with your name and email address with the teacher. POLICIES ABSENCES, TARDINESS, AND CALL BACK Parents must report children who are absent or late, to the school. The Absence/Tardy phone number is 617-559-9617. After the recording, please leave the child s name, teacher day and date of absence. Call the day before or prior to 8:30 a.m. on the day of the absence. The Call Back Program is a safety net for children who walk to school or wait at a bus stop without adult supervision. You may also report extended absences such as vacations. BUS Children are to ride on the bus to which they are assigned. If a child does not normally take a bus or rides on another bus, he/she can take a bus for a play date with permission from the office and if there is enough space on the bus. You need to call the Transportation office (617-559-9051) or fill in the online form to apply for a bus pass. The transportation web site is www3.newton.k12.ma.us/transportation CELL PHONES Students are not allowed to have or use cell phones at school. CLASSROOM CONCERNS If there is a problem in your child s classroom, or if your child is having a problem, your first step is to make an appointment with the teacher to discuss the issue. If you find that the problem is not addressed or resolved, the next step is to set up a meeting with the principal and the teacher to discuss what needs to be done. Rev 9/15/14 5
CLOTHING Children should dress neatly and comfortably for the school day. Keep in mind that students may be involved in using paint, glue, and other messy materials. It is recommended that children keep a smock in their lockers for projects such as art. On the days that children have physical education, they should wear clothes in which they can move comfortably. Children will not be allowed to participate in physical education without sneakers. Therefore, please know your child s P.E. days. Children do go out on snowy days, so be sure to dress your child with a jacket, hat, mittens and boots on cold days. A second set of clothes, to be kept in your child s locker, is recommended for grades K-2. For safety out a recess, the children must wear closed heeled shoes. If flip flops are worn to school they should bring other shoes to change into for recess. CONFERENCES There are two parent/teacher conferences scheduled each year. The fall conference is a two or three way conference (i.e. teacher, child and parent) depending on the teacher s preference. EARLY DISMISSAL School is important, so we ask that you make every attempt to avoid taking your child out of school except in rare emergencies. If your child must be released from school early, a note must be sent to your child s teacher. You must come to the school office to sign your child out of school. At that time the secretary will call down to the child s classroom to have the child dismissed. Please do not go to the classroom to pick up your child. HEALTH Please do not send your child to school if you see signs of illness. School personnel are responsible for determining whether your child should be sent home because of an illness beginning during school hours. The school secretary must have alternate local telephone numbers of people to call in case of an emergency and neither parent can be reached. These numbers are kept on file in both the nurse s office and in the school s main office. HOLIDAY AND END OF YEAR GIFTS Many parents have asked what the custom is concerning gifts to staff. Through out the years, the most appreciated gifts have been those made by the children themselves. Book donations to the classroom are another favorite. The best gift of all is your continuing support, help and cooperation through out the school year. HOMEWORK Homework is an important part of your child s schooling. We believe homework is an invaluable way to enrich classroom learning, to reinforce specific skills and to extend school activities to the home. We do not believe in homework for the sake of homework. Although formal weekly homework is not a part of our youngest students, even kindergartners and 1 st graders are asked to read at home with their families, to bring from home ideas and/or materials related to classroom projects and occasionally, to take on projects at home. Part of the homework assignment is for the children to be responsible for their work. Unless a teacher calls and ask for homework to be brought in that day, please do not bring homework into the office to be picked. Please do not go to classroom rooms or lockers to deliver item to your child. It is school policy that homework assignments are not given to students who are leaving early for a vacation. LUNCH Snacks should be brought to school daily. Lunch can be brought to school or can be ordered through the food service department. You can also do a combination of both. If your child forgets to bring a lunch, the foods service department will provide one. You will be charged for the lunch provided. If you bring your child s lunch to school, leave it at the office and we will have sent to the café. Do not put in lunches in your child s locker during the school day. You can get more information about Food Services at the web sitewww3.newton.k12.ma.us/operations/foodservices or call them at (617) 559-6319. Rev 9/15/14 6
MESSAGES/CHANGE IN PICK UP ARRANGEMENTS The school office receives many phone calls during the day from parents who want messages delivered to their children about after-school arrangements. Since only one secretary staffs our school office, we ask that you make all necessary arrangements prior to school. If your child s usual after-school arrangements change, we ask that you send a note to the teacher. Only the people whom you have designated on your child s emergency card are allowed to pick up your child unless you provide a written note. We know emergencies do arise so we have instituted a password system for you to call in an emergency change of plans for you child. See PASSWORD below. NEW FAMILY TOURS Tours of the school are given every Tuesday afternoon after 12:30 for new families who would like to see the school before registering or for families who are moving into the Memorial Spaulding neighborhood. PASSWORDS If you would like to have call in password for your child, you may fill out the form in the back of your handbook, pick one up from the mailbox in the hallway, or send a written note to the school office with your password, your child s (children s) name(s), and your signature. If you need to call in an emergency change of plans for your child, give the school secretary your password and we will gladly pass the message on to the child s teacher. For the safety of the child, no messages about pick up arrangements will be taken over the phone without a password. There is a password form at the end of this handbook. PICK-UP Children need to be picked up in a timely manner. Please make sure that the person responsible for picking up your child is here when the dismissal bell rings (12:30 on Tuesdays, and 3:00 p.m. on all other days). For Kindergarten children please check your A/B group for dismissal times. Also remember that there are 6 early release Thursdays scheduled during the school year. Please check your calendar to make sure your children are picked up at 12:30 on these days. The office and classroom teachers can not be responsible for you child after the school day ends. PROGRESS REPORTS The progress report is a formalized accounting of children s development as learners and is posted on parentconnect twice a year, usually at the end of January and in June. Parent-teachers conferences during the school year provide an opportunity for parents to meet with teachers to discuss their child s development. SCHOOL HOURS Grade 1-5 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM Grade K Group A, Monday, Wednesday 8:30am-3:00pm. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 8:30am -12:30pm Group B Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 8:30am -12:30pm; Thursday and Friday 8:25am- 3:00pm. Grade K-5 Tuesday 8:30 AM -12:30 PM Children will be marked tardy if they are not in their classroom by 8:25am. SNACK Students take a mid-morning break for snack. Please send your child with a nutritious snack and drink. Candy and soda are not allowed. Due to many children having allergies, snacks can not be shared. SNOW DAYS Newton has a reverse phone system in place. If you have designated a phone number to be called, you will receive a message from the school department when school is closed or delayed. The following radio and television stations also broadcast no school announcements: WBUR 90.9FM, WBX 1030AM, WILD 1090AM, WRKO 680AM, WNTN 1550AM, channels 4,5,7 and Newton Cable TV. Please listen to the Rev 9/15/14 7
radio or watch television if you do not get a call. DO NOT CALL the school department, the fire or police departments or the school itself. VISITORS All visitors should use the front door to enter the building, stop at the greeter s desk to sign in and get a guest badge before they begin their visit. When leaving, all visitors are asked to sign out. This is an important step in ensuring the safety of our children SPECIAL PROGRAMS ART Starting with primary grades, art techniques, and fundamentals are taught sequentially, purposefully, and imaginatively. Children are provided with the opportunities to explore art in depts. and to learn about the possibilities of design and composition. Materials used include crayons, markers, paints, sketchos and craypass, pencils, clay, dexter knives, colored chalks and inks. Children take time focusing on different art materials, understanding their possibilities, and acquiring the skills necessary to use the materials. MUSIC In the Newton schools, music education is a multi-faceted instructional area which encompasses; general music, instruction a discrete subject area, choral music groups, instrumental music lessons, instrumental performing groups and music in the classrooms interactive with other curriculum areas. The primary goal of music education is for all students to become musically capable and literate through planned instructional activities.. In order to meet the goals of music education in grades K-5 a wide variety of activities are used in instruction. These activities include singing, listening, reading musical notation, instrumental playing, movement, composition, and improvisation. PHYSICAL EDUCATION Physical Education is a developmental area of a child s total education that teaches sequential gross motor activities, moving each child along a continuum of fundamental motor skills, physical fitness, and social skills. The accumulation of related experiences and the body of knowledge acquired in this program provide a necessary and foundation for effective healthy living throughout life. SUPPORT SERVICES Often times new parents and especially new kindergarten parents want to know if there are any support services in place should they or their child confront a situation that is uneasy or uncomfortable for either of them. Memorial Spaulding is extremely fortunate to have a very talented group of teachers that we call our support staff. These support people include a social worker, psychologist, speech therapist, learning center teachers, and inclusion facilitators, Rev 9/15/14 8
PASSWORD FORM CHILD S NAME: TEACHER S NAME: PASSWORD: PARENT SIGNATURE: DATE: Rev 9/15/14 9