RamNation - Back to School

Southeast Polk Community School District RamNation - Back to School August 2013 Learn. Lead. Live. School Starts August 19 Summer Learning The 2013-14 school year begins It s been a busy summer at SEP and day of classes for students in we are excited for the new school grades 1-12. on August 19, 2013, with a full year to begin! Be sure to mark your Students entering kindergarten calendar for the first day of school will begin school on Tuesday, on August 19. August 20. Little Rams Preschool Our teaching staff has spent many will begin Tuesday, September 3. hours these past several weeks in Start and Dismissal Times a variety of collaborative efforts Altoona Elementary revising curriculum, aligning assessments with the Iowa Core, and 8:45 a.m. - 3:35 p.m. students. We are excited to share our Students leave the bus to enter Clay Elementary at the start of the 2012-13 school year. new knowledge with your students and develop. During this time, and engage them in the learning teachers engage in dialogue about process. student learning, share effective Work continues as our professional practices, and plan next steps for learning communities (PLCs) grow instruction. We are looking forward sharing strategies to support our to continued opportunities for Contents School Start and End Times... 1 collaboration, professional growth, and increased student achievement this year! Transportation Information... 4 School Supply Lists Posted to Website Daily Schedule... 5 School supply Back to School Events... 5 Health Update... 6 lists can be found on the district website. Student Fees... 7 Using Infinite Campus... 8 8:45 a.m. - 3:35 p.m. Clay Elementary 8:45 a.m. - 3:35 p.m. Delaware Elementary 8:50 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Four Mile Elementary 8:45 a.m. - 3:50 p.m. Mitchellville Elementary 8:40 a.m. - 3:40 p.m. Runnells Elementary 8:45 a.m. - 3:46 p.m. Willowbrook Elementary 8:45 a.m. - 3:35 p.m. Food and Nutrition Updates... 2 Security Updates... 3 Centennial Elementary Go to: www.southeastpolk.org Students Spring Creek Sixth Grade Center 7:35 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. SEP Junior High 7:35 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. SEP High School 7:50 a.m. - 3:01 p.m. See page 5 for information about Wednesday secondary late starts and elementary early dismissals. School Supply Lists. Learn. Lead. Live. Success for career, college, and civic life. www.southeastpolk.org 1

Food & Nutrition Updates Changes Made to Food Service Online Payment Program Campus Food Module Provides These Benefits With the start of the new school year, SEP will move to the Infinite Campus Food Service Module. This system will replace School Dining Systems (SDS) and will work similar to SDS, with the main difference being that deposits will be made to each student account. Family meal accounts will no longer be available. To move to the new system, all existing meal funds have been moved to the account of the oldest child. To prepare for the school year, we encourage parents to make a deposit to their child s account after August 5. Ensuring there is money in your child s meal account will speed up the meal line and allow your child to enjoy their lunch at a more leisurely pace. To make a deposit, go to RamMall and select Food Services. A maximum charging limit of $12.50 per student account has been established. Once an account reaches the limit and a K-8 student comes to school with no lunch Menus For the monthly menu, go to www.southeastpolk.org. Click on Menus at the top. from home, an alternate lunch of a peanut butter or cheese sandwich and a milk will be served. The student and the account will be charged $.75. After this happens two times, the building principal/ designee will contact the parent. At the high school, once a student account reaches the maximum charging limit, the student will be asked to pay cash for their lunch no charging will be allowed. Apply for Free/Reduced Meals To become eligible for free or reducedprice meals, families must annually complete and return to the school an Iowa Eligibility Application (one per family). Applications are available each year by August 1 online and at every school office. Applications will be processed as quickly as possible and the family will be notified of the outcome by a letter or email. If families are receiving food assistance, their children may be directly certified for free meals they will receive a letter to let them know this. In which case, they do not need to fill out an application. Free and reduced eligibility is strictly confidential no one can tell as students go through the serving line. Students who qualify for reducedprice meals must have money in their accounts to cover their reduced-price breakfast and/or lunch. Students who qualify for free or reduced price meals will need to have money in their account if they wish to purchase extra entrees, extra milk, milk to go with a sack lunch, or snack milk. prepay for school meals online view student account balances online and payment history view daily activity for your children s account pay with VISA, Discover, Mastercard Make A Deposit For your convenience, we encourage online meal payments so that payment for all family members can be made at one time. When paying by cash or check, be sure to include the name of the student on the envelope or check memo. Please note that school office staff can only accept payments for students in the same attendance center. If your children attend different attendance centers, it is necessary to make payment for each attendance center. Please note - there is an automatic charge of $30 for non-sufficient fund checks. 2013-14 Breakfast Lunch Elementary $1.65 $2.55 Spring Creek $1.70 $2.70 Junior High $1.70 $2.70 High School $1.70 $2.75 Reduced Meal $.30 $.40 Milk $.45 $.45 Adult Meal $2.00 $3.30 2 Learn. Lead. Live. Success for college, career, and civic life. www.southeastpolk.org

Have a conversation with your child regarding safety. Safe Travels To and From School Map out with your children a safe way for them to walk to school or to the bus stop. Avoid busy roads and intersections. Do a trial run with them to point out places they should avoid along the way, such as vacant lots, construction areas, and parks where there aren t many people. Teach children to follow traffic signals and rules when walking or biking. Stress that they should cross the street at crosswalks or intersections with crossing guards when they can. Encourage children to walk to school or the bus stop with a sibling or friend, and to wait at bus stops with other children. Teach children not to talk to strangers, go anywhere with them, or accept gifts from them without your permission. Tell them that if they see a suspicious stranger hanging around or in their school they should tell an adult. Help children memorize their phone number and full address, including area code and zip code. Write down other important phone numbers such as your work and cell phone on a card for your children to carry with them. Security Updates New security processes will be in place when students arrive August 19. During the summer, video access systems were installed at all district school buildings to assist our staff in keeping our buildings more secure. For the safety of our students and staff, all exterior doors will be locked. Students and visitors should enter through the main entrance. During arrival and dismissal times, additional entrances may be unlocked and monitored for a limited time for student access. Student Access Students arriving late will be required to enter the main entrance and check in at the office. For secondary students entering after the doors are locked, please be prepared to show your student ID as verification. Once verified, the attendant will press the button to unlock the door. The student should then obtain a pass from the attendance office before going to class. When elementary students arrive late, they should be escorted to the office by their parent/guardian to sign in before going to class. Visitor Access For parent or visitors to the school, approach the entrance and stand opposite the camera. Once there, press the button to alert the building attendant that you would like to enter. You will be asked your name and nature of your visit. For clarification, you may also be asked to show your state-issued identification. Once you are given access to the building, sign in at the office, and obtain a visitor badge. When leaving the building, be sure to sign out and return the visitor badge. Thank you for adhering to these new security procedures that help protect our students, visitors, and staff. Board Election Information The 2013 School Board Election will be held on Tuesday, September 10. Southeast Polk will have three vacancies on the ballot for 4-year terms. Residents should vote at their regular voting locations. Polls are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Learn. Lead. Live. Success for college, career, and civic life. www.southeastpolk.org 3

Transportation Have you registered for bus transportation? Registering your child for bus transportation is a twostep process. During the online registration process for the 2013-14 school year, parents were asked to indicate if their child would be riding the school bus this school year. If you indicated, Yes, an email was sent to your email account requesting additional information, including the address for the morning pick-up location and the and afternoon drop-off address. If your child will be riding the bus this school year and you have not yet provided your pick-up and drop-off address information, please contact the transportation department as soon as possible to ensure there is adequate space on the bus for your child. As we continue to streamline our process and refine our operations to reduce costs and to be as efficient as possible, the number of buses we operate is adequate for the number of students who indicate they will be riding. Please help us have adequate buses to transport your child by completing the transportation registration. As a reminder, students in grades K-8 who live less than two miles from their attendance center and students in grades 9-12 who live less than three miles from their attendance center will incur an annual fee of $180 if using bus transportation. If applicable, transportation fees will be charged to your Transportation Department 515-967-3793 transportation@ southeastpolk.org If you haven t completed the online form listing the pick up and drop off addresses for your child, we have not reserved a place for your child on the bus. student s account after August 1 and cen be paid in two equal payments of $90 per semester. Information regarding bus stops locations and schedules will be posted to the Campus Portal after August 5. High School Transportation Parking Lot Update Construction is currently underway for the new parking lots at the high school. With the installation of the new lots, a new traffic pattern has been established. Traffic entering the lot should turn right and then proceed in a counter-clockwise direction when driving the outer circle of the lot. An updated traffic map is located on the district website. Parking Permit Update Students who park at the district must purchase an annual parking permit. To obtain a parking permit, $30/year, submit a completed registration form (found on the district website) to the high school office with your payment. If payment is made online, provide a copy of the receipt with your completed registration form. Students who have outstanding parking fees and fines must pay them before registering a car and receiving a new parking permit for the 2013-14 school year. Beginning Monday, August 26, students parked without a current parking tag will be ticketed. 4 Learn. Lead. Live. Success for college, career, and civic life. www.southeastpolk.org

NEW - Wednesday Late Starts for Grades 6-12 To support the collaborative professional development program for teachers in grades 6-12, the school day will begin 120 minutes later usually on the first, second, and third Wednesdays. Mark your calendar for these Late Start dates for students in grades 6-12. August 28, 2013 September 4, 2013 September 11, 2013 September 18, 2013 October 2, 2013 October 16, 2013 October 23, 2013 November 6, 2013 November 13, 2013 November 20, 2013 December 4, 2013 December 11, 2013 December 18, 2013 January 8, 2014 January 15, 2014 January 22, 2014 February 5, 2014 February 12, 2014 February 19, 2014 March 5, 2014 March 26, 2014 April 2, 2014 April 9, 2014 April 16, 2014 May 7, 2014 May 14, 2014 May 21, 2014 Elementary students will continue to be dismissed early on Wednesdays to allow for professional collaboration at the elementary level. Daily Schedule District Supports Professional Collaboration Time High quality school districts provide time for teachers to engage in quality professional development and collaboration with their colleagues. These opportunities are focused on improving instruction and increased student achievement. Prior to the revised calendar, secondary teachers met on a monthly basis and elementary teachers met on a weekly basis. With the start of the 2013-2014 school year, release time will be expanded to include all grade levels on a regular basis. Bus schedules will be adjusted to accommodate the late start and early release. August Back to School Events 1 Iowa Eligibility Application Available - online, school offices 5 Spring Creek Open House 11:00-7:00 5 Junior High Open House 11:00-7:00 5 High School Orientation - freshmen/new students 8:00-3:00 6 High School Open house - sophomores, junior, seniors 8:00-3:00 7 Spring Creek Open House 11:00-7:00 7 Junior High Open House 11:00-7:00 7 High School Open House - sophomores, junior, seniors 8:00-3:00 15 Back to School Event - Altoona Elementary 4:30-6:00 15 Back to School Event - Centennial Elementary 3:00-6:00 15 Back to School Event - Clay Elementary 4:00-6:00 15 Back to School Event - Delaware Elementary 6:00-7:00 15 Back to School Event - Four Mile Elementary 4:00-6:00 15 Back to School Event - Mitchellville Elementary 4:00-6:00 15 Back to School Event - Runnells Elementary 4:00-6:00 15 Back Pack Night/School Pictures, Willowbrook 4:00-7:00 15 Orientation at Spring Creek 6:00-8:00 15 Orientation at Junior High 6:00-8:00 19 First Day of School Learn. Lead. Live. Success for college, career, and civic life. www.southeastpolk.org 5

Health Update New Health Requirements for Incoming 7th Grade Students Tdap and Physical Required Students going into the 7th grade Iowa Department must have proof of having the Tdap of Health is booster shot unless the student requiring the Tdap has a Certificate of Immunization vaccine for ALL Exemption. If your student has students entering, advancing or already received the vaccine, simply transferring into the 7th grade. With provide proof of immunization to this change, the district is moving its the school nurse. physical requirement from incoming There will be no grace/extension 9th grade to incoming 7th grade period for the implementation students to align these requirements of this requirement. All students and allow parents to obtain both will need to show proof that they at the same doctor appointment. have received the Tdap or have These changes will be implemented a Certificate of Immunization at the beginning of the 2013-14 Exemption before school starts on school year. August 19. This change will require a one-time If you missed getting a physical for booster dose of tetanus, diphtheria, your child, please so do before the and acellular pertussis-containing beginning of the 2014-15 school vaccine (Tdap) for grade 7 and year. above, if born on or after September 15, 2000, regardless of the interval For information, contact Emily since the last tetanus/diphtheria Blackford, 515-967-5509, or the state containing vaccine. of Iowa Immunization Program at 1-800-831-6293. Health Requirements When enrolling into the district, several health-related forms are required. Be sure to submit the required forms before the first day of school so there are no delays in your child s education. Students entering kindergarten and new students to the district: Physical Exam Certificate of Immunization Medication Administration Consent Form (if needed) Health Assessment (included in the online registration process. Other Required Forms 7th grade students Physical Exam and Assessment Students in grades 8-12 participating in athletics: Physical Form for Athletes Concussion Form for Athletes 9th grade students Dental Screening Form Submit your completed immunization verification prior to August 19, 2013. Mail Email Fax School Nurse Southeast Polk Junior High 8325 NE University Ave Pleasant Hill, IA 50327 Medication Administration emily.blackford@ southeastpolk.org 1-866-374-1804 In some situations, students may require a special diet. To accommodate this request, complete and submit the form to the Food and Nutrition Director. Diet Modification Form Will your child be taking medication at school? To have medications administered during the school day, complete the Medication Administration Form. This must be completed and submitted to the office along with the medication in its original packing from the pharmacy. All medications must be accurately labeled with the student s name, medication name, dosage, and frequency of dosage. The form can be downloaded from our website: Parents Health Information Forms. 6 Learn. Lead. Live. Success for college, career, and civic life. www.southeastpolk.org

Student Fees ELEMENTARY Textbook Fee $50 Textbook Fee - Reduced $25 Transportation Fee $180 Transportation Fee - Reduced $27 K-8 Band Instrument Fee $75 K-8 Activity Pass $30 SPRING CREEK Textbook Fee $50 Textbook Fee - Reduced $25 Planner Fee $6 Planner Fee - Reduced $3 K-8 Band Instrument Fee $75 K-8 Percussion Fee $50 Transportation Fee $180 Transportation Fee - Reduced $27 After School Clubs (Per Club) $60 Mission Transition $50 T-Shirt $10 K-8 Activity Pass $30 Yearbook Purchase $20 JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL Textbook Fee $50 Textbook Fee - Reduced $25 K-8 Band Instrument Fee $75 K-8 Percussion Fee $50 Transportation Fee $180 Transportation Fee - Reduced $27 K-8 Activity Pass $30 Mission Transition $110 After School Clubs (Most Clubs) $30 After School Young Mens Group Club + 4H $60 Yearbook Purchase $25 Household Fee Limit Discontinued With the 2013-14 school year, the board of education has discontinued the household textbook limit of $100. If you feel you qualify for free or reduced school fees, please see the information on page 2 of this newsletter. RamMall Passwords Have Been Changed For added security, passwords to access RamMall have been changed. Please note that your username remains the same, but your new password will be the birth date of any of your school-age (K-12) children for whom you are a guardian. Enter the birthdate in this format: mm/dd/yyyy (including slashes). HIGH SCHOOL Textbook Fee $50 Textbook Fee - Reduced $25 Transportation Fee $180 Transportation Fee - Reduced $27 Parking Permit $30 Parking Permit (Per Semester) $15 Band Instrument Fee $75 Percussion Fee (Per Semester) $25 Additional Instrument Fee $35 9-12 Activity Pass $40 Graduation Fee $10 AP Test Deposit (Per Test) $13 AP Test (Per Test) $66 E2020 Test Prep Course $50 Replacement Planner $5 Replacement Student ID $5 Replacement Parking Permit $5 Parking Fine Varies Library Fines/Fees Varies Industrial Tech Materials Varies Foreign Language Workbook $5 DMACC Dropped Class $250 Student Fees Students attending SEP in grades kindergarten - 12 are assessed an annual $50 textbook fee. This fee helps to support the costs associated with textbooks, online curriculum, and other instructional materials. Fee payments can be made by accessing RamMall from the district s website. This online payment tool accepts VISA, MasterCard, and Discover. Learn. Lead. Live. Success for college, career, and civic life. www.southeastpolk.org 7

Using Infinite Campus Register Your Contact Information Southeast Polk Community School District uses Infinite Campus as its student information system to inform parents and guardians of their child s progress. This system allows parents access to their children s records through the secure, password protected Campus Portal. The Campus Portal allows parents to access up-to-date information regarding school attendance, grades, course schedule, assessments, transportation, school event calendars, and more. Teachers can communicate with parents quickly and easily and share assignments, course progress, and more. The district also uses the system as its main communication tool. Once logged in, parents can select how they want to be notified - phone, email, text - and in which situations. When messages are sent they, are categorized with one of the following settings. Emergency Important information that would be considered very serious, including fires, storm warnings, or situations that would require 911 services. Priority Important information of an emergent nature, including weather cancellations, building closings, and early dismissals. (This category was previously labeled High Priority.) General Information that is of a routine nature, including newsletters, district notices, building notices, and calendar updates. Be sure to be notified when needed. Update your preferences under the Contact Preferences option. Southeast Polk Community School District 8379 NE University Pleasant Hill, IA 50327 Back to School Issue