We hope that you will use this handbook as a source of information about our school, its programs, policies and the people who work here. This handbook, as well as weekly newsletters from the principal and classroom teachers, will help ensure good communication between home and school. We welcome your comments and suggestions for working together to provide the best education for our students.

School begins at 8:00 AM (although supervision is provided after 7:15 AM for those children who must arrive early). In order to ensure that your child has the best possible start to the day and does not disrupt other students, we ask that your child arrive before 7:55 AM.

School is dismissed at 2:55 PM. Buses pick up students outside the main entrance to the school. A student going to a friend’s house or anywhere other than their usual destination must have a note from his or her parent or guardian. However, after-school parties or group outings must have prior approval from the bus driver. Students who do not ride the bus or walk home must be picked up promptly at 3:00 PM. Please meet your child in the multi-purpose room in order to reduce congestion in the hallways. Students may not remain at school or on the playground without adult supervision. Students who wish to return to school after checking in at home do so under their parent’s responsibility.

If a student is absent for any reason, the parent or guardian should notify the school office before 8:15 AM. Students who must leave school early for doctor’s appointments or other obligations should deliver a note to their teachers that morning indicating what time they will be leaving school. Parents coming for early pick-ups will meet their child in the school office.

Use of the school building by members of the community outside of the school day is encouraged. All such uses of the school must receive prior approval by the Principal. Please request a building use form from the office.

Students may bicycle or walk to school. We encourage alternative methods of transportation! Those who do must park their bicycles in bike racks provided for that purpose. Helmets make riding safer. The school bears no responsibility for lost bicycles or other property.

Birthday celebrations are so very important to children. If you would like to provide a special snack for your child’s class as a birthday treat, please talk with his or her teacher in advance. We ask that you deliver party invitations outside of school. They should not be passed out during school unless the invitations extend to the entire class.

The daily transportation of Moretown Elementary School students is a privilege available to each student. Each student is responsible for following the rules on the bus for the safety of all passengers and the driver. Moretown contracts for bus service along with the other schools in Washington West Supervisory Union. Nonetheless, issues with school bus service should be directed first to the front office at Moretown Elementary.

Should bus service be canceled for any reason, notice will be given on WDEV (550 on your AM dial and 96.1 FM) and WCAX (Channel 3 on your television).

Our students participate in all recess and physical education activities. They should be dressed appropriately according to the weather. On PE days, sneakers with non-marking soles should be worn. Clothing should reflect age appropriate themes and modest coverage. Clothing depicting or advertising alcohol or tobacco, obscenities or violence are not acceptable in a school setting. Labeling clothing can help when things are misplaced. Hats may be worn outside.

Faculty and Staff at Moretown School work hard to provide the best possible education in a caring and supportive environment. Nonetheless, there are times when you as a parent or guardian will have issues with either the education or environment your child is experiencing. Our faculty is always willing to listen and strive to improve a situation for a student if he or she is experiencing trouble of an academic or social nature.

Please talk to your child’s teacher first. Remember, there are two sides to every story. The story you hear at home may not be the full picture and the faculty may be able to give you valuable information or suggestions that can help resolve the issue. Debbie Lesure, Principal, may be contacted should you feel you need further assistance. If an issue cannot be resolved by the Principal, you may contact the Superintendent at 496-2272.

Parent-teacher conferences formally take place twice during the school year as noted on the school calendar. Report cards and progress reports are sent home three times a year. Please ask for a conference whenever you feel it necessary to meet with your child’s teacher. Phone calls, notes, homework packets, newsletters and e-mail are all ways that parents and teachers communicate student progress. You have the right to review your child’s permanent file. This typically includes report cards, progress notes, and medical information. An appointment can be made in advance by calling the front office.

Eloctronic devices such as iPods, MP3 players, cell phones, etc. are not allowed to be used at school. We encourage them to be left at home. The school will not be responsible for damage or loss of these items.

Should school be cancelled due to weather or any other reason, notice will be given on WDEV (550 AM and 96.1 FM on your radio dial) and WCAX (Channel 3 Television). In the event that school is closed early for weather or emergency reasons, parents should make their arrangements known when completing the Student Information Form at the beginning of the school year. Additional forms may be obtained from Pam Kathan in the front office.

FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT (FERPA) This federal act protects sharing of information that is unique to individuals. FERPA requires that school personnel share personally identifiable information with individuals outside of the school system only when given expressed, written permission from parent or guardian.

Forms are sent home at the beginning of the year requesting permission to attend local field trips. Longer trips will require individual written consent as the day of the trip approaches.

Moretown is a satellite program to the Harwood Union food service program. We are fortunate to be able to provide breakfast and lunches with healthy choices for all students. Discounted or free meals are available to students. Applications are sent home on the first day of school but should your status change during the year, please see Pam at the front office for another form. Current meal prices are as follows:

Breakfast $ 1.50

Lunch $2.50

Milk $ .50

Our nurse is Jill Brown. On the first day of school, you will have received health forms to be completed and returned so that we can respond appropriately if your child becomes ill at school.

If your child becomes ill at home, please keep him at home where he will be the most comfortable. Sick children do not function well at school and spread illnesses quickly to other students and staff. Your child should not attend school if she or he has a fever of 100 degrees or more, diarrhea, has vomited, has a severe cold, pink eye or any other contagious illness. Children returning to school should have been free of any of these symptoms for at least 24 hours without fever reducers. Parents or guardians will be called when it is apparent that a student should not be at school due to illness. Please respond promptly and arrange for your child to be picked up.

The school must have doctor’s instructions and written permission to give any medication to any student. These forms are provided to you at the beginning of the year and additional forms are always available from Jill Brown or Pam Kathan at the front office. All medication must be brought to school by an adult.

Community volunteers built our two playgrounds and we are currently in the process of enhancing both of them. They are available for use by members of the community when school is not in session. Rules regarding appropriate playground behavior are posted prominently in the playground behind the school. Any use of the playground outside of school hours is entirely at the user’s risk and the school bears no responsibility for injury or lost articles.

Moretown Elementary School is in session 180 days of the year. The calendar appears at the end of this handbook and is posted on our website.

State Law and School Policy define harassment as an incident or incidents of verbal, written, visual or physical conduct which is based on or motivated by a student’s or a student’s family member’s actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, or disability and has the purpose or effect of objectively and substantially undermining and detracting from or interfering with a student’s educational performance or access to school resources or creating an objectively intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment. If a student, parent, or school employee becomes aware of conduct that might constitute harassment, he or she should report it, orally or in writing, to the Principal, Debbie Lesure. Typically an investigation will begin within one day of receiving the report. The school will take prompt and appropriate remedial action calculated to stop the harassment.

In Vermont, bullying "means any overt act or combination of acts directed against a student by another student; repeated over time; intended to ridicule, humiliate, or intimidate the student; and occurs during the school day on school property, on a school bus, or at a school-sponsored activity, or before or after the school day on a school bus or at a school-sponsored activity."

Bullying is a form of dangerous and disrespectful behavior that will not be permitted or tolerated. Students, parents and staff should report instances of bullying (experienced or observed) to a classroom teacher or to the principal, preferably in writing. Expect a prompt investigation and, if warranted, appropriate intervention. Reports may be submitted anonymously. More detailed information on dealing with bullying and harassment is available at the school.

The responsibility to keep students safe while at school is taken very seriously. A safe environment is one in which your child feels comfortable with all faculty, staff and students. We will respond immediately to any incident of teasing or harassment that we witness or is brought to our attention. Please let us know about anything disturbing to your child so that we can address it.

Our physical plant meets OSHA and Labor and Industry regulations. Procedures are in place to respond to fire, bomb threats and any threatening or dangerous behaviors from an outside source.

Your child’s teacher is always assessing student learning and understanding. All students need a little extra attention to either gain better understanding when confused or to extend understanding when needing a challenge. Teachers are able to provide this as part of daily instruction and best practice. Occasionally there will be times when that little extra attention is no longer enough. The Educational Support Team or the EST is a small group of faculty members which sometimes includes the principal. The purpose of convening this team is that essentially more heads are better than one. Teachers discuss alternative strategies that may be more successful in meeting student needs. These can range from asking for another pair of eyes in the form of an observation to informal diagnostic assessment to a full comprehensive evaluation. Sometimes another pair of hands is requested and students may receive additional tutoring in a particular area. (Act 117) Sometimes there is concern about a child having a learning disability and that would require classroom accommodations (540) or specialized instruction (special education). Parents are sometimes concerned that further investigation of a problem will result in their child being "labeled". Honestly, this could not be further from the truth. Teachers in Moretown are well versed in brain research and understand the wonders and complexity of learning. Each of us processes information in different ways and there is no one size fits all when it comes to teaching and understanding.

All telephone communications to the school are made through the front office. The telephone number is 496-3742. You may leave a message for individual faculty and staff on the voice mail system. Permission for students to use the telephone may be granted at the discretion of the Principal.

All visitors to the school must check in at the front office upon entering the school. Sign in and visitor badges are provided to insure the safety of your children.

Volunteers are much appreciated and needed in the classroom! Please take time to ask your child’s teacher when you may be able to volunteer. The Parent Teacher Neighbor (PTN) is an organization that meets on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 throughout the school year to help provide after-school activities and funding for school projects. You are welcome and encouraged to attend!

Absolutely no smoking or weapons are permitted on school grounds at any time. Appropriate action will be taken against anyone violating this rule.

PARENT/TEACHER/STUDENT COMPACT

School is an extension of the learning that begins at home. Successful learning is achieved through cooperation between school, home and the child. Education comes from school as well as from a variety of experiences with family, friends, at the sports field or dinner table, while traveling to the next town or across the globe.

Many of the ideas you will find in the compact were suggestions from parents, teachers and students in response to the question, "What else can we do to help?" This compact was created with the intention of working together to provide the best education possible for your child. Not every suggestion will work in every situation. Some of these guidelines are basic but are included to assure a well rounded, complete compact. We know you can expand on the possibilities included here.

I will do my best to:

í Spend time on family activities.

í Model reading, learning, hard work and family values.

í Encourage curiosity and creativity.

• Be involved in my child’s school; be present at his/her activities.

í Empower my child to make his/her own decisions.

í Establish clear expectations.

í Teach my child that every action has a consequence and help her/him to accept good and bad consequences of her/his actions.

í Be organized, model task completion and punctuality.

í Help my child set goals for her or himself.

í Encourage my child to do her/his best.

í Listen as my child speaks.

í Respect my child’s need for supportive, low stress, quiet time for homework.

I will do my best to:

í Learn eagerly. Seek new information.

í Put school first and enjoy other activities.

í Celebrate my successes and learn from my mistakes.

í Ask questions, and try new things.

í Participate in discussion, share ideas.

í Pay attention and listen.

í Take responsibility for myself, my things and my actions.

í Understand assignments and seek help when I have questions.

í Finish homework and assignments on time.

í Talk to my parents or guardians

í Respect other students, teachers, school staff and parents by treating everyone the same way I want to be treated.

í Use words to resolve conflicts.

í Care for and protect school property.

í Work hard to produce my best work.

í Feel good about myself!

I will do my best to:

í Demonstrate knowledge of how children learn.

í Understand the Vermont Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities.

í Challenge each student.

í Set clear learning expectations and provide support necessary to meet them.

í Model lifelong learning with strong communication skills.

í Communicate frequently and clearly with parents and guardians regarding their child’s progress.

í Provide stimulating and challenging learning environment.

í Establish a positive and safe learning environment.

• Establish clear behavioral guidelines and logical consequences.

í Maintain a positive relationship with all students.

í Foster respect and fairness for all.

í Listen to students, parents and guardians.

• Remain current on best practices evolving in the field of education.

These include:

• Beginning each day early enough to avoid frenzied mornings.
• Assuring your child has breakfast, a snack and lunch at school each day.
• Ensuring each child has appropriate clothing for the day’s activities and weather.
• Providing a supportive home life, minimizing conflict, avoiding power struggles, encouraging open discussion of issues, problems and possible solutions among family members.
• Reading to your child.
• Practicing respect, manners, patience, honesty and cooperation.
• Offering the message "I love you" and "You are wonderful" with words, thoughts and deeds.