Page | 1 GLEN AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Scho2l0a2r3H-2an0d2b4ook Home of the Glen Gators *ALL OF OUR STUDENTS ARE SCHOLARS! 1615 Glen Avenue Extended Salisbury, MD 21804 http://glen.wicomicoschools.org *Additional WCPS policies and procedures are available at http://glen.wicomicoschools.org //
Page | 2 GLEN AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FOREWORD The staff of Glen Avenue Elementary School is pleased to have you as a member of our school family, and we hope your time with us is a pleasant and a rewarding experience. This handbook provides information that we think will answer questions you may have about school policies and procedures. We encourage you to read it and file it for future reference. Mission Statement: Glen Avenue School creates a caring school community that provides scholars (our students) with the necessary skills and knowledge to be thoughtful, responsible, and highly productive citizens as well as lifelong learners. Belief Statements: • We believe all scholars have worth, dignity, and leadership capacity. • All scholars deserve a safe, caring, and structured environment that will nurture their creativity, critical thinking, and social skills. • Scholars excel in a positive, scholar-centered climate where problem solving and risk taking are a part of the learning process. • Lifelong learning habits are instilled through accountability and a shared responsibility for the ongoing pursuit of knowledge. • High academic and behavioral expectations will foster confidence in scholars. • Community and family partnerships are vital to support the efforts of committed, dedicated, and well-educated staff. • The most effective learning environment is created when staff is provided with relevant professional development and instruction is driven by evidence-based best practices. Values: • We value the diversity of our scholars’ cultural backgrounds. • We trust, celebrate, and collaborate with colleagues to support curriculum integration and shared expectations across the school. • We honor and encourage creativity and innovation in teaching and learning. • We use a variety of methods to provide meaningful and positive communication with members of our school community. All Glen Avenue students are considered “scholars” with great potential.
Page | 3 We aspire to be the school where all teachers want to teach, scholars are excited to learn, and parents wish their scholars can attend. Glen Avenue Elementary 1615 Glen Avenue Extended Salisbury, MD 21804 School webpage: http://glen.wicomicoschools.org School’s Facebook Page: Facebook.com/wicboeglen School’s Main Phone: 410-677-5806 School email: glen@wcboe.org Principal: Mrs. Michele McGoogan (mmcgooga@wcboe.org) Assistant Principal: Mrs. Twynette Binns (tbinns@wcboe.org) Dean of Students: Mrs. Hannah Parr (hparr@wcboe.org)
Page | 4 Scholar Agendas On the first day of school, scholars will receive an agenda. This agenda will be a vital part of communication between home and school. The agenda will include all homework assignments, notes to parents from teachers, and a monthly calendar of upcoming events. Scholars will be taught how to use their agendas effectively during the first week of school. Please take the time to sign your child’s agenda daily to insure good communication between home and school. Organization One of our major goals is to help your child develop good organizational skills. For that reason, we try to be clear, specific, and consistent with our expectations. We will tell the scholars when folders or scholar purchased organizers, should be cleaned out, so please do not remove papers without their say so. Many papers in the folders can be “works in progress”. Therefore, it is very important that they are not removed. In general, folders may be emptied as designated below but not without prior permission from your child’s teacher: Math- after completion of unit ELA-after completion of unit Science/Social Studies- after completion of unit Writing/Language- after completion of unit Notebook Paper- should be filled nightly with notebook paper Take Home Pocket- emptied nightly Thursday Folders These plastic folders will be sent home every Thursday. Information within the folders will include graded assignments and school-wide notices. Inside the folder the left tab will be labeled, “Left at Home” and the right tab will be labeled, “Right Back to School”. Please take the time to review your child’s folder each Thursday and return all necessary papers AND THE FOLDER back to school Friday morning. HOUSE SYSTEM: Glen Avenue utilizes a house system: Timsah, Kayiman, Jacare, and Koena. Each house represents a positive characteristic such as honesty or courage. All scholars and staff will be assigned to a “house.” This house serves as a team in which scholars/staff support one another and advocate for doing well socially and academically.
Page | 5 Arrival and Dismissal Times 8:30 -- School opens 8:30 – Scholar drop off/Walkers enter 9:00 --Instruction begins (WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND SCHOLARS ARRIVE BY 8:45) 3:35 – Scholar dismissal begins Office hours: 8:00 am – 4:00 pm Scholars may not arrive at school before 8:30. Scholars may enter the building when the bell rings at 8:30. Our staff reports at 8:30 and will not be able to provide supervision for your child until the scheduled arrival time. Scholars being delivered to or picked up from school should use the school driveway in the front west side of the school building near the breezeway to the gym. If you prefer to park your car during arrival and dismissal times, we ask that you walk your child to and from the school sidewalk due to the high-level traffic in the car riders’ and bus lanes. Scholars are not to be picked up or dropped off at the main entrance, that area is reserved for the school buses only. If scholars must leave early or go home differently from the way (s) he arrived, a note must be sent to the school. IF A CHILD DOES NOT HAVE A NOTE, THE CHILD WILL BE SENT HOME HIS/HER NORMAL WAY. We appreciate your support of ensuring your child’s safe transport to and from school. Walkers must cross the street on Beaglin Park Drive utilizing our school Crossing Guard who will be on duty during arrival and dismissal times. When entering school property scholars must walk up the dirt lane located on the west side of the school premises. Walkers must arrive between 8:30-8:45 am. They will be dismissed daily at 3:35. As a group, scholars will be escorted off property. Scholars are expected to refuse any gifts or rides offered by strangers. All such incidents should be reported to the office immediately. Late Arrival Scholars who arrive to school after 9:00 a.m. must be signed in by an adult. They must obtain a late slip before going to the classroom. The late slip must be presented to the classroom teacher before being admitted to the class. Early Pick Up If you are picking up your child before 3:35 p.m., please come to the office and your child’s teacher will be called. You will be asked to please wait in the office while we call them for you.
Page | 6 Car Rider Tags All scholars being picked-up from school will be assigned a car rider tag. The tag will contain the scholars assigned number and must be visible in the car at the time of pickup. If the tag is not present, you will not be able to pick up the child from the car rider line. For the child’s safety, you will be directed to the main office in order to ensure that you are listed as a point of contact. If multiple people are responsible for picking up your child, please let the front office know and we would be happy to give you additional car rider tags. Changes in Transportation If you require a change in transportation for your child, please send a note to the school notifying your child’s teacher and school office. We ask that notification be made prior to 2:00 PM in order for in-house arrangements to be made. ***In order to ensure your child’s safety, phone calls will no longer be accepted to change transportation for your child. Participating in Afterschool Activities Afterschool activities will be available for your child to participate in throughout the school year. All scholars must be picked up at the designated end-time. If a child is not picked up on time, a warning will be given. The second time this occurs we may unfortunately need to dismiss the child from the afterschool activity. We ask that you please be cognizant of this in order for all scholars have the opportunity to participate in activities offered. Visitors to School When visiting our school, you should buzz in the main office using the communication device on the outside of the door. You will be asked to provide your name as well as the child that you will be visiting/picking up. Once buzzed in, please report directly to the office located on the right. All visitors will need a driver’s license or state issued ID available to present to our office front office staff each time you visit. Each visitor will receive a yellow Visitor’s Pass that is to be visibly worn during the duration of your visit. Prior to leaving the school building, all visitors should report back to the school office and provide our front office staff with your Visitor’s Pass. *Only authorized visitors will be admitted to the building. For the safety of all scholars and staff, doors around the building will not be opened to allow anyone entrance, you will be directed to the front of the building to enter. This is most important for the protection and safety of all scholars. This reminder is posted on each
Page | 7 entrance door of our school. Remember that the education and safety of children are our first concerns. In order to keep potential interruptions to instruction at a minimum, we ask that you do not take small children in the classroom setting. If it is necessary to see a scholar throughout the course of the instructional day and younger siblings are with you, we will gladly call the scholar to meet you in the office. **Cell phone use in the instructional areas is prohibited in order to maintain an effective learning environment. Your cooperation is appreciated. Attendance Coming to school every day is very important. Our goal is to have 100% participation of scholars attending school every day. We are asking you to help us reach this goal by scheduling trips, appointments, etc. at times when school is not in session. This will allow your son/daughter to come to school every day unless they are ill. If your child is absent due to illness a written parent note that contains the date and reason for absence is required to excuse the absence. Only 5 days of scholar illness may be excused by parent note each school year. The note must be turned into the front office. NOTES MAY BE EMAILED TO OUR ATTENDANCE OFFICER AT GLEN@WCBOE.ORG. Absence for Family Trips Please try to schedule trips during times when school is not in session. These absences interfere with the scholars’ learning process and hurt the school in our attempt to achieve our required attendance percentage for the school and state. The county guideline for elementary scholars is as follows: While it is necessary that a trip cannot be considered a legal reason to be absent from school. ONLY 3 DAYS OF FAMILY VACATION MAY BE EXCUSED EACH SCHOOL YEAR FOLLOWING THE PROCESS BELOW: Parents must submit a request for absences to be excused for family trips to the principal two weeks in advance of the trip designating the length of the absence. All arrangements for homework, tests, quizzes, etc. should be worked out with the individual teacher a week in advance. Scholars are expected to complete all make-up work within a reasonable length of time, which will be determined by the teacher.
Page | 8 The trip should have an apparent and defined educational value for the scholar. Scholar Dress Code It is expected that all scholars will follow Wicomico Counties Board of Education School Dress Code Policy. The purpose of the policy is to create and support a positive school climate for learning to occur. If the dress code is not adhered to, parent contact will be made by either administration or the school nurse. Heading coverings may not be worn in the building (hats, hoods, bandanas, durags, bonnets, etc.) Shirts must cover the entire back, midriff, and shoulders. All undergarments must be covered at all times. Skirts, dresses, and jumpers may not be any shorter than 3 inches above the knee while standing. Shorts must be no shorter than 5 inches above the top of the knee even when worn with leggings or tights. Jackets may not be worn. Flip-flops, slippers, and slides are not to be worn at school. Please visit the WCBOE website for an indepth look at the county’s dress code policy. Medicine Glen Avenue has a full-time nurse and nursing assistant on duty. All prescription and non-prescription medicine must be brought to the school by an adult and dispensed by the school nurse. A doctor’s order must accompany any kind of medication. A note from the child’s parents is not sufficient to dispense prescription or over-the-counter medication. Homework A good homework assignment is one that makes use of the creative potential of the scholar. It should vary from one grade level to the next in the amount of time required to complete the assignment. To be meaningful, the assignment must be consistent with the attention span of the learner. Please check with your child’s classroom teacher about their routine assigning of homework. Homework is an extension of work introduced by the classroom teacher. When your child does have a homework
Page | 9 assignment, you can assist by doing the following: Provide a quiet workspace with all necessary supplies. Set a time and routine for doing homework each night. Check to see if assignments are completed in a neat and conscientious manner. Help when necessary but do not take over the assignment. Make-Up Work Upon returning to school the following day after an absence, teachers will try to get the assignments upon request. Please remember that for most of the day teachers are involved with the direct instruction of scholars and cannot stop to prepare work. We ask that you make your request for homework before lunch so that teachers have time to get it together for you to pick up at the school office between 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Also, if you wish to have another scholar bring the work home for your child, it will be necessary for you to make those arrangements with that child and his/her family. *By policy, scholars will only be provided make-up work for EXCUSED absences. Work assigned and graded during unexcused absences will receive a “0”. School Messenger- Automated Calling Our School Messenger System is used to keep you informed about upcoming school events and keep you updated on school news. A weekly phone message will be sent each Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. Please be sure the school has your current phone number and email address in order to ensure that you are a recipient of the message. Communication Throughout the school year we will utilize a variety of tools to remain in communication with our families about school-wide activities and events as well as to keep you up to breath with your child’s academic performance. We encourage you to join Class DoJo in order to keep in direct communication with your child’s classroom teacher. This application will allow you to keep abreast of your child’s behavior and their class assignments. Please follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/wicboeglen
Page | 10 In order to keep up with your child’s academic performance, please log into Family Portal. This website will allow you to view your child’s performance on all assignments and current academic standing. The login information is as follows: School Delays There may be delays throughout the school year due to weather conditions such as fog, snow, ice, & etc. Please understand that there is no adult supervision available prior to the delayed openings. Please make plans NOW for delayed openings as scholars cannot wait outside when school is opening late. 90 min. Delay - 10:30 School Opens - No Breakfast School Openings/ Cancellations Occasionally school must open late, close early or be cancelled. Announcements concerning any changes in the regular school schedules will be made on the Parent Link and the following radio and television stations. WDMV 540 WLVW 960 WJDY 1470 WICO 1320 WDIH 90.3 FM WICO 94 FM WSBY 98 FM (Y99) WKHI 95.9 FM WOCQ 104 FM WQHQ 104.7 FM WOLC 102.5 FM WLVW 105.5 FM WMYJ 106.5 FM WMDT-TV CH47 WBOC-TV CH16 UPN –TV21 Please do not call the school, radio stations or board of education offices regarding these school schedule changes. This only interferes with the speedy dispatch of information. Emergency Information Personal Data/Emergency Information sheets will be sent home by each child on the first day of school. It is imperative that all sheets be returned and fully completed. Emergency situations can and do occur. For your child’s health and safety, it is CRUCIAL that we have CURRENT emergency contact information. ***Please remember that it is imperative that a new form be completed with each family/household change. Breakfast Breakfast is served in the classroom daily from 8:30-8:50. All Username: LastnameFirstInitialLast4 of Social Security Number Password: Scholar’s Lunch Number
Page | 11 scholars will receive a free, nutritious meal to eat. Scholars will be given the option as to whether they want to eat the food that is provided. Walkers and car riders must arrive by 8:50 am. Lunch A nutritional lunch is prepared and served in our cafeteria to ensure that your child will have a daily balanced meal. Lunch is FREE for all students. A menu will be sent home monthly. Lunch Numbers Every scholar will receive an identification number to be used when ordering lunch. Please make sure that these numbers are practiced and memorized by children. This will really help with the speed and flow of scholars moving through the lines. Cafeteria Expectations Good table manners are to be displayed at all times. Conversations will be conducted quietly. Scholars are to sit in assigned areas and move through the serving line in an orderly manner. Scholars are responsible for the cleanliness of their areas and should place all trash in the receptacles provided. Scholars should raise their hands and ask permission to get up from their seat. Sodas and glass containers are not permitted. Scholars are not to have fast food deliveries. If parents wish to bring fast food and eat with their child, we invite you to do so at the “Parent/Visitor Table.” Free and Reduced Lunch Applications are not required though they are HIGHLY ENCOURAGED so that the school continues to receive Title 1 funding, which is based on our poverty rate. SCHOOL SAFETY We promise to prioritize the safety of your child(ren). We have detailed crisis plans and strategies in place to handle emergencies. We maintain a locked facility AT ALL TIMES.
Page | 12 Please be patient as we need to assist you as you enter. You will need a driver’s license to obtain a visitor’s pass. All visitors’ names are run through an automated system to ensure only safe individuals gain access to the building. **If at any time you identify an area in which we may improve to ensure your child is safe, please tell administration immediately. This is a team effort! Inappropriate items will be confiscated until the end of the day or retained by the principal until a parent/guardian can reclaim the item. IN ADDITION TO ITEMS LISTED IN THE CODE OF CONDUCT (I.E. WEAPONS OF ALL TYPES, ETC), THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN SCHOOL Cell Phones (not permitted in elementary schools) Radios, iPods, iPads Electronic Games Lighters Utility Tools Skateboards Baseball Bats Water Pistols, Nerf Guns, Cap Guns Toy weapons (knives, guns, swords, etc.) Toys/games (without prior permission) Trading cards, including Poke’mon cards *The school will not be responsible for these items and will not investigate if they are lost or stolen. Bus Notes Scholars who come to school by bus should return home the same way, unless they have notes verifying, they are to go home in a different way. These notes should be shown to the bus drivers and given to the children's teachers. Teachers will send these notes to the office in the morning. We do not accept verbal messages from scholars regarding changes in their dismissal. Parents are asked to not call the office with the phone requests to change a scholar’s dismissal procedure. Written notification is required. Bus Rules/ Bus Safety Riding a school bus is a privilege. With this privilege comes responsibility for good conduct, proper care of the bus and respect for the rights of others. Parents can best assist teachers and bus drivers by being familiar with the bus rules:
Page | 13 Your driver has absolute control of the bus and of the conduct of those on it. You are expected to obey your driver. If you have to cross the street when boarding or leaving the bus, WALK IN FRONT OF THE BUS. Look both ways before crossing the road. Enter and leave by the front door. The rear door is for emergency use only. Do not touch it except in the case of an emergency. Promptly take the seat assigned to you. Sit facing forward. Keep your hands, arms, legs, and head away from the window. Keep feet, legs, and books out of the aisle. Do not eat on the bus. Help your driver keep the bus clean. Cooperate during a bus emergency drill. Ordinary conversation is permissible. Cellphones, electronic devices, and toys are prohibited from the bus. Scholars who fail to abide by the bus rules will be disciplined. Bus drivers have the right to suspend a scholar from riding the bus for a period of one day. Administration may suspend scholars for additional days. Parents will be notified of suspensions before they go into effect. If a child arrives to school on the bus, they will be allowed to ride the bus home. School Bus Discipline procedures are as follows: 1st offense: Referral to principal’s office. Discipline at the discretion of the principal/designee. 2nd offense: Referral to principal’s office. Discipline at the discretion of the principal/designee. You will be notified by the school’s administration of the consequence. 3rd offense: Referral to the Board Transportation Office. A conference with supervisor of transportation, parent, scholar, and driver is required. The scholar may not return to the bus until the conference has been held. Parent/Guardians will be notified by the school’s administration of the consequence. 4th offense: Automatic 30 school days off the bus. 5th offense: Automatic removal for the remainder of the year.
Page | 14 Playground Equipment Weather permitting; scholars enjoy a time to release the energy of youth on our school playground each day. Teachers monitor this free play time and enforce the playground rules which are reviewed with the scholars during the first month of school and periodically throughout the year. Behavior expectations: Good sportsmanship must be displayed in all game activities. Body contact games (wrestling, karate, football, tag, etc.) are prohibited. Climbing on the backstop, swing support, and sliding support is prohibited. Playing with or throwing sticks, stones, or dirt is prohibited. There should be no playing in water puddles or wet areas. Equipment Safety Swings - The following behaviors are prohibited: Pushing people in swings Swinging on the tummy or standing. Swinging sideways or twisting around. Standing too close to the swings when they are in use. More than one person on the swing. Sliding Board – Practice the following behaviors: Only one person may slide at a time. Sliding in a sitting position is expected. Use the steps for climbing up the sliding board.
Page | 15 Support Staff Available to Assist You And Your Child: Ms. Michele McGoogan, Principal Ms. Twynette Binns, Assistant Principal Ms. Hannah Parr, Dean of Students Ms. Leanne Mounts, Office Associate Ms. Dawn Banta-Kerr, Registration Assoc. Mr. Ron Dyda, Pupil Personnel Worker Ms. Kristy “Capo” Capobianco, School Counselor Ms. Kyle Beebe, Community Programs Ms. Beth Beckelman, Student Advisor Ms. Farren Hilliard, Cafeteria Manager Ms. Andrea Deprima, Social Worker Ms. Carrie Shockley, School Nurse Ms. Sherry Leatherbury, Bookkeeper Ms. Melanie Murray, Nursing Assistant Ms. Marcia Yamashiro, Home School Liaison Please call for assistance at 410-677-5806 or email glen@wcboe.org. WE ARE UNITED AS ONE FAMILY! FOUR HOUSES, ONE FAMILY
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