Tampico Middle School Student Handbook

GENERAL INFORMATION

BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL

 At the middle school, the doors will be open at 7:30 a.m.  Students may enter the building, but must remain in the front lobby or go into the open gym.  The only exceptions are those students requested by a teacher.  Students who live in town should not arrive at school before this time.

Only students in scheduled activities or serving detentions may stay in the building after school.  After normal school hours, permission from authorized school personnel must be obtained to use the school.

LEAVING SCHOOL GROUNDS

No student will be permitted to leave the building while school is in session without the permission of the principal.  Sending a student home or on a special errand must be cleared through the principal.  This includes students waiting for buses or for school events.  Students that leave school grounds during a school event without permission will not be allowed back into the event.

ATTENDANCE

The school begins at 8:05 and ends at 3:00.

Regular attendance is a prerequisite to school success.  It is the responsibility of the parent to see that the students attend school on a regular basis.

When a child is absent, schools are responsible for making a reasonable effort to telephone within two hours.  Therefore, parents of all students in Unit #3 are requested to telephone the school office between 7:15 and 8:15 a.m. to notify the school that their child will be absent.  This will prevent the school calling the parent at work.  If we cannot contact you for any reason, we need you to send a written note the next day to confirm the absence.  If your child is absent for 5

consecutive days or more, a written doctor’s note is required to return to school.

If your child is absent and we have not spoken directly with you or received written verification that your child was absent for a valid reason, his/her absence will be recorded as truant.  See information below on truancy.

In case of doctor and dentist appointments during the middle of the day, prior notice should be given to the office.

Any absence not approved by the principal within two days after the student’s return to school will become unexcused.  Those who are unexcused will be summoned to the office for a conference with the principal.

All students who arrive after school is in session must report to the office upon entering the building.  Students leaving early must have their parents sign them out.  Parents who are having someone other than themselves pick up a child from school must send a written request to school.

TRUANCY

Truancy is defined as absence without valid cause for a school day or portion thereof.  “Valid cause” is defined as illness, death in the immediate family, family emergency, and situations beyond the control of the student as determined by the school board or circumstances that cause reasonable concern to the parent for the safety and health of the student.  A “chronic or habitual truant” means a  “child subject to compulsory school attendance, and who is absent without valid cause from such attendance for 10% or more of the previous 180 regular attendance days.”

The following is the criteria and procedures from the Truant’s Alternative Program:

Truant/Unexcused Absences:

Step 1: When a student is absent 5 days without valid cause, a letter of concern will be mailed to the parents.  The parents are then required to show proof via a doctor’s excuse if the child is absent again.

Step 2: If the student is absent 6 days without valid cause, another letter is sent to the parents.  A referral will be sent to the Whiteside County Truants’ Alternative Program, and a caseworker will then meet with the family.

Excessive Absences and/or Tardies:

(Excluding suspensions, extended illnesses, and approved vacations.)

Step 1:  When a student is absent 10 days, excused or unexcused, a letter of concern will be mailed to the parents.

Step 2: When a student is absent 15 days, excused or unexcused, a letter of concern will be mailed to the parents. The parents are then required to show proof via a doctor’s excuse if the child is absent again.

Step 3: If the student is absent 16 days, another letter is sent to the parents. A referral will be sent to the Whiteside County Truants’ Alternative Program, and a caseworker will then meet with the family.

MAKE-UP WORK

It is the responsibility of the student to meet with each teacher to obtain make-up assignments.  When parents wish to pick up their student’s homework, they should contact the office before noon to make arrangements.  Students will have one day, per day absence, in which to make up worked missed.

HOMEWORK

Homework is assigned in order to provide practice and application of skills being learned in class.  Students who repeatedly fail to complete homework will be subject to some form of remediation to improve performance: loss of lunch recess time, supervised study during advisory, attendance at an after-school study session, or other arrangement set by the teacher.

BLUE CARDS

Academic responsibility will be encouraged through the use of a blue card warning system for students who consistently fail to do and /or bring required assignments to class. After three Blue Cards, students will be sent home with a Blue Slip notifying parents. Students will be expected to return the slip with a parent’s signature.  Failure to return a signed Blue Card will result in a Wednesday detention.

 ANTICIPATED ABSENCE

Requests for necessary absence from school should be written one week prior to the absence by parents or legal guardians and taken by students to the counselor.  In such cases, the reason for absence must be approved and arrangements made for make-up work with teachers prior to the absence.  Vacations of a week or more during school are discouraged.

SCHOOL CANCELLATION

When parents think school might be cancelled because of weather conditions, please listen to the listed tv/radio stations at 6:30 a.m. and thereafter.

WHBF – 4           KWQC – 6             WSDR – 1240          KMXG – 96.1    WQAD – 8               WHBF – 1270           97X                    KUUL – 101.3       WOC–1420            WLLR-103.7     KRVR-106.5         

If the school is to be dismissed early, whenever possible, the announcement will be made by 12:00 noon and school will be dismissed by 2:00 P.M.

VISITORS

Parents are encouraged to visit school at any time.  Please make arrangements through the teacher or the principal’s office.  All visitors are to report to the principal’s office to receive a visitor’s badge.  For the safety of our children no one is to be in the building without reporting to the office first.

CELL PHONES

Students are allowed to have cell phones in school, but they must be kept in their lockers, not on their person.  They may only be used in case of an emergency.  If students are in violation of this policy, the cell phone will be confiscated and turned over to the parents.

SPECIAL BUS PERMISSION

Permission to ride a bus other than a student’s regularly scheduled bus must be secured with written permission of the principal.  Parents must send a note to the principal requesting this permission and his written O.K. must be secured and the note given to the bus driver.  This may only be done in the event of family sickness, death, or special occasions.  This should be done with a minimum of one day’s notice.