Abney Elementary
Early ChildhoodCenter
Parent/Student Handbook
2012-2013
“Abney Sprouts grow and learn through play each and every day.”
829 Kostmayer Ave. Slidell, LA70458
Office: 985-649-1858 Fax: 985-641-6096
abneyearlychildhoodcenter.stpsb.org
Mrs. Nina Tyner, Principal
Dear Parents and Students,
Welcome to Abney Elementary Early ChildhoodCenter! We are excited and thrilled about the upcoming school year and have planned a fun, productive and exciting year for everyone. We want to promote a positive understanding and communication between the school, parents, and students. We ask for your cooperation in our attempt to provide a rewarding and successful educational experience for your child. Our parent/student handbook is located on our website and a hard copy is available for your reading in our front office. Please read our school handbook thoroughly and go over appropriate parts with your child.
On behalf of our faculty and staff, I would like to extend an invitation to you to come and visit our school, attend your child’s school programs, and become an active member of our PTA and volunteer programs. Whether you work at home or outside the home, there are many ways in which you can become involved in your child’s education. Children benefit greatly from seeing their parents involved at school.
We are extremely happy to have your family with us at AbneyElementaryEarlyChildhoodCenter. I look forward to working with all of you this year. Thank you for sharing your beautiful children with us. They are the most important treasures you have and we are honored to share in their development. If I can be of any assistance, please feel free to contact me at any time.
Sincerely,
Nina Tyner, M+30
Principal
Abney Elementary Early ChildhoodCenter
2012-2013
School Hours
Full Day: Early Dismissal:
8:15-3:15 8:15-12:15
Master Schedule
7:45-8:1o buses and cars unload; k breakfast
8:10-8:30 pre-kbreakfast/warning bell
8:20 classes begin/tardy bell
8:20-8:25 K classes head to AEECC
11:05-11:25 1st lunch-all K classes and Liberti(PEI)
12:20-12:40 2nd lunch-all pre-k, Warmack and Keller
1:20-1:50 K snack recess
1:40-2:10 K snack recess
2:50-3:10 afternoon meeting
3:15 dismissal begins
“Abney Sprouts grow and learn through play each and every day”
Full Day Lunch Schedule
Pre-Kindergarten, Warmack and Keller……….12:20-12:40
Kindergarten and Liberti……………11:05-11:25
Snack Recess Schedule
Kindergarten……….1:20-1:50 and 1:40-2:10
Half Day Lunch Schedule
Pre-Kindergarten, Warmack and Keller……..11:20-11:40
Kindergarten and Liberti……….10:05-10:25
Abney Elementary Early ChildhoodCenter
Telephone Directory
abneyearlychildhoodcenter.stpsb.org
Office: 985-649-1858
Fax: 985-641-6096
Abney Elementary
Office: 985-643- 4044
Fax: 985-847-9509
Cafeteria: 985-643-2242
Aftercare: 985-639-8216
Aftercare Hours: 6am-8am and 3pm-6pm
Other Important Numbers
St. Tammany Parish School Board Website:
STPSB Central Office: 985-892-2276
STPSB Child Welfare and Attendance: 985-646-4917
STPSBSchool Nurse: 985-898-3375
STPSB Transportation Department: 985-898-3373
School Hours
Full Day: 8:15-3:15
Half Day: 8:15-12:15
Abney Elementary Early ChildhoodCenter
Student & Parent Handbook Acknowledgement Form
The Abney Elementary Early Childhood Center Parent and Student Handbook for the 2012-2013 school year is available electronically on our schools website and a hard copy is located in the front office of AEECC. If you would like us to print you a copy, we are happy to do so.
This handbook includes important and, we hope, helpful information about our school operation, procedures, and policies. Please read and discuss the contents with your child. To ensure you have reviewed the handbook with your child, we ask that you sign return this sheet to your child’s teacher as soon as possible.
If you have any questions about the handbook, please contact Mrs. Nina Tyner, Principal.
______
Student and Parent Handbook Verification
I have read and discussed the Student and Parent Handbook with my child.
______
Parent/Guardian SignatureStudent SignatureDate
Absences
Students are expected to attend school everyday as scheduled by the St. Tammany Parish School Board. We administer attendance regulations in accordance with state and locally adopted policies. In order to be eligible to receive credit for courses passed; elementary students shall be in attendance a minimum of 170 days a school year. Students who have less that 170 days attendance will be retained or exceptionally promoted, depending on their academic performance.
Students in grades K-3 who miss more than three (3) hours of instructional time during the school day will be considered absent from school. The days absent for elementary school students shall include excused absences, unexcused absences, and suspensions.
Absences of two or fewer consecutive school days incurred due to personal illness or serious illness in the family may be validated by a parent or caregiver written excuse note. If a student is absent for three or more consecutive days or for other types of absences, a student must present a note from a physician, nurse practitioner, or dentist to be excused.
Students shall be excused for personal illness, serious illness in the family (not to exceed one week), or for recognized religious holidays of the student’s own faith and shall be given the opportunity for makeup work. Students shall not be excused for any absence other than those listed and may be given failing grades in those subjects for those days missed with no makeup work allowed.
Excuses must be received in theoffice within two days of the student’s return to school. If a note is not received, the absence will be counted as unexcused. The note should specify the student’s name, date of absence, the reason for the absence, parent or guardian’s signature, and date. Please refer to the St. Tammany Parish School Board handbook for more details on the absence policy.
Aftercare
The Extended Education Program (EEP) provides an on-site before and after school program at a reasonable cost for AbneySchool students. It is open from 6-8 am and 3-6 pm on any day that school is in session. This includes school half-days. EEP is closed during school holidays.
Arrival
School begins at 8:20am and ends at 3:10pm. Dismissal on half days begins at 12:10pm.
Morning arrival procedures begin at 7:50am. Any arrivals after 8:20am will need to report to the office with a parent or guardian and be checked in for the day.
Please DO NOT drop children off before 7:50 am. Supervision for students by duty teachers begins at 7:50 am. Before school care is available for a few. For more information, please visit AbneyElementary School.
Attendance
When a student eats breakfast in the cafeteria, he/she should go directly to the cafeteria upon arrival. If a student does not eat breakfast, he/she should go to the designated location as listed:
Pre-K students will assemble at Abney Elementary in staging rooms 104 and 105. Students should not go to a teacher’s classroom before school.
Kindergarten students have several options as they may go to the cafeteria for breakfast, they may go to the K playground, or assemble in staging room 102.
Behavior
We believe it is necessary for children to learn self-discipline in order to further their learning. We ask that you discuss with your children the importance of having a positive attitude, making good choices, and using good behavior at school.
Learning appropriate behavior is a part of school. AbneyElementaryEarly Childhood Center participates in a Positive Behavior Support model that emphasizes praising students for making good choices and promoting a positive school climate. The purpose of Positive Behavior Support is to design practices that encourage appropriate behavior for academic success. It includes establishing clearly defined behavioral expectations, a reward/incentive program for students and teachers, and defining consequences for rule violations that are clear, reasonable, and consistently enforced. PBS also supports maximum time in instruction and making environmental changes when necessary based on data and other pertinent information.
Book Bags
For safety reasons at school and on the buses, wheeled book bags are not allowed. Key chains may not be attached to the school bags for safety reasons. Please do not allow your child to load down his/her back pack with items that are not needed for schools.
Book Clubs
Periodically, your child’s teacher may send home order forms for various school book clubs. These book clubs offer quality children’s literature at affordable prices. While you are under no obligation to order from these book clubs, it is recommended that you make reading material of one form or another available to your child. Please contact your child’s teacher for further details on book clubs.
Breakfast
Breakfast is served daily from 7:45-8:10. The school bell rings at 8:15. In order for students to have time to sit down and eat their breakfast, they really need to make it to the cafeteria by 8:05 at the latest. For those students who want breakfast, let’s get our K students to breakfast in the cafeteria by 8:05.
Bullying
Bullying happens when someone continues to hurt, frighten, threaten, or leave someone out on purpose. At Abney Elementary Early Childhood Center, we will work to prevent bullying and the negative effects it can have on children’s emotional well-being and academic achievement. If a student feels that he or she is being bullied, it is important that he or she tell a teacher or other staff member.
We will also follow the guidelines established by the St. Tammany Parish School System. Bullying is a form of aggression, and it occurs when a person(s) willfully subjects another person (victim), to intentional, unwanted and unprovoked, hurtful verbal and/or physical actions(s) at any school site or school-sponsored activity or event.
Bullying may also occur as various forms of hazing, including initiation rites perpetrated against a student or a member of the team. Examples of types of bullying may include, but are not limited to, the following examples.
- Physical bullying includes, but it is not limited to punching, shoving, poking, strangling, hair pulling, beating, teasing, kicking, punching, or excessive tickling.
- Verbal bullying includes, but is not limited to, such acts as malicious name calling, teasing, or gossip.
- Emotional (psychological) bullying includes, but is not limited to, rejecting, wronging, extorting, defaming, humiliating, black-mailing, diminishing personal characteristics (such as race, disability, ethnicity or perceived sexual orientation), manipulating friendships, isolating, or ostracizing.
- Sexual bullying includes, but is not limited to, many of the actions proceeding as well as exhibitionism, voyeurism, sexual propositioning, abuse involving actual physical contact, or sexual assault.
Personnel at all levels are responsible for taking corrective action to prevent bullying at any school sites or activities. Allegations of bullying will be promptly investigated, giving due regard to the need for confidentiality and the safety of the alleged victim and/or any individual(s) who report incident(s) of bullying. An individual has the right to report an incident(s) of bullying without fear of reprisal or retaliation at any time.
Retaliation is defined as meaning “to pay back (an injury) in kind.” When a person is accused of having behaved in an inappropriate fashion, especially bullying, the common reaction of that person is to be angry and want to pay the “alleged victim” back (retaliate). Retaliation must not occur and will not be tolerated.
Bus Conduct
Specific student behavior expectations are established for the safe and effective operation of the school district transportation system in accordance with state laws and regulations. Transportation is considered an extension of the regular school program and students who violate behavioral expectations while riding a bus are subject to suspension from riding the bus and/or all other penalties established for misbehavior while students are not on the school premises.
Students are also expected to use appropriate behaviors at the school bus stops while waiting for the bus.
Buses
We encourage you to send your child to school on the bus. Talk to your child about the importance of good behavior on the school bus. All students must comply with the bus driver’s rules. Your child may lose bus privileges if he/she does not follow the bus rules.
Each student riding a bus to school must ride the same bus home. If a student needs to ride a different bus, the change must be approved by the bus driver prior to that day. The student should bring a note that is written and signed by his/her parent. This note should be brought to the office before school for approval. A copy of the note will be given to your child and they will have to present the approved note to the bus driver.
A bus procedure form will be sent home through the bus driver. Please read and sign this form upon receipt. Please return the note to the driver the following day.
Cafeteria-Collection of Money
Money is to be collected on Monday or the 1st day of the week. Parents are encouraged to pay by the month on the first Monday of the month.
Students who were on the free or reduced program last year will get a 2-week grace period to reapply for the year. Forms will be sent home on the first day of school.
Parents are to put child’s complete name, computer #, amount enclosed and teacher’s name on the front of the envelope. Be sure that this information is also on the check in the Memo section also.
Cafeteria Procedures
Forms providing the guidelines for free and reduced lunch are sent home the first day of school for parents to complete. Each student who was on the free/reduced lunch list the previous year, must have a newly completed, approved lunch application turned in within the first 30 days of school to receive free or reduced lunches for the year. New students applying for free or reduced lunches will need to pay for lunches consumed in the cafeteria before their form is approved.
The cafeteria is responsible for collecting all money. Please make checks payable to “Abney Elementary Cafeteria.” Please send each child’s money in a separate envelope to his/her teacher. The envelope must be labeled with the child’s name, grade, teacher’s name, and cafeteria I.D. number. Lunch money must be sent the first day of the school week. Payment by the week, month, or longer is accepted. The cafeteria must be notified of overpayments before the end of the school year in order to issue a refund.
Extra milk must be paid for each day as the child gets the milk. No canned drinks are allowed in the cafeteria.
Please make sure your child has money in the cafeteria account. Meals may not be charged. Weekly notices are sent home to keep you posted on your child’s account. $2.00 is the charge limit, and no more charges will be made. Check the monthly menu for current prices.
If you have any questions, you may call the school cafeteria direct at 643-2242.
Breakfast will be served until 8:10 a.m. (unless on a late bus). Students arriving after this time should eat breakfast before arrival and will need to go straight to class.
Cancellation of School
Cancellation of school takes place only during extraordinary circumstances such as extreme weather, equipment failure, or public crisis. The school board and administrators are aware of the hardship that can be caused by an abrupt cancellation. Therefore, school will not be cancelled unless a significant safety risk has been created by unusual circumstances. In the event of severe weather conditions, check local news forecasts for information. Every practical means is used to notify parents of an impending cancellation including radio, TV (Channel 13), the school board website ( and newspapers. In the unusual circumstance where school must be cancelled during the school day, school personnel will remain at school until all students leave campus.
Car Riders
Any child picked up after 3:25 will be returned to AEECC.
Students arriving in cars must be dropped off and picked up ONLY in the car line. Abney Elementary Early Childhood Center faculty members will help your child in and out of your vehicle. Parents may not drop children off across the street or in the parking lot. We feel the safety of your child is worth the short wait you may have with this policy. Unless you arrive late, it is not necessary to walk your child on campus because we have teachers on duty.
Please have your child ready to exit the car upon stopping. Time spent gathering bags, coats, and giving last minute hugs makes the lines move more slowly.
Please do not arrive early and park your vehicle to get your child. It is not safe for your child or those waiting in care line or buses that are trying to exit the school.
Students who are permanent car riders will receive two student ID tags during the first days of school. Place those on your rear view mirror. This tag keeps the line moving smoothly. Use the card all year because duty teams rotate. If more than one name tag is needed, please notify the office and an additional one will be given to you.
Check-Out Procedures
- Students will be allowed to leave school with their parent, legal guardian, or an authorized person designated in writing by the parent. In case of emergencies, if the parent or authorized person cannot be reached, the student will remain at school. The permission authorization for dismissal is on the student’s emergency card. Please note, the contacts listed on the emergency card are the only persons allowed to check your child out without written permission.
- Office personnel will initiate the checkout procedure by calling the student to the office after the authorized person presents proof of identification. The authorized person will then sign the student out on the check-out log and the emergency card. We are not allowed to call any students out of class until we check the identification of the authorized person. Please plan to allow the office at least 15 minutes to locate the child, in case they are not in the classroom (extra classes, recess, restrooms, etc.)
- The only acceptable excuses for checking children out are:
- Personal illness
- Doctor’s appointments (Parents are strongly encouraged to make both doctor and dental appointments outside school hours).
- Court appearances
- Special reasons authorized by the principal
- Unacceptable excuses for checking children out are:
- Errands with parents
- Vacations
- Activities that are not school approved
- Students are allowed to make up work if there is an acceptable excuse for checking out.
Child Sexual Abuse Prevention, Education, and Reporting Program