ADMISSIONS
Kindergarten students must be 5 years old on or before September 1 of the school year in which they are enrolling. First grade students must be 6 years old on or before September 1. A physical examination is strongly urged when a student enters school for the first time.
To register a student, a parent must present a legal birth certificate, a current immunization record, the child’s Social Security card, and proof of residence. Upper level students who are transferring from other schools should have their academic records provided to insure proper placement.
ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL
The school day begins promptly at 7:50 am. Students should be in their classrooms and ready to begin work at that time. Punctuality is a quality of good citizenship. Help your child to be on time. The schedule is as follows:
7:10 am Bus riders begin arriving and
report to teachers on duty for
supervision.
Car riders and walkers may
arrive between 7:15 and 7:45
am. Students eating breakfast
must be in their classrooms by
7:35 am.
7:35 am All classrooms will be open
and teachers will be in their
doorways to greet and begin
the day. Students desiring
breakfast must be in their
classrooms by this time.
7:50 am School begins. Students should be in their classrooms.
After 7:50 am, students are tardy.
2:40 pm Car riders and bus riders are dismissed.
Beginning at 7:47, parents must come in and sign their students into school.
Students arriving at school prior to 7:35 are required to report to the bus student area. Students may not arrive at school before 7:10, as there is no teacher supervision prior to this time.
If a student changes his mode of travel to or from school, he should bring from home a written explanation of the change. This helps the teacher insure the child’s safety. Students are not permitted to ride on buses other than those for which they are zoned.
Students who ride in cars are dismissed daily at 2:40. Parents are urged to pick up their children promptly when school is dismissed. Under no circumstances should a student be left at school after 3:00 PM. The school staff is not available after that time to supervise them.
Arrival Procedures
· Students should only be dropped off in the car line.
· Students will not be allowed to cross the road alone.
Dismissal Procedures
· Students will only be dismissed through the car line.
· Parents may not park and come across to pick up their children.
· As cars arrive, they should pull up behind the last car in line.
EARLY DISMISSAL
We recommend that your child not be dismissed early except in cases of emergency. Dismissal interferes with a student’s classwork and learning. Students will not be dismissed between 2:15 and 2:40 PM. At this point, the teacher is summarizing the day and assigning homework. Dismissing students at this time interrupts the class as well as causing traffic problems. We ask your full cooperation on this. Anyone dismissing a child early must bring a photo ID.
ATTENDANCE (IMPORTANT INFORMATION)
In South Carolina, all children are required to attend public or private kindergarten beginning at age five and continuing until their seventeenth birthdate. If parents choose not to send a child to kindergarten, they must sign a one-year waiver, which may be obtained at the school.
A total of more than ten absences may cause the loss of credit for one year’s school work. Tardies and early dismissals can also interfere with the learning process. Please make every effort to see that your child is in school unless the child is ill or there is serious illness or death in the immediate family.
Students are required to bring written documentation for absences as soon as they return to school. All requests for a lawful absence must be submitted within five school days from the day of absence to be considered. The excuse should be on a full sheet of paper and should include the following:
· The date
· The date of absence
· The reason for the absence
· The student’s name
· The teacher’s name
· The parent’s signature
All excuses will be filed in the school office. When students have 5 unexcused absences or 3 consecutive absences they are considered “truant”.
When a child reaches the “truant” stage, the school is required to hold a conference with the parent and sign an “attendance” plan. After that point, if a student has an absence that is unexcused, the parent will be turned over to the district attendance officer for follow-up action. The student must then be marked “truant” in the state database.
EXCUSED ABSENCES
Greenwood School District 50 Board Policy states the following:
“The district will consider students lawfully absent under the following circumstances.
They are ill and their attendance in school would endanger
their health or the health of others.
There is a death or serious illness in their immediate family.
There is a recognized religious holiday of their faith.
Prearranged absences for other reasons and/or extreme
hardships at the discretion of the principal.”
(Greenwood School District 50 Board Policy JH)
TARDIES
Students who are tardy miss important instruction. Please remember that a student must be in his or her seat by 7:50 am in order to be considered on time. Excessive tardies will require a meeting with the case manager and/or principal to set up a plan for improvement.
PERFECT ATTENDANCE
Perfect attendance awards are given when a student has not missed any days, had no more than 2 tardies, and/or early dismissals per 9 week period. In addition, to receive a Perfect Attendance award for the entire year, a student must have not missed any days and had no more than 4 early dismissals and/or tardies for the entire year.
CAR PICKUP
With the cooperation of all parents, arrival and dismissal will be a quick process. When cars park, pass or make U-turns, the convenience and, most of all, safety of all are threatened. We must require that the following be strictly adhered to:
· All children will be loaded into cars in their designated areas.
· Children may load only when a car is stopped in the designated loading spots. Students are not allowed to cross the drive. Please do not park and come to the student holding area to get your child. This interferes with the loading process and impedes the progress of those parents who have waited in line.
· All cars should move forward as far as possible before stopping for children to load and unload.
We realize that long lines are frustrating and nobody likes to wait. However, if everyone cooperates, the line will move quickly. Our primary concern is the safety of the students, and not necessarily the convenience of the driver. Thank you for your assistance and cooperation.
BUS RIDERS
Bus transportation to and from the school is provided by the state for all children who live more than 1.5 miles from the school.
The biggest factor in bus travel is one of safety. If our drivers are going to be able to do their job of driving, then they must have the help and cooperation of ALL PASSENGERS. The driver of the bus is in full charge of the pupils and the bus. Pupils are expected to obey the driver cheerfully and promptly. If the student cannot ride the bus in an orderly manner, he will be taken off of the bus. If a child is removed from the bus for behavior, it is the parents’ responsibility to get the student to and from school. Absences resulting from a child being removed from the bus will be “unexcused” and may apply toward a child being marked truant.
(See Student Rights and Responsibilities for more information on buses.)
BIRTHDAYS
Our PTO is sponsoring a monthly birthday celebration by holding a birthday lunch for students and their parents. Participants are invited to sit at the birthday table and the student will receive a special cupcake treat. Please do not send cake or refreshments to school for birthdays. Students are permitted to distribute birthday party invitations only if they have one for each member of the class.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS
It is important that the school office have your current address and phone number. Please notify the school immediately upon changing your address or telephone number. You will need to provide the office with a current proof of address.
COMPUTERS
We strive to prepare students to be contributing members of society in the 21st century. This preparation includes literacy in technology and computer use. All students have access to computers. The Internet is available in every classroom. Students are also scheduled into the computer lab weekly. Please see the District 50 Student’s Rights and Responsibilities Booklet for the Internet Acceptable Use Policy.
CUSTODIAL AND NON-CUSTODIAL PARENTS: South Carolina Law States that:
“Each parent, whether the custodial or non-custodial parent of the child, has equal access and the same right to obtain all educational records … of their minor children and the right to participate in their children's school activities unless prohibited by order of the court.”
SC Code of Laws, Section 20-7-100.
It is the responsibility of the custodial parent to provide the school with any court order that prohibits the non-custodial parent from receiving information about their child or from participating in school activities.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS
It is important that the school office have your current address and phone number. Please notify the school immediately upon changing your address or phone number. We must have current information on file in case of an emergency.
DISCIPLINE
We expect students to behave properly at school. Discipline will be administered when any individual’s actions interfere with the right of teachers to teach and students to learn.
(See “Students Rights and Responsibilities” Booklet)
DRESS
Students are expected to dress in an appropriate, decent manner.
Woodfields Elementary School implemented an optional uniform policy beginning in the fall of 2008. It is as follows.
· Shirts – The shirts are blue or white. They should be solid without writing or graphics and have a collar.
· Bottoms – The bottoms should be khaki. They can be knee length shorts, skirts, skorts, jumpers, capris, or long pants.
· Shoes – the uniform shoes should be closed toed shoes.
Students who choose not to wear the uniform must adhere to the following.
· Boys must tuck their shirttails in at all times.
· Tennis shoes must be worn on PE days.
· Rubber flip flops are not allowed for safety reasons.
· All District 50 policies must be followed.
Greenwood District 50 Board of Trustees Policy states the following:
· All pants must be worn above the hips.
· Clothing that depicts alcohol, drugs, tobacco, racial slurs/epithets; sexual suggestion/insinuation or inappropriate language is prohibited.
· Halter tops, tank tops, midriff and see-through clothing are prohibited.
· Hats will not be worn in the building.
Extremely short clothing, low-cut tops, and mid-drift tops are also examples of inappropriate clothing. Straps on dresses or tops must be at least 1 inch in width. For the safety of our students and faculty, students are not allowed to wear wheelies to school.
FAMILY EDUCATION RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT
Under this act, the parent or eligible student has a right to:
· Inspect and review the student’s education records
· Request the amendment of the student’s education records to ensure that they are not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy or other rights
· Consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that the Act and the regulations in this part authorize disclosure without consent;
· File with the US Department of Education a complaint under 99.64 concerning alleged failures by the agency or institution to comply with requirements of the act and this part;
· Obtain a copy of the policy adopted under 99.64.
FEES
K-5 $20.00
GIFTED AND TALENTED PROGRAM (GATAS)
Our gifted and talented (GATAS) program is school based and serves students in Grades 3, 4, and 5. Students are selected for the program based on state criteria for the gifted and talented. This criterion includes aptitude and achievement test data, observed characteristics, and performance data. GATAS provides learning experiences to develop critical and creative thinking.
GRADING
Our grading scale for Grades 2 through 5 is as follows:
A = Excellent (93-100)
B = Good (85-92)
C = Satisfactory (77-84)
D = Poor (70-76)
U = Unacceptable (69 and below)
Students in Grades 1 and 2 are graded in Math and Language Arts.
Students in Grade 3-5 are graded in Math, Language Arts, Social Studies and Science.
The symbols S = Satisfactory
P = Progessing (Needs Support)
N = Below level, showing no progress
are used for Physical Education, Art, Music, Conduct, and Work and Study Habits.
HONOR ROLL:
Honor Rolls are compiled each nine-weeks.
To be listed on the “A” honor roll, a student must have all “A’s” in their core subjects, with all “S’s” in the other subjects, including art, music, PE, etc.
To be listed on the “A/B” honor roll, a student must have all “A’s and B’s” in their core subjects, with all “S’s” in the other subjects, including art, music, PE, etc.
INCLEMENT WEATHER NOTIFICATION
There have been many questions about inclement weather notification – i.e. school closings or delays. Here is the information concerning this for future reference.
Delayed Openings, Closings
The Superintendent or his designee will make all decisions regarding school closings, delayed openings, or delayed dismissal. The superintendent will communicate this information to the media in accordance with established procedures.
Information on school closings or delayed openings will be communicated to radio and T.V. stations by 6:00 A.M. and posted on the Greenwood School District 50 web site. (Under certain conditions, a decision to delay or close may be made by 10:00 P.M. of the preceding evening. Listen to your radio and T.V. for this information or check the district website. Please do not call the schools or district personnel.)
Most radio and T.V. stations announce ONLY delays and closings. If you do not hear a delay/closing announcement, you should assume that schools are on their normal schedule.
Early Dismissal
If bad weather develops during the day, please listen for dismissal announcements. Please discuss with your child in advance the procedure you will follow in getting your child home early.