Horizon Elementary

Student/Parent

Handbook Information

2015-2016

HORIZON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HOURS

Office Hours 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM

7:30 AM First Bell/Student Entry into Building/Breakfast

7:50 AM Tardy Bell/Morning Announcements/Instructional Day Begins

10:50 AM AM Kindergarten Dismissal

11:35 AM PM Kindergarten Arrival

2:35 PM Dismissal for all Bus Riders

2:39 PM Dismissal of Walkers, Car Riders, and Day Care Students

ACCESS TO BUILDING (Before and After School Hours)

Parents please keep in mind that the teaching staff contract time is 7:30 AM -2:50 PM and the office staff is on duty until 4:00 PM. At times, staff may work beyond their contract time for daily preparations and/or meetings. If your child has forgotten something in the classroom, please visit the front office and a staff member will call the classroom to confirm the teacher is still present. Office and custodial staff have been instructed to only allow students access to rooms if the teacher is still there. Checking on the status of teacher availability by office staff is only until 4:00 PM. Teachers are instructed to lock their rooms when they leave for the day. Custodial staff then only unlocks the specific areas they are working in as needed. It would be disruptive to their cleaning schedules if interrupted by parents/students to leave their cleaning projects to go and unlock various rooms. So please be mindful that between 2:50 PM and 4:00 PM each day students may only access classrooms if the office staff can confirm that teacher is still present.

ARRIVAL

Students may enter the building at 7:30 AM. They are not permitted to arrive before this designated time, as staff members are not on duty for supervision. For your child’s safety, please adhere to this rule. Parents who drop students off at school prior to 7:30 AM on a regular basis will be contacted by the principal to resolve the problem.

ATTENDANCE (Absences, Early Dismissal, Tardy)

All students have the responsibility to be in school and on time each day. Horizon Elementary instructional day begins at 7:50 AM. Parents should set the example by stressing the importance of regular, on-time attendance and by planning vacations and appointments on weekends, holidays and after school hours whenever possible.

  • Absences

If your child will be absent from school, please notify Horizon through the schools absentee e-mail at (this is the preferred method), or the call-in line at (571)434-3261, prior to 9:00 AM. Both are available 24 hours a day. Please include student’s name, teacher, and reason for absence. Information relating to lengthy absences should be made directly to the office and teacher by note.

Whenever a student is absent from school, documentation is required to verify the reason for the absence. Parents are required to notify the school as to the reason for the absence. Any absence not confirmed by the parent will be considered unexcused. If the parent has not called the school to verify the absence, the school will make a reasonable effort to call the parent to verify the day’s absence. Upon the student’s return to school, a written explanation from the parent/guardian is required for each absence. The note should include: date(s) of the absence, reason for the absence, and signature of the parent/guardian.

Students are excused for personal illness, a death in the family, medical or dental appointments, court appearances, religious holidays, illness in the immediate family, or emergencies that require the student to be absent.

If a student is absent for more than 10 days or 10% of the total number of days of membership, whichever is determined appropriate by the principal, the school will send a letter to the parents requiring a physician’s note for all further absences. At the principal’s discretion, contact may be made sooner or waived due to extenuating circumstances. At the point at which a student accumulates 5 unexcused absences, a referral will be made to the Attendance Officer.

  • Early Dismissal

If you need your child to leave school earlier than normal for an appointment, please send a note to the teacher. Please come into the school office and ask the secretary to call for your child. Please do not go directly to the classroom. Teachers are instructed not to dismiss a child unless the office calls for them.*Please note that we do not call students out of class until a parent has arrived in the office.

The school day ends at 2:35 PM. Early dismissal from school on a regular basis must be approved by the principal. The appropriate paperwork must be completed and submitted to the principal for approval which includes the reason the student needs to be released early on a regular basis.

Tardy

The school day officially begins at 7:50 AM. Students who are tardy must report to the front office prior to going into the classroom. Office staff will record the student’s arrival so that attendance records can be changed from an absence to a tardy. The student will be given a tardy slip to give to his/her teacher. Students may not be dropped off in front of the school.

Occasional tardiness for valid reasons is not a serious offense; however repeated or habitual tardiness encourages the formation of undesirable personal habits and disrupts the orderly instructional process of the school. A student is considered tardy if he/she is not in their classroom by the time school begins at 7:50 AM. When a child arrives to school tardy, a parent/guardian is required to provide justification to determine the reason for the student’s tardiness. If this does not occur and documentation is not provided by the parent, the tardy may be considered unexcused. If a student is tardy more than 10 times, a letter will be sent to the parent as notification of the school’s concern for the student’s non-attendance, and a physician’s note may be required. If the pattern of tardiness does not improve a referral will be made to the Attendance Officer.

Students Attending on Special Permission

Multiple days tardy or absent can impact a student’s special permission status. Special permission is contingent upon the student maintaining regular attendance, good behavior, and being in compliance with school rules and regulations. There is a commitment of the student’s parent or guardian to provide a means of reliable transportation for the student to and from school.

BIRTHDAYS

A very special part of a young child’s life is the celebration of his/her birthday. Each child will receive a birthday greeting on HTV morning news program. In an effort to keep all children safe and healthy, Loudoun County Public Schools has guidelines that do not allow any food to be brought in for a child's birthday. Additionally, non-food gifts of any kind, to include pencils, stickers, balloons, floral arrangements, etc. should not be brought to school for a child's birthday.

Party invitations: Children should not distribute party invitations at school unless every child in the class will receive an invitation. This is to help avoid hurt feelings.

CAFETERIA

  • Breakfast / Lunch Program

Horizon provides a nutritious breakfast and hot lunch program for our students. Checks should be made payable to “County of Loudoun” or pay online at

  • Students may pay on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
  • Free and Reduced lunch applications are sent home at the beginning of each school year. New applications must be submitted each school year; forms must be completed and returned to the school before we can authorize free or reduced lunches.
  • Students will not be permitted to charge lunch; students who forget their lunch or lunch money will be given a jelly or cheese sandwich.

We have set guidelines for the breakfast program and at this point we believe they will ensure the least amount of disruption to the instructional day and will be the most efficient.

The guidelines are as follows:

Breakfast will be available from 7:30 AM – 7:50 AM

All Horizon students may participate: K am, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Breakfast will notbe offered after the tardy bell rings

Students will use the same lunch account number for payment of breakfast

Students must be finished eating the BAG breakfast by 8:05 AM

Students will not be marked tardy if they are late to class because they are getting breakfast

The cost of breakfast is $2.10

Milk may be purchased to accompany a packed lunch. Ice cream is also sold in the cafeteria during lunchtime.

Elementary Cafeteria Prices – 2015-2016:

Lunch - $3.00Breakfast - $2.10Milk - $0.60

Reduced Lunch –n/aReduced Breakfast –n/aIce Cream - $0.75

Adult Lunch - $4.10

  • Cafeteria Rules

All students in grades 1-5 eat lunch in the cafeteria Monday through Friday at a scheduled time with their class. The following cafeteria rules will be reviewed in the classroom with all students the first day of school prior to eating in the cafeteria.

1. Always walk in the cafeteria

2. Use a quiet voice while talking

3. Ask permission before leaving your seat

4. Food is not to be shared under any circumstances

5. All trash must be picked up before dismissal from the cafeteria

Lunch Visitors

Parents and visitors are always welcome to have lunch with their child. Please be sure to sign in at the office for a visitor pass before going to the cafeteria. Please call the cafeteria before 8:00 AM to place your lunch order with the kitchen staff. The cost is $4.10 for visitors, the student’s lunch account may not be used for parent/visitors’ lunch.

CANCELLATIONS/DELAYED OPENINGS/EARLY CLOSINGS

When schools are closed/delayed or closedearly due to inclement weather or any other emergency, announcements to this effect are made over local radio and TV stations as early as 6:00 A.M. You can also access this information through the Loudoun County Schools web page at Connect-Ed phone calls will also be made by LCPS to the primary number listed on your students contact sheet.

Please do not call the school, as the line must be kept open for emergency calls.

Delayed Openings

When road conditions are not satisfactory, the opening of school may be delayed for one or two hours. A one-hour delayed opening causes no change in the program at Horizon Elementary. However, a two-hour delayed opening would necessitate the following changes to the kindergarten program:

Two-Hour Delayed Openings – Program Schedule Adjustments

Half-Day Kindergarten,
STEP (4 year old) / A.M. Session – will begin two (2) hours late and remain in school for two hours. These students will leave school one hour later than usual.
P.M. Session – will begin one (1) hour late and remain in school for two hours, dismissing at the regular time.
Full Day Programs / Students in these programs will arrive two (2) hours late and remain until the end of the normal school day.
Early Childhood Pre-School / Students will begin two (2) hours late and remain in school for three (3) hours. These students will leave school one (1) hour later than normal.
  • Early School Closing

Each family should have a plan for emergency school closings. A form on which parents should indicate their family’s emergency plan is included in the First Day Packet. If, for any reason, school is closed early, we will be able to remind children of the plans their parents have developed so that each child will know where to go if he/she should go home to an empty house. The classroom teachers will keep these plans in the classrooms and remind the children of the plan in the event of an early closing. Due to the large number of students in this school, we cannot call individual parents.

We receive our information about school closing by telephone or e-mail from the Loudoun County Schools Administrative Office. PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE SCHOOL, as the line must be kept open for emergency calls! You will receive a Connect-Ed call in the case of an emergency closing.

CHANGES: ADDRESS OR PHONE

Any change to an address requires a parent or guardian to complete a “Change of Address Form” and attach a copy of one of the following: a signed lease, deed, settlement papers, mortgage statement or deed of trust. Any changes to the home phone number, work number or cell phone must be reported to the school promptly in writing, or by using the Phoenix/ParentVUE information system. Directions on using the ParentVUE System will be forthcoming. This will assist us in case of emergencies.

CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

Under Virginia Law, school employees are required to report suspected cases of child abuse or neglect to the department of Social Services. This law, which was designed for the protection of children, provides immunity from civil or criminal liability in connection to reports, unless malicious intent is proven.

CONDUCT

Horizon Elementary is a Positive Behavioral Interventions Support (PBIS) School. PBIS is a school-wide system to assist students, parents, teachers, and staff members understand and meet behavior expectations to create a climate that promotes high student achievement in academics and as individuals.

The idea of this system is to continually reinforce positive behaviors so that students are regularly rewarded for making choices that represent the best of who they are. Guidance is provided through constant reinforcement of the PBIS idea with staff modeling of behaviors and praise, guidance lessons, and support from the staff and parents. Respecting self, others and property is a simple reminder strategy for students.

With the PBIS System in place, all Horizon students are expected to be courteous, respectful, helpful, and serious about the business of learning! The behavior expected from students in school is a combination of common courtesy and safety considerations. Students having problems meeting these expectations are handled individually with, we hope, full parent/school cooperation.

When a child has been referred to the office, parents may need to be contacted to discuss the information about their child’s involvement. We believe that children need fair and consistent treatment. We address each case individually and each child individually. Our ultimate goal is to teach children the correct way to solve problems and how best to work with others. In most instances, problems are resolved by talking with the students involved. Should corrective actions be necessary for students who violate rules and regulations, every attempt will be made to “get the facts” and to provide a fair meeting for all of the student(s) involved. Unless School Board policy directs a specific action for an offense, the administrators are responsible for determining the appropriate measure in each disciplinary case. Examples of disciplinary measures are detention, counseling, reprimand, behavioral plan, and denial of a school privilege, removal from class, lunch in the office, bus suspension and school suspension.

The Loudoun County Student’s Rights and Responsibilities booklet will be sent home the first day of school. Review it with your child. Sign and return the acknowledgment page.

CURRICULUM

Classroom teachers and specialists are responsible for selecting and defining instructional objectives in each curriculum area. They follow the State of Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL’s) and county guidelines in implementing the curriculum. Teachers work together in grade level teams to discuss needs and determine the scope and sequence of instruction. Teachers utilize a variety of grouping strategies and methods to differentiate for academic and behavioral needs of students.

Specialists provide instruction in fine arts, physical education, Spanish, library skills, special education, technology, speech and gifted education. All students in grades one through five receive the services of a music specialist, art teacher, librarian, Spanish, and physical education instructor. Kindergartners receive library time once a week. The school counselor is available to meet with students, parents or staff during school hours, by appointment. The counselor works with individual students and small groups. Parents, teachers and administrators can make student referrals to the counselor. The counselor also conducts guidance lessons in every classroom.

  • Interim Reports

Interim reports are sent home to communicate your child’s progress. Teachers send home these reports if there is a concern about your child’s progress. Should you have questions or concerns regarding the contents of the interim, you may schedule a conference with the teacher. Interim reports are sent home halfway through the report period to communicate poor or failing grades, if necessary.

  • Report Cards

Report cards are sent home four times each year in the elementary grades. When a student is having academic difficulty, the teacher will either call the parent or send a note to the parent. You can expect report cards in November, January, April and June. Exact dates for report card distribution will be published in the Horizon newsletter.

  • Recess

In grades 1-5 recess is considered a part of the elementary curriculum. It is defined as “a daily, 15-minute, teacher-supervised, unstructured break from the teaching and learning routine.” Students go outside even in cold weather. Be sure a jacket or coat is brought to school.

  • Testing

Formalized standardized tests and District-wide assessments are given at various grade levels throughout the year. Testing dates and grade levels involved will be announced in the school newsletter and posted on our web-page. Test results are shared with parents as soon as they become available from the test scoring services. The following tests are given: