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St. Peter Lutheran School Handbook

2016-2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TopicPage #

Philosophy1

Purpose 1

Objectives1

Nondiscriminatory Policy2

Admissions Requirement2

Age Requirements2

Testing2

Immunization Requirements2

Church Attendance2

Church singing3

missions3

parental growth in god’s word3

devotional services3

St. peter newsletter3

home/school cooperation3

solving problems4

parent/teacher consultations4

behavior4

discipline5

dress code5

footwear6

curriculum6

confirmation instruction6

physical education6

athletics6

gym use7

town students7

bussing7

daily schedule7

recesses8

noon lunch8

school closings8

attendance8

truancy8

absences9

student absence and homework9

homework9

guidelines for homework10

grading10

report cards10

remedial/learning center10

care of property10

book covers10

gum10

telephone11

cell phones11

field trips11

transporting students11

school chaperones11

first aid11

general support12

tuition12

payment of fees12

financial assistance12

reimbursed fees12

religious books12

athletic user’s fee13

hot lunch13

hot lunch balance refunds13

student medication at school13

special needs14

campbell’s soup labels14

community piggy bank14

general mills box tops for education14

scrip program14

PHILOSOPHY

The Lutheran elementary school established by St. Peter Lutheran congregation of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod is founded on the eternal truths as revealed in sole authority on faith and conduct. We further believe that it cannot contain any errors or contradictions, but is in all its parts and words, the infallible truth. That Word of God is the basis for all instruction at St. Peter. Therefore, all subject matter and student training rest wholly and solely upon the Word of God.

PURPOSE

From Holy Scriptures, we learn that the church’s sole commission is to make disciples of all nations by preaching and teaching the gospel. (Matt. 28:19-20) The purpose of our Lutheran congregation and school is to make disciples for Christ and in all things to glorify Him. St. Peter Lutheran School was established by the congregation to assist the parents in their God-given responsibility to bring up their children in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Eph. 6:4) This purpose St. Peters accomplishes by teaching its learners to fear their Lord. (Ps. 35:11) They are taught to fear their Lord both by learning God’s Word directly, and also by having all subjects taught from a scriptural viewpoint.

OBJECTIVES

The eternal truths stated in the above philosophy and purpose are the foundation of every congregation’s Lutheran elementary school, its curriculum, and all of its activities. Through its Lutheran elementary education program, St. Peters strives to provide faithfully for each learner to grow in the fear of his Lord and to guide him in the maximum development of his spiritual, physical, mental, social, and cultural abilities given to him by God. Thus, the objectives of St. Peter Lutheran School are as follows:

  1. To nurture and strengthen the faith of each child;
  2. To provide systematic and thorough instruction of God’s Word;
  3. To provide the students with the Spirit-given gift for evaluating all aspects of their lives on the basis of God’s Word;
  4. To encourage and train students to become avid Bible readers;
  5. To teach the students effective communication skills (both written and oral);
  6. To teach the school subjects which best help to achieve our purpose and objectives;
  7. To teach each subject from the Scriptural viewpoint;
  8. To provide students with a Christian school community in which God’s Word rules supreme;
  9. To give students an opportunity to live their faith in daily Christian fellowship;
  10. To provide a rich devotional life centered in God’s Word;
  11. To arrange for class and student activities of a social nature;
  12. To provide academic activities, physical education activities, and musical activities which give the students an awareness of the bodies and abilities with which they have been blessed;
  13. To support Christian parenthood and home life which are the basis of human society;
  14. To teach the students to use their time, talents, and treasures to glorify God in a life of faithful service;
  15. To encourage students to live as obedient citizens of their country;
  16. To strengthen the congregation and the church-at-large through the training of their future members;
  17. To help and encourage young Christians to enter the teaching and preaching profession.

NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY

St. Peter Ev. Lutheran School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENT

St. Peter Ev. Lutheran School is operated primarily for the benefit of the children of the congregational members. However, parents of children who are not members of the congregation may enroll their children as tuition students with the prior approval of the St. Peter School Board. Nonmember parents, upon enrolling their children for the first time at St. Peters, must attend a Bible Information class with one of the pastors, as deemed necessary. The purpose of this study is to inform new parents of the scriptural doctrines their children will be taught at St. Peters.

AGE REQUIREMENTS

In order to enter Kindergarten, the child must be five years of age by Sept. 1st.

TESTING

Students transferring to St. Peters from another school will be tested by our remedial teacher. This is to help aid in determining each child’s academic abilities in Math and Reading.

IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS

The immunization laws require that all children present written evidence of immunization against certain diseases within 30 school days of admission, or parents will be reported to the District Attorney. These requirements can be waived only if a properly signed health, religious, or personal conviction exemption is filed with the school. If you receive any kind of notice from the school regarding your child’s immunizations, please comply with the request at once. The new TDAP vaccine is required for students entering 6th, 9th, and 12th grades. A 2nd Varicella (chicken pox) is now required for students in grades K, 6th, and 12th grades.

CHURCH ATTENDANCE

Church services are held each Saturday at 4:00 PM and Sunday at 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM. Pupils of the school are expected to attend the church services offered by the Lord through the church. Over the years many young people in our congregation have become lukewarm in their faith and have fallen away from Christ. Your school board has developed a church attendance policy to establish a regular church going habit beginning in kindergarten and continuing through the eighth grade. The hope is that children who have heard God’s Word regularly for nine years will not forsake their Savior who has always loved them and forgiven their sins. The Holy Spirit will strengthen faith in those that regularly hear God’s Word. Parents can also present no better example than to bring their children to church for regular worship. Let parents not despise God’s Word in that they bring their children to church, but do not attend themselves. Let them prayerfully echo the words of Joshua: “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord,” and let each service be but one facet of that service.

Students in grades K-8 at St. Peter Lutheran School are encouraged to attend worship services at least 75% of the time. A student in his last year of confirmation instruction who does no attend 75% of the worship services may not be confirmed.

School athletes are expected to attend church services on the Saturdays/Sundays they participate in competition representing St. Peter Lutheran. Students who play school sports but do not attend church on any given game Saturday/ Sunday will relinquish their rights to represent St. Peters at its next scheduled sporting event.

CHURCH SINGING

Children love to sing. In order to give them a chance to use their voice to glorify God, grades 4K-8 will be scheduled to sing in regular church services and some special services. If a child for any reason is unable to attend church when he is scheduled to sing, a written excuse from the parent is required before that scheduled day.

MISSIONS

Mission work is stressed, especially in our religious instruction. Through this program, our Lord’s command to go into all the world is stressed and the practice of regular, proportionate giving to the work of our church is put into action.

PARENTAL GROWTH IN GOD’S WORD

“God has given parents the responsibility to bring up their children in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4) St. Peter Lutheran Church, in following through with its commission of making disciples of all nations, (Matthew 28:19, 20), assists parents with their children’s Christian education through the church, but cannot, and does not, replace parents and their God-given responsibility listed above. The Board of Christian Education has established a policy to help parents meet the spiritual needs of raising a family. The policy has two parts: 1) parents having children entering Kindergarten are encouraged to attend parenting Bible classes during their child’s Kindergarten year, 2) parents having children in grades 1-8 are encouraged to attend Bible classes at least once every two years during this time period.

DEVOTIONAL SERVICES

During the course of the year, morning devotional services will be held on the third Thursday of every month beginning at 8:05 AM. Parents and others, too, are welcome to attend these.

ST. PETER NEWSLETTER

In order to provide parents and students with information about upcoming activities and the many school happenings, a school newsletter will be e-mailed weekly containing a calendar of events and various other school news. Other arrangements can be made for parents without e-mail.

HOME/SCHOOL COOPERATION

Christian parents have the primary responsibility of educating their children in the way of the Lord. St. Peter Lutheran School has been established to assist the parents in their God-given duty. Parents and teachers must work together in their common goal of training God’s children to walk in His way. You, as parents, can help your child grow in grace in many ways:

  1. By placing God’s Word foremost in your lives;
  2. By having regular family devotions and table prayers;
  3. By attending church regularly with your children;
  4. By encouraging your children to respect their teachers;
  5. By refraining from criticism of teachers or school procedure in front of your children;
  6. By seeing to it that your children are prompt and regular in their school attendance; and
  7. By encouraging them to be courteous on their way to/from school.

SOLVING PROBLEMS

At times a problem or misunderstanding may develop. It is notgood to leave matters of this nature to correct themselves. It is the aim of all concerned to clear up any problems with as little disturbance as possible. If at any time you have a question, please feel free to follow the following set of steps to solve the problem:

  1. First, determine what the problem is. Determine with whom the problem is and find the cause for concern;
  2. Go directly to the teacher(s) with whom you have the question or problem. Present and discuss it with them. Most problems can be solved on this level;
  3. If the problem is not satisfactorily resolved, ask the principal to assist;
  4. If the problem is still unresolved, ask for the assistance of one of the pastors;
  5. Finally, if the above steps have been taken and the problem remains, then bring the matter to the attention of the school board.

At all times, God commands us to speak well of our neighbor and not to give our neighbor a bad name. By going first to the teacher with whom there is a problem, (rather than gossiping or spreading rumors with others), we are doing things in a decent and orderly way.

In all such cases, it is most necessary that we remember that errors will be committed since all of us are indeed sinful human beings. Let us approach our problems with prayer and Christian love, always allowing God’s Word to lead us to peaceful and proper solutions.

PARENT TEACHER CONSULTATIONS

Many times a problem can be avoided by a call or a consultation with a child’s teacher. When you feel that something is not right, please call for an appointment. All parents will be scheduled for a conference with the teacher after the first quarter report cards have been issued. An optional conference may be scheduled at the end of the second quarter. However, please do not feel that consultations must be limited to those particular times during the year. Keep in contact.

BEHAVIOR

We ask parents to give their children, as the redeemed of God, guidance and encouragement to show their love for Jesus by doing the following:

  1. Showing respect and obedience to the pastors, the principal, all teachers, and all others charged with the operation of the school;
  2. Entering and leaving the building in a quiet and orderly manner;
  3. Conducting themselves in a quiet and orderly manner in hallways throughout the school day;
  4. Going to their classrooms immediately upon entering the building;
  5. Conducting themselves in the lunchroom in such a way that the meal will be a pleasant experience for all;
  6. Using the lavatories for the purpose for which they are intended and not as an area in which to loiter, to scuffle, to deface, or to destroy property;
  7. Helping to keep the building and grounds tidy by not littering;
  8. Refraining from bringing to school or using on school premises any smoking materials, alcoholic beverages, or any drugs not prescribed by a physician. Such behavior will not be tolerated. Cough drops, pills, medicines, and other medication should be accompanied by written parental permission and given to the teacher upon entering school;
  9. Students should refrain from the use of bad language whether it be in the form of speech, writing, or gestures; and
  10. Students should refrain from bringing unwholesome literature to school. They should have the teacher approve any outside reading materials the moment they enter the classroom.

DISCIPLINE

Good order in the classroom and about the school in general is necessary so that all pupils may receive the greatest benefit from the instruction that is given. Therefore, any pupil who by misconduct disrupts the lessons or other school procedures must be corrected and disciplined accordingly. We hope that in our school, children are able to achieve a level of self-discipline. However, to maintain order and to aid them, certain necessary rules do exist. If and when children demonstrate irresponsibility and lack of concern for pupils, teachers, or the rule under which we have placed them, then the school, acting in the stead of the parents, will approach the child with the Law of God in hopes of showing the child his sin and leading him to repentance. Likewise, the penitent will be comforted with the great love of God who forgives sins.

When a word of reproof or even an explicit warning fails to remedy the situation, more severe measures will be employed. Parents, by entrusting the training of children to a teacher, thereby, also delegate to him the right to discipline. Love for Christ will be the motivating factor for any discipline. In any type of discipline problem, good school/home communication should be practiced between the teacher and parent(s). In case of continued disobedience the following measures will be used:

  1. Detention during recess or after school for misbehaving (as well as for not completing assignments). Bus-riding pupils are not exempt from such detentions;
  2. Suspension for the balance of the school day for flagrant violation of the rules. Parents will be notified by the principal;
  3. Suspension until a meeting between parents, school board, principal, and the teacher takes place for continued disregard for school authority; and,
  4. Expulsion from school upon the recommendation of the principal and/or faculty and approval by the school board for a total lack of cooperation by the pupil. Expulsion is for the remainder of the school year. The school board may approve readmission for the next school year.
  5. Continued disobedience by students could also relinquish the right to represent St. Peter School in Athletics.

DRESS CODE

As sanctified Christians, our students will certainly want to present themselves in their appearance with all decency and modesty. One who views his body as the temple of the Holy Spirit will exercise care in his clothing and grooming habits. The Christian student will desire to glorify God also by his/her clothing and manner in which it is worn. It is our intention, rather than to legislate, to encourage our students to become the type of Christian children God wants them to be, including their clothing and the manner in which it is worn.

When in school, SPLS students are expected to be neat and clean and encouraged to wear something dressier than leisure attire. This includes shorts (which do not appear as a dress), garments that are too tight or too brief, and clothing that is bizarre, tattered, torn, frayed or dirty. At no time are students to wear clothing that displays controlled substances, that offends Christian values, or that insults good tastes. Tank tops, sleeveless shirts, and clothing depicting professional wrestling and musical groups are not allowed.