• Not calling the school to ask us to relay a message to a child unless there is an emergency;
• Knowing before school each day the plans at dismissal;
• Establishing a system at home which helps eliminate forgotten lunches, homework, musical instruments, etc. TOP
  

Safety To and From School:

We make every effort to insure all children's safe arrival to school and return to home. But we do also want to make them aware of potential dangers. Children are to go directly to their destination (school or home). It is always best for them to walk with at least one other child. They should never allow a stranger to approach or talk to them. Any unusual occurrences should be reported to the sheriff and to the school. Any time a child's after-school routine is changed (different child care and/or transportation, etc.), please inform the school office and the teacher (as well as TLC, if children are enrolled there) so that we can assist if circumstances dictate. TOP

Emergencies:

Earthquake, Lock Down, and Fire Drills are required by the State of California each month at all public schools. We at Santiago Elementary School believe that the safety of children is paramount and all instructional programs will be focused around this premise. Should an emergency develop, we will follow parental instructions as indicated on a child's Emergency Card. We also ask that each student keep an individual bag of supplies at school (specific content suggestions are given at the beginning of each school year or when a child enrolls). Santiago Elementary continues efforts to become increasingly better equipped and prepared with disaster/emergency supplies and increasingly effective procedures. TOP

Medication:

The Education Code allows school personnel to administer medication only if we have a Physician's Request Form and a Parental Release Form on file in the school office. The container of medicine must be labeled with the name of the child, name of the medicine, dosage requirements, and the physician's name. Medicine should be brought to school by the parent or guardian. Students are not to bring aspirin or any other medication to school to take on their own. There is the possibility of another child taking the medication and having a severe reaction to it. All medication, no matter how harmless it may appear to be, must be kept in the office during school hours. Please contact the school if you have any special problems regarding medication. TOP

Pupil Personnel Services/Student Study Team (SST):

Meetings are held regularly (several times per week) on behalf of our students in order to provide the best educational setting and instructional program for each child. Those students about whom there may be academic, social, behavioral, and/or emotional concerns are referred by their parents and/or their teachers to the Student Study Team (including the principal, the school's educational psychologist, the resource specialist teacher, the speech-language pathologist, a regular classroom teacher). Meetings are scheduled according to need and grade level and they include the SST, the child's classroom teacher, and the child's parents. TOP

Health Services:

In case of an accident or illness at school, first aide will be administered by a qualified person and the parents will be notified. Except for first aide at the time of the injury, the school cannot treat injuries. Should additional treatment be required, we will attempt to reach the parent or guardian for direction. The paramedics will be called if it is deemed necessary. When it is necessary for a student to go home because of illness or injury, it is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to transport the child. TOP

Marking Your Possessions:

Please label clearly all lunch pails, sacks, personal books, records, articles of clothing, etc., with student's first and last name. Your help is greatly needed in caring for your own belongings. Many items, often brand new, go unclaimed in our Lost and Found. Several times during the school year (usually at the end of each trimester), all unclaimed articles are given to a charitable organization. TOP

Moving Out of the Area:

If you are planning on moving from our school area, please let us know in advance which day will be your last day of attendance. This will enable us to complete the necessary transfer forms and send them home. TOP

Parent Visits:

Parents and community members are always welcome to visit at any time. However, we ask that arrangements are made to visit the classroom with the teacher in advance and the visit is limited to no longer than 20 minutes. Should a conference with the teacher be desired, visitors are asked to arrange a time which is mutually convenient. All visitors and volunteers are asked to check in at the office before going to the classroom. TOP

Vandalism:

Students and their parents shall be responsible for all damage to equipment or school property. This responsibility applies in the matter of books, supplies of all kinds, equipment, buildings, and grounds. The same applies to damage done during school hours by students to other's property. Whenever possible, administrations shall require restitution for damaged or destroyed property. TOP

Pets:

No pets are allowed on any school playground at any time. Please be sure that your pet does not wander onto the playground or follow you to school. Although we make every effort to locate the owner, it is often necessary to send stray pets to the animal shelter. Dogs may become excited by the children on the grounds, and we cannot take the risk of having a child bitten. A parent must have prior approval from the classroom teacher before bringing a pet to school for a child to share with the class. The pet must be caged or leashed properly and have a clean bill of health from a veterinarian. TOP

Student Dress:

The school asks only that you maintain reasonable standards for dress and grooming. The prime concerns are cleanliness, good taste, and safety. Clothing or grooming which interferes with participation in and attention to school activities is discouraged.

Shoes must be worn at school at all times. Thongs, sandals without heel straps or covered toes, and high heeled shoes, and shirts with inappropriate language are not recommended. Special dress up and casual dress days are set by the Student Council; however, proper footwear should be worn on all occasions at school. TOP

Leaving Campus for Lunch:

If children are not to remain at school for lunch, they will be released to go home providing the school receives a written request from the parent or guardian. If children go home daily for lunch, a permanent permission slip may be filed with the school. The school cannot approve children eating off campus unless they are under adult supervision. TOP

School Lunch:

All students should eat something nutritious for lunch. We encourage students to bring their lunch or purchase one from our Food Services. To help alleviate the need for carrying cash at school, a book of lunch tickets can be purchased from the office. Milk can be purchased separately. Children may not use the phone to call home for forgotten lunches or lunch money. No money is available to loan from the office. Instead, students can receive a free cheese sandwich or they may share a lunch with friends or siblings. TOP

Snacks:

Individual primary teachers may permit snacks to be eaten. All children will be allowed to have a snack if a health problem indicates a snack is necessary; a note from the parent is required. All snacks (which are permitted by individual classroom teachers and those students who need to eat them for health reasons) will be eaten five minutes before morning recess in classrooms while students continue their instructional program. Snacks should be limited in amount, easy to access and eat with one hand, and healthful. TOP

Standards & Expectations
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A major goal of the school and the staff is to maintain a safe and healthy school environment and classroom climate conducive to learning. You as students, as well as we at school and your parents, have the responsibility of impressing this policy upon all children and holding everyone accountable for his/her behavior by reporting any misconduct noted while at school and going to and from school. You and your parents are encouraged to support school personnel in their efforts to resolve conflict and to judiciously administer firm but just consequences. TOP

Discipline Policy:

Students, therefore, are expected to conduct themselves in such a way as to show at all times that they understand and accept school policies and rules regulating their behavior. A "School Discipline Policy" is given to each child when they enroll and at the beginning of every school year. So that everyone knows and understands expectations, students and parents are asked to read it together, then sign and return an acknowledgment to the school.

It is the responsibility of the student to quickly learn and abide by our Basic School Rules:

1. Remain in Assigned Areas
2. Use Common Sense
3. Keep Hands, Feet, and Objects to Self
4. Use Only Kind Words Towards Others
5. Complete All Assigned Work
6. Follow the Directions of School Personnel
   

The following procedures are guidelines used to determine consequences for unacceptable and inappropriate behavior. They will be modified as conditions and situations dictate.

• If a student chooses to be habitually tardy, chew gum, or eat in class, use foul language and/or gestures, talk and disturb class, ignore standards of behavior, then the parent will be contacted and there will be a loss of privileges.
• If a student chooses to be involved in vandalism, theft, graffiti, etc., s/he will replace loses or rectify damages either in cost or kind and/or be involved with local authorities.
• Student desk, books, and supplies will remain in as good a condition as the first day they were assigned. If a student chooses to deface or otherwise damage the desk, book or supplies, it will cost time and/or money.
• When a student chooses to ride his/her bike to school, it is his/her responsibility to bring a lock and to lock the bike to the bike rack. By law, a helmet must be worn. Riding a bike to school is a privilege that will be restricted or lost if misconduct or failure to observe the rules occurs.
• Fighting, defiance, extortion, disrespect may result in any or all of the following: a visit with the principal, a parent contacted, and a Notice of Unsatisfactory Conduct at School sent home. Such violations possibly will result in detention and/or loss of privileges, in-school suspensions, and out-of-school suspensions. As deemed necessary, school personnel also may implement other conduct remediation interventions within and outside the classroom and seek additional assisting resources identified as appropriate. TOP
  

Suspension and Expulsion:

The Education Code states, "Continual, willful disobedience, open and persistent defiance of the authority of the teacher, habitual profanity or vulgarity, habitual truancy, smoking of cigarettes on school premises, possession of controlled substances constitutes good cause for suspension or expulsion from school. Any suspension may result in a grade of 'F' (Unacceptable Achievement) to be assigned for all work missing during the period of suspension if not made up by the student." TOP

Weapons and Drugs:

As per School Board Policy, any child who brings to school (or possesses on the way to and/or from school) a weapon or facsimile, or an item which is used as a weapon, or a drug of any kind will be immediately suspended from school and the procedure for expulsion will be initiated. TOP

Bicycles:

1. Students in grades 3-6 are allowed to ride a bicycle to school.
2. Students must have written permission on file in order to ride a bicycle to school.
3. Students must wear a bicycle helmet when riding their bicycle. If it is a hardship to obtain such important equipment, parents are encouraged to contact the principal for assistance.
4. The student must be familiar with the safety standards of good bicycle riding.
5. A bicycle is meant for just one person. Therefore, only one person is to ride it.
6. When the rider is on the school grounds, he/she must get off the bicycle and walk the bike to the bicycle area.
7. Bicycles must have an individual lock and be locked while at school.
8. Bicycles are to be WALKED across streets. When approaching the crosswalk, students must get off and walk their bike across the street.
9. The privilege of riding a bicycle to school can be revoked if the standards are not followed. (Consequences: warning, a "Notice of Unsatisfactory Conduct" served, parent contacted, suspension of riding privileges). TOP
   

Bus Policies:

In order to assure safe and efficient transportation for our students to and from school on a regular basis or on a field trip, we request that you and your parents discuss this information at the beginning of the year and again as needed.

"Pupils transported in a school bus shall be under the authority and the responsibility of the driver of the bus. Continued disorderly conduct or persistent refusal to submit to the authority of the driver shall be sufficient reason for a pupil to be denied transportation in accordance with regulations of the Governing Board of the District. The driver of any school bus shall be held responsible for the orderly conduct of the pupils transported. No bus driver shall require any pupil to leave the bus before such pupil has reached his/her destination" (Administrative Code, Title 5, Section 1805). TOP

Bus Policies, Con't:

In order to insure the welfare and safety of all concerned, students who ride the bus will be required to do the following: be considerate of the property at the boarding area; line up in an orderly manner; finish all food and drink before boarding the bus; take seats quietly; remain in seats at all times while the bus is in motion and sit facing the front of the bus; keep all parts of the body inside the bus at all times; keep feet on the floor; board and get off the bus at regularly scheduled stops; leave the bus quietly and carefully; keep away from the side of the bus as it arrives and departs; when crossing to the opposite side of the street, walk in front of the bus with the driver. TOP

Playground Safety:

Pupils are to report an accident on the playground to the teacher/supervisor on duty. They are to let the teacher/supervisor know if they are ill or injured and report any dangerous condition which you may notice. Our main rule of conduct on the playground is "hands off" other children. Children should not bring balls and play equipment which have not been approved and provided by our school district and personnel. TOP

Freeze Signal:

Please remember the importance of the "freeze signal". It consists of one blast of the whistle. At the sound of this signal, everyone must stop all activity immediately. We will use this procedure at the end of each recess. Remember, please, that this signal will be our only means of gaining the immediate attention of students if they happen to be on the playground during an emergency. It is a safety procedure, much like a fire drill, which assists us in providing a safe, calm atmosphere at the end of an active play time and in the event of a disaster. By remembering the importance of this procedure, you can help us provide for the safe conclusion of each recess and also for good communication in the possibility of any unusual occurrence. TOP

Extra-curricular Participation:

To participate in activities held outside of school hours, students must meet the academic and citizenship standards defined within school board policy and administrative regulation. This means that students must maintain a "C" average in all subjects and may not receive an "N" (needs improvement) or "U" (unsatisfactory) mark in either work habits or citizenship if they wish to participate in chorus, instrumental music programs or student council, all of which can be held before or after school and are considered extra curricular programs. TOP

SVUSD Non-Discriminatory Policy:

Saddleback Valley Unified School District has a policy prohibiting discrimination in educational offerings on the basis of an individual’s sex, race, color, religion, citizenship, age, or physical disability. Complaints alleging non-compliance should be directed to the school principal and/or the Assistant Superintendent, Personnel Services for staff (949/586/3217), and the Director of Pupil Services for students (949/586-3204), Saddleback Valley Unified School District, 25631 Peter A. Hartman Way, Mission Viejo, CA 92691. TOP

Homework Policy:

At Santiago Elementary School, we believe that homework is an important part of each child's educational program. Students will be assigned homework on a daily basis, Monday through Thursday (no homework will be assigned before a holiday recess or before a weekend except when students choose to work on long-term projects over weekends/holidays).

Purpose:

• To maintain and extend good study habits developed in the classroom;
• To strengthen fundamental skills;
• To develop responsibility for completing tasks when due;
• To provide opportunities to apply work-study and reference skills;
• To provide opportunities to engage in creative projects and self-directed activities;
• To involve parents in helping to reinforce and monitor skills and concepts being taught in the classroom. TOP

• Grades 1st - 3rd = 20-60 minutes;
• Grades 4th - 6th = 60-90 minutes.
  
  

Within these time frames, allowances will be made for such things as the needs, abilities, and learning style of the student. These times are only guidelines and averages. TOP

Responsibilities of the Student:

• To be sure s/he understands and knows how to do the assignments before leaving school;
• To have the necessary materials at hand to complete the homework;
• To take care of and return to school the books needed at home to complete the homework;
• To follow study techniques outlined by the teacher;
• To apply practice and skills learned in class;
• To strive for the best quality of work of which he/she is capable;
• To complete and return assignments on time. TOP
  

How Parents Can Help:

Parents should provide students with a quiet place to work and adequate time to do homework. They should encourage children to complete their work, to use good study habits, and to take the proper care of materials. TOP