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Policies and Procedures

Absence - Tardiness - Make-up Work

• If a child will be absent, a parent must call the school office (262-782-7057) between 7:30 A.M. and 8:30 A.M.
• Upon return to school, a written note, indicating name, date, days of absence and reason for absence is to be presented to the teacher. If a student is out of school due to illness for 5 days or more a Return to School Form must be obtained from the physician stating the reason for the absence. This form should be submitted to the school office.
• All contagious diseases (Chicken Pox, Scarlet Fever, Mumps, Measles, etc.) must be reported to the local Health Department.
• Tardiness is to be discouraged. Tardiness is recorded on the child's Permanent Cumulative Record, which is kept on file. A tardy student must stop in the school office and pick up a form for entering the classroom.
• Work to be made up by an absent child is to be picked up outside of school time. It can be picked up in the office, after school hours, or sent to a family member in school.
• Laidlaw provides bus service for the Elmbrook School System. You can reach them at 262-797-7680.

Accidents

In the case of minor cuts or scrapes, students are to be sent the school administrative assistant for cleaning of wounds and bandage treatment. The principal and teacher supervisor shall exercise their best judgement in determining whether additional treatment should be requested either by placing a 911 emergency call and/or by notifying the child's parents or guardians. The school, except for any life saving measures as may be necessary until Paramedics or other health care professionals arrive at school, may administer no further first aid.

When an accident occurs on the playground or in the school involving serious injury to a student, an accident report is completed by the supervisor and filed in the office.

Since the Department of Public Health does not provide the school with the services of a nurse, decisions regarding whether an injury could be potentially serious rest in the hands of the School Principal. Generally, head wounds and injuries to the limbs prompt a call to the parents requesting that the parent take the child home for further observation or treatments. No child will be sent home unless a parent accompanies him or her. The Emergency Information Sheet will be followed in case the parent is not available. Therefore, it is essential that emergency numbers and medical information be current and accurate. Persons to be called in case parents are not available should be people who are living nearby and who are usually home during school hours.

Cuts and scrapes can only be cleaned. Ice packs will be applied when swelling occurs. This is the only first aid that can be administered to children. A note will accompany a child to inform parents of some minor injury.

Addmission Policies

Archdiocese Of Milwaukee

The parish/school respects the parents as primary educators of their children and provides opportunities, which reinforce the educational and formational priorities occurring within the home environment. Parents freely choose to share their parental authority and responsibility for the education and formation of their children with the parish/school community in a cooperative relationship.

The parish/school respects the dignity of the child. Neither race, nationality nor other forms of discrimination shall prevent a child from being accepted in the Catholic school or religious education program. Children of other religions may be accepted on a seat available basis unless attendance would cause conflict for the child because of the unique religious philosophy of these education programs. (Revised Policy #5110)

St. Mary's

Conscientious effort will be expended on the part of the School Committee and administration to make enrollment in St. Mary's School available to all who request such enrollment. The maximum class sizes are as follows: K-4, 20; K-5, 25; Grades 1-8, 27.

When a class is filled, a family may place their name on a waiting list. When making decisions about enrollment, the parish/school respects the dignity of the child. Neither race, nationality nor other forms of discrimination shall prevent a child from being accepted in the Catholic school.

When registration form and fee have been to submitted to the office by the Wednesday preceding Catholic Schools Week , the following enrollment priorities will be followed:

• Families who already have children enrolled in the school will have first opportunity and preference for the seating of additional family children. No preference will be given to current families if registration forms and fees are not submitted by the Wednesday preceding Catholic Schools Week.
• Families new to the school will have the opportunity to register beginning with the Open House held during Catholic Schools Week (generally the last week of January or the first week of February). New registrations will be handled utilizing the following guidelines:
  • Preference is given to families who are St. Mary's Parishioners, according to the date they registered in the parish.
  • Among St. Mary's parishioners, preference will be given families who live in the geographic boundaries for the Elmbrook and/or Wauwatosa School Districts since there are a number of benefits available to St. Mary's School by virtue of its geographic location within those school districts.
  • Given that we are a Catholic parish based school, preference will be given to Catholic vs. non-Catholic families.
  • Non-parishioners who live within the aforementioned geographic area are given preference over those who do not live in the area.

Waiting lists will be made for all classes closed because of size limitations. When registrations are taken at the Catholic Schools Week Open House registrants must be informed that registrations will be accepted conditionally. A preliminary list of those enrolled should be available within a week of open registration, with a waiting list made up using the above guidelines.

Following diocesan policy, * the parish pastor and school principal will strive to apply these policies with justice and fundamental fairness. The policies set forth above are meant to be guidelines and, as such, all decisions regarding application of these policies will ultimately be left to the sound discretion of the parish pastor and school principal, who will take into account any other circumstances they deem relevant.

*Among other things, this policy states: "Families are admitted into the school community when on the basis of a personal interview the pastor or his designated authority judges the interest and motivation to be in accord with the highest order of Catholic education."

Re-Entry Policy

It is the policy of St. Mary's School that no student be unjustly excluded from our school community. If a family would choose to leave our school and would at some point in the future want to return, the procedure for this is as follows:

• A letter must be written to, or a conference held with, the Principal discussing the reason for withdrawal and the reason for reentering.
• A response from the family, either written or verbal (in conference), to the questions provided by the Principal, along with school records of the child(ren)'s work at another educational institution must be submitted. This will include tests, grades and other information pertinent to the progress of the child(ren) while at the other school. Questions:
  • What circumstances caused you to leave St. Mary's School?
  • What influences your decision to return?
  • Since our parish school seeks family commitment, what form will your future commitment take to support the administration and staff of our parish school?
• Some special testing may be required prior to reentry. You will be informed of this as necessary.
• The principal, along with a school faculty representative(s) will review all requested information
• The principal or another school representative(s) designated by the pastor, will conduct a personal interview with the parents.
• The principal will make the reentry decision based on the goals and philosophy of St. Mary's School.
• The principal will communicate the response to the family in a reasonable amount of time.

Articles Prohibited In School

• All items such as guns, knives, sharp implements, bean shooters, slingshots, matches and/or lighters, and books, magazines and pictures of questionable nature will be confiscated and parents will be contacted.
• Radios, tape recorders, private electronic equipment, hard balls, bats, water pistols, etc. will also be confiscated.
• Skateboards, roller skates, and roller blades may not be brought to school, nor used on the playground during school hours.

Student Lockers and Desks: The Principal and staff members specifically delegated by the principal shall inspect the student lockers and desks and any items in the lockers and desks periodically. Periodic general inspections of lockers and desks may be conducted without the student consent and without notice.

Care Of Materials

• Each student is held responsible for the condition of all books and materials. If any damage occurs, a fine will be charged.
• All textbooks must be neatly covered at all times. Book covers are furnished free of charge, and paid for by the kind donations of sponsors. The advertisements on the book covers must be visible on the books; therefore, the covers may not be reversed.
• The students are permitted to take home all books, as well as library books, provided they are carried in a school bag.
• Encyclopedias are never taken from school premises.
• Book bags are required for every student from kindergarten through 8 th grade. No textbooks will be permitted to be taken home without a book bag or backpack that is waterproof.
• Computers are to be used only for class assignments. Disks brought from home must be scanned for viruses.

Child Abuse

All school and parish employees shall immediately report cases of suspected child abuse to the appropriate authority/agency as provided in Wisconsin Statute 48.981. (Refer to Archdiocesan Policy 5140.1.)

Child Custody Disclosure

Parents must provide the school office with copies of child custody arrangements and authorization records. We also need to know who can pick up the child.

Closing Of School

If school is once in session and there would be need to send the child/children home, every attempt is made to contact the parents, using the Emergency Card as a source of information. School is never closed, other than a scheduled free day, without a written note of explanation.

Conciliation Procedures For Parents

Peace is not the absence of conflict. Most of us experience conflict as a fact of daily life. Peace is the process of working to resolve conflicts harmoniously.

Conflict occurs most frequently when there is difficulty in communication. As a Christian community, we are committed to a more cooperative, mutual style of communication. For this reason, we encourage a process to be used when concerns or problems arise-a process which brings people together to listen to one another. It is a further COMMITMENT to peace education and reconciliation to provide and receive honest feedback.

If a serious concern arises, please follow the procedure outlined below:

• The parent shall submit his/her concerns orally to the teacher first and the two will work to resolve the conflict.
• If resolution of the conflict is not attained, either may submit the concern to the principal for mediation.
• If the situation is not remedied in a satisfactory manner, then a signed, written statement should be submitted to the Pastor requesting mediation and copied to the principal and the teacher or parent.

Conferences

Education is a parent-child-teacher endeavor. We want to provide a time and place for some mutual sharing regarding the growth of each child and the use of his/her potential. CONFERENCES have been planned for both the first and the second quarters. First quarter conferences will be held Thursday, November 19 th . Second quarter conferences will be held on Thursday, February 10 th . Times will be announced later.

We encourage parent interest in student progress throughout the year. Parents or teachers may request a conference at any time other than that designated. Please call your child's teacher to arrange for an additional conference.

Confidentiality

St. Mary's Parish School Staff is committed to upholding high standards for maintaining confidentiality. All requests for student records and transfers will be handled through the school office. These records are all kept confidential.

Contagious Diseases

• All contagious diseases must be reported to the resident's local Health Department. (The Waukesha County Health Dept. number is 262-896-8430.)
• A release slip is to be issued and presented to the school before the child will be permitted to reenter the class. The release slip assures the school that the child has remained home until he/she is no longer considered able to spread the disease.

Development Information

The school gratefully accepts gifts and matching funds from parishioners and friends of the school. The parish strives to call parishioners to a commitment to stewardship. The resulting generosity enables the parish to supplement tuition and fees income to meet the costs of education in the school. Additionally, the Home and School Association provides the school with monies from their many fund raising efforts including the Magazine Drive, Box Tops for Education, Scrip, Market Day and the Auction for Education. Family participation in these projects insures adequate material support for the school. Non-monetary gifts to the school will be accepted or declined by the Principal in consultation with the Director of Administrative Services of the Parish.

Emergency Information

No child is ever sent home for illness or any other reason unless the school has personally contacted the parents, either at home or at the place of employment, in order to determine the proper procedure for such a dismissal.

St. Mary's School Emergency Information - Annually, an Emergency Information Sheet is to be filled in and returned the first week of school. It is absolutely essential that, whenever there is a change of work, home address, phone number, etc., that this information be given to the school, in order to keep the records current. Such changes of information should be sent to the office in writing.

Field Trips

Field Trips are planned at the discretion of the classroom teacher. Teachers are encouraged to vary the experiences from year to year in order to provide students with a wide range of educational experiences. Field trips are an opportunity to extend LEARNING beyond the classroom walls-to broaden children's horizons. Every effort will be made to explore such possibilities and to participate in the wonderful experiences available through nature centers, museums, libraries, art groups, business and Industry.

Parent CHAPERONES are vital to the field trip experience. The number of supervisors needed is greater when students are younger or in instances when risk is greater. No field trip can take place without adequate parental cooperation and assistance.

Prior to the field date, each student will be issued a PERMISSION SLIP stating the details of the trip-times, date, cost, and mode of transportation. This slip must be returned prior to the day of the field trip with parent signature and phone number where the parent can be reach in case of emergency on that day. No STUDENT will be permitted to participate in the trip without this form. Teachers will post field trip forms at www.yourclasspage.com should a forgotten form need replacement. However, neither phone calls nor hand written notes will substitute for the official form. NO GUM IS PERMITTED ON ANY FIELD TRIP.

Food

• Foods, snacks, etc., may not be eaten in the hallways or on the playground.
• During teaching hours, no eating is permitted, unless designated by the teacher.
• A nutritious snack may be eaten before recess, but must be consumed while in the building.
• GUM IS NEVER PERMITTED on school property, or on any school trips. It may not be given as a birthday treat for the class.
• In the Junior High, birthday treats should be limited to a small healthy treat. Soda may only be brought to school with the prior approval of the teacher.

Inclement Weather Closing

St. Mary's School observes the closing of school as determined by the Elmbrook School System. On any morning when the weather is such that a parent might question whether school will be in session, the parent is advised to check with WTMJ RADIO 620AM and/or TV 4. Decisions regarding the closing of school are announced between 6A.M and 7A.M. PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE SCHOOL OFFICE.

Immunizations

STUDENT IMMUNIZATION LAW
AGE/GRADE REQUIREMENTS
2004-2005 SCHOOL YEAR

The following are the minimum required immunizations for each age/grade level. It is not a recommended immunization schedule for infants and preschoolers. For that schedule, contact your doctor or local health department.

• MMR vaccine for all students : The first dose of MMR vaccine must have been received on or after the first birthday.
• DTP/DTaP/DT vaccine for children ~ entering kindergarten: Your child must have received one dose after the 4 birthday (the 3, 4, and 5) to be compliant.
• DTP/Tap/DT/Td vaccine for students entering arcades 1 through 12 : Four doses are required. However, if your child received the 3rd dose after the 4th birthday, further doses are not required.
• Polio vaccine for students entering grades kindergarten through 12 : Four doses are required. However, if your child received the 3 doses after the 4th birthday, further doses are not required.
• Var. means Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine. Chickenpox disease history is also acceptable.
• Students 13 years of age or older without a prior history of chickenpox disease or a prior history of varicella vaccine before 13 years of age require 2 doses of varicella vaccine.

Library Fines

All library fines and library books must be returned before issuance of the report card at the end of the school year.

Lunch And Playground Supervision

SMV School Committee and Administration believe it is important for SMV to continue its hot lunch program and to have our children safe and adequately supervised on the playground. We realize that these goals require seven parent volunteers during the lunch period. Parents are asked to voluntarily sign up for these important responsibilities at Open House in August. A school calendar will be posted allowing families to choose five dates (one per quarter plus one). If for one reason or another a family were unable to perform this service, an alternative would be to write a check to St. Mary's for $100. These funds will be used to compensate substitutes. All parent volunteers must have completed Virtus Awareness Training and have signed the Code of Ethics and Mandatory Reporting Responsibilities verification, which should be filed with Kathy Janusz, our parish safe environment coordinator.

Other Expectations Of Junior High Students

Students are expected to come to class promptly, in appropriate uniforms, and with all required materials such as textbooks, pens, pencils, paper, etc. Assignment notebooks will be highlighted when these expectations are not met to alert parents to the student's non-compliance with expectations.

Physical Education

• St. Mary's School provides a developmental physical education curriculum within the school setting.
• Grades 1 to 8 change into gym uniforms for physical education classes. These uniforms are purchased through the Home and School Association and are part of the requirements for gym class. PLEASE BE SURE YOUR CHILD'S NAME IS ON BOTH HIS/HER GYM SHORTS AND GYM SHIRT! A plastic bag or gym bag must be used to store clothing after gym class.
• TENNIS SHOES- Grades K-4 to 8 - To prevent marks on the gym floor, the tennis shoes MUST have non-marking soles. No black soled tennis shoes will be allowed.

Playground Rules

• During recess times, the building may be entered only in emergencies.
• Bicycles may be brought to school, but must be walked on the playground, from the West (rectory), and from the East (Crescent Drive).
• Fighting, rough-playing, and violent games will not be tolerated.
• Vulgar, crude, and disrespectful language will not be tolerated.
• Each level is assigned a specific play area to be used during recess times.
• All steps and door areas, as well as railings, are to be kept clear at all times.
• Each pupil is to show the greatest respect for all students at all times.
• No snacks of any kind may be eaten on the playground.
• 5 th , 6 th , 7 th , and 8 th grade students may NOT play on the playground equipment during school hours. This equipment is intended for younger children.
• Snowball throwing is forbidden on the school grounds as well as on the way to and from school.
• Throwing, kicking, or handling of snow or snowballs are forbidden.
• Playing on the snow piles on the premises is prohibited except when supervised and when classes are scheduled for that area.
• Boots/rubbers are to be worn in wet weather. Students who lack boots will be asked to stand against the building for the entire recess. Slippery conditions require boots for safety.

Publicity/Picture Policy

St. Mary's School is proud of its traditions, teachers and students. We are eager to share our success with the greater parish and neighborhood community. Publicizing the activities, achievements and events of our school community demonstrates our commitment to excellence. It provides St. Mary's an opportunity to generate positive publicity for our school. It also fosters a sense of school pride while providing our students with educational experiences involving the media. This philosophy helps attract new students and increases support from community and business leaders. It is possible that your child's picture will be used in our publications or on our websites.

St. Mary's School will work to generate media coverage of various school events and activities as well as promote Catholic education within the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. This promotion is implemented under the direction of the Recruitment and Publicity Sub-Committee of the School Committee and the school principal.

Policy: Media access to the school may be granted by the school principal and could involve students being videotaped or photographed participating in school, classroom and/or extra-curricular activities. Because of the immediacy of media coverage, there is not always time to give parents prior notification. If you do not want your child's/children's picture(s) used for these purposes, please state this in writing and submit it to the office the end of the first full week of school.

Report Cards

Student performance evaluation is a mutual concern of teachers, parents, and students. While daily work, class participation, written assignments both in and out of the classroom and test performance are clear indicators of each student's progress, a formal report card is shared with students and parents each quarter. The times are noted on the school calendar. Students will have many opportunities to receive feedback about their progress and will be encouraged to evaluate their own work as well.

School-To-Home

• All written communications to the home are sent through the YOUNGEST AND /OR ONLY CHILD IN EACH FAMILY, on EACH WEDNESDAY. A family envelope, WHICH IS TO BE RETURNED each THURSDAY, will contain all such materials. The purpose of the packet is to communicate pertinent school and parish information to each family. It should not include solicitations from outside organizations without the principal's approval. Additionally, it is NOT intended to be used as a forum for personal or political opinions. If you want a communication distributed, the weekly envelopes will only include information pertaining to the entire school. Any other communication will be distributed on a classroom level. MATERIALS TO BE INCLUDED IN THESE PACKETS, OR DISTRIBUTED TO THE CLASSROOM, MUST BE APPROVED BY THE PRINCIPAL AND MUST BE IN THE SCHOOL OFFICE BY NOON ON TUESDAY. Furthermore, as the 2004-2005 school year progresses it is hoped that the newly designed St. Mary Visitation website, www.stmaryeg.org and www.yourclasspage.com will become the primary methods of communication with parents.
• On occasion, some communication is mailed directly to the home.
• SMASH (St. Mary's Association of School and Home), the official Home and School newsletter is published monthly and will be distributed on the third Wednesday of the month during the school year. A current calendar published in SMASH lists all events that will take place. As soon as possible, SMASH will also become an online communication.

School Visitation

Education is a cooperative teacher-child-parent effort. Our goal is to maintain open, positive communication with parents through conferences, calls, notes, report cards, and participation in Open House and other events throughout the year.

To create a positive and safe environment for your child, NO VISITOR is admitted to the school without first stopping in the school office to sign in, and receive a Visitor/Volunteer badge. Any unscheduled interruptions to teachers prevent the smooth running of classroom activities. Therefore conversations with teachers should occur at times when appointments have been set. However, parents are always welcome to observe in student classrooms after registering in the office. Moreover, parents are strongly encouraged to speak with teachers about how they might be of help in the classroom.

Teacher Availability

Education is a parent-child-teacher endeavor. We want to provide a time and place for some mutual sharing regarding the growth and behavior of each child when most needed. All appointments with teachers are to be set up mutually, outside of school hours

Teachers will not be available to take phone calls during class hours. A phone message left at the school office, or a written note will be attended to by the teacher at his/her earliest convenience.

Homework for an absent pupil will be taken care of at the end of the school day. Teachers will either send homework to a family member in school or to the school office to be picked up after school.

Telephone Use

A child will not be permitted to make telephone calls home requesting parents to bring forgotten items to school. The school office will call you if there is an emergency or if your child is not in proper uniform.

Transportation Changes

For children's safety, all transportation changes must be submitted in writing. If an unexpected emergency that will alter your child's pick up plans occurs, call the office as early as possible, preferably before 2:00PM. If play dates are arranged for children after school, written requests from both families that clearly indicate how the children are being transported should be in the office no later than 8:00 a.m. the day of the event.

Volunteer Policy

This Volunteer Policy is established to communicate the Parish and School's interest in the involvement of the parents, families and other members of the parish community in volunteer activities. The goal is to enhance the quality of the core educational activities and provide extracurricular programs such as athletics, lunch program, scouting, room parents, forensics, social and fundraising functions through the efforts of volunteers, rather than additional paid staff members. Through the creation of a Volunteer Program and policy statement, identification and engagement of the necessary voluntary participation of all school families will be achieved.

The extracurricular programs and activities currently in existence at St. Mary's School require in excess of 20,000 volunteer hours annually. It takes an average annual commitment of 32 hours of volunteer service from each school family to provide a base of volunteer hours to continue these programs. (Required concession duty for athletic program participants is not included in the expected minimum.)

The Home and School Committee maintains a position of Volunteer Coordinator to provide information on the volunteer opportunities available and coordinate assignment of volunteers based on expressed areas of interest.

Prior to school registration each year, a comprehensive listing of volunteer opportunities available for the upcoming school year will be provided to each school family. The volunteer form will provide information regarding the types of volunteer opportunities available and the approximate dates the service is required. In addition, the form will provide the contact person from whom additional information may be obtained about each program or activity. The form will enable families to indicate their commitment to providing volunteer service in indicated areas of interest.

In addition, the SMV School Committee and Administration believe it is important for SMV to continue its hot lunch program and to have our children safe and adequately supervised on the playground. We realize that these goals require seven parent volunteers during the lunch period. Parents are asked to voluntarily sign up for these important responsibilities at Open House in August. A school calendar will be posted allowing families to choose five dates (one per quarter plus one). If for one reason or another a family is unable to perform this service, an alternative would be to write a check to St. Mary's for $100. These funds will be used to compensate substitutes. All parent volunteers must have completed Virtus Awareness Training and have signed the Code of Ethics and Mandatory Reporting Responsibilities, verification which should be filed with Kathy Janusz, our parish safe environment coordinator.

All volunteers must complete a volunteer application, complete a Virtus Awareness session, sign the archdiocesan code of ethics and are subject to a criminal background check.

Volunteer Preparation

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee defines a school volunteer as any adult who works with children more than two times per semester. All school volunteers are required to complete a Virtus Awareness Training Session and to submit the signature page from the Archdiocesan Code of Ethics and the Mandatory Reporting Responsibilities to the parish coordinator. The parish requires all parents to do the same. Volunteers complete and sign a standard volunteer application. The parish conducts criminal background checks on all volunteers. Virtus Awareness Training session registration can be done at www.virtusonline.org ; the password is "trust".

WWW.YOURCLASSPAGE.COM

Your child's teacher will post pertinent assignments and announcements at this website. Our school code to access this page is the school's phone number: 2627827057. Click on any teacher's name to enter their class page. Ms. Reesman will also post timely communiqués on her page. Parents can easily email teachers or administration from this site. Please check this page weekly. As of this time, the parish/school website is under redesign. It too will provide increasingly helpful ways to remain informed about school activities.