ABSENCES 
Call the school (650-917-5454) the same morning to report the reason for your child’s absence. If we do not get a telephone call, we will call a parent to verify the absence. If your child is absent for more than 5 days for any reason other than illness, we suggest you pick up an Independent Study Plan from the office prior to the student’s anticipated absence. Homework may be requested by calling before noon. The work may be picked up in the office at the end of the school day by the parent or another student. The office will inform parents by notice of any communicable diseases such as mumps, measles, chicken pox, strep throat, infections etc. 

APPOINTMENTS 
Students are encouraged to have medical, dental, and other appointments outside of the regular school day. If it is necessary to make an appointment during school, please send a note or email to the teacher explaining that your student must leave at a specific time and why. You must come to the office to check-out your student. Please have him/her check-in at the office upon return. 

CHANGE OF ADDRESS 
Notify the office immediately of any change in your address or telephone number either at work or at home. It is important that Emergency and Disaster cards be up to date in case of injury. Whenever both parents will be out of town, temporary phone numbers and authorizations should be given to the office. 

CLASS ASSIGNMENT POLICY 
At Almond School, all classes are heterogeneous groupings. The staff carefully groups students to try to place each student in a situation which we feel will be the most educationally beneficial to him/her. Classes are balanced by staff, taking the following factors into consideration: boy-girl ratio, achievement levels, leadership, social factors, special needs and behavior. Parent input about a child’s special needs are taken into consideration, but a requests for a specific teacher are not accepted. 

COMMUNICATIONS-SCHOOL TO HOME 
School wide communication with parents is provided through the weekly newsletter The Thursday Word. It is extremely important that you read this publication to keep abreast of the school calendar and special events. The current edition of the district's weekly newsletter is available via the link in The Thursday Word or directly at the LASD website. 

COMMUNICATIONS-PARENT/TEACHER 
Close communications between individual parents, teachers, and principal is encour- aged. A parent-teacher conference is held in November with all the parents, how- ever, a conference may be requested at any time during the year. Please feel free to contact the school office or your child’s teacher to make an appointment. 

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS 
In the event of a disaster (fire, earthquake, or other emergency) a contingency plan is in place. Most staff members have been trained in first aid and CPR. Each class- room has a first aid kit and water. Fire drills are conducted regularly, and earthquake drills are performed three times per year, including one complete earthquake simulation. 

No child will be allowed to leave with another person, even a relative or baby-sitter, unless we have written permission to that effect, or that particular person is listed in your child’s emergency information. If a serious earthquake does occur, please come to school as soon as possible to pick up your child and any others for whom you are the emergency card designee. In case you or your designee cannot pick up your child by the end of regular school hours, your child will remain at school in our care until you arrive. 

Parents should instruct their children: If an earthquake occurs while he/she is walking or riding a bike to school, he/she should continue on to school. If the earthquake occurs while he/she is walking or riding a bike home from school he/she should continue on home. Children should be instructed to walk quickly, but in as safe a manner as possible, away from concrete walls and buildings. In a severe earthquake, we would appreciate having any parents who are able to do so, report to the school to help. We encourage each family to have a plan should an earthquake occur when children are not in school. 

EMERGENCY DATA 
Parents are asked to update their emergency data information online using the InfoSnap process at the beginning of the year. Please be sure to keep this emergency information up to date. We also ask that you list only people who are readily available to assist your child, if we cannot reach you. You should be aware that only parents can authorize medical treatment should your child require it. We appreciate being informed should you plan to be out of town or have made arrangements for someone else to care for your child. Please notify the office of any change in your address or telephone number (home and place of employment). 

FIELD TRIPS 
Fields trips are taken at the discretion of the classroom teacher in conjunction with the curriculum. To enhance the educational experience of all students, parents are asked to donate the students’ share of the trip plus bus expenses. No student will be excluded from participating in an LASD field trip because of lack of funds. Confidential financial waivers are available. Please contact your classroom teacher regarding financial hardship. Students must have signed permission slips in order to go on field trips, including walking trips. Only parents who have had their insurance verified by the district will be allowed to transport students when cars are used for short trips. 

HEALTH SERVICES/POLICY 
Almond School provides health-related services to students in school. Among these services, vision and hearing testing are probably best known. Vision checks for farsightedness, tracking, and convergence are given to all kindergarten, first and fourth graders and to all referred students. Initial hearing test screening is done by the county audiologist in a soundproof van, and tests are given yearly to Kindergarten, second and fifth graders and to all referred students. All problems noted are recorded, followed up, and referred. Referrals for testing are done whenever requested by a teacher, parent, or student. Children with head lice will be sent home from school if they are found to have active adult head lice and/or nits. Parents will be contacted immediately to pick their child up for proper treatment. Staff will maintain the privacy of student identified as having head lice. 

LOST AND FOUND 
All removable articles of clothing should be labeled with your child’s name. Unclaimed articles will be donated to local charities at the end of each year. Valuables such as keys, money, watches, etc. are turned in to the office. 

LUNCH 
Students are expected to eat lunch on campus. We do not permit students to leave campus for a restaurant lunch unless accompanied by an authorized adult. The adult must sign in at the front desk in the office. 

MEDICATION 
No medication, including aspirin, can be administered at school by any staff member unless a medical form has been completed by the child’s doctor and is on file in the office. If your child has serious allergies, such as to bee stings, notify the school and discuss contingency plans. Please be aware that the District nurse is only at Almond School one half day a week, however, our office staff has been trained in first aid procedures. 

PERSONAL INFORMATION REQUESTS 
The school is unable to provide class lists or private information, including the telephone numbers of teachers. The PTA publishes a directory in October with names, addresses and phone numbers for each class for use by other Almond families. For the safety of children, please consider this directory confidential information and keep it in a safe place. 

SAFETY AND TRANSPORTATION 
If children do ride bikes to school, they must have a lock and bikes should be locked to the racks. Bikes should never be left at school overnight. Almond School cannot assume responsibility for any damage or loss that may occur to bikes. Please have bikes licensed and equipped with a strong lock and chain. A bike helmet is a must. Bikes are to be walked on the school grounds at all times - before, during, and after school. "Walking" the bike means the owner will walk along side the vehicle, not sit on it and push with his/her feet. 

Skates, roller blades, and skateboards are not to be used on the school grounds during the school day and should be removed immediately upon entering the school campus. 

DROP-OFF AND PARKING 
For the safety of children, the drive-through curb lane is a drop-off and loading lane only. Cars are to move continuously unless children are actually entering or exiting the car. Parents are asked to park in designated slots whenever they must wait for older children, visit with other parents, or stop by the office. The cooperation of all parents in observing these procedures is needed. 

STUDENT PROGRESS 
Parent-Teacher conferences are scheduled in November for all students. Teachers are available for additional conferences at any time during the year. Call the office or send a note requesting an appointment. We encourage parents to contact us at any time if there are concerns or questions rather than waiting for a small problem to become a larger one. Report cards are distributed three times during the school year in grades 1-6. No report cards are issued for Kindergarten. 

SUPERVISION 
Almond provides full adult supervision before school, at recess, and noon. We do not provide supervision before 8:15 am or after school as teachers have scheduled meetings and conferences at those times. Please do not allow your student to arrive on campus before 8:15 am or stay after dismissal time unless special arrangements are made with the classroom teacher or school office. Students are required to leave school immediately after dismissal, unless they are involved in after school home- work center or an after-school, pre-approved enrichment activity. Students are to report to their homes, baby-sitters, etc., at the close of the school day before returning to play on the school grounds, and should not return until after 3:30 pm. If a primary students needs to wait for an upper grade sibling to be dismissed, he/she must wait in front of the school. 

TARDIES 
Tardies interfere with student learning: thus, promptness to school in the morning and following recess and lunch is encouraged. Tardy students are often required to make up time they are late either at recess or after school. Parents will be contacted if a pattern of lateness develops. 

TELEPHONE 
Students are to use the telephone only for emergency situations. Students are not allowed to use the telephone to make after school plans. These and rainy day plans should be made before arriving at school. 

VISITORS AND VISITING PARENTS 
All visitors must check in and out through the office regardless of the purpose of the visit. This is for the protection of the students and to avoid interruptions in the classroom. Volunteers are asked to sign their names in the Volunteer Sign-In Book in the office upon arrival and sign out upon leaving so that we will know who is present in case of an emergency at school or at your home while you are volunteering. If your child forgets his/her lunch, please bring the lunch to the office and we will make sure that he/she gets their lunch. Please do not go to the classroom, as this could be disruptive to the children. 

SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONS
 

PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA) 

PTA enjoys a large membership of parents and teachers who are concerned about improving the education of children. PTA facilitates parent/community involvement in cooperative volunteer/staff programs for school enrichment such as the Library, Math Lab, classroom volunteers, noontime activities, field trips, etc. It publishes a yearly school directory and raises funds for specific school needs. Monthly meetings are open and interested parents are encouraged to attend. 
 

SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL (SSC) 
The Almond School Site Council consists of an equal number of parents and staff and also includes community representation. It is responsible for writing, reviewing and implementing Almond’s Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA). Although the number of parents on the council itself is limited, all meetings are open to the public. 

STUDENT GOVERNMENT 
Student Council is an important part of the Almond program for students in grades 3- 6. Classroom representatives are elected twice a year, and meetings are generally held twice a month. The student body elects officers to the Student Council, following a week of campaigning and speech making. Students in grades 3-6 then cast their ballots. The Student Council meets to discuss student concerns, contribute to school and playground rules, and to suggest ideas for special events.

BEHAVIOR STANDARDS 

Student Behavior Overview 
Behaving appropriately is an essential aspect of learning. All behaviors have consequences. Without a disciplined atmosphere teachers cannot teach effectively and the learner cannot learn. It is the assurance that these consequences will occur that guides us as human beings in choosing and modeling appropriate behaviors. We believe that all students can behave appropriately at school if they know the expectations. These are four useful behavior management tools we can teach our students: 

Behavior Standards 
Almond School has a set of behavior standards that is simple and direct. 

1. We expect students to show respect and concern for other students’ feelings, property and person.

2. We expect students to act in a safe and responsible manner.

3. We expect students to show respect for adults and authority. 

Almond's Cornerstone Program
Almond has adopted Project Cornerstone, which is a program that promotes a positive school climate for all children. Parents, students and staff work collaboratively to make our school feel safe and caring for all children. Each classroom has a parent monthly reader who reads selected stories that focus on student respect, dealing with peer abuse and building social skills. Members of our Student Council develop and implement a school-wide action plan with which to improve school climate. Parents are encouraged to continue the conversations with their children regarding the concepts highlighted each month. 

Dress Code
Students at Almond are expected to dress using safety, common sense and appropriateness as their guide in choosing school clothing. During the day, students engage in physical education activities and clothing and shoes must be safe for these activities. Appropriate attire is defined as clothing that allows the student to work and function in group settings. When necessary, the principal will make the determination as to whether clothing is deemed safe, appropriate and uses common sense. If a student is wearing clothing judged to be disruptive of the instructional process, they will be given a clothing item to wear which must be washed and returned to school on the following day. 

The following points should be considered when children dress for school:

• all underwear must be covered by outer clothing

• shorts and dresses should be of an appropriate length (measured by arms straight at sides, fingers extended, with fabric measuring even with, or longer than, the finger tips); “short shorts” are unacceptable

• “spaghetti strap” tops, halter tops, strapless blouses (girls) or tank tops (boys and girls) are not allowed; if you wear them, you must wear another piece of clothing which covers your shoulders and upper arms 

• bare midriff is unacceptable

• clothing with offensive language or pictures, or words written on the derriere of shorts or pants, is unacceptable 

• flip-flops and platform shoes shall not be worn for safety reasons

• hats and headdresses are not to be worn indoors

SCHOOL RULES
 

Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated.

Rule 1: Always try your best to be safe, be fair, and kind. 

Rule 2: Do not interfere with teaching and learning. 

Student Safety 

Student safety is our first priority. Remember to stop and think. PLAY SAFE! Students should ask themselves two important questions: 

• Will my actions hurt someone on the outside? Remember to keep hands and feet to yourself. Pushing, pulling clothes, grabbing, kicking, martial arts, wrestling, hitting or throwing unsafe objects will not be tolerated.

• Will my actions hurt someone on the inside? Bullying, teasing, threats, profanity, exclusion or harmful language will not be tolerated.

General Rules 

• Be responsible and take care of school property. Be kind, honest, polite and helpful. Act as a positive role model. Treat others and their property with kindness and respect.

• Refrain from throwing stones, sand, water, dirt, tanbark, pebbles or rocks.

• Refrain from using abusive language, gestures or physical aggression.

• Once on school grounds and sidewalks, students are to walk their bicycles, scooters and skateboards. Rollerblades should be taken off before entering school grounds or sidewalks. 

• Remain on campus, unless signed out by a parent or guardian in the office. Almond is a closed campus.

• Adult supervision is required to be in a classroom, multi-purpose room or library.

• Report any problem at school to an adult. Students who observe and fail to report a problem are just as responsible as those who caused the problem 

Restroom Rules 

• Be considerate of others and keep the restroom neat and clean for the next person.

• Wash hands, with soap, after each use.

• Exhibit good behavior while using the restroom. Refrain from playing in or around the restrooms. Remember, “Use, Wash, Leave.”

• Use the drinking fountains and restrooms before the bell rings. 

Assembly Rules

• Sit quietly and directly (flat) on the floor. Talking during the assembly disturbs others, as well as the speaker or performer.

• Be a polite audience by showing respect to those performing. 

• Applaud performances in a correct manner. 

Hallway Rules

• Sidewalks and corridors are for walking only. Treat hallways as “quiet zones” when walking to and from your destination.

• Balls are to be carried when walking to and from classrooms.

• Games such as pole tag and jump rope are inappropriate on walkways. 

Lunch Schedule