The Handbook Highlight is a recap of a handbook policy or entry that our Students/Adults need to be aware of. If I'm taking the time to include it, it's something to pay attention to - either because I'm seeing that people aren't clear on it, people aren't complying with it, or I'm about to start cracking down on it.
This week's highlight is:
ATTENDANCE POLICY GRADES 6-12
The Slater Board of Education, school administration, and teachers believe that the responsibility for students attending school lies jointly with the student, the parents, and the school. The following attendance policy is designed to maximize student attendance while allowing for the necessary absences from school throughout the year.
1. Parents are requested to telephone the school at 660-529-2278 by 8:30 a.m. when their child will be absent from school. If no call is received by 8:30 a.m., the office secretary will attempt to make contact with parents.
2. Doctor's notes will no longer be considered as a valid excuse for absences. This change ensures consistency and accountability in compliance with state attendance measures requiring 90% attendance from all students.
3. Students are allowed to make up all work missed during an absence unless the absence is the result of an out-of-school suspension. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain and complete missed assignments, which are subject to individual teacher policies.
4. Juniors may request to take 2 college visits. All seniors are allowed 3 college visits. Arrangements must be made in advance through the Counselor’s office. If arrangements are not made in advance they will not be excused.
5. Field trips or any activity sponsored by the school are not considered absences from school. Students are responsible for informing teachers of their absences and obtaining assignments the day before the scheduled event.
6. For credit purposes, any student that is 25 minutes or more late for a class will be considered absent from that class.
7. Students with an attendance rate below 90% will not be allowed open lunch.
8. Students must be in attendance for at least 4 consecutive hours of that school day to participate in or attend any school sponsored event.
9. Students must be in attendance for at least 4 consecutive hours on Friday to participate in or attend any school sponsored weekend activities.
10. Students that fall below 90% attendance rate will appear before the Attendance Review Committee.
On September 20, I informed the HS student body that due to issues with students wearing hats in the building during the school day, hats are not to be IN the building during the school day.
Hats should be left in vehicles or lockers. They can be left in the HS office if you need a place, but if It's on a student during the day, it will be sent to the HS office...with a referral.
If you know that you won't be at school on a certain day for an appointment, meeting, etc. - besides telling your teachers (which is great!) - please let Ms. Mindy know.
You can do so by emailing her at mwiseman@slaterschools.net.
Parents can call Ms. Mindy at 660-529-2278, ext. 107.
Students, we're seeing a daily discrepancy between the number of students who say that they are NOT eating lunch at school vs. those who come through the line to get a tray each day. On average, we're serving about 15 more students a day than what we're expecting. With HS lunch being the last shift of the day, we run the risk of not having enough food prepared.
We want you to eat lunch. We also want to know that you're going to eat lunch. And...we can see the morning lunch count for each student. If you're not sure, go ahead and tell us you're going to eat at school.
Menus are further down on this newsletter and on the TV screens in the hallway.
Bon Appetit!
Our new Student Information System (Teacher Ease) and our texting program (Thrillshare) are not exchanging information properly right now.
This means that new phone numbers (new students, parents) aren't loading into the program for text alerts and some email notifications. We are aware of the issue and working with both companies' customer service.
We are sorry for the inconvenience. Stay tuned for updates!
Students learned in the first week of school that they must be in good standing to participate in extracurricular events/activities. (This includes attending those events as a spectator.)
Students must be in attendance at school for four consecutive hours on the day of the event to be able to play in or attend an extracurricular event/activity.
Our first Eligibility List of the school year will run on Monday morning at 8:00 am. This list determines GOOD STANDING, as defined in the Student Handbook. It reads,
GOOD STANDING
To be considered a student in good standing, a student must not be in violation of the attendance policy, have outstanding discipline referrals OR appear on the current F list.
In order to participate in extracurricular events including (but not limited to): dances, field trips, school-sanctioned sports events; a student must be in good standing.
Students in grades 6-12 that are not in good standing will have closed lunch and be required to sign in daily in the cafeteria.
The handbook also reads,
ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS
...
High School and Junior High students’ extracurricular eligibility is determined by the current F List. This report is made available to HS and JH teachers and coaches and is computed approximately every two weeks. A student who is on the F list for one class may practice but not compete in any events for the duration of that F list, while students who are failing more than one class on any F list may not practice or compete in any event. Eligibility may only change at the issue of each new F list.
To recap, If a student is not in good standing, he or she is not in good standing until the next Eligibility List runs (September 23). Students who are not in good standing may not:
- Leave the cafeteria at lunch (must sign in on South Wall)
- Play in extracurricular events (may continue to practice with one failing grade or low attendance)
- Attend extracurricular events as a spectator (Members of athletic teams may attend and sit with team at Coach/Administrator discretion.)
If a student is not in good standing, he or she (and their adult(s)) will receive an email notification from Ms. Mindy that includes a letter from me explaining the information above. If a student who is not in good standing fails to sign in for Closed Lunch, the following Handbook policy will be followed:
CLOSED LUNCH
Failing to sign in for Closed Lunch
Grades 9-12
1. Warning
2. 3 hour detention
3. 1 day in the Transition Room for each day not signed in
Contact Info
Email: jclements@slaterschools.net
Website: slaterschools.net
Location: 515 Elm Street, Slater, MO, United States
Phone: 660-631-5298
Twitter: @SlaterPrincipal