WELCOME TO DESTIN ELEMENTARY
HOME OF THE DOLPHINS
2013 – 2014
As we celebrate receiving the grade of “A” from the State of Florida for the 2012 – 2013 school year, we face the excitement of a new school year. This achievement is one that takes the dedication and hard work of the teachers, students, staff, parents, and community respectively.
Destin Elementary recognizes the importance of an environment that promotes intellectual, personal, and social growth. It is therefore important that we work in partnership to help students develop a positive vision of the future and acquire the attitudes, knowledge, and skills necessary to become successful.
Our emphasis on student achievement and positive student interactions make Destin a school where learning and fun go hand in hand. We invite and encourage your participation at Destin Elementary. In the event this handbook does not supply you with the necessary information, please contact the office. We are committed to making this the best school year ever.
Our TEAM is here to assist you with your concerns and/or ideas. We encourage you to contact us at anytime you need assistance or wish to offer suggestions or feedback. Take the opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher periodically, to monitor academic progress. Visit our web page frequently so that you can stay informed.
I am confident that with your participation, this upcoming year will be A’ nother rewarding year for everyone.
Thank you for your continued support,
Janet Stein Dawn Massey
Principal Assistant Principal
School Mission
‘We are the Future: Independent Learners, Cooperative Workers, Self Thinkers, Strong Leaders, and Responsible Citizens. We are the Destin Dolphins!’
Table of Contents
Absences Define 12
Annual Publication of Student Rights 26
Attendance Requirements 11
Attendance Policy 11
Apply for Lunch Program 20
Celebrations 23
Child Care Program 24
Conferences 18
Custody .5
Discipline 15
Discipline Expectations 15
Discipline Plan of Action 15
Discrimination/Harassment Policy 26
Dress Code for Students 16
Early Checkout 5
Early Release Days 6
Electronic Devices 20
Exceptional Student Education (ESE) 22
Florida Comprehensive Achievement Text (FCAT) 18
Field Trips 23
Free and Reduced Price School Meals 20
Guidance Counselor…………………………………………………..21
Honor Roll………………………………………………………………18
Internet Access 19
Late Arrivals 5
Lunch/Breakfast Program 19
Lunchroom Rules and Procedures 16
Make-up Work 12
Media Center 20
Medical 13
Medications 13
Messages 6
Newsletters 6
Okaloosa County School Calendar 3
Parent Internet Viewer (PIV) 17
Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) 24
Personal Property 7
Physical Ed., Art, Music, Computer Lab and Recess 20
Pledge of Allegiance 6
PreKD - Kindergarten 21
Public Law 504 14
Report Cards/Interim Reports 17
Reporting an Absence 10
Excused and Unexcused Absences 11
Safety 5
School Advisory Council (SAC)………………………………………23
School Clinic 13
School Days 4
School Hours 5
School Insurance 15
School Payment Solutions 19
School Withdrawals 13
Semester Honor Roll 19
Special Events 22
Student Progress 17
Tardies 12
Technology Lab 20
Textbooks 6
Transportation 7
Transportation Changes 7
Bicycles & Scooters 8
Student Pick Up/Check out 7
Bus Riders 8
Car Rider Safety Procedures 9
Inclement Weather Dismissal 10
Walkers, Car Riders, Bus Riders 11
Trespassing 22
Truancy 13
Visitors 5
Volunteer Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) 22
Volunteers 23
Wireless Communication Devices 21
School District of Okaloosa County, Fl. Annual Public
Notification of Student and Family Rights Back pages
PLEASE NOTIFY THE SCHOOL IMMEDIATELY IF YOUR ADDRESS, TELEPHONE NUMBER(s) OR EMERGENCY CONTACTS CHANGE. WRITTEN NOTIFICATION WITH DATE AND SIGNATURE REQUIRED.
OKALOOSA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Okaloosa County, Florida
OKALOOSA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Okaloosa County, Florida
2013-2014 School Year Calendar
Board Approved on January 14, 2013 Pre-SchoolPlanning / Monday-Friday / August 12-16, 2013First Day of School for Students / Monday / August 19, 2013
Labor Day Holiday / Monday / September 2, 2013
*Elementary/Middle Early Release Day / Thursday / September 5, 2013
*Elementary/Middle Early Release Day / Thursday / October 3, 2013
End: 1st Grading Period / Friday / October 18, 2013
Teacher Work Day/Student Holiday / Monday / October 21, 2013
*Elementary/Middle Early Release Day / Thursday / November 7, 2013
Veterans Day Holiday / Monday / November 11, 2013
Thanksgiving Holidays / Monday-Friday / November 25-29, 2013
*Elementary/Middle Early Release Day / Thursday / December 5, 2013
Winter Break Holidays / Friday-Friday / December 20, 2013 - January 3, 2014
*Elementary/Middle Early Release Day / Thursday / January 9, 2014
End of First Semester / Thursday / January 16, 2014
Teacher Work Day/Student Holiday / Friday / January 17, 2014
Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday / Monday / January 20, 2014
*Elementary/Middle Early Release Day / Thursday / February 6, 2014
Washington's Birthday Holiday / Monday / February 17, 2014
*Elementary/Middle Early Release Day / Thursday / March 6, 2014
End: 3rd Grading Period / Thursday / March 20, 2014
Teacher Work Day/Student Holiday / Friday / March 21, 2014
Spring Break Holidays / Monday-Friday / March 24-28, 2014
*Elementary/Middle Early Release Day / Thursday / April 3, 2014
*Elementary/Middle Early Release Day / Thursday / May 1, 2014
Memorial Day Holiday / Monday / May 26, 2014
End of Semester/Last Day for Students / Thursday / June 5, 2014
Last Day for Teachers / Monday / June 9, 2014
*On these dates the following schools will have a later start time: Fort Walton Beach High, Choctaw High,
CHOICE High and Technical Center, Crestview High, and Niceville High. Please contact the school for
additional information.
15
Destin Elementary
Parent/Student HB 8/15/2013
SCHOOL DAY
SCHOOL HOURS
School hours will be 8:25 AM to 2:55 PM. For safety and supervision reasons, students should not come on campus without being in the company of an adult prior to 8:00 a.m. If a student repeatedly arrives prior to this time without a school-approved purpose, the parent/guardian will be contacted by the school office.
Students arriving after 8:25 are tardy and must be escorted by parent to the office to receive a tardy pass. See Policy for Late Arrival
2:50 Bus Riders & Car Riders dismissed
2:55 Walkers, Bike riders & Daycare dismissed
15
Destin Elementary
Parent/Student HB 8/15/2013
SAFETY
Students who walk, ride bicycles, or ride the bus to school must have a clear understanding of the safety rules from parents. The school will reinforce these rules for the safety of our children in partnership with the home and school. Reinforcement by both parties will assure students of the importance of these rules.
LATE ARRIVAL OF STUDENTS
Students are considered tardy if they are not in their classrooms by
8:25 a.m. An adult must escort their child to the office and sign in if they arrive after the bell. A tardy pass will be issued allowing the student to enter class. Students should arrive at school in time to put away backpacks, turn in homework and notes, sharpen pencils, and prepare for the day before the last bell rings. If your child eats breakfast in the lunchroom, please allow them enough time to eat and get to class before 8:25 AM Breakfast is served Monday thru Friday from 8:00 AM until 8:20 AM.
EARLY CHECKOUT
Early checkout is discouraged due to instructional time missed. In the case of an emergency or medical appointment, please refer to the following checkout policy. Excused checkouts are defined under the Attendance Requirements section.
Students will not be able to leave school unless they have first been checked out through the front office. Teachers are not permitted to release a student to a parent or any individual without prior permission from the office. To avoid class distractions, parents should not go to the classroom. A photo ID is required at all times in order to remove a student from school. To ensure a safe dismissal there will be NO checkouts after 2:30 p.m. unless there is an illness.
CUSTODY
By law, if parents are legally separated or divorced, each parent has equal rights to the custody of the child/children unless a parent has a court order that indicates which parent has sole custody of the child/children. The residential parent is considered the primary parent contact by the school. School Board Policy 4-44
The school must have a copy of the court order on file. It is the responsibility of the parent to provided updated documents.
VISITORS
All visitors to our school must report to the school office before entering any other part of the school. The office personnel will deliver messages or forgotten items to the students. Office staff will present visitors with a visitor’s pass that must be worn while visiting other areas of the school. To provide security to our children and staff, the east gate and entrances are locked once the last school bus arrives at school. The office front door will be open for all entry after this time. Student visitors or small children are not permitted to visit the classrooms during school hours. Parents are welcome but arrangements for in-class visitations must be made 24 hours in advance with the teacher and administration.
EARLY RELEASE DAYS
Once a month, elementary and middle schools will have an early release day, the first Thursday of the month, to allow for professional development training. Destin Elementary’s early release time is 12:10 p.m. Students will not be checked out through the office after 11:30. Please note the dates on the school calendar provided in front of this handbook.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
All students will stand each morning and recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and remain standing for the playing of the National Anthem. If a parent or guardian provides a written request to the principal asking that a student not participate in reciting or standing for the Pledge, then the student will be excused from this activity.
MESSAGES
Parents may call the school to get information or to discuss concerns. We ask, however, that parents remember that we cannot call a teacher from the classroom to answer a call, nor can we interrupt classes. But you will be able to leave them a message on their voice mail or with the receptionist.
The most frequent message requests received by our school concern changes in student departure plans. We ask that all such arrangements and other co-ordinations be made prior to the student’s arrival each day. This will reduce unnecessary classroom interruptions and will help ensure that a student clearly understands what he/she is to do after school on a given day. Please also be aware that, unless the office is notified in writing with a parent/guardian signature, students will be required to go home the way they came to school or via their regularly established departure plan.
TEXTBOOKS AND LIBRARY BOOKS
Students and parents are responsible for exercising care in the use of textbooks and library books loaned to them. The parent/guardian must pay for lost or damaged books at full replacement cost.
NEWSLETTERS
At the beginning of each week, students will bring home a weekly newsletter to help keep the parents informed of the various activities at school. The newsletter lists activities, events, special functions and the monthly cafeteria menu. The newsletter and important current information can be found on the school website. www.okaloosa.k12.fl.us/destin.
PERSONAL PROPERTY
Destin Elementary is not responsible for lost or stolen items.
Parents are urged to label student’s personal items such as jackets, sweaters, and lunch boxes with the child’s name (first and last). The wearing of expensive jewelry and bringing more money than is needed for the day is discouraged. A lost and found is located in the cafeteria. Children are not allowed to bring toys from home. This includes, but it is not limited to Game Boys, MP3 players, CD players, iPods, hand held electronics, any type of toy gun and trading cards (baseball, pokeman, etc.). If cell phones are brought to school, they should be turned off; not used during the school day and should be kept in the child’s backpack so they are not visible. (Per Okaloosa County School Board Policy)
TRANSPORTATION
CHANGE OF TRANSPORTATION
Changing transportation plans can be very unsafe and is a major area of concern for staff members. This practice can have severe consequences. Generally, parents should understand that this practice is difficult to manage and that young children are sometimes easily confused. Please do not ask your child or the school to manage a change of your transportation plans unless a very unusual and unexpected situation has developed.
SCHOOL BOARD POLICY F-7 RELEASE OF PUPILS DURING SCHOOL HOURS – STUDENTS WILL NOT BE RELEASED TO ANYONE EXCEPT PARENTS OR THEIR AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES (WRITTEN CERTIFICATION REQUIRED) DURING SCHOOL HOURS.
We must enforce the rules as written and require the residential parent to give us written documentation when regular dismissal routines are to be changed. This may place a slight burden on the residential parent to provide the necessary documentation for the appropriate authorities, but such a safeguard is critical for the protection of our students.
The safest and easiest procedure is for the parent(s), or authorized other adult (written certification required), to come to the school and escort their child(ren) at the bus stop and then proceed to the appropriate destination.
Sometimes exceptional situations occur, however, and the school must implement special accommodations. If this ever happens, then parents must follow the “note” procedures” below with the knowledge of the aforementioned concerns:
1. Daily, personally deliver a written note in the parent’s handwriting to your child’s teacher indicating the specific change necessary for that day (do not relay on your child on your child to deliver the note to the teacher);
2. The note must clearly indicate the requested change “from” and “change to”;
3. The note must be dated and bear the parent’s signature;
4. The teacher will initial the note and send to the front office for administration approval;
5. Bus drivers will not allow children on their bus unless the child is a regular rider or the child presents a transportation change form from the office. Buses may be overloaded with additional riders not on the scheduled route, and occasionally a transportation change may not be allowed for that reason.