REEDSELEMENTARY SCHOOL
791 S. NC Hwy 150
Lexington, NC27295
PH: 336-242-5620
FAX: 336-242-5621
Office Hours: 7:30 – 4:00
School Hours: 8:00– 2:30 (Tardy Bell Rings at 8:00)
Student Handbook
2017-2018
Reeds Elementary School is a special place where parents and
teachersjoin together in providing the most positive learning
environment possible. The experienced staff at Reeds is
dedicated to providing every child with the best educational
opportunity possible. This ReedsSchool Student Handbook
has been prepared to help you become acquainted with
school policies and school rules. This handbook is limited
in size and scope to those matters, which are immediate
and recurring concerns. Other pertinent information will be
forwarded to you through our teachers, assemblies,
and school newsletters.
School Hours
7:30SchoolBuilding Opens
7:30 – 8:00Breakfast
7:55Students Report to Class
8:00Tardy Bell/Class Begins
2:30Bus Riders Dismissed
Car Riders Dismissed
Early Arrivals
Students who arrive at school prior to 7:55 a.m. are to report as follows:
Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2 students will report to the Computer Lab.
Grade 3, Grade 4, and Grade 5 students will report to the Gym.
Students may eat breakfast between 7:30 and 7:55 a.m. Students should not arrive before 7:30. The building will not be open until 7:30 a.m. Students who arrivebefore 7:30 must remain in the car with the driver until 7:30. DO NOT LEAVE ACHILD AND DRIVE OFF BEFORE 7:30. We care about your child (ren) and do not wish to place them in any type of situation which could prove to be unsafe.
Tardies
School begins promptly at 8:00 a.m. The tardy bell rings at 8:00 a.m. If your child arrives late and is not in the classroom when the tardy bell rings, he/she must report to the office immediately and get a tardy slip. The Parent/Guardian who brings the child to school must come in the office and sign the student in on the computer. It is not a good practice to be tardy for school. This causes inconveniences in the day’s routine, and your child begins the day already behind. When tardy, students are FULLY responsible for any work missed. In addition, this establishes poor habits for life and the work world. Tardy letters will be sent to parents at intervals throughout the year, if this becomes a problem.
Early Departures
The school day ends for students at 2:30. Students must have a note for leavingschool early. The note must include the child’s name, reason for leaving, time leaving,with whom the child is leaving, a parent signature, and a phone number where the parentcan be reached. If you pick your child up from school early, please make certain the reason is important and not just for convenience.
WE REQUEST THAT CHILDREN NOT BE PICKED UP BEFORE 2:25 P.M. UNLESS IT IS AN EMERGENCY SITUATION.
We reserve the right to request that you do not take a child from school early if we feel this has happened too frequently or if the reason is not appropriate. Students need to be in school all day, everyday, except in cases of sickness or emergency situations. Attendance affects your child’s performance in the classroom.
Please follow these guidelines for early departures:
1. Report to the office, not the classroom.
2. Someone in the office will send for your child (ren) after your arrival.
3. Sign the student out on the computer in the office. You will need to give a reason for
the early departure and your picture will be taken. Our computer sign-out system is
for the safety and protection of your child (ren).This ensures that children only leave
with properly designated persons. Be prepared to show ID if asked.
4. If your child leaves school before 11:15, he/she will be marked absent.
All students will be placed on buses or in cars by our staff after school. We are
concerned about student safety. Please NEVER take a student from the bus area or from a bus itself, or from the car rider area without the consent of a staff member.
Do not call requesting bus or car rider changes. Due to safety concerns, we will notaccept transportation changes over the telephone. You may fax a change in transportation before 12:00 noon. We cannot be assured of the identity of the person making this request.
Visitors/Parents/Grandparents
We welcome you to come in for lunch, conferences, programs, book fairs, and other appropriate times. Refer to section explaining our parking. It is very important that you follow all procedures for visitors when you do visit the school.
Everyone who visits our school is required to check in at the office on our computer and wear a visitor’s badge (with your photo). This helps us maintain a safe school.
When you need to get or give information from/to the teachers, please leave a message and number on their voicemail.
Teachers will not be called out of class to talk with parents during the instructional day (7:55 – 2:30). Leave a voicemail requesting a conference if you feel you need to talk with your child’s teacher.
Do Notbypass the office and go to classrooms during the school day. Do not sign in andthen go to a classroom. If you do, you will be asked by appropriate staff to leave the building. This is a safety issue and we are striving to maintain a safe environment for all students.
If you are able to join us for lunch and you arrive early, we ask that you sign in and wait in the main lobby and then meet your child at the cafeteria.
All students need to walk to the classroom by themselves after the second week of school. We ask parents to notmake exceptions to this rule. This helps your child build independence and responsibility.
Attendance and Absences
(6.4 Attendance for All Students- School Board Policy)
The Davidson County Schools Attendance Policy will be followed. To be counted present for a day, a child must be in attendance in the classroom for a minimum of onehalf of the school day (11:15 a.m.). A lawful absence is sickness of the child, a doctor or dental appointment that requires the child to be absent for more than half a day, or a death in the immediate family. Excused (lawful) does not mean waived. Most any other absence is unlawful. Please bring a written excuse on a separate sheet of paper, not in the agenda, to school within three days of absence. Failure to bring an excuse is also considered an unlawful absence.
If you have a question about whether an absence will be considered lawful or unlawful, please notify the principal. If your child has a prolonged absence due to illness, please notify the school or the teacher as soon as possible so that arrangements may be made for schoolwork to be completed.
Students should make up work missed during the first five days after their return. If a parent comes after 2:30 to pick up missed work while a child is sick at home, the parent is to call the office before 9:30 a.m. so the teacher will have time to prepare it.
In order for a family trip to be considered a lawful absence, it must be approvedby the
principalprior to the trip. (Parents must provide evidence of the educational value of the trip.) Only five days per year will be approved except for extenuating circumstances. Failure to obtain approval for the trip will result in unlawful absences. Assignments missed must be completed. Parents should remember that a day of school can never be
completely made-up and should limit absences due to trips to the beach or other
recreational occurrences.
The Compulsory Attendance Law
1. Requires the parent to send an excuse for every absence.
2. Requires the school to notify the parent after six unlawful absences and by
mail after ten unlawful absences.
3. Requires the principal, after ten unlawful absences, to notify the District
Attorney or file a juvenile complaint.
School Closing Due To Weather Conditions
During extremely bad weather, it sometimes becomes necessary for a decision to be made concerning the closing of schools. The decision will affect all schools throughout the Davidson County System and is made only by the Superintendent. When a decision is made in the early morning that schools will be closed, it must be relayed quickly to all students and parents. A decision to close schools or consider a delay is made by 6:30a.m. In order to accomplish this task efficiently and with maximum coverage, school officials ask parents and students to cooperate by following the suggestions below:
1. Listen to one of the area radio stations and/or television stations – WLXN 1440 AM, WTQR 104.1 FM, WFMY Channel 2, FOX 8, and WXII Channel 12.You may also check the Davidson County School website.
2. Do not telephone the weather bureau, radio stations or television stations, school officials or school offices. Announcements will reach you by radio or television. School personnel are notified the same way.
3. The absence of an announcement means that the schools will open as usual. School officials are primarily concerned with the safety of all students when making their decisions.
When school opens on a delayed schedule, the school doors are unlocked on the delayed schedule as well. For example, on a one-hour delay, the school opens at 8:30; on a twohour delay, the school opens at 9:30. Please be aware of these changes.
Traffic Flow
Parents who bring their child (ren) to school and/or pick them up from school are asked to use the back parking lot off Waitman Road.Please do not use the front lot to drop your child off. The front area is now designated for buses only. Enter and exit our drive with extreme caution. Please DO NOT drive down the side drive to the old building to discharge or pick up students – this is a No Parking/No Traffic area.
Morning
Parents are asked to pull their car up as far forward as possible before discharging students in the mornings and during pick-up.
Afternoon
In the afternoons, after 2:15, please begin to make two lanes of traffic and follow the directions of the staff on duty. Those who begin the second line before 2:15 will beasked to move your vehicle. Display the student name tag given by the school in the front windshield until your child is in the vehicle. We ask that you do remain in your cars to pick students up. Do not drive or park in the Bus Lot (front of the building). Share this information with grandparents and others who will pick up your child
Parking
Parking is only allowed in the front of the school between 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. You will be asked to go to the car rider line before 8:00 a.m. and after 2:00 p.m. PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CAR PARKED ALONG THE CURB OF THE MAIN BUILDING AT ANY TIME DURING THE SCHOOL DAY. There are unmarked parking slots at the front of the school and in the back. Do not park in any parking slots that are designated (by a sign) for staff or in the handicap parking (unless your vehicle hasthe appropriate tag or sticker). Additional parking is available at the Auction House (except on days there is an auction!). Please keep in mind that parking at the Auction House is a courtesy of Mr. Craver. Please be respectful when parking and dismissing, and use the open gate area to walk up to the school. We appreciate your concern for all the students’ safety and your cooperation in this safety matter.
Book bags
ReedsSchool prefers students to be organized and have access to a book bag for keeping up with school materials and books. However, due to limited space on the buses, in the classrooms, and the difficulty loading cars in the afternoons, we DO NOT allow students to carry rolling book bags to school. Please make sure your child (ren) has a regular book bag to carry to school. Students with a doctor’s noteandprincipal approval may be granted permission for health reasons only.
Breakfast and Lunch
Breakfast items may be purchased individually without buying a complete breakfast. Supplemental items are available for purchase at lunch as long as your child buys or brings a regular lunch. All breakfast and lunch money will be collected in the line each day for all grades K-5. This is a state policy and has been implemented by the Davidson County Schools. Parents may pre-pay weekly, monthly, etc., if they so choose. Visit the website: scroll down to LunchPrepay.com to pre-pay online, or, you (or your child) may pay at the school cafeteria.
Breakfast / Lunch Prices
Breakfast for Students $1.50
Breakfast for Adults $2.00
Lunch for Students $2.75
Lunch for Adults $ Items are priced individually.
Please do not bring commercial lunches to your child at school. Some examples are: McDonald’s, Lexington BBQ, Wendy’s, Hardees. These meals compete with our Federal Lunch Program and we can be fined up to $10,000. Thank you!
Please wait in the hall outside the cafeteria when you eat lunch with your child. (sign in at the office first)
After lunch is over, students stay with their teacher to continue the instructional day, and parents are not expected to stay since this disrupts the routine.
Due to the large number of charges made in our cafeteria last year, we will need to monitor this year’s charges closely. Please pay charges promptly. If problems occur with charging, it will be addressed individually.
If you wish to apply for free or reduced lunch, forms are available in the office.
A microwave is NOT available for students.
No glass containers are allowed in the cafeteria.
Students may purchase bottled water, but teachers are not to get cups of water for them. Send a medical note to the teacher if needed.
Worthless Check Policy
Worthless checks received by Davidson County Schools will be turned over to the District Attorney’s Office. The criminal process will be issued if needed in order to collect restitution for the amount of the check. Penalty fees will be applied. Before this process is begun, we do allow you four days to bring cash to the school treasurer to replace the returned check. After the four days are passed and we have not received your cash repayment, we will begin the process at the District Attorney’s office.
Medication Policy
The Davidson County School System is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for the children of its schools. This commitment includes a procedure to monitor the distribution of medication(s) as approved by the child’s parent and physician.
Prior to the distribution of any prescribed/non-prescribed drug, a completed and signed medication form MUST be given to the office and/or teacher. The child’s physician MUST complete the medicine form for all prescribed medications and the medication MUST be administered from the labeled prescription bottle, with information regarding proper dosage. Parents must complete a medicine form for all non-prescribed medications (including anti-itch creams, sprays, etc.).A spoon should be provided if needed. NO STUDENT WILL BE GIVEN ANY MEDICATION WITHOUT A COMPLETED AND SIGNED MEDICATION FORM ON FILE. No medication may be transported on a school bus.
Medications taken by students
It is recognized that students may need to take medications during school hours. School personnel may administer medications prescribed by a doctor upon the written request of the parent(s)/legal guardian. To minimize disruptions to the school day, medicines should be taken at home rather that at school whenever possible. School personnel should not agree to administer any medication that could be taken at home.
Students may self-medicate and possess medications as prescribed by their physician only in situations that include asthma (inhalers), diabetes (insulin and glucometer), and severe allergic reactions (epinephrine auto injection). All other prescription drugs must be registered and stored in a designated area supervised by the principal, along with the required medical forms and be administered by school personnel.
The following criteria must be met for self-medication of asthma, diabetic or emergency drugs and/or for school personnel to administer medications.
- The appropriate DCS medication form, available in the school’s office and on the DCS web-site, must be signed by a parent(s)/legal guardian and licensed health-care provider. It must be completed annually or with any change in the dosage or time administered by a licensed health-care provider.
Required information:
- Written authorization from the student’s parent or guardian for the student to possess and self-administer asthma, diabetic and emergency medication
- A written statement from the student’s health-care provider verifying that the student has asthma, diabetes, or severe allergies
- For school personnel to administer over-the-counter medication, a physician must certify that administration of the drug is necessary during the school day in the original container
- For prescription medication, must be in a container dispensed by a pharmacist with the student’s name, name of medication and date the prescription was filled and clearly marked directions (medication pills must be counted by office personal, prescription oral suspension medication must also be brought into the office to be verified)
- The medication must be in the original container
- Student’s name and birth date
- Names of medication/equipment
- Dosage to be taken at school
- Relationship to meals
- Time medication should be taken
- Side effects
- Any reasons not to take medication
- Date medication should be stopped
2. Student may ask for health counseling by the school nurse, including: