Veronica Motley, Principal

“Empowering Students for the Future”

Welcome Back!

We are off to a wonderful start of a brand new school year. I want to thank all our staff, parents and students for making the start of school flow so seamlessly. Our teachers and staff have been hard at work during the month of August preparing for the start of school and we look forward to getting to know our students and families better.

Please take a moment to read this newsletter each time it comes home. We will include upcoming events, calendar information and important school information. Also, please check out our new Kent City Schools website:

I’d like to wish everyone the very best for this school year!

DATES TO REMEMBER

Sept. 3PTO Meeting 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 21Instrument lessons begin and continue every Monday

Sept. 25School Pictures – forms coming home Mon., Sept. 14th

Oct. 1PTO Meeting 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 30Walls Harvest Festival

ELEMENTARY LUNCH/BREAKFAST PROGRAM

Breakfast: $1.45, Lunch: $2.35, and Milk: $.55. Student food accounts are automated. Parents may add funds to a student account by sending money (cash or check) with a student to school or by paying online at As students purchase lunch or breakfast the cost of the meal will be deducted from the student’s account. Parents will be able to access their child’s accounts to see balances, add funds, and see meals purchased at

SCHOOL FEES:

Beginning with the 2007-08 school year, the KentCitySchool district adopted a new policy to waive school fees as follows:

Students in grades PreK-8 who apply and qualify for free lunches or breakfasts under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program are eligible for a 100 percent waiver of fees.

Students in grades PreK-8 who apply and qualify for reduced-price lunches or breakfasts under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program are eligible for an 80 percent waiver of fees.

Beginning with the 2009-10 school year, the following policy will also be in effect:

• Students in grades 9-12 who apply and qualify for free lunches or breakfasts under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program are eligible for a 100 percent waiver of fees.

This policy includes only the regular instructional fees, not extra fees for field trips or other activities. In addition, the policy does not apply to any fees still owed from previous years.

All parents will receive information about applying for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program. Those who apply and qualify for this federal program will be notified of their eligibility to have their student fees waived or reduced in accordance with the policy. New this year: In order to use their child’s free or reduced-price lunch eligibility to qualify for the fee waiver or reduction, an Information Sharing Form will be sent home to parents. This form must be signed and returned to the school.

School fees for the 2009-10 school year are as follows:

Fees are due by September 30, 2009. Please make checks payable to Walls Elementary. If paying by cash, please send exact change. Partial payments are welcome. Report cards will be held beginning with the second grading period for unpaid fees.

Emergency Medical Forms

Please remember to complete and return your child’s Emergency Medical Form if you have not already submitted it. It is very important for us to have this form on file as soon as possible in case we need to reach you for any reason. Thanks for your cooperation.

K-8 STUDENT ATTENDANCE PROCEDURES

It is necessary that a student be in attendance throughout the school day in order to fully benefit from the educational program of the District. Our Board of Education policy allows school personnel to reserve the right to verify and investigate the cause of any absences.

The Board of Education has approved the following factors as reasonable excuses for absence from school:

1. Personal illness and/or professional appointments.
2. Illness of the immediate family on a temporary basis (not under age 14).
3. Quarantine of the home for contagious disease.
4. Death in the family.
5. Necessary work at home on a temporary basis due to absence or incapacity of parent(s)/guardian(s).
6. Observance or celebration of a bona fide religious holiday.
7. Such good cause as may be acceptable by the Superintendent.

Children who arrive late to school (between 8:40 and 9:30 a.m. – elementary; between 7:37 and 8:35 a.m. – middle school) or are removed from school prior to dismissal time (between 2:30 and 3:15 p.m. – elementary; between 1:54 and 2:40 p.m. – middle school) will be marked with an unexcused tardy unless the school is provided a written doctor’s excuse or the tardy is excused as determined by the building principal. Patterns of tardiness are subject to attendance officer referral and/or appearance at an Attendance Mediation Conference.

Elementary children who arrive after 9:30 a.m. or who are dismissed before 2:30 p.m. will be marked with a half-day absence. Middle school children who arrive after 8:35 a.m. or who are dismissed before 1:54 p.m. will be marked with a half-day absence. If school office personnel are not informed by the parent as to the reason for an absence, whether half-day or full-day, the absence is automatically recorded as unexcused. Children who are absent while under a doctor’s care need to have a written doctor’s excuse on file in the school office.

No credit/grade will be given for daily work missed to due to an unexcused absence or an unexcused tardy. Credit will be given for completed projects, tests, and/or reports. Parents of children who are absent five (5) days with only parent excuses may receive a reminder letter detailing Kent City Schools’ attendance procedures. Children absent beyond ten (10) days in the school year with only parent excuses may be required to participate in our Attendance Improvement Program. Absences beyond this 10-day limit not recognized as excused by Board policy are recorded as unexcused in our school records unless a doctor’s excuse has been provided. Children with any unexcused absences may be part of our Attendance Improvement Program.

Our Attendance Improvement Program involves one or more of the following:

Communication with the parent and student concerning attendance.

An information letter sent to parent(s) detailing the absences and/or a home visit by the district’s attendance officer.

Requested attendance at a mediation conference at school led by Townhall II personnel.

A Juvenile Court referral when a child accumulates unexcused absences of 5 consecutive days, or 7 days in a month, or 12 days in a year as required by Senate Bill 181.

Children should be kept at home if they have a fever or other obvious signs of illness. Our procedures allow 10 days a year without a doctor’s excuse for such absences. If they are ill more often, you should consider consulting a physician. If seeking medical help is a problem due to lack of medical insurance or finances, please contact our school nurse, Vicki Nichols, through the school office. Our nurse may be able to help you obtain appropriate medical care for your child. Our goal is to work together so that your child attends school on a regular basis in order to receive the very best education possible.

CHARACTER EDUCATION IN KENT CITY SCHOOLS

The Kent Community has identified character education as an essential component of their Strategic Plan for Kent City Schools. The Board of Education adopted this plan, and embraced the concept of character education as a critical part of the public education of our youth. A diverse community-based committee developed and defined character traits believed to be commonly held by the community and significant to include in our school curriculum. Strategies for integrating have been designed by a school-based committee. Each teacher has a handbook with these activities and would be glad to share them with anyone interested.

The character traits will also be prominent in the schools and community throughout the school year. A monthly character trait will be described in newsletters during the early part of each month. We hope families will reinforce these concepts at home as well.

Work Ethic/Responsibility - The character trait for September is “WORK ETHIC/RESPONSI-BILITY.” We hope this one helps everyone begin the school year successfully. The definition and goals are:

The student will:

• Attend to task
• Demonstrate persistence
• Show best effort
• Be able to carry out a duty and be trustworthy
• Exercise sound thinking and good judgment
• Knowing they are responsible for their actions.

Related words include: persistent, accountable, effort, dependable.

Practical applications to encourage are:

• Completes homework
• Completes work around the home without prompting
• Takes initiative in being helpful
• Takes care of property
• Is accountable to family and friends
• Takes responsibility for own actions

Thank you for your interest and cooperation as we continue with this effort. Best wishes to you and your family as you participate in this valuable and rewarding endeavor.

End-of-Year Performance Data for 2009-2010 School Year

The chart below summarizes the performance of those children who received federally funded, supplemental intervention services during the last school year at Walls Elementary. Percentages indicate those students who met all of the identified objective criteria. The objective criteria includes the following items: competency on SBA common assessments (75% or greater, passing classroom grades (“C” or higher), and promotion to the next grade level.

READING

MATH

(Note: Shaded areas indicate average competency levels below 75%.)

TRANSPORTATION CHANGES

The office must be notified of ANY CHANGE IN A CHILD’S REGULARTRANSPORTATION ARRANGEMENTS. If a child normally rides a bus but will be transported by car, a note must be sent to school on each day that this will occur. The note must include the name of the person who will be picking up the child. If an emergency arises where transportation by car was not anticipated in advance, the parent must report directly to the office and sign for the child to be released. The child will be called from the classroom at that time. At no time should a parent report directly to the classroom and attempt to have the child released without following the above guidelines. Although these guidelines are rather rigid, they are implemented to insure the safety of your child and to insure that he/she is released only to authorized individuals.

Students who wish to ride a bicycle to school must be in grades 4 and 5 and have a note from parents that will be valid for the entire school year. Bicycle racks are available and locks for the bicycles are highly recommended. Students are to use bicycle helmets for safety purposes. Please stress bicycle safety with your child. Students are not permitted to ride scooters of any kind to school.

Children are expected to remain at school throughout the school day unless the school office receives a note. Parents arriving to pick up children before dismissal are required to come to the school office to sign the child out. Students will then be called to the office to leave with the parents.

Please make every effort to set appointments outside the school day so that students aren’t missing out on instruction time.

GUIDELINES REGARDING STUDENT MEDICATION

Only prescribed medication can be administered to students. (School personnel are not permitted to dispense non-prescription medication of any kind.) If a child must take medication at school, a STUDENT MEDICATION AUTHORIZATION form must be completed by the parent and signed by the physician. In addition, all medication must be kept in the clinic in the original pharmaceutical container. (Any changes in medication during the school year must be accompanied with a new authorization form, which should include the following information.)

• NAME OF MEDICATION
• DOSAGE
• TIME
• SIGNATURE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN

For the safety of all children, students are not permitted to keep aspirin or other medication in desks, lunchboxes, etc.

DIRECTORY INFORMATION—All records, which concern students in the KentPublic Schools, are kept confidential in accordance with the Family Rights and Privacy Act. Exceptions to the above consist of so-called directory information, which includes pupil’s name, address, telephone number, place of birth, major field of study, weights and heights of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, date of graduation, and awards received.

A parent or adult student who does not want such directory information to be released may notify the Superintendent of Schools in writing with the next seven days from the beginning of class and this request will be honored.

WALLS PARENT/STUDENT HANDBOOK—You have received a Walls Parent/Student Handbook. This handbook has important information that may help answer any questions you have regarding guidelines about Walls Elementary. It also contains Student Medication Authorization forms if needed. Keep this handy throughout the year for your reference. Also, as a cost-saving measure the handbooks were provided one per family and came home with the youngest child in each family.

STUDENT CONDUCT CODE

The Board of Education has adopted a Student Conduct Code. Copies of the code have been posted in appropriate locations in each school building and are available to parents on request. Students in grades K through 12 receive a copy of the code as part of the student handbook. Please take some time to review the Conduct Code with your children. Thank you!

STUDENT GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

Forms are available in the principal’s office of each building outlining student grievance procedures. Any student wishing to file a grievance may obtain the procedures and forms from the office.

STUDENT SCHOOL RECORDS

Parents in Kent may inspect and review official student records and related information upon request to the principal of the building to which students are assigned. An appointment for the review of the records will be made at a mutually convenient time as soon as possible.

FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT

Under the Family Rights and Privacy Act, parents and adult students should be aware of the following:

1. Upon written request to the building principal, parents and adult students have the right to inspect and review the student’s school records.
2. Parents and adult students have the right to challenge the contents of a student’s school record.
3. Disclosure of information contained in a student’s school record is limited to directory information, which includes pupil’s name, address, telephone number, place of birth, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weights and heights of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, date of graduation, and awards received. A parent or adult student who does not want such directory information to be released may notify the Superintendent of Schools in writing within seven days of the first school newsletter, and the request will be honored.
4. Parents and adult students have the right to report violations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to the Department of Education.

ASBESTOS INFORMATION

In accordance with EPA regulations, the KentCitySchool District maintains information on asbestos – containing materials in the main office of each building. If you wish to review the information, please contact the principal.

IDENTIFICATION OF THE GIFTED

The State Board of Education requires school districts to identify children in Kindergarten through grade twelve who may be gifted as defined by the rules of the State Board of Education. In order to meet this requirement and other state testing requirements, students will be given the appropriate tests during the school year such as the Metropolitan Achievement Test, the Otis-Lennon Ability Test or other tests as needed. Please be aware your child may be involved in the testing procedures as described above. If you have any questions, please feel free to call the office.