handbook

School Day	Arrival	Departure
Kindergarten - A.M.	8:50 a.m.	11:30 a.m.
Kindergarten - P.M.	1:00 p.m.	3:40 p.m.
Grades 1-5	8:50 a.m.	3:40 p.m.

Telephone Number-James S. Evans School: 298-5240. You may contact the principal, the nurse, or leave messages for teachers at this number. It is a policy of the school that children CANNOT be called to the telephone except in an emergency. We will, however, be glad to convey a message to your child.

Daily Attendance-Regular attendance at school is important if your child is to keep pace with the rest of the class. If a chid is absent, a written excuse is required and must contain the date of the absence and the reason for the absence. If your child is absent, please call the school for notification. Otherwise the school will call your home on each day of absence.

Visits-Parents are welcome to visit the school. We would appreciate it if you would make arrangements in advance to visit a classroom. No child guests are allowed to visit the school when classes are in session. If you would like to arrange to talk with teachers, please telephone the school for an appointment. When visiting the school, PLEASE REPORT TO THE OFFICE UPON ENTERING THE BUILDING.

Parents Calling for Children-If you plan to call for your child, it is requested that you call prior to dismissal, or wait until the buses have gone. If you plan to take your child after the buses have left, please send a note requesting that we keep the child at school. If you are picking your child up during the school day, please come to the office.
ALL CHILDREN ARE PICKED UP AT THE OFFICE. He/she must be signed out, including bus number, at the time of dismissal. If for any reason someone other than a parent would be picking up the child, written permission from the parent or guardian must be received by the Main Office or the child CANNOT be released. THIS WILL BE STRICTLY ADHERED TO.

Children's Clothing- It is advisable to have your child's clothing, rubber and overshoes marked with his/her name. Please have overshoes and rubbers large enough for the child to put on himself. We would like to suggest that children be provided with a smock for Art and sneakers for Physical Education.
It is felt that fresh air and exercise are vital to growing bodies. As much as possible, children are allowed to go outside to the playground. At all times they should be dressed suitably for the weather.

Bad Weather Regulations-During the course of the winter, there maybe be a day when it is necessary to dismiss school early. If you would like to be notified of an early dismissal by telephone, please send a note to the Office indicating the number available. A sincere effort will be made to contact you in the event of an early dismissal. If school will not be in session for the day, the announcement will be made on the following radio stations:

                                WBNR-Beacon                                        1260
                                 WKIP-Poughkeepsie                               1390
                                WEOK-Poughkeepsie                              1450
These stations will broadcast school bulletins starting at approximately 7 A.M.

Report Cards-Formal reporting of students' academic progress is made quarterly. The first quarter report will be a parent/teacher conference. Report cards will be sent home for the remaining three quarters of the school year. Please acknowledge receipt of the report card with your signature.

Bus Information- All buses in the school district have been organized to operate with a maximum safety pupil load. It is imperative that children do not transfer from their regular bus to another except in cases of an emergency. If at any time you wish to make a change in your child's dismissal, please make such request in writing to Mr. Dominick.
Teach your child the importance of safety at bus stops. On "pick-up", have your child stand clear of the bus until it comes to a complete stop. On "drop-offs", if your child must cross the road, have him/her do so in FRONT of the bus -- NEVER to the rear. Children at all times should stand away from the road.

Telephone Numbers and Addresses-It is most important that we have the correct address and telephone number of each child. Please notify the school if you have a change of address or a change of your telephone number.

Health Facilities-A nurse is on duty at the school daily during school hours. Children who become ill or injured in school are cared for by the school nurse until the parent can be contacted and suitable arrangements can be made for future medical care. Accidents that occur at home or away from school property cannot be cared for by the school.

Medications-The school nurse, principal, and the teachers are not permitted to administer internal medication of any kind.
Under certain circumstances, when it is necessary for a child to have medication, the school nurse may cooperate with the physician and the parents, but certain requirements must be met.
If it becomes necessary for your child to have medication in school, please call the school nurse well in advance. Please note that ALL of the following regulations must be met before any medication can be given to a child at school.

The school nurse must have a written order, signed by a doctor giving the following information:
It must have a professional label (either a drug store or drug company, if a proprietary)

Name of student
Student's medical condition
Name of medication
Reason for giving
Dosage, time of day and number of days
List of possible side effects to be watched for

It must be brought to the Health Office by an adult. No medication of any kind is allowed on the school bus.
The parent or guardian must submit a written request to the school nurse to give medication as directed.

Parents must claim unused medicine at the Health Office at least seven (7) days after the last date for administering, at which time the medicine will be discarded. Any request for change in dosage must be accompanied by a written request of the physician and the parent.

Immunizations-All students according to State Law must be properly immunized or present to the school a valid reason for not being immunized. Immunization against a given disease means immunization with an approved licensed vaccine in the following manner:

Three or more doses of diphtheria toxoid.
A single dose of live measles vaccine for students born prior to January 1, 1985.
A second dose of live measles vaccine for students born on or after January 1, 1985.
A single dose of live rubella vaccine.
A single dose of live mumps vaccine.
Three or more doses of oral poliomyelitis vaccine

This must be certified by a physician licensed to practice medicine. NO STUDENT WILL BE ALLOWED TO ATTEND SCHOOL WITHOUT A CERTIFICATE OF IMMUNIZATION SIGNED BY A PHYSICIAN.

Testing-All information derived from the State testing program is available to parents. School personnel will assist parents in reviewing and interpreting such data during report card conferences and upon request.
New York state tests in ELA(English/Language Art), Math and Science will be administered in 4th grade. Social Studies will be given in 5th grade.

Course Descriptions-In grades 1 through 5, pupils are heterogeneously grouped in self-contained classes. The instructional program consists of the following subjects as mandated by the State Education Department:
Language Arts: Reading Writing, Grammar, and Spelling
Mathematics
Social Studies and Citizenship Education
Science/Health, Safety, and Physical Education
Art and Music are also offered including chorus, orchestra and band in the intermediate grades

Monies-If it is necessary that children carry money to school, it would be helpful if they could carry money in a change purse or wallet that can be carried on their person.

Cafeteria-Children in grades 1 through 5 may eat in the cafeteria. The school provides well balanced nourishing meals. The school lunch program is in operation from approximately 11:00 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. each day. Both hot and cold lunches are available. Children may bring money in each day or purchase meal tickets for 10 or 20 meals. A monthly menu is distributed to the children the first of each month.

Public Inspection and Copying of Records-Request for access to records may be made by phone, by letter, or in person to the appropriate school and office in which the records sought are kept. Records are available during regular business hours in each school.
Student records: Parents, legal guardians, or students who are 18 yrs of age or older may have access to their child's or their own records. Requests to review these records will be made to the appropriate building principal or designated guidance counselor.

Emergency Transportation Plan-In the event that some or all of the buses of the District are not available for the transportation of the children to the Elementary Schools, the following plan will be used at Evans School for the arrival and dismissal of children assigned to this school.
Please keep your radio tuned in to your local radio station for information concerning the emergency transportation plan. If this plan goes into effect, school will be open and teachers will be at their designated teaching assignments.
If your child's bus does not appear at the bus stop at the usual (within a ten-minute period) you can assume that the school bus will not arrive and the following plan should be used:
Transportation should be provided by the child's parent or guardian. If this is not possible, it is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to provide other means of transportation for their child. The means by which your child arrives at school are the means by which he/she must depart from school.
AT THE TIME OF DEPARTURE, EACH CHILD MUST BE PICKED UP IN THE MAIN OFFICE BY THE PARENT/GUARDIAN.

All students who ride the following buses should arrive at the school within the time allotted and depart within the time allotted.

Bus Trip	Arrive At	Depart At
Walkers	8:50 a.m.	3:30 p.m.
Vans	8:50 a.m.	3:30 p.m.
Bus 1	8:50 a.m.	3:40 p.m.
Bus 2	8:50 a.m.	3:40 p.m.
Bus 3	8:50 a.m.	3:40 p.m.
Bus 4	8:50 a.m.	3:40 p.m.
Bus 5	8:50 a.m.	3:40 p.m.
Bus 6	8:50 a.m.	3:40 p.m.

KINDERGARTEN:
AM     Children will arrive at school at the same time as Grades 1 through 5
AM     Dismissal will begin at 11:20 a.m. Parents will pick up children in the Main Office.
PM     Children will arrive at school at 1:00 p.m.
PM     Dismissal will be the same as Grades 1 through 5