Attendance Policy
Student absences due to illness or doctor's appointments must be verified. Please call the school office if your child is absent or send a note the day he/ she returns. Include your child's name, the dates missed, and the reason for the absence. The State of California considers a student with 3 or more days of unexcused absences as truant. Students who will be absent due to extenuating circumstances (e.g., family vacation or death in the family) may apply to the office for short-term independent study.

Attendance Procedures

1. Students absent from school are required to bring a note from home when they return. The note should include the following:

Child's full name
Room number
Date(s) of absence
Parent/ Guardian Signature

2. If parents wish to report an absence by phone, please call the school office at 433-5544.

3. If a student's absence has not been cleared by a note or phone by the parent, office personnel will call the parent and ask the reason for the absence.

4. Being more than 30 minutes late (on three separate days) to school without a legitimate excuse, such as a doctor's appointment, is considered a truancy.

5. Students will be dropped from the school's enrollment list if they are absent for a two-week period and the school has not been contacted (and we have not been able to contact you).

6. If your child has any contagious disease, such as chicken pox, please notify the school so that the proper measures can be taken in regards to your child's classmates.

7. If your child is absent due to head lice, please notify the school so that proper measures can be taken in regards to your child's classmates. After treatment, school personnel must check the child before returning to class.

Before & After School Procedures

1. Children are to leave immediately after school. Please pick up your child promptly when school gets out.

2. If children are not picked up, every effort will be made to contact you. Children not picked up by 3:10 will need to be signed out by an adult. Records will be kept of late pick-ups. If no one can be reached, then the police or CPS may be called.

3. Children are not allowed at school unless they are attending a school activity.

4. Children must walk on the sidewalk to and from school and use crosswalks.

5. Please use the parking lot or the street to park your vehicle.

6. Please be courteous by turning off your radio and not honking for your child so the kindergarten class is not disturbed.

Early dismissal
Early dismissal causes a general disturbance and loss of class time for your child and also interferes with the class rhythm. Please make an effort to schedule appointments for after school. Once children have arrived at school, they are not permitted to leave the school grounds without parent permission. If it is necessary for you to take your child out of class early, you must first come to the office to sign your child out. For your child's safety, the teacher will not release a child to anyone who has not obtained permission from the office.

Emergency Cards
If at any time your emergency card information changes please notify the office immediately. Each child must have an emergency card on file in the school office. In addition to the home phone number, each card must have at least two different numbers listed in case of an emergency. Your child will only be released to someone listed on his/her emergency card. The office staff will ask for proof of identification before releasing your child, for their protection.

Fieldtrips
John Morse School relies on volunteer drivers for field trips throughout the school year. All volunteer drivers must be registered, have the proper insurance ($50,000 - $100,000 liability and $25,000 personal property) and a good driving record (documentation from the DMV). Volunteer driver forms are available in the office. Each school year parent volunteer drivers already on file will need to provide current insurance documentation and an updated DMV report.

School age siblings are not allowed on field trips. Siblings who are not yet in school may come on field trips if the individual class teacher gives permission.

Fundraising
Due to the relatively small size of John Morse, the special materials and specialty teachers required for the Waldorf Program and the continued need to improve our daily attendance rate, fundraising remains a critical means of supporting the financial aspect of our program. Fundraisers are limited and based on prior approval by the Guild, staff and administration. See the Fundraising Page for more information.

Grade Level Parent Meetings
Grade level meetings are scheduled bimonthly. Check the Parent Newsletter, The Griffin Gazette, and teacher notices for the scheduled days and times for your child's grade level meetings for parents.

Homework
The staff views homework as an extension of the classroom. It gives students practice in using what they are learning in class and allows them to develop skills. It provides students with an opportunity to work independently, and develop a sense of responsibility. Homework is expected in grades 1-6. The amount of time a child spends on homework depends on the difficulty of a particular assignment and the individual ability of the child. Parents should read to or listen to their child read a minimum of 20 minutes per day.

Insurance
School district insurance will not cover any student who might suffer an injury while at school. For this reason, we encourage parents to provide their own student accident insurance. Information about one such plan, a district approved low-cost policy, will be sent home at the beginning of the school year.

Lost and Found
Please label your child's jackets, backpacks, lunch boxes etc. with their name and room number. Each year literally hundreds of articles are unclaimed and donated to charity. Please check the lost and found container in the cafeteria regularly. Periodically, the lost and found items are donated to a charitable organization. Lost items will be placed on the cafeteria railing the last Friday of each month.

Valuable items such as jewelry, purses and wallets will be kept in the office. Students are encouraged to turn in items found in the schoolyard. The student's name and the date are placed on the item and if it is unclaimed for a period of one month it will be returned to the student who found it. If claimed, the owner will be given the name of the student who found it so he/she can be thanked.

Students are encouraged not to bring valuables to school including large sums of money, jewelry, family keepsakes etc. Many tears are shed each year when things disappear that probably should not have been brought to school in the first place.

Lunches
Our cafeteria is open daily to serve lunch (milk included) to all students K-7. The cost of the school lunch is Full Price $1.25 and Reduced Price is $ .40. Application materials for free or reduced lunch will be sent home at the beginning of the school year. Milk is $ .30.

Medication
The school cannot administer any medicine, including aspirin or cough drops, without a signed medical form on file. Students who need to take prescribed medication during school hours must have the "Medication permit" form (available in the office) signed by the physician and parent before the medication can be brought to school. The medication and form are to be left in the office. Students are not allowed to have any medication, including aspirin and cough drops in their possession to self-medicate.

Parent Conferences/ Report Cards
Communication is an essential part of the education program. It is important for parents to keep in close contact with their child's teacher concerning his/her progress. The teacher schedules conferences at the end of the 1st and 2nd trimester, but parents are encouraged to contact the teacher at any time during the school year. You will receive a schedule prior to the conference period. Report cards are prepared at the end of each trimester. In addition, your child's teacher may request a home visit with your family.

Parent Participation
Parent participation is strongly encouraged at the John Morse Waldorf Methods School. The participation of all parents is necessary to the successful education of all children at the John Morse Waldorf Methods School. It is well known that when parents are involved with their child's school, the child has a better school experience and outcome. In addition, an important aspect of Waldorf education is that children learn through imitation of the loving adults around them. When children see parents and teachers working together in the classroom, the gardens, and at school meetings and festivals, children learn directly the values of group cooperation, dedication, problem-solving and hard work.

In addition to providing this healthy example to our children, parent participation is necessary to insure that various aspects of the school curriculum, such as handwork, gardening, cooking, and woodworking, are carried out successfully. Parent participation is necessary in order to envision, develop and maintain a naturally beautiful environment for the children, inside and outside the classroom, and to be knowledgeable and supportive of the Waldorf Methods curriculum.
(Adopted by the John Morse Guild Board 2/9/99)

We also encourage you to become an active member of our Parent/Teacher Association, the John Morse Guild, and other Parent Advisory Committees outlined in this handbook. These are wonderful opportunities to get to know other Waldorf families and enjoy the camaraderie of working together for a common purpose.

Parent Newsletter - Griffin Gazette
The John Morse Guild publishes a parent newsletter, The Griffin Gazette, on a regular basis. One copy per family will be sent home with the oldest child attending our school. All members of our school community are encouraged to submit school-related news and announcements for publication in the newsletter. The deadline is Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. for written submissions (newsletter box in the school office) and Friday at 3:00 p.m. for e-mail submissions (JMORSENEWS@YAHOO.com). All submissions are subject to editing by the Publications Committee, and to review by the principal. If you would like to help copy, staple or distribute the newsletter, please call the office.

Specialty Programs
Instruments - all students are responsible for district checked-out instruments. A liability contract must be signed by parents, prior to distribution.

Student Supplies
The school provides most basic supplies and equipment, including library books. Students are fully responsible for their care and will be required to pay for lost or damaged materials or equipment not returned in good condition. Individual teachers may request specific supplies for their grade level (communicate with the teacher if this presents a financial problem).

Tardies
It is important that students arrive at school on time. Timely arrival builds good habits.

Because there is a regular rhythm to the school day, with an opening and a closing activity, it is extremely important that your child arrive at school on time to benefit from the entire school day and to minimize disruptions for other children in the class. If your child is late, he/she must sign in at the office and obtain a late pass before going to class. Tardies totaling 30 minutes will be considered a truancy.

Transfers
Transfers should be obtained before you move. A day or two prior to your move, inform the school office regarding your last day of attendance and your destination. All library and school books, musical instruments, and other materials checked-out must be returned or you will be charged for them.

Use of Telephone
The office telephones are used to conduct school business. Students may be allowed to use the telephone for emergency situations, such as an illness or injury. Students who wish to visit a friend, want a ride home, etc., are requested to make arrangements with their parents before they come to school in the morning. Students must have a note from their teacher to use the phone.

Visitations
Please avoid long conversations with staff in the morning before school as they are preparing for class. We do encourage parents to visit our school. All visitors and volunteers must first check in with the office and obtain a visitor's badge before moving about campus. Teachers are always willing to discuss the educational program with parents, but cannot be interrupted during class time to do so. The office may be contacted to make an appointment. District policy prohibits children not enrolled in SCUSD to visit during school hours.