Edendale Middle School - San Lorenzo Unified, California

Policies

ATTENDANCE PROCEDURES

Absences
ATTENDANCE Prompt and regular attendance is encouraged and necessary for successful school work. Students are excused from school for illness or family emergencies. All absences will be reviewed by the school administration. Parents/guardians will be notified to attend a School Attendance Review Team meeting if a student becomes truant through unexcused absences, cutting classes, or habitual tardiness. ALL OR PART DAY ABSENCES When an absence occurs, the parent/guardian must call 317-5188 with 24 hours or send a note to clear the absence. For your convenience the answering machine is in operation 24 hours a day. The Attendance Office computer will make contact to the home informing the parent/guardian of any uncleared absences (one period or more) for the previous school day. PROLONGED ABSENCES If, because of injury or illness, a student will be unable to attend school for a period of time (three days or more), the parent/guardian should contact the individual teachers via voice mail. They may leave the daily homework assignments as a message or will return calls to speak directly to the student. DOCTOR OR DENTAL APPOINTMENT When a student finds it necessary to miss any of his/her classes during the day because of a medical appointment, he/she should do the following:Present a note from the parent/guardian to the Attendance Clerk by 8:45 a.m. The note should show the following information:
· current date
· time student should leave school
· reason

The Attendance Clerk will issue a Pass To Leave School Grounds, which should be signed by an adult during the medical visit or the parent/guardian. On his/her return to school, the student needs to present the signed pass to the Attendance Clerk.

Edendale Middle School is a closed campus. Students may leave campus to return home only with:
1) A long-term lunch pass kept on file in the school office.
2) A note written by the parent/guardian for a specific day.

Students who become ill at school and/or have medical appointments and must leave during school hours, MAY BE RELEASED ONLY TO INDIVIDUALS LISTED ON THE EMERGENCY CARDS. If your child is to be released to an individual other than those listed on the card, a note must be sent to school with your child.

It is IMPORTANT for parents/guardians to take the responsibility for keeping the emergency information updated. Please inform the office of any changes.

I.D. cards MUST be carried at all times. These cards are used daily in the library, computer lab, in class, at the cafeteria and for getting into various student activities. There is a $4.00 replacement fee for the I.D. cards and a hang-around.

VALUABLES AT SCHOOL
DO NOT bring valuable items or large amounts of money to school. If you must bring something of value for a particular class, take it to the office for safekeeping before school.

We welcome help from volunteers. If you know of an adult who has a talent or skill to share, or would like to donate some time helping with one of our many projects, please let us know.

FOOD SERVICE
Your I.D. card is also your lunch card. NO verbal identification numbers will be accepted. EMS is on a computerized lunch system and deposits can be made into lunch accounts. Students may prepay on any Monday morning from 8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m. in the cafeteria or in the Child Nutrition office at the District Office between 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. At the present time snack items and box lunches purchased at the carts located outside the cafeteria are on a cash only basis. In order to become eligible to receive meals at no cost or at a reduced price, a new application must be filled out each year and returned to school as soon as possible. Notification letters will be sent home when your application has been processed. Until then, deposits into lunch accounts should be made to the Cafeteria Cashier before school.

BUS SERVICE
Lost and found articles are to be turned into the attendance office. They may be picked up at the end of the school day. Put your name on all of your personal items so they may be returned to you. Unclaimed clothing items will be given away to a charity at the end of each quarter.

Medications cannot be dispensed to students unless a medication form signed by a doctor and a letter signed by the parent/guardian are on file in the attendance office (Ed Code 49423). These forms are available in the office. Parents should bring ALL medicines to the attendance office. Students should not have medicine in backpacks, lunches, classrooms, etc.

Parents are welcome to call the office manager to make arrangements for appointments with staff members, to attend special events, or to visit classrooms. Remember, visitors are required to check in at the office before going to scheduled appointments. Visitors will be given a name tag to wear while on campus.

Parents/guardians please help to keep your student safe. Please observe traffic signs and the following procedures.
· RED ZONE = No parking or stopping
· YELLOW ZONE = No parking-drop off ONLY

BIKES
· Security The bike rack is open immediately before and after school. Park and lock your bike in this locked area. Do not "buddy-lock" your bike. The school is not responsible for stolen bikes.
·Safety Bike riders are reminded to obey all bike riding laws (including wearing a helmet) and to pay particular attention to traffic on Ashland, East 14th and Lewelling. Citations will be issued to students who do not obey traffic signals, who do not ride on the right side of the street, or who do not properly wear a bike helmet.
· BUS ZONE (Ashland Ave.) = No parking or drop offNo double parking in the loop or on the street. Always pull as far forward as possible to allow traffic behind you to move along. Please respect that the STAFF parking lot is for STAFF ONLY. Thank you!

TELEPHONES Students should not plan to make personal calls from the phones in the office unless there is an emergency. Students may ask their classroom teacher to make non-emergency phone calls. PLEASE note, school phones are to be used ONLY for school business. Arrangements for transportation home at the end of the day should be made FOOD SERVICE· Breakfast Breakfast will not be served after 8:50 a.m. The price for breakfast is $ 0.75.·Lunch Lunch will be served from 12:21 p.m.-12:57 p.m. The price for lunch is $ 1.75. Hot lunches with at least four (4) entree choices will be sold inside the cafeteria. There will be several snack carts located around the campus that will sell ala carte sandwiches, pizza and other snack items. Your I.D. card is also your lunch card. NO verbal identification numbers will be accepted. EMS is on a computerized lunch system and deposits can be made into lunch accounts. Students may prepay on any Monday morning from 8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m. in the cafeteria or in the Child Nutrition office at the District Office between 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. At the present time snack items and box lunches purchased at the carts located outside the cafeteria are on a cash only basis. In order to become eligible to receive meals at no cost or at a reduced price, a new application must be filled out each year and returned to school as soon as possible. Notification letters will be sent home when your application has been processed. Until then, deposits into lunch accounts should be made to the Cafeteria Cashier before school. BUS SERVICE Regular bus service to and from school is provided to students who live 1 ¼ miles from campus. Students are requested to get on and off the bus in a single file line, to follow the driver's instructions, and to stay on campus when they arrive to school.

STUDENT DROP-OFF AND PICK-UP Parents/guardians please help to keep your student safe. Please observe traffic signs and the following procedures.
· RED ZONE = No parking or stoppin
· YELLOW ZONE = No parking-drop off ONLY
· BUS ZONE (Ashland Ave.) = No parking or drop off
No double parking in the loop or on the street. Always pull as far forward as possible to allow traffic behind you to move along. Please respect that the STAFF parking lot is for STAFF ONLY. Thank you!

TELEPHONES
Students should not plan to make personal calls from the phones in the office unless there is an emergency. Students may ask their classroom teacher to make non-emergency phone calls. PLEASE note, school phones are to be used ONLY for school business. Arrangements for transportation home at the end of the day should be made before school.

SPECIAL COSTS
Fees are charged for special arts and crafts projects which may be taken home. Lab donations for science may also be requested. Students unable to pay these costs will not be prohibited from participating in these activities.

TEXTBOOKS
EMS does not have hall lockers for book and clothing storage. Classroom sets of textbooks are available for daily school use. Students are expected to take proper care of the books and materials they receive from school. Parents are required to pay for lost or damaged items. Check with the office for prices and damage assessments. Report cards will be held and privileges can be lost until items are paid for or returned.

FORGOTTEN ITEMS AND STUDENT MESSAGES
In order to preserve classroom learning time and cut down on interruptions, we ask parents and students to make the following agreement: lunch, assignments, materials and other items which students may have forgotten to bring to school may be brought by a parent/guardian to the school office. It is the student's responsibility to check in the office, during a break, to see if the item has been delivered.

Examples of Prohibited Attire
1. Clothes, apparel, or attire must be sufficient to conceal undergarments at all times. Prohibited clothing is as follows: clothing, apparel or attire that fails to provide adequate coverage of the body, including but not limited to:
A. See-through fabrics
B. Bare midriffs
C. Tank tops
D. Halter tops
E. Tube tops
F. Off-the-shoulder dresses/tops
G. Low-cut tops/dresses
H. Unhemmed skirts and shorts
I. Skirts and shorts which are shorter than mid-thigh.
Three inches above the knee (approximately) is acceptable.
J. Pants that are worn below the waist which expose private parts or undergarments.
K. Sleepwear and loungewear.
2. Shoes must be worn at all times; thongs shall not be worn at school. Backless shoes or sandals are acceptable in high school only.
3. Headgear, hats, and visors for all grades k-12 may be worn, but must be removed at all time in building and/or in a class setting. Watch caps, stocking caps, beanies, wave caps, hair nets, and bandannas are prohibited. Hats cannot be altered except for having the owner's legal name or initials on them. Exceptions will be made for students who must cover their heads for medical or religious reasons. Written verification from a physician or religious official will be required.
4. Wearing or possession of clothing, jewelry, accessories, e.g. bandannas or any manner of grooming including body markings, tattoos or branding, which by nature of color, arrangement, trademark, or any other attribute, denotes membership or identification with a gang is strictly prohibited. 5. Students will not wear clothing, jewelry or body markings which promote drug or alcohol use or violence, profanity, bigotry or intolerance against people on the basis of their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexual preference or which incorporates profanity.
6. Dark glasses will not be worn indoors, except for valid medical reasons authorized by the administration and verified in writing by a physician.

Edendale Middle School
16160 Ashland Avenue
San Lorenzo, CA 94580
(510) 317 - 5100