North Central Elementary

MISSION:

To educate all students for success.

VISION:

To empower and challenge all students to become productive members of a global society.

MOTTO:

“Excellence...Always.”

BELIEFS:

We Believe …

• In striving for Excellence...Always.

• All students are valuable and unique.

• Students should be actively involved in the learning process.

• It is imperative that parents take an active role in their child’s education.

• The community is a valued stakeholder in the success of our students.

• In high expectations for all students.

• Learning is a lifelong process.

• Quality education develops cognitive, social, emotional, and physical skills.

• Quality education is enriched through a comprehensive library, the arts, physical education, character education, and technology curriculums.

Title I is a federal education program that supports low income students throughout the nation. Funds

are distributed to high poverty schools, as determined by the number of students who qualify for free or reduced lunch.

In collaboration with families, community members, teachers, and staff, North Central Elementary School has developed a written Title I parent and family engagement policy. The school welcomes feedback from our parents and community partners through our PTO, SIC, parent and teacher surveys, and suggestions offered during school and community events. The policy is distributed to parents each year through a variety of outlets including the Back to School Night, Annual Title I meeting, school and teacher newsletters, posts on our webpage, and social media page.

This policy describes the means for carrying out the following Title I parent and family engagement requirements under the guidelines offered by our district and state. The goal of this policy is to: (1) Honor and recognize families' input, (2) Connect family engagement to student learning, (3) Create a welcoming, inviting culture, and (4) Develop the capacity of families to negotiate the roles of supporters, advocates, and collaborators.

Sign-In Procedures:

• Student intake time: 7:10 am-7:30 am

• Students arriving after 7:30 am are tardy and need to be signed-in, by an adult, in the front office.

• Once the gym doors are closed, the adult bringing the student to school will need to park and walk the student(s) inside to be signed in.

Sign-Out Procedures:

• During the school day, students may be signed-out in the front office by legal guardians and legal guardian-approved adults, as reflected in the Powerschool system.

• Anyone signing a student out must present a valid photo ID at the time of signing out.

• In the best interest of student safety and school security, we are unable to sign students out after 2:00 pm.

• Changes to a student’s “legal guardian approved adult” list must be made in person by the student’s legal guardian.

Morning Procedures

• Proceed through loop, single file, in the right lane

• Unloading spots begin at the mailbox, beyond the awning (about 3 cars past the crosswalk)

• Students should be ready to unload on the right side of the vehicle as quickly as possible, and parents should remain in the vehicle

• Staff are available to assist our youngest students and open doors with child lock, if needed

• Do not block the crosswalk when stopping to load/unload your student(s)

• For safety reasons, students are not allowed to unload in the parking lot

• Parents that need to conduct school related business in the front office, are allowed to park and cross at the crosswalk, to enter the building.

Afternoon Procedures

• Proceed through the loop, double file all the way up to the merge point (indicated by cones in the last turn) & merge in an alternating pattern (Chick-fil-A style :)

• Make the yellow car rider sign visible/available to the name caller on the driver side dash (please remember that windshield glare may require it to be held up)

• When pulling up to the loading zones, pull up so the front bumper of the car is in line with the numbered signs posted on the awning poles

• Students should load on the right side of the vehicle and parents should remain in the vehicle

• Do not block the crosswalk when stopping to load/unload your student(s)

• If car seats/seat belts need to be adjusted, please pull forward, past Spot #1 and park on the left side of the lane (in the striped firelane across from mailbox)

Car Riders:

• All students are given 2 gold car rider signs that need to be displayed in the car window of their respective rides home.

• These signs imply consent from the parent to the sign holder to pick up their child in the car rider loop only (ie. grandparents, older brother/sisters, aunts/uncles, family friends)

• No one is allowed to pick up a child from the car rider loop without the appropriate sign. If a sign is not present, they will have to exit the car rider line, report to the front office, provide identification, and be on the approved contact list

• Requests for additional signs need to be made to administration for approval.

Bus Riders:

• Kershaw County School District provides bus transportation for all students living in the NCE Elementary School attendance zone, outside of a 1.5 mile radius.

• Students are not marked tardy due to a school bus arriving to the school late.

• Any questions/concerns regarding drop off & pick up locations and bus routes in general need to be directed to the North Central area bus office: 803-424-2849

Transportation Changes:

• Students’ primary mode of transportation (Bus Rider or Car Rider) are to be designated by the legal guardian during the first week of school.

• Any change to a student’s designated primary mode of transportation and/or bus drop off location must be presented to the school in writing and signed by a legal guardian each time it changes.

Examples include but are not limited to:

• Bus Rider Little Johnny needs to be a Car Rider

• Bus Rider Little Johnny needs to ride home on Bus Rider Little Billy’s bus on Friday to spend the night

• Car Rider Little Suzie needs to ride home with Car Rider Little Annie

• Legal Guardians may also email transportation changes to nceknights@kcsdschools.net. Email addresses need to match the email in PowerSchool. Emails will not be checked after 2:00pm.

• In order to change a child’s mode of transportation to ride a bus, the parent MUST contact the bus office to confirm the correct bus and get approval from Mrs. Ross (803-424-2849 or 803-669-4211); Once approved, parents MUST send a note indicating the change and which bus the student will be riding.

• We understand that riding arrangements may need to change during the school day. If an emergency occurs, parents should call the front office at 803-432-0266. We will work with the parent to ensure the child’s safe return home.

• No transportation changes are allowed after 2:00 pm

• A written statement from a parent/legal guardian, physician, dentist or other recognized licensed/certified medical practitioner or legal officer is required for each absence. The statement should be dated and include the date(s) of absence(s), the reason(s) for the absence(s), telephone number of the parent/legal guardian and the required signature.

• A written statement from a parent/legal guardian can be used to excuse up to 10 student absences. (sickness not requiring a doctor’s visit, death in the family, etc.)

• Any absence beyond the 10 allowed “parent notes,” requires a medical excuse from a physician, dentist, or other recognized licensed/certified medical practitioner.

• Students must attend half of the instructional school day in order to be counted present for the day.

• Students signed out prior to 11:30am or initially arriving to school after 11:30am are counted as absent and will require a parent/medical note (in addition to the sign out sheet documentation)

• Medication

• Parents must bring in all medications to be signed in and counted along with a doctor's order for precipitation medicines. Parents are allowed to bring an unopened over the counter medicine that will be counted and logged into the health room. Students are not allowed to keep medicines with them unless we have a doctor's self carry order on file.

• Sick Students

• Please keep children at home with a temperature of 100.0 accompanied by symptoms (cough, diarrhea, vomiting). Your child may return to school when he/she is fever free without medications for 24 hours.

• Please keep children at home if they have vomited 2 or more times during the previous 24 hours. Your child may return to school when he/she has not vomited in 24 hours.

Are you interested in being a volunteer or being a chaperone on a field trip? Please read the information below for the volunteer option.

Volunteer Application:

(Chaperoning, field trips, and all out-of-school activities)

• Level 2 volunteers are persons who will possibly be unsupervised while with KCSD students. Level 2 volunteers undergo a more comprehensive background check. Volunteers who wish to be approved for Level 2 status should apply at the link below.

• Level 2 status is good for 2 years.

• Level 2 Volunteer Application

The process for volunteer applications to be approved may take at least two weeks.

Please see the Parent Contract for Field Trips attached here. A copy will be sent home to be signed and returned by all Parents chaperoning field trips.

PTO meets the last Monday of each month in the school library. If you are interested in joining, please contact one of the board members for more information.

PTO Board:

President: Jenn Perrigo

Vice President: Abby Spitzer

Secretary: Tommi Barngrover

Treasurer: Catalina Fortner

Teacher Rep: Lexe Sims

Teacher Rep: Dana Watkins

Parent Rep: Cassady Knight

Ex-officio Members-

Britt Gardner- Principal

Kristen Galuppi- Assistant Principal

SIC meets in conjunction with PTO the last Monday of each month in the school library. If you are interested in joining, please contact Kim Simon, Co-Chair or Abby Spitzer, Co-Chair for more information.

SIC Board:

Chair: Kim Simon

Co-Chair: Abby Spitzer

Teacher: Rebecca Double

Teacher: Jamie Carpenter

Parent: Rebekah Clements

Parent: Desi Hubbard

Parent: Brittany Hall

Community Member: Craigan Blankenship

Community Member: Alison Truesdale

Community Member: Jennifer Perrigo

Ex-officio Members-

Britt Gardner- Principal

Kristen Galuppi- Assistant Principal

Lexe Sims- Teacher of the Year

School/Student Events

• Pelicans (monthly visits)

• Fall Pictures

• Spring & Class Pictures

• Field Day

• NCE Fall and Spring Book Fair

• Santa Shop

Family/Community Events

• Back to School Night

• Grits for Grandparents

• Twas the Knight Before Christmas

• A Knight to Cherish (Parent/Child Dance)

• End of Semester Awards

• Academics

• End of Year Awards

• Academics

• Related Arts

• Extracurricular Participation Recognition

• Girls on the Run

• Noble Notes

• Knightingales

• Good News Club

• NCE Morning Show

• Girls on the Run

• Noble Notes

• Knightingales

These extracurricular activities are for grades 3-5. Applications for these extracurriculars will be sent out at a later date.

This year North Central Elementary School is implementing our Code of Arms. Our goal is to provide the best behavioral support for all students. By teaching common expectations, we can best support students’ social, emotional and academic outcomes. The Code of ARMS expectations are…

• Always Excellent

• Respectful to All

• Manage Yourself

• Stay Safe

More information can be found by clicking on the link here.

North Central Elementary School follows the Kershaw County School District Parent/Student Summary Code of Conduct for all grades. Level I offenses are addressed and documented by classroom teachers. Parents will be contacted by teachers to inform them of inappropriate student behavior(s). An accumulation of five Level I offenses will result in an administrative referral as a Level II. Administration will refer to the Code of Conduct for all grades to determine an appropriate disciplinary method. Possible methods include behavior interventions, detention, In-School Suspension or Out-of-School Suspension. During ISS, students are removed from the regular setting and placed into a small population in a non-social setting. They work on assignments sent by their teachers while under the supervision of a mentor for the prescribed time set by the administrator. During Out-of-School Suspension, the student must remain at home for the prescribed time period set by the administrator.

• Minor Offenses include:

• Inappropriate language, not being prepared for class, calling/blurting out, teasing, refusal to work, non-compliance, minor dishonesty, minor disruption, minor aggression, unsafe or rough play, disrespectful (tone, attitude, body language), disrespect towards property, pattern of not completing homework, cheating/forging.

• Major Offenses include:

• Aggressive physical contact, fighting, property destruction, weapons, pattern of aggressive/profane language, credible threats, major disrespectful episodes, harassment of students/teachers, major/chronic destruction, major/chronic refusal to follow school rules, major/chronic classroom disruptions, major theft, racial/ethnic discrimination.

North Central Elementary is excited to welcome parents into our school to eat lunch with their elementary children. When you eat with your child, you will notice that we have routines, procedures and expectations for our students. To ensure the safety of all of our students in the cafeteria, we will follow the following KCSD guidelines for parent lunch guests in our school:

1. Please contact the front office to let them know you plan to eat lunch with your child at least one day prior to your visit. (the earlier, the better due to space constraints)

2. All lunch visitors will need to bring identification and check in at the front office to receive a visitor’s badge.

3. Parents should arrive at your child’s exact lunch time to ensure that we keep all students on schedule. All students must eat at their designated lunch time.

4. NCE will have a special eating area for you and your child when you visit. Due to space constraints, please limit guests to 2 per student/per visit.

5. We welcome you to purchase food in our cafeteria or to bring food from home. The cost for a parent lunch is $4.85

Parents are welcome to supply treats and goodies for their student’s class for special occasions (birthdays, holidays, etc.) as long as the following guidelines are met…

• Food items should be STORE BOUGHT and be wrapped in the original package

• Items should be individual servings i.e. cupcakes and cookies

• Parents/Guardians should plan accordingly with their child’s teacher (contact teacher)

• Supply alternative treats for students with allergies (if needed)

• We ask that treats/goodies are limited to one per student.