Frequently Asked Questions
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How will I know if school is cancelled or delayed? Back to top
Should it
be necessary to cancel school because of inclement weather or an emergency, it
is vital that parents listen to their radios for such announcements. Every
effort is made to cancel school as soon as conditions warrant. A special telephone number - 665-8665 - has been established as a School Cancellation/Delay Hotline. An updated recorded message will be on this
line whenever there is a change of schedule due to adverse weather or other
emergency conditions. In addition, you may listen to these local/radio television
stations:
WTIC-AM……1080 |
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WDRC-FM……102.9 |
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WHCN-FM……106 |
WWYZ-FM……92.5
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WTNH-TV……Channel 8
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WRCH-FM……100.5 |
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WCCC-AM……1290 |
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WKSS-FM……95.7 |
WVIT-TV……Channel 30
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How will I know if there is an emergency school closing
after the beginning of the school day? Back to top
If it
becomes necessary to close schools early after the school day has begun due to
adverse weather conditions or other emergencies, the Superintendent will make
the decision and it will be broadcast over all participating radio stations and
the "School Cancellation Hotline" as early as possible. Children should be instructed as to what to
do if they arrive at home and their parent is not there. The PTA also implements an Emergency
Telephone Network (ETN) as a message relay whenever there is an unexpected
early dismissal. The ETN should be used only as a backup system for
notification to you. Watch for the registration form in September! You should
also have a plan in place for what your child should do if this situation
should arise.
What should my child do if he/she is late for school? Back to top
A child arriving at school after
8:45 a.m. must go to the office for a LATE PASS before reporting to the
classroom. Tardiness is considered an interruption of the learning process, not
only to the child who is late, but also to the other students in the classroom.
Students should understand the importance of being on time. Each tardy is recorded on the student’s
attendance record. After five incidents
of tardiness in marking period, parents will be notified. Chronic tardiness will be investigated.
What are the arrival and dismissal procedures for
E. Green? Back
to top
Arrival
Procedure
- All students should arrive
between 8:35 and 8:45. There is
no supervision prior to this time.
- Walkers should plan to
arrive after 8:35 and proceed directly to their classrooms.
- Students who arrive a
minute or two early will wait in the foyer area until the bell rings. When the 8:35 bell rings, teachers will
allow students to enter the classrooms.
Students should not arrive before 8:35 on a regular basis. Kindergartens proceed directly to
classrooms upon arrival.
- Parents of students who
habitually arrive too early to school will be contacted.
- Students who arrive after
8:45 must report to the office for a late pass. A parent should accompany these students.
Morning
Drop off Safety Guidelines
Please note that the bus drop-off and pick-up
area is in the back of the building. CARS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO USE THIS
AREA. Parents will be required to
drop-off in the front of the building only.
The safety of your children is a top priority at Elizabeth Green. We have established procedures for a safe
drop off system. We need your cooperation by
following the procedures outlined below.
- Students should be dropped off between 8:35 and 8:45. There is no supervision prior
to this time.
- Cars will drive into the front of the building, bear right to the
end of the lot, and circle around to drop students off on the sidewalk in
front of the building. Please do
not allow your child to disembark until your car is in along the
sidewalk. Children should
disembark from the passenger side of the vehicle to avoid crossing between
cars.
- Students are not permitted to be dropped off in the front of the
entrance or in the front circle.
Vehicles must use the area to the right as you enter the grounds.
- Upon being dropped off, you child must walk on the sidewalks. Not one should cut across the front
circle or in between the cars.
- Please observe the no parking signs on Cedar Ridge Road. Cars parked here will be ticketed.
- Vehicles will not be permitted to park in the
drop-off area. Any circumstances
requiring extra time to unload children from the vehicle should be handled
by parking the car in the designated parking area to the left as you
enter.
Daily Dismissal Procedure
Each child is designated by the Newington School District guidelines as a
walker or a bus rider. Daily dismissal
is 3:15 p.m. However, in an emergency
situation where weather is a safety issue, dismissal may be delayed.
Dismissal during the school day: If an occasion arises when an early dismissal is necessary for
dental appointments, doctor appointments, or other reasons, please send a note
to the teacher. Any child being dismissed
early or picked up after school must be met in the office by the parent or
guardian and signed out in the dismissal log.
The daily dismissal procedure is as follows:
PICKUPS: For security purposes, if you
plan to pick up your child regularly from school, the school must have a
written note on file that will designate your child as a “pick up.” Students who have a standing note that they
will be picked up each day or have a note for that particular day will be
dismissed to the lobby at 3:12. The
person picking the student up must meet him/her in the lobby at that time.
WALKERS:
All
walkers living north and northwest of school will be walked to the front door
for dismissal. All other walkers will
be dismissed through the back to go to Roseleah or Dewey Avenues. Walkers should follow these safety rules.
- Children are to stay on the sidewalk until given a verbal signal
from the crossing guard. They are
to cross within the crosswalk lines.
- Children are not to run across the street.
- If the crossing guard has a discipline problem with a child, the
child’s name will be reported to the school office and the parents will be
notified.
- When dropping off or picking up your child, he/she must walk on the
sidewalks and cross using the designated crosswalks. NO ONE should cut across the
front circle or in between buses.
- At the end of the school day, children are to go directly home when
dismissed.
- If a child will not be walking directly home, a permission note with
specific instructions including date, destination, and parental signature
is to be given to the child’s teacher.
BUS RIDERS: Students
who are considered bus riders must take the same bus each day. Bus riders will be dismissed through the
lobby and courtyard doors. Students who
participate in after school care that involves a van will be considered bus
riders. They should follow these safety
rules.
- Children must wait to cross the street to the bus until the driver
gives the signal that it is safe to do so.
- Children are to understand that the bus driver is in charge and that
they are to obey instructions from the bus driver.
- Children are to be courteous to other students and bus drivers.
- Children who abuse or destroy bus property will be held
responsible. Connecticut law holds
parents liable for damages by their children.
- Children are to wait in an orderly manner at their designated stop a
few minutes earlier than pickup time.
Drivers cannot wait for tardy children.
- Children are to enter the bus carefully and to remain seated while
the bus is moving.
- If a bus driver has a discipline problem with a child, the child’s
name will be reported to the school office and parents will be
notified. Two notes (Bus Conduct
Reports) will result in removal of the child from the bus for a minimum of
one day.
- At the end of the school day, children are to ride
the designated bus to the designated stop. To insure safety, since our buses are filled to near
capacity, no changes will be allowed except in extreme emergencies. Visiting other children, scout
meetings, and birthday parties are not considered emergencies.
- If a child will not be riding the bus, a permission note with
specific instruction including date, destination, and parental signature
is to be given to the child’s teacher.
NECCI: Students who
are in the NECCI (Newington Elementary Children’s Center Inc.) program after school will be dismissed
from their classrooms directly to the cafeteria area.
May I visit my child’s classroom? Back to top
All visitors and volunteers are to
report to the office first, sign the visitor’s logbook, and obtain a visitors
badge. Parents are invited to visit the school and observe their children at
work. A parent who wishes to visit a class should do so with advance notice or
scheduling. Occasionally, a class may
be involved in an activity (for example, testing) during which the presence of
an additional adult in the classroom would be inherently disruptive.
Does my child have to go out for recess? Back to top
Children are expected to go outdoors for recess unless
medically excused (in writing) by a
physician. A written excuse from the
parent is acceptable for one day only. Outdoor
recess is planned each day unless there is inclement weather. A variety of weather conditions are
considered when making this decision.
Please be sure that your child is dressed accordingly. In the wintertime, hats and mittens or
gloves are necessary. It is also
beneficial to send extra dry clothes and socks.
My child wants to buy lunch. How
much does it cost? Back to top
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$ 2.15 |
School
lunch |
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$ .40 |
Ala Carte milk
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$ 1.90 |
Ala Carte entrees |
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$ .50 |
Fruits, vegetables,
juices |
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$ 1.00 – 2.00 |
Ice
Cream |
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$ .55 |
Cookies |
Cafeteria
automated system
All students will have
an established debit account, although advanced payments are not required. Cash payments will still be accepted on a
daily basis. Funds that are deposited
into your child’s debit account can be made available to your child in one of
three ways.
·
Option
# 1: Cash On Account. Funds are deposited and available to your
child for the purchase of lunches and/or a la carte foods in the
cafeteria. There are no limitations as
to what may be purchased or how many purchases can be made. The account balance simply decreases as
purchases take place. Any amount of
money may be put on account at any time.
·
Option
#2: Prepaid Meals. Monies put
on account are designated for student meals only, with one meal per day. Your child would need to pay cash for any
snack, a la carte items or additional lunches being purchased. Any number of prepaid meals may be put on
account at any time.
·
Option
#3: Prepaid Meals and Cash on Account. This
option ensures that your child receives a lunch and allows him or her to
purchase a la carte foods as well.
There are no limitations as to what foods may be purchased a la carte,
or how many prepaid meals and how much is for cash account.
If you are paying for
more than one child in the same school with one payment, please clearly
document how many lunches are to be designated to each student’s account. If the deposit amount is not specified, the
amount will be divided equally.
All monies sent into the
cafeteria can only be used for meals and a la carte purchases and cannot be
used for any other school event(s). Ice
cream that is sold in vending machines will need to be purchased with cash.
Unused lunch tickets at
the end of the year will be treated as cash.
Balances as of June 30th will be carried over to the next
school year. Requests for refunds or
account transfers will be made on a case-by-case basis and must be made in
writing to the Director of Nutrition Services.
How to
make a deposit
For your convenience, cashiers
will have pre-printed envelopes available to be used when making advanced
payments. Envelopes will also be
available in the main office. To make a
payment, fill out the information on the outside of the envelope, enclose
payment, and return the envelope with payment to your child’s teacher. For safety purposes, we recommend that
advanced payments be sent in the form of a check. Make checks payable to: Newington
School Cafeterias. Envelopes will
be collected daily and forwarded to the cafeteria. When account balances reach below five dollars, the cashier will
remind the student by providing him or her with a preprinted envelope. Please note that students will not be
allowed to carry negative balances.
Charging: If our
child does not bring a lunch or has inadequate money or no money to pay for
lunch, the office will issue a charge to you for the lunch. Borrowing money should be done for emergency
purposes only. Money that is borrowed
is expected to be returned the next day.
Please do not confuse the money borrowed with the money you are placing
on your child’s account. They are two
separate entities and need to be done in two separate transactions. The money borrowed needs to come in an
envelope to the office and the cafeteria envelope needs to be given to the
child’s teacher. No students will be
allowed to charge for snacks or beverage.
Reminder: Lunch is now served on early release
days.
If my child has been sick and needs to take medication at school, what do
I do?
Medication,
including "over-the-counter" (i.e. non-aspirin preparations) is given
only with written authorization of the parent and physician, physician’s
assistant, or dentist on a designated form.
Certified staff may legally dispense medications if the
nurse is not available.
Medication must be delivered and dispensed from
the original container clearly labeled with the name of the student, physician,
and medication, with directions for dosage and date of original prescription. All medication must be delivered to the
school nurse by the parent or other designated adult. Students are never allowed to carry medications without written
medical authorization.
My child has a contagious disease, how long do I have to keep them home
from school? Back to top
Students
recovering from the following diseases are readmitted to school after
evaluation by the school nurse:
·
Chicken Pox – Students should be
kept home at least seven days after the first appearance of vesicles.
·
Scarlet Fever and Strep Throat –
Students should be kept home a minimum of 24 hours after antibiotic therapy has
begun.
·
Impetigo – Students should be
excluded from school until satisfactory treatment has been given.
·
Students with head lice, ringworm,
pink eye, and other conditions that might be easily transmitted will be sent
home until such condition has been satisfactorily treated.
What can I expect concerning the amount of
homework my child should receive?
The
elementary schools believe that homework should be introduced in the elementary
school years to encourage responsibility, develop good habits and study skills,
and teach students effective management of time. At the elementary level, homework should reinforce and give added
practice for concepts learned in the classroom as well as develop and encourage
creative activities in children. The following are recommended homework
activities and time guidelines:
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Time Allotment |
Frequency |
Emphasis |
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K |
10
minutes |
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Formal
homework is not usually assigned. Parents are encouraged to read aloud to
children and discuss schoolwork each day. |
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1 |
10
minutes |
4-5 days
a week |
Number and
reading activities. Includes a read aloud time each day. |
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2 |
20
minutes |
4-5 days
a week |
Mathematics,
reading, language arts, book reports, projects. Reading aloud is still
encouraged each day. |
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3 |
30
minutes |
4-5 days
a week |
Mathematics,
reading, language arts, book reports, projects. Expansion of school work. |
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4 |
40
minutes |
4-5 days
a week |
Mathematics,
reading, language arts, book reports, projects. Expansion of school work. |
*Our fourth grade teachers are using a homework hotline (665-8627)
after 5:00 p.m. Parents and students
may call this number to find out the homework assignment for this day.
In
addition to homework assignments, students are expected to read with an adult
or independently on a daily basis.
Special programs have been implemented to foster good reading
habits. First grade students
participate in the STAR Program. Sit
Together And Read allows students to bring home a book in
a red bag. Students are expected to
read the book and bring it back to school the following day to trade for
another book. Teachers choose books for
students according to their interest and reading level. Second grade students participate in a
similar program entitled We Enjoy Books (WEB).
My child has been absent from school, how do I get their work? Back
to top
In
general, only those students absent two or more consecutive days will be
eligible to receive schoolwork at home.
Students absent less than two days will be provided appropriate time and
guidance to complete the necessary schoolwork upon their return.
Requests
for make up work should come directly from the parent/guardian either by
sending a note to the teacher or by calling the office. Appropriate make up work should then be
ready in the office after student dismissal that day. Make up work consists of material that has already been assigned
to the class.