Forest Park

Elementary School

Parent Handbook

2012-2013

Half Hollow Hills Central School District

HALF HOLLOW HILLS

CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

Forest Park Elementary School

Mr. Ross Diener, Principal

Mrs. Deborah Kolodny, Assistant Principal

ADMINISTRATION

Mrs. Kelly Fallon Superintendent of Schools

Dr. Patrick Harrigan Assistant Superintendent for

District-wide Administration

Mrs. Mary A. Rettaliata Assistant Superintendent for

Elementary Education

Ms. Anne Marie Marrone Caliendo Assistant Superintendent for

Finance and Facilities

Mr. John O’Farrell Assistant Superintendent for

Secondary Education

BOARD OF EDUCATION

James Ptucha, President

Frank Grimaldi, Vice President

Diana Acampora, Trustee

Jeanine Bottenus, Trustee

Betty DeSabato, Trustee

Eric Geringswald, Trustee

Paul Peller MD, Trustee

Dear Parents,

The staff and I extend a warm welcome to you as we begin another school year. We

view your participation in your child’s education to be a vital link in the student-school-

parent triangle. Your child’s success is based, in part, upon how well we communicate

and cooperate with each other.

This Parent Handbook provides information about Forest Park: our policies, procedures

and programs. Please become familiar with this resource, and use it for future reference.

We appreciate your comments and feedback as to the usefulness of this pamphlet and the

information it contains.

The upcoming school year should be very exciting. We are looking forward to your

participation in our numerous during and after school activities and events. You should

also consider joining the PTA; officially these letters stand for Parent Teachers

Association, but here at Forest Park they also stand for Parents + Teachers =

Achievement.

Again, welcome to another school year; we look forward to seeing you around the

building.

Sincerely,

Ross Diener

Principal

Principal’s Message

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Our mission is to provide our students with opportunities designed to meet individual

needs and to ensure that every child has experiences that promote growth in all

academic and social/developmental areas. Through mutual respect our students will

grow and learn in a positive atmosphere, where faculty, staff, parents and students

together are enthusiastic about the learning process.

To achieve our mission, we will develop our capacity to function as a professional

learning community, wherein well-researched best practices are in place and/or

explored. We envision a school in which we…

Unite to achieve a common purpose with clear goals;

Work together in collaborative teams;

Seek and implement promising strategies for improving

student achievement on a continuing basis;

Monitor each student’s progress;

Demonstrate a personal commitment to the academic success

and general well-being of all students.

Our Mission

Our Vision

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SCHOOL HOURS Grades K – 5 9:10 am to 3:20 pm

ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL Instruction begins at 9:10 AM, and dismissal is at 3:20 PM. Please make every attempt

to have your child arrive on time. If your child should arrive after 9:10 he/she needs

to report to the front desk for a late pass. You need to escort your child into the

building.

Unless otherwise instructed in writing, your child will be escorted to and placed upon

his/her regularly assigned bus. If you wish to have your child go on a different bus, you

must send in a letter to that effect. Since seating is limited and seats are assigned, if no

seat is available, you will be notified to make other arrangements.

If you plan on picking your child up before the regular dismissal time, or at dismissal

time, you must send in a written letter (pre-prepared pads are available through the PTA)

to your child’s teacher stating the time you plan on picking your child up. Upon your

arrival, you will be asked to sign your child out in the official Student Dismissal Book

located with the Hall Monitor outside of the main office. Your child will then be sent for.

If you pick up your child at dismissal time, he/she will meet you in the cafeteria; you will

be asked to sign him/her out as well and in all instances, you will be asked to show proof

of identity.

We do understand that there are last minute circumstances that may result in changes in

your child’s dismissal. Whenever possible please notify the office of changes to the

regular dismissal procedures by no later than 2:45 PM. This will allow for a smooth

dismissal process of all students.

Students can only be dismissed to a custodial parent, unless you submit a letter indicating

that a grandparent, aunt or uncle, adult sibling (18 years old or older) or an adult friend

will be picking up your child. Please include the name of the individual and their

relationship to your child.

Under no circumstance will we dismiss a child to anyone other than the custodial

parent unless the request is made in writing. Phone requests are not acceptable! Also,

the individual picking up your child must be 18 years of age or older and must be able

to provide a valid form of identification.

Attendance Policies

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TRANSPORTATION All district children are provided transportation to and from school. Bus schedules are

made available to parents at the opening of the school year. If for some reason you need

to pick your child, please send a note to his/her teacher and plan to meet him/her in the

Cafeteria.

A dated, written note must accompany any request for a change in dismissal

arrangements, otherwise, your child will be dismissed in the regular fashion. This

policy is designed to ensure the safety of all students. Please keep in mind that dismissal

begins at 3:15 PM. Removing your child prior to this time will interfere with his/her

instruction time and is also disruptive to the entire class.

Bus Safety

We are very concerned with bus safety and regularly instruct students on appropriate

procedures throughout the year. It would be helpful if you would review the following

regulations with your child.

1. Wait for the bus at a safe distance from the side of the road.

2. Board the bus when it is stopped, red lights are flashing, and the doors are opened.

3. Take a seat promptly.

4. Buckle your seat belt.

5. Talk in a soft voice.

6. Keep objects on the seat or in your lap, or on the floor in front of you.

7. Remain seated while the bus is in motion.

8. Stand only when the bus has come to a complete stop.

9. Never put arms or heads out of the bus.

10. Listen to the bus driver.

11. When leaving the bus, always cross 10 feet in front of the bus. Look up at the driver

and watch for his/her signal to cross.

12. Proceed directly home after getting off the bus.

13. If ever something drops in the road, do not go back for it. Instead, wait for an adult to

do so.

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STUDENT DROP OFF AND PICK UP Although the district provides free busing, many parents prefer to drive their children to

and from school. If you wish to do so, please drop your child off in the morning in the

large parking lot, following the directions of the security guard. No cars are allowed in

the circular driveway when school buses are present. Likewise, if you should park in the

small lot in the front of the building, please pull into a spot and shut off your engine. Cars

will not be permitted to enter or exit the small parking lot while buses are present in the

circle. Any car parked in the small lot will be required to wait until all buses have exited

the circle. Cars are not to be idling facing the buses; this is done to guarantee the safety

of all students.

At dismissal time, if you are picking your child up, you should park in the large parking

lot in a designated spot, not interfering with the buses.

As a safety precaution, students may not go back into unsupervised classrooms after

dismissal.

ABSENCES Your child’s success in school as well as the ability to learn good work habits will be

enhanced by good attendance and punctuality. Please make every effort to have your

child arrive at school on time and to be absent only if really necessary. New York State

attendance laws require a written excuse note for each absence indicating the reason for

the absence. This note must accompany your child upon his/her return to school.

Should your child need to be absent, please call the nurse’s voice mail at 592-3556 to

report the absence; you can call before or after school and leave a message.

Illness A child may be exposed to strep throat or other viruses for which there are no vaccines.

However, a well-nourished, physically fit child can be more resistant to illness. If your

child should become ill, the following suggestions may be helpful:

1. Keep your child home if he/she has a temperature of 100 or over. 2. Keep your child home if he/she has a temperature 99+ and appears to be fatigued, has

a headache, is vomiting, has diarrhea, or has symptoms of a beginning cold. 3. Keep your child home if during the previous day or evening he/she has had any of the

before-mentioned symptoms. Children need some time to recuperate before they can

return to a day of school. We request that you call the school to let us know if your child will be absent. This is a

safety precaution so that we are sure all children who should be in school have in fact

arrived. It is important to report to the school nurse any communicable disease or other illness or

injury.

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Should your child become ill in school, the nurse will notify you or your designee.

PLEASE BE SURE THE NURSE HAS CURRENT AND ACCURATE

EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS.

Accidents

In case of an accident or injury the school nurse will use appropriate first aid and call

you.

Special Medical Needs

If your child has a special need such as asthma, diabetes, or other condition, we strongly

encourage you to discuss this with the nurse so that we can help your child adapt to the

school day.

Medication Procedure

Your child may be required to take medication in school during the year. We must have

written permission from the parents and written medical directions from the physician.

The nurse will only dispense medication from a pharmacy-prepared container.

CLOSING OF SCHOOL IN EMERGENCIES

& DELAYED OPENINGS The regular school day is from 9:10 AM to 3:20 PM. Buses usually leave by 3:25 PM.

On inclement days, you will receive a telephone call through the district’s telephone

routing system, advising you about a delayed opening or school closing. Another

valuable resource is the district web site, www.hhh.k12.ny.us, or, local radio and/or

television stations. Please note that on days when we do have a delayed opening,

there is no early morning program; please do not drop your child off before 11:10

AM, since there is no one here to supervise them.

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ADMISSION Kindergarten

A child residing in the district who will be five years old on or before December 31st may

enter Kindergarten in September. Kindergarten registration is held in the spring. Public

notice will be given of exact dates, times and places. A birth certificate, certificate of

immunization and evidence of physical examination must be presented. New York State

requires that children must be adequately immunized against measles, mumps, and

rubella (MMR), diphtheria, polio, hepatitis B and varicella (chicken pox).

First Grade

To be eligible for admission to first grade, a child must be six years of age on or before

December 31st, or evidence must be presented that the child has satisfactorily completed a

full year in a Kindergarten program of a non-public school, which is registered with the

State of New York Education Department. Attendance at a nursery school is not an

acceptable substitute for certified Kindergarten program; your child will not be

considered for admission to first grade.

BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL CARE Child care is available at Forest Park everyday. Beginning at 7:30 AM, a caring person is

on hand to receive children and watch them until school begins. Similarly, after-school is

also available daily until 6:00 PM. These programs are available through R.E.A.C.H.

CYA, Inc. A fee is charged for these services. You can contact R.E.A.C.H. CYA at

549-9417.

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EXTENDED LEARNING Teachers are required to provide students with two forty-five minute periods of extended

learning each week either before or after school. Your child’s teacher will post his/her

extended learning schedule at the beginning of the school year and will discuss it at

Meet-the-Teacher Night.

REPORTING STUDENT PROGRESS Meet the Teacher Night Meet the teacher night is held a few weeks after the start of school in September. This

meeting provides you with an opportunity to meet your child’s teacher and to learn about

the curriculum and activities which will take place throughout the year. If you need to

talk to your child’s teacher about issues specific to your child, it would be appropriate to

schedule an appointment to do so.

Report Cards Report Cards are distributed four times throughout the school year- November, January,

April and June. The Half Hollow Hills Central School District is pleased to announce that

the Elementary Report Card is now available online. If you already have Parent Portal

Access to Infinite Campus you can view your child’s report card online. All parents are

encouraged to access the Parent Portal as soon as possible. See the district website for

more information.

Parent Teacher Conferences Parent Teacher Conferences are held two evenings and one full day in November. Your

child’s teacher will send home written notification to you requesting which day and time

is convenient. In addition, teachers are always willing to meet with you to discuss your

child’s progress; to do so, send in a request to your child’s teacher to set up an

appointment.

Student Policies and

Services

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HOMEWORK Homework is an outgrowth of the activities that take place in school the day it is

assigned, unless of course, your child is working on a long-range project. Since the

homework content may be new and unfamiliar material, it would be best to wait for your

child to return to school, learn the new material, and have his/her teacher determine an

appropriate homework assignment. If your child is home ill, it would be better to allow

him/her to recuperate and return to school as soon as possible. Your child can always

read and if you so desire, could write a response to the reading.

If your child is going to be out of school for a prolonged time due to a medical issue,

arrangements can be made through the district to provide home schooling. A letter from

your physician is required.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES In addition to their classroom and special area teachers (art, music, library and physical

education), children who need additional support and/or enhancement can receive these

services from …

reading specialists

math specialist

our school psychologist

speech and language pathologists

an enrichment consultant

our sight and hearing impaired instructor

an English as a second language instructor

a physical therapist

an occupational therapist

STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS All of us are unique and have different learning styles. To assist students with academic,

social and behavioral skills issues, learning disabilities and/or speech and language

problems, the district has initiated special classes or services to address these needs.

As a parent, you have the right to have your child evaluated, and if deemed appropriate,

to have your child placed in an appropriate school setting which will best meet his or her

needs. Testing is only done with written parental approval. All results will be shared

with you along with a full explanation and recommendations.

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FIELD TRIPS Trips are an important part of your child’s school experience, and all students should be

encouraged to participate. A signed permission slip must be on file with the office prior

to the date of the trip. Telephone permission is not acceptable. Please make sure you

include all pertinent information that you feel will make for a safe trip.

BREAKFAST PROGRAM Breakfast is an important element to your child’s success in school. A School Breakfast

Program is available, and each year you will receive information about its cost. Breakfast

consists of four ounces of juice, cereal, accompanied with toast, bagel or roll, and milk.

SCHOOL LUNCH Children’s health and ability to do well in school are influenced by the type of lunch they

eat. Forest Park provides a hot lunch daily, which includes beverage and dessert.

Menus are distributed monthly. Of course, students may bring their own lunch and can

purchase snack items separately. Free or reduced lunch is available for those families

meeting the annual income level requirements of the School Food Authority as prescribed

by the New York State Education Department. Applications are available through the

Health Office.

If your child has forgotten their lunch, they should check in the office to ensure that it has

not been brought to school. With teacher approval, students may phone home to request

that you bring their lunch. Otherwise, students can purchase a hot lunch. If they do not

have money, they may borrow money from the Hall Monitor, who should be reimbursed

the next day. As long as children repay this debt, he/she will be able to select a lunch of

their own choice.

For safety reasons, if a child forgets their lunch in their classroom, we do not allow them

to return to the room to retrieve it; they are asked to purchase a lunch as described above.

Similarly, students may not go back into unsupervised classrooms after dismissal.

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The New York State Common Core Standards in English Language Arts and

Mathematics integrated with History, Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects are

the foundation for the Half Hollow Hills Curriculum.

Through differentiated instruction, curriculum is molded to meet the needs of all learners.

Classroom teachers incorporate into their lesson planning the diversity of learning styles

and abilities that exist in all classrooms, working closely with students who need

assistance while at the same time providing other students with enrichment opportunities.

Elementary Content

English Language Arts integrates reading, writing, listening and speaking and

provides students with the tools to acquire, understand, analyze and evaluate

information. Students are provided with opportunities to communicate effectively

and expressively, and learn to interact and respond to literature more critically

becoming evaluators of text.

Social Studies is viewed from a historic, geographic, economic, civic, political

and social perspective. Students are presented with global understandings of

change, citizenship, culture, empathy, environment, identity, interdependence,

nation-state, scarcity and technology and acquire skills necessary to analyze and

utilize info.

The Mathematics program focuses on the development of critical thinking and

problem solving strategies. The use of various manipulatives enables children to

enjoy a hands-on approach to learning. Computer software is used to facilitate the

acquisition of math skills both in school and at home. Students participate in small

group activities where they learn to listen and consider the ideas of others in

solving problems. Students continually communicate mathematical ideas and

solutions and explain their reasoning.

Science instruction incorporates a hands-on approach as students investigate life,

physical and earth sciences. Using the elements of scientific inquiry, students

hypothesize, experiment, record data and draw conclusions based upon

information they have gathered.

Our Computer Technology program is sequential in nature. Students become

familiar with the operations and terminology of computers while integrating these

Curriculum

Overview

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skills within other curriculum areas. Students have access to computers in their

classroom, library and on mobile laptop carts.

Within the Physical Education program students experience physically engaging,

socially rewarding and emotionally uplifting activities while developing

confidence, competence and self esteem. They develop specific loco-motor skills,

learn rules, follow directions, realize the importance of teamwork, plan and

execute strategies, practice good sportsmanship and value the importance of

physical fitness and safety.

Our Library program is geared to foster a love of reading, and as well as provide

students with the skills needed to use the library as a resource. Research skills are

taught, and in collaboration with classroom teachers, our library media specialist

creates activities that are aligned to class work and curriculum. All students

participate in our library’s book lending program.

In Art, students learn through exploration, creativity and self-expression. Students

learn the rudiments of art through a developmentally appropriate sequential

curriculum. Using an array of art mediums, students learn basic art skills, become

familiar with artistic styles, techniques and equipment, and learn to appreciate art

and its contributions to society and culture. Higher-level thinking skills are

addressed as students are asked to make critical judgments regarding form, design

and quality.

Our Music program is designed to help each child develop listening skills and an

awareness of the impact music has on our daily life. Individual creativity and

expression are stressed along with performance skills and the ability to participate

in both choral and instrumental ensembles. Students are afforded the opportunity

to perform before a live audience several times during the year.

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LOST AND FOUND If your child has forgotten an item at home, they may call home requesting that you bring

it in with their teacher’s approval.

Similarly, items left in school may be brought to the Lost and Found box located in the

cafeteria. Students should check it regularly; periodically, the box is cleaned out and the

items are donated to local charities. Notices will be sent home to alert you. Please label

all clothing items, book bags, and supplies with your child’s name. By doing so, most

“lost” items can be returned to their owners promptly.

FIRE AND RELOCATION DRILLS Drills are held on a regular basis throughout the school year.

UNAUTHORIZED ITEMS Students are not permitted to bring to school or to use the following items on the school

bus…iPods, CD players, cell phones, or any other electrical equipment. If a child has

anyone of these items in their possession, it will be taken from them and placed in a

secure place in the principal’s office. You will be notified and asked to come to school to

retrieve the item. From our experience, these items tend to create problems and/or get

lost. In addition, students cannot bring toy guns or any other weapon-like object to

school. They will be taken from them and a parent will be required to remove them from

the school.

PARTY INVITATIONS Many unhappy situations have occurred when party invitations are distributed to

classmates in school. Children who are not invited are often hurt and learning is

disrupted. To avoid this, invitations should be conveyed by telephone or through the

mail.

VISITORS Visitors are always welcome at Forest Park. Prior to going to your child’s classroom,

everyone is expected to sign the visitor’s book and receive a visitor’s pass, which can be

obtained at the desk outside of the main office. If you wish to meet with your child’s

teacher and/or other staff member, it is best to call ahead to schedule an appointment.

General Policies

& Information

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SCHOOL BASED MANAGEMENT TEAM The Team discusses educational and social issues, which address the needs of Forest Park

students and the community. It is comprised of parents, teachers and support staff, a

community member and the building principal and assistant principal.

PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION The Forest Park PTA plays a vital role in your child’s education; they provide

educational programs and materials as well as numerous during- and after-school social

activities. Your involvement in the PTA is a vital link in the school-student-home

continuum. Membership is open to all, and your active participation is greatly

encouraged and appreciated.

Throughout the school year, the PTA sponsors various fund raising activities that raise

money to help enhance our educational programs. In addition, there is wonderful

collaboration between parents and the school, with several events throughout the year

being jointly sponsored, such as PARP (Parents As Reading Partners).

As a member of the PTA, you will have the opportunity to volunteer on numerous

committees and to participate in numerous activities.

BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETINGS Meetings are open to all district residents, and are held twice monthly, usually on

Monday evenings. Dates and meeting locations are listed on the school calendar.

COMMUNITY LIBRARY PROGRAM Half Hollow Hills offers a multi-faceted community library program. A newsletter

describing the available programs will be sent to you monthly.

INDOOR SWIMMING POOL

Half Hollow Hills High School West provides district residents access to its indoor

swimming pool. For more information, call 592-3276 for details.

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STAYING INFORMED There are a number of ways to stay informed about what is happening at school. Here are

a few:

Meet the Teacher Night

Parent Teacher Conferences

Principal’s Newsletter

Class Newsletters

District Website - www.hhh.k12.ny.us

(Click on Our Schools, and then Forest Park Elementary for more Information)

Notices Sent home with your child

Parent Teacher Association Notices

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