Mrs. Starnes’s Rules and Procedures

Mrs. Starnes’s Rules and Procedures 2011-2012 School Year

Classroom Rules and Expectations • Follow all teacher directions. • Be respectful to others. • Keep hands and feet to yourself. • Stay on task. • Show quality work.

Manners The use of good manners is considered non-negotiable at AME. Good manners are the actions we use to show respect. Manners include, but are not limited to the following when interacting with others: Yes, No, Please, Thank-you, Pardon me, Ma’am/Sir, Excuse Me, No thank you, Yes, Please, Welcome, You are welcome MANNERS also includes the following behaviors: Respectful listening, Eye contact, Respectful consideration of people and property, Acknowledging adults when they speak to you in an appropriate, respectful way, Holding a door until the person behind you has a hold of the door. Saying hello or goodbye in response to another person, smiling at each other.

Entering the Classroom (morning) • Enter the classroom quietly. • Put backpack away. Take out anything you will need for the day. • Place agenda on desk and write down homework. • Put any notes for me on my desk. • Begin morning work/flashbacks.

Entering the Classroom (rest of the day) • Quietly WALK into the room. • If you have something to take home (ex. library books), place it in your backpack immediately. • Walk to your seat and sit down. • Prepare for the next activity.

Preparing for Class • Open your agenda book and write your homework in agenda book (if listed). • Put away all belongings inside your desk except for those necessary (such as a pencil or piece of paper). • Put your focus on the teacher or begin activity as instructed.

Leaving Your Seat • If there is a need to leave your seat (ex. get a drink of water, line up), wait until you have permission, if necessary. • Stand up and quietly push your chair under your desk. • Proceed to your destination.

Hand Signals • To add information to a discussion or answer/ask a question, raise your hand. • If you need to use the restroom, raise your hand showing the letter “r” in sign language. • For a drink of water, please hold up your hand showing the letter “w.”

Quiet Signals • “Take a break” • Timer/Bell • Clapping • “Give me five”

Tissues 1. If you need to get a tissue, quietly walk to the nearest tissue box. • Take only one tissue. • When you are finished, throw the used tissue in the trashcan. • Use one squirt of hand sanitizer. • Return to your seat.

Drink of Water • If you need a drink of water, wait until the teacher is finished with instruction. • Raise your hand showing the letter “w” and wait for permission. • Quietly walk to the sink. • Fill one small cup with water to drink. • When finished, throw the cup away and return to your seat.

Pencils • When needed, use pencils from the pencil holder at your table. • If there are no pencils, quietly ask to borrow a pencil from a nearby table. • If pencils are dull/need to be sharpened, return pencils to the container next to the pencil sharpener and take a sharpened pencil back to your seat. Do NOT sharpen a pencil during class.

Lining Up • Wait until your name/table is called to line up. DO NOT get up until called. • Push chair in and get any materials you may need (lunch box, agenda, books, etc.). • Quietly stand in line facing toward the door with hands to your side. • Follow the person in front of you out the door when the teacher dismisses you.

Hallway When traveling as a class: 1. Voices should be extremely quiet, if necessary at all. 2. Stay to the left of the two colored tiles and walk closest to the wall on your right. 3. Hands are by your sides, not touching others, windows, or walls. 4. Maintain an appropriate distance to respect the personal space of the person in front of and behind you. 5. Use appropriate MANNERS behavior. When traveling alone: 1. Follow same guidelines listed above for group procedures.

Restroom 1. Signal the teacher in the appropriate way to let him/her know you need to visit the restroom. 2. Walk to the restroom, modeling HALLWAY behavior. 3. Check for an available stall/urinal. If there is no place available, wait patiently and silently for a turn. 4. Walk to the stall/urinal when one becomes available. 5. Use the restroom as neatly as possible, making sure to use the necessary amount of toilet tissue. 6. Wait to see that the commode automatically flushes. If it doesn’t, push the black button to flush. 7. Please be sure to leave the area neat and clean. 8. Walk to the sink. Put one squirt of soap in your hands. Wash hands, being very careful not to splash water onto the floor, mirror, or wall. It is very important to keep water in the sink. 9. Walk to the dryer. Dry your hands. 10. Leave the restroom immediately and silently. *Report any problems from the restroom to the teacher immediately (commodes not working properly, messes encountered, writing on the walls, etc.)

Cafeteria 1. Students should enter the cafeteria by the door furthest to the right using HALLWAY behavior. 2. Turn right after entering the cafeteria doors and walk along the windows toward the serving line. Students should keep hands to themselves, being sure not to touch the walls or the windows. 3. The line enters the serving area and divides into lines for the lunch choices. Students will pick up a tray, utensils, and straws. If a student drops any of these things, the student will pick up the items. Students will hold the tray with BOTH hands. 4. Use appropriate MANNER behavior as you interact with the Cafeteria Staff. Remember PLEASE and THANK YOU are important phrases. Soft talking is allowed at this point. 5. Choose your lunch items quickly and quietly. Please be as neat as possible. 6. Stop at the computer and input your lunch number, remembering to say Thank You to the Cafeteria Staff. 7. Take a napkin and then take the tray with both hands out of the kitchen. Quickly select a seat at your designated tables. “Seat saving” will not be permitted. 8. While eating, sit flat on your bottom. 9. Enjoy having conversations with only those people at your table. Those are the only people who should be able to hear your voice.

Cafeteria continued 10. Use your utensils to eat your food when possible. Please refrain from playing with your food. 11. Please do not talk with food in your mouth, and remember to chew with your mouth closed. Show MANNERS behavior at all times. 12. When your teacher stands, begin looking on the table and floor to make sure there is nothing there. Your teacher will come to each table to check your area to make sure that it is neat before dismissing each table. 13. Carry your tray, using BOTH hands, to the designated area. Use HALLWAY behavior as you wait in line to throw your trash away. 14. After throwing your trash away, walk to the right side of the cafeteria and wait by the last right hand door for the remainder of your class to be finished. 15. As you leave the cafeteria, all voices are turned off before you walk through the cafeteria doors. *If at any time a staff member RAISES THEIR HAND, then every student should stop talking, put their eyes on the adult and raise their hand to signal that they are ready to listen for directions. If the cafeteria LIGHTS GO OFF, this is a signal that the noise level is excessive and every student should immediately be quiet until either the lights come back on or a staff member gives further direction.

Arrival 1. Students walk to and enter the building through designated doors displaying appropriate HALLWAY behavior. 2. Students should never attempt to return to the bus/car once they have left the vehicle. Drivers may not see them coming back, and this could result in serious injury. 4. Students wishing to eat breakfast should walk directly to the GRAB and GO line and wait utilizing HALLWAY behavior until they pick up their drink and breakfast. 5. After picking up breakfast, or if a student does not want breakfast, the students should walk directly to their classroom, modeling appropriate HALLWAY behavior.

Assembly 1. Enter using HALLWAY/LINE behavior. If sitting on bleachers, use steps, railing, and walkways to get to your seat. 2. Sit flat on your bottom with feet on the floor in front of you through the entire program. 3. Maintain appropriate personal space between yourself and others. Keep hands and feet to yourself. 4. Keep your feet still and quiet. 5. Watch for the signal from an Anne Mason Staff member (a raised hand) indicating that it is time to listen. 6. Keep your eyes on the presenter, demonstrating appropriate LISTENING behavior. 7. Respond to the presentation appropriately by applauding if/when appropriate, with the rest of the audience. 8. Watch for the signal (a raised hand) and follow directions for exiting.

Visitors 1. If you are with your class and see visitors in the hallway: Acknowledge the visitors with a pleasant expression (SMILE!) 2. DO NOT leave your class line for any reason. Smiling is a friendly, appropriate, sufficient greeting. * If you are by yourself or with a small group: Acknowledge the visitor with a pleasant expression (SMILE!) and return to your previous task. * A good rule of thumb for students to follow is the ECHO RULE: Usually, it is appropriate to echo someone’s greeting with the same greeting. For example, if someone says, “Hello,” it is polite to say “Hello” in return.

Playground 1. Use HALLWAY behavior to exit the building. 2. Continue with HALLWAY behavior until dismissed to the playground. 3. Play on approved areas only. Stay away from the school building and classroom windows. 4. Use appropriate hands, feet, and voice (screaming and yelling could interfere with classroom instruction) for each activity. Please note specific directions for playground equipment. Your teacher will explain these. Safety is our priority at ALL times. 5. Contact an adult if a piece of equipment appears to be unsteady or faulty in any way. 6. Retrieve equipment that may go outside the playground area by contacting a teacher about the equipment. 7. Line up immediately when the teacher gives the signal (raised hand/whistle). 8. Re-enter the building from the sidewalk modeling HALLWAY behavior.

Bus 1. Wait calmly for the bus at the bus stop each morning. If you are waiting to leave school in the afternoon, follow your teacher’s directions when going to the bus. 2. Wait until the bus stops to approach the bus. 3. If you are on the opposite side of the road, wait for the driver to signal that it is safe to cross in front of the bus. 4. Walk to the bus door and up the steps carefully and calmly. Say hello to your bus driver. 5. Walk to your seat. 6. Sit in your seat, with your back against the seat, facing the seat in front of you. Place your feet in front of you. 7. Place your backpack in your lap or on the seat beside you if there is room. If it isn’t full, you might be able to keep it on your back. 8. Talk only to the person next to you so that only THEY can hear your voice. 9. Listen carefully and quickly follow any directions the bus driver gives you. (bus driver will have their own quiet signal) 10. Do NOT stand up until you have reached your destination and the bus driver lets you know it is safe to stand and walk toward the door. 11. As you leave the bus, tell your bus driver good bye.

Dismissal Dismissal begins with bus riders at 2:35: 1. Students riding buses will be taken to the buses by a teacher or teachers of their particular grade level. Students should model HALLWAY behavior, and when dismissed by the teacher to approach the buses, should model appropriate BUS behavior. 2. Students who are picked up by parents will be led by the supervising teachers to the designated waiting area as soon as bus riders leave each hallway. 3. Students should model appropriate HALLWAY behavior all times during this procedure, and NO TALKING, is a must in order to hear their name called. 4. Students should sit quietly and wait until their name is called. Students should not remove anything from their backpacks and should have on coats if necessary. 5. When their name is called, the student should stand and check with the caller for their letter. They will then walk to the appropriate letter, staying behind the yellow line at ALL times. 6. Once at the letter, the student will wait until the car has stopped and then cross the yellow line to get in the door of their vehicle. Students should always enter the vehicle from the SIDEWALK side of the car. Students should never leave the sidewalk for any reason.

Mrs. Starnes’s Policies and Procedures • Attendance: All children need to be here on time as much as possible. If it is necessary for a child to be absent, a note must be brought within 3 days of the absence in order to be counted as excused. The doors open at 7:15 and you will be counted tardy at 7:40. We begin classes at 7:45 so if a student is tardy they will miss educational content. A calendar will be placed in each classroom. It is the students responsibility to check this calendar the day they return to get all work missed. They will have one day per day missed to make up all work. Please try to schedule all extended family vacations during school breaks. It is very difficult to catch up on several days of material.

Mrs. Starnes’s Policies and Procedures • Recess: Our recess time is 1:30-1:45. Please make sure that all shoes worn have a strap. Any flip flops or clogs are a danger on the playground. A student may be asked to walk during recess instead of playing on the equipment if shoes are seen as dangerous.

Mrs. Starnes’s Policies and Procedures • Friday Folder: Each Friday you will bring home a red Friday folder with completed work from the week. This is work that has been graded and returned to you. The folder will need to be returned on Monday morning.

Mrs. Starnes’s Policies and Procedures • Agenda Book: Agenda books should be signed each night. It should be signed by an adult to indicate you had homework and finished it. The agendas will not be checked daily unless there is a special circumstance to consider. However, we will be spot checking the agendas weekly. This means we may select several students and check their agendas for a signature. • Notes: Since we are not checking agendas daily, you need to bring any notes to our attention firstthingin the morning. Any dismissal changes need to be handled first thing in the morning.

Mrs. Starnes’s Policies and Procedures • Toys: We have plenty of outdoor equipment and indoor recess games. It is not necessary to bring toys from home. Students are NOT allowed to bring electronic games, cell phones, trading cards, etc. to school. If I see or hear any of these things, I will keep them until the end of the day the first time it happens. If it happens twice, I will take it to Mrs. Riney who may contact your parents to discuss the situation.

Mrs. Starnes’s Policies and Procedures Homework: Homework will be given each night. Students should spend an average of 40 minutes for 4th grade. All homework will be written in the agenda books. If you feel you are struggling, not understanding the concept, or getting frustrated, please stop and ask your parent to send us a note. Homework is not meant for parents to pull their hair out or the student spending hours frustrated and not learning anything, but to reinforce learned concepts. Let us know and we will work with you on strategies and concepts.

Quality Work • Remember… • Only quality work is accepted. • Always do your best work!

Anne Mason Pledge • Today I make a promise to myself and family • I will do my best each and every day • My work will always please me. • My work will be quality. • My writing will be neat. • I will prove every answer, • And show my work complete • This promise to me the teachers also make. • Every child, every day, whatever it takes.

Welcome to the 2011-2012 Year!

Mrs. Starnes’s Rules and Procedures