COMANCHE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
HANDBOOK
General Information and School Policies
3505 Pennsylvania NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
884-5275
WELCOME!
SCHOOL HOURS
For Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday:
Kindergarten-5th grade: 9:00 a.m.-3:50 p.m.
For Wednesdays:
Kindergarten-5th grade: 9:00 a.m.- 12:45 p.m.
8:45 a.m: Children should NOT be at
school before 8:45 a.m. since there is no playground supervision prior to this
time.
8:57 a.m: The first bell
rings.
9:00 a.m. Children are
to be entering their classrooms.
Students should go directly home at the end of the day.
CHILDCARE-YMCA
The YMCA provides before and after school childcare in our cafetorium. It is available from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Call 292-2298 for more information.
RECESS
All children are given the opportunity to play
outside, and will need to dress appropriately for the weather. A child may
remain in the building during recess, with a doctor’s note stating the health
reason.
Morning Recess is from
10:45 -11:00 a.m.
Afternoon
Recess is from 2:30-2:45 p.m.
INCLEMENT WEATHER/ABBREVIATED DAY
An "abbreviated day" schedule will be used by the school district if there are any mornings when street conditions would endanger the safety of students and employees on their way to school. The decision to designate the day as an "abbreviated day" will be announced by 6:30 a.m. through the news media (e.g. KOB radio AM 770). The bus schedule will be adjusted. No breakfast will be served; however, lunch will be served. The abbreviated day schedule is:
Kindergarten - 5th: 11:00 a.m. - 3:50 p.m.
EMERGENCY DISMISSAL
Emergency dismissal will be used by the school district if weather conditions develop during the normal school schedule which endanger the safety of students and employees on their way from school. Several years ago, for example, school was dismissed at 11:30 a.m. because of a sudden unexpected blizzard. The decision to designate "emergency dismissal" will be announced through the news media (e.g. KOB radio AM 770). Each family will be given an Emergency Dismissal instructions sheet to complete upon enrollment.
ABSENCES/LATENESS/EARLY DEPARTURE
Please call the school office, between 8:15-9:00 am, at 884-5275 each day your child will be absent or late.
If it is necessary to check
out your child before the end of the day, you must come to the office
to officially sign for
his/her release. Students may be released only through the office and only
to a parent or the emergency contact person(s) you listed on the enrollment
card.
Any time your child is absent, arrives after
the 9:00 tardy bell, or leaves before the end of the school day, important
learning time is missed. That is why the Comanche staff, APS Student
Services Department, the Albuquerque Police Department and the Bernalillo County
Center for Juvenile Justice all work closely to respond to all forms of
truancy. If your child accumulates 10 of any of these (or a combination
of them) the situation may be addressed by the school counselor, principal, and/or
at a hearing with the APS/Juvenile Justice Center Truancy
Officer.
HOMEWORK FOR ABSENT STUDENTS
Children who are absent for multiple days
benefit from staying current on their assignments. Your child’s teacher
will need time to prepare homework materials. Please allow 24 hours from
the time the homework request is called into the office. Homework
may be picked up from your child’s teacher.
PICK-UP AND
DELIVERY OF STUDENTS
Comanche
averages approximately 150 vehicles during the student drop-off and pick-up
times. To ensure the safety of all of our children, please abide by the
following traffic procedures:
AREA B - HARWOOD DRIVE-THROUGH: All "drive-through: student drop-off and pick-up occurs in this area and is supervised by the Comanche Safety Patrol. Please remember to:
· Enter Harwood from Comanche: All
drive-through traffic must be eastbound on Harwood. To avoid congestion,
no left turns are permitted into the drive-through.
· Consider staggering your pick-up time: The patrol is
in place from 3:50 p.m. - 4:05 p.m. The system works best if not every
vehicle is in line for the 3:50 p.m. bell.
· Watch the Patrol members: They will signal you when to
enter and how far to drive forward so that the most vehicles can be
accommodated.
· Three Minute
Limit: Once your vehicle is in the pick-up driveway, your child must load
within three minutes or you will need to drive around the school and get in
line again.
AREA A - FRONT PARKING LOT: This lot is for visitors and parents who are
coming into the building to walk a child to class,
to meet with a teacher, to
deliver a project, etc. Please park in the designated spaces
only, and never park or idle in the fire zone OR handicap parking spaces.
Students who are in the front lots without an adult at
their side will receive a behavior ticket.
AREA E&F– WALKER’S ROUTES: These markings indicate the only two ways "walkers" should enter/exit the school grounds.
SCHOOL BUSES
Students (K-5) living more than one mile from school (one way) may be transported by Durham School Services. (298-6831). Students living outside the school boundaries, however, must provide their own transportation. Students riding buses will be provided an APS transportation handbook. Please refer to it for bus rules and regulations.
NOTE: Parents must contact the APS
transportation department for permission if at any time they would like their
child to be dropped off at a stop other than their regular stop.
Otherwise children will not be allowed to leave the bus at any other
stop.
BICYCLES/SCOOTERS/WHEELIES SHOES
Students are not to ride bicycles or scooters
on the school grounds. Students are not allowed to wear wheelies tennis
shoes. Bikes
are
to
be
parked
and
locked
in
the
bike
rack
in back of the school upon arrival at school. Scooters are to be folded
and carried on the school grounds. Safety helmets are strongly encouraged
for all bike riders. Skateboards, electric scooters, roller blades,
and
roller
skates
are
not allowed at school.
STUDENT POSSESSIONS
Please mark items with your child’s name; they
are easier to return if lost. Toys, footballs, tape recorders, portable
radios, ipods, etc. are not allowed at school. They
can be easily lost, broken, or traded and cause problems at school. Weapons of
any
kind are not allowed on school grounds, including look-alikes. Please see that
pets do not come to school.
CAFETERIA
Your child will receive a monthly calendar of menus from his teacher. A child’s lunch costs $l.40, a child’s breakfast is $.75, drinks are $.30, and snacks are $.25. An adult lunch is $2.00. Lunch "accounts" may be pre-paid on our computerized system and are strongly recommended so as to eliminate lost lunch money. The New Mexico State Department of Education now limits students to three lunch charges; thereafter, no lunch will be provided until the "account" is paid in full. Please contact Liz Peet, Cafeteria Manager, at 884-42ll for more information.
(The APS lunch menu is available at www.aps.edu
and there is a link from Comanche's web page.)
LIBRARY POLICY
Comanche students will go to the library with their class at a regularly scheduled time each week. Students will be allowed to check out a book(s) for one week. All books not returned at the next library time will be considered overdue. Additional books may not be checked out until the overdue book is returned. Students having a book overdue by two weeks will receive a notice to take home to their parents. All books overdue by four weeks will be considered lost.
Lost books must be replaced at current value. Out of print books must be paid for at a comparable price. Library Media Services has given us a price of $l2.00. They will allow a replacement book to be purchased. All prices will come from the current Bound To Stay Bound catalog. Parent suggestions for new books are welcomed.
PARENT CONCERN PROCEDURE
Parents who have concerns about their child’s progress in school should first contact the child’s teacher and make arrangements for a discussion of these concerns. Should there be continuing concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the principal who will arrange for a parent-teacher-principal conference.
PARENT VISITS
Classroom visits and conferences with individual teachers can be arranged and should be scheduled ahead of time. Please stop by the office before visiting a classroom to sign in and obtain a pass.
PARENT CONFERENCES AND REPORT CARDS
Report cards will be issued three times a
year and "Mini-reports" at the 6 weeks. The first and second
report
cards
will
be given
during
a
conference
with the parent and teacher. The third report card will be
sent home with the student. During Parent-Teacher Conference Week, all
students
will be released at l:00 p.m. all week. Parents of kindergarten students
will be notified of schedul changes; please see the calendar for dates. Comanche
parents
have
achieved
a 100% attendance
rate to these important conferences!
COUNSELOR
Comanche has a counselor who works with parents and children according to a planned guidance program and also coordinates the Peer Mediation Program. The counselor may be reached at 884-5275.
NURSE
Comanche has the services of a part-time registered nurse and two health room assistants. Don’t hesitate to call to advise them of any health issues that would affect your child’s learning. We must adhere to strict APS medication policies. You must call to talk with one of our Health Room personnel before you send any medication to school with your child. If possible, medicine should be given before school, after school and/or at night.
All students must have current immunizations in order to enter or remain in school. Please bring your child’s current immunization record in to be copied by the nurse.
Vision and hearing screening will be done at the school. Parents will be notified if any further attention is needed in these areas.
STUDENT INSURANCE
New Mexico law states that a school district cannot assume liability for costs incurred in student accidents. Therefore, the Board of Education makes student accident insurance available to all regularly enrolled students in the school system. The policy, which is low in cost but optional, is explained in the brochures available at the school office.
ACCIDENTS
If your child is injured or becomes ill at
school, you will be contacted to come get him/her immediately. In the
event the office cannot reach you, the emergency contact you have listed will be
called. Please keep the school advised of any change in phone
numbers.
FIELD TRIPS AND PERMISSION FORMS
APS district policy requires that a student
must obtain his/her parent’s signature and return the fully completed field trip
form to the teacher prior to the field trip departure. Children without
signed permission forms will remain at school in another
classroom. Responsibility is an important lesson that children
learn from being the sole individual responsible to deliver the form to the
teacher.
Therefore, Comanche
students will not be allowed to place phone calls, requesting parents to bring
forms to school, fax forms, etc. For parents who are accompanying the
class on the field trip, please note that preschool aged children are not
permitted to ride on APS buses.
RELIGIOUS ISSUES
A notebook is available in the office with APS directives regarding religious issues.
Please help your child’s teacher by notifying
him or her if there are foods or activities that are restricted by your religion
or beliefs. Without notification from you, the teacher will assume no
restrictions apply. Appropriate individual modifications will be made to
encourage each child’s positive feelings regarding his or her family’s values
and beliefs.
SEXUAL
HARASSMENT
If your child ever complains of sexual harassment, please notify the principal immediately. Parents may also choose to notify the Title IX Coordinator for APS a 725 University Blvd SE 87106 or 842-3547.
COMMUNICATOR
The Comanche "Communicator" is published every week. The goal of the newsletter is to inform families of school activities. The "oldest or only" Comanche student in the family receives a copy to take home, so look for it in your child’s backpack on Rridays.
WEBSITE
The Albuquerque Public School website has
information about APS schools, schedules, lunch menus etc. You can visit
it at:
www.aps.edu
You can visit Comanche’s home page from the APS
website or access it directly at:
www.aps.edu/aps/Comanche/INDEX.HTML
The school home page lists information about the school,
staff, classrooms and the PTA. The school's Communicator
can
also
be
viewed
online.
DRESS CODE
Congruent with APS policy, the following Comanche dress code was developed by a joint staff and parent committee in the interest of maintaining a safe and productive learning environment. Students and their parents have the right to determine the student’s dress except where such dress presents a health or safety hazard or presents a potential for disruption to the instructional program. Items from the following categories will be considered unacceptable:
Inappropriate Apparel:
· Attire or accessories which advertise, display or
promote any drug, including alcohol and tobacco,
sexual activity, violence, disrespect and/or bigotry
towards any group
· Shirts, halter tops, or blouses showing a bare
midriff
· See-through shirts or blouses, or tops with less than
2" straps.
· Shorts with less
than a 3" inseam
· Skirt length must be below
the fingertips when arms are down by the side
· Visible undergarments
Gang Related Apparel:
· Any clothing identified by the APD Gang Intervention
Unit as gang related such as sagging pants, hairnets, etc. Please be aware
that clothing depicting certain sports teams is often identified with gang
membership. If you are in doubt about a particular article of clothing, please
call APD or the school office. This list will be updated as the trends
change.
Dress Code Violations:
· First Time: The student will meet privately with the
teacher, counselor or principal. The student will be directed to remove,
pull up or cover up the article in question.
· Second Time: Parents will receive a phone call from
the teacher, counselor or principal. The student will be directed to
remove, pull up or cover up the article in question.
· Third Time: Parents and student will meet with the
teacher, counselor, or principal. The student will receive an automatic
Cub Trap.
DISCIPLINE POLICY
A task force of parents, teachers, and
administrators met over a period of several months to review and formulate our
discipline and recognition approaches for Comanche students. Please
read and discuss the Rights, Responsibilities, Policies and Procedures with your
student.
STUDENTS’ BILL OF RIGHTS
1. You have a right to be treated with dignity
and respect.
2. You have the
right to a positive learning environment..
3. You have a right to be safe on the playground
and school grounds.
4. You have
a right to move about the campus free of abuse or abusive
language.
5. You have a right to
eat and enjoy your lunch with your schoolmates.
6. You have a right to a distraction free learning
environment.
7. You have a right
to a full day of learning.
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Students will show respect to all people and
property at all times.
2.
Students will abide by school and classroom rules and will follow directions the
first time they are given.
3.
Students will only:
·
Play in designated SAFE AREAS
· Use playground equipment properly and will not play with
dangerous objects (see playground rules).
· Walk in the courtyard and all indoor
areas.
4. Students will not
provoke others to fight and will not use profane or abusive
language.
5. Students will
behave calmly in the cafetorium and will leave the environment clean for
others.
6. Students will adhere
to the school dress code.
7.
Students will line up immediately at the bell and will enter the school prepared
and ready to work.
GENERAL PLAYGROUND
No sitting on tetherballs or climbing/swinging
on poles.
No hanging from beams
in little shelters.
No playing
by classroom windows, portables, library, parking lot, or by the north
bathrooms.
Balls are allowed
only against the "Ball Wall".
No
playing with trees, fences, or signs.
No sitting or climbing on wooden handrails down to the grass
field.
No throwing rocks, sand,
dirt, etc.
No bats or hard
balls.
No
tackling.
No slide
kicking.
No pulling others
clothes or taking of property; hats, balls, etc.
No fighting, hitting, kicking, karate,
etc.
No vulgarity or
profanity.
Jump ropes are for
jumping only.
No food allowed on
playground. Food is allowed on the covered patio area only when directly supervised
by a staff person.
Allowed to leave playground only if bell rings, to use bathroom, or to
go to Nurse’s Office with a pass from the duty teacher.
Go directly to class when bell rings.
COVERED PATIO
No throwing objects onto covered patio shade
cover.
No standing or sitting on table tops.
BARS
No standing or sitting on bars.
No chicken fighting.
No
hanging upside down from bars UNLESS BOTH hands are on the bars.
SWINGS
Sit on your
bottom only.
Swing back and
forth, not sideways, not twisting.
One person on a swing at a time.
SLIDES
Slide down on your bottom only.
No climbing up the slide.
One person on the slide at a time.
No standing on the slide.
No playing tag on play structures.
INSIDE PATIO
No loitering.
No running.
No dropping
off backpacks before morning bell.
No bouncing or throwing balls.
Not allowed on stage unless supervised by a staff person.
No playing on grass or ropes.
DISCIPLINE PROCEDURES FOR RESPONSIBILITY OFFENSES
Responsibility offenses will be documented in
writing to the principal, teacher, and parent. Behavior tickets will note
whether the offense was observed by an adult or reported by students. Tickets
will have the following consequence(s):
· 1st Offense: Notification and Time Out
· 2nd Offense: Notification and 2 Time Outs
· 3rd Offense: Notification and CUB TRAP if
all
three
were observed. Notification, Time Out and Parent Conference if one was
observed
· 4th Offense: Notification and CUB
TRAP
TIME OUT is a quiet time supervised by Comanche
staff in the cafetorium during the recess periods. Students will report to
the staff supervised Time Out in the cafeteria every recess until the
behavior ticket is signed by a guardian and returned to the
teacher.
CUB TRAP is an in-school suspension with
constant parent supervision. It is necessary for a parent to come in the
following day to supervise his or her child in Cub Trap. Cub Trap is for
one half of a school day for grade K-2 and for one whole day for grades
3-5.
DISCIPLINE PROCEDURES
FOR AUTOMATIC CUB TRAP OFFENSES
If a student commits one of the following offenses, the parent is
contacted immediately, and must come to school the following day to supervise
his or her child in CUB TRAP, half a day for grades K-2 and a full day for grade
3-5. In the event that isn’t possible, the child will be
suspended.
* BULLYING:
Threatening physical/emotional harm to another; included are threats,
intimidation, gestures, and verbal abuse.
* DEFIANCE: Refusing to comply with any reasonable
demand or request by any school official or sponsor at places and times where
school personnel have jurisdiction.
* DISRUPTIVE CONDUCT: Conduct which disrupts the educational process,
constitutes a health or safety hazard, is in violation of state or municipal
law, or is in violation of specific school rules.
* DRUGS/ALCOHOL POSSESSION/USE
* FIGHTING: Employing hostile contact in which at
least one party has contributed to a situation by verbal action and/or bodily
harm.
* VANDALISM/ STEALING
Deliberately or maliciously destroying, damaging, and/or defacing school
property or the property of another individual.
* VULGAR PROFANITY: Using language that is crude,
offensive, insulting or irreverent; use of coarse words to show contempt or
disrespect; swearing.
*
WEAPONS: Possessing or using a weapon or "look-alike".
MULTIPLE "AUTOMATIC CUB TRAP" OFFENSES
* First CUB TRAP Offense: Parent will supervise student in CUB TRAP for one half of a school day for grades K-2 or one full day for grades 3-5.
* Second CUB TRAP Offense: Parent will supervise student in CUB TRAP for two half school days for grades K-2 or two full days for grades 3-5
* Third CUB TRAP Offense: Will result in a referral to Comanche’s Student Assistance Team for behavioral intervention, as well as a parent conference with Director of APS Student Services whose recommended disciplinary action will be enforced.
COMANCHE’S CHARACTER COUNTS PHILOSOPHY
Children are our greatest natural
resource. It is the job of adults and social institutions to prepare
children for their future, to empower them to make wise and moral decisions that
will, in turn, affect the future of their children. Reading, writing, and
arithmetic are vital to curriculum, yet academics alone are not enough to ensure
that students will have the basic values and abilities needed to become caring,
responsible world citizens.
We
believe in the importance of fostering student attitudes toward self and others
based on six universal traditionally held values including Respect, Responsibility,
Caring, Trustworthiness, Fairness, and Citizenship. These core pillars
of the APS Character Counts Program determine who we are and how we interact
with
others in our highly complex world. The presence or absence of these basic
values may well determine the future well-being of our society.
.
The staff and parents at Comanche Elementary
School believe that character counts and core values are so important to our
students and their future that character education must be a part of each
student’s school experience. Therefore, we are continuing the Character
Counts Curriculum that we implemented in 1994. Character Counts is a
responsibility of the Comanche Children’s Strand that is comprised of staff and
parents. Please contact the office for meeting dates.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARENT
INVOLVEMENT
The following list of acronyms details organizations and
activities that any parent can be involved in. Please contact the office
for more information:
ANSC -- Albuquerque North Science
Center - ANSC is a non-profit corporation formed by four elementary schools:
Comanche, Arroyo
Del Oso, Montezuma, and S.Y. Jackson. The purpose of ANSC is to distribute
and refill hands-on science kits. The kits contain everything a teacher
needs to teach a six to eight week unit. There are three units per grades
K-5. The corporation is run by a Board of Directors comprised of parents,
teachers and community volunteers, and is advised by the four principals. The
Center is run by a paid coordinator who oversees volunteers to refill the
kits.
PTA -- Parent Teacher Association
Sandia Cluster--Former superintendent, Dr. Horoschak,
began the cluster concept, in 1996 to provide a process by which schools have
input on curriculum issues district wide. The district is organized into high
school clusters, and Comanche falls in the Sandia Cluster. There are monthly
cluster meetings from which school issues which have been identified by each
school's CLIC (see below) are carried to the superintendent by the Cluster Leader
Principal.
CLIC-Comanche Leadership & Instructional Council--CLIC is a decision making body comprised of Comanche staff, parents and principal. CLIC, which meets monthly, is responsible to develop long-range plans toward continued instructional and learning improvements and report on their progress in the yearly state mandated instructional Program Review. CLIC also considers all policies proposed by the various Strands. CLIC members are elected; strands elect a staff person to represent them on the CLIC, the PTA designates two parent representatives, and one additional "at large" parent position is voted upon each fall. CLIC meetings are advertised in the Communicator and are open to parents.
STRANDS -- To accomplish the numerous tasks that are necessary to sustain a school of the caliber of Comanche, there are six standing committees, called Strands, which meet monthly to manage the issues within their area. The Strands are: Children (discipline, playground, etc.); Community (Join-a-School, PTA, etc.); Curriculum (textbook, curriculum reps); Facilities (grounds, landscape); Staff (no parent members); and Science and Technology (computers, EXPO). Staff membership is determined each spring for the following year. Parent members are an essential aspect of the success of the Strands. Interested volunteers should contact the principal.