Sycamore Elementary School 4429 Sycamore St. Holt, MI 48842 517-699-2185

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Safety and Building Policies:

We are excited about teaching and learning routines and procedures that will keep us safe and help us get to the learning we all need to do.

Reminders for Families:

Help Us Protect Learning Time:


To promote learning right up until the end of the school day, we remind families to please wait at the ends of the hallways until the bell rings. Standing directly outside the classroom doors, can be distracting for the students. If you are entering the building at the end of the day to meet your child, please do so through the doors near the office. All of our other doors are locked until the bell rings and no one should be letting people in through those entrances/exits. Please do not open doors for people who approach these areas.

Changes to After School Routines:


If there is a change in what your child does after school, please always contact the classroom teacher. This will be very helpful on days when your child will be picked up rather than ride the bus, or go home with a friend rather than walk, etc. Also, please be sure to have your arrangements made for student pick-up before the end of the school day. We a try not to interrupt classrooms with too many messages that get called in to the office. Please help us keep these to a minimum by making the arrangements prior to school and sending a note in with the student.

Parking Lot Safety


We greatly appreciate families that are trying hard to follow our parking lot guidelines. As a reminder, please be cautious of our fourth grade safeties that cross students at the junior high drive. Drivers MUST watch for the safeties and abide by their stop signs.

 

Also, be sure to pull into a spot and park your vehicle in the front lot to drop off or pick up students. We want to keep that traffic flowing.


Please keep in mind that we are always making an impression on the students. Even in frustrating situations, we can model patience and tolerance. Keep in mind Sycamore was first built as a walking school and we try our best to handle the capacity of cars we now have for drop off and pick up. Thank you for your cooperation.

Student Possessions


To maintain a focus on safety and learning, we are asking that student no longer bring Pokemon cards, Gameboys, cell phones, I-Pods, and other electronics to school. Page 13 in the handbook explans this. Unfortunately, students are getting into arguments about trading, and these arguments can distract from learn ing. If a child has Pokemon cards other toys like this at school, the item may be held until the end of the day. Just as with all valuables, we are not responsible for lost or stolen items. Thank you for your cooperation.

Cold Weather Reminder


When the weather grows colder, it is essential that students are dressed appropriately to go outside for recess. We do not have supervision available for students who forget coats, hats, mittens, and boots to stay inside during this time. This is also an important thing to keep in mind in the morning as students wait outside until the first bell rings. We appreciate your cooperation.

 

Background Checks


If you want to attend fieldtrips or volunteer regularly, please visit the Holt Public Schools Human Resources Office in the administration building located at 4750 W. Holt Rd. They have the following times during the week set aside to process background checks:


Mondays 1:30 – 4:00 PM

Wednesdays 8:30 - 11:30 AM
and 1:30 – 4:00 PM

Fridays 8:30 – 1:30 PM

Student Attendance


We continue to encourage regular attendance for our Sycamore STARS so that teaching and learning can progress. To support this effort, student attendance will be checked on a regular basis. Each month, a list of students who have been absent 10% of the accumulated school days will be generated. Unless there are circumstances
that the teacher or the office staff is aware of, contact will be made with the student’s family. If attendance does not improve, truancy action may be taken. Michigan’s Compulsary Law requires students six years of age and older to be at school, on-time, each day. If your family needs assistance in getting your student to school on-time every
day, please contact your child’s teacher or Ms. Callis to develop a plan. We are willing to work with each of you.

Dropping Off and Picking Up Students ON TIME

We are unable to provide supervision for students who are dropped off before 8:20, resulting in a safety concern. We also have an issue after school when students are not picked up promptly. Daily, we have students in the office because their rides are not on time. As you can imagine, it is very time consuming to call each family, and we do not have the capacity for the large number of students we often need to house. Although we realize that this may happen occasionally, we would appreciate your cooperation in efficiently coordinating drop off and pick up times. If you need assistance before or after school, please contact the Holt Public Schools Community Education department at 699-3423 for Childcare information.

Cold and Flu Season

As cold and flu season finds its way to sycamore, there will be days when you need to decide whether your child feels well enough to at tend school. We value and expect excellent attendance, but if your child has a fever, he/she needs to stay at home and be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to school. We will monitor how students feel as well as we can at school, but you know best your child and what he/she is like when sick.

 

 

 

Bike Riding

At the beginning of the year, our rule is that only fourth graders are allowed to ride their bikes to school. When spring comes if you have a third grade student, and you feel that he/she is responsible and safe, you may let your third grader bike to school. Please review and practice the safety rules first. Students should not ride through the parking lots and they should cross streets with the safeties or crossing guards. Bikes should be locked to the one of the bike racks during the day. Heelys are still not al lowed at school.

 

Food Allergies


If your child has specific food allergies and needs special arrangements in the cafeteria, please send a note from your child’s doctor to food service so that the information can be placed in the computer. This documentation must be updated every year.

 

School Closing Information

In the event of a major snowstorm, electrical outage, or other event that could cause school cancellation, please do not call your child’s school office or the transportation office. (Offices are unable to handle an unusual number of phone calls, or may be closed in the event of an all-day “snow day.”) Holt Public Schools will report information for broadcast to the following TV and radio stations:

WILX – TV 10 (NBC)
WLAJ – TV 53 (ABC)
WLNS – TV 6 (CBS)
WSYM – TV 47 (Fox)
WKAR –TV 23 (PBS)
97.5 FM 100.7 FM 99.1 FM 94.1 FM 104.7 FM 1110 AM Q106 92.1 FM 92.9 FM 1320 AM 101.7 FM 870 AM 90.5 FM 1240 AM

Educational Quick Links:

 

Study Island

 

Mr. Green's Math Site

 

E.L. Spelling Site