QAE Life Together
Kind, Safe and Fair
We do not have a school policy with a million do’s and don’ts. We expect all adults and children to be learning and modeling kind behaviors, safe behaviors and fair behaviors.

Monday Morning Meetings (MMM)
Every Monday our QAE community will gather to start the week together. This is an opportunity to celebrate birthdays, major events, share a good book and to provide introduction to character traits. Parents are welcome to join us.

Roots of Empathy
The Roots of Empathy is a unique and exciting approach to developing empathy in children. This will be implemented in first and fifth grades this year, possibly more. You will hear much more of this program in the weeks to come.


QAE Basics

2011-12  School Hours:     9:25 AM - 3:35 PM
This is extremely important: Students will be expected to be ready to learn in their classrooms by 9:30 AM. That means that they need to arrive before that, some need longer than others to negotiate their way to class, so if thinking of school as 9:15 or 9:20 works better for you, feel free to use that time as your family school hours.

 
Drop-Off Procedure
Drop-Off details Coming Soon
The playground is supervised from 9:05 AM until the first bell rings at 9:25 AM. Please have your child arrive no earlier than 9:05 AM. Students may play on the playground until the first bell rings at 9:25 AM, at which point they should line up with their classmates at the class line-up spot (signs and volunteers will be on hand the first two weeks to help children find their line-up spots). The teachers will then escort the students into the building. We expect all students at school by 9:25 AM and learning will begin promptly at 9:30 AM.

Please understand that most days your child's teacher uses the time before school to prepare for the instruction. Teachers will share expectations with you and with students about entering their classroom before school.  Exceptions may be made for students working on ongoing projects or other teacher choices. Students may always enter the building if they are eating breakfast in the cafeteria. If it is raining, students may enter the building and walk directly to their classroom.

If you would like to park and wait on the playground with your child, please find a parking space along one of the nearby residential streets. Please respect our neighbors and do not block driveways or park in no-parking zones. We are still working on where our buses will be and where drop-off and pick-up zones will be.


Pick-Up Procedure
Pick-Up Procedure Coming Soon
We welcome you into the building at any time, including at the end of the day with one request—please be respectful of teachers using every minute of the day for learning.  Please check with your child's teacher to confirm the class dismissal policy. If you are late, your child will be taken to the school office to wait. Please try to be prompt; our office staff will be very busy and cannot provide childcare. Please try to be prompt and make any pick-up/bus changes well before 3:00PM; our office staff will be very busy and cannot provide childcare, nor run last minute messages to students.


Bus Change (temporary)
Temporary changes in bus routines are allowed if parents/guardians send a note to school with child on the day the change is requested. Please include the following information:

• Students name and room number.
• Number of your child's regular bus route and stop.
• The change you are requesting (e.g. to go home with Robert Louis Stevenson on Route #16).
• The day(s) the change should be in effect.
  

Health Information
Our school nurse, Eileen Bullinger, is here on Thursday morning and Friday afternoons. If your child has a health concern that requires treatment at school, the nurse will contact you to write a health care plan. This will be distributed to all staff who are in contact with your child. Our office staff will manage minor first aid and illness, but will call 911 for any emergency if Ms. Bullinger is not on site. The SPS Health and Safety link, where you will find more information on health issues is here.

Medications
Any medication, including over the counter drugs, cannot be administered without a Medication At School form, signed by the health provider and you. This form is also available in the QAE office. Medication must be in the original container with the prescription label attached.

In Case of Illness
We will call all of the numbers you provide on the emergency card if your child becomes ill at school. Please make sure to give emergency numbers of family/friends who can pick up your child during the day. If your child has been ill during the night you may wish to consider keeping him/her at home the next day. While we will love and care for your child at all times we likely cannot give your child the special care needed when she/he does not feel well.


Kindergarten Assessment Meetings
In order to get to know each Kindergarten student better and to help him or her feel more comfortable, we set aside time to meet and assess each child individually. Each will have a special 30-minute session in which to bond one-on-one with his or her teacher and show what s/he knows using the Seattle School's Kindergarten Assessment. This assessment is given to all entering Kindergartners in the Seattle Public Schools and helps guide instruction. Teachers are currently calling to set up appointments while they are also participating in professional development activities during the day.


School Supplies
Instead of each family invading Freddy’s or Staples in search of all the things on THE LIST we have decided to ask families to donate $50 per student to cover all classroom materials needed (**The third grade class is an exception, see below). Teachers can then purchase in bulk and get the exact materials they need for all students. No competition for coolest pencils or most awesome sharpeners, just a harmonious and caring environment for all. If $50 is not feasible for your family, please give what you can and if you can give more I’m sure it will be appreciated. The only thing your child will need for school supplies will be a backpack, hopefully a cool one, and a 3-ring binder for third, fourth, and fifth graders. We will send home an envelope for supply money or you may stop by the office
 

“Other” School Supplies
To help you with the need for shopping that we just put a damper on—we would love donations of the basic stuff to keep a group of kids going: Paper towels, Kleenex, zip-locks, wipes and hand sanitizer.
 

Special Teacher Wants and Needs
It is entirely possible that teachers will have a Wish List for classroom materials that falls outside of the realm of pencils and paper. They will communicate with you through the orange folder, email, or their classroom websites.
 

Snacks
We have found that children do best at school if provided with a small and healthy snack. Your child's teacher will draw up a snack policy outlining how and when classroom snacks will take place. In some classes, for example, each family may be asked to bring in a snack for the class for one week of the school year. Suggestions for snacks include: raisins, grapes, apple wedges, bananas, oranges, bread sticks, graham crackers, carrot sticks, celery sticks, crackers, etc. We will not be using candy or sugar laden items as either regular snacks or special treats/rewards.
Due to the increasing number of food allergies, please check the ingredient labels to make sure all snacks are peanut- and tree nut-free and have not been made in a factory that processes tree nuts or peanuts!


Orange Folders
Your child will bring home an orange Queen Anne Elementary folder. This folder should be brought to and from school every day. It is a valuable tool for parent/teacher communications throughout the year. You will be asked to check your child's orange folder each night for important notes, school assignments, newsletters and schoolwork. If you need to send something (notes, permission slips, homework, checks) please use the folder; your child's teacher will check them every day.


Homework
Your child’s teacher will share homework policy with you.


Volunteering at Queen Anne ES
One of our Five Pillars is “We Learn Everywhere, We Learn Together”. We know how important it is that parents, guardians and extended family members get involved in their child's academic life! We look forward to having you volunteer with us. Normally we would ask that you hold off volunteering until after a few weeks of school but this year might be different. We will communicate with you if we feel we need support right away. You can find information about the legal responsibilities here and paperwork required for screening here.  Put your name on the Parent Volunteer list, or contact heather2a@clear.net to learn more.


The Cafeteria
Meals, Times and Payment
Kindergarten students go to lunch at the same scheduled time every day. From the cafeteria they are excused to the playground for lunch recess. Your child may bring a meal from home or buy lunch or milk only. In addition, breakfast is served from 9:05 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. daily.

Breakfast: $1.75
Lunch: $2.75

Milk/Juice: $0.50
Soy Milk: $0.75

Adult breakfast: $2.75
Adult lunch: $4.50

Each child will be assigned a PIN (Personal Information Number) during the first week of school that is linked to an individual debit account. Older students previously at a Seattle Public School will retain their current PIN. At lunch students will key in their PIN to pay for a meal. You will need to make a deposit into your child's meal account by submitting cash, check or money order (payable to Child Nutrition Services) to the Cafeteria Manager at QAE. You may pay in person (by going to the cafeteria) or send payment in your child's orange folder. You can choose to manage this process through an online system called PayPAMS. School menus and other Nutrition Services information are posted here.

Free or Reduced Meals
All families should get in the mail, before school starts, a form from the Seattle School District's Child Nutrition Services that outlines how to apply for free or reduced lunch prices. These forms must be mailed back as soon as possible. We want every child to have a healthy breakfast and lunch every day! Forms will be available in the School Office or online here. If you are not sure if you qualify or if you choose not to take advantage of the free or reduced meals we encourage you to apply as it has a positive impact on our school budget. The information is always confidential.  More information is on the district website.


Lunchroom Supervision
Our lunchroom staff supervises the lunchroom. During the first two weeks of school we would love to have volunteers to help serve and particularly help with orienting the kindergartners. Together we take special care to help our newest students learn to navigate and feel at ease in our very busy cafeteria. . Please contact Heather Anderson, QAE Parent Volunteer Coordinator if you can help.


Lunchroom Visitors
We encourage parents, guardians, siblings and extended family members to join students for lunch or breakfast. We do ask that you hold off visiting your child until after the third week of school. This will give your child time to get comfortable enough to be able to teach you all the lunchroom procedures and expectations. You may bring your own meal or purchase one at school. Don't forget to sign in at the front office.


Seattle Public Schools: General Information

Website
The SPS website has been changed and enhanced significantly over the last year. It is generally much easier to find what you need and navigate through the site. You will find very useful information there and we recommend visiting the site to familiarize yourself with it. The first place to visit is The Source.

Calendar
The Seattle Public Schools calendar can be found here. It includes holidays, teacher in-service days, beginning and end of year information and general district events. We recommend adding important dates to your personal calendars.

School Messenger
SPS has a “robo-call” system that is used centrally to announce closures, in-service days, holidays and other special events. It can also be used by QAE staff for special announcements by voice and email. Please make sure your phone numbers are current and report any changes to our school office for entry into the database.

Emergency Closure
School closure takes place only during extraordinary circumstances (e.g. bad weather). Notice of a closure will be communicated through local TV and radio and School Messenger, the auto-dial system. When school is cancelled during the day, QAE staff will make sure all students have satisfactory transportation and supervision at home before dismissing them from school. Please indicate on the Emergency Contact Sheet the names of those you authorize to receive your children.

Attendance
Attendance is taken at the start of each day. PLEASE CALL THE SCHOOL OFFICE (206-252-2480) TO NOTIFY US IF YOUR CHILD WILL BE ABSENT.  Alternatively, you can email BOTH Carla at ckirch@seattleschools.org AND Jackie at jlykken@seattleschools.org to notify us.   To make sure your child arrived safely, we will call you if you have not notified us. To determine if the absence will be excused, you will be asked to provide a reason for your child's absence. The following list of circumstances are the only recognized excuses for school absence:

• Personal illness
• Family illness
• Death in the family
• Religious holiday

By law, RCW 28A.225.010, your failure to report absences on a regular basis will require legal proceedings. If your child has two unexcused absences you will be notified by letter. If there are more than 3 unexcused absences, the principal will notify you by phone. You will then need to attend a conference with the Principal and together we will develop an Attendance Agreement.
Chronic absenteeism due to illness must be documented by your family physician so that our nurse and principal can develop a home study program for your child.
Prompt arrival at school is expected of all students. Any child who arrives after 9:30AM (late bell) will be considered late. Chronic late arrivals will prompt a call from the principal to arrange a conference. Together we will develop a plan to help your child be in the learning environment more consistently.

SPS Code of Bus Conduct
To ensure the safety of your child, please review the following safe travel requirements. On the bus, your child should:
1. Ride their assigned bus and leave the bus at their assigned stop unless given written permission to do otherwise.
2. Talk quietly with the closest seat neighbor and stay seated until exiting the bus.
3. Obey the bus driver in a courteous manner.
4. Avoid loud behavior, teasing, eating, name-calling, and throwing objects on/off the bus.
5. Keep bodies inside the bus.
6. After exiting the bus, look both ways after the driver puts out the STOP bar and if you must cross the street, cross in front of the bus.

When children need reminders about Bus Behaviors
If children cause an unsafe bus ride, the driver will write up the problem. Copies are distributed to the Office of Transportation, parents/guardians and the Principal. After the first warning the Principal will confer with your child and notify you by phone. If the unsafe behavior persists, the principal or Office of Transportation may suspend your child from the bus after the fifth warning.

Zero-Tolerance Behavior on Bus
Fighting on the bus; disruptive behavior. Consequences: 1-5 DAY suspension off bus.
Throwing objects on/off the bus; getting out of seat. Consequences: Warning; 1-5 DAY suspension off bus.