Tardiness

Please make every effort to see that your child arrives to school on time. Students who arrive late to school miss out on valuable instructional time and daily class meeting with their peers.  Arriving late also causes a disruption to the classroom and requires additional teacher time for directions and assignments already presented.  If your child is arriving to school after 9:05 a.m. they are considered tardy and need to report to the office for a Tardy Slip before going to class.  Parents will be notified if their child has frequent tardies to assure prompt arrival to school.

Attendance

Regular attendance at school is required, except for illness. State law places the responsibility for regular attendance upon parents and also requires schools to document the reason for every    student absence.  If your child will be absent, please call the school office (619-223-1683) by 9:30 a.m. on the first day of absence giving your child’s name, room number and the exact reason for absence.  For your convenience, you may call in your child’s absence during non-school hours on our answering machine.  Parents will be contacted for those students whose parents/guardians have not called regarding their child’s absence.  Regular attendance must be a priority for your child and is necessary for him/her to have a successful school experience.  Please try to schedule medical and dental appointments after school hours or during school vacations.

Truancy

California Education Code requires that we notify parents if a child is considered to be truant.  Truancy refers to: absence by a student from school without a valid excuse (see Excused Absences above) for three (3) full days in a school year, or tardiness (lateness) or absence with out a valid excuse for more than thirty (30) minutes on each of three times in one school year. It is important to note that an unexcused absence may include an absence for which a parent did call the school (e.g. for a family or religious observance, but that does not meet the definition of an excused absence and, therefore, must be recorded and counted as unexcused.

Excused Absences

Funding is only earned for a day when a student is present. Absences for the following reasons are excused, but not funded by the state.

• Verified illness
• Verified medical or dental appointments
• Attendance at funeral services for a member of the immediate family.

Contracts for Independent Study (CIS)

When it is necessary for a student to miss 5 to 20 school days, parents may request CIS paperwork from the school office. During the students absence he/she must complete schoolwork assigned by the classroom teacher. The work must be turned in when the student returns in order to earn attendance credit for state auditing purposes. Please allow one week's notice for the paperwork to be prepared. Questions may be directed to the school office (619-223-1683).

Recess

Students are scheduled for a daily 15-minute recess from 11:15-11:30 a.m. and should report to the playground unless otherwise directed by the classroom teacher. Students with healthy snacks may sit quietly in the lunch arbor and report to the playground when finished eating. (Candy and soda should not be brought to school for a snack.) When the bell rings signaling the end of recess, students should "freeze" and wait for the teacher on duty to blow a whistle. Upon hearing the whistle, students should line up on the playground in his/her designated line-up area. During inclement whether conditions, students are kept inside for their recess period.

Release of Students Other than at Dismissal Time

Under state law, we must have a signed permission slip for students to leave school grounds at times other than regular dismissal time. If it is necessary for your child to leave school before dismissal time, please come to the office for an early dismissal slip. For your protection and that of the child’s, students are only released to parents, guardians, or other authorized persons whose names are listed on the student's registration card. Photo identification will be required if the person picking up the child is unknown to the office staff even if it is a parent. Students will not be released by telephone requests.

Parents, Visitors and Volunteers on Campus

You are always welcome at school. We encourage such visits since they help build a mutual understanding of your child and the school’s instructional program. To insure the safety of students and staff, all parents, volunteers and visitors must stop by the school office, sign in, and wear a visitor or volunteer badge at all times while on site. Please sign out and return the badge before you leave the campus. Please remember that teachers are not free to conference with you during class time. Letting the teacher know ahead of time regarding a visit can minimize impact on classroom instruction. To schedule a classroom observation or parent/teacher conference, please call the school office (619-223-1683) to leave a message for the teacher. Volunteers are needed in classrooms and the school library and are extremely beneficial in enriching school programs. If interested, you may call the school office to leave a message for the volunteer coordinator. To minimize classroom disruptions when waiting for students after school, please remain in the center lunch arbor or other area away from the classroom doors. Volunteers who bring younger siblings while volunteering must at all times monitor youngsters. Please do not release children to be supervised by Loma Portal staff during recess or lunch.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

We feel that good communication between home and school is tremendously important, and encourage conferences between parents and teachers. We ask that you arrange for conferences by note or telephone for a time either before or after school since it is not possible for the teacher to talk with you during the time class is in session. Scheduled conferences are part of our first and second pupil progress reporting periods

Personal Phone Messages and Phone Use

If an urgent personal message is necessary, please try to call the school office before noon in order to assure that the message will be picked up by the teacher from his/her mailbox during lunchtime. Phone calls will not be put through to the classroom during instructional time unless it is an emergency. If they are going home with a friend after school, arrangements need to be made before they come to school.

Classroom Assignments and Reorganization

It is not our policy to accept parent requests for student placement. The teachers at Loma Portal are highly trained professionals who meet students' instructional needs. Students whose primary language is not English; students who qualify for the Gifted and Talented Educational Program (GATE); and students who receive special education are placed in classrooms with teachers holding the appropriate credentials. Other factors such as class size, gender, ethnicity, and ability levels are also considered when forming classrooms.

All classroom assignments are tentative for all grades. Posted assignments are in the bulletin case outside the office on the last Friday before school starts in September. Please be aware that due to any increases or decreases in enrollment, classes and teacher assignment changes are sometimes necessary. If your child will be involved in a reorganization of his/her classroom, you will receive advance notice by letter or phone. We appreciate your cooperation in accepting these changes if and when they become necessary.

Lost and Found

The Lost and Found cart is located just inside the auditorium. We also have an area in the office for smaller items such as jewelry and eyeglasses. All unclaimed articles remaining at the end of the year are donated to charitable organizations.

Lost or Damaged School Property

Parents are responsible for any school property lost or damaged by their child.