Dixie Canyon Elementary School Policies

	ABSENCES When your child is absent, please call the office at (818)784-6283 by 9:00 a.m. each day that your child is absent. When the child returns to school, send a note (dated and signed by you, the parent) to the teacher stating the reason for absence. A child wearing a cast, sling, brace or having stitches must have a note from the doctor in order to be admitted into school. These children will need to rest in the nurse's office during recess and lunch in order to avoid re-injury. Children returning who have had communicable diseases must also have a doctor's note. If you think your child may have head lice, you MUST have your child checked by the school nurse BEFORE going to class.
	ATTENDANCE State law requires attendance in school. An absent child may not be re-admitted to school until a note explaining the reason for absence is sent to school by the parent/guardian. If a child is absent from school for 5 consecutive days, he/she must have a note from a physician and be cleared to come back by the school nurse. Please note that an EXCUSED absence is illness, doctor/dentist appointments, or death of an immediate family member (parent, sibling, grandparent). An absence due to early/extended vacation (out of town), death of a friend or relative (not mentioned above), religious holiday, trips to Disneyland, etc. are UNEXCUSED. Please make your plans for vacations, etc. around the school schedule.
	AFTERSCHOOL PLAYGROUND - SUPERVISED BY YOUTH SERVICES - NO FEE Hours Open: 2:35 - 6:00 pm Mon., Weds., Thurs., Fri. 1:35 - 6:00 pm Tuesday (professional development days) On days when school is in session, Youth Services is available. When there are pupil free days or school holidays, Youth Services will be closed. Please note that it is your responsibility as a parent to pick up your child before YS closes. If you are late and the YS staff is unable to contact you (they will attempt to call the telephone numbers you list on your emergency card), YS may put your child into protective custody with the LAPD. The LAUSD Youth Services Section provides supervised recreational and educational activities after school each day at no charge to students. The playground, on occasion, may be closed due to the absence of supervision or school schedule changes. Youth Services is NOT a child-care program. It is a "permissive" program where participants arrive and leave at their own discretion and of their own volition. Participation is a privilege. Students must conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with the rules and regulations of the school and playground.
	BEHAVIOR RULES *General Rules* Show respect to adults, students and property. Follow directions the first time they are given. Keep hands, feet and objects to yourself. Use appropriate language. Put litter in trash cans. *Playground Rules* Follow directions of supervisors. Use equipment properly. Do not throw inappropriate objects. Do not tease others. Do not chase others on the yard. *Recess and Lunch Rules* Follow directions of supervisors. Eat only in assigned eating areas. Speak in soft voices. Do not throw food or anything else. Clean up after yourself. Wait to be dismissed from tables. WALK... do not run. Have a hall pass unless accompanied by an adult. *Yard Consequences* 1st Offense: Verbal warning 2nd Offense: Citation and/or benched 3rd Offense: Phone call to parents 4th Offense: In-school suspension *Cafeteria Consequences* 1st Offense: Verbal warning and/or Clean-up 2nd Offense: Citation and/or benched 3rd Offense: Phone call to parents 4th Offense: In-school suspension
	CAFETERIA PROGRAM Full price breakfast $ .60 (reduced price no charge) Full price lunch $1.00 (reduced price .40) Milk or juice $ .30 The law requires that the school make the free/reduced meal program available to all students. If your child qualified for one of these programs during the last school year, he/she will have the opportunity to continue on the program during September, but you must reapply each school year. The school district mailed out applications for the new school year to each returning student's home during August. If your child is new to the school or you did not receive an application by mail, they are available in the Main Office and Cafeteria. Please complete it if you are interested in applying and return to the Main Office. The cafeteria will contact students who quality for free or reduced price meals after application processing, and the meal program will begin as early as October. If you do not meet the qualifications for the free or reduced price meal programs, your child will still be able to purchase meals at full price and you may deposit money into his/her account in the Cafeteria. Each child is issued a "debit" card to swipe when he/she passes through the Cafeteria line. When the account gets low, a notice will be sent home with your child so you may replenish the account. If you have any questions, please feel free to telephone Mr. Desmond John, our Cafeteria Manager, at 818-784-5469 before 2:00 pm. You may also send your child with a sack lunch from home. Should your child forget his/her lunch. we ask that you do not deliver it to your child's room. Instead, please mark the bag with your child's name and room number, put it on the lunch cart in the main hallway, and leave a note in the office for your child to pick it up at his/her lunch break. We would appreciate that you follow this procedure so that you avoid interrupting valuable instruction time in your child's classroom. Please do not send your child to school with a hot fast food lunch, as the smell of it causes a distraction to the other children in the classroom.
	DRESS CODE Proper attire for school enables children to participate fully in the school program. Shoes should have a closed heel and toe to prevent injuries (no sandals allowed). Shoes with a high heel or wedge sole, or boots that are too high on the feet are not permitted. "Rolling Runners" (shoes with rollers hidden inside the sole) are not permitted if the rollers are activated. If your child comes to school wearing inappropriate footwear, he/she will be prohibited from participating in school activities until a parent in contacted and suitable footwear is brought to the child. Clothing should permit comfortable seating and be suitable for active physical education. "Gang-like" attire such as baggy or over-sized clothes are not allowed. Neither are wallets hanging on chains nor bandanas. Any student wearing any of this "gang-like" attire will be sent home to change. This is for the children's safety. In addition, shirts or blouses must not expose the midriff area. Halter tops, tank tops, tops with spaghetti straps, and sheer tops are not permitted. Tops that have sexually explicit, suggestive or derogatory/inflammatory phrases or pictures are not allowed. Skirts must be an appropriate length for school aged children (no mini-skirts). Jeans or shorts must NOT have holes, rips or tears. Cutoffs must be decent in length. Hip-hugger, "hipsters" or below the waist jeans or pants are not permitted. Hats are only permitted on specified "Hat Days," or if a doctor's note is on file in the school nurse's office, or when temperatures are in excess of 100 degrees. Baseball caps may only be worn with the brim to the front. Hoop type earrings are not appropriate for school. No make-up should be worn to school unless your child is participating in a school play. A student's appearance may not cause a distraction to the educational process at the school (i.e., dying of hair color, tattoos, clothing). The dress code is also a part of our on-going character education program addressing the issue of respect.
	DROPPING OFF AND PICKING-UP The school bus zone is now at the northerly portion of the school's frontage on Dixie Canyon Avenue by the north gate near room 17 and the alley between Dixie and St. Francis De Sales School. The combination passenger loading and 2-hour parking zone now begins at the alley north of Ventura Blvd. and ends where the bus zone begins. Student unloading time is from 7:45 until 9:00am. Student loading time will be from 1:30pm until 4:00pm. Student unloading and student loading shall be on a "Stop, Drop and GO"(see Stop, Drop and GO heading below for additional policy) basis. Parents who need to park and enter the campus will need to find parking other than the "Stop, Drop and GO zone". Between the hours of 9am-1:30pm, 2-hour parking will be allowed in the same "Stop, Drop and GO" zone. In addition, the portion of Dixie Canyon Avenue which is the frontage of St. Francis De Sales, is now posted for 15-minute parking from 7:00am to 5:00pm. Our pre-K students may be dropped off by the gate on Woodbridge Street, where Mrs. Melgar, our preschool teacher, will greet them. If they ride the bus, two of our aides will greet them by the north gate by room 17. Please note that Woodbridge Ave. is NOT a Stop, Drop and GO zone. The staff parking lot is for Dixie Canyon school staff members only. Parents/guardians may not park their vehicle in the staff parking lot. Unauthorized vehicles parked in the staff parking lot will be towed at the owner's expense (Vehicle Code 21113 and 22658). In addition, parents/guardians may not drop their children off in the staff parking lot or the alley (Vehicle Code 21113). Another pick-up option is to park on Ventura Blvd. or a side street and walk to the gates to meet your child. Gates are located outside of room 17 and at the front doors. At dismissal if you wait until school has been out for about 20 minutes and allow your child to play on the yard, your chances of avoiding the traffic jam are much better! On rainy days Youth Services will supervise the children in the Auditorium (or library if the auditorium is in use) until 6:00pm. In order to keep all children SAFE and to avoid traffic or parking tickets or towing of your vehicle, please follow all traffic and safety rules. Do not use the alleys surrounding the school as pick-up or drop-off points, or park in the alleys (even if "just for a minute"). Please do not park in the staff parking lot before or after school to drop-off or pick-up, nor drop-off in the alley outside the staff parking lot and allow your child to walk in alone. The staff lot is only available for parent parking after 3:00pm. Please DO NOT HONK to get your child's attention on the yard, as this behavior disturbs our neighbors and is not a polite practice!
	EMERGENCY CARDS In the case of an emergency, the school must be able to contact you in a timely manner; therefore it is absolutely ESSENTIAL that we have current up-to-date emergency information on the emergency card. We must have telephone numbers (including pagers and cellular numbers) of parents and their designated ADULT representatives listed on the emergency card. (Students may not leave the campus during school hours with a minor, so please do not put siblings under age 18 on the emergency card.) CHILDREN CANNOT LEGALLY ATTEND SCHOOL UNLESS AN EMERGENCY CARD IS ON FILE IN THE MAIN OFFICE. Please notify us immediately of any changes. This is VERY IMPORTANT!!!
	LEAVING DURING SCHOOL HOURS Students may NOT leave school during school hours except when accompanied by a parent or adult designated on the emergency card. Please do not go directly to the classroom to pick up your child. You must come into the main office first and sign the necessary forms in order for the school to release your child. The office staff then checks the emergency card and, if you have been cleared, they will buzz the room. The classroom monitors retrieve the authorization form and bring your child back to the office. We ask that you follow these procedures for the protection of the children and security of the school campus.
	HOME/SCHOOL COMMUNICATIONS Information for parents about events, meetings, schedule changes, etc. are sent home on "Responsible Thursday". PLEASE BE SURE TO CHECK YOUR CHILD'S FOLDER AND/OR BACKPACK FOR ALL IMPORTANT NOTICES on this designated day. Please impress upon your child the importance of your receiving the parent material. The Burgundy folder is used as the Teachers/Parents Communicator and has special pockets inside for items to be returned to school the next day and items to keep at home. The back pocket will have vital school information that may be helpful to you to reference at a glance.
	LOST AND FOUND Please put your child's name on clothing and other articles brought to school. If an article is lost, the child should check the Lost and Found located outside the cafeteria.
	OPEN COURT READING Open Court Reading (OCR) from 8:15-10:15am is an UNINTERRUPTED instruction period. This means that children will not be taken out of class during the block (unless there is a dire emergency). Please schedule doctor/dentist appointments for after 10:15am. As stated before, we encourage parent participation, but please do not visit the classroom during the block. If you plan to volunteer in the classroom during the block, please make sure you have made prior arrangements with the teacher, and sign in at the main office first. Because instruction begins immediately, please make sure your child comes to school ON TIME. When a child arrives late to class, he/she causes a distraction to the other children and disturbs their learning process.
	PARKING (or lack of!) We know, it's a major problem but we all have to make the best out of what we have to work with. Please observe ALL parking restrictions. If you park in the alley, behind the office building at the corner or restaurant areas, you will risk being towed or ticketed at your own expense. PLEASE READ ALL POSTED SIGNS CAREFULLY! Please remember that the staff parking lot is for staff only. Please find legal parking on the streets and know that we love and appreciate every minute of the time you give to our children.
	SAFETY - SCHOOL All school entrances with the exception of the front doors (on Dixie Canyon Avenue) will be locked at 8:30 a.m. The gate by room 17 will be opened at dismissal and locked at 3:00 p.m. No children are allowed to wait in front of the school or in the main office hallway after 3:00 pm (2:00 pm on short Tuesdays). There is no supervision and it is not safe. All remaining children will be asked to go to the back yard where Youth Services personnel are supervising. (Please do not put your child's safety at risk by insisting that they wait in a place that is unsupervised.) Thanks for helping us keep our kids safe! ALL visitors to campus MUST report to the Main Office to sign in and obtain a Visitor Pass and, upon leaving, sign out. Even daily volunteers will be asked to sign in and out daily. Signing in and out takes only a few moments. Safety will always be a top priority, especially with our close proximity to Ventura Blvd. and with 3 alleys bordering the campus. A long continual bell signifies to staff and students that an emergency state is in effect. All staff will lock their room doors until a second "all clear" bell is rung. Any children outside of the classroom when the bell is rung will be taken into the nearest room until the situation is determined to be safe. Outside doors to the school will be locked and we will not open them until the situation is deemed safe. (We ask your cooperation in not pounding on locked doors! If the doors are locked, it is for a reason. You should go to your car and wait - or call us at 784-6283 to determine the status of the emergency situation.) Don't panic. Remain calm. We are ready to keep the children safe and we need your support in this. All children go to the restroom, office, etc. in pairs. No one is to go anywhere alone!! Teachers will walk their classes to recess, lunch and dismissal. No children will be left in classrooms or anywhere without adult supervision. We have a list of staff cell phones, and some new walkie-talkies will be in use in emergencies. Please do not drop your children off in the front of the school or send them to school before 7:45 am. Yard supervision is not available until 7:45 am. Please do not put your children's safety at risk. To avoid the possibility of a child getting hit by a moving vehicle, please do not drop your children off or pick them up in the Staff Parking Lot or in the alleys.
	SAFETY - STREET Please be absolutely certain that your child knows the safest route to and from school. Stress the importance of using crosswalks, crossing at corners, waiting for the "green light" and being constantly alert to traffic. You should always encourage your children to walk the same way to and from school every day. If you need to meet them on the way home, you should know what street they are walking on rather than having to search the entire neighborhood. Children must be taught to avoid strangers and NEVER, EVER ACCEPT A RIDE WITH ANYONE WHOM THEY DON'T KNOW! Parents are also reminded that when they bring or pick-up students from school, the staff parking lot is not a drop-off or pick-up point. For the safety of all children, please park along the school side of the street. BE AWARE OF THE NO PARKING SIGNS!! DO NOT DOUBLE PARK OR ALLOW YOUR CHILD TO CROSS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BLOCK! DO NOT HONK THE HORN FOR YOUR CHILD TO CROSS THE STREET IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BLOCK. All students who are being picked up more than 25 minutes after dismissal must wait on the back school yard. It is not safe to wait in front of the school where there is no adult supervision. The playground is open until 6:00 pm for your convenience. Scooters, skateboards, roller blades, and rolling running shoes are not permitted on the school grounds ever (before, during or after school hours). Please do not allow your child to use these items at school.
	SCHOOL TOURS For school tours, please contact Barbara Tillis. E-Mail Barbara dixieroomrep01@yahoo.com
	SHORTENED/MINIMUM DAYS (PDBT Tuesdays) Please refer to the school calendar for the schedule of shortened days for you to calendar at home. Please remind your child in the morning on shortened/minimum days of what time and where you will be picking him/her up after school. This will alleviate the need for your child to use the phones looking for you. Also, if you plan on picking your child up much later than the dismissal time, please send your child with an afternoon snack or money to buy a snack in the student store.
	STOP, DROP and GO For those of who who are unaware of the Stop, Drop and Go procedures at Dixie, here are some rules to follow before you get a ticket from the police. They are out in full force, taking pictures and ticketing! DROP OFF TIME IN THE MORNING - Do NOT park in front of the school during times as noted on the signs or you will get a big ticket! - Do NOT stop and get out of your car for any reason or you will get a ticket � and I mean a big ticket! AT DROP OFF AND PICK UP - Do NOT pull up in the red zone near the alley or they will take a picture of your car � you will get a ticket in the mail. - Do NOT jay walk or you will get a ticket. Any street crossing needs to take place at the stop light. - Do NOT make U-turns in front of the school, or anywhere on Dixie Avenue. Someone got a $200 ticket for this last year. - Do not park in the curb areas that are marked BUS ZONES. These spaces are reserved for busses attending to special needs children and are off limits to autos. - Do not park in the St. Frances School lot next door to Dixie. The two spots in the first two spaces in are for Dixie Auction winners, and the rest of the lot is for St. Frances students/families only. If you are not parking and walking your child in, please DO pull your car up in the line slowly and with proper etiquette- all the way as far as you can go and let your child out of the car as quickly as possible. It is common courtesy that you do not cut in front of others as the line is forming. Then proceed to pull away from the curb immediately. Please do not lollygag, put on makeup, read, talk on phone, etc. while you sit in the car. Please pull away as soon as the door shuts to make room for others behind you to pull up and let their child out. Any questions should be addressed to the principal, Judy Dichter at 818-784-6283.
	TARDINESS Please make sure your child comes to school ON TIME, as promptness assures your child complete instruction time and your child's tardiness disrupts the class. In the event your child comes to school late, please send him/her to the office so we may change the attendance card accordingly.
	TELEPHONE USAGE Please remind your child that the phone in the office is for emergency calls only. We ask that you and your child have a plan that if you are late picking your child up, he/she may play on the yard after school instead of using the office phone to call you. Please make arrangements for the pick-up of your child, and make sure your child knows the plan BEFORE you drop him/her off in the morning. The main office gets inundated with phone calls at the end of the school day with parents asking to give messages to the children. During school hours the pay phone is not for student use unless the teacher has given a phone pass. The pay phone is available to the students after school for emergency calls (not for chit-chatting) - please be quick because the line gets long.
	TOYS, GAMES AND ELECTRONICS AT SCHOOL Parents and guardians should be reminded that students should not bring valuables and toys to school. These items include, but are not limited to: Walkmans, cassette recorders/players, radios, CDs, CD players, electronic games such as Gameboys, PDAs (palm pilots), cell phones, collectible cards such as YuGiOh or Pokemon, toys, etc. These items may distract from the educational program and if lost or stolen, the school and school district assume no responsibility. Your assistance and cooperation in this manner are appreciated.
	VISITATION Parents are encouraged to meet with the teacher and become acquainted with the school program. Please leave a note in the office or call and leave a message with your child's teacher if you wish a conference with him/her.Parents are welcome on campus during school days, however you must first come to the office to sign in and obtain a visitor's pass. For obvious safety reasons, if you are caught on campus without a visitor's pass, you will be asked to leave the premises immediately.
	ZONE MAP Click Here for School Zone Map for Dixie Canyon.