Policies and Procedures

The information provided in this handbook is designed to help insure smooth operation of all school affairs and activities and to foster peace and harmony in parent, teacher, and student relationships.  Please read and commit yourself and your child to adhere to the guidelines communicated herein.  If the need arises Strickland Christian School reserves the right to change any policy or procedure at any time at its sole discretion.

Three hours of parenting training is also required each year during the school year for each custodial parent or guardian.  Such training will be offered by the school and may include short Bible studies, fathers’ breakfasts, mentoring with another couples or other interactive sessions interspersed through the school year.  A list of training sessions and their times will be published early in the school year and as they are planned and implemented.

Health Records

Please send a copy of your child’s current immunization record to the office at the time of enrollment to be kept on file.  All immunization records must be kept current.  Please do not leave originals with the school but send only copies.  Students in K-4, K-5, 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th grades will receive a vision and hearing screening administered by a qualified health care professional.  Fifth grade students (and sixth grade students when necessary) will also receive a spinal screening on the same day.  These screenings are mandated by the State of Texas and will occur early in the school year.

Please complete and return the Medication Permission Slip/Consent for Emergency Treatment form to let us know what you would allow school staff members to administer to your child. Students are not allowed to carry medications, so parents must give prescription items or over the counter drugs directly to a teacher.

1. All medications brought by parents for their child must:

2. Be in the original container.

3. Be labeled with the child’s name.

4. Include directions to administer the medication.

5. Not be expired.

We must have written parental permission is required to administer any medication to your child. We cannot be responsible for medications that your child takes without the knowledge of the teacher.

A child must not be brought to school if one or more of the following exists:

1. The child has a fever.

2. The child has symptoms and signs of possible severe illness (such as lethargy, uncontrolled breathing, uncontrolled diarrhea, vomiting [two or more episodes in 24 hours]), rash with fever, wheezing or untreated persistent cough.

3. The child has lice or nits whether active or not.

4. The child has been diagnosed with a communicable disease and until medical evaluation determines that the child is no longer contagious and is able to participate in the school’s activities.

Please advise the school if your child has a serious infectious disease or lice or nits (cases for which the other parents need to be informed). Otherwise, do not call the school about your child’s illness unless you need your child’s assignments.

School begins promptly at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 3:00 p.m. Half-day Kindergarten is dismissed at noon. It is helpful for students to arrive at school by 7:45 a.m. You may drop your child off as early as 7:00 a.m. Two teachers will be on duty at that time. Students arriving between 7:00 a.m. and 7:45 a.m. are to sit in the fellowship hall or designated classrooms and study, read, or talk quietly. By 7:45 a.m. the homeroom teachers pick-up their children and escort them to their respective classrooms.

A student is tardy if not seated and ready to learn by 8:00 a.m. Excessive tardies cause undue hardships on everyone involved. The student will receive a warning slip for every six tardies each year. Students should arrive by 7:45 a.m. to have time to prepare for class. A tardy is excused only if the student was late due to a doctor or dentist appointment and the student provides the teacher a note from the doctor upon returning to school. An excused tardy is recorded as a tardy for the permanent record but does not count toward the total for warning slips.

After an absence, 3^rd through 8^th grade students are responsible for checking with their teachers for any make-up work. These students have as many days to make-up work as they were absent (i.e. if a child is sick for two days he has two days to make-up his work). A student should not be absent unless he is sick or there is an emergency. A student with repeated absences without good cause will be subject to disciplinary action.

Perfect attendance awards are given at the end of the year. Absences, tardies, leaving school early for doctors’ appointments, or any other non-attendance at school disqualifies a student from receiving such award. This is true whether such non-attendance is approved, excused or not.

If you need to leave a message or speak with your child’s teacher, please call by 10:30 a.m. The answering system is checked frequently, so please don’t hesitate to leave a message on the recorder. Messages, which are received after 10:30 a.m., may not necessarily be delivered that day.

Please send a nutritious snack for your child everyday. Children will be encouraged to eat their snack, not lunch food, at this time. Please help by letting your child know what is for snack and what is for lunch. Only water will be allowed for snack.

Your child’s birthday is a very important event; however, birthday parties during school hours are not permitted. If your child chooses to pass out birthday invitations at school, then there must be an invitation for every member of the class or all the boys or all the girls. Children get their feelings hurt if they are left out. If you wish to send cookies or cupcakes, they will be passed out during lunch or snack time.

Our desire is to glorify Christ during the Christian holiday seasons.  We therefore emphasize the true meaning of Christmas and Easter.  We do not permit the celebration of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or Earth Day.  Because Halloween originated as a pagan holiday and is now celebrated by the occult, we do not allow our students to participate in any Halloween activities while at school. Therefore, please do not bring or send your child with any Halloween party favors, toys, candles, cakes or other related symbols or items. A short Valentine's Day party will be held and students should only bring Valentine greetings which are appropriate and do not encourage romantic relationships.

Third through eighth graders will receive a progress report at the end of the first four weeks. At the end of each nine-week reporting period, children will be given a report card. The parents or teacher may request a conference at any given time. Please keep in close communication with your teachers. Scheduled conferences begin the first week of October. Parents of 6^th-8^th graders will receive their child’s final report card via mail about one week after the last day of school. K-5 students will receive a report card at the end of the year. There will be no report cards given for K-4 students.

If there are any restrictions to be placed upon any student’s activity regarding P.E. classes or sports in general, instructions in writing signed by the parent must be furnished to the teacher or the registrar at the beginning of school.

Students are not to leave campus during school hours unless checked out by a parent. In order to check out your child, please go the school office and sign him out. You will then get a pass that allows you to go up to the classroom and pick up your child.

Any student who walks or bikes home from school must have signed permission from a parent or guardian.

Staying After School

From time to time, students may need to stay after school with a teacher as discipline or for tutorials. When this occurs, parents will be expected to come to the room at the time designated by the teacher. Students who are not picked up at the proper time will be taken to After School and parents will be expected to pay the appropriate fee. Students are not permitted to return to the classroom after dismissal time without teacher permission. Parents are discouraged from bringing their children back later to pick up homework, books, or assignments. Please encourage your child to be prepared when he is dismissed with everything he needs to complete his homework assignments.

Parents are welcome to visit the campus for good reasons, including eating lunch with their children. Please check in with the safety officer, office worker or other designated persons to receive your pass or badge. Parents must make appointments with teachers in advance as unexpected conferences are a disruption of the classroom activities. Other visitors, including alumni, must call prior to the visit and receive the permission of the principal for a specific date and time.

Please see the map, showing our pick-up and drop-off lanes.

At 12:00 p.m. Half-Day Kindergarten students will be taken out to the east porch and will be escorted to the car by a teacher. If you would like to come in to pick up your child please park in the front and wait in the hallway by the drinking fountain until the children are brought out. Any students not picked up by 12:15 p.m. will be taken immediately to a Kindergarten class in the lunchroom and will be served lunch. Please be on time. Parents who are late must pay an additional tuition fee of $5.00 per hour or any part thereof.

At 3:00 p.m. all students will use the east exit of the building and go to their designated car pool area. Kindergarten through fourth graders will be kept at the curb on the south end of the school until parents drive up. A teacher or older student will escort them to the car. Fifth through eighth graders may wait at the picnic tables at the south end of the building. Younger students may also wait at the picnic tables with their older siblings. Please be on time. Any student not picked-up by 3:15 p.m. will be taken directly to After School. Parents will then be required to pay a drop-in day care fee and will need to come into the lunchroom to sign the student out.

If you wish to park in the front parking lot facing Manchaca, you must still pick-up your child at the designated pick-up areas. Children are not permitted to leave those areas to meet you at your car.

The students will be released only to a parent unless the teacher has received a written notice to the contrary. Carpools are required to register for prior approval before release can be given. A definitive list of non-parents authorized to pick up a child is imperative. All arrangements for going home with other children must be made before school, and the child’s teacher must be notified in writing prior to any change in the usual arrangements. Changes to carpool must be made in advance of the school day, and notification to the school by phone is not acceptable except in an emergency.

Parking spaces are limited and so for traffic flow and safety we ask that parent s adhere to the following procedures: The one way lanes are for pickup only and only for those drivers who will not be leaving their vehicles. Drivers must never leave their vehicles in the drive, or in front of the doors unattended.  The rear parking lot is reserved for teachers and staff only. The front parking lot is fore parents and carpool drivers who need to leave their vehicles for any reason. Do not park in any handicapped spaces - it is against the law, the church has asked us not to do so, and the police have been known to write tickets on this property.  (See map for further details.)

All drivers are encouraged to be courteous and patient. Carpool time may be hectic and trying, but we owe it to our children to display Christian character as representatives of Christ.

The school will notify KIXL Radio (970 AM) of any class interruptions or definite delays due to weather. Parents may also check the school’s answering machine (447-1447) and the website (www.stricklandschool.com). No television stations will be contacted. Teachers will be at school thirty minutes before school is to begin on days when school begins late.

Programs and extracurricular activities are school functions, so students must dress and behave as instructed by the teachers. Arrangements must be made with the principal for taking pictures or recording special events. Please be courteous to others in attendance with all video and photographic equipment.  Also, crying babies who tend to interfere with the sound effects should be taken to the rear of the auditorium.