Please do not drop your child off before 8:45 or pick your child up after 4:00. Teachers come early to get work done, and keep the doors to the buildings locked until 8:45. Likewise, at the end of the day most teachers and staff members leave to go home. The school is not liable for students who are on the premises before or after school unless they are with a teacher or staff member or we have granted permission for them to be here unsupervised.
If your child will be absent, email or phone the front office. If you do this, Val will not need to telephone you to follow-up on your child’s whereabouts when he/she was marked absent.
Parents and guardians should keep a student at home if he or she has a contagious illness.
Encourage your child to contact his/her teachers and a classmate to keep up with missed schoolwork. Your child or you should email the advisor if he/she needs help getting missed assignments. Contact the Middle School or High School Director if your child will be absent for several days or weeks, and be sure to carefully read the Absence Policy in this handbook.
Make sure your child is dressed appropriately for school. Clothes that are too revealing or tight, and shirts that are offensive in their wording or meaning, are disrespectful to the Spirit of the Community. The school retains the right to ask students to cover up inappropriate clothing or send them home to change.
Please notify the school when changes occur at home. These include, but are not limited to, a new home address, phone number, or email address; a change in the student’s guardianship or custody arrangements; a change in the student’s health or medication; a development in the family that might impact the student’s ability to do his/her best at school.
If the weather looks iffy: call the school and listen to the voice message; check your email for a message from Joan Goodman or someone else from school; or, listen to the television weather delay and closing announcements. If you arrive here and things look uncertain, check with the office before you drop your child and drive off.
Laptop use at school is encouraged, but it is predicated upon responsibility and trust. If your child is using his/her laptop for IM, email, games, or visiting inappropriate sites, he/she will lose the privilege and will be required to leave his/her laptop at home.
Cell phones may be used before and after school, and during lunch and ET. They may not be used at any other time. If the privilege is abused, the phone will be taken from your child for the day. Please do not call or text your child during the school day on his/her cell phone. If you need to speak with your child, phone Val in the office; someone will deliver a message or have your child phone you using the office telephone.
The New School is not responsible for any lost, damaged, or stolen personal items. Electronic devices (laptops, iPods, and other mobile devices) and other belongings are solely your child’s responsibility. You may want to encourage him/her to leave these items at home if they are not essential to his/her learning and if you do not want to risk having to replace them.