Other Guidelines

Playground Guidelines

• The EY playground is a learning space and is not open for use by students after school.

• All students need to follow the directions of the playground supervisors in charge.

• Bringing toys and other personal items from home to the playground is discouraged.

• A helmet MUST BE WORN at all times by students who skateboard, rollerblade, or bicycle at ICS after school hours. These activities are limited to areas that have concrete surfaces.

• All students need to play carefully and safely.

• Middle and high school students are not to play on the elementary playground.

• Keep the playground area clean and free from trash.

• Parents supervising their children after school are responsible for cleaning up the playground and treating the equipment responsibly.

• Parents must notify the ICS Security the names of any guests (non-ICS people) that they wish to bring onto the campus.

Dismissal Procedure

• Lower Commons/Cafeteria:

All students being picked up from Gate 1 proceed to the Lower Commons/Cafeteria with their class and the supervising teacher. Classes will then organize themselves, ensuring that students only leave once the student sees their parent/caretaker and tells their teacher through the routine the class has established. The teacher will make eye contact with the receiving adult and then allow the student to leave. 

• Early Years Gate:

Early years students are picked up directly from their learning space. Children should inform their teacher when they see their family or caretaker to ensure a smooth transition. Siblings of early years students come to the Early Years Gate with a grade-level teacher to be picked up together alongside their Early Years Sibling(s). 

• Grade 1-5 students must wait for their family or caretaker before picking up their early years sibling. 

• Late pick up: If you arrive after 3:30PM, late students will usually be in the Upper Commons directly above the Lower Commons. In the instance that we have an event there, students will remain in the Lower Commons. 

• Any arrangement outside of the systems outlined above requires written permission. This written permission must be sent to both the student’s advisory teacher and the ES Office. 

Messages to Students and Telephone Use

We realize that unexpected situations arise in all families and when you add the traffic in Addis, we expect the unexpected. You are always welcome to call the office and we will get messages to your child about changes in pickup instructions or other information. With communications being what they are we suggest when you need to get a message to your child, you: E-mail the teacher and the office staff.

Call the office directly and we will relay your message. text the teacher if possible. Do your best not to wait until 3:15 PM to communicate. We get a large volume of calls at this time and sometimes it is difficult for us to send all messages to students before dismissal. The sooner we know, the sooner we can get the message out.

The telephones on campus are for business and emergency use. Students may come to the office and request the use of the phone to call. We will do our best to accommodate the student if the reason is relevant. We will not allow students to use the phone to make last minute requests for play dates, etc. If the office is closed, a phone is available at the main security gate.

Birthday Celebrations 

Birthdays are important times for children. Please check with your child’s teacher well ahead of the birthday date to discuss celebrating the child’s birthday at school. Birthdays will not be celebrated with in-class treats either from home or from the cafeteria. We have many children who are not able to partake in snacks, and so what is intended as a fun celebration becomes a sad exclusion.  There are other, more inclusive ways to celebrate ALL together! 

Birthday celebrations will happen once per month at the end of the month along with a lovely class celebration. On the actual day of your child’s birthday, he/she will be acknowledged and celebrated in his or her respective grade level according to the routines of that grade. 

Private Birthday Celebrations: If everyone in the class is invited, teachers will be happy to distribute invitations for a child’s party outside of school. If everyone is not invited, students/parents will need to distribute invitations before or after school hours to protect others' feelings.  

Health Guidelines

The School Nurse at ICS has five important jobs. These jobs are:

• Taking care of daily bumps, scrapes and cuts as they occur.

• Taking care of all medical emergencies and contacting the parents.

• Maintaining updated immunization and treatment records for every student on campus.

• Yearly health screening: height, weight, vision and/or hearing tests.

• Referral to outside medical clinics.

At the beginning of each school year, parents are asked to fill out or update a medical form on their children on PowerSchool, our data management system. The School Nurse and the nursing staff have access to these, so that they will know what to do in case of illness or emergency. Please be sure to provide accurate information at the beginning of each school year so that teachers are informed of students with particular allergies or other specific medical conditions.

In addition, if there are any changes or updates to the medical information of your child, please log-on to PowerSchool and update those changes so that the all medical personnel have the most accurate and up-to-date information at all times. 

If your child needs to take any type of medication during the school day, take the medicine and a note to the Nurse's office. Children cannot self-medicate.

The Nurse will contact parents if a child is ill or in an emergency situation. The Nurse is in the Health Center. If the child is going be collected and is going home, the nurse will notify the class teacher, the main office, and fill out a gate pass. A gate pass is necessary if a child is leaving campus before the end of the school day.

If your child is coughing and/or does not feel well, it is better for him/her and for the others if he/she stays home and fully recovers. Some illnesses are highly contagious and one sick child can infect a whole class. Teachers will send any student showing signs of sickness, such as runny nose, or cough to the nurse, and may be sent home to recover.

Hot Weather

Clean drinking water is available in various areas of the campus. During the dry season, children need to drink plenty of water. We encourage each child to use his/her own water bottle or cup and to drink water as much as possible. We highly recommend for all students to wear a hat to play in the sun.

Food Allergies and Snacks

ICS has a peanut free kitchen because we frequently have students with peanut allergies. We also have students with severe food allergies to red dye and dairy products. To prevent someone from inadvertently causing another child to have health concerns, we ask all students refrain from sharing snacks or lunch. If the food students carry contains peanuts, milk or red dye, students should be particularly careful not to contaminate the cafeteria tables. We work in partnership with parents and the student to help the child stay safe and become responsible for their own safety and advocacy concerning their food allergy.

​If a specific grade level has a student with a severe allergy, that entire grade may be designated as a nut-free zone. This measure will be taken to ensure the highest level of safety for our students. Parents in these classes will be notified directly. 

Younger children with allergies will receive assistance. As students get older and more mature, the responsibility for advocating and managing their own safety will fall on the individual student.  The school nurse will work with the school and parents to help educate the child in proper processes and procedures in case of an exposure. If your child requires an EpiPen in case of an emergency, please follow the medical guidelines listed above.

Lost and Found

Please label all possessions with your name. Lost and found items can be found in the lost and found cupboard at the main gate. Items are generally stored until the end of the quarter.

 Unclaimed items will be donated to charity organizations on a regular basis.

ICS assumes no responsibility for lost, stolen, or damaged personal belongings on campus.

Elementary Dress Code

ICS does not have a required uniform. Instead, our “dress code” is supported by research that shows that students feel safer, perform better academically, enjoy higher self- esteem and display greater respect for other cultures and their environments when they are dressed appropriately for a school setting. One goal of the school program is to teach discernment of dress and behavior, and by working together to ensure adherence to our dress code at ICS, families, teachers and students will be serving the welfare of all members of our multicultural community. By emphasizing safety, neatness and consideration of others in dress and grooming, we as educators and learners can build self-esteem, sustain self-discipline, and help everyone focus on learning.

Good Choices:

• Clean jeans, “skinny jeans” or trousers/pants that fit.

• Shorts, skirts, or dresses that extend below the fingertip length.

• Athletic or casual shoes/sandals.

• A hat for the sun that can be removed in class

Unacceptable dress:

• Anything on the student or part of the student that distracts from the educational process.

• Any showing of undergarments.

• Clothing that is too tight, too short, or too revealing.

• Clothing promoting alcohol, tobacco or drug use, sex, cults, violence, etc.

•  Wearing sunglasses in class.

• Any item of apparel or appearance that distracts from learning is unacceptable.

• Sleeveless shirts that show undergarments or lots of bare skin.