In order to provide a safe and courteous work environment, we have all agreed

to abide by these classroom rules.

Homework

All homework is due the day it appears on the calendar.  If a student is absent, upon returning to school he/she has the number of days absent to complete an assignment before it is considered late. For example, a student missing two days of school has an additional two days to complete homework.  Students too ill to attend school may well be too ill to complete assignments and therefore, are given an extension to complete that work.

Excused and Unexcused Absences and Tardies:

1. •ABSENCES: Always call the office if your child is ill and cannot attend school. If a child has excessive absences during a trimester, a note from the doctor is required in order for additional absences to be considered excused. We recognize that there can be extenuating circumstances, so the school attendance officer may make exceptions on a case by case basis.
   

2. •TARDIES: Arrival in the classroom after 8:15 a.m. will only be considered excused if accompanied by a note or appointment card from a child’s doctor, dentist, orthodontist etc. We encourage parents to make appointments outside of school hours whenever possible. Teachers will contact parents if a pattern of tardiness begins to emerge. After 10 unexcused tardies, parents will be contacted by the attendance officer (our school psychologist) to help generate a plan of support and next steps.
   

H1N1: At Steck, we’re going to do everything possible to keep our children and our staff healthy and safe.   Denver Public Schools is working in partnership with the federal government, the state of Colorado and the City of Denver to make sure that every precaution is taken to minimize risk to our students.  Students with fevers or other flu like symptoms must not come to school and should to stay at home until at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever or signs of a fever (without the use of fever-reducing medicine).  Consistent with our current practice, parents will be called immediately if a child becomes ill at school.

The district has ordered hand sanitizers for all of the schools and they are scheduled to be here by mid-September.  Until then, teachers have been instructed to make sure that students wash their hands frequently, particularly before and after the snack time, the lunch period and recesses.    Teachers and students are cleaning their desk tops and other surfaces on a daily basis.  Our Risk Management department has informed us that germs don’t live long on hard surfaces, but keeping them clean is good practice anyway.  Teachers are also reviewing the guidelines for basic good hygiene, such as proper hand washing, covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze or using your elbow instead of your hand when a tissue is not available. 

Please reinforce these practices by reviewing them at home with your child.   An easy way to review proper hand washing for at least 20 seconds with soap and water is to tell your child they should soap up for the time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice.

Dismissal During the School Day: If your child must be excused before the end of the school day, please come to the office to sign your child out. Teachers may not release a student without office authorization. Children are only released to the people listed on the emergency card unless written authorization is presented to the office.

Medication: If possible, all medication should be given at home. If a child must be given medication during school hours, the Student Medication Request Release Agreement must be filled out by your child’s doctor (for prescription and non-prescription medicine) and returned to the office. Medication can only be administered by the nurse or office staffand will be given in the office. Students should not have any medications in their pockets,classroom or backpack (including cough drops) for safety reasons.

Birthdays: 3rd - 5th grade students celebrate birthdays on a monthly basis.  At all grade levels celebrations are kept short, usually 15-20 minutes at the end of the day. Please collaborate with parents of students in both classes whose birthdays are in the same month and be sure to notify teachers that you will be bringing treats. Please review the recommended birthday treat list carefully. We have 54 4th graders this year.

Celebration Schedule:

August - Sept. 4th - Max C., Kiana, Zane, Jack, Matthew, Dragosh, Xavier

September  25th - Kara, Magdalen, Ella, Ian

October 23rd - Lauren, Isabelle, Macy, Palmer, George, Ethan, Gabby(You  may celebrate with Oct. or December)

December 18th - Luke, Kristen

January 29th - Serena, Haiden C., Kai, Angela, Ellie, Tristan, Aeden,

 Bryce, Will, Kayla, Crassus

February 26th - Dustin, Max B.,  McKenzie

March 19th - Calvin,  Emily, Blake

April 30th - Lola, Alex, Landon, Hayden, Danielle, Cousteau

May, June, July  - Class Picnic - John, Bryn,  Anit, Rebecca. Hannah, Madison, Ashton, Nia, Risa, Zach

Recommended Birthday Treats:

All birthday treats provided must be SMALL and in individual servings.

No treats should require preparation, cutting, peeling or the use of utensils.

• any fresh fruit ready prepared

• any fresh vegetables ready prepared

• granola bars

• yogurt sticks

• cheese sticks

• raisins

• nuts (well packaged in the case of nut allergies)

• apple sauce

• rice crackers

• crackers

• cereal

• fruit

• fruit with dips such as yogurt

1. •fruit kebabs
   

2. •veggies/dips
   

3. •• mini muffins
   

4. •• mini cupcakes
   

5. •• small cookies
   

6. •• banana bread
   

7. •• rice krispie treats
   

8. •• donut holes
   

9. •• savory treats
   

10. •• cheese/pineapple on sticks
    

11. •• popsicles
    

12. •• frozen yogurt
    

13. •Non-edible treats
    

14. •• pencils
    

15. •• erasers
    

Distribution of Invitations: Please do not hand out birthday invitations at school. The directory has addresses for most of the students. If you need something mailed but you don’t have an address, bring a stamped envelope to the main office and we will address it and mail it for you.

Parent Communication

Visits: Parents are welcome and encouraged to visit and volunteer at Steck Elementary. Most teachers begin scheduling parent volunteers the third or fourth week of school to allow for classroom rituals and routines to be established. For safety and security purposes,all visitors must stop at the Office to sign in and pick up a VISITOR STICKER. This is a DPS policy requirement as we are responsible for the safety of everyone in our building.

Conferences: If you wish to meet with a teacher, please contact the teacher in advance to schedule a time convenient to both of you. There will also be scheduled Parent/Teacher conferences twice each year. These dates will be published once the official district calendar is finalized.