Welcome to Myrtlewood Elementary School

Myrtlewood Elementary

1407 Gainsville Road

Fosters, AL 35463

Telephone:  205-342-2658

Fax:  247-4185

Weather Hot Line:  342-2900

Office Hours:

Monday-Friday

7:30 am to 3:00 pm

Web site:  www.tcss.net

Arrival and Departure

It is very important that your child is at school each day. Class begins at 8:00 AM and ends at 2:45 PM. Your child is tardy after 8:00 and must be signed in at the office.

Breakfast is served from 7:30-7:55 AM.  NO BREAKFAST WILL BE SERVED AFTER 7:55 AM

Attendance is essential in your child’s education. Please make being on time and staying all day as a top priority this year.

The buses unload at the awning adjacent to the gym parking lot. Car riders unload in front of the school.  Students MAY NOT be dropped off at school prior to 7:30. This is a safety issue. All students go immediately to the hallway outside the computer lab. Students will be dismissed to their classrooms at 7:45.

Parents who are transporting their children to and from school must line up on the strip along Gainsville Road until 7:30.  In the afternoon they must line up along the strip and can enter the parking lot at 2:15.

Students WILL NOT be permitted to check out after 2:15.

Dismissal Times:           Bus Riders – 2:45

                                      Car Riders – 2:50            

                                      Extended Day Students - dismissed to the cafeteria at dismissal

STUDENTS NOT PICKED UP BY 3:00 WILL BE SENT TO EXTENDED DAY AT PARENT’S EXPENSE

 Please make sure your child and his/her teacher knows how to get home each day. Students will go home based on the information provided on the registration form. If your child needs to go home in a way different from his/her normal routine, we must have a note.  We cannot accept telephone calls to make changes in transportation. A note must be given to the school prior to the start of the school day. Student transportation WILL NOT be changed after the start of the school day. This is a safety issue. If your child plans to go home with another student, both parents are required to send a note from home informing the teachers of the change in routine. Students who are car riders must be picked up in the car line.  Please do not walk up to the school to get your children.

Students are NOT permitted to return to the building after dismissal.

Breakfast/Lunch

Breakfast is served from 7:30 AM to 7:55 AM.  Students who arrive after 7:55 will not be served breakfast.  The cost for students to eat breakfast is $1.50.

Each class has a designated lunch time.  The cost for a student lunch is $2.65. Please monitor your child’s lunch account carefully.  Alternate lunches will be served to students who have an outstanding cafeteria balance of $5.00 or more. 

Extended Day

Extended day services are available.  The cost for extended day is $8 per day (plus a 1 time $12 registration fee).  Students are expected to maintain good behavior while in extended day.  Misbehavior may result in disciplinary action or removal from the extended day program.  Parents who have a large outstanding balance may be suspended from utilizing extended day services until the balance is paid.

Students who are in detention or are serving a bus suspension MAY NOT attend extended day on the day(s) of those disciplinary actions.

Birthday Parties

You may organize a class birthday snack for your child as long as you communicate with the teacher and schedule a time. Any treats you bring must be store bought, not homemade. Drinks must be 100% juice, milk or water. Snacks must be one serving size and low in sugar.

Birthday party invitations may be passed out at school to your child’s friends only under the following conditions:

                  *If everyone in the class receives one

                  *If all the girls receive one

                  * If all the boys receive one

If invitations are to be passed out only to a select few group of students, they may not be given out at school. This is to avoid hurting other students’ feelings.

Clothing

Students must dress in a manner that is in good taste and appropriate for school. Clothes should be neat and clean. Shorts and skirts need to reach fingertips. No tank tops or halter tops are appropriate. Sagging pants are not permitted. No spaghetti straps, no low cut shirts, or suggestive logo prints. No undergarments may be visible at any time. No slippers, house shoes or “slides” may be worn. Clothing must comply with Tuscaloosa County School System’s dress code as outlined in the Student-Parent Information Guide.  Failure to adhere to the dress code may result in disciplinary action.

We strongly encourage students to wear tennis shoes to school each day. Students must have on tennis shoes to play in PE.

Identification should be put on all outer clothing such as coats, sweaters, etc.

Lost and Found

Items that are found around the school are placed in the Lost and Found.  Students and parents are welcome to check for lost items.  Due to the overwhelming volume of articles of clothing clothing that accumulates over the school year, Lost and Found will be emptied at the beginning of Thanksgiving Break, Winter Break, Spring Break and the last day of school.

Electronic Devices

Please do not allow your children to bring electronic toys to school. The school is not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged electronic devices. Cell phones are permitted for educational purposes only. Students may not use phones to call, text, take pictures, listen to music or check the time while at school. Cell phones must be placed on silent mode and remain in their backpacks unless instructed otherwise.  If a teacher sees or hears a cellphone at any time, they will confiscate it and send it to the office.  A parent must come in to retrieve a cell phone 24 hours after confiscation. There is a 48 hour hold for a subsequent offenses. Cell phones will not be returned to a student for any reason.  Repeated violation of the cell phone policy will result in further disciplinary action.  

Visitors MAY NOT use cellphones at any time during their visit.  Cellphone use is NOT ALLOWED in the lobby or any area of the school.  This also include hands-free and Bluetooth devices. If a visitor is seen using a cellphone they may be asked to leave the building.

Communication

Communication between parents and teachers is essential to providing your children a quality education. Communication folders are sent home daily. Please check and sign these each night for communication concerning homework and other important information. Teachers will provide parents with an email address to aid in communication.

Students are generally not permitted to receive personal phone calls at school. In the event of an emergency, a message may be taken by the office at the principal’s discretion.

Field Trips

Field trips serve an important function in the education process. Grade levels are encouraged to plan at least one trip each semester. Permission forms will be sent home in advance of the trip and must be signed and returned prior to the field trip. Please return this form and the requested amount to the school by the due date.  We encourage parent participation on trips; however, siblings are not permitted to participate. Field trips are an extension of the school day and are designed for the school age child.  Parents must complete a background check and/or provide their ID for the Raptor Identification System to receive their badge 1 week before going on a fieldtrip.

Only 1 parent/grandparent may attend a field trip with a student.  This individual must be named on the permission slip and MAY NOT change without the permission of the principal. Only the parent/guardian or a grandparent is permitted to attend a field trip.  We do not allow other family members or friends to act as chaperones or attend field trips with students. If multiple parents/adults show up for a field trip or bring other siblings or children, they will be asked to leave and will not be permitted to attend future field trips with Myrtlewood Elementary.

All students must ride the bus on field trips.  Students may not be transported to a field trip by their parent without the prior permission of the principal. A parent may only check out their student after the field trip. Students will not be permitted to be checked out from a field trip by anyone other than their parent or guardian even if that person is on their check out list.

ALL FEILED TRIPS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE

Holiday Parties

Classrooms will have parties or refreshments throughout the year. All refreshments must be approved by the classroom teacher and meet nutritional requirements of the Tuscaloosa County Wellness Policy.

Medicine

Over the counter medications may be dispensed during school hours by the school nurse with a completed medication form signed by the parent. Any medicine needed for longer than 10 days will require a physician’s letter. Medicine must be in the original container and properly labeled with the following: Student’s name, date and time to be administered, name of medication, and dosage. 

DO NOT SEND ANY MEDICATION TO SCHOOL WITH YOUR CHILD.  All medication must be signed in to the nurse by a parent.

Prescribed and daily medications require a medication form and physician’s signature.

Students who vomit while at school must be picked up by a parent.  They WILL NOT be placed on a bus under any circumstances.  Students who vomit or run a fever (99 degrees or higher) at school WILL NOT be permitted to return to school for 24 hours.  This is to prevent the spread of the viruses and sickness within the school.

Money

Throughout the year, there will be several times that you need to send money to school for lunch, snack, fieldtrips, etc. Money sent to school should always be in a sealed envelope and include your child’s name, the amount of money and the purpose of the money. Please keep in mind that we do not keep money in the school so we have no way of making change. Also, do not group money together. For example, you cannot write one check to cover lunch and extended day. Everything must be separate.

Office is NOT PERMITTED to “make change”.  Tuscaloosa County School System accounting procedures forbid the school from “making change”.  Please send your child to school with exact change.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Teachers are always glad to conference with parents. In order to get the most out of conferences please follow these simple guidelines:  (1) Do not go to the classroom first thing in the morning and expect to have a meaningful discussion with the teacher. This is a very important time of the day, when the teacher must attend to what his/her students are doing, take care of attendance, lunch count, and organize the instructional day.  (2) Call, email or send a note by your child, indicating you would like a conference. The teacher will get in touch with you to schedule a time. Remember that teachers cannot leave their classroom during instruction to answer the phone or talk to parents. 

Discipline

Students are expected to follow all school and classroom rules at all times.  Failure to do so will result in consequences.  This may include a verbal correction, silent lunch, loss of privileges, office referral, detention, in-school intervention, corporal punishment, suspension or expulsion.

Detentions

Detentions are assigned on either Tuesdays or Thursdays depending upon the day the monitoring teacher can stay.  It is the parent’s responsibility to arrange transportation after detention. Students serving detention WILL NOT be allowed to attend extended day. If a student is scheduled for a detention and is unable to serve it, the parent must provide notification to the school prior to the detention. The detention may be rescheduled by the principal or his designee only once for the next detention day. If the student misses the rescheduled detention it will be categorized as defiance and they may be assigned an out of school suspension.

Corporal Punishment

Corporal punishment can be administered in accordance with Tuscaloosa County Board Policy.  If a parent wishes for corporal punishment to be an option for discipline, they must come to the office and sign the corporal punishment form.  Corporal punishment will NOT be administered to any student without signed authorization of the primary custodial parent. 

Out of School Suspensions

Major offenses may result in an out of school suspension.  These will be assigned by the principal or his designee.  Upon completion of the suspension the parent must meet with the principal or his designee to reinstate the student.  A student MAY NOT return to school until after this reinstatement has taken place.

Parent Involvement

Parent Involvement is a vital part of life at Myrtlewood Elementary School.  Our Parent Involvement committee plans many worthwhile and enriching activities for our students.  We appreciate our awesome parents and want as many parents as possible to help. 

Parent volunteers must leave at dismissal unless they are with a faculty member or have received permission from the principal.

Tuscaloosa County Board Of Education

Student/Parent Information Guide

At the beginning of each school year each student is provided a Student/Parent Information Guide to examine. Myrtlewood Elementary adheres to all policies and procedures included within this guide.

Visitation

Parents are encouraged to eat lunch with us on any given day of school. The cost for visitors is $4.25. All parents/visitors must sign in at the office. Please enter the building using the front door. You will need your driver’s license to check-in at the office before you are allowed into the rest of the building.  The office will then provide you with a Visitor badge. If you have obtained a “Blue Badge” from the County Board, please make sure that it is visible at all times. This is to ensure that our school is a safe place.

Parents are welcome to observe in the classroom as long as it does not interfere or interrupt daily activities/lessons. Please schedule your observation in advance.

Attendance

An absence is defined as nonattendance in a regularly scheduled class or activity.  To be counted present, a student must be present more than 50% of the allotted time period.

Excuses

 In accordance with Alabama law, parents/legal guardians must explain the cause of every absence of students under their control or charge.  Every student, upon return to school, must bring a written excuse from home within two (2) days following the absence signed by the student's parent/legal guardian for each absence and present it to the Principal or his/her designee.  After a total of ten (10) absences in a school year for elementary and middle school students, the parent/legal guardian of student will be required to provide medical or legal documentation for absences to be excused.  All written excuses shall be retained for the remainder of the school year in the Principal's office or other approved location.   

Excused Absences

All student absences shall be designated as either excused or unexcused.  In accordance with Alabama law, a student shall be excused for an absence from school for any one of the following reasons: 

personal illness of the student;
death in the immediate family;
inclement weather which would be dangerous to the life or health of the student as determined by the Principal;
legal quarantine or subpoena;
with prior permission of the Principal and consent of the parent/legal guardian;
emergency conditions as determined by the Principal; or
official religious holiday.
Unexcused Absences

 Absence for reasons other than those defined above shall be considered as unexcused. 

Truancy

Truancy is the habitual and unlawful absence from school.  In accordance with the Code of Alabama, the parent/guardian is responsible for requiring any student under his/her control or charge and under 17 years-of-age to attend school (Policy 5.43)