Student Handbook 2022

2022-2023

Jackson Davis Elementary School

8801 Nesslewood Drive

Henrico, VA 23229

Office: (804)527-4620

Fax (804) 527-4658

Website: http://davis.henricoschools.us/

PTA Website: www.jacksondavispta.com

Twitter: @jdesrva

 

 

Dear Jackson Davis Families,

Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year! I am so excited to begin another school year and I can’t wait to see all of our students and families. I am looking forward to many of our traditional JDES community events returning this year.

Our student expectations of Be Safe, Be Respectful and Be Ready to Learn will help us to continue to provide a learning environment where all students can be successful. Students will continue to learn that being their best and doing their best is always important, no matter how difficult the challenge.

We will continue to use the four pillars of the deeper learning model to guide our work this year. It is our hope that your students will feel challenged academically, learn how to navigate their challenging worlds, serve their greater JDES community and realize the importance of the academic tasks they are learning.

We are so fortunate to have a strong team of teachers and staff members who have high expectations for student success while balancing that with the needs of all students. We believe in a strong academic focus but balance that with the need for students to play, collaborate, problem solve and create. Family members are a key to our success as a school. We can’t do it without you! Together we can help all children to learn and grow as individuals and strong members of our community.

This year our theme of “Radiating Respect” will help us to focus on building an even stronger community. While we may decorate with sunshine and bright colors, our goal is to help our students understand what respect looks like and feels like.

We are thankful to have a strong PTA partnership. They not only support us with 100% of their profits but they collaborate with us as a school to plan enriching activities that support our entire community. We hope that you will consider joining and supporting the PTA through their events and by joining as a member.

We have an exciting year ahead of us! I encourage each family to set goals for the year and talk about what you hope to accomplish this school year. I hope that each of you will have a great year filled with fun and learning! If you ever have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher or myself.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Chris Bonner

 

 

Administrative Team

Mrs. Chris Bonner, Principal                                              Mrs. Amy Ford, Associate Principal

Mrs. Jennifer Neylon, School Counselor                         Mrs. Allison Grado, School Counselor

Mrs. Nancy Wallace, Innovative Learning Coach          Ms. Mary-Katherine McCarty-Reading Specialist

 

Office Staff

Mrs. Elaine Meade, Financial Secretary                          Ms. Venise Rivera, Registrar

Ms. Lauren Hiegel, School Nurse

 

 

BRIEF HISTORY OF JACKSON DAVIS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

The school was named after Henry Jackson Davis, who served as Superintendent of Henrico County Schools from 1905 to 1909. Jackson, or Jack Davis, as he was usually known, was known for his work with Virginia Estelle Randolph through the Negro Rural School Fund Inc. and the T. Jeanes Foundation, which provided funding for African American teachers to receive teacher training throughout Virginia. Jackson Davis Elementary School opened in the fall of 1962. Dr. Lonnie E. Gailes served as the school’s first principal. Dr. James W. Barton was principal for two years, 1971-1973. Mr. Ronald W. Odom served as the school’s third principal followed by Mr. Gary Blair. Mrs. Betty Ann Wiedemann was the fifth principal. Mr. Les Stanley became principal effective July 1, 1996. He served through the 2002-2003 school year. Mr. Bryan Almasian became the principal of Jackson Davis July 2003 and served until June 2012. Mrs. Chris Bonner was appointed as principal July 1, 2012.

https://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/dvb/bio.php?b=Davis_Jackson

 

Mission

The mission of Jackson Davis Elementary School, in partnership with students, families, staff, and community, is to promote each student’s intellectual growth while also cultivating social, emotional, and physical development. Individuals will learn to make responsible choices and to respect individuality and diversity, in order to become lifelong learners who are positive and productive citizens.

 

Policies and Procedures

Student Arrival

Students may begin arriving on campus at 7:50 each day and the tardy bell rings at 8:10. Students are considered tardy if they are not in their classroom at 8:10 each morning. Students are encouraged to ride the bus to school each day. Parents who choose to drive their child are reminded that our drop off area is one way and located at the front of the school. This is the only place where students should be dropped off! There is no student drop off anywhere on Nesslewood Drive or Nesslewood Road. Day care vans also use the morning drop off line. In order to ensure student safety please do not pass cars in the line. In an effort to comply with the requirements of the HCPS Safety Office, no visitors are allowed on campus during morning arrival time. There is a Hug and Kiss Zone located outside the cafeteria. You may choose to walk your child to this area and send them on their way up the sidewalk alone. Students who arrive after the tardy bell will be walked to class by a member of the office team.

Student Dismissal

The dismissal process begins at 2:35. Students who are being picked up by a family member will receive a car pool number. These are available during open house or through the main office. Please help your child to learn that number as quickly as possible to help speed up the dismissal process. We thank you in advance for your patience the first few weeks as students get used to the car pool process. If your child will be a walker, please contact Mrs. Bonner to develop the safest plan for your child’s pick up.

Early Dismissal

While we discourage early dismissals, we know that from time to time you may need to pick your child up early. We ask that you send a note on the morning of the early dismissal so that the teacher and students can be prepared. Knowing in advance helps us limit the interruption to classroom instruction. Once you arrive at the school to pick up your child, we will call them to the office. A photo ID is required to pick your child up from school.

Attendance

Attendance at school is extremely important to your child’s success. Students are considered chronically absent when they have missed 10% of the school year including both excused and unexcused absences. The state of Virginia requires that schools put measures in place to address students who are on track for chronic absenteeism. Teachers, administrators, and school staff will review attendance with parents throughout the school year. Families of children who accumulate 5 or more unexcused absences will have to meet with our attendance team, including our school social worker. Any absence 15 days or longer will require a student to be withdrawn from the school. For those traveling out of the country please know that while we will try to have your child return to the same classroom, we can’t guarantee that this will be possible. The principal may only approve a student to be absent for a total of 10 days in a year. We hope that you are able to plan over seas trips so that they do not impact your child’s learning.

Absences and Illness

When your child is home sick, please call our office at (804) 527-4620 before 10:00AM in order to have the absence excused. A written note may also be provided within 24 hours of the student’s return. If we don’t receive a phone call or written note upon their return the absence will remain marked as an unexcused absence. HCPS Code of Conduct explains that after 10 absences a doctor’s note will be required in order to excuse future absences. We ask that students be free of all symptoms for 24 hours without medication before returning to school. When children are sick, we want them to rest and recover. As such, missed classwork is provided when a student misses 3 or more days. The time frame for submitting make up work is the number of days absent plus one. Any absence 15 days or longer will require a student to be withdrawn from the school. For those traveling out of the country please know that while we will try to have your child return to the same classroom, we can’t guarantee that this will be possible. The principal may only approve a student to be absent for a total of 10 days in a year, after this time doctors’ notes will be required to excuse any absence for illness or other reasons.

Tardiness

Students are late if they are not in their classroom when the bell rings at 8:10. Any student arriving at school after this time will need to report to the office for a tardy slip. Students who are late to school will be walked to class by a member of the office team. Please note that Henrico County Public Schools Tardy Policy requires communication with families and a plan to address 5 or more tardies.

Communication

Teacher and family communication is a vital component in ensuring an effective and successful school experience. Should any questions arise about your child’s performance, please reach out to the classroom teacher. You may email the teacher or leave a message for the teacher with our office staff. Please note that the teacher’s priority during the day is instruction. Email messages will be responded to within 24 hours. Teachers do check email each morning before school and at the end of the school day. Some teachers may share their phone numbers for an emergency situation. Please respect that teachers have families too and may not respond after their work day is done. Teacher hours are 7:45-3:15 each day. We do hold formal conferences twice per year in November and February. Teachers are always willing to set up a time to meet with families throughout the school year. Teachers also communicate via blogs, websites, newsletters, or weekly emails.

Daily Communication Folder

Your child will have a daily communication folder. You can send change in transportation notes, lunch money, or letters to the teacher through this folder daily. Please be sure to develop a plan for checking this folder every night for graded papers, fliers, and other information.

School website

Important information and forms are located on our school website. Please be sure you bookmark the website and revisit it often to stay up to date on events and important information. You can also link to our library from this main webpage. http://davis.henricoschools.us/

 

 

Contact Information

Please keep all contact information (address, phone number, authorized pick up list, health information and email addresses) current. If you have a change, please call, or stop in the office to update us. Automated messages from HCPS and Jackson Davis Elementary are sent to the email address and phone numbers on file.

Grades

Grades will be available online using the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Directions are provided at the start of each school year and are available on the school website. You will need your student’s ID number for this system. This is how you will see grades weekly. Interims and report cards are available for review in the Parent Portal. Students with grades of D and F will receive additional communication from teachers and teachers will work with the family to develop a plan for support and improvement.

Visitors and Volunteers

We love volunteers, special guests, mystery readers and lunch time visitors! After 8:10am visitors to classrooms must be expected by the teacher. Teachers are happy to meet with parents for a conference before or after the instructional day. Lunch visitors are welcome anytime, but we do request that kindergarten families wait until the third week of school so that we can establish lunch time routines before adding visitors. Lunchtime visitors will sit at the visitors table with their child. This is not a peanut free table so if your child has a peanut allergy, please notify us before sitting at the table and we will thoroughly clean the table. Forgotten items can be dropped off in the office and will be delivered to your child. A valid photo ID must be scanned into the visitor computer system and all visitors must sign in and out. We appreciate your support and understanding of the safety practices in all HCPS buildings. For larger events we offer the opportunity to pre-check in. This helps to speed up the lines and helps get parents to the event much faster. Volunteers must have a completed volunteer application on file 48 hours before the volunteer time. All volunteers are asked to focus on the volunteer job and as such are asked to leave younger siblings at home when volunteering. A visitor’s pass must be worn and visible at all times on campus.

Field Trips

When field trips are taken a permission form will be sent home for parents to sign and return. If this form is not completed and on file at the school the child will NOT be able to attend the trip. Permission to attend a field trip can’t be granted over the phone. Students who experience difficulty demonstrating appropriate behavior may not be able to participate in field trips. If you would like the opportunity to volunteer on a trip a volunteer form needs to be completed and on file 48 hours in advance. In some cases, parents who aren’t chaperones may be able to attend the trip. All volunteer requirements must be met, and you must notify the teacher and volunteer coordinator of your plan to attend the trip 48 hours in advance.

Transportation

At the beginning of the year you will be asked to identify the transportation home for your child. In order to change transportation a hand written note signed by the parent will need to be provided. No change in transportation will be accepted over the phone, through email or texts. Students in grades 2-5 may ride bicycles to school if they have written parental permission. They are to walk their bikes while on campus and place them on the bicycle rack at the back of the gym. Students are encouraged to lock their bikes as the school assumes no responsibility for any loss or damage to the bike.

Kindergarten Transportation

During registration you authorized the names of adults who are able to pick up your child from school and the bus stop. Please be sure one of these individuals is present at the bus stop with a government issued photo ID and the matching key tag to the student’s back pack tag. If no one is there your student will be brought back to Jackson Davis. Please make a plan now with older siblings for what they should do if your kindergarten student is being brought back to school.

Inclement Weather

These decisions are made by the Superintendent’s office. To find out about closings and delays please be sure to check the HCPS Facebook and Twitter pages as well as tuning in to the local news and radio channels. The main HCPS website also lists any closings and delays so be sure to bookmark www.henricoschools.us

School Meals

The cost of lunch this year is $2.90 or $14.50 for the week. Additional snacks are available for purchase. The cost of breakfast is $1.50 or $7.50 for the week. Breakfast is available to all students. You can create an account using the student ID number to add money using a credit card or to check their balance at www.myschoolbucks.com. You may also send money (check or cash) in your child’s folder each Monday. If a student doesn’t have money on their account, they will receive a reminder notice and will be allowed to charge two times before receiving an alternative lunch. Based on your income you may qualify for free or reduced lunch. The application can be found on the main Henrico Website https://henricoschools.us/nutrition-services/free-reduced-price-meals/. The link will go live on or around August 1^st.

Illness and Injury

Our clinic is staffed with a licensed nurse throughout the school day. The nurse is able to provide first aid according to the procedures outlined by the American Red Cross. When students go to the clinic due to illness or injury the nurse decides if the illness requires parent notification. We notify a parent of any injury to the head or any injury or illness that we may believe needs follow up care. If the child has a fever or observable sign of illness, parents will be contacted to pick up the child. The nurse is not a diagnostician and may refer you to a medical doctor. She will be able to tell you observable illness characteristics. Students should be free of all illness without the treatment of medication for 24 hours. The nurse will also follow the HCPS procedures that are in place for the treatment of head lice.

Allergy or Medical Needs

If your child has an allergy or medical need that requires medication during the school day, please plan to deliver medication and paperwork to the office. Students are not allowed to deliver any medication (prescription or over the counter) on their own. Paperwork is available on the HCPS website. Over the counter medication forms authorize our school nurse to administer medicine as directed by the parent. This can’t be above what is allowed on the medication for children aged 12 or younger. Prescription medication or over the counter medication above the recommended dosage requires the signature of the doctor. Please double check for the doctor’s signature on the forms.

Safety Patrols

School safety patrols are selected from our fifth-grade students on the basis of maturity and responsibility. School safeties serve under the direction of the teacher sponsors. Students serving as safety patrols assist to maintain a safe environment. This is accomplished through their visibility on buses and throughout the school grounds before and after school. If students are not following safe procedures, the patrols remind them to behave in ways to ensure safety. If problems occur after the reminders, the patrols bring this to the attention of the teacher sponsors and if needed with administration. At no time are safety patrol members permitted to discipline a student.

 

 

Code of Student Conduct

Students and families are expected to review the HCPS Code of Student Conduct annually. Each family must return the last page of the Code of Student Conduct signed indicating that this has been completed. Students are expected to follow all aspects of the Code of Conduct including dress code and cell phone policies. Students and families can be held responsible to reimburse the school for lost, abused or broken property that belongs to the school. The last page of this document includes the most recent information about dress code and cell phone policies.

Lost and Found

We encourage all families to write names on personal belongings. Lost and Found items are located in the lobby of the cafeteria. Children should be reminded to check this area for their missing items.

Library Media Center

The library is a hub of our school! HCPS has an open access policy for library. Students will have instructional time in the library. All students have access to check out books as often as needed. All students are encouraged to check out books at least once per week. Lost or damaged library books are $16.00 each.

Parties and Activities

School board policy stipulates one party may be held during the school year. This activity is scheduled before winter vacation and families will be notified of the times. Younger siblings may attend as long as the parent is not involved in the planning/conducting activities of the party. Younger siblings must remain with their parent at all times and behave in an appropriate manner. All visitors to a party must be signed in at the office following the visitor protocol. Teachers or grade levels may have additional activities as relates to their curriculum. Parents are notified of the planned snacks prior to any party or activity and alternative options are available if needed. All classroom parties and activities are peanut free.

Birthdays

We welcome family members to have lunch with their child on their birthday. Due to safety concerns cupcakes or any food related treats are not allowed to be given to any other student. We discourage the sharing of any food items. We also ask that students not be given gifts, flowers, or balloons at the school. Families are allowed to send party invitations as long as either the entire class is invited, or the invitations go to all of one gender (for example all the boys in the class are invited).

School Pictures

School pictures are taken twice per year by an outside vendor. The vendor handles all of the money and sets the prices for the photo packages offered. All students are photographed in the fall and spring. Class pictures are taken in the spring. The vendor does offer make up picture sessions if a student is absent or you would like a re-take.