Student Expectations

Dear Meadow Park Parents,

            Our team works hard to make Meadow Park a happy place where children learn. It is our goal to provide an atmosphere of consistent expectations in the areas of performance, dress, safety, and behavior for the welfare of the children. We have developed incentives and consequences to encourage responsibility, respect, and motivation. We know you share our commitment and we would like to familiarize you with our programs and procedures.

Student Responsibility

One of our priorities is to have students develop responsibility.  To this end, Meadow Park School staff members will not accept homework, library books, musical instruments or projects once school begins.  We need your support in allowing your child to assume responsibility in their daily lives.

DRESS CODE AND GROOMING STANDARDS

In recent years, student dress has become a topic of concern for parents and school staffs because it sometimes identifies children in such a way as to separate them from their peers and put them at risk. For instance, a student may innocently or unknowingly wear identified gang-related clothing. The wearing of such clothing has the potential to endanger the safety or even the life of that student. Also, by wearing gang-related clothing students could intimidate others or lead to assumptions about their behavior. We are very lucky that gang activity does not exist on our campus. We want it to remain that way. 

Parents have the primary responsibility to see that their children are dressed in a manner which is clean, not hazardous to their safety, or disruptive to instruction.  For these reasons and to be consistent with standards set by South Lake Middle School, we are sharing the following guidelines and request your assistance in guiding your child to dress in a manner which shows they are ready for school and are respectful of themselves and others. 

With the increase of incidents of skin cancer our PTA and staff encourage students to wear hats with at least a 2" brim when outdoors to protect their faces and heads from sun exposure.

Students may not wear:

·        attire which is sexually suggestive or brief (midriff tops, halters, muscle shirts, fishnet tops, spaghetti straps less than 1" wide, etc.)

·        sagging, baggy clothes or clothing

·        clothing that allows undergarments to be exposed

·        attire that advertises any type of alcohol, drugs, violence or are that are obscene

·        make-up, body glitter, or colored hair gel

·        jewelry or other accessories which pose a threat to their safety or the safety of other students

·        bandannas, sweatbands, d-rags, or scarves (except for religious reasons)

·        hats, caps, or visors inside the building

·        sunglasses (except for medical reasons)

·        flip-flops, sandals, sock-like footwear, sport shoes with retractable roller blades, slides, backless shoes, high platform shoes or slippers.  Students should wear athletic shoes when P.E. is scheduled.  Closed toed shoes must be worn at all times.

If your child wears prohibited attire, we will:

      1.   Call home/work for appropriate clothing.

      2.   If families are unavailable, students will use clothing from Lost and Found, to be returned the next day.

            Note:  Students may not return to class until appropriately dressed.

SCHOOL RULES

General

1.      Personal belongings such as skateboards, roller blades, scooters (such as "Razors"), hand-held laser pointers, eGame Boys, or electronic equipment are not permitted on school grounds.

2.       Students will use appropriate language both in the classroom and on the playground.

3.    "Bullying" behavior (see more below) is not permitted.

4.    Students must have a pass to be in the buildings or atriums before school, during recess, or during lunch periods.

5.      Due to supervision, students are allowed on campus no earlier than 7:55 a.m. and no later than 10 minutes after school ends.

6.      To reduce the chance of head injuries, students (Grades 3-6) riding bicycles to school must wear bicycle helmets.  Bikes must be locked in the Meadow Park bike rack located at the far end of the parking lot.  Students in grades K-2 are not permitted to ride bikes to school. 

7.    Students must use crosswalks or corner when crossing the street, even if an adult is with them.

8.  Cell phones must be turned off during school hours.

9.   Playing in or near the bathrooms is not permitted.

10.  Gum is not permitted at school.

11.  Unsafe play (wrestling, tackling, etc.) is not permitted.

12.  Closed toed shoes must be worn at all times.

Lunch/Recess Rules

·          The playground supervisors are in charge of recess and will assist students in making good choices.

·          Walk to lunch area.  Runners will be sent back to walk.

·          Once seated, changing places, visiting other tables, yelling to kids at other tables is not allowed.

·          Raise hand for permission to visit water fountain, restrooms, and cafeteria. Loitering in these areas is not allowed.

·          Food and drinks are to be consumed at the lunch tables only.

·          If you forgot your lunch, check for it in the blue box labeled "Meadow Park."  Check for your name.  If the bag has no name, check with a supervisor before eating the lunch.

·          All balls must be kept under the table during lunchtime.

·          Students should hold all trash until dismissed, and then place in the trashcans.  Students are responsible for his/her trash.

·          Wait to be dismissed by a supervisor, and then walk to play areas.

·          Playing in line, taking cuts, and saving places are not allowed.    

·          Running and tag games are allowed on GRASS ONLY.

·          Offensive language will result in a citation being issued.

·          Hitting, punching, play-fighting, Karate Kicks, unsafe play (wrestling, tackling, etc.) and switching teams are not allowed.

·          To return to the building, students must have a pass.

·          ALL play stops at the first bell.  Students are to hold all balls and walk to their lines once the first bell rings.

·          Football and soccer will not be played on the blacktop at any time.

·          No personal belongings are to be brought from home including balls, toys, sports equipment, skateboards, MP3 players, etc.

NOTE: Baseball mitts are permitted only during spring baseball season.

BULLYING BEHAVIOR

Our goal at Meadow Park School is to create a safe, healthy, and happy environment that is conducive to learning and productivity. Therefore, we do not allow bullying behavior at our school. Bullying behavior is when one or more students intentionally do something mean or hurtful to another student. When a person feels bullied he or she may feel very scared, very hurt, or not feel well at school.

The following behaviors are considered Bullying Behavior at Meadow Park School:

§         Saying things that hurt feelings

§         Teasing or making fun of someone

§         Laughing at someone in a disrespectful way

§         Forcing someone to do something they don't want to do

§         Sending mean notes

§         Telling or making up stories about someone (verbal or written)

§         Scaring others

§         Threatening to hurt someone

§         Breaking or taking something that belongs to someone else

§         Physically hurting others

Zero Tolerance

Any student with information regarding violation of the above may call anonymously Irvine Unified School District Office of School Services, (949) 936-7470.