Troutman Elementary School
Parent and Student Handbook 2012-2013
This handbook has been prepared as a ready source of information
for students and their parents. The information will enable you to
answer, for yourself, many of the routine questions that you may
have with regard to Troutman Elementary School.
Principal: Kimberly Cressman
Assistant Principal: Susan Fail
Instructional Facilitator: Candice Austin
Office Staff:
Tammy Menster: Bookkeeper
Sherry Sigmon: Data Manager
Tammy Blankenship: Receptionist
Sara Cardwell: Bus Coordinator
School Colors: Royal blue and white
School Mascot: Tornado
Troutman Elementary School Traffic Patterns
In an effort to maximize the efficiency of the current roadways, decrease personnel cost,
and decrease the amount of time parents spend on campus while dropping off or picking
up their student car riders and increase efficiency of our traffic patterns, the school and
district recommends that all parents utilize the following procedures.
Approaching Troutman Elementary School traveling North on Highway 21:
Traffic should proceed past Troutman Elementary School to the intersection of Wagner
Street, turn left onto Wagner Street and proceed to Era Street, turn left onto Era Street
and proceed to Rumple Street, turn left onto Rumple Street and proceed to Thomas
Street, turn right into Troutman School property. Upon arrival on school property merge
into the center lane to the car rider drop off area at the school. When your student has
exited your vehicle, proceed to exit right from the student drop off area and proceed to
Rumple Street to exit the school.
Approaching Troutman Elementary School traveling South on Highway 21:
Traffic should proceed to Wagner Street, turn right onto Wagner Street and proceed to
Era Street, turn left onto Era Street and proceed to Rumple Street, turn left onto Rumple
Street and proceed to Thomas Street, turn right into Troutman School property. Upon
arrival on school property merge into the center lane to the car rider drop off area at the
school. When your student has exited your vehicle, proceed to exit right from the
student drop off area and proceed to Rumple Street to exit the school.
Approaching Troutman Elementary School traveling from Perth Road:
Traffic should proceed to Wagner Street, turn right onto Era Street and proceed to
Rumple Street, turn left onto Rumple Street and proceed to Thomas Street, turn right
into Troutman School property. Upon arrival on school property merge into the center
lane to the car rider drop off area at the school. When your student has exited your
vehicle, proceed to exit right from the student drop off area and proceed to Rumple
Street to exit the school.
***During AM car rider drop off: Please do not enter TES from Cedar Lane. A roll
gate will be in place to block all AM traffic from 6:45 AM – 7:30 AM
***Please DO NOT turn directly onto Thomas Street from Wagner Street as this
causes a conflict in the flow of traffic; especially with the school buses
***Please DO NOT attempt to make a left turn from Rumple Street onto school
property as this causes conflict in the flow of traffic.
***Please adhere to the direction given to you by Troutman police or other school
paid personnel who are directing school traffic.
K-5 Student Hours: 7:30 AM - 2:15 PM
Car Rider Dropoff: 7:05 - 7:30 AM
Office Hours: 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Adult Supervision Before/After School
Supervision is provided beginning at 7:05 AM. Students are not allowed in the school
before that time unless enrolled in Prime Time. Dismissal begins at 2:15 PM. By 2:35
PM, all car rider students must be picked up.
Arrival to School
1. Student Drop-off
Student drop-offs are in the car rider line ONLY. Please do not drop your child off
behind the school, where the buses are parked, by the gym, or in the front of the school.
Please use the car rider line. This will ensure that your child gets inside the school
building safely.
2. Walking Students in the Front Doors for AM Drop Off
We highly recommend dropping students off in the car rider line. If you must walk in with
your child, please enter through double doors at front of building and obtain a Visitor’s
Pass until 7:30 AM. After 7:30 AM, your child will be counted tardy. You must park
your car in a designated parking spot and walk your child into the building using
the crosswalk. Please note that after the first week of school, we encourage
independence in our students and expect them to walk to their classroom without the
daily assistance of a parent or older sibling. We certainly understand there are times
when a parent must walk a child to the classroom and in those cases, it is school policy
for the parent to check in at the office and obtain a Visitor’s Pass.
3. Tardy Students
After 7:30 AM, students are counted tardy. If you arrive after 7:30 AM, please come into
the office with your child to sign-in. We highly recommend that you do not send your
child into school unattended. Staff that assists students in the car rider line leaves their
supervisory positions at 7:30 AM. At that time, the doors that car riders enter are locked.
Make every effort to get your child to school on time EVERY DAY! Please remember 10
tardies equal 1 absence.
Attendance
Your child’s attendance plays a very important role in their education. We ask that you
do your best to make sure your child attends school each day. To make sure you are
aware of your child’s absences you will receive an attendance letter when your child is
out 3, 5, 6, and 10 days. Please remember that 10 absences may put your child at
risk for grade retention. IF you have any questions about your child’s attendance
please contact Mrs. Sigmon. Students must be in school until 11:45 AM in order to
be counted present for the entire day.
Students who leave prior to 11:45 AM will be counted as absent. This could impact
perfect attendance guidelines if not adhered to closely.
Any time your child is absent, the parent/guardian or a physician must submit a written
excuse that states the date(s) of absence and the reason for the absence. Verbal and/or
email communication is not a valid form of communication for a student absence.
There is a Student Absence Form located on the school/system webpage which
can be downloaded and electronically submitted to Sherry Sigmon, school data
manager.
Reasons a child should stay home (for at least 24 hours): fever, upset stomach,
diarrhea, conjunctivitis (pink eye: requires diagnosis by a physician). If your child
displays any of these conditions, please refrain from sending him/her to school. We
want to reduce the spread of germs among students and staff.
Once your child is enrolled in public school, it is your responsibility to make sure your
child attends school daily. The school may require a doctor’s note in cases where a
student has excessive days of absence. And in extreme cases, the school has the
option to pursue truancy court for those students who lack proper documentation for the
absences.
Breakfast and Lunch Program
Students who eat breakfast tend to be more alert and less fatigued during the school
day. Breakfast is served from 7:05-7:30 AM each morning with students exiting the
cafeteria when finished or by 7:30 AM. Lunch is served between 10:50 and 1:00.
Please check with your child’s homeroom teacher for the exact lunch time. Free and
reduced lunch applications are available in the cafeteria and the front office during the
entire school year.
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Breakfast Charges: Students ARE NOT permitted to charge breakfast; this is a
policy set forth by Children Nutrition. Please ensure that your child has breakfast
at home, has adequate funds in their account to purchase breakfast, or is
receiving a free breakfast.
Lunch Charges: Your child will be allowed charges up to $10.00. The school
will contact parents when charges are over $10.00. Students who accumulate
over $10.00 worth of charges may be served a cheese sandwich and water if an
attempt is not made to pay off charges. Your child will be given a notice one time
per week of any charges that are due to the cafeteria. Please be sure to check
your child’s homework folder for this information.
Cost for:
Breakfast
Lunch
Regular Price
$1.25
$2.10
Reduced Price
$0.30
$0.40
Students are expected to practice good manners and socialize quietly in the cafeteria at
lunch (breakfast time is silent). Students should:
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Leave the table and surrounding area clean and orderly;
Return trays to designated area, place trash in proper containers:
Remain seated unless given permission by teacher or cafeteria employee to do
otherwise;
Not take any food purchased in the cafeteria back to the classroom.
The lunch room phone number is 704-528-0331. Any questions regarding your child’s
account should be directed to the Cafeteria Manager, Sherry Saunders.
Please note: Due to allergies, any food that is brought into the school for
classroom celebrations, student birthdays, or other activities must be store
purchased and contain the ingredients/nutritional information. Items that have
been prepared at home cannot be distributed to students. Please contact the
homeroom teacher to inquire about any food allergies in the classroom when
providing food for the entire class.
Purchasing a School Breakfast or Lunch
When sending money for the lunchroom it is best to send checks for the exact amount
each week. This keeps students from using cash to purchase supplemental items
offered in cafeteria. Parents can put a block on their child’s account which prevents the
student from buying supplemental items.
If you are paying in cash or by check, please send money in an envelope with your
child’s name on it, their homeroom teacher, and lunch number.
Child nutrition will allow you to pay on-line using a Pay-pal account. This information
can be accessed on the school system website, under the Child Nutrition department.
The school office and cafeteria are operated on separate accounts. In order to ensure
accurate credit for money sent to school, we ask that you do not combine lunch money
with other monies such as field trips or pictures.
***Parents with more than one student attending TES: any time you write a check
for field trips, pictures, yearbooks, etc, please do not combine all fees for all your
children into one check. In other words, write a separate check for each individual
student. Our teachers are required to write a receipt for any money collected from
a student. Separate checks allows for a clean accounting of all monies turned
into the school.
Dismissal
Dismissal time for students begins at 2:15 PM. Please do not go to the classrooms to
pick students up at the end of the day.
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Arrangements for getting home should be made prior to the child arriving
at school.
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Please do not come to the office to sign out students after 1:30 PM.
Students released from school at times other that the regular dismissal time must be
signed out through the office and will be released only to a responsible parent/guardian
or designated adult as listed on the student pick-up form. Any child custody issues must
be brought to the attention of the administration along with the legal documentation that
indicates the custody arrangement. For your child’s safety, the office staff will not take
phone requests for changes in transportation
Parent’s Role and Follow up in Discipline
Parents play a major role in the behavior of their children in school. Please communicate
with your child and stress the importance of the positive behavior and work habits to
getting a good quality education. Set high expectations with your child and provide
appropriate recognition when he/she has followed through. Talk with your child each day
before school, setting guidelines that are fair, consistent, and enforceable. Communicate
regularly with your child’s teacher. Each evening talk with your child and ask questions
such as what did he/she learned in school today.
***Troutman Elementary School will follow the disciplinary guidelines and consequences
set forth in district’s Student/Parent Handbook 2012-2013. When determining
consequences, the school administration reserves the right to consider aggravating and
mitigating circumstances in each disciplinary incident. Any changes in school policy will
be sent home with the student and posted on the school webpage. The principal and
assistant principal will maintain the most current copy of the Student/Parent Handbook in
the office, with addendums notated in red and the date in which the addendum was
added.
Preparing Yourself as a Parent
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See that your child arrives to school on time and stress the importance of regular
attendance.
Be sure your child has the necessary supplies daily
Learn the names of all teachers working with your child and the room location.
Know the school calendar; holidays, early release days, conference dates, progress
reports, and report cards.
Communicate regularly with your child’s teacher(s) and commit to attend school
events such at PTO family nights, curriculum nights, Fall Festival, etc.
Learn the school and the bus schedules.
If you have a classroom concern, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher
FIRST.
All bus related questions should be directed to Sara Cardwell, Transportation
Coordinator for Troutman Elementary.
School Telephone
School telephones are to be used by students only in emergencies. The teacher/office
will determine the validity and need for a phone call. Calls should not be made to
arrange for a student to go home with another student or to bring forgotten homework.
Please do not call the school to ask to talk to your child. Classroom interruptions affect
all children.
Students and Cell Phones
Elementary students are permitted to possess cell phones on the school campus.
However, students are permitted to use cell phone prior to and at the conclusion of the
instructional day. Students are not permitted to use cell phones during the school day.
Administration strongly recommends that student refrain from bringing cell phones, other
electronic equipment, and toys to school. The school administration will not be
responsible for searching for lost or stolen electronic items.
Student Dress
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Shorts – 1” below fingertip length, shoulders down
No tank tops
No baggy clothing
Clothing cannot promote alcohol or tobacco products or contain any inappropriate or
vulgar language
Pants and shorts must be worn on the waist at all times.
Shirts must cover stomach when student raises arms over head.
Tie or velcro shoes should be worn daily (no flip-flops please).
No sheer or see-through clothing.
No shoes with wheel inside them (heelies).
Flip-flops are not permitted.
In the event the administration determines that a student’s clothing is in appropriate,
he/she will be asked to not wear the clothing again, given the option to call home for the
parent to bring other clothing, or the student will be given an alternate set of school
donated clothing to wear for the remainder of the day.
Parents of K-2 students: please consider sending an extra set of clothing (underwear,
pants/shorts, and socks) to keep in the student’s cubbie at school. Sometimes our
students have accidents and while we do keep extra clothing on campus for
emergencies, having a child’s clothing on hand will be more beneficial for the student.
Snacks
Based on our master schedule, the only grade levels that will have snack in the
classroom this year will be kindergarten, first, and second grade. Parents will be asked
to purchase approximately 25 store-bought healthy snacks about one time a month
(each homeroom teacher will develop a monthly snack calendar and provide some ideas
of appropriate snacks). This will ensure that every child has a snack. Of course, if your
child has a documented medical condition that requires a special diet, please be sure to
inform both homeroom teacher and the school nurse so an appropriate health care plan
can be developed. In addition, for all students, water will be the only acceptable drink
allowed in the classroom setting if the teacher wants to include this as part of the
classroom.
Transportation Information
1. Consistent Transportation
It is helpful to both teacher and student if your child has a consistent afternoon pick-up
schedule. Sudden or constant changes to a student’s form of afternoon transportation
sometimes leads to confusion.
2. Communicate Changes in Transportation in Writing
Any time there is a change in your child’s afternoon transportation, please communicate
that change in writing to the child’s homeroom teacher no later than 11:00 AM.
Remember, many of our classrooms have substitutes throughout the school year and
this ensures your child gets home safely. In addition, for safety reasons, changes to
a child’s transportation WILL NOT be taken over the phone. A parent must
provide a written note for any change in transportation.
Any time PrimeTime or the KLAS program does NOT operate, the parent is REQUIRED
to send a note to school indicating how the student will get home that afternoon.
3. Cars
All students who are car riders need to be picked up no later than 2:35 PM. Teacher
supervision concludes at that time. Habitual tardiness in student pick-up will result in an
administrative conference with the parent. If the situation is not remedied, then options
such as PrimeTime, KLAS, or riding home on the bus will be considered.
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Parents are not permitted to retrieve students out of the car rider holding
area; instead the student must be picked up in a vehicle (that contains a
TES car tag) through the car rider line or the parent must wait in the office
and pick up their child at the conclusion of car rider dismissal.
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Parents without a car rider tag will have to come into the office to get their
child at the conclusion of car rider dismissal. Office staff will not call or
retrieve students from the car rider holding area.
4. Buses
Parents will not be able send their child home on a bus with another student if it is not
his/her normally assigned bus. If your child has plans to go home with another student,
then please make arrangements for the students to be picked up as car riders (and each
student should have a written note for this arrangement). All bus riders are expected to
ride their assigned bus to and from school.
5. Bus Safety
All of our buses are equipped with a GPS monitoring system and cell phones. The
school is able to contact the bus in the event of an emergency.
Students in grades K-2: an adult must be at the bus stop or home in order for the student
to get off the bus if there is not an older sibling present to walk home with the student.
When an adult is not present, the student is not permitted to get off the bus. Instead, the
student will be brought back to the school (between 3:15 and 3:30 PM) and a parent will
be asked to come and pick up the child. Please make every effort to be at the bus stop
for your child.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Parents are not permitted to gain access onto a school bus at
any time during the bus route. This is TRESPASSING according to North Carolina
law. If you need to speak to the bus driver, please contact the school to schedule
a time to talk or meet with the driver.
Updating Student Information
It is imperative that student information (address, phone, emergency phone contacts)
be current at all times. The Data Manager and homeroom teacher should be notified as
soon as any change(s) regarding student information take place.
Visitors
ALL visitors must report to the school office upon entering the building and obtain a
Visitor’s Badge between 7:05 AM and 2:15 PM. Upon leaving the building, please come
by the office to sign out. All visitors are expected to enter and exit the building through
the main entrance only.
Iredell Statesville Schools Bus Safety Rules
Please review the bus safety rules for all students in the Iredell-Statesville school
system. These rules are located on the school system website.
In an effort to provide the most effective and efficient transportation for your child to and
from school, we ask that you read the Bus Safety Rules and discuss them with your
child.
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If your child chooses not to follow the bus rules, he or she will be given a verbal
warning as a consequence to a first offense. However, if a child hits, spits, or
injures another student, the child may receive a bus suspension rather than a
verbal warning even if it is a first offense. This first verbal warning is handled by
the bus coordinator
If your child has received a verbal warning and continues to break a bus rule,
then the student will meet with an administrator to discuss the offense. If the
situation warrants it, the student will be given a written and verbal warning from
the administrator
Further bus infractions will lead to a bus suspension. Bus suspensions are
cumulative; that is students are suspended for 1 day, then 3, 5, and finally 10
days off the bus. As a final consequence, a student could lose his/her privilege
to ride the bus.
In every situation there are mitigating (age of student, cognitive ability of student)
and aggravating factors (number of previous bus incidents, students involved,
etc) that impact the consequences a student may receive for a bus infraction.
In cases where a student(s) are injured or the safety of the students and driver
have been jeopardized, an administrator reserves the right alter the number of
days of bus suspension based on the nature and severity of the infraction
When a student is suspended from the bus, it is the responsibility of the parent or
guardian to make arrangements for the student to be brought to school and
picked up from school at the end of the day. We realize this can be an
inconvenience, so please reinforce the importance of good behavior while on the
bus.
Bus Safety Rules
1. Students are to be seated in their assigned seat. Students are expected to
remain seated from the time the bus starts its route until it comes to the student’s
bus stop (standing, moving seats, walking in the aisles, crawling under the seats
are dangerous to the other students and distracting to the driver)
2. Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself. Arms, hands, and head should be
kept inside the bus at all times. No objects should be thrown on or from the bus.
3. Talk respectfully to others. No profanity, arguing, talking back to the driver or
loud talking permitted.
4. No fighting on the bus or bus stop. This will lead to an immediate bus
suspension.
5. No spitting at the bus or on the bus. This could lead to an immediate
suspension.
6. No food, drinks, candy, gum, toys, electronic devices or harmful objects are
permitted on the bus.
7. All school rules apply at the bus stop and on the bus.
8. Students are expected to follow any additional rules put in place by their driver.
Troutman Elementary Student Handbook
2012-2013
RETURN TO THE SCHOOL BY SEPTEMBER 7, 2012
Once you have read through this handbook, which includes our bus safety rules, please
fill in your child(ren’s) names and homeroom teacher(s) then sign the form and send
back to (one of) your child’s teacher(s). Please keep the handbook for your reference.
Student Name: _____________________ Homeroom Teacher:__________________
Student Name: _____________________ Homeroom Teacher:__________________
Student Name:_____________________
Homeroom Teacher:__________________
NOTIFICATION OF REVIEW
We have reviewed the information in this packet and will work with the team at
Troutman Elementary to ensure our child has a successful school year.
Parent/Guardian Signature and Date
*Please note, your signature does not communicate agreement with our school
policies, it indicates that you have been informed of our expectations and
discussed them with your child.