We are grateful to this community and care very much about this school’s reputation and quality of service. We see the children, their parents and our staff as part of an extended family . We try to treat all with deserved respect and care and expect the same. We hope all of us can improve on what we already do.

We attempt to be good role models and demonstrate our love for children and teaching through our actions.

We agree children need to be safe and supervised. Because we are accountable during school hours, trips and activities, we try to be clear about our expectations.

All children can learn (but usually not at the same rate). Frequent absences, tardiness and missing assignments are detrimental to developing good work habits. To best understand a child’s skills we expect the students (not their family or friends) to do their own assignments. This approach also builds responsibility and your support is necessary.

Honesty and social manners are important. One’s actions speak louder than one’s words. Kindness and dependability should be rewarded.

We hope any time parents have concerns they first contact the child’s teacher to learn more about their perspective on the incident. If we are aware of an issue and it’s significant, we will contact you.

Repeated offenses for misbehavior require more serious consequences. Bullying , harassment, weapons, drugs, theft, damaging property are never acceptable.

All exceptions to any rule are reviewed on a case by case basis, usually by the Individual Assistance Team which includes the principal, counselor and specialist.

Because our intentions are also to encourage peer interaction and friendships, we generally do not recommend advancing a student to a higher grade. Our intention is to academically challenge them in all of their courses. A teacher or parent may request an Individual Assistance Team meeting if they feel the child has exceeded those challenges.

Unless a child has special needs, all students are expected to take our Art, Computer, French, Music and Physical Education classes. We also encourage our students to join our instrumental band. Our Middle School Double Activities are also important as they provide more choices and an opportunity to explore potential interests. Some eighth grade subjects (Algebra, French & Science) may fulfill first year high school requirements, depending on school, grades, test results and teacher recommendations.

Historically, our students are well prepared for their high school programs and in fact they often excel. Our new Math (05) program involves algebraic problems from third grade on and is based on National Standards and State goals. Middle school texts include a variety of problem solving approaches for Algebra, Calculus, Geometry, Statistics and measurement / volume problems. Generally, we believe that even an “able” student is not developmentally ready for our more abstract and demanding Algebra course (HS level) until eighth.