Our Philosophy and Goals page 1 Our Program page 1

Physical Education

P.E. uniforms are required! Uniforms include a red WVMS t-shirt and black athletic shorts or sweatpants. Shorts are a required part of the PE uniform on warm days. Shirts and shorts may be purchased in the office. Failure to wear the proper P.E. uniform will adversely affect the student’s P.E. grade. If your child is unable to participate in P.E., a written note is required. Students will be expected to sit with the class.
PICTURE TAKING

Please let us know if you object to us photographing your student as part of our many special activities. We will be happy to observe your request.

PROGRESS REPORTS

Progress Reports are completed every four weeks for students receiving a C or below. Parents must sign and return the progress report.

PROMOTIONS/REPORT CARDS

At the end of each term, report cards reflecting the academic progress of each student are sent home for parents to review. Parent-Teacher conferences are held in the fall and periodically throughout the school year to discuss student progress and explain the grading criteria for our report cards. We encourage parents to attend these meetings to assist in understanding the guidelines of your student’s report card. Students are expected to achieve grade level proficiency in order to merit promotion to the next grade level. Student evaluations are based on the standards of the State of California, classroom test scores, and teacher evaluations of student performance.

Property Damage

Items issued to students for the year include lockers, textbooks, and other supplies that belong to the school. Parents will be charged for any damage beyond normal wear and tear that occurs during the year.
Textbooks are to be covered at all times. In the event a text book is damaged, the parent will be charged. Laptops and equipment are provided for student use. All students are required to use them in a manner that preserves their quality. Parents may be required to replace items broken or damaged by their student.
Locks for the lockers will be provided for the students and distributed to them at the beginning of the school year. Students must use the lock provided by the school. Students will be required to return these locks to the school at the end of the school year. Students who lose or damage the locks will be charged an $10.00 replacement fee.

Records

In accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, parents’ access to files may not be restricted. The ordinary content of the student file shall include registration forms, permanent record card, immunization verification, prior academic records, and important items of correspondence. Files are not to be removed from the administration office area; however, verification of various records will be provided at no charge.

Responsibility for Belongings

All personal belongings should be either with the student or in the student’s locker. No valuables should be left in a classroom at any time! West Valley Middle School is not responsible for items brought from home.
RETURNED CHECKS

Returned checks will be assessed a processing fee per incident.

SCHOOL COLORS/MASCOT

West Valley Middle School’s colors are black, red, and white. Our school mascot is a wildcat.

SICK POLICY

We are committed to maintaining the good health of all of our students as much as possible. Thank you for your cooperation in helping us achieve this not only for your child but for all the children:

When children have any of the following conditions, they may not stay at school:

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  Temperature of 101 or higher
  
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  Vomiting
  
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  Diarrhea and/or 2 or 3 loose stools in a short time
  
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  Undiagnosed rash on the body
  
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  Cloudy discharge from the eye(s)
  
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  Two or more cold symptoms
  
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  Unable to participate fully in the program, including going outdoors
  

Children may not return to the group situation until these symptoms have been gone for 24 hours. Example: If your child has a fever at 3:00pm on Monday, they may not attend school on Tuesday.

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  Please notify the office immediately if your child is diagnosed with a contagious disease. An Exposure Notice will be posted if a student was found to be contagious.
  

SNACKS

Snacks are allowed in the quad area, playground, and multipurpose room but not in the classrooms. Students may bring snacks from home or purchase them at school.

Solution Team

Student TEAMS will be established this year to aide in possible student concerns. A student TEAM will consist of the student(s) involved, positive role models and at least one staff member. The goal of the student TEAM will be to compile strategies for assisting students. The TEAM will hold several meetings to discuss options and will review the progress they have made after each meeting. This type of approach along with our continued guidance and support offers our students a plan for personal growth and development.

SPECIAL CUSTODIAL ISSUES

It is our policy NOT to become involved in custody disputes involving our students. The policy reflects the complexity of issues and the limited knowledge we have related to a child’s experience with either parent. We recognize that in an emotionally charged atmosphere of custody cases, individual parents may use even the most general of statements in the most advantageous way to support their particular interests. Consequently, we will only provide information regarding a student that is formally requested by the court or a representative of the court. We will always comply with the parent’s right to any and all pupil records maintained by our school.

It is the policy of Action Day Nurseries/Primary Plus/West Valley Middle School to provide one copy of a student’s report cards, progress reports, and other correspondence to the individual (or their designate) who is responsible for tuition payment. It is the parent or guardian’s responsibility, not the school’s, to disseminate this information to other parties who may have an interest or right to those records. Special requests for deviation from this procedure must be submitted in writing to the Principal or Administrator.

The school recognizes that in some cases special visitation and custody agreements exist related to parent/guardian rights. The school does not accept responsibility for the enforcement of these agreements (e.g. if an individual is authorized to pick up a child, the school will not attempt to determine if it is his/her visitation night). It is expected that all parties will abide by any agreements pertaining to custody and visitation rights. All disagreements and misunderstandings between custodial parents must be settled off campus. The school staff will not mediate in such situations.

SPECIAL NEEDS

West Valley Middle School offers a smaller and more personal environment than many middle schools. We are often able to meet the needs of special needs students. Once a student has been identified as having special needs, the parents, teachers, and other involved professionals under the supervision of the Principal meet to create an Individual Education Plan “IEP” for that student. The IEP lays out a plan that may include mandatory study hall, tutoring, and/or other resources and materials to enable the student in advancing academically. A Student Study Team will assist in determining the success of the plan. Should it be determined that we are not able to meet a student’s need, additional resources will be given to the parent to aide in meeting the student’s need.

SPORTS

West Valley Middle School is involved in a sports program run by the Athletic Director. Questions should be directed to the Athletic Director. In the fall, we offer boys’ flag football and girls’ volleyball and cheerleading. In the winter we offer basketball for boys and girls. In the spring we offer soccer for boys and girls.

To be eligible, students must be in good academic standing. Students are expected to maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.0 to continue their participation in sports. Students whose grade point averages drop below 2.0 will be granted a four week probationary period to improve. If grades do not improve by the end of the probationary period, students will not be permitted to participate in sports for the remainder of the season.

Standardized Testing

West Valley Middle School administers a standardized test to its students in the spring. This test measures achievement in five major areas: reading, mathematics, language, science, and social studies.
The week of testing is included in the school calendar mailed to parents in the summer. Parents are asked to give their child plenty of rest and a healthy breakfast during the week of testing. No homework is assigned during the week of testing. Please do everything possible to have your child at school during the testing period.

Student Council

A student council represents the student body. The student council is responsible for organizing and assisting with activities such as school dances, fundraising, yearbook, Spirit Days, and other activities. The student council has the right to send a representative to WVCC meetings with questions, recommendations, requests, and grievances. They are also able to address these issues with administration.
Annual elections are held to determine the president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary and historian. In addition, each homeroom chooses a representative and an alternate to represent the class at meetings. Student council members who do not take their responsibilities seriously or are on academic probation may be removed.

Student Displays of Affection

Students are expected to show maturity and respect in their relationships. Displays of affection are considered inappropriate for school and school events, including during extended care time.
STUDENT RECORDS

In accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, parents are able to access their student’s file. The ordinary content of the students file shall include: report cards, progress reports, immunization records, and other important items of correspondence. Files are not to be removed from the office area. Verification of records may be provided at no charge.

STUDENT STUDY TEAM

Student Study Team meetings are held each month. Teachers identify students needing assistance or additional resources. The primary teacher, the principal and/or the Academic Administrator meet to brainstorm techniques and ideas to further develop a student’s needs. Parents are notified of these meetings and are welcome to attend.

STUDY HALL

Our program includes a daily Study Hall period for students in all grades. Students are encouraged to complete their homework at school during this time; however, they are not forced to. Parents are still expected to check their student’s work at home and remind their students to return the completed work to school the next day.

SUPPLIES

Supply lists are available in the office and/or from your child’s teacher. School supplies should be replenished often.

TARDY POLICY

Regular and prompt attendance is essential! A student or parent entering a classroom after class has begun not only affects the entire class atmosphere, but also hinders the student’s ability to join his/her class at the beginning of their day. Each time a student is late, a tardy slip will be issued. After four tardies during a school term, a report will be sent home and a conference will be requested to express our concern.
Also please remember that if a student is late even ten minutes each day, that student will miss about 20% of that subject over the course of a year. This is equivalent to removing your student from class for two months!

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  A student is considered late any time they arrive to the classroom after 8:15am.
  
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  Only medical or dental appointments and illness are excused.
  
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  Every student who is late MUST come to the office to get a tardy slip.
  
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  Excessive and unexcused tardies may result in non-promotion, a reduction in grade and/or discontinuation of enrollment.
  
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  Any student who is continually tardy in excess of thirty minutes total for a week may be reported as truant and thus reported to the County Attendance Officer. Our office may further inform the Department of Public and Social Services if grounds for “neglect” are suspected.
  

Teachers may give quizzes or tests at the start of the class period and students entering late will be graded down or miss the assignment and receive no credit. This includes first period, even if it is the parent’s fault or is due to an unavoidable circumstance.

Passing Period Tardies: Students who receive a tardy slip between class periods will receive one warning, then will be issued an afterschool detention and step for each subsequent tardy. The parent will be notified with the first passing period tardy. If the child is late three times in a quarter, a parent conference will be required to help remedy the situation.

TeacherEase

All teachers use www.teacherease.com to communicate with parents. The graded assignments, projects, and tests are updated weekly. It is the parents’ responsibility to check their student’s progress online and to notify a teacher if there is a problem.
TERMINATION OF SERVICES

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  By Parent/Guardian: Two weeks written notice is required to terminate enrollment. Tuition for those two weeks is due whether or not the parent decides to have the student attend school during those 2 weeks.
  

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  By School: If it is determined that a student or the parents of a student are unable to successfully adjust to the school program or if the school determines that it is in the best interest of the student or in the best interest of the school, a two week written notification of termination of services will be rendered.
  

TOURS and VISITING OUR CAMPUS

Personal visit are welcome! Interested parents and students are certainly welcome to call our office to schedule a tour. We ask that you set up a date to avoid any possible conflict in scheduling. Also, new enrollees are encourage to partake in a “shadow day” to be become better acquainted with our school. A “shadow day” checklist can be obtained from the office to assist your student in feeling welcome at our school. For safety reason, all visitors to our campus must report to the office to obtain a visitor’s pass for the day.
TRANSPORTATION

Students transported in a school bus shall be under the authority of, and responsible directly to, the driver of the bus. Disorderly conduct or refusal to follow the directions from the driver shall be sufficient reason for a student to be denied transportation.

TUITION

Tuition is due on the dates as specified in your payment plan. Late tuition payments will be assessed a late fee.

West Valley Community Club - WVCC

All currently enrolled parents and staff members are encouraged to take part in the West Valley Community Club. Meetings will take place monthly. Your participation in these activities is a great way to meet other parents involved in your children’s school and a wonderful way for you to influence what is happening at West Valley.
The purpose of the Community Club is to actively support the needs of the children and teachers at the Middle School. This is accomplished through your participation. West Valley Middle School goals are realized with the help of supportive staff, teachers, and the many hours donated by parent volunteers. A parent volunteer has an opportunity to get involved and offer as much time as he/she may desire. If you have an hour a month or a week, there is a job for you; if you have an hour a day, there is a job for you! When we work together, giving what we can, we make a great impact on our students and our school. Please give volunteering some thought early in the year. We need people all year long, and you will be truly appreciated for whatever time you can share.
YEARBOOK

A book containing a colorful pictorial glimpse of our year with candid and posed pictures of our student is available for purchase throughout the year. Order forms are sent home and are made available online for easy convenience. Students are encouraged to purchase their yearbooks early to obtain the best available price. Yearbooks will be distributed before the end of the school year to all ordering students.