Learn more about the policies of the Hamilton County Education Department by visiting the www.hcde.org website.

Nolan Elementary Mission Statement

We will work together to provide a caring, nurturing environment which will enable all children to become successful, independent, lifelong learners who will make positive contributions to society.

Nolan Elementary Vision Statement

To become the most highly respected and outstanding elementary school in the state of Tennessee due to our academic and technological excellence and nurturing atmosphere which promotes a child's maximum learning potential.

Nolan Elementary Belief Statement

We believe that:

1. Every child has worth, is able and has the right to learn.
2. Every child is a unique individual.
3. Children should be taught according to their strongest learning style but should be exposed to all learning styles.
4. Community/Parental involvement and support are crucial for success.
5. Education should implement skills for living as well as character education on a daily basis.
6. Student learning is maximized when a school-wide discipline program is consistently implemented.
7. Learning best takes place in a clean, hazard free, and safe environment.

Nolan School Handbook

School Colors : Hunter Green and Gold
School Mascot : Nolan Knights

Hamilton County Superintendent School Hours School Age Child Care (SACC) School Closings Attendance Absence Unexcused Absence Tardiness Early Dismissal Make Up Work Student Accident and Illness Student Health Problems Medications Transportation Bus Breakdowns and Conduct Field Trips

Student Accident Insurance Nolan Disciplinary Policy General Rules of Conduct Cafeteria Damages to School Property Latex Balloons and Gum Dresscode Fifth Grade Graduation Attire School Policy on Homework General Information Textbook and Supply Fee Birthday Books Bookstore Money Participation in School School Programs

Hamilton County Schools' Superintendent

Dr. Jesse B. Register
Notice of Nondiscrimination

The Hamilton County Department of Education affirms that it complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. No person shall, on the grounds of race, color or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

Complaints about discrimination should contact: Don Upton, Title VI Coordinator

School Day School hours are:

Classes begin - 8:45 a.m. (Students should be in the building by the beginning bell at 8:40 a.m.)

Tardy Bell - 8:45 a.m.

Dismissal - 3:45 p.m.

Car riders should not arrive before 8:20 A.M. unless they are enrolled in the School Age Child Care Program. After 8:20 a.m. they should go to the cafeteria and remain there until the bell rings and the bus teacher dismisses them. All car riders must be picked up at least 15 minutes after school dismisses. Remaining car riders will be placed in the childcare program.

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School Age and Child Care

This is a before and after school day care program at Nolan. Before school care begins at 6:00am and continues until the school day begins. The afternoon session begins when the school day ends and can remain open as late as 6:00pm. Children may be enrolled in morning or afternoon session, or both. SACC is available daily or weekly. It operates daily during the school year including snow days and teacher in-service days.

SACC is closed on the following days: · Labor Day · Thanksgiving Day · Christmas Eve Day · Christmas Day · New Year's Eve Day · New Year's Day · M.L. King Day · Memorial Day

A booklet providing more detailed information and rates for this service is available from the director of SACC or the school office or see more information on our SACC page.

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School Closings

A school calendar for Hamilton County Schools for the 2001-2002 school year is located in the following pages of this agenda. Emergency Dismissals during adverse weather will be announced on local radio and television stations. Please turn on one of these if the weather becomes threatening.

Check School Closings online.

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Attendance

Attendance policies established by the Hamilton County Board of Education are based on state law and Rules and Regulations established by the Tennessee Department of Education.

Children need to be in school every day possible in order for them to achieve the best of their abilities. The importance of daily attendance cannot be overemphasized.

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Absence

An absence is recorded whenever a child misses more than one-half day of school. Excused absence: Personal illness of student, death in the immediate family, and recognized religious holidays are considered excused. Other absences are reported as unexcused.

As important as daily attendance is, it is important that a child be kept home whenever he/she is ill. Do not send your child back to school until they are fever-free for at least 24 hours.

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Unexcused Absences:

Absences which do not meet the stated criteria for being considered "excused" or for which there is not a written statement from the parent are recorded and reported as unexcused.

IMPORTANT State Law (TCA 49-6-3007 (e) (1) requires that schools notify the Social Worker / Attendance Officer when a child is absent for any 5 or more days (not necessarily consecutive) of unexcused absences.

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Tardiness

The tardy bell rings at 8:45 am. Tardy students must come through the front entrance and pick up their attendance card in the office. In keeping with Hamilton County Board Policy 345.8, three unexcused tardies will be treated as an absence on the report card. Excessive tardiness is reported to the Social Worker/Attendance Officer. Students who are tardy due to a doctor or dentist appointment may show proof of the appointment to be excused.

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Early Dismissals

Again, educational time is important for students. Please do not check out a student for early dismissal unless absolutely necessary. Parents or designated persons may check a student out during the school day by coming to the office and signing a logbook in the school office. Parents are not to go to the classroom without permission from the office. Please send a note with the student in the morning if he or she will be picked up early so that the teachers will know in advance.

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Make Up Work

Excused absences entitle students to make up work missed. Work for unexcused absences may be given upon the student's return to school. Please do not ask your child's teachers to prepare specific assignments prior to absence. Requesting make-up work is the student's responsibility. They must make up the work at the teacher's convenience and have five school days to complete the assignments.

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Student Accidents or Illness

In case of accidents or illness, the school will follow these procedures:

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Student Health Problems

Should your child suffer from asthma, allergies, a heart condition or any other potentially serious health condition be sure to indicate this on the Health Card. In addition, make it a point to give your child's teacher a note describing the condition and the appropriate steps to take in an emergency involving the condition. Please be sure to complete the Health Information Card during registration and keep the school informed of any changes of address or phone numbers, either at work or home.

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Medications

Medications will not be dispensed to students. This includes, but is not limited to, aspirin, Tylenol, cough medicine, and antibiotics. The exception is for students requiring long-term prescription medications such as Ritalin, Asthma inhalers, or migraine relievers. Only in these cases will the principal or his/her designee in compliance with the following regulations administer the medication:

Regulations for medication dispensement:

Transportation

Hamilton County provides school bus service (link) to students who reside outside a 1.5-mile radius of the school they are zoned to attend. Each bus follows a predetermined route with designated pickup and drop-off stops to most safely and efficiently transport children to and from school. Students must ride their designated bus and get off at their designated stops.

SEND A NOTE! In the event of a need to change the way a child is to go home a written request from the parent or guardian must be sent to school so we are aware of the change. This includes taking a different bus, getting off at a different stop than that regularly designated for the student, or going home with a friend.

Bus Schedule (Link)

Bus drivers who serve Nolan begin their routes at approximately 7:45 am. Children riding the bus usually arrive at school between 8:15 am and 8:30am. Upon arrival at school, students are to go directly to the cafeteria. Watch closely the first few days to determine when the bus will arrive at the spot nearest your home. Sometimes children who have not previously ridden a school bus experience anxiety. Parents can help by walking their children to the bus in the morning and meeting the bus at the stop in the afternoon, at least the first few weeks.

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Bus Breakdown

In the event of a bus breakdown, the students will be permitted to call their parents if they will be more than 20 minutes late arriving home. Hopefully, this will help alleviate worrying on the children's and parent's part.

Bus Conduct

Behavior on the school bus is to be the same as in the classroom. For the safety and welfare of all students, the bus driver cannot tolerate any misconduct on the bus. It is the driver's responsibility to report unacceptable behavior on the bus to the principal. The principal is responsible for applying the Hamilton County policies regarding such behavior, which can be as severe as suspending the offending student(s) from riding the bus.

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Field Trips

There are some special programs and local places of interest that fit into our curriculum and are educationally expanding. All field trips are optional for each student. The cost of the trip varies depending on admission and transportation. If the cost is a factor in your child's attendance, please notify the teacher or principal. There are monies available through individuals and organizations. Names are never given to donors. For students who are not going to attend the field trip, they will report to school as usual and a day of instruction will be provided in another classroom.

Field trips are an important means of supplementing classroom instruction. To be eligible to participate in field trips, students must have an established pattern of completing class work and exhibiting appropriate behavior. Students who have three (3) Misconduct Reports sent home to parents in a quarter will not be permitted to participate in field trips for the remainder of that 9 weeks period.

When your child is involved in the field trip, a note will be sent home giving full details including; the destination, the method of transportation, what the children need to bring, and the cost associated with the trip.

Hamilton County Board of Education Policies require written permission, in advance, for students to be permitted to leave the school on a field trip. Verbal permission cannot be accepted to permit a child to participate. Teachers will send permission forms home well in advance of the field trips to allow ample time for parents to sign and return them.

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Student Accident Insurance

Student accident insurance coverage is available during the first few weeks of each school year. Enrollment is for one year.

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Nolan's Disciplinary Policy

The discipline program at Nolan is based on a combination of Assertive Discipline and the teaching of Foundational Values. Both of these programs are widely accepted and designed to use clearly stated rules with positive rewards for appropriate behavior and disciplinary consequences for inappropriate behavior. They are structured in a way that each student is given ample opportunity for success in the classroom and in school activities. Ideally, when the rules are obeyed, the student or classroom receives positive feedback from the teacher. When a student does not follow the rules, the student or classroom faces disciplinary consequences, such as verbal reprimand, restriction of privileges, a note to his or her parents, or a talk with the principal. As a people, we are faced with the job of learning to live comfortably with others and ourselves. To live comfortably with ourselves, it is important that we develop and maintain a deep feeling of self-respect. To live comfortably with others, we must learn to recognize where our own rights end and the rights of others begin. In the school setting, instruction in these skills is designed to help children learn to exercise self-control in their personal behavior and in ways that they interact with others. There are many things we do to help a child learn both social and academic skills in order to acquire certain positive character traits. These traits are based on values that are shared within our community. These characteristic traits include:

Respect and Caring- an appreciation for the person, feelings, and property of others;

Responsibility and Self-Discipline-the exercise of reasoned behavior including the ability to tell right from wrong through the increasing development of self-control;

Honesty-The development of characters that value trustworthiness in all behaviors;

Cooperation and Fairness- the ability to work effectively with others for mutual benefit;

Citizenship- the development of behaviors of contributing members of society;

Courage- doing the right thing in the face of difficulty.

Perseverance- pursuing worthy objectives with determination and patience.

The goal that instruction in these values is intended to achieve is appropriate student conduct. Development of positive productive behaviors requires the full cooperation of students, parents, and teachers. When a child develops the ability to exercise self-control, he/she is well on the way to success in school and later in life.

If a student is continually disruptive and neither the positive rewards, value instruction, nor disciplinary consequences have an effect, the teacher will call the parents and arrange a conference with the student, the teacher, and the parent. The student may be subject to after school detention* (MR), suspension, or in-school suspension (the student attends school but is segregated from his classmates). Corporal punishment will be used only as an absolute last resort with prior parental approval.

* MR's will be served on Mon., Tues., Fri. from 3:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

If a student is involved in an offense that is considered criminal, such as drug use, school vandalism, fighting that involves injury, or any other serious offense, the school will contact the parents and may call the police. The student may have to face suspension.

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General Rules of Conduct

Nolan students will:

Damages to school property

Should a student willfully damage school property, the student's parents will be expected to pay for replacement or repair of that property.

Latex Balloons and Gum

Neither students nor adults are permitted to have latex balloons or chewing gum at any time during the school day. Latex balloons are especially dangerous and can cause asphyxiation, if misused.

Dress Code

Students' clothing must not be disruptive to the class. Students must wear:

Fifth Grade Graduation Attire

School Policy on Homework

HOMEWORK STUDY HALL: In the event the teacher feels a need for homework remediation, the following times are available for study hall:

Monday- 3:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Tuesday - 3:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Thursday- 7:40 a.m. - 8:40 a.m. & 3:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

The teacher and principal should be contacted if there is any concern about homework.

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General Information

School Visits

Parents are invited to visit the school at any time, but especially during Open House and PTA meetings. There are many volunteer opportunities available for you in your child's classroom and at Nolan.

To maintain the best learning conditions and make maximum use of instructional time, all parents and visitors must report to the office before going to other areas of the building. Please do not go directly to your child's room without coming to the office first. Most of the time, your needs can be met in the office with no disruption to the class.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Conferences with teachers or the principal must be scheduled so as not to conflict with the teacher's instruction of children. If you call the school to request a conference, the principal, secretary, or teacher will call back as soon as possible to confirm a time that will be convenient to all.

Telephone

The school telephone is a business phone for use by the school staff. Students are not permitted to use the phone without consent of the teacher. Children must make arrangements to go home with friends before coming to school and have a note from a parent. They may not call to have forgotten items brought to school. To avoid disrupting classroom instruction, teachers will not be called to the phone except for an emergency. The secretary will take a message. For the same reason, students will not be called to the phone. In the event of extenuating circumstances, a message will be taken for a student and given to him/her at a time that does not interrupt class.

Cafeteria ( Lunch Times by Class)

All Hamilton County schools participate in the National School Lunch Program. Payment is made through a computerized system. All students are encouraged to deposit money into this account. If necessary, a student many purchase lunch daily.

Student prices are:

$1.90 per day or $9.50 per week - 45¢ for additional milk

Make checks payable to: Hamilton County Food Services (HCFS)

You must have money in your account or cash in hand for these items. You will not be allowed to charge any extras or items off the Ala Carte Menu.

Any extra item which includes ice cream, extra milk, drink, cookies, fruit, chips, etc. will be considered "ala carte" prices.

Lunch Charges

Lunches are to be paid in advance or at the time of purchase. However, we do not allow any child to go without lunch. Children will be allowed 2 charges before calling home is necessary.. Your child will need to know the last 4 digits of their SS # to activate payment.

Information concerning applications for free or reduced price lunches is available in the school office.

Lunch Box

Some children prefer to bring lunch from home. Please follow these guidelines. Lunch should be nutritious and have low sugar content. Canned or glass bottled soft drinks, or other sugary drinks are not permitted. A parent who wishes to eat lunch with a child is always welcome. Please notify the teacher so the cafeteria staff can prepare extra food.

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Textbook and Supply Fee

The Department of Education provides textbooks. Students are responsible for the replacement of lost or damaged books. Though these books are provided free of charge, much additional material is used to implement a quality instructional program. Nolan Elementary requires a supply fee for each student. An itemized list of materials covered by the fee is provided patents at registration. We request that those with more than one child enrolled at Nolan write a separate supply fee check for each child.

Birthday Books

Parents are urged to consider underwriting the cost of a library book in honor of their child's birthday. The library is a resource for all learning and needs continuous updating to maintain its benefits to the students.

Bookstore

The Bookstore is operated as a service to our students. Students may purchase supplies in the bookstore before classes begin from 8:15 to 8:40 am. Some of the items will include pencils, crayons, scissors, pencil grips, folders, notebooks, erasers, and paper.

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Money

Whenever you send CASH OR A CHECK to school with your child, it would be wise to PUT IT IN AN ENVELOPE WITH YOUR CHILD'S NAME, TEACHER, AND PURPOSE. WHEN PAYING BY CHECK, WRITE SEPARATE CHECKS FOR THE CAFETERIA, FIELD TRIPS, AND PICTURES. Each one has a separate account for our auditing and accounting purposes.

Your Participation in School

Parent-Teacher Association

Most elementary schools have a parent-teacher organization. Nolan Elementary will have a very active PTA that assists the faculty and staff in maintaining quality education for our students. Every parent or guardian is encouraged to become involved in PTA activities. The names and phone numbers of this year's PTA officers and committee chairmen are listed in the back of the handbook.

Volunteers

The Nolan staff and PTA (Link to Board Members) encourage parents, grandparents, guardians, and other interested adults to volunteer their time and talents to the students of Nolan. There are many opportunities to support the school, and we hope you will consider helping at Nolan. If you would like to volunteer in the classroom, the library, the First Aid room, or in some other area, please contact one of the PTA officers or your child's teacher.

Mountain Education Fund

In order to supply the "extras" that we have often come to view as necessities, the PTA participates in the Signal Mountain Education Fund. We ask every family to consider helping support this valuable program. The funds collected for the Mountain Education Fund (MEF) are distributed to the three public schools on the mountain. The MEF provides funds for instructional supplies, classroom needs, and extracurricular teaching materials. Your contribution is critical to maintaining an adequate PTA budget and our schools' standards of academic excellence.

School Community Council

The School Community Council exists to provide a cooperative means of improving the education programs and conditions within the school. The council includes parents, teachers, Mr. Barker and a representative from the community. A suggestion box is located on the table outside the office. Please feel free to address the council in writing with your comments, concerns or questions. All letters must be signed and will be discussed at the next SCC meeting.

Soup Labels/Box Tops

The PTA collects Campbell Soup labels and Box Tops for Education from General Mills Products. The labels are used to obtain equipment such as tape recorders for classroom use. Labels and box tops may be turned in to your child's homeroom teacher.

Fund Raising at Nolan

The school and the PTA will have several fundraisers : Book Fair, magazine sales, and coupon book salesl. The success of these fund raising efforts is tied directly to family participation. Clearly, it is intended that children NOT go door-to-door to "sell" anything. Active parent involvement is the primary moving force in these events. While our goal is that 100% of our families contribute to the overall success of these programs, it must be understood that no one is required to participate in any fund raising event. Your support and active participation are, however, greatly appreciated.

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School Programs

Hamilton County provides several programs that enrich the curriculum and enhance learning for students. All students participate in them on a regularly scheduled basis.

Special Services

Teachers are assigned to assist in meeting the educational needs of students whose needs are not being met through the facilities and programs of the regular classroom. These students include the learning disabled, gifted, speech handicapped, etc. Please contact the principal if you have questions about these programs.

Music

Children are taught to develop their abilities to perceive the art of music and to respond to it with feeling. They are offered a wide variety of styles, types, and mediums to sample along the way. The philosophy is "we learn by doing" and "we enjoy what we understand." We emphasize learning the elements of music- rhythm, melody, harmony, texture, etc.- great composers and their music, the many different forms of music-from folk to avant garde-and fun songs of lasting value.

Library (Library Times by Class)

The library program strives to reflect the philosophy of our school and enrich all parts of the educational program. The program works toward offering each student experiences and instruction resulting in growth in library skills, reading, listening, and viewing abilities and tastes. The library also works to be an inviting place where individuals may learn research and study skills with the guidance of a librarian or teacher. Each class has an assigned library time and every child is encouraged to select books that may be checked out for one week. If a book is not returned on time, there is an overdue fine of five cents per school day per book.

Computers

Nolan's teachers, principal, and parents believe that computers are an integral part of the future. Thanks to the efforts of our PTA and Mountain Education Fund we have a beautiful lab with 25 computers. Each classroom is equipped with 3 or more computers.

Physical Education

The Physical Education program has been planned to be an integral part of the total curriculum. The unique contributions of physical education are physical fitness, motor skill development, body awareness, movement education and rhythms. The program also provides opportunities to practice rules of good sportsmanship develop creative talents, participate as leaders and followers and practice sharing and taking turns. The whole physical education program is centered on a noncompetitive, cooperative environment.

Parties

The school has two classroom parties during the school year at which refreshments are served-Winter Holidays and Valentine's Day. As part of the Winter Holiday, the children exchange gifts that do not exceed $5.00 in value.

For your child's birthday you may send refreshments (but no drinks) to school for your child to share with his or her homeroom. They will be served during recess or lunch.

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