Handbook

APS Student Handbook Links

• APS Student Handbook Online
• APS Student Handbook (PDF, 4.11 MB)
• Manual Para Estudiantes (PDF, 2.39 MB)

 

---

Buses

Students who ride buses will report to the bus loading area immediately after dismissal at the end of the school day. Elementary students living more than one mile from school (one way) and inside the school boundaries may be transported by APS Transportation Services (880-3989). Students riding buses will be provided an APS transportation handbook. Please refer to it for bus rules and regulations. Requests are often made about students riding home with other students on buses other than their own. For clarification purposes: The school bus will pick up children at their designated stop and return them to their designated stop. They may not get on or off at any other stop. A non-school friend may not accompany a student. Students must maintain appropriate behavior while waiting in line or walking to the bus. While on the bus, students must follow all rules as described by the bus driver and bus company. For concerns regarding the bus ride, routes, procedures or bus drivers, please contact APS Student Transportation Services at 880-3989. Please have your bus number available when you call.

---

Cafeteria

You can download a copy of the monthly menu from the APS website. On occasion, the lunch menu items may change due to availability. These changes are announced on the daily morning announcements. All students at Lew Wallace receive free breakfasts and free lunches. If you have any questions or comments regarding the cafeteria service or meals, please contact the school cafeteria manager directly at 253-9373. Cafeteria Services are managed by APS Food & Nutrition Services and can be reached at 345-5661. 

---

Cell Phones and Electronic Devices

Use of personal cell phones, iPads, iPods, MP3 players, etc. during instructional time or at a time that would be disruptive to the educational process are not permitted unless the classroom teacher is using a device for instructional purposes. The misuse of cell phones and other forms of technology could include, but are not limited to the unauthorized taking of pictures, cheating, invading privacy, receiving or making texts or call, etc. If a student is being disruptive to the educational process with any of these devices, the item will be taken away and held in the office for parent pick up. The school is not responsible for theft, loss, or damage to personal electronic devices brought to school by a student while the device is under the student's care. Cell phones must be turned off during the school day and placed securely in the student's backpack. Students cannot receive texts or calls or make texts or calls during any part of the day (including lunch and recesses). If a student disregards this policy with any personal electronic device, it will be taken and held for parent pick up. If needed, students may use the office phone or classroom phone during school hours. 

---

Discipline

Dress Code

"The Board of Education expects student dress and grooming to reflect high standards of personal conduct so that each student's attire promotes a positive, safe and healthy atmosphere within the school. Student dress may not present a health or safety hazard, violate municipal or state law or present a potential for disruption to the instructional program. Attire or accessories, which advertise, display or promote any drug, including alcohol or tobacco, sexual activity, violence, disrespect and/or bigotry towards any group are not acceptable. Unacceptable clothing and accessories include, but are not limited to, gang-related attire, excessively tight or revealing clothes, short shorts/dresses/skirts, bare midriff, low-cut and/or off the shoulder blouses, spiked jewelry, chains, belts with more than 2 inches excess. "Sagging', or the wearing of pants below the waist and/or in the manner that allows underwear or bare skin to show, and 'bagging', or the wearing of excessively baggy pants with low hanging crotches are prohibited. As a matter of common courtesy and respect, hats/caps are not to be worn while inside buildings except when there are documented instructional, safety, religious or medical reasons."

 

In the interest of safety at school and on the playground, and so that students may participate fully in physical school activities, students should not wear flip-flops, sandals, open-toed shoes, open-back shoes, "heelies," or shoes with more than a one-inch heel or platform.

---

Emergency Contact Information

Notify the office right away of any changes in contact information such as telephone number(s), emails, change of address or change of custody. If any changes occur during the school year, update this information on your child's enrollment cards in the administration office. 

---

Field Trips and Permission Slips

APS district policy requires that students must obtain parent signature and return a fully completed field trip form (front and back) to the teacher prior to the field trip departure. Only the school's permission form will be accepted. If a student does not attend a field trip, the student is still expected to attend school and arrangements for academic activities will be made in an alternate classroom. Only parents with an APS Background Check clearance can chaperone on field trips. For parents who accompany the class on the field trip, please note that younger or older siblings may not attend classroom field trips. Parents and students must participate in the entire field trip all-together, leaving from the school together with the class, staying for the duration of the field trip, and accompanying the class back to the school. Students may not be checked-out early from field trips, and parents who are chaperoning need to stay with the class for the duration of the field trip.

---

Inclement Weather/Abbreviated Day (“Snow days”)

Severe weather may result in schools being closed early or for the entire day. As per State Department of Education guidelines, schools must make up full days on a designated snow make-up day.

An "abbreviated day" schedule will be used by the school district if there are any mornings when street conditions would endanger the safety of students and employees on their way to school. The decision to designate the day as an "abbreviated day" will be announced by 5:30 AM through the APS Website, School Messenger, social media, and news media (KOB/KOAT TV, KOB radio AM 770).  The bus schedule will be adjusted. No breakfast will be served; however, lunch will be served.

Any scheduled morning meetings with teachers will be cancelled. On an abbreviated day, everything is on a 2-hour delay. Classes will begin at 10:42 and will be dismissed at 3:35. This includes Wednesdays – if a 2-hour delay occurs on a Wednesday, students will remain in class until 3:35, and will not have early-release.

---

Lost and Found

Our lost and found is often a crazy pile of jackets, sweaters, hats, and other items. Please label your student’s jackets, coats, gloves, hats, sweaters, etc. The lost and found is located in the foyer of the gym/cafeteria. Please feel free to check for lost items as the need arises. Periodically, we will set up tables in the main hall with all of the items, and try to get them reunited with students. Unclaimed items will periodically be donated to the APS Clothing Bank. Teachers and staff can not be responsible for students’ missing items.

---

Medication

Any student receiving prescription medication at school must have an APS Authorization to Administer Medicationform filled out and signed by their physician. No prescription medication will be administered without the authorization form signed by a physician. APS policy stipulates that any prescription medication given during school hours must be in the original container (the pharmacy label must match doctor order). Over-the-counter medication may be given if the parent fills out an APS form. Please see our school nurse for further information regarding the complete APS Medication Policy. 

---

Newsletter

The Lew Wallace Newsletter is sent home every single Friday, no matter what. If it’s Friday, there will be a newsletter. The newsletter informs families of school activities, current school events, and the principal’s educational musings. As well, if you provide an email address at registration, the newsletter will arrive in your email box each Friday. You can also view the Lew Wallace Newsletter on our school website and on our school Facebook page.

---

Nurse’s office

If your child is injured or becomes ill at school, you will be contacted by the nurse or health assistant. In the event the office cannot reach you, the emergency contacts you have listed on the registration card will be called. Please keep the school advised of any change in phone numbers.APS nurses screen all kindergartners, third graders, fifth graders and all students new to APS on height/weight, vision, hearing, and dental to detect any problems that might interfere with learning. 

---

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent-teacher conferences offer great opportunities for schools and families to deepen their partnership through a dynamic and interactive process that supports student achievement and shared responsibility. We value your participation at Parent-Teacher conferences and strive for a 100% attendance rating. Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled twice a year, at the end of the first and second trimesters. Teachers will notify parents in writing as to the scheduled time. Parents send back the verification form noting acceptance or requesting a different time. Students do not attend school on conference days but are always encouraged to participate in the conference with their parent and teacher.Parents may also schedule additional conferences throughout the school year as the need arises. If at any time, parents have concerns about their child's progress in school, you should contact the child's teacher to make arrangements for a discussion of these concerns.

---

PE (Physical Education)

All students participate in one PE class per week. They will need to wear gym shoes for PE (sneakers, tennies, etc.) If a student has a medical condition that keeps them from participating, they will need a note or call from home or from the doctor, and will need a medical release before rejoining the class.

---

Progress Reports (Report Cards)

Standard Based Progress Reports (SBPR) are issued three times a year at the end of each trimester. A mid-term progress report is also sent home in between the SBPR reporting periods. The final SBPR will be sent home with your child on the last day of school. 

---

Parent Contact In Case Of School-Wide Emergency

If there is ever an emergency at the school, our first priority is student safety and getting the school secured. Our second priority is to work with appropriate emergency personnel for get the help we need in order to keep kids safe. Our third priority is communication with families. If you hear of something going on near the school, please do not call – we have had several instances of parents jamming our phone lines because they heard something on the news, and that impeded our focus on our first two priorities. We have strong systems and procedures in place for responding to emergencies, and we get information out as soon as it is safe to do so. We use School Messenger to send out robo-calls for both routine and emergency information – please listen to the message before contacting the school. It is imperative that you always have current phone numbers and emails on-file with the office so that you can be reached.

---

Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

The PTA is an organization of parents and teachers who actively support a variety of programs that enhance your child's education. By joining the PTA, you can be a powerful voice for children and a strong advocate for public education. We need and welcome your support! Families are strongly encouraged to become involved in our PTA. 

---

Redistribution of Classes

After the start of the new school year, we may find the need to create a new classroom due to an overage in class size. Even when we suspect we may have an overage, we are not allocated the funds to hire a new teacher until a couple weeks into school. Since we cannot be out of state compliance for class sizes, when we need to redistribute students, we use the following procedure: First, we ask for volunteers - parents and children are given the opportunity to volunteer to move to the new classroom. After volunteers are placed, the rest of the class is formed by drawing names to ensure balanced classrooms.  

If at the 20th day we don’t have enough students at a particular grade level, we may have to consolidate classrooms. In that very unlikely case, the students in that classroom would be distributed among other classrooms with that grade level, keeping classes balanced. 

---

School Supplies

Classrooms will have lists of supplies that are helpful for families to contribute to the classroom. These supplies are not a requirement, but are to help ensure that all students have access to the tools and equipment they need. Most classroom supplies will be shared within the classrooms, and even between classrooms. If purchasing school supplies creates a financial hardship for your family, or if your student needs support with personal supplies, please let the teacher or the office know so we can be sure that they get what they need.

---

Student Messages

Please communicate arranged schedules, where to meet, etc., with your student prior to the start of each school day. We can not disrupt a classroom during instructional time. Only emergency messages will be delivered to students. 

---

Service Center

If you have issues or concerns that you feel are not being adequately addressed at the school level, you may contact the APS Student, School, and Community Service Center at 855-9040.

---

Toys and Student “Treasures”

Toys from home should not come to school, unless they are needed for show and tell, or for some afterschool purpose, in which case, they should be kept safely in the student’s backpack at all times until they are needed. Please mark items with your student’s name, as they are easier to return if lost. School staff cannot be responsible for student toys or anything that happens to them. They can be easily lost, broken, stolen, or traded, and cause problems at school. Toy weapons of any kind are not allowed on school grounds. Pets are not allowed on school grounds. 

---

Volunteers and Visitors

All visitors to our campus must first check in at the front office and must wear a Lew Wallace visitor badge. We welcome and encourage volunteers and visitors while providing a safe and secure campus for our students and staff. All volunteers must have a current APS background check in order to work in classrooms and/or chaperone on field trips. Visit the Volunteer website to apply to volunteer and complete your background check. If you need help completing the forms, or need us to cover the $12 fee, let us know in the office.

• Upon arrival, visitors sign in, state the purpose of the visit, and present a valid photo ID.
• If a parent needs to leave something for their student, they may leave this at the front office. 
• Visitors need to be adult-aged… Other children may not visit during the school day. High-school-aged children who wish to volunteer need to be cleared and make arrangements with the school in advance.
• Field trip chaperones must leave for the field trip with the class, stay with the class the entire time, and return to school with the class. Siblings may not join. Parents may not check their child out early and leave directly from the field trip. Chaperones are there for the whole class the whole time.

---

Traffic Procedures: Pick-up and Drop-off

Our absolute number one priority is always always always keeping kids safe. Parking and pick-up is a huge challenge at Lew Wallace, since we have no parent parking lot. Sometimes it is frustrating, and tempers flare when it gets bottle-necked. Always know that duty teachers are focused solely on children’s safety, so please don’t challenge them or yell at them when they insist on following the safety rules below. Pick-up time is the most stressful time of the day for us, and your help following these rules will create a safer, less chaotic pick-up time.

---

Before-School Drop-Off Information For Cars:

(This does not pertain to students in Parks & Rec, Wells Park, or RGEC after-school programs, or if they walk.)

You may drop your student off at any school-side curb. Please watch them until they get through a gate into the school. If you must drop your child on the opposite side of the street, please get out with them and cross them safely. Do not pull into the teeny tiny parking lot, or into the cafeteria delivery area, because backing out while students are walking into the school can be very dangerous. Students may be dropped off to the playground after 8:30, or to the cafeteria after 8:15. Never stop or park on 6thStreet for drop-off. However, if your student arrives after 9:00, you will need to walk them in. You may use the doorbells at the back gate or front door for access.

 

After-School Pick-Up Information For Cars: (3:35 M/T/Th/F, 12:30 on Wed)

(This does not pertain to students in Parks & Rec, Wells Park, or RGEC after-school programs, or if they walk.)

Kindergarten: Pull up in front of the bus, & the duty teachers will put your child in your car. 

1st/2ndgrades: Pull up on the school side of the street only, and a duty teacher will put your child in your car.

3rd/4th/5thgrades: Pull up on the school side of the street only, and a duty teacher will supervise your child getting in your car.

If you have children in multiple grades, they may be picked up at the appropriate location for the oldest child.

 

Rules for pick-up:

1. Do not park or get out of your car during pick-up times. When cars are parked, there aren’t enough spaces for pick-ups, and then children start darting between cars, which is extremely dangerous.
2. Never encourage your child to run between cars to get to you in the middle of the street, nor to cross the street to get to you. Duty teachers will only excuse children to cars on the school-side of the street.
3. Only drive clockwise around the school for pick-up.
4. Never use 6thStreet for pick-up or drop-off.