School Handbook

Good attendance is critical for steady academic growth, and, by law, children are required to attend school. 

Please call the school office any time your child will not be in school. 

If you are asked to leave a voice mail, please give the following information:

• Name of the parent or guardian calling
• Student's name and grade
• Date(s) of absence
• Reason for absence; please be specific

Absences will only be excused for the following reasons:

• Illness
• Medical or dental appointment
• A family death or serious illness
• Court/judicial appearance
• Religious observations
• School-sponsored activities

Planned absences:

Parents of students who know in advance that they must miss school for unavoidable reasons should contact the school.

Principal approval will be given for only 3 days of absence; the remaining days of absence will be unexcused.

It is the student’s responsibility to see that all work has been made up in the allotted time.

A student who is absent because of participation in a school sponsored activity will be charged with an excused absence.

The student is responsible for the work that transpires in the class when he/she is absent.

Students who are late to school will be considered tardy. Please make every effort to have your student at school on time. 

Additionally signing your child out in the afternoon prior to the end of the school day affects their attendance and learning. 

Students who become truant (inexcusably absent three consecutive days or five school days in any semester or seven days in a school year) will be reported to the Kansas Department for Children and Families in accordance with Board of Education Policy 1461. 

Students must live 2.5 miles or more from their assigned school to qualify for transportation to that school.

For questions about WPS transportation and busing, call 316-973-2190.

The district does offer the FirstView app that helps families track their student's school bus. Families will need a security code from the school office to use the app.

Before School

• The Morning Supervisors will open the front doors at 7:30 a.m.
• Students should have cell phones powered off upon entering.
• Between 7:30 a.m. and 7:45 a.m., students can get breakfast in the cafeteria or report to the auditorium if not eating.
• After 7:45 a.m., breakfast is available in the gym.
• Students remain seated until dismissed by a supervisor.
• Campus access begins at 7:30 a.m., with breakfast served until 7:50 a.m.
• The bell rings at 7:50, and students are released by supervisors to go to lockers, stow cell phones, and gather materials.
• First period starts promptly at 8 a.m. 

After School

• Students are to be off school grounds by 3:17 or waiting for their ride on the front porch. All students should be off property by 3:20.
• Transportation arrangements should be made prior. Students will not be allowed back into the building once they've left.
• Bus Riders: Exit on the east side of the building (on Estelle) and get directly on their assigned bus.
• Wichita Transit: Exit on the south side of the building and load busses on Mt. Vernon.
• Walkers & Riders: Exit out the front of the building and begin walking home or actively looking for their ride.

Standardized Dress Expectations

Tops:
Colors: White, black, dark blue (navy), or tan (khaki)
Styles: Polo shirt with collar, plain color t-shirt, Oxford shirt with
collar, sweater, sweatshirt, or Mead spirit T-shirt/sweatshirt

• Undershirts/Turtlenecks: Must be a dress code color
• Logos: should be no larger than a quarter
• Sleeves: Must cover the shoulder (No Tank tops, spaghetti strap tops, or crop tops)
• No holes
• No more than two buttons unbuttoned
• No hooded tops
• No crop tops: Shirt must fully extend beyond the waist and not show midriff

Bottoms:
Colors: Black, tan (khaki), or dark blue (navy)
Styles: Pants, slacks, joggers, jeggings with back pockets, sweatpants, shorts, skirts, or jumpers

• Must be a solid color - No stripes or large print logos
• Logos: should be no larger than a quarter
• No yoga pants or bike shorts
• Leggings: White, black, or navy only. Can only be worn under dress code bottoms
• No sagging below the waistline
• No higher than 3” above knee. Fit at the waist. Even if leggings are worn underneath, the shorts, skirts, and jumpers may be no higher than 3” above knee
• No blue jeans or blue jeans look-alike pants, shorts, skirts, or jumpers
• No holes
• No pajama clothing

 

SHOES:

• Should provide adequate support and safety
• No house shoes/slippers

 

GENERAL EXPECTATIONS:

• Coats, jackets, backpacks, blankets, stuffed animals, and purses are to be kept in lockers during the school day.
• Sunglasses, armbands, hair picks, and gloves are to be kept in lockers during the school day.
• Hats, doo rags, skull caps, bonnets, head wraps, and shower caps are not to be worn during the school day.
• Hats may be worn at recess for sun protection.
• Patterned bandana accessories/cloths of any color are not to be worn or brought to school. They will be confiscated.
• Writing/marking on self or others or writing/marking on clothing or other’s clothing is not allowed.
• Clothing, buttons, jewelry, or other items which contain vulgar words or pictures, or identify/promote alcohol, tobacco, illegal substances, weapons, or sexual content are not allowed and will be confiscated.

Parents should notify the school nurse if there are any health conditions that may require medical attention, such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, etc.

If a student becomes ill during the school day, they should request a pass to see the nurse. 

Students who exhibit fever, sore throat or tonsillitis, any eruption of the skin or rash, any respiratory symptoms accompanied by a fever, severe cough or cold, or any eruption of the scalp, will be sent home.

Parents will be notified to pick up their student and must do so in a timely manner to limit exposure to other students and school staff.

Please keep your emergency contact information up to date with both the teacher and office staff.

School board policy (BOE P5316) restricts school personnel from giving students any medication, including over-the-counter medication.

Medication is given only upon written request from both the parent/guardian and the student's physician. Students must also have received one dose of medication without an adverse reaction prior to any doses being given at school.

All medicine must be in the original container and be presented by a parent to the school nurse for safe keeping and scheduled administration. The container should be labelled with the following:

• Name of student
• Name of medication
• Directions for use
• Name of physician
• Name and address of pharmacy
• Date of prescription

The district uses the ParentVUE online portal to give parents to access information about their student's attendance, assignments and grades. Students are also able to access this information through StudentVUE.

ParentVUE allows parents to quickly and easily update their family contact information, which is vital in order to maintain strong home-to-school connections. 

Parents and students are encouraged to check ParentVUE/StudentVUE on a weekly basis.

Class Period	Times
1st Hour	8:00-8:25
2nd Hour	8:29-9:10
3rd Hour	9:14-9:55
4th Hour	9:59-10:40
5th Hour	10:44-11:25 (6th Grade Lunch)
6th Hour	11:29-12:10 (7th Grade Lunch)
7th Hour	12:14-12:55 (8th Grade Lunch)
8th Hour	12:29-1:40
9th Hour	1:44-2:25
10th Hour	2:29-3:10

 

Getting to class on time is a very important component of a quality education.

Students who are late to class not only miss out on important beginning of the class instruction, but they also interrupt the learning of other students.

Passing periods are four minutes each.

Students who are not inside the threshold of the classroom door when the bell rings and who do not have a valid pass and/or permission are tardy and will not be allowed to enter the classroom.

All late students will need to report to one of the hall sweep stations to receive a tardy pass.

After students have received their pass, they will be escorted to class. 

Students will serve a lunch detention for every 3rd tardy they receive.

All students will begin with ZERO tardies at the beginning of each quarter (9 weeks).

Students who have excessive tardies will participate in a conference with admin and an appropriate consequence/intervention will assigned.

Academic excellence is the standard at Pleasant Valley. Students are expected to arrive to each class on time, work diligently with each teacher, comply with classroom/school rules of conduct, and complete all classroom assignments.

It is the responsibility of each student to attend school each day, avoid disruptive 
behaviors, and focus on academic goals. Students with low grades will have the opportunity to attend lunch tutoring. 

We follow the ABC's of Success

Academics, Behavior and Character

Academics

• Attend
• Have supplies
• Device is charged
• Stay organized
• Follow class rules/CHAMPS
• Pay attention/listen
• Complete work
• Prepare for tests
• Ask for help
• Collaborate
• Read and write

Behavior

• Be on time
• Walk in the halls
• Keep your hands, feet and negative comments to yourself
• Follow school rules/CHAMPS
• Be compliant
• Use technology and social media appropriately
• Respect property
• Clean up your mess
• Be in control of yourself

Character

• Respectful
• Responsible
• Honest
• Kind
• Empathetic
• Positive attitude
• Good manners
• Be polite
• Resilience
• Accountable
• Cooperative

Parents may request homework by calling the main office or using ParentVue to email teachers if a student has been absent for two or more days.

Teachers must have 24 hours to gather assignments which will be sent to the main office.

When a student is absent, it is his/her responsibility to ask the teacher for work missed upon returning to class.

Students have the time they were absent, plus one additional day to turn in makeup work.

If a student misses class due to a school activity, he/she has one extra day to make up the work. 

How is Grade Point Average (GPA) figured? Each A on a report card is worth 4 points, each B is 3 points, each C is 2 points, each D is 1 point, and each F is zero points.

Advocacy, Literacy Intervention, and Math Intervention do not count toward GPA unless it is an F.

Add the points for all of your student's classes and divide the sum by the number of classes to get their GPA. 

Principal’s Honor Roll: 4.0
Honor Roll: 3.5 - 3.99
Honorable Mention Roll: 3.0 – 3.49

At Mead Middle School, we use the Classroom Discipline Cycle (CDC) to address Tier 1 and Tier 2 behavior.

Its intent is to allow students the opportunity to correct behavior by working with the teacher and not having to miss class time by having to work with administration. 

The CDC has three consequential steps which give students the power to correct their behavior: 

• First Reminder: Non-Verbal Warning
• Second Reminder: Verbal Warning 
• Third Reminder: Consequence Menu-Reflection Form-(every time); Call Home-Second time+; and Teacher Discretion 

We provide breakfast for all students free of charge.

Lunch fees can depend on family income. Complete the Free and Reduced Meal Application annually to qualify for free lunch and adjustments to school fees. 

The district uses an app called School Cafe to allow families to see menus.

The district uses LINQ Connect to pay for meals and school fees.

For special dietary restrictions, please contact the school nurse. 

Field trips with our city and nearby sites of interest are scheduled by classroom teachers throughout the school year. These trips are designed to supplement different aspects of the classroom curriculum and intoduce students to resources within the community. Parents will be notified of the planned trip at least five days in advance and must sign a trip waiver for students to attend. If a student does not have a signed permission slip to attend the trip, they will not go. We will not accept verbal permission over the phone.

If there is a fee for the field trip, the money needs to be submitted at least three days prior to the scheduled trip. All field trips require the use of school buses. Parents are not able to transport students on field trips.

The safety of students, staff and parents is the Wichita Public Schools' greatest priority during the threat of dangerous conditions.

Emergency plans are in place should tornadoes, lightning, hail, snow or other dangerous circumstances present a safety concern. 

If schools are to be closed or activities cancelled or rescheduled due to weather conditions, the information will be posted on the Wichita Public Schools' website main page and displayed on all school websites.

Unidentified items that have been found will be housed in the Lost and Found area near the main office. If students have lost an item, they must fill out a “Request to Visit Office” form and will be called into the office to check the lost and found with an adult. Any item that has been confiscated will be labeled with the student’s name and it will be housed in the office. Students may retrieve confiscated items at the end of the school day.

Items not claimed by the end of the school year are donated to charity.

Parent-Teacher Conferences are a great way to stay involved in your child's education. Parents have the opportunity to discuss their child's progress, review assignments, learn about future projects and to strengthen the connection between home and school. 

Parent-Teacher Conferences are held twice a year in October and February and teachers are available in the gym on conference days to meet with parents/guardians about their child's progress.

Mid-Term Progress Reports are available each 9 weeks and may be accessed through ParentVue.

Official Report Cards will be at the end of each grading period on December 20 and May 23 and may be accessed through ParentVue.

Additionally, teachers will update grades bi-weekly.

Parents are encouraged use their ParentVue account/App in order to monitor student grades on a consistent and regular basis.

All visitors to the building, including parents, must sign in through our visitor management system HallPass.

Parents, caregivers and other relatives wanting to volunteer in the school or for field trips are required to register every year as a volunteer. Visit the Volunteer Registration page to complete your annual registration.