• Dear Parents,

    On behalf of the staff at Wendler Middle School, I am happy to welcome you to the school year! We are looking forward to a productive partnership with you to ensure our students can achieve their highest potential. We recognize that in order to be successful in school, our students need support from both the home and school. We know a strong partnership with you will make a great difference in your child’s education. As partners, we share the responsibility for our student’s success and want you to know that we will do our very best to carry out our responsibilities. We ask that you guide and support your child’s learning by understanding our policies.

  • Attendance

     

    Absences - To get an absence excused please report an absence through your parent connect ( you can view instruction video )  or call our main line at 742-7300 indicating the day(s) and reason your student is absent. If you do not call, please send a note to the office on your student’s first day back with a note explaining the absence to get an admit slip. The student will be allowed one (1) day make up work for every one (1) day of authorized absence, however, they may have no more than five days total to complete make up work. The student must be at school ½ day to be able to attend any special activities during the school day or any activities after school hours.

     

    Prearranged Absences - If an emergency arises during the school year and you must take your student out for more than five days, you or the student will need to come to the office to pick up a Pre-acknowledged Absence Form. Absences of five days or more must obtain administrator approval. Please note that some prearranged absences will be considered unexcused. For more information on prearranged absences refer to the student handbook.

     

    Blue Passes - Students cannot leave the school without making arrangements with the attendance office. If students must leave the building at some time during the day, please follow these guidelines:

    1. The parent/guardian must send a written note with the student the morning of the appointment, high school graduations, 8th grade celebrations, last day of school, or other reasons. The note must contain a contact phone number for the day that you need to leave. Give the note to the front office staff before school starts. If you must 

    call to ask for a blue pass for your student please do so 2 to 3 hours prior to the appointment to allow the front office the appropriate time to prepare your student for leaving.

    2. We understand that emergencies do arise, which may be reasons you will need to pull your student from school early without a note being sent in the morning. If this does occur, please call the school 45 minutes to an hour prior to picking up your student in order to give the front office staff ample time to get notification to your student and have them ready for pick up. When calling in to pick up your student due to emergencies, you must come in and present identification to the front office staff. Please keep in mind that the person picking up the student must be listed in contacts.

    3. The front office staff will give you or the student a “blue pass” which permits the student to leave the campus, and if the student is returning, he or she must have the blue pass in order to return to class, which will be shown to their teacher upon entering class. When the student returns to school from an appointment, have the student stop by the attendance office so that the front office staff can record the time the student returned to school.

    4. When a student is ill, they must see the school nurse, who will blue pass students out of school. Students are not permitted to use their phone in the classroom during school hours to request an adult to pick them up from school. If the school nurse determines that your child must go home due to illness, the nurse will call home and issue a blue pass.

    5. Also, please keep in mind that the end of the school day is a very busy time. If you must call to give your student a message at the end of the day please do so by 2:15 to ensure that the message is delivered in a timely manner. Request that are made 1 to 5 minutes before the bell rings may not be honored due to time constraints.

  • Homework Requests

    If you would like to pick up homework for your absent student, please keep in mind that you can contact your child’s teacher directly via district email. Please note that the teachers will need a 24 hour advance notice of your request in order to have time to get work for your student. The rule of thumb is you only need to request homework for students who are out for three or more days. Homework can be picked up by 3:00 PM the following afternoon. If you are unable to email and must call the front office, please do so by 10:00 am, and allow 24 hours to gather homework before you come to pick it up the next day. 

     

    Bus Passes

    In order for students to be permitted to ride another bus they must bring a written note by a parent or guardian to the front office by 8:00 am, and the student will be granted a bus voucher permitting him or her to ride a different bus that day. We do not accept faxes or phone calls. The written note must have the parent/guardian’s name and telephone number written on the note for verification purposes, as well as the student’s name, the bus the student will be riding, and who the student will be riding the bus with.

     

    Personal Electronics

    Wendler Middle School is a personal electronics-free zone. Cell phone and electronic devices must be powered off and put away from 8 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. If a personal electronic device is seen at school between these hours (in use or not), it will be confiscated by district personnel (including substitutes) and turned in to the main office. Follow policy as stated in the handbook:

    • 1st offense – Documented; student may pick up the electronic item at end of the day.

    • 2nd offense – Documented; parent is notified to pick up electronic item.

    • 3rd offense – Documented; parent is notified to pick up electronic item and further discipline may be applied by administration.

  • Dress for Success Guidelines

    • Stretch pants or other form fitting pants must be covered by a long shirt or skirt.

    • Hats and other head coverings must be removed upon entering the school unless otherwise approved by an administrator.

    • Skirts, shorts and dresses must meet the length requirement approved by school personnel.

    • Low cut, mesh, or otherwise revealing shirts are not permitted.

    • All clothing must cover the midriff as well as all undergarments.

    • Outer garments, including heavy coats and jackets may not be worn in classrooms.

    • All clothing containing logos and advertisements must be school appropriate.

    • Weather appropriate shoes are required.

    • Eyewear, ear buds, chains and any other items not used for an academic purpose must be stowed.

    Any school staff member has the authority to address non-compliance of the dress code guidelines.

    If necessary, administration will determine if a student is in violation with the dress code guidelines.

     

    Phone Calls

    There are times that you may receive a telephone call from someone on staff. If you do receive a phone call from our school please check your telephone messages before calling the school. At times it is difficult for us to determine who has called you, and to help you connect to the individual that called you we need as much information from you as possible.

     

    Please make sure that all contacts are updated when a change is made.

     

    We do hope that this school year is a great one for you and your student. If you have any questions please call us at 742-7300.

     

    Wendler Middle School

    Front Office Staff

  • Additional Information:

     

    Attendance Notifications

    The automated "robocall" attendance phone message through

    School Messenger is the district's official parent notification of an unexcused absence. The attendance notification messages are translated into five of the district's most common languages besides English. Standard practice is for middle and high school calls to go out at the end of the business day. For the upcoming year, elementary households will also receive calls, beginning at 11 a.m.

    Parents are expected to call the school by 9 am (10 am for elementary) each morning that their student is absent from school to excuse him/her from that day's attendance. Unless the parent/guardian can excuse the absence according to school board policy, the absence is unexcused. In order to keep accurate attendance records, absences must be excused within three days.

     

    Excused Absences Policy

    The school board updated policy 443 in June 2013 to define what constitutes an excused absence from school. Conditions include:

    -illness

    -Death or serious illness in the immediate family

    -Participation in a school function

    -Attendance at a religious service

    -Extenuating circumstances approved by the principal

     

    Excused Absences – Pre-Arranged

    When a family knows in advance that the student will be absent due to extenuating circumstances, in order for the absence to be excused, the parent/guardian must complete a Pre- Approved Absence Request.  The principal may deny the request if she/he believes it would harm the student's academic progress. If the absence is denied and the family still takes the child out of school, the absence will be unexcused. A copy of the form is available at the school or online at www.asdk12.org/parents/attendance.