Handbook & Supply Lists

Woodland Elementary School hours are 9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Students are allowed into the building ten (10) minutes before school begins. Parents/caregivers do not drop off and leave students before 9:15 a.m. Plan accordingly, so your child is properly supervised. Students entering by parent drop off for breakfast by grade at 9:15 a.m. to the cafeteria to pick up breakfast, and all students enter the building at 9:20 a.m. to report to their classrooms. School personnel are not available to provide additional supervision and are not responsible prior to school hours.

School attendance is critical to school success. It is our belief that if the school, home and community work together to emphasize the value and importance of education, students will attend school on a consistent basis. Our definitions, policies and procedures for absences are outlined to inform you of our process and to encourage regular school attendance.

Absence from School: When a student is not present in school or at any school approved activity, in or out of the building, where school supervision is in effect and the activity is held during the normal school day.

Tardy (Partial Day Absence): A Tardy (partial day absence) will be recorded when a child in Grades K-5 misses 1 hour or less of instructional time during the school day. Six tardies (partial day absences) are equal to one day of absence.

Half Day Absence: A half day of absence will be recorded when a child in Grades K-5 misses more than 1 hour of instructional time during the day. Two half day absences will be equivalent to one full day absence.

Full Day Absence: A full day of absence will be recorded when a child in Grades K-5 is not in attendance for the day.

Non-Instructional Time: Non-instructional time is defined as lunch and/or recess.

Late Arrival Procedures: All students arriving after 9:30 a.m. will receive a "Late Arrival Slip."

Consistent attendance is essential for children to learn and make progress. When students are late, picked up early, or absent, they miss instruction. Students are required to attend each day. Students will be marked present for arrival to school.

Parents/guardians are responsible for seeing that their children receive instruction in compliance with MN Statute 120A.22. It is the responsibility of parents/guardians to ensure that their student is attending school, to inform the school in the event of a student absence, and to work cooperatively with the school and the student to solve any attendance problems that may arise.

It is the parent’s responsibility to request any missed assignments due to an absence from the teacher.

Absence Reporting

Before 10 a.m., call the school office attendance line at 763-315-6400 option 1 to leave a message reporting an absence or student coming late to school.

Reporting an Absence via PartentVUE

To report an absence, login to ParentVUE prior to the start of school hours to mark your student as out for an appointment, illness or as a family concern option. All other reasons such as vacation must be reported to the school office attendance line by calling 763-315-6400 option 1.

Excused Absences

The following reasons may be sufficient to constitute an excused absence: student illness; serious illness in the student’s immediate family; dentist, doctor, mental health professional, orthodontist, legal matters, funerals, illnesses, out-of-school suspension or administration dismissal, late bus, religious reasons, or severe weather will be excused. Situations such as sibling adoption or birth, family, student, or personal concern, family illness, or prearranged vacation may be excused at the principal’s discretion.

Note: In keeping with Minnesota Statute §120A.35, reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate any student who wishes to be excused from a curricular activity for a religious observance.

Unexcused Absences

All absences which do not specifically qualify as an “excused absence” will be marked as unexcused and may result in notification/reports of truancy (see below). Examples of unexcused absences might include the following: due to sibling childcare, no stated reason, missed the bus, and non-school extracurricular activities (dance, music, gymnastic lessons, etc.) will not be excused.

Continuing Truant

MN Statute 260A.02 Subd. 3 states that when a child under 12 years of age has three days of unexcused absences, he or she is considered a continuing truant. Families will receive a three-day letter notification.

Habitual Truant

MN Statute 260C.007 Subd.19 states that when an elementary child is absent from attendance at school without 10 lawful excuse for seven days, he or she is considered a habitual truant. Families will receive a seven-day letter notification.

Attendance Procedures

Staff members monitor student attendance and work with families to ensure regular school attendance. If a student starts to show a pattern of missing all or a portion of the school day, staff will contact their parents. If a student has excessive absences (excused or unexcused), an administrator may become involved.

District Policy and Procedure 503 should be consulted for further questions regarding reporting procedures.

Returning to School After an Illness

See the District 279 Parent/Student Handbook for guidelines and procedures.

Philosophy: Woodland Elementary School is committed to maintaining a safe, supportive, and inclusive community.

We believe:

• In a whole-child approach that encompasses social and emotional learning alongside mental and physical development.
• In the importance of creating and maintaining relationships in each student’s development and learning.
• In a whole-school approach, focused on the importance of building a positive school climate, a sense of belonging, and a connectedness among students and adults.
• In a structured process for addressing harm that meets the needs of those harmed while promoting accountability and responsibility for those who caused the harm (restorative practices).
• Practice of restorative circles and chats to ensure all student voices are heard and honored.

Vision: Our vision is a caring community of members whose words and actions consistently reflect “SOAR”:

being Safe, Owning our actions, Acting with leadership, and being Resourceful. Our behavior plan is based on prevention (proactive strategies), teaching, re-teaching, and holding each other accountable to repair harm that may arise (restorative practice).

At Woodland, all students will learn about our SOAR expectations and Efficacious Learner Framework, receive rewards and recognitions, engage in social emotional learning, and repair any harm that has been done through a Restorative Practices approach.

Social Emotional Learning: We want Woodland Eagles to be as successful as possible at school. Success in school is not just about reading and math. It is about knowing how to learn and get along with others.

We emphasize the following character traits:

1. Cooperation
2. Respect
3. Responsibility
4. Self-Control
5. Kindness
6. Citizenship
7. Empathy
8. Perseverance

What are Restorative Practices?

Restorative Practices involves the building of positive relationships and establishing a supportive environment that is fair, consistent, and democratic. It involves interventions when harm has happened, as well as practices that help to prevent harm and conflict by creating a sense of belonging, safety, and social responsibility within the school community. At the core, Restorative Practices are about building and restoring relationships.

The underlying principle is that relationships are important, and when an incident occurs, the focus is on the harm caused to the relationship and the subsequent repairing of that harm; rather than; what rule has been broken and therefore what consequences will be imposed. Restorative practice allows all voices to be heard and expressed in a calm environment when all parties involved are ready to listen, hear all, and repair all harm.

A restorative approach to conflict and wrongdoing consists of asking key questions:

1. What happened, and what were you thinking at the time? 2. What have you thought about since? 3. Who has been affected by what happened and how? 4. What about this has been the hardest for you? 5. What needs to be done to make it right?

A Restorative Approach…

• Encourages students to understand the impact of and appreciate the consequences of their actions.
• Provides an opportunity for those harmed by another’s actions to share their personal experience.
• Requires students to be accountable for their actions.
• Encourages respect for all concerned and develops empathy for others.
• Views conflict as opportunities to learn through problem solving.

Benefits of Restorative Approaches in the School Setting

• Reduction in discipline referrals
• Reduction in classroom disruptions and fighting
• Reduction in out of school/in school suspension rates
• Narrowed racial discipline gap
• Improved school climate
• Strengthened students’ conflict resolution skills
• Increased academic achievement, attendance, and graduation rates
• Improvement in relationships

All Students Will Receive Instruction On:

Soar Matrix of Expectations

The acronym SOAR has and will be used to develop building-wide and classroom expectations.  These expectations will be explicitly taught to students, so they know and understand what is expected of them.

Students will be:

Safe

Own their actions

Act with leadership

Resourceful

Efficacious Learner Framework (ELF)

Efficacious learners are: 

• self-confident ("I can")
• willing and able to make a difference
• aware of what is unknown
• seek continuous learning

Woodland will help students develop five traits that all efficacious learners possess. Feedback on these traits will be provided throughout the year and on your child's report card.

1. Problem solvers: identify problems, evaluate multiple solutions, decide and act, reflect and revise, persistent

2. Resourceful: inquisitive, innovative, collaborative, critical thinkers, users of multiple networks (human, technological)

3. Responsible: honest, reflective, resistant to negative influences, accountable to self/others, willing to lead & give back to others

4. Self directed: flexible, goal directed, optimistic, persistent, reflective

5. Skilled communicators: effective listeners, able to clearly articulate ideas, culturally responsive, able to value multiple perspectives

All Students Will Participate In:

Woodland Elementary School is committed to building a community that demonstrates respect for all members.

We believe in an approach to teaching and learning that fosters safe, challenging, and joyful elementary classrooms.  The teaching practices bring together social and academic learning throughout the day.  There are three strategies from the program that the Woodland staff will implement:

1. Morning meetings: to build personal and community relationships.
2. Name tags:  All students will wear a name tag that will include the following information:  school name, student first name, and classroom teacher name.  The name tag will be worn near the top of the student’s shirt.  It will be taken off during PE class and recess and stored in the classroom overnight and on weekends.  In the event of a lost name tag, a new one will be issued.
3. Universal hand-signal: an uplifted hand by staff asks students to stop talking and attend to the speaker, showing that they are ready to listen by raising their own hand in response.
4. Rule Creation: At the beginning of the school years, each classroom will create and post classroom expectations using the SOAR acronym. These expectations need to be explicitly taught to students and communicated home.
5. Take a Break: A positive, respectful, and supportive teaching strategy used to help a child who is just beginning to lose self-control to regain it so they can do their best learning.
6. Buddy Room: A positive respectful teaching strategy used to help a student when “take a break” isn’t working.

Student Rewards and Recognition: Research states that for rewards to be most effective, they need to be varied. Our goal is to move students from needing daily tangible rewards to increase positive behavior to teaching them how it feels when they do earn these rewards that turns into the intrinsic reward feeling. Meeting students where they are at in their learning to have everyone feel that success in their learning environments. Therefore, we feel our students are ready for the following reward process. We will continue to seek parental support as we reward and guide our children.

Eagle Celebration: Eagle Celebration is a once a trimester, full school assembly to help build school community. During the assembly, we celebrate the wonderful activities and achievements happening throughout the school. After the assembly, students are rewarded for their hard work with some free choice time back in their classrooms at the end of the day.

PBIS Rewards: Students will be awarded points in their online PBIS rewards account when they are recognized for going above and beyond while in their learning environment (following SOAR expectations or character traits). Please talk at home about what your student did and help us celebrate their accomplishment. Students will be able to accumulate points toward small prizes or fun experiences. Parents have access to the parent portal in PBIS rewards, please contact Tara Johnson (johnsont@district279.org) if you don’t have access. Parents can also view their student(s) account via their student logging in through the Clever Portal.

Student of the Month: Awards will be given by staff monthly, based on the monthly character traits noted in the Behavior Policy.

Reading Medal: This medal is given to any student who completes monthly reading incentives. Medals will be different colors each year, so we hope to graduate our 5th graders with a rainbow of medals.

Read to The Principal: Throughout the school year, each classroom will select five-seven students and those students will have the opportunity to read to the Principal.

Student Service: Students who volunteer their time during the school day to better Woodland will be recognized at the awards assembly and in our yearbook. These students are our SOAR Ambassadors and our SOAR volunteers, nominated by their teachers and staff to lead Woodland to success.

The Internet is a powerful educational tool, providing world-wide access to museums, libraries, news, events, and other useful resources. Internet access provides an exceptional opportunity for student inquiry, comprehensive information gathering, and world-wide communication.

In compliance with District 279’s Board Policy 524, Woodland Elementary School has adopted the following student behavior expectations for acceptable use of the Internet:

Behavior Expectations:

• All students will review this document with their parents/guardians
• All students will receive instruction in the proper use of the Internet
• All students are responsible for their actions on the Internet and are subject to the consequences of school policy
• All students will be expected to use the Internet as an educational resource and will use only sites as directed by their teachers
• All student Internet users will be always supervised by an adult
• All student Internet users will not give out personal information such as name, address or phone number on any site
• If student Internet users accidentally access material that is inappropriate or makes them feel uncomfortable, they will close the browser immediately and tell their instructor
• All students will use school issued devices for schoolwork only.

Consequences:

Technology Violation - 1st - loss of privileges without direct supervision for two weeks

2nd - loss of privileges without direct supervision for trimester

3rd - loss of privileges without direct supervision for remainder of year

At Woodland we do understand that the Internet can be unpredictable. If a student opens a site that is not acceptable, they need to notify an adult immediately.

Social Media: Social Media plays an important role in all of our lives. Students are especially tuned into social media as a vehicle for instant communication. Schools experience a downside to social media communication when it is misused. Messages sent from student to student or to groups of students are not private and the content of these messages can be harmful. Students need to be very aware of the power of social media and the consequences of negative posts, texts, photos, etc. Schools often have to settle student disputes over social media because it affects the student’s ability to learn.

Parents will be called to help Woodland teach students about the proper use of social media. If students are in conflict over social media postings, parents will be called to help monitor and control its use. If students post to social media sites during school hours, this will be considered an Internet use violation and appropriate actions will be taken including communication with home.

Student Bus Ridership Rules:

1. Be at the bus stop on time, but no more than five minutes ahead of pickup time. (Bus stop behavior is the responsibility of parents/guardians.)
2. While waiting for the bus, stay on the curb well away from the traveled part of the road. No games, pets, or non-school-age children should be permitted at the bus stop.
3. Board the bus without shoving or pushing and find your assigned seat quickly. Students are to remain seated while the bus is in motion.
4. Keep the noise level down. Use a "talking" voice- voice level 1. The safety of all passengers is dependent upon the driver being able to hear well.
5. Show respect for the bus driver and follow his or her directions.
6. Ride only the bus to which you are assigned.
7. The bus may not be used to transport students who do not qualify for bus ridership.
8. Bus tickets will be issued for inappropriate behavior and will be handled by the Principal or Behavior Intervention Teacher.

Inappropriate behavior on the bus could result in the loss of the opportunity to ride the bus. For further details see the 2022 - 2023 District Elementary Parent Handbook.

Students Riding Bicycles to School: Bicycles may be ridden to school and parked in the bike racks. They may not be chained to trees or other items. Bicycles must be walked on the school sidewalk areas and walked across streets.

If your child has your permission to ride his/her bike to school, please send a note to the teacher stating this. Otherwise, by district procedure, we will need to send children home by bus at the end of the day.

Students Being Dropped Off at School: DO NOT drop your students off and leave prior to 9:20. Beginning at 9:20, students will be allowed to exit their vehicles and proceed directly into the building, while maintaining a social distance. (See map on next page) If your child eats breakfast at school, they should go directly to the cafeteria. If not, students should go directly to their classroom.

For the safety of all students, parents will not be able to escort their student to the classroom in the mornings. Children need to say goodbye to their parent/guardian at the entry door and proceed to their classroom on their own.

View drop-off and pick-up procedures

Students Being Picked Up from School: If your child will be picked up from school regularly a note from home stating that arrangement is required at the beginning of the school year. Calls only need to be made to the school if that is not happening on a specific day.

PARENT PICK-UP TIME for families with only a kindergarten student should adhere to a separate pick-up policy utilizing the loop on the north end of the school outside door #3 at 3:50 p.m. Please be aware that other kindergarten students with older sibling(s) will be exiting the building at 3:50 p.m. at the main front entrance.

PARENT PICK-UP TIME for everyone else is at 3:55p.m. Monday through Friday, from the main front entrance.

If your student is a bus rider and needs to ride home with a parent, a note or phone call to the office is required. The office must receive this call before 3:00 p.m. These requests will be documented and delivered to the classrooms at 3:30 p.m. everyday.

Students Picked Up Early from School: Students must be signed out in the office. Students will be called to the office for pickup only after the parent arrives at school and fills out the release form and gives identification. Parents should plan ahead to allow time for this.

Identification is required for adults to pick up students. Check in through the Raptor system with an ID such as a driver’s license. All adults must be listed on the student’s emergency form with permission to pick up the student in order to take the child. Written/verbal permission may be granted by the parent/guardian. Please plan for extra time for this process and for your student to pack up to come to the office, especially during peak pick up times at the end of day. We do not accept phone calls to the office ahead of your arrival. You must be in the building with identification verified before a student is contacted for early pick up.

Student Dress Code: The following student dress code will be enforced:

• Shirts must:
  • Cover entire midsection and back (no halter tops)
  • Have no language or illustrations that are offensive
  • Not represent gang affiliation
  • Straps should be at least 1.5 inches wide – no “spaghetti” straps.
• Shorts and Skirts must:
  • Be fingertip length to hem
• Jackets and coats must be kept in lockers, not worn during school day
• Hats or Headwear of any kind are not allowed during school day unless worn for religious reasons. Baseball type hats will be allowed at recess for protection from the sun. Visors must be facing forward. Hats will be allowed on dress-up days or hat days for Spirit Days.
• Pants:
  • Should not sag or be dragging on floor
• Shoes
  • Must be worn at all times.
  • For PE must be appropriate tennis shoes and laces must be tied securely.
  • Flip flops can be a safety issue and cannot be worn in the pea gravel or while participating in physical activities.

Outside

• Around or below 40 degrees, students in K-3 must wear coats outside.
• Around or below 40 degrees, students in 4-5 must have their skin covered. This can be coat, sweatshirt, or long sleeves.

Students not following the dress code may be asked to:

• Turn shirt inside out
• Wear shirt or sweatpants provided by the school
• Be sent home to change clothing

Parent/Teacher Conferences: Fall: October 11, October 13, and October 17. Winter: February 1, February 7, and February 9.

Progress Reports/Report Cards: Progress reports/report cards are published online in ParentVUE each Trimester.

Mail Day is Wednesday: Limited paper-based mail comes home with the youngest and only child on Wednesday each week in a home & back folder. Additional school and community information is posted on our school website through PeachJar (https://wd.district279.org/). PeachJar delivers an email from Woodland Elementary with a subject of “New Flyer Opportunity”.

School Pictures: A notification will be sent home when picture day is scheduled.

Safe School Zone: Minnesota Statute 152.021-152.023 and 609.66 has declared the area surrounding schools as a drug free and weapon free zone. This zone begins at the boundaries of the school property and extends 300 feet from that point, or one city block, whichever is greater. Penalties will be administered by the court toward adults and juveniles caught possessing or selling illegal drugs or possessing a dangerous weapon.

Harassment/Bullying Policy: We will not tolerate bullying and harassment, nor will we excuse anyone who observes the behavior and chooses to ignore it. We believe in responding to all acts of bullying or harassment and equipping our students with a plan to support them in our effort to eliminate these kinds of behaviors.

The definition of bullying is:

Bullying is an ongoing and deliberate misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behavior that intends to cause physical, social and/or psychological harm. It can involve an individual or a group misusing their power, or perceived power, over one or more persons who feel unable to stop it from happening.

Severe Behaviors: Behavior that is severely inappropriate or dangerous to the student or others will result in the student’s removal from the current learning area. Administration or Behavior Interventionist will contact parent/guardian for support and next steps. On rare occasions, consultations with outside agencies may occur.

Lockers:

• No locks on lockers
• Magnetic clips allowed – no stickers or tape

Allergy Concerns: If your student has allergy concerns, notify the nurse’s office and your classroom teacher to develop a safety plan for the classroom and the lunchroom.

Birthdays:

• Out of respect for instructional time and the many students with food allergies, birthday treats are not permitted in classrooms. We will note birthdays on WD-TV morning broadcasts and recognize them in classrooms.
• Invitations to student birthday parties should not be distributed in classrooms.

Water in the Classroom: Students are encouraged to bring water bottles to the classroom in order to stay hydrated.

Students Bringing Food into the Lunchroom: Food items should not be brought into the lunchroom to supplement school lunches. If additional food is needed at lunchtime, arrangements can be made with the food service staff. Passing out items like candy, cookies, and treats is also prohibited. Water is provided in the lunchroom.

Requests for Indoor Recess: Occasionally, parents will request that their child stay indoors for recess due to recent illness or injury. When your child returns to school, it is expected that they are able to participate in all activities. If you feel it is necessary for your child to stay in for recess, a physician’s statement is required.

Roller Shoes/Roller Blades/Skateboards: Roller shoes, Heely’s, roller blades, and skateboards are not allowed in school or on the playground. If the wheels can be removed, the shoes may be worn in school. Due to safety concerns, the wheels may not be worn during recess. Due to a lack of locker and classroom storage, roller shoes, roller blades, and skateboards cannot be stored in school. These are best left at home and used outside of the school day.

Items Brought to School: Students may bring soft type balls to school to use at recess; hard balls are prohibited. Electronic games, cell phones, smart watches, headsets, etc. may not be seen, heard or used during the school day. The school is not responsible for items your child chooses to bring to school. Trading cards of any kind are not to be brought to school.

Toys/Fidgets: If a child would benefit from a fidget, the decision must be made by school personnel, in consultation with a parent or caregiver.

Cell Phones/Smart Watches: We suggest that cell phones/smart watches not be brought to Woodland Elementary. If brought to school, cell phones/smart watches should not be seen or heard in the school building or at a school sponsored activity during school hours, 9:30a.m. – 4:00 p.m.PM, or while waiting for the buses after school. If a staff member sees or hears a phone, it will be taken from the student. The first time a phone is taken, parents will be notified, and the phone will be returned to the student at the end of the day. For all occurrences after that, the parent will need to come pick-up the phone up from school or work with the school principal to develop a plan. Cell phones brought to school will be the responsibility of the student. Woodland staff will not be involved if a cell phone is lost or stolen.

Deliveries to Classroom: To increase the instructional time in our classrooms for all students, we will be delivering items brought to school by parents twice during the day. Our first delivery will be at 11:00 a.m. Forgotten lunches, homework, etc. will be delivered to the students at that time. Our last delivery will happen at 3:30 p.m. so that items will get to the students before the end of the day, which includes messages for change to parent pick up /take the bus. If your child has forgotten an item, please get it to our office before 10:30 a.m. or 3:00 p.m. so it may be delivered.

Balloons: No latex balloons are allowed, except when used for curriculum purposes with prior approval from the principal. Mylar balloons, flowers or other deliveries for students will be held in the office and cannot be sent home on the bus. We discourage them at school; they can be disruptions during the learning day.

Parent/Guardian Communications with Staff: We welcome and encourage parents to communicate with school staff through phone, email, or meetings. In order to ensure that staff is available for a meeting, we ask that you call school to set up a time that is convenient for both you and the staff member(s). We want to work together for the benefit of each child.

Volunteers: It is the hope of the school staff that parents and community members will take an active role in our school programs. Volunteers are welcome to share an interest or career, assemble or cut materials at home, provide information regarding various topics of study - including countries and cultures, help with various school programs, and/or a wide variety of other activities. In order to volunteer at Woodland a complete application must be on file. Online applications can be found on the Woodland Elementary website, https://wd.district279.org/, or at https://tinyurl.com/Volunteer-WD. Together, we can make a difference in each child's life.