Stone Creek Handbook

Acceptable reasons for excused absences include:  Illness (verified that the student was actually ill or under quarantine); Medical or Dental Appointment; Family Funeral (immediate family only - mother, father, siblings, grandparents); Religious;  Court Appearance (the student is subpoenaed).  All other absences will be considered unexcused.  Students with an excused absence have the right to make up all missed school assignments regardless of reason for absence.

1. If your child must miss school, please call the 24-hour absence line (949.936.6201) by 8:30 a.m. each day your child is absent and record the pertinent details on the telephone answering device.

2. Absences that are not reported will be recorded as truancies until contact with our office or doctor’s notes are provided to verify the absence reason.

Per IUSD Board Policy 5113.1, A student, with the written consent of his parent or guardian, may be excused from school to participate in religious exercises or to receive moral and religious instruction.

1. Verification of student attendance by a person authorized by the institution conducting the religious exercises on moral and religious instruction may be required by the school upon the return of the student.

2. The written verification, if required, must indicate the beginning time, ending time, and date of exercise or instruction.

3. No student shall be excused from school for such purpose on more than four days per school month. Such absence shall not be deemed as an absence in computing average daily attendance, if the student's attendance at school, religious exercises, and instruction total a minimum day.

Regular attendance is crucial to your child's success in school. Also, full-time attendance is compulsory by State law. This means all children ages 6 years and up must attend school every day.  Absences are monitored on a weekly basis and when students are in danger of truancies or excessive absences (beyond 10% of the school year), parents/guardians will be notified through Student Attendance Review Board (SARB) notification letters.

The following guidelines are established to prevent injury or loss of property:

● Students riding bicycles alone to school must be in the 3 rd grade or higher.

● Bicycles should be licensed through the Irvine Police Department.

● Each bicycle must be locked.

● The bicycle racks are off-limits during school hours.

● The bicycle parking area is not supervised during the day.

● All bicycles must be walked while on school grounds.

● Report to the playground immediately after locking up your bicycle.

● All bicyclers must wear helmets.

● Skateboards, razor boards, scooters, hoverboards, roller blades, and skate shoes are NOT permitted at school!

When riding school buses, students are to observe the following rules:

1. Students transported in a school bus shall be under the authorization of, and be responsible to, the driver. SOAR behavioral expectations shall be observed and honored at all times.
2. Students shall be seated prior to any school bus being put into motion and shall remain seated until after the bus has come to a complete stop. Students shall refrain from any action that could distract the driver while the bus is in motion.
3. Students who become a serious disciplinary problem on the school bus may be removed from the bus and have riding privileges suspended.
4. Students must keep arms and hands inside the bus window.
5. Eating on the bus is not permitted.

Students who fail to comply with bus rules will lose their privilege to ride the bus.

On site before and after school child-care is provided by Creeker’s Club. Please visit them or give them a call at (949) 857-1694 for more information. They have a process to accommodate families in need. If they are full at your student's grade level, please contact the City of Irvine’s Childcare Coordination Office at 949-724-6632 to discuss options.

Annual classroom placement is carefully determined prior to the start of school for each student returning to Stone Creek. Placement is determined by the principal, the current grade-level team of teachers, all certificated resource personnel, and the school psychologist.

PURPOSE

The primary purpose of placement teams is to match students with instructional environments that complement their learning styles and talents, as well as their academic, social and emotional needs. The placement teams also ensure a balance of variables in each classroom setting. Such variables include, but are not limited to:

• Boy/girl ratios
• Levels of academic progress
• Degrees of self-directedness
• English Language proficiency
• Behavior traits
• Learning/teaching styles
• Class size as it relates to state-district guidelines

Please do not make specific requests for teachers. If you have information helpful to understanding any special needs your child may have, please address the principal in writing (e-mail preferred) prior to the last week of school. Such information will be thoughtfully considered in making your child’s classroom assignment. Remember, placement was carefully selected for your child by the principal, the grade level team of teachers, and all support personnel.

Stone Creek is a closed campus during the school year. This ensures the safety of our students and allows us to quickly begin our morning transition. Parents and students should make a plan for morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up meeting locations in Grades 1-6. Designated drop-off/pick-up locations include our school parking lot drive through, Birdsong (behind the school, adjacent to Birdsong Park), or the loading/unloading zone on West Yale Loop. Please reference the included School Map.

For any parent volunteers, please check in with the front office prior to entering campus.

As most of our community is aware, combination/multi-age classrooms (serving two grade levels) are a fact of schooling in most public elementary schools in California. At Stone Creek, we will continue to form combination classrooms as needed based on our enrollment. 

The City of Irvine provides a crossing guard for our students at the corner of West Yale Loop and Stone Creek South. All students and parents are to cross at Stone Creek and West Yale Loop with the crossing guard. No one is permitted to cross at any other location. Crossing in front of the school on Stone Creek South is not permitted. The crossing guard's schedule is coordinated with the supervision capabilities stated above.

One of our goals each year is to teach and foster responsibility among our students. As parents and teachers, we tend to want to “take care of their forgetfulness.” Examples of this occur daily at school with forgotten homework, instruments, library books, and lunch money. Office staff members cannot interrupt valuable learning time by walking into the classroom to deliver forgotten items, or allowing parents to do so. You may deliver forgotten items to the front office. But you must also email the teacher to have your student pick that item up from the front office during recess or lunch time. Musical instruments should be left in the front office by the book case. Students will be instructed by their music teachers to look for their instruments there, prior to class starting.

Stone Creek is an open campus.  As such, in order to ensure the safety of our students, we monitor all visitors.  Accordingly, parents are not allowed to deliver lunches directly to their children.  Lunches may be dropped off in the front office any time before 11:20 a.m.  Our noon duty supervisors will take the lunches out to the lunch tables for all grade levels every day at 11:30 a.m.  If lunch is not delivered by that time, your student will be instructed to obtain a hot lunch in our cafeteria. 

Each child attending Stone Creek School must have updated Emergency Information in the office. It is imperative that the school maintain up-to-date information on every student. Therefore, emergency cards containing our most current computer-generated information will be printed after the first week of school when ALL families have completed the mandatory, Data Confirmation (Re-registration)online process at https://my.iusd.org/LoginParent.aspx?page=default.aspx. During this process, you will be asked to carefully review and make changes to your contact information at the beginning of the school year.

The Stone Creek staff has determined two classroom parties may be held during the school year. While we all enjoy the celebration of birthdays, Stone Creek has chosen to celebrate at school without sweet treats such as cakes, cookies, brownies, cupcakes, or other foods. In order to support the District’s Nutrition and Wellness policies, and be cognizant of food allergies, no food, store bought or homemade, may come into the school during instructional hours. A more lasting celebration would be the donation of a Birthday Book to our library or your child’s classroom. A simple goodie bag that does not contain any edible products is also acceptable. Parents are requested to make arrangements for any classroom celebrations directly with the classroom teacher. Please no food items of any kind. Nutrition Services within the IUSD can provide snacks for the two classroom parties. Room parents will be encouraged to coordinate through Nutrition Services for these events.

Non-mandatory opportunities, social events outside of the school day (family nights, socials, multi-cultural nights, etc.), or after-school events that are voluntary in attendance will not be considered part of the instructional day, and therefore these times will not be monitored by school staff for compliance.

Stone Creek will adhere to a non-mandatory Homework Policy for Grades 1st-6th. Stone Creek teachers are designing instruction to focus on targeted instruction in core content areas. Our teachers are committed to supporting students learning through course work and assessments designed to identify learning gaps or need for enrichment. Additionally, we will continue to support and prioritize our students' mental health and social development. Although we will not assign mandatory at home assignments, we encourage our students to extend their learning at home daily.

During the school week, we would like our students to:

1. Independent reading for 20-30 minutes
2. Access additional academic supplemental tools provided by Stone Creek, including Lexia, ST Math, Typing Agent, and Overdrive- virtual book checkout
3. Practice math facts 4. Access Teacher created optional enrichment choice menus

Stone Creek can offer Independent Study Contracts for students who need to travel or have non-illness related absences that exceed 5 school days and do not exceed 14 school days. Independent Study Contracts need to be requested by the parent through the front office with 5 days advance notice. Advanced notification allows the classroom and office staff to prepare school work and the contract prior to the absence. Independent Study Contracts may not be requested during the last month of school.

When a student finds something -- money, books, clothing, etc. -- he/she should turn it into the office or Lost & Found. The Lost and Found will be located in the school quad for daily student access. Periodically, our Lost & Found will be cleaned out and unclaimed items will be donated to our community clothing drive bin. Advanced notice will be given when Lost & Found items will be cleaned out.

State law allows school personnel to administer medication if a Parent/Guardian & Health Care Provider Request For Medication Administration is on file in the school office. These forms are available in the school office or under “Medication Request - 2 Page FORM” at https://iusd.org/sites/default/files/request_for_medication_administration_2_pages.pdf. No medication can be given without these two forms on file. Medication must be in the original prescription container. Students must not bring aspirin, cough medications, cold remedies, or any other medication to school to take on their own. Parents should follow the same procedure for over-the-counter medications as for those prescribed by a physician. There is the possibility of another child taking the medication and having a severe reaction. ALL MEDICATION TAKEN BY STUDENTS WHILE AT SCHOOL MUST BE KEPT IN THE OFFICE. Please contact the school office if you have any special problems regarding medication.

Positive and proactive strategies are the best solution to reduction of negative behavioral incidents. Students are responsible for following SOAR expectations on campus. When a minor behavioral infraction occurs, teachers and staff will use strategies to redirect and reteach student behavior. At times, minor behavioral infractions will be documented and sent home as parent communication of the incident. Our documentation form is called an Office Discipline Referral (ODR). Students who receive an ODR, may have a minor consequence or student conference with the teacher, instructional staff, or office staff. Parents will be notified of the incident by teacher or office staff when an ODR is sent home.

The Irvine Unified School District is committed to equal opportunity for all individuals in education. District programs and activities including membership in student clubs shall be free from discrimination based on race, color, ancestry, nationality, ethnic group identification, immigration status, age, religion, actual or potential parental, family, or marital status, or the exclusion of any person because of pregnancy or related conditions, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, or genetic information; the perception of one or more of such characteristics; or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. The District does not discriminate in enrollment in or access to any of the activities and programs available. Admission to these programs is based on age appropriateness, class space, interest, aptitude, and prerequisite coursework where applicable. The lack of English skills shall not be a barrier to admission to or participation in the District’s activities and programs. The Irvine Unified School District also does not discriminate in its hiring or employment practices. To view the complete document which includes names and contact information for persons designated to handle inquiries regarding the policy. https://iusd.org/about/non-discrimination-policy *The full Nondiscrimination statement can be found at iusd.org and Board Policy 5145.

Pets are not allowed on school grounds unless special permission has been granted through the front office. Please be aware that pursuant to Orange County Ordinance 41.46, dogs are not allowed to be on school grounds at any time. If you choose to bring your dog when walking your child to and from school, please wait for your child off school grounds.

A listing of the current PTA officers is located at the Stone Creek website http://www.stonecreekpta.org. The purpose of this organization is:

1. To promote the welfare of children at home, school, and within the community.
2. To bring about a closer relationship between home and school so parents and teachers can cooperate in the education of their children.
3. To develop between educators and the general public such united efforts as will secure for all children the highest advantages in physical, mental, and social education.

• Help us keep your student safe! Please follow the 10-minute rule! In accordance with Irvine Unified School District Board Policy 5142 (additional information is available through the IUSD website at https://iusd.org/about/board-education/board-policies/student-safety, we have staff on duty after school for 10 minutes to ensure students are on their way home safely. THERE IS NO SUPERVISION AFTER THIS 10 MINUTE TIME PERIOD.
• If a Parent and/or authorized person is late to pick up their student, they must go to the front office to sign the student out.
• Be sure you are on time to pick your child up at the end of the school day. Frequent negligence in picking students up on time is unacceptable.
• Students can only be picked up by a parent or authorized person as listed on the student’s emergency contact information.

The playground and play structure located across from the Kindergarten classrooms is closed EVERY school day during school hours between 7:00a.m.-6:00p.m. Our after school child care (ELOP and Creeker’s Club) do use our field, playground, and blacktop after school hours as part of their programs. Please avoid our campus afterschool.

Parents can expect to receive student report cards three times a year. Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled in the Fall and Spring. If you wish additional conferences with a teacher, it should be arranged for times other than during school hours. It is best to send a note, e-mail, or call, to arrange a conference at a mutually convenient time for you and the teacher. Our teachers maintain office hours before and after regular class hours.

Back-to-School night is held in the fall to acquaint parents with materials and content comprising our instructional program.

Open House is scheduled in spring so the children may share their classroom and activities with their parents. In an effort to assure that materials sent from school reach home, you may expect materials to be brought home each Thursday throughout the school year. The school asks that parents take the time each Thursday evening to review the enclosed materials with their child and return the envelope to school with the child on Friday.

Parents are encouraged to check the school calendar posted on our website.

The following are the objectives of the School Site Council:

1. Provide a means to involve parents and staff in the development and continual evaluation of the educational goals of Stone Creek School.
2. Examine issues facing Stone Creek School and make recommendations as appropriate.
3. Provide the Stone Creek School staff with information regarding the expectations of the community as it relates to the quality of education.
4. Disseminate information as deemed necessary to the community-at-large as it relates to the quality of education at Stone Creek School.

SOARING AT STONE CREEK

Stone Creek’s Positive Behavioral Supports are defined as S.O.A.R and are designed to teach and reinforce prosocial behaviors for all across our campus. All staff support SOAR expectations across indoor and outdoor learning spaces to reinforce positive and respectful social interactions for all students.

Stone Creek Elementary School is committed to maintaining a learning environment free from harassment, intimidation or insult, student-to-student or adult-to-student, on the basis of an individual’s actual or perceived sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression. Please report any misconduct to your teacher or principal.

The Board of Education is committed to maintaining a learning environment free from harassment, intimidation or insult, student-to-student or adult-to-student, on the basis of an individual’s actual or perceived sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression. Click here for the complete document

Board Policy 5131.6. The Irvine Unified School District acknowledges the importance of electronic communication between students and parents, particularly in school-wide emergency situations.

Further, the district recognizes that instructional time is precious and must be protected from unnecessary
disruption.

Therefore, students shall be permitted to have in their possession an electronic signaling device on campus during the school day, while attending school-sponsored activities, or while under the supervision and control of a school district employee. Such devices shall be deactivated and their use strictly prohibited on campus during the regular school day except:
● During an emergency affecting the school or community;
● Upon direction from a licensed physician if carrying such a device is essential to, and the use is limited specifically to, the health of the student;
● Within a classroom environment were the teacher gives specific permission to use a device for a specific learning purpose;

Elementary School Students who bring electronic devices to school must leave them in the off position at all times during the school day. Students may leave electronic devices in their backpack or locked in the classroom until dismissal. Students may not text or call parents from personal devices during the school day. The phone in the front office may be used by students for emergency purposes or urgent matters during the school day. Electronic signaling devices include any device that operates through the transmission or receipt of radio waves, including, but not limited to pagers, cellular telephones, and smart watches. In permitting student possession of such devices, the district assumes no liability for the loss of the device or its misuse by another person.

The school has the prerogative of keeping students after school if the necessity arises. If, at any time, your child is kept after school for longer than 10 minutes, you will be notified by either the child or teacher.

Parents have the primary responsibility to see that their children are dressed in a manner which is clean and not hazardous to their safety, nor disruptive to instruction. For these reasons, and to be consistent with other elementary schools in our area, we are sharing the following guidelines and request your assistance in guiding your child to dress in a manner in keeping with these guidelines which shows they are ready for school and respectful of themselves and others.

Students may not wear:

• Attire which is sexually explicit or brief such as: tops or pants designed for bare midriffs, halter tops, tops with straps that are less than 1-1/2 inches in width (spaghetti straps), tight or revealing clothing or low cut tops, fish net tops, clothing which allows underwear to be exposed, short shorts. A good guideline for shorts: shorts should be as long as fingertips, when hands are at your side;
• Sagging pants, baggy clothes (pants or shorts should be the proper size and must fit securely at the waist above the hip bone, and are not allowed to hang below the waist), caps worn backwards/sideways, beanies, chains or clothing that can be construed to be “gang like”;
• Attire that advertises alcohol, drugs, tobacco, violence, or obscenities;
• Body glitter or excessive make-up;
• Jewelry or other accessories that poses a threat to personal safety, or the safety of others;
• Thongs, flip-flops, sock-like footwear, slippers, platforms, open-toe or back-less shoes. Students should wear athletic shoes when P.E. is scheduled and will not be allowed to participate if they are wearing unsafe shoes. Shoes must be worn at all times.

If your child wears prohibited attire, we will:

1. Call home/work for appropriate clothing.
2. If families are unavailable, students will use clothing from the Health Office, to be returned the next day. Note: Students may not return to class until appropriately dressed.

California immunization laws and Irvine Unified School District Policy 5141.31 require that upon school entry, all pupils must show written proof of immunizations. A personal immunization record completed by a physician or clinic or the blue California School Immunization Record from a former school or another state’s school record serves as documented proof. A list of required immunizations are found at https://iusd.org/sites/default/files/documents/2019-20_imm_req_for_school_entry.pdf.

Medical Exemptions and Immunization Compliance-There have been recent changes to Medical Exemption requirements that went into effect January 1, 2021. We are sharing these changes with you so that you may work with your child’s healthcare provider to make sure your child is in compliance with California law (California Code of Regulations Title 17, Division 1, Chapter 4).

California schools are required by law to check the immunization records for all new student admissions at TK/Kindergarten through 12th grade and all students advancing to 7th grade before entry. These requirements also apply to students new to IUSD schools.

Starting January 1, 2021:

● Medical exemptions can only be issued through the California Immunization Registry-Medical Exemption website (CAIR-ME) by physicians licensed in California.

● Schools and child-care facilities may only accept medical exemptions that are issued through CAIR-ME.

● A medical exemption may be issued through CAIR-ME no more than 12 months before a child first enters a grade span (grade spans are birth-preschool, TK/K-6th, and 7th-12th).

● Varicella immunizations requirement for TK/K-12 admission is two doses. Schools can no longer accept “history of chickenpox (had disease)”. This is not sufficient documentation to meet the California school requirements. A titer will need to be done by the child’s physician to verify immunity and then a CAIR-ME document will need to be submitted or the vaccine may be administered by the physician.

Please consult with your healthcare provider if your child currently has or will need a medical exemption and will be starting TK/Kindergarten, entering 7th grade or new to IUSD schools.

Students are not authorized to leave school grounds by themselves at irregular times. For all irregular hour dismissals, it is required for the parent or the authorized individual (as listed on the student’s emergency contact information) to come into the front office to sign the student out. A student will be called out to the front office upon the arrival of a parent or authorized individual. Students may not wait in the front office for an anticipated early pick-up since valuable instruction time is often lost with parents arriving later than expected.

● Limited playground supervision begins at 7:55 a.m.

● Children may not be on campus prior to that time, with the exception made for students enrolled in Creeker’s Club.

● For the safety of all our students, we ask parents to remind students that prior to school beginning each morning, playground activity is limited and that general recess equipment is not permitted on the playgrounds and fields due to limited supervision. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated for the safety of our students.

There is no playground supervision after school hours or on weekends. Children are to proceed home or to their respective daycare centers immediately after school. Primary grade students may NOT wait on campus for upper grade siblings. Children may NOT play on the field, playground, or blacktop while school is still in session. These areas are to be reserved for the use of students participating in physical education and other school-related activities during school hours.

Daily attendance is taken by classroom teachers at the start of the school day. If your child is late for school for any reason, he/she must report to the front office to allow us to change our attendance records before reporting to their classrooms.

The primary goals of the school’s traffic safety plan are to ensure the safety of Stone Creek students and to expedite parent traffic to and from school. To better meet these needs, the school has developed a traffic circulation pattern through the school parking lot each morning and a traffic safety plan, based on consultation with the staff, parents and the Traffic Control Department of the City of Irvine. PLEASE REVIEW THE FOLLOWING DESCRIPTION OF OUR TRAFFIC SAFETY PLAN AND STRICTLY OBSERVE ITS REQUIREMENTS.

1. EMPLOYEE ONLY PARKING AT STONE CREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Our parking lot is open for the dropping off and picking up of students, but parking itself is limited to teachers and staff.
2. PARKING LOT ENTRY/EXIT SIGNS ARE CLEARLY POSTED. All parent traffic must enter the parking lot at the Stone Creek South ENTRANCE only. There are two (2) lanes available; the right lane is for “drop-off/pick-up” only, and the left lane is for “drive-through” only.
3. ALWAYS use caution and drive slowly. We have some very small children that are not always visible and could dart in front of your car. Be alert!
4. NEVER leave your car unattended in the right “drop-off/pick-up” lane. This lane is only meant for parents to drive through and drop off their children before school and to wait in their car for children to meet them after school. Cars are allowed to pull from the right lane into the left lane after picking up or dropping off students. Please pull forward as the cars in front of you move up in line.
5. If you are waiting for small children, you should park your car and meet your child at the curb or outside the classroom. Parking is available:
   • On Stone Creek South (where/when posted).
   • On Birdsong off of West Yale Loop, at the back of the school and students may walk across the park to the school campus.
   • At Cobblestone Park, just a few yards past Stone Creek School on Stone Creek South; students may walk onto campus from there. Please consider using a few of the above-referenced alternative drop-off locations in order to ensure the safety of students and to ease traffic congestion.
6. For your safety and for your child’s safety, always use the crosswalks. Do not cut through the parking lot. They are located at the corner of West Yale Loop and Stone Creek South. For 
7. There is a curbside drop-off area on the school side of West Yale Loop outside the upper grade classrooms, but parents are to remain in their car at all times.
8. OBSERVE NO PARKING SIGNS. During school hours, there is NO PARKING between the entrance to the parking lot and the corner of West Yale Loop and Stone Creek South. The lane adjacent to the curb is used as the entrance lane to the parking lot only.
9. School staff is present to monitor the parking lot before and after school. Please be respectful of their requests to follow the parking lot guidelines.

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Parents and guardians are reminded that they have the ability to update contact information (excluding mailing address) for their student(s) at any time by going to the district’s Parent Portal at https://my.iusd.org/LoginParent.aspx?page=default.aspx. It is imperative for the school office that you keep your contact information up-to-date. Thanks for your help!

Stone Creek is a closed campus during the instructional day to minimize disruptions of the learning environment and educational process, as well as for the safety and security of all our students and staff members. We ask that all visits on campus be pre-arranged with the teachers and/or school office. In addition, unless otherwise pre-authorized, visiting time in the classrooms is limited to 20-30 minutes, as per Board policy. All visitors must enter and exit school grounds through the front office where they will sign-in and out. First time visitors will be required to present a valid identification card or driver’s license. Visitors are required to wear a visitor/volunteer sticker at all times while on campus.

You can be involved in one of the following ways:

1. Share your special knowledge of a skill, hobby or occupation. Children can learn from you.

2. Volunteer as a room parent that facilitates and organizes class parties, Staff Appreciation Week, or other classroom activities.

3. Spend some time with us in the classroom, on projects, on field trips, or working on special activities.

4. Volunteer in the Library and in the school office for a variety of other opportunities helping the office staff.

Every parent volunteer is required to complete the initial registration process through our Raptor visitor/volunteer check in software. Please bring a photo ID upon your first visit to our school to complete this process. All volunteers must sign in and out in the front office and wear a volunteer badge. Please do not sign out before you actually leave as an emergency can occur and we need to know exactly who is on campus at all times for safety reasons.

Stone Creek will enforce a Zero Tolerance Policy that will result in immediate suspension or expulsion for the following behavioral violations:

● Possession of a firearm, knife, or explosives

● Brandishing a knife

● Sale of a controlled substance

● Committed or attempted to commit a sexual assault