Welcome to Chapel Hill Christian School (CHCS). Our mission statement states that
“We partner with families in the education of their children, providing excellent academics and
training in Christian values and character”.
CHCS offers a nurturing academic environment for all of our students. We are Accredited with Quality by Georgia Accreditation Commission (GAC).
This Handbook governs the Pre-K program for three and four year-olds, and the Elementary School program for children in five-year old Kindergarten through fifth grade. CHCS offers both half-day and full day options for three and four year-olds. Three-year olds must be potty-trained before starting school.
This handbook is a tool to communicate with Parents specific information and requirements set forth by CHCS and by the State of Georgia. The handbook is designed as a handy reference tool for parents. We suggest you keep it in a convenient place throughout the school year. After you have read it, please sign the Parent Agreement Form stating that you have read, understood and agreed to cooperate with this information.
The Parent Agreement Form must be turned in before the child starts school at CHCS and will be kept in the child’s file. It includes the release permitting a child to receive emergency medical treatment, as well as the parents’ or guardians’ current cell and work contact information. The Child’s Allergy Alert Form must also be on file.
CHCS is a “Nut Free” school. Children may not bring food with nuts or peanut butter.
Immunization Form:
Information regarding all immunizations the child has had, including the month and year when each immunization was administered, must be recorded on the 3231 Immunization Form supplied by the Georgia Department of Health. The immunization form, along with a copy of the child’s birth certificate shall be obtained at the time of admission or within 30 days after admission and kept in the child’s file.
Authorization for Pickup
Authorization for person(s) other than the parents to get the child from school must be on file in RenWeb School Management Software. Persons other than the child’s parent will be asked to show identification before the child can be released. It is a good practice for the parent to notify the staff or office when someone else is picking up the child on a given day. In emergency situations parents may need another person, not on the “Authorization for Pickup” form to get their child. In such cases, the parent must give written authorization or verbal authorization over the phone. The authorization for pickup also includes information indicating anyone who is not allowed to pick up a child.
Re-enrollment:
Re-enrollment begins during the month of January at CHCS, and closes on March 31st. The fee for re-enrolling is $275.
Withdrawal Notice:
A two-week advance written notice is required to withdraw a child from school.
Sick Children:
A child who is ill upon arrival at school will not be admitted or will be separated from the other children until a parent or guardian arrives to take the child home.
When children have been exposed to communicable diseases such as hepatitis, chicken pox, measles, flu or strep infection, staff members and parents or guardians of children will be notified immediately by the school. For any infectious disease, we ask that you seek your physician’s advice and always notify us of the disease. If a child becomes ill while at school, the parent or guardian will be contacted and expected to pick up the child within the hour. The child will be separated from the other children until the parent arrives.
If a child has a fever, stomach flu symptoms, a severe sore throat, or persistent cough and severe cold symptoms, he or she must be kept at home. The child may return to school one full day after being sent home and when one of the following happens:
| No fever, without fever reducing medication, for 24 hours |
| Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea has subsided for 24 hours |
| Antibiotic has been given over a 24-hour period for any type of strep or bacterial infection |
Medication:
Medication or special medical procedures shall be given or applied only when the child’s parent(s) or guardian(s) have provided a written order.
All prescription medications must be in their original containers, and parents or guardians must sign the Medication Release Form stating the kind of medication, the amount to be given, and the time it is to be administered.
Since a fever is an indicator of an infection that could be contagious, when a child has a fever with no other symptoms, he or she cannot be given fever reducing medication. If your child has a temperature above 98.6, please keep him or her at home.
Allergies:
All known allergies to medication and/or other substances must be stated by parents on the Allergy Alert Form.
Accidents:
In the case of an accident, assessment and treatment of the injury will be given under the supervision of the teacher and/or administrator. If further treatment is deemed necessary, the parent, guardian, or emergency contact person will be called. Accidents are recorded on an accident report form which is sent home with the child.
Inclement and Excessively Hot Weather:
On days of inclement or excessively hot or cold weather, children will be kept inside the classrooms.
Tornadoes:
In the event of a tornado warning, students will be escorted to a safe shelter in one of our inner rooms and instructed in proper safety procedures. Tornado drills will be conducted periodically during the school year.
Snow Days:
When severe weather conditions exist, please listen to the radio or television for school closings. CHCS follows the Douglas County Public Schools school closing guidelines. If Douglas County schools are closed, so are we.
Fire Safety:
Fire drills are held during the year in order to familiarize the children with proper and safe procedures for exiting the building in an emergency. In the event of a fire, students will be evacuated according to plan. The school building is inspected on a regular basis by the fire marshal. The most recent inspection information is located in the school office.
Child Abuse
The faculty and staff members of CHCS are required by Georgia state law to report any suspicion or evidence of child abuse.
Parent Communication and Involvement:
CHCS requires all families to establish a parent account in our RenWeb SIS/Facts System. Daily communications, discipline notices, and grades are sent home via RenWeb. Parents are responsible for keeping their child’s records current, reflecting any changes in their work or home addresses or phone numbers, or the child’s physician, health status, etc.
We welcome parent involvement in the school. Parent involvement benefits not only the school but the parent and child as well. All parents who volunteer regularly must have a current criminal background check on file and must sign in when they come to work in the classroom. Usually parent volunteers will be asked to work in a classroom other than their own child’s classroom. If parents would like to visit or observe in their child’s classroom, they are welcome to schedule a visit through the administrator.
Special Event Days
Throughout the school year the school staff plans special activity days to enhance the curriculum. Parents are encouraged to participate by helping in the classroom or by providing special snacks or activities.
Field Trips:
Field trips are an integral part of the CHCS experience. They enhance learning by offering opportunities not available in the classroom. Parents will be notified of a forthcoming field trip two to four weeks in advance. Parents may be responsible for driving their own child on field trips. Students may not come to school in lieu of attending the field trip. They can be kept at home or accompany the class on those days.
Snacks and Lunch:
Parents will be responsible for providing lunches and morning snacks everyday. CHCS will provide milk daily and afternoon snacks. Parents are encouraged not to send sugary snacks, but to focus on nutritious foods such as fruit. Lunches may be ordered from the CHCS lunch provider or brought to school by the student.
Birthdays are very special occasions for children. We would be glad to help you celebrate if you would like to bring a special snack to school for your child’s birthday. Cookies or mini cupcakes are appropriate for the occasion, or even favorite breakfast items. Parents will not be able to distribute “goody bags” due to allergy concerns. Please contact the teacher to discuss plans for your celebration.
School-day Hours:
School begins at 8:15 and ends daily at 12:00 noon or 3:00 pm.
Car Loading Times:
Cars will be unloaded from 8:15 – 8:25 am.
Cars will be loaded from 3:00 –3:15 pm.
When students are picked up or delivered to school at times other than regular car loading times, parents or persons authorized by the parents must bring their student to the front entrance to be escorted into the school.
Parents may not allow their child to enter or leave the school without being escorted, and the school will not permit the child to enter or exit without an escort.
Extended Care:
Extended-Care is available from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m., flat monthly rate is $235. The drop-in rate is $20.00 per day for emergency purposes only. After 6:00 pm the Extended Care charge will be $2.00 for each minute late.
Curriculum:
CHCS uses a combination of curriculum from the best Christian curriculum companies; Bob Jones University Press, Abeka and ACSI. We teach reading through a strong phonics program for our younger students, and both a basal reader and some novel-based reading for third through fifth grades. We believe that this combination provides a challenging academic track with a variety of learning methods and activities to engage every child and maximize his or her learning potential. We teach Spanish to all grades beginning at three years old, and Technology to all students from first grade through fifth.
Excused Absence Policy:
In accordance with Georgia law excused absences are: the personal illness of the student, the serious illness or death of an immediate family member, and CHCS related activities such a field trips. Absences for such reasons as camping, vacations, or non-school activities are discouraged. With parent request prior to the absence, it may be excused, but missed work must be turned in the day student returns to school. Tests will be taken the day student returns to class. Students who have absences due to sickness will have one day for each day that they were absent to get make-up work turned in without penalty. Make-up work that is not turned in within the allotted time will result in points deducted or “0”s.
The maximum number of excused absences allowed by law in a school year is ten. Student must be present at least three hours of the day not including lunch in order to be counted present for the day.
Make-Up Work:
Elementary students should bring a note to the teacher explaining the cause of each absence. Students are allowed to make-up tests and work missed during an excused absence.
Grading System:
For three and four-year old students CHCS uses the following evaluation scale:
Excellent……………………………………. E
Good…………………………………………. G
Satisfactory ………………………………. S
Need improvement ……………………… N
Unsatisfactory ……………………………. U
CHCS uses number grades which correspond with the scale below for our Elementary Students in K-5 – 5th Grade.:
A…………….100-90
B……………. 89-80
C……………. 79-70
D……………. 69-60
F…………….. 59- 0
Homework:
Homework assignments will be given and graded as a part of the academic assessment for students from Four-Year Pre-K through the Elementary Grades. These assignments support parent involvement as parents listen to students read, help them do research or check their students work at home. Parents should never do the work for their students, but are there to answer questions and help students establish good work habits. We encourage parents to make homework a priority as they partner with teachers in the education of their children.
Teachers should assign work only on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights. As a general guideline teachers should assign homework not to exceed 30 minutes for Kindergarten and First Grade, 45 minutes for Second; 1 hour for Third and 1 – 1&1/2hours for Fourth and Fifth Grades. If work is not turned in on time 10 points will be deducted for each day work is late. (Kindergarten students homework will not have points deducted until the second semester.)
Conduct:
The conduct grade reflects the child’s ability to govern himself in areas of obedience, respect for authority, respect for others and respect for property.
Standardized Achievement Testing:
Standardized Achievement Tests are administered near the end of the school year to evaluate the educational progress of elementary student. The parent receives a copy of this annual evaluation.
(Note: This evaluation is based upon national norms and is not the conclusive record of the ability or achievement of the individual child.)
Report Cards:
Report cards are distributed to parents through RenWeb four (4) times a year to give parents an accurate assessment of the child’s individual progress.
Retention:
Students in the first through fifth grades will be retained if they have an “F”
as a final grade in any of the following subjects: Math, Reading or
English. A student will also be retained who has an “F” as a final grade in any other two subjects, (even if they have passing grades in Reading, Math or English). A student may also be retained if in the opinion of both the administration and parents, that retention would be beneficial.
Honor Roll:
We recognize both Academic Honor Roll and an All “A” Honor Roll. Our Honor Rolls are established to recognize exceptional academic achievement accompanied by Christian character. To be placed on the Academic Honor Roll, a student must achieve grades that are “B’s” or higher, and conduct grades are included. The “All A” Honor Roll recognizes students who achieve all “A’s” with no grade including conduct lower than an “A”.
Non-academic subjects such as P.E., Music, Art, etc. (those subjects which assess one’s talent or gifting rather than cognitive skills) will not count in the average for Honor Roll.
AWARDS are given at the Awards Program at the end of each school year.
Honor Roll:
Certificates are given to the students who have been listed on the Honor Roll for
the year.
All “A’s” Honor Roll:
An honor pin is given to students who have made the “All A’s” Honor Roll
each 9 weeks for the entire year.
Perfect Attendance:
Certificates are awarded for perfect attendance with three tardies or less.
Character Awards:
Certificates are awarded to every child based on their individual Character and Integrity.
Uniform Dress Code:
CHCS requires all students three and older to wear CHCS school uniforms to school every day. School shirts must be purchased from Land’s End and have the CHCS logo applied by Land’s End. Girls may wear jumpers, dresses and skirts from Land’s End in navy, khaki or the navy plaid only. Jumpers and dresses will need the CHCS logo. Parents may purchase khaki or plain navy blue pants, shorts, skirts and skorts from the retailer of their choice. Outer-wear such as jackets and shoes are not required to be uniform. Catalogs with our school code number for purchasing are available in the office.
Shirt Styles:
Shirt style choices will include long or short sleeved polo shirts, blouses, and turtlenecks, either mock or regular style, sweaters or sweater vests and sweat shirts. (No tee shirts either long or short sleeved, will be worn to school without a school shirt over them except on special dress days.)
Colors:
All students will need to purchase one cobalt blue polo shirt to be worn with khaki bottoms for special days when we want a uniform look. In cold weather this uniform shirt may be worn over a long-sleeved black tee or turtleneck. Other shirt color choices will be up to the individual student/family to choose from the solid colors that Land’s End makes.
Parent/Teacher Conferences:
Parent/teacher conferences for each child beginning with three-year old students will be held in October. At conferences the teachers will give parents information about the child’s progress. The teachers and the administrator are available throughout the year for individual conferences with parents when needed.
Discipline:
We believe the education of children is enhanced by an orderly atmosphere. Child guidance has an important place in the program at CHCS. Parents and teachers work together in order to be consistent and effective in teaching children to use good manners, respect and obey authority, and make appropriate choices in a classroom setting.
Each classroom teacher has implemented a classroom government policy which delivers consistent consequences for age appropriate lapses in self-government. However, repeated challenges in the classroom, deliberate disobedience or deliberate injury or threat to another student will result in the parents being notified in writing that the child’s behavior has warranted a visit to the Principal’s Office. This is designed to inform parents of problems either with academics or with behavior and attitude. Parents may be asked for a behavior conference to insure that that the child’s behavior complies with the standard expected by CHCS. We have developed a formula that is appropriate in shaping and encouraging responsible behavior in children. If you have any questions about our disciplinary procedures, please talk to your child’s teacher or the administrator.
Solicitation:
CHCS may not be used as a setting for solicitation.
Transportation:
The school does not provide transportation services.
Gum:
Please do not allow your child to bring gum to school at any time.
Personal Hygiene:
All possible provisions have been made to insure that children and teachers follow appropriate rules of personal hygiene. Anti-bacterial soap is used for hand washing before meals and after toilet use. Hand sanitizer is regularly used in the classrooms. Disposable paper towels are used for drying hands.
Toys:
Please do not allow your child to bring toys to school except on designated share days.
Non-Discrimination Policy:
The Chapel Hill Christian School maintains a firm policy in hiring employees prohibiting discrimination against persons of any race, color, or ethnic origin. In addition, the school does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or ethnic origin in the administration of educational policies, admission policies and other school programs.