MEDICATION (Diocesan Policy)
Only medication which is necessary for a child to remain in school will be given during school hours. No medication will be given to any child without a signed permission form from the parent or legal guardian.
Only medication prescribed by a licensed physician or dentist and dispensed by a registered pharmacist will be administered during school hours by authorized school personnel.
“Over-the-counter” medication such as acetaminophen, ointments, cold tablets, cough syrups, eye drops, etc. will not be given unless prescribed by a licensed physician and labeled by a licensed pharmacist with proper directions.
As impossible as the above sounds, this Diocesan policy is meant to safeguard the student’s health and free the school from liability, so please understand and comply. A parent, legal guardian, relative or another adult approved by the parent may come to school and administer over-the-counter medications if he/she so desires. Any individual other than the parent must be approved in advance by the principal and/or his/her designee.
The designated staff member will dispense the medication at the appropriate time and record on a medication log. Each student’s medication must be in a properly labeled container with the following information:
- Student’s name
- Physician/Dentist’s name
- Date
- Name of medication
- Dosage
- Directions for administration, including specific times (must not stipulate “as needed”)
- Duration that medication is to be given
Students are not permitted to possess medication of any kind while on campus. Parents must bring medication to the office rather than have the student do it. Students are forbidden to give any medication to other students; likewise, students may not accept medication from one another.
A “Request for Administration of Medication” form provided at the front of this handbook must be fully completed and returned to the school office before any medication is administered. If more forms are needed throughout the year, they may be obtained from the office.
FEE/TUITION SCHEDULE
(Effective August 2007)
1. Pre-Kindergarten (3K & 4K):
Families who are registered members of a Catholic church:
Application Fee (1 child): $ 235 Tuition (1 child): $ 240/month (Aug through May)
Application Fee (2 child.): $ 310 Tuition (2 or more children) $ 450/month (Aug through May)
Application Fee (3 child.): $ 360
Non Catholics:
Application Fee (1 child): $ 235 Tuition (1 child): $ 315/month (Aug through May)
Application Fee (2 child.): $ 310 Tuition (2 or more children): $ 600/month (Aug through May)
Application Fee (3 child.): $ 360
2. Kindergarten Through Eighth Grade:
Families who are registered members of a Catholic church:
Application Fee (1 child): $ 235 Tuition (1 child): $ 170/month (Aug through May)
Application Fee (2 child.): $ 310 Tuition (2 child.): $ 220/month (Aug through May)
Application Fee (3 child.): $ 360 Tuition (3 child.): $ 245/month (Aug through May)
Non-Catholics:
Application Fee (1 child): $ 235 Tuition (1 child): $ 220/month (Aug through May)
Application Fee (2 child.):$ 310 Tuition (2 child.): $ 295/month (Aug through May)
Application Fee (3 child.):$ 360 Tuition (3 child.): $ 340/month (Aug through May)
Note: Tuition is based on 180 student attendance days mandated by the Texas Catholic Conference (10 months, August through May) The Pre-Kindergarten (3K & 4K) tuition/fee schedule “stands alone.”
TUITION/FEE PAYMENT POLICY
1. Payment Options for Registration
A. Application fee and August tuition are due and payable on or before the school/family Back-to-School Night held in August prior to the beginning of school. A student cannot be enrolled until the application fee and the August tuition have been paid in full, or prior arrangements have been made with the pastor or principal. Also, a family having a carry-over account from a previous year will not be allowed to enroll the child/children covered by this account and/or another child/children entering for the first time, unless prior arrangements have been made with the pastor or principal.
B. All prepayments are non-refundable and non-transferable.
C. Yearly tuition is divided into ten payments (August through May) unless some other arrangement has been made with the principal or the pastor.
2. Payment of Tuition Beginning in September
A. Beginning in September,tuition is payable by the tenth of each month and is delinquent after the fifteenth ofeach month. Tuition envelopes will be sent home with the oldest child in the family. It is the parents’
responsibility each month to collect the envelope or call the school if it does not get home. Send th tuition on time, even if an envelope is not available. Make checks payable to St. Mary’s School.
B. It is the parents’ responsibility to notify the principal for requesting an extension of a delinquent account or
to negotiate a time payment plan or some similar agreement. This contact should be completed and arrangements made on or before the fifteenth of the month.
C. Should a delinquent account occur, the principal will notify the parents of the delinquency and a copy forwarded to the pastor and president of the school board. Repeated tuition violations can result in an immediate dismissal.
Diocesan policy gives the school the authority to withhold six week grade reports, deny the transfer of student records to another school, and/or not allow a student to re-enroll when there is an unresolved financial debt.
The school board offers a generous tuition assistance plan for families who have had one or more years of prior enrollment and payment to St. Mary’s School. Every Catholic child, regardless of family financial status, should have, if at all possible, the right to the Catholic experience at St. Mary’s School. Applications can be obtained from the school office.
CAFETERIA REQUIREMENTS
1. Hot lunches are served most days in the cafeteria (sandwiches are sold on occasion).
2. St. Mary’s School participates in the U.S.D.A.lunch program. Families who qualify can receive free lunches or
Reduced price lunches. Applications for free and reduced price meals will be distributed to each family at registration in August and can obtained at any time during the school year. Information may be obtained from the principal.
3. When absolutely necessary, students may charge their lunches. All charges should be paid the next attendance day. If there are two unpaid charges at any time, the student will be denied the opportunity to charge and will receive a sandwich.
4. Students will purchase lunch tickets in the cafeteria from 7:15 to 7:55. The student may pay for up to 20 lunches in advance. ALL LUNCH TICKETS WILL BE PURCHASED IN THE MORNINGS IN THE CAFETERIA.
5. Students are allowed to bring their lunch meal to school (carbonated drinks are not allowed in the cafeteria under
federal lunch program standards). It must be in an appropriate container that will not leak. The container must be kept in the student’s (3K-5th grade primary teacher’s classroom; 6-8th grades in homeroom teacher’s classroom) and removed only when the class is going to its appointed lunch time. All food and drink must be kept in the container and removed only when arriving at the cafeteria.
7. All food and drink must be consumed in the cafeteria.
8. Bringing food and/or drink directly from a café or fast-food establishment are not permitted unless the parent is
staying to eat with the child. In this instance, it is only acceptable to bring food for YOUR child.
9. Students will not be allowed to call home for a forgotten lunch or lunch money.
10. Students may not bring any form of carbonated drinks or any item in a glass container for lunch or for any other
event.
11. Students and parents are not allowed to bring or order lunch-time food or beverage from a café or fast-food
establishment.
12. All students are expected to eat some form of lunch each day. Students who are observed not eating
during their lunch period will be reported to their parents.
Lunchroom Food/Beverage Prices
Grade Item Cost
Pre-K-3 Food $ 2.00
4-8 Food $ 2.25
Adults Food $ 2.75
All Milk/Juice $ .50 (per carton when not part of regular meal)
Parents are encouraged to have their children eat the food prepared in the cafeteria. New guidelines will require all schools receiving federal assistance (which St. Mary’s does) in operating its lunchroom to have a nutritional menu that best meets the health needs of all students.
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
1. Curricular activities occur within the regular school day and constitute the delivery of instruction as specified in the curriculum.
2. Co-curricular activities are an extension of classroom instruction in which participation is by the entire class or a
significant portion thereof. They relate directly to and enhance student learning of essential elements through participation, demonstration, illustration, and observation. Co-curricular activities are included in the teacher’s instructional plan and are conducted by or supervised by a classroom counselor, or principal. This shall not prevent pupils from participating in after-school co-curricular activities. Absences for participation in co-curricular activities that require a student to miss a class other than the sponsoring class or course shall be counted under the 10-day rule (see below).
3. Extracurricular activities are school-sponsored activities, which are not directly related to instruction of the
essential elements, but they may have an indirect relation to some areas of the curriculum. They offer worthwhile
and significant contributions to student’s personal, physical, and social development. Participation in
extracurricular activities is a privilege and not a right, and pupils must meet specific requirements in order to
participate. Activities may include, but are not limited to, performances, contests, demonstrations, displays, and
club activities.
10 DAY RULE
St. Mary’s will not schedule, nor permit pupils to participate in any school related or sanctioned activities on or off campus that would require, permit, or allow a student to be absent from class in any course more than ten times during the school year (full-year course). A student in grades five through eight may participate in extracurricular activities on or off campus for the first six weeks of the school year only if the student has earned the cumulative number of credits in state-approved courses indicated in this subsection:
(1) beginning at the fifth grade year — regularly passed from the fourth grade to the fifth;
(2) beginning at the sixth grade year — regularly passed from the fifth grade to the sixth;
(3) beginning at the seventh grade year — regularly passed from the sixth to the seventh;
(4) beginning at the eighth grade year - have credit for all but one of the courses required for the seventh grade year.
In order to be eligible to participate in an extracurricular activity event for a six weeks period following the initial six weeks period of a school year, a student must not have a recorded grade average lower than 70 on a scale of 0 to 100 in any course for that preceding six weeks period.
Practice
A student may not practice more than eight hours per school week in any single extracurricular activity. There shall be a limit to the total number of hours any student may practice in a combination of all extracurricular activities outside the school day of 20 hours per school week. Performance including travel time held after the beginning of the school week but prior to the end of the school week (excluding holidays), though held outside of the school day shall be counted against practice time, provided the total time counted against practice time for the first of such performance shall be limited to two hours.
NOTICE: At the end of the first three weeks of a grading period, the school shall send a progress report to the parent or guardian of a student whose grade average in any class is lower than 70. The school shall make such information available to sponsors of extracurricular activities in which the student participates. The parent notice will stipulate that the student will have the remainder of the six weeks period to bring the grade up to 70 or above and that the student will be suspended from extracurricular activities for a stipulated time, if the grade is not brought up to 70 or above by the end of the six weeks period.
CHEERLEADER SELECTION/PARTICIPATION (Board of Trustees approved policy, July 11, 2001)
Participation as a cheerleader is open to any girl or boy who is in the eighth grade during the year of her/his serving in this capacity. The following are eligibility requirements:
1. In order to be eligible to participate in an extracurricular activity (includes cheerleading, drill team, athletics, etc.) event for a six weeks period following the initial six weeks period of a school year, a student must not have recorded a grade lower than an 70 on a scale of 0 to 100 in any course for that preceding six weeks period. If a violation occurs, the student is temporarily suspended from the activity until the reporting period of the next six weeks. Should the student then meet or exceed the above requirement, he or she may resume this activity during the following six weeks. The principal is responsible for compliance and enforcing penalties.
2. Must not have received an unsatisfactory conduct report during each six weeks’ reporting period. A violation will result in at least one suspension of performance in the next activity to multiple suspensions of following activities to suspension for the entire year. The principal is responsible for compliance and enforcing penalties.
3. Must purchase in advance all necessary uniforms and equipment before being allowed to participate.
4. Must abide by all guidelines set forth by the sponsor or coach.
5. The principal can terminate participation temporarily or permanently in any situation in which he determines a cheerleader is not in compliance with these regulations and/or whose conduct does not measure up to the standards of St. Mary’s School
When there are less than eight students eligible to participate from the eighth grade, whatever number of students needed to total eight will be selected from eligible seventh grade students. Eligibility requirements will be the same as above.
The additional seventh grade cheerleaders will be selected in a closed session tryout by an impartial judge(s) approved by the principal and sponsor. The principal or his/her designate will oversee the selection process to assure compliance to the closed session policy.
“In order to be eligible to participate in an extracurricular activity event for a six weeks period following the initial six weeks period of a school year, a student must not have a recorded grade average lower than 70 on a scale of 0 to 100 in any course for that preceding period.” (Diocese of Austin, Diocesan Education Board, 7/02, Policy 313)
TELEPHONE USE
The telephone in the office must be kept open for school business. Unless it is an emergency, students will not be allowed to make calls during operating hours. All arrangements for whatever the student may need prior to arriving at school should be taken care of in advance. Leaving lunch money at home, homework, etc. will not be valid excuses for using the school phone. Likewise, parents and other should take care of all matters prior to school and contact the student only in the case of an absolute necessity.
INCLEMENT WEATHER PROCEDURE
Should weather conditions result in the cancellation of school, notification will be announced over local radio and television stations. It should not be necessary to contact any member of the school staff or the church. If St. Mary’s is not mentioned as being closed, we will have school. In most instances, we follow the decision made by the West ISD.
RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES AND CONFLICTS (Diocesan Education Board, My 1999)
“Disputes or conflicts can arise in the educational setting. It is important that such matters be resolved as quickly as possible. If the dispute/conflict is with a teacher, the first step for parent/guardian is discussion of the problem with that teacher. If the problem is not resolved satisfactorily, the parent/guardian may proceed to the second step and request a meeting with the Principal.
If the dispute/conflict is with the Principal, the first step for parent/guardian is discussion of the problem with the Principal. If the problem is not resolved satisfactorily, the parent/guardian may proceed to the second step and request a meeting with the Pastor of the parochial school.” The school board is an advisory board; and, therefore, has no direct jurisdiction in these matters.
MASS SCHEDULE AND RELATED CHURCH ACTIVITIES
All students and staff celebrate Mass which is usually scheduled for 8:15 A.M. every Friday when classes are in session. Circumstances at times change the day. The staff and students go to Mass directly from their classrooms. It is extremely important that students be punctual to school so that there is no delay in the class proceeding to Church. There will be other occasions for one to all classes attending a Mass or some other service or activity in the Church. Parents and others are invited and encouraged to join the school in the attendance of these Masses and other services.