All students must be clean and wear appropriate clothing. Clothing must follow the guidelines in this book or be deemed appropriate by the principal or building supervisor.

No large coats (i.e. trench coats) are allowed.

House shoes or shoes with wheels of any kind are allowed.

Sports caps or hats are not allowed for leisure wear, only for cold weather.

No see through tops, spaghetti strap tops, tank tops, halter tops or tops that are excessively low cut (no more than four fingers from collar bone) or tight are allowed. Shirts may not be worn that reveal the stomach or mid-riff in any way. Clothing that advertises drugs, alcohol, and wrestling or displays profane or suggestive language or clothing that is offensive to others may not be worn.

No body or ear piercing is allowed for boys. Only ear piercing is allowed for girls.

Shorts will be no shorter than 2 inches above the knee for grades 5-8.

Skirts will be no shorter than 2 inches above the knee for grades 5-8.

LEGGINS may be worn, but the bottom of the shirt or top must be at finger tips.

PANTS will be worn with the waistband around the waist and not sagging below the waist. Students not following this rule will be given a belt by the office or sent home. No holes in pants above the knee and no holes that are seam to seam are allowed.

PANTS with wording across the back cannot be worn.

No shirts with cut off sleeves can be worn. Sleeveless shirts can be worn as long as the sleeve is hemmed and does not gape in the armhole. Sleeveless shirts must cover the entire shoulder.

For safety purposes, anything that is distracting to the normal school day will not be allowed. This includes large chains, large necklaces, and excessive earrings (girls).

Clothing and/or general appearance (hair, etc.) in the opinion of the principal or staff that is distracting to the learning environment or offensive will not be allowed. This could apply to several different clothing and hair situations.

BUS BEHAVIOR is so important for the safety of everyone! Riding a school bus is a privilege extended to students and this privilege can be removed at any time for disruptive or unsatisfactory conduct. Behavior on the bus is a major concern because of the possible consequence of a driver trying to monitor bad behavior. The same school rules of conduct apply on the bus. Students should be quiet and courteous. No eating or drinking is allowed. Keep arms and feet and other objects inside the bus. Students must obey the driver. Video cameras are placed on the buses and will be used as needed. Failure to obey rules will be dealt with the following ways:

1st offense – Driver warns student

2nd offense- Driver brings student to the principal’s office and appropriate punishment will be administered

3rd offense – Student will be suspended from the bus for an appropriate number of days.

4th offense – Parents will meet with bus driver, principal and transportation supervisor. Student may be denied transportation for the remainder of the year if a workable solution is not found by officials.

Some behaviors such as fighting, profanity, etc. will result in immediate suspension without prior warnings. Students can only ride their assigned bus unless the driver receives a note or call from the parent or school office giving permission to student to ride an alternate bus.

DISCIPLINE – Inappropriate behavior will be dealt with through consequences. The consequences are selected depending on the nature of the behavior that is not acceptable, age of the student and number of prior incidents.

Warnings (only one given to each student)

Contacting parents to notify them of the behavior problem.

School suspension – In-school suspension is when a student is placed in a room near the office. Students that are “Out-of-School” suspended are not allowed on campus at anytime during their suspension.

Parent Meeting-Parents are requested to come to school and discuss the behavior. These must take place when out of school suspension is used.

Corporal punishment – Used occasionally and follows school district policy. A parent has the right to request their child NOT be paddled. This request MUST be written and on file. The request does not carry over from one year to the next. By making this request the parents must take an active part in the discipline and immediately take the student home for a 3-day unexcused suspension. This is also the procedure for a student who refuses a spanking.

Alternative school placement – The student is assigned to a school sight that houses students who need a different setting. The parent is responsible for transportation and lunch.

Due to the seriousness of fighting and the implications that go with physical disagreements, the punishment for a fight is a possible 3 day suspension for students involved in a fight. This applies even when a student hits back since that student has made a decision at that time to take part. Punishment may be more severe for a fight that is more serious and injuries are sustained. Anytime a student feels threatened or is about to be in a fight, he/she needs to make an adult aware of this situation. Students who encourage fighting will also be punished.

VERBAL THREATS/BULLYING – When one student threatens or harasses another student it is very serious. Any type of verbal threats or verbal harassment will be taken seriously by school officials. Students involved will be dealt with on an individual basis.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT-Sexual harassment of any kind is taken seriously. Rutherford School follows the Gibson County School District policy. You may review this policy by visiting the GCSSD website at http://www.gcssd.org/

EARLY DEPARTURE – Any student who leaves school early must be check out through the office. Only a parent or approved guardian will be allowed to check a student out of school. We expect students to remain here until school dismisses unless they MUST leave for an appointment or illness. Please try and make appointments on vacation days or after school when possible.

PROTECTED TIME--In order to have minimal interruptions of instruction time, we ask that you try to schedule appointments so that you will be able to check out your child between classes, during break, or during lunch. Each child’s schedule will be sent home the first day of school. Parents are strongly encouraged to only make appointments in the late afternoon or after school.

INCLEMENT WEATHER-In the case of inclement weather please DO NOT CALL THE SCHOOL. Listen to 97.7 radio and WBBJ-TV/Channel 7 out of Jackson. The radio station is called before the schools and we need our phones to alert bus drivers, etc. In case of early dismissal have a plan made for your child and be sure he/she knows what to do. Rutherford School has an automatic phone system you will be contacted if school is dismissed. It is very important that you keep your contact information up to date, so that you can be notified.

OFFICE TELEPHONE- NO MESSAGES GIVEN TO STUDENTS UNLESS THERE IS AN EMERGENCY. We consider an emergency a sudden illness. Please do not abuse the message system at our school. Please make your children aware of all arrangements before he/she goes to school each day.

GYM GUIDELINES-Rules for behavior in the Rutherford School gym are posted in the gymnasium. Anyone not following these rules will be asked to leave and may not be allowed to attend future events. No one is allowed in the gym after school hours without permission from the Principal.

VISITORS – Parents may walk their children (grades K-4 only) to class the first week of school. This is for the safety of all. The only door visitors may use is the front door beside the playground during the day. We invite parents to our school for lunch. Feel free to come have lunch with your children. It helps our cafeteria staff if you let us know by 10:00 that day or before you are coming to eat lunch.

FIRST AID – We treat minor injuries with first aid supplies. If there is a potentially serious injury your child’s teacher or nurse will notify you. It is vitally important that the information on your child’s emergency form change that you notify us so you can be found in an emergency. We do not give any medication to children without proper paperwork.

BREAKFAST – Full price is $1.15 & reduced $.30; Extra juice or milk $.40

LUNCH – Full price $2.25 per day & reduced is $.30 per day

Lunch money must be paid each Monday. Students are no longer allowed to charge lunches. When you pay for the entire week of lunches and the student misses or brings his lunch, those days are carried over to the following week. Forms for free or reduced lunches are available throughout the year if you should have a need. This form is confidential and those who receive free or reduced lunches are not singled out in any way. Grades 6-8 pay for lunches on Monday during their break. The cafeteria supervisor cannot collect money on other days. Free/reduced forms will be sent home at the beginning of the year and must be completed accurately and certified at the school before a child receives meals. They must list an income or it will only be temporarily approved and will be for only 30 days. During the school year I will have to verify income on a random selection so be sure that you form is accurate. If you bring your lunch remember that no soft drink cans or bottles are allowed in the cafeteria.

MEDICATION PROCEDURE – These are the main points of the operational procedure for medications. Remember medications are to ONLY be given by the school nurse or her designee.

It is necessary to have a signed consent form for ANY medication to be administered at the school. These forms are in the office. No physician’s order has to be signed as long as the medication bottle directions are current and agree with the parental consent directions. All prescription medications must be in the original container. All other medications must be in their original container.

Any changes in prescription medications such as dosage or time will require a new form to be signed.

The school nurse will continue to have the responsibility of administering the medications. She is also available for parent consultations.

No student is to carry any medications at school.

All unused medications must be claimed at the end of the school year or they will be discarded.

BICYCLES- For a student to ride a bicycle to school both the student and parent must sign a form taking responsibility for any damage caused by the bicycle. There have been cars damaged by students riding bicycles and we want to prevent this. The forms are in the office.

TEXTBOOKS- A lost book fee is the cost of the book the school pays to replace that book. Failure to pay a fine for a lost or damaged textbook or library book will result in:

Refusal to issue any additional textbooks until restitution is made.

Not issuing student’s report card or transcripts until fine is paid.

ATHLETICS- Athletic teams are an important part of the total education of students. We encourage students to take part and be involved. For a student to participate in a sport or cheerleading we require them to pass all academic subjects with an acceptable grade. All students planning to tryout for athletics must have a current physical on file with the coach before tryouts begin. Students on these teams are expected to behave at their best at all times. Behavior problems can result in the dismissal of a student from an athletic team by the coach and/or principal.

STUDENT FEES-The school shall not require any student to pay a fee (including a fee for a field trip) to the school for any purpose, except as authorized by the board of education, and no fees shall be required of any students as condition to attending the public school, or using its equipment while receiving educational training.” We appreciate the additional monetary support from all of our families. We hope that you will see the benefit of being partners with the school in this effort.

HEAD LICE – The school district policy concerning head lice is the student must not have any “nits” in their hair. We have no way to detect if the nits are alive and will hatch or treatment was successful. We require proof of treatment after a child has been determined to have head lice. The box top or a note from a doctor or health department is proof. This is embarrassing to children and not healthy for students. Periodic checks of students will be conducted. If a student reaches an excessive amount of days missed due to head lice, he/she will be referred to the Truant Board of the Gibson County Juvenile Judge.

QUESTIONS-If you have questions about anything in this handbook or any other school-related matter, please contact the principal.

Rutherford School is a member of the Gibson County School District. We follow all policies set forth by the GCSSD Director of Schools and Board of Trustees. To view the GCSSD policies visit http://www.gcssd.org/

The success of our students is very important to the faculty and staff. Nothing pleases us more than seeing a child learn and succeed. If your student is having a problem we will work and talk with parents to find solutions to the problem. We ask that you do not drop by to see a teacher because they are busy with students and cannot leave the classroom. Call the office and schedule an appointment or request a phone call. All teachers are willing to visit with parents as needed.

Rutherford School
Code of Conduct

Students have primary responsibility for their actions. We encourage self-control.
Students must observe the safety rules of the school for their own security and that of others.
Students are reminded any teacher or staff member in the school has the right to correct unruly individuals at any place at any time.
Students shall show respect for the person and property of others around them.
Students are expected to show respect for school property and take good care of books, desks, and other furniture and equipment.
Students shall follow the classroom rules established by the teacher(s).
Students shall not wear dress which is distracting, disruptive or dangerous.
Students shall follow all rules and procedures as set forth by the Rutherford School and the Gibson County School District.