ARHS Monthly Newsletter-- September 2008

From the Principal

Dear ARHS Parents & Guardians,

By now, all ARHS families should have received a first class mailing that contained student course schedules, course change information, Emergency/Health Information and Release of Information forms as well as opening of school dates and times. If you have not received thus mailing, please contact our main office and request that a copy be resent to you. In the interim, information about the opening of school dates and times and course changes can be found on our web site.

The purpose of this mailing is to provide ARHS families with the following information:

1. Special first day of school schedule;

2. School and district calendars;

3. Bell schedule;

4. Homeroom assignments;

5. Information regarding double mailings;

6. Ordering information for The Graphic and the yearbook;

As well, below in ‘What’s New and Worth Reviewing’, we have highlighted a couple of changes for the upcoming school year and reviewed attendance and cafeteria polices.

Lastly, a reminder: it is very important that students return to their A period teachers on the first day of school the Emergency/Health Information and Release of Information forms.

For the remainder of August, the main office is open from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm. I encourage you to call if you have questions. I look forward to seeing everyone shortly.

Sincerely,

Mark Jackson
Principal

‘What’s New and Worth Reviewing’

1. Communication

Please take advantage of a new feature on our website: ‘My ARHS’. This customized web page allows you to combine exactly the information that is most useful to you, all on one page. You can include contact information for your student’s teachers, various categories of morning announcements and calendar information, along with the content of any page on our site. To create your own page, visit our home page (www.arps.org/hs/) and click on “My ARHS.

Also, starting this year, we will use a data base to organize our morning announcements. This will enable us to archive the announcements and make them continuously available to you. As importantly, the data base organizes the announcements by category which will enable you to search them by area of interest.

1. Attendance Policies and Procedures

• You will receive a computer-generated phone call by 10 am to inform you that your child is not in his or her first period class.

• When they return from an absence, students are required to bring a note, signed by a parent or guardian, that informs the school that the student was absent with the parent/guardian’s knowledge. Students, after their return to school, have 48 hours to submit a note. For example, a student who was absent on Monday and returns to school on Tuesday has until the close of school on Wednesday to submit a note.

• As an alternative to notes, the main office will accept same day phone calls from a parent or guardian to excuse a student’s absence. The number to call to do so is 362-1718. If you make a same day call, you do not need to send a note with your child when he or she returns to school. Next day phone calls, however, will not be accepted.

- Phone calls to excuse tardiness, however, will not be accepted. Notes written and signed by a parent or guardian will be accepted only after being approved by a Dean of students.

• Without a note submitted within 48 hours or a same day phone call, the student’s absence will be considered ‘unexcused’. According to school policy, students will not receive credit for work made up after the absence and will be subject to disciplinary consequences.

• After students reach eight(8) absences in a particular class during a trimester, they are placed on non-credit status[For details, see The Student/Family Handbook. Students will receive it on the first day of school; it will also be available on the school’s website]. This year, the school will notify you when your child’s absence totals reach five(5) and, finally, eight(8). The notification will be brief and come via email[if you do not have email, notification will come by regular mail]. By making you aware early on, our hope is to prevent absences from interrupting students’ academic progress.

2. Cafeteria

Breakfast is available to all students free of charge every morning. Students need to finish with breakfast before 7:40 in order to be on time for first period The cost of lunch has been increased to $2.25. Keeping the lunch lines moving maximizes the time students have to actually eat. To help in this effort, Whitson’s Food Service has created ‘cafeteria accounts’ for students. Students can deposit by either cash or check an amount of money that is automatically debited when they swipe their ID cards. Checks can be made out to Amherst School Food Service Department and left with the cafeteria cashiers.

From the Principal

‘What’s New and Worth Reviewing’

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