Valley Vikings - on a voyage of excellence and success
About Valley Elementary School
Below is a list of links about our school. They will direct you to the information you are looking for.
Please take a few moments to familiarize yourself with our policies.

What We Teach     Arrival, Dismissal, Clossings     Attendance     Behavior Expectations     Bus Safety     Cafeteria and Lunches     Confidentiality and Security     Homework     Organization of Instruction     Parent-Teacher Conferences     Parties     Report Cards     School Supplies and School Store     Home/School Communication     Tests and Assessments     Visitors







What We Teach

The FCPS essential curriculum defines the objectives our students will be held accountable for learning in each content area. These objectives address content and behaviors your child will need throughout life, such as effective communication, problem solving and critical thinking, citizenship, and social cooperation, among others. You may review the essential curriculum at any time. If you wish to see it on line, go to www.fcpsteach.org. This site has many topics of interest for parents and is the curriculum source for our teachers. All guides in all content areas are available at this web site. Character Counts! Is another area of focus for our teachers. Daily modeling and demonstration of the Character Counts! pillars, Respect, Responsibility, Trustworthiness, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship, are embedded throughout all content areas.


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Arrival, Dismissal, Closings

Arrival:

For the safety and welfare of the students, arrival at school should be between 8:35 and 8:50 a.m. The school day will begin at 8:55 a.m. It is imperative that no children arrive before 8:35 a.m. since no adult supervision can be provided prior to that time. Morning drop-off for those students who will be arriving by car will be in the back of the school building. As you pull into the parking lot from Horine Road, please turn right to go to the back of the building. Circle around the back playground until you reach the drop-off area. By coming around full circle, your child(ren) will be able to exit safely onto the sidewalk area. All car riders should enter the main building through these doors.

Dismissal:

We ask that you schedule your child’s medical appointments before or after school, however, if you need to pick up your child during the school day, you must report to the office. No child will be dismissed directly from the classroom. In addition, no child will be allowed to leave school with anyone other than the parent or legal guardian unless written permission is presented to the school office. All individuals with whom a child leaves during the school day must “sign-out” in the office. We may ask to see picture identification. At 3:25 p.m., car riders and special groups are dismissed to the lobby area doors. Cars may not park in the circle in front of the school, as this is our bus lane. Please park in the rear of the school, lower, or side parking lots, and walk in to pick up your child. Children will not be allowed to cross the road unescorted. Bus riders are dismissed from the second set of front doors as soon as the buses arrive. In order to have a smooth dismissal, there are a few procedures we ask our families to follow:



Emergency Closings:

Information regarding cancellations, delays, and early closings is announced on local radio stations, the Frederick Cable channel 18, and on the Internet by signing up for Find Out First. Parents are encouraged to arrange emergency backup care and to notify students as to where they should go when schools close unexpectedly. Being prepared before inclement weather arrives helps us to get our students home quickly and safely.


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Attendance Policy:

Regular attendance is vital for your child to meet with success in school since research shows that student achievement is directly related to attendance. One goal of Valley’s School Improvement Plan is the continuation of meeting the state’s excellence standard of 96% attendance, or better.
To help reach our goals we are instituting the following strategies: The school day is as follows:
Grades K-5 8:55 a.m. - 3:25 p.m.
Students arriving after morning announcements need to sign in at the office. The child should have a note from the family stating the reason for the lateness. Students with perfect or exemplary attendance, 3 or less absences, for the year will receive certificates at the closing ceremony for the school year. Students with perfect attendance will be treated to a special lunch with the administrators and the guidance counselor.

Written Excuses:

The law requires a written excuse any time a child is absent. The excuse should be received by the school within two days of the absence and should include the date of the absence, the reason for the absence, and the signature of the parent/guardian. Without this information, the absence is coded unexcused. A written excuse from a physician is necessary for a long-range restriction from physical education activities. Students are expected to play outside, weather permitting, so please dress them appropriately. If your child is unable to go outside for recess, a written note from the parent/guardian is required.


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Behavior Expectations

Management (routines, rules, and consequences) is the nervous system of any school. This provides the basis for predictability and reliability, which in turn creates a safe structured environment where learning can occur. A self-disciplined student is better able to perform and learn. All students are expected to display the pillars of Character Counts! – Caring, Respect, Responsibility, Trustworthiness, Fairness, and Citizenship. To achieve this requires cooperation and understanding between the school and home. All students are expected to follow the established routines and rules for their individual classrooms and for the school. Failure to follow these routines or rules will result in progressive actions from re-teaching the routine to warnings, time-outs, parent conferences, up to and including discipline referrals to the principal.


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Bus Safety

There are student behavior expectations for the safe and efficient operation of the school system’s transportation system. Please see the FCPS Calendar Handbook for specific bus rules and expectations. We encourage you to review this important information with your child. Riding the bus is a privilege. This privilege may be temporarily denied or permanently revoked if the behavior of your child jeopardizes the safety of your child or others on the bus. Bus rides are considered an extension of the school program. Twice a year, bus evacuation drills will be conducted upon arrival at school. Thanks in advance for helping your child understand the importance of bus safety.


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Cafeteria and Lunches

Click here for the School Lunch Menus

Breakfast and lunch are served every day that school is in session. Upon arrival, students who wish to purchase breakfast go straight to the cafeteria. At lunch, students remain in the cafeteria at least twenty minutes, but have the option to stay an additional ten minutes if needed. Students may bring lunch from home or purchase a lunch from the cafeteria. If buying lunch a student may pay cash daily or put money on an account. This works like a debit account. You may send in a check or money for any amount. Your child will then be able to purchase breakfast, lunch, snacks, and ice cream with that account. If you only want your child to purchase lunch with that money, you will need to write, “lunches only” in the memo section of your check or send a note with cash. Children bringing their own lunches may buy milk, ice cream, and specialty items separately. A student’s account may also be used for these items. If your child brings lunch from home, please do not send in canned soft drinks. If the need arises, students will be permitted to charge their lunch. Students will be expected to pay for the charged lunch the following day. You will receive notification from the cafeteria when a lunch is charged. Please remember to reimburse the cafeteria and/or office promptly. Free and reduced cost meals are offered to those families who qualify. Meal Benefit forms and guidelines are sent home with all students on the first day of school.

Costs for this school year: If there are special dietary concerns, please contact the cafeteria manager.

LUNCHROOM PROCEDURES:

In order for the students to enjoy lunch and to practice appropriate social skills, the Character Counts! pillars are emphasized at lunchtime. The pillars of good citizenship, being respectful, and caring for others are special areas of focus. During the lunch shifts, there are at least two staff members in the cafeteria to monitor and assist children. Students sit with others in their grade and are encouraged to use “inside voices” while chatting with friends. Please join your child for lunch any day! We would love to have you. Even when coming just for lunch, remember to sign in at the office


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Confidentiality and Security

In the school setting, we are very conscious of confidentiality issues regarding our students and staff members. Throughout the year, teachers do post student work for display. If you do not want your child’s work displayed, please let his/her teacher know early in the year that you do not want his/her work posted. In addition, the PTA newsletter will not include student names unless a parent is contacted first and gives permission. As we are always security minded, if an adult other than a parent/guardian picks up a student, even at the parent’s request, we will ask to see identification such as a driver’s license. Thanks for working with us and helping us to maintain a safe learning environment.


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Homework

General Homework Policy:

Educators and parents share one common goal – to help each student be successful. Each group plays an important role in student achievement. Students learn best when they, their parents, and their schools work together. Homework is one way families and schools can cooperate to improve student’s learning. Homework is a task teachers assign to students that is carried out during non-school hours. This work should provide the students with better understanding and retention of the material it covers. It will improve the students’ study skills, improve their attitude toward school and teach them that learning can take place at home as well as in school. Homework helps students learn better and faster. Research shows that many successful teachers assign meaningful homework. By asking students to spend some of their out-of-class time working on a specific skill or subject, teachers make it possible to spend class time teaching students even more. Homework helps families become involved with education. We know that for schools to do the best possible job educating each student, parents and schools must work together. Homework is one way parents can make a meaningful contribution to helping their children achieve. When students see that their parents think education is important, their performance improves. Homework communicates the high expectations that schools hold for their students. The best schools have confidence that their students can and will achieve. Assigning meaningful homework is one way of letting students develop confidence in their own abilities. Homework helps students develop self-discipline and organizational skills. Through homework, students learn how to manage their time. They learn the importance of setting goals and working to achieve them. They learn to be responsible for their achievements. All these skills will help them continue to be successful throughout their lives.

Types of Homework:

You should expect a reasonable amount of homework that is approximately ten minutes per grade level. For example, if your child is in second grade, twenty minutes of assigned homework might be expected. Generally, at the elementary level, homework is not assigned over weekends and holidays. You can help at home by developing the following routines to establish good study habits:


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Organization of Instruction

In elementary school, students are placed heterogeneously in classrooms for most of the day. Within the classroom, most teachers are assigned two or three homogeneous reading groups – meaning that students of similar reading levels are taught in each group. Our math groups are generally heterogeneous - meaning that most math groups will have a range of students. Re-teaching and enrichment opportunities are available in all groups. For our most accelerated math students, on-going enrichment is available. Teachers, administrators, and the reading specialist use multiple criteria when making placement decisions in reading and math. Consideration is given to: All students have opportunities to work in flexible group structures such as cooperative groups, total class, individuals, interest groups, or other criteria determined by the teacher. Students are regularly reevaluated which at times may necessitate a different and more appropriate placement.

Valley Elementary School Classroom teachers will be responsible for all subjects with supplemental assistance from other professionals such as the media specialist, speech and language pathologist, resource room teacher, and targeted intervention teachers. Art, music, and instrumental music will provide learning experiences that develop an appreciation and knowledge in the fine arts areas. These classes also support and expand upon various concepts and content areas being introduced in the classroom. Physical education will also be scheduled regularly and will provide activities that will help to develop strong, healthy bodies, a sense of fair play, and life-long habits for good physical well being.


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Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent-teacher conferences are held to discuss your child’s progress and to allow you the opportunity to examine samples of your child’s work to determine your child’s strengths and needs. Check the Calendar Handbook for dates of the scheduled conferences. Since these conferences are scheduled for short periods of time, think about what you want to learn from the conference and make notes of specific questions you would like to ask. Additional conferences may be held at the request of the parent, teacher and/or administrator at any time during the year. Both parents and school personnel may freely discuss any problems that directly affect your child’s school performance. If you wish to meet with school personnel, please arrange your visit in advance to ensure that the time is appropriate and does not interfere with planned activities. For example, in the morning before school begins, your child’s teacher is busy making final preparations for the school day, greeting early arrivers and tutoring students, therefore this would not be an appropriate time for an unscheduled conference. If you have concerns about your child, please contact his/her classroom teacher. If an interpreter is needed for conferences, please notify school staff two weeks prior to a conference so that arrangements can be made. Your positive involvement with your child’s teacher and school expectations can help your child meet with success in school.


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Parties

In accordance with FCPS policy, two class parties are held each year. Our school staff will determine the dates. Parents in cooperation with the classroom teacher may help plan parties for the students. Specific information will be sent home as the year progresses. Unfortunately, we will be unable to celebrate children’s birthdays with parties. Treats will not be distributed during the instructional day for this purpose, however, if you wish to send in these treats for your child to distribute at lunchtime, you may do so. Please be aware that children are experiencing more food allergies today so please check with your child’s teacher in advance about any food allergies experienced by your child’s classmates. In order to reduce the loss of instructional time and to prevent hurt feelings, students may not distribute invitations for private parties at school. These should be mailed/delivered from home.


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Report Cards

Frederick County Public Schools uses a reporting system that includes interim reports and the report card. Interims may be issued at any time between regular reporting dates to indicate notable achievement, improvement, or unsatisfactory work. These should be signed and returned to school within five school days. Report cards are issued four times each year: November, February, April, and June.


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School Supplies and School Store

Donations of the following items for class use thoughout the year are appreciated: Box of Tissues, Box of Ziploc Bags - sandwich, snack and/or gallon bags

Valley Elementary operates a school store for the convenience of families and students. Its hours are 8:35 a.m. – 8:50 a.m. each day. Our fifth grade students staff the school store. Basic school supplies are sold.


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Home/School Communication

As we value the communication between home and school, several different forms of communication are used. Each student has an Assignment Planner that goes home daily. Space is available in the planner for both teacher and family comments. All staff members may be reached through their direct telephone extensions and by email. All FCPS employees can receive email by using firstname.lastname@fcps.org. Thursdays have been designated as take-home day. Communications will be sent home in Thursday folders. Please ask your child for this folder each Thursday and return it to school on Friday. There will be a weekly Thursday Announcements that includes important school and PTA information that goes home with the youngest or only child in our school. You will also receive a monthly newsletter from your child’s teacher and quarterly newsletters from our specials and resource teachers. Please take time to look over these communications, as they will keep you informed of all the special happenings in your child’s class and throughout the school. You also have the option to sign up to receive school information via email. You can sign up for FCPS Find Out First and Valley’s Find Out First at the fcps.org website. Communication is important to us!


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Tests and Assessments

Throughout the school year, students are tested on the Frederick County Essential Curriculum in language arts, math, science, and social studies. The purpose of the tests is to evaluate learning so that instruction can be adjusted to meet students’ needs and thus improve learning. The assessments show whether schools, teachers and students have met the objectives outlined in the essential curriculum. These tests mirror instruction in the classroom and emphasize tasks students will do in real life situations. To meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) has developed the Maryland School Assessments (MSA). In elementary schools, these reading and math tests are given to students in grades 3, 4, and 5 in the early spring. This year, for grade 5, the content area of science will be added. These state tests produce individual student scores and home reports. The tests include multiple choice and constructed response items and results are available to schools and parents prior to the end of the school year. In Frederick County, students in second grade take the SAT-10 in early spring. Results from the SAT-10 will also be available to schools and parents at the end of the school year. As updated assessment information and dates are received from MSDE, the information will be shared with our Valley Learning Community.


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Visitors

Parents/guardians are always welcome to visit our school, however, for security reasons you must report to the office and sign in. All visitors and volunteers are required to wear a visitor’s badge while in the building. Your cooperation with this state law is appreciated. We look forward to seeing you often.


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Thursday Notes

Every Thursday, Valley Elementary School sends home a paper with very useful information. These Thursday Notes include upcoming events, announcements and important messages from the staff and our Principal. If you need a copy of the Thursday notes, please send an email to our Technology Coordinator, Joseph Keller, and specify which week you need them from, to have them emailed them to you.


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