Daily School Procedures

Absences
Families are asked to call school (720-561-5580) to report absences and tardies due to illness, etc. When you call, please leave the student's first name, last name, and grade (K-8).  Families are asked to schedule appointments and vacations so that they minimize time missed from school. When this is unavoidable, students are requested to develop a learning plan for the period they will be absent. The learning plan must be approved by their homeroom teacher.

Assemblies/Performances/Sharings
Students usually attend school-wide assemblies and performances with their homerooms. Students normally sit on the floor in rows by their homerooms. During the assembly or performance, students are expected to be respectful of the presenters.

Bicycles
The bicycle rack is located at the front of the building. Students riding their bikes to school should use a bike lock. If the student has a key lock, a duplicate of the key should be kept at home. The codes to combination locks should be written down in a safe place. The school requests that bicycle riders wear helmets. See the Horizons Web site (www.horizonsk8school.org) for details on the Freiker (Frequent Biker) Program at our school.

Carpools
Many students carpool to school. Families can coordinate carpools by contacting other families in their area using the Horizons Directory. Call the office if you would like help with this.

Cell Phones, iPods, etc.
Cell phones, iPods, and other electronic devices must be kept in backpacks throughout the school day and are prohibited from operation during school hours. If a student is seen using a device, it will be confiscated until the end of the school day. If it happens a second time, the device will have to picked up by the parent and if it happens a third time, the device will be held until the last day of school, per district policy. The exception is that Middle School students are allowed to listen to iPods appropriately during recesses.

Class Lists
Class lists are published in the Skylines and mailed to homes at the beginning of August. Teachers spend many hours discussing class composition in order to create well-balanced classes. No changes will be made until two weeks after school begins, unless mitigating circumstances arise. Should this be the case, parents may contact the lead teacher to explore a change in class placement. Parents may request a meeting with the lead teacher and grade-level team to discuss changes after this two-week period.

Computer Lab
The computer lab is scheduled to allow time for each homeroom to receive instruction in computer use. The lab is staffed with a computer teacher during this time. Students who need to use the lab additionally may do so with the permission of their teacher.

Copier Use
The school copiers are to be used for school-related activities. Students may use the copier during the school day with a teacher’s permission.

Discipline
The Horizons community adheres to district policies and state laws regarding the suspension and expulsion of students for inappropriate and dangerous behavior. Please refer to the Boulder Valley School District’s publication that details students’ rights and responsibilities. Students who behave inappropriately and/or interrupt the learning activities of the school will be asked to return home under supervision of their parents. In order to return to school, the student and parents will need to have a “re-entry” meeting.

Dress Code
Students at Horizons are asked to dress appropriately for school each day. Clothing should also be appropriate for the weather, and the activities of the day. Students with inappropriate symbols or sayings will be asked to turn the clothing inside out or to call their parents for a change of clothes. Individual teachers may make classroom rules regarding the wearing of hats or caps in the classroom. Hats should be left in the classroom during school performances and assemblies. In addition, the following student-developed guidelines, which apply to both genders and all ages, were adopted 10/03/01:

Tops (blouses, sweaters, t-shirts)
The front of a top may be no lower than the top of your armpit.
The back of a top may be no lower than the bottom of your shoulder blade.
Backless tops and tie-up tops may not be worn at school and school-related functions.
Tops must have at least one strap that comes over a shoulder.
Tops must come to the bottom of the rib cage and you may have no more than a total of 2 inches of exposed skin in the midriff area.
Bra straps may be showing, but please do not reveal any other part of your underwear.

Bottoms (pants, skirts, shorts):
Bottoms need to cover butt cheeks.
You may have no more than a total of 2 inches of exposed skin in the midriff area.
Please do not reveal any part of your underwear.

Open Enrollment
In order to apply to the school, families are asked to attend an informational meeting about the school. Interested parents must submit an open enrollment application to BVSD for each individual student by the district’s published deadline. Then BVSD uses a computerized lottery process to randomly select students’ names from the pool of applicants and notifies the parents of the results. Siblings of currently enrolled Horizons students and children of employees are given first priority in filling available openings.

Emergency Preparedness
Each classroom has a fire and tornado evacuation plan posted. Horizons classes have monthly fire drills, a spring tornado drill and a yearly lockdown drill. It is important that students take these drills seriously and remain quiet and calm.

Gum
Chewing gum is not allowed at Horizons.

Hall Behavior
When in the halls, students are expected to move through the halls in an orderly, respectful fashion.

Field Trip Permission
Only students with parental permission are allowed to leave school on educational field trips. Each year Horizons parents are asked to sign a general permission form to allow students to walk off campus to neighborhood facilities. For all other field trips, parents will receive a permission form describing the trip and asking for permission for their students to participate.

Illness
Students who are ill or hurt are sent to the office with a teacher or an adult supervisor's consent and a pass, where they are assessed by office personnel. If the student is ill or has been physically hurt, a phone call is made to the parent's home, work, or emergency contact person. Students with abrasions have their cuts cleaned with soap and water, and students with bumps have ice applied to the area. Under no circumstances can a school personnel distribute medicine without a doctor's medical form with signature. Parents are asked to come as soon as possible for the comfort of their child and the health of other students at Horizons.

Internet
An Internet account is available to all students through the Boulder Valley School District. Students are trained to use the Internet properly for research purposes, and they must abide by the BVSD guidelines for the Internet. Any misuse of the Internet will result in loss of Net privileges for the remainder of the school year in BVSD.

Leaving School
Horizons K-8 School has a closed campus; students may not leave the school grounds without permission. Students are asked to inform their homeroom teachers and report to the office before leaving school for any reason. Parents are asked to check students out with teachers or in the office and to meet students in the school. Students without parental permission will not be allowed to leave school alone by foot, bike, or RTD.

Pets
For health and safety reasons, BVSD district policy does not allow employees and families to bring pets to school except for special curriculum purposes. It is recommended that large pets be viewed outside.

Phone Use
Classroom phones may be used by students with permission. The phones in the office are available, with permission, to students who must contact their parents for transportation needs or if they are ill and must go home.

Restrooms
The restrooms are located in both wings of the building. During class, recess, or lunch, students can obtain a restroom pass. They may leave class, to use the restroom, with teacher permission.

School Closure Information
School closure information is available on the homepage of the BVSD Web site and on all local TV and radio stations.

Smoking
No smoking by any individual is permissible in the school or on school grounds according to state law.

Student Directory
Student names, addresses, phone numbers and emails are published in a school directory, which is printed in early fall. Parents are asked to update addresses, and phone numbers on a yearly basis. Families may opt out of having their information published in the directory by checking the appropriate box on the student registration form.

Supplies
Students are expected to provide their own consumable classroom supplies (e.g., paper, notebooks, pencils). A supply list is sent home in the spring with Skylines and also mailed to homes in August.

Toys
Toys distract students from their learning activities and are not appropriate for the classroom. Students may bring personal items to use at recess. They will be asked to share sports equipment with other students. It is recommended that expensive toys, not be brought to school, as the school cannot be responsible for any lost or broken personal items.

Transportation
Parents are responsible for arranging transportation for their children to and from the school.