Parent & Student Handbook

Attendance is extremely important for the academic success of each child.  If your child is ill or unable to attend school for any other reason, please send a note of explanation, as all absences must be documented.  In the case of a prolonged absence, please check with your child’s teacher about the optimal way to handle assignments. Students are responsible for making up missed instruction

Arrival

- School begins at 8:15 every day.

- Grades K through 5 are expected to arrive in the school yard on Prospect Avenue between 8 and 8:15 am every day.  At the whistled signal, students line up in their designated spots to wait for their teachers. Teachers meet their classes and escort them indoors at 8:20.  Please note: In inclement weather, grades 1 through 5 will enter the school yard on Prospect Avenue and proceed through the main school yard doors directly into the cafeteria, where school staff will direct students to their indoor line-up.

- Any parent visiting the school must sign in, with proof of identity, at the security desk in the main lobby.

- Any child who arrives too late to join their class line in the school yard should enter through the main lobby and report straight to their classroom.  Children who arrive after attendance has been taken will be marked late.

- Breakfast is offered to all children free each morning before school, beginning at 7:30 am in the Cafeteria. PLEASE NOTE: Children will not be allowed into the building before 7:30 am and parents may not stay with their children during breakfast.

Due to extreme traffic congestion on 7th and Prospect Avenues at school drop-off and dismissal, there is NO DOUBLE PARKING while picking up or dropping off children.  Double-parked cars on both sides of Prospect Avenue block traffic and create dangerous conditions for PS10 families as well as for other drivers, including emergency vehicles. The local police precinct has issued a warning to PS10 double-parkers, and PS10’s neighbors have appealed for compliance. If you drive your child to school, plan to arrive early enough to locate a legal parking space prior to escorting your child to the building.

- Families who require assistance with busing or public transportation matters should email Aleris Lorenzo at alorenzo@ps10.org.

All students are dismissed at 2:40 pm at the locations listed below.  Any adult other than the primary caregiver who picks up a child must be authorized to do so by being listed on that child’s Blue Card, which is sent home at the beginning of the year.  Copies of the Blue Card are filed in both the Main Office and each child’s classroom. Teachers will not release a child to anyone not listed on the Blue Card. If plans necessitate that someone other than an adult listed on the Blue Card must pick up your child, you MUST telephone the main office at (718) 965-1190 to make arrangements.

- It is imperative that children are picked up promptly at 2:40 pm. PLEASE NOTE: children not picked up in a timely manner will be escorted to the Auditorium for late pickup.  Caregivers must access late pickup via the main lobby.

Pickup Locations:

Grades K-4:  In the school yard on Prospect Avenue, rain or shine. Students are escorted outside by their teachers.  Parents/caregivers wait outside the double gate until they see their child’s class, then enter the school yard and exit with their child as directed.  It is important to comply with the flow of traffic, which may vary according to weather/yard conditions.

Grade 5: 17th Street barrier-free exit (the exit furthest from 7th Avenue.)  Parents/caregivers wait on 17th Street outside the gated area.

Lunch

Lunch is served free of charge to all students at PS10.  Children may also bring lunch from home. Citywide school lunch menus are sent home monthly by the Administration, and can be accessed via the school website as well as at www.schoolfoodnyc.org.  
Each of the three lunch periods is 50 minutes long and includes 25 minutes of Recess in the schoolyard.  Children are expected to clean up after themselves at the conclusion of their lunch period, which includes separating their refuse into compost (food scraps, napkins, compostable school lunch trays), recycling (metal, rigid plastic, foil, juice boxes, milk cartons), and landfill (plastic wrap, squeeze pouches).

Recess

Recess includes outdoor play all year, weather permitting, so it is vital that children are dressed appropriately for the weather, particularly in winter.  Please label coats, scarves, gloves/mittens and hats with your child’s name and class number. PS10 PTA funds professional Recess Coaches to help facilitate safe play in the schoolyard.  

Lunch/Recess Volunteers

PS10 welcomes parent/guardian volunteers to help support school staff during Lunch periods.  Join the Recess Committee on Konstella or contact pta@ps10.org for information on how to volunteer.  

School Security

All Parents, Guardian, Visitors and Volunteers to the school must sign in and show photo identification at the Security Desk in the Lobby to receive their Visitor’s Pass and gain entry to the school.  It is essential for the safety of the children that everyone follow this protocol.

Family Health Center

PS10 is pleased to host Nurse Practitioner Josephine Allen from NYU Langone Brooklyn Family Health Centers.  Her office is located across from the Main Office on the second floor and is open to families during school hours.  She can be reached at (718) 788-6572. Nurse Practitioner Allen’s services include providing first aid, conducting physical examinations and lab screenings including strep tests, writing prescriptions and referrals to specialists, administering flu shots and vaccinations, screening for asthma, diabetes and other chronic conditions, and administering daily medications.  Parents whose children become ill at school will be sent to Nurse Practitioner Allen and will, if necessary, be contacted to pick up their child. It is important that parents and guardians fill out a consent form and supply the Family Health Center with up-to-date phone numbers in order to be contacted in the event of a child’s illness.

Illness

Please do not send a sick child to school.  Parents are asked to wait until the child is fever-free without the use of fever-controlling medication for 24 hours before sending a child back to school. Please do not send a vomiting child to school. If a child has a contagious condition, such as chicken pox or strep throat, the school MUST BE NOTIFIED.
 When your child is well enough to return to school, please put a note in their Yellow Folder explaining that their absence was due to illness.

Lice

Children are NOT ALLOWED in the classroom while they have lice.  Periodically, the PS10 PTA helps organize school-wide head checks conducted by a professional lice removal company.  Lice checks will also be conducted as needed on a case-by-case basis. If head lice are detected, parents will be asked to pick up their child from school that very day.  Parents are given directions for lice removal if needed. Children will be allowed to return only when they are lice-free.

Parent involvement in the school is an essential part of every child’s success as well as an amazing opportunity to create a strong community (and have fun!) There are many ways to be part of the community and help it grow.  Please consider becoming active in these activities, and feel free to suggest new ideas.

• Chaperone a Class Trip
• Volunteer for or attend a school event
• Join a committee and encourage your friends to join too
• Volunteer to help the school staff during Lunch/Recess

• Attend monthly PTA meetings, and meetings of the School Leadership Team (SLT) and the PTA Executive Board (these meetings are open to all parents/guardians;  check Konstella for meeting dates/times)
• Become a Class Parent
• Donate to the PTA

The work of the PTA through events and donations can be seen everyday by your children!  The work you do to support the PTA supports teachers with additional support in the classroom, push in teachers who work with children who need additional work and attention, recess coaches to help children interact and play together, and exciting programs such as the Metropolitan Opera, Facelab and Chess in the classrooms.

Lost and Found

All backpacks and outerwear must be labeled with your child’s name.  The school is not responsible for lost or misplaced items. The Lost and Found is located in the school auditorium.  As space is limited, clothing that is not collected in a timely fashion will be donated.

Phone Policy

The PS10 Administration advises parents that students should NOT bring cell phones to school.  However, if it is necessary for a child to carry a cell phone to school, the phone must be kept in the student’s backpack during the school day and accessed only after school.  PS10 is not responsible for lost, misplaced or damaged/broken cell phones.

Field Trips

Many PS10 teachers incorporate Field Trips into their curriculum.  Permission slips will be sent home in Yellow Folder; slips must be signed and returned to your child’s teacher in order for your child to be included in the trip.  On Field Trip days, children are asked to wear their Yellow Trip Tees, which can be obtained in Rm. 210 next to the Main Office for a fee of $6.

PS10 Merchandise

During the school year at various events there will be PS10 merchandise available for sale. This varies from year to year, and has included apparel (t-shirts, sweatshirts), hats, water bottles and tote bags. Parent volunteers are needed to help sell items at events. (see PTA section below for more details)

Photo Day

Photo Day is a PTA-sponsored fundraiser that occurs every year in October.  Class pictures as well as individual portraits are taken by a professional photography company.  Please join Photo Day committee to help plan this great undertaking. Volunteers are needed day of to help ready the children for photos. Look for announcements via Konstella and in your child’s yellow folder for dates. The PTA also offers a photo retake day, to be determined, if your child is absent on photo day.

Family Library Hours

In 2004, PS10 was the recipient of a Robin Hood Foundation grant, which provided the school with a beautiful Library. The Library will be open for families during after-school hours on a schedule that is announced each fall.

All schools in New York State are mandated to have an SLT, whose purpose is to create the Comprehensive Education Plan (also known as the CEP) and to make decisions about the budget that will allow the plan to be implemented.  The SLT is a place where parents, administrators and staff members have an opportunity to communicate regularly and to share ideas. All SLTs must be 50% parents and 50% staff. The Principal, PTA Co-Presidents and United Federation of Teachers (UFT) representative (or their designees) are automatically on the team;  other members are elected by their constituencies at special meetings held for that purpose.


Meetings are held at 7:30 am every other week in the school library and are open to all observers.  Check the online
 calendar for SLT meeting dates.