Handbook
Table of Contents
A student who has been absent from school is required, upon his or her return to school, to present a signed note from his/her parent/guardian stating the reason for the absence. Absences can be excused for illness, family emergencies, religious observances, family trips, school sponsored trips, and medical appointments, which cannot bearranged during non-school hours.
Excessive absences can have an extremely negative effect on a student's academic progress.
Children should always carry some type of identification, (Indicating name, address and telephone number).
Please ensure office records indicate current home, duty and emergency contact address, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.
It is important that the school be informed immediately if there has been a change of address, telephone number or emergency contact information. In the event it is necessary to contact a sponsor and his/her contact information is no longer valid, the sponsor will be contacted through his/her unit commander.
In addition to community activities (Scouts, Brownies,Beavers, Cubs, etc.), there are a variety of school-sponsored after-school activities (1530-1645) offered to the students from September through November. Parents will be notified of activities and sign-up procedures soon after the start of school. These activities will be scheduled throughout the week and activity buses are provided for students residing within the AFNORTH school-bus area. Students will take the activity bus or be picked up promptly at the end of the activities (1645).
Because of liability concerns, students may not remain on the school grounds after school dismissal, unless they are participating in an after-school activity or accompanied by parent or designated adult.
Code of Safety and Personal Conduct
1. I will be safe at all times by:
- Walking in the building and to and from the buses
- Using the stairs one step at a time
- Keeping hallways and doors free to traffic
2. I will show respect for all others and myself in the school by:
- Always being courteous
- Following the directions given by any staff member
- Using a normal voice inside the building
3. I will show respect for my surroundings by:
- Taking care of my property
- Treating school property and the property of others as if it were my own
Giving consideration to the environment in and around the building.
4. I will strive to do my best work Parents and teachers agree that discipline is important for learning. When teachers spend time correcting behavior, they have less time to teach. Good behavior begins at home. Here are ten ways parents can help improve discipline:
- Know and support the school rules
- Show your child you are interested in what he / she does in school. Ask about school activities.
- Talk to teachers about your child's behavior in school.
- Stress the importance of good discipline with your child.
- Be a good role model for your children.
- Show your children you respect them. Encourage them to respect others.
- Give your children a chance to take part in making decisions about things that affect them.
- Be sure your child eats properly. Poor nutrition can cause discipline problems.
- Watch your child's behavior at home.
- If discipline problems occur, talk with your child. Ask why she / he is misbehaving and listen to the answer.
Curriculum
AFNORTH International School offers many kinds of learning opportunities for students. Students here are exposed to activities and insights that students at other schools don't have. The facility is a marvel. The international mix of staff provides students with perspectives that are not available to them elsewhere. There are excursions and field studies that students will experience. At the core of learning is the basic curriculum – reading and language arts, maths, science, and social studies.
Every few years, a specific curricular area is reviewed by the staff in the school. Teachers from each of the three nations are chosen to work on a committee that has as its purpose the revision of that curricular area. Meetings are conducted over a period of several months. At those meetings they look at the “National” requirements of each nation. For example, the Americans bring the DoDDS curriculum and the American Standards. British teachers bring the English National Curriculum. The Canadians bring the curriculum Of Ontario, which, as the largest province, has had its curriculum approved by the Canadian Forces schools. The committee members look through the curricular guides and select those objectives considered essential at each year level and those objectives common to all three nations. There is an extremely high degree of congruence between the AFNORTH curriculum and that of each of the three nations. The result is that AFNORTH School has a curriculum that reflects the highest minimum requirement.
The basic skills areas of reading / language arts, maths, science and social studies are taught using AFNORTH School objectives derived from guides of each of the three nations. Each teacher has a copy of the AFNORTH objectives and uses textbooks and supplementary materials to support those objectives. The textbook does not define what is taught in the school; the objectives do. In that way, it can be ensured that all students learn the same thing at each year level.
Outside agencies that come to inspect the curriculum continually report that AFNORTH School has a rich and varied programmme. Most families returning to their host nation or to another service school find that their children are more than well equipped to handle the new school situation. Thus the AFNORTH Curriculum and the process used to develop it, while being unique to this school, serves teachers and students well.
Basic discipline is governed by the school's “Code of
Safety and Personal Conduct” which is reproduced below. National offices will deal with more serious breaches of conduct.
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AFNORTH |
US / CANADIAN |
UK |
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IY1 IY2 IY3 IY4 IY5 IY6 M1 M2 |
PRE-KINDERGARTEN KINDERGARTEN GRADE 1 GRADE 2 GRADE 3 GRADE 4 GRADE 5 GRADE 6 |
FS2 Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5 Y6 Y7 |
Guiding Principles
We believe that students:
• are able to learn;
• are entitled to an education that stresses the dignity and worth of each child;
• should be challenged to become responsible for their own learning;
• must learn to apply the tools of technology;
• should be provided with the opportunities for multicultural learning within the international community;
• should be guided to develop attitudes of acceptance and cooperation with others;
• are responsible for their actions. The school and community must promote the development of responsible behavior; and
• must be the focus of our educational efforts and the allocation of all human and fiscal resources.
Instruction by a teacher takes place primarily in a classroom
and is limited by time and location constraints. In order to extend the learning process, both in time and in place, homework is assigned. Homework is defined as work or activities assigned to students by the teacher to do outside-of-class time in order to extend the instructional program for a class or for individual students. Assigned homework serves both the teacher and the pupils in the following ways:
- to reinforce skills taught in class
- to increase understanding and retention
- to enrich classroom instruction
- to encourage responsibility
Homework assignments are meant to be reasonable in terms of time and effort requirements placed on students, but they should give students the opportunity to stretch and grow academically. No homework should be given by teachers before the concept or skill has been taught in class, and the students have had a chance to practice.
Parents will be contacted if their child is consistently having homework difficulties.
By seeing what homework your child is doing, you will be more informed about your child's curriculum at school. Please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher if there are problems.
The amount of homework will of course be different depending on the age of the child. Listed below is a general guideline for the amount given by each year level. Please bear in mind that these guidelines are not absolutes. The amount will vary nightly. However, if your child seems to be spending a great deal more time doing homework, you should contact the teacher.
IY1 10 minutes nightly with homereaders or library books
IY2 15 minutes nightly including home readers and
home projects
IY3 15-20 minutes a night
IY4 15-20 minutes a night
IY5 30 minutes a night
IY6 30-40 minutes a night
M1 30-40 minutes a night
M2 45-60 minutes a nightThere will be some long-range projects
to be completed in IY4-M2.
Inclement Weather/Early Dismissal
During periods of inclement weather (severe icing of roads, snow, fog), roads may be too dangerous for safe transportation for students. In the event the weather deteriorates during the school day; efforts will be made to contact the sponsor if school is dismissed early. Parents are urged to plan an alternate address or baby-sitter to whom the child(ren) may go. If school is canceled before the buses begin their routes, an announcement will be made over the radio early in the morning.
Check these stations: AFN 89.2
BFBS 90.2 and 87.7
CFNB 96.9 and 99.7
Students and parents are permitted to check out books
and certain reference materials from the library. It is expected that books will be returned on or before the due date. A student will be billed for a lost or damaged textbook/library book. Care of material is part of the student's responsibility in using library facilities. Students are encouraged to regard the library as an integral part of the school. Additionally, there is an area for parent/teacher materials. Please feel free to browse through those and/or check them out. The Library is open during the school day until 1600.
We urge you either to attach nametags or write your child's name on a piece of clothing, so we can help prevent unnecessarylosses. If your child is missing a certain item, you are encouraged to come and check the clothes bin. There are several “Lost and Found” bins around the school. Valuable items are stored in the Office of the Director.
For students in IY1 to IY4, a packed lunch and drink are needed daily. A nutritious mid-morning snack is recommended. Warm lunches are available for IY5 to M2 students in the cafeteria. Packed lunches provided by cafeteria services are available for students in IY1 to IY4.
A la carte line is not available to elementary students.
AFNORTH School employs school nurses to give care and first aid to any child who becomes sick or injured while at school. In the event a child becomes ill or needs further medical attention, parent(s) will be notified to pick up the child immediately. The nurses will decide whether or not a child needs to go home.
Any medication treatment to be carried out by the school nurse during school hours must be coordinated or accompanied by written directions from the prescribing doctor. In such cases, the parent should personally contact the nurse when medicines are involved. No child should self medicate without the knowledge of the school nurse. ( e.g. inhalers, epipens, headache medication).
In the event of an injury, first aid is administered by the school nurse. If the injury is serious enough, the parents will be notified to take the child home or to the hospital emergency room. In case of extreme emergency, the child will be transferred by ambulance to the hospital and parents will be notified ASAP. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY FOR THE SCHOOL TO HAVE A CURRENT ADDRESS, HOME PHONE, DUTY PHONE, AND THE ADDRESS/PHONE NUMBER OF ANOTHER ADULT TO NOTIFY IN CASE NEITHER PARENT CAN BE CONTACTED.
Pupils who are well enough to attend school are expected to be well enough to take part in all school activities, including outdoor recess breaks, PE classes, swimming, etc. A doctor's note will suffice for exceptional circumstances.
Mission
Statement
By providing a high quality education,
AFNORTH International School fosters and empowers its students to become
caring and responsible citizens who value education as a life-long process.
AFNORTH International School (AIS) is a learner-centered school. It endeavors to provide a safe environment that promotes risk-taking and celebrates diversity among its
student population and staff. The school challenges students to do their best as learners and as citizens, both now and for the future.
AIS fosters a climate of respect and acceptance in order to encourage self-worth and dignity for every individual.
A PE kit is required for each pupil in year levels IY4 to
M2. It must contain: shorts or sweat pants; non-marking, clean, soft-soled shoes; and a tee shirt.
Pupils in IY4-M2 require a swim kit to include: a towel, swim suit, and bathing cap (for long hair).
Rubber sandals or swim socks are required for pupils with warts/verucas. Lesson schedules will be provided by the classroom teacher.
To be eligible to attend AIS, a child must be 4 years old by 31 Oct of the current school year to enroll in IY1; 5 years old by 31 Oct to be eligible for IY2; and 6 years old by 31 Oct to be eligible for IY3 etc.
A child registered after the first day of school will report to his/her new teacher the day after registration. This allows the teacher time to prepare for the new student.
When a family is leaving AFNORTH the school requests written notification a week in advance to prepare relevant records for parents to hand carry to the new school.
Supervision commences with arrival of the school buses at approximately 8:40. Children should not be present before this time.
The school day is from 0900-1530. If you remove your child from school for any reason before the end of the school day, please come to the national office to sign him/her out. You will receive a release pass to collect your child from his/her classroom.
When a child arrives late he/she must be checked into the National Office by the parent. An admittance pass will be issued.
AIS offers an opportunity for parents and other interested community members to be actively involved with the school. The parent volunteer program provides the school and its pupils with a variety of valuable services in the classroom and throughout the school, thus enriching programs offered to the children.
In keeping with the philosophy of appropriate practices for all students each child will be evaluated according to individual progress in the acquisition of specific skills. In addition to the progress report, which is sent home three times yearly, parents have the opportunity to discuss their child's progress at any time by making an appointment with their child's teacher. Please note conferences are held by appointment only. Please arrange an appointment with the teacher or national office.
Parent – teacher conferences are scheduled for all parents after the first marking period in November. School classes will be dismissed early (12:30) on these days. (See school calendar) Work samples that illustrate the child's progress will be discussed.
We strongly suggest that parents contact us immediately with any suggestions or concerns they may have. The school will attempt to resolve all issues. We understand that not every issue can be resolved to the satisfaction of all parents, but we will always inform them of the reasons for why a particular decision was made.
Additional items may be requested by the classroom teacher.
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Pencils and pens
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Crayons
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1 box of colored pencils
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Glue sticks
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Paper - looseleaf
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Pocket folders
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Bookbag or backpack
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1 soft pink rubber eraser
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Plastic supply box
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Bath towel
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Bound Composition Book
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Clipboard
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Notebook- 3 ring binder
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Spiral notebooks
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Paint shirt
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Notebook dividers
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Planners
Study Trips
During the school year, various educational trips are scheduled to complement classroom learning. These activities are an essential part of the curriculum in science, social studies, foreign language, physical education and other disciplines. Appropriate pre- and post-assignments are given. ALL STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO PARTICIPATE.
When the activity is to an off-base location, parents will be asked to sign a permission form authorizing their child to attend. Students who do not return these forms cannot be permitted to accompany the class. Students with behaviour difficulties must be accompanied by a parent or an adult designated by the parent.
Testing Program
In accordance with national requirements, there is an annual standardized testing program for students. For those students registered in the US and Canadian sections, there is the CTBS (Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills)/ Terra Nova in year levels IY5 through M2. For British students, there are formalised tests in IY3 (Key Stage 1) and M1 (Key Stage 2). These are the SAT's.
The purpose of this testing is to determine group and individual achievement to develop comparative analysis, and to provide data for school curriculum development as well as to guide classroom instruction.
Textbooks
Textbooks and expendable workbooks will be issued to every student for each class. If a book is lost, the student must pay for it.
Visitors
Visitors are always welcome at the school. If you are coming to pick a child up, to bring a child back to school, or you are coming to volunteer, please sign in with your National Office. Dismissal slips are issued at the National Offices. When visiting the school, parents may not use the parking lot during bus loading (and unloading). Such actions are extremely hazardous and unsafe for children. The parking lot is closed from 8:40 until 9:00 and from 15:10 until 15:40.