III. Student Expectations

Hall Pass for all Students

All students will receive a Planner with their Student Pass Card that they must have in their possession AT ALL TIMES throughout the school day. It contains the passes necessary for student movement within the building. Each student will receive a planner during the first week of school.

All staff members are expected to use the student passes as the only pass for any privilege the student is seeking a pass for. Except to use the restroom or a student’s need to go to the office, a teacher is not expected to give a student a privilege of movement without their pass card. However, students with honors passes do not need to use their passes. All students must sign in and out of their teacher’s classroom.

Bicycles/Skateboards/Inline skates, etc.

Bicycles must be parked in the racks provided or chained to a fence as long as no part of the bicycle interferes with pedestrian traffic. Students coming to or leaving the school campus on bicycles or skateboards must obey all traffic rules. All bicycles should be provided with locks. The school is not responsible for damage or theft of parts while bicycles are parked in the racks. Any student who lawfully uses a skateboard to get to and from school may not use the skateboard on school property, including the roads and sidewalks. In-line skates, wheeled sneakers, or any other recreational transportation aide may not be used anywhere at school. At no time may either bicycles, skateboards, or any other vehicle or mode of transportation be used on the school track or athletic fields. Motorized bicycles are not allowed on school property.

Lockers

Each student is assigned a locker with a combination lock built into it. The Guidance Office and the Main Office are the only ones who know the combination to said locker. You should memorize your combination and not disclose it to anyone, including friends. Your books, coat, and other valuables should be kept in your locker when not in use. If you have trouble opening our locker, or if you forget your combination, see your counselor. Keep a clean locker. We cannot overemphasize the importance of keeping your locker combination secret. The school assumes no responsibility for your losses.

Since lockers are permanent part of the building, students are expected to keep them in good, usable condition. Designated school personnel have the right to search a locker. Get study materials for your morning classes when you arrive in the morning, and materials needed for the afternoon classes during lunch period. No one should leave classes to go to their locker except with special permission.

School Dances

School sponsored dances are open only to those students who attend Central Valley Academy and are in good academic and behavioral standing. All eligibility policies followed for all athletic, music and extra-curricular activities will apply to school dances. For the Christmas Ball, Junior Prom, Senior Ball, and the Student Council Semi-Formal Dance, approved student guests may attend, but must not be over the age of 20 years. The school dress code applies to all aspects with the exception of proper formal wear.

In order to be eligible for the Junior Prom and the Senior Ball, students must have earned enough credits to be considered a Junior or a Senior prior to the date of the event. Underclassmen may attend as a guest.

All rules and guidelines contained in the code of conduct apply at all dances. A student is prohibited from participation based on the student’s noncompliance with the school rules/regulations and will be prohibited from attendance if they are not in full legal attendance on the day of the dance (or Friday for Saturday dances).

A list of students must be provided to the advisors and administration 2 weeks prior to the dance in order to determine eligibility for all students planning to attend.

Corridor Conduct

1. 1. Students are not to congregate in the corridors before, during or after school.

2. When passing to classes, all traffic should move on the right side of the corridors.

3. No one is to be in the halls during class time without a pass signed by a teacher.

4. Walk and speak softly in the halls at all times. Boisterousness and rowdiness will not be tolerated.

Study Halls

The study hall, as the name implies, is a place of study and a quiet atmosphere must be maintained at all times. Students are expected to sign-in and sign-out for wherever they go. Privileges, such as going to the library, computer lab, make up class, etc. may be withdrawn by the study hall teacher due to not properly using study hall, and none will be honored until attendance has been taken. A student must receive permission from their study hall teacher to go anywhere outside the study hall. Leave the study hall in good condition at the end of each period.

Academic Support

Academic support is a structured study hall for students who are having difficulty in their classes. The teacher supervising may inquire about work and may direct the student as to what he/she should be working on. Students can only use passes to go to other teachers, the library, or computer lab, unless such passes serve an educational purpose that has been approved by the Academic Support teacher.

Assembly Procedure

Assemblies are held periodically during the school year to educate and celebrate achievement. For any assembly, students are expected to arrive with the classroom teacher that they are currently with and enter the assembly in an orderly manner without any yelling, screaming, pushing, or needless talk. There should be absolute silence when the speaker stands in front of the group to introduce the program. At Central Valley, hand clapping is recognized as the only courteous form of applause. Whistling, shouting and other noises are considered rude and discourteous. Many times the reputation of the school is jeopardized and tarnished by discourteous students when guests are visiting our school. When the program is over, please wait seated with your class until your classroom teacher instructs you to leave, then exit in an orderly fashion.

Fire Drill

When the fire alarm sounds, all students will move at a rapid walk to the nearest exits designated and posted in each room.

There must be no conversation or other unnecessary noise during fire drills. This quiet will enable emergency instructions to be given for change in routes in case regular exits are blocked. Students are to immediately listen to all emergency instructions from the staff in charge of you without question or argument.

Upon leaving the building, students will stay with the class they left the building with so teachers may call roll if necessary.

Lost and Found

All articles found are to be taken to the office immediately where they may be claimed during the school day. Anyone who has lost anything in school should notify the office immediately and check the lost and found collection. After an announcement, items will be placed periodically for claim in the hallway and discarded if not claimed by anyone.

Motor Vehicle Rules and Regulations

In order to promote the greatest possible safety of all students and personnel, the rules and regulations pertaining to motor vehicles are:

1. Motor vehicles are not to be driven over 15 miles per hour in the parking lot or on school roadways.

2. All student vehicles driven and parked on school property by students must be properly registered with the high school office. A student who fails to register any and all vehicles which they may on occasion drive or regularly drive to school will be subject to suspension of their driving privilege.

3. Students riding to school in unregistered student cars must be dropped off at the main entrance on Frederick Street. Weber Avenue is reserved for school buses before and after school.

4. Unregistered student cars may not be driven on school roadways during school hours 7:30 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. (exceptions: deliveries, salespersons, visitors with school business).

5. Students are not permitted to loiter in parked cars during the school day.

6. If a student has a vehicular accident on school property or while out during lunch, the student must report it to the principal and police immediately upon return to school.

7. The consequences for violating vehicle regulations may include a parent conference and the suspension of driving privileges on school property.

8. Students attending a BOCES program are not allowed to drive their vehicle to or from CVA without prior approval and paperwork signed by both CVA and BOCES designees as well as parents.

Privilege of Parking and Registration of Motor Vehicles

It is a privilege to park a vehicle at school. Seniors will be given priority to the limited number of parking spaces available. Students must register any car or motorcycle/moped using school roads (not Weber Avenue).

The Students’ Parking Areas will be the designated parking spaces available in the parking lot next to the baseball field. It may be necessary to have a vehicle towed at the owner’s expense if the vehicle is parked in an area other than the designated student parking area.

The consequences for parking in restricted areas are:

• First offense - student will be required to move the vehicle to the proper area immediately.

• Second offense - student will lose driving privilege for a period of up to five weeks and be placed on detention.

• Repeated offenses - student will lose driving privilege for the remainder of the semester or school year and be placed on in-school suspension.

Types of Working Papers

• Employment certificate - Student General Employment Certificates and Full Time Employment Certificates are available to students 16 and over.

• Vacation Work Permit - This certificate is required for students 14 and 15, who plan to work during vacations or after school hours. Not legal for work in a factory.

• Farm Work Permit - This certificate must be obtained by students 14 and 15, for work on a farm other than the home farm. Each farmer must sign this permit, but a new one is not required for each new job.

• Newspaper Carrier Badge of Certificate - This certificate must be obtained by students 11 years old through 17, who deliver newspapers door-to-door.

To Obtain Working Papers:

Application forms and instructions for filling out forms are available from the main office.

The Bookstore

School supplies and special items will be for sale. You can check for sales throughout the school year at: https://sites.google.com/a/cvalleycsd.org/cva-thunder-bookstore/

Student Withdrawals and Transfers

A transfer form must be obtained from the Principals Office. All books and school equipment must be returned and a teacher checkout accomplished. The locker must be emptied. All bills must be paid before credits are transferred to another school.

Out-of-District Students

Students moving out of the Central Valley School District who wish to continue to attend Central Valley Academy, must have their parent/guardian write a letter immediately requesting permission to do so.

Out-of-district students given permission to attend Central Valley Academy in a given year must reapply each year for permission to continue attendance. Students who meet the academic, attendance, and behavioral requirements will be considered for admission based on the school’s ability to fit them into acceptable class sizes.

The letter should be written to Superintendent of Schools, 111 Fredrick Street, Ilion NY 13357, stating the reason they wish to continue attending Central Valley Academy. This letter must contain:

• Student’s Parent/Guardian’s Name

• Student’s Name / Student’s Grade

• Address / Phone Number

Attendance

The New York State law requires that each minor from six to sixteen years of age must attend school and remain in attendance through the end of the school year in which the students reaches 16 or graduation from High School.

Students are expected to be in school on time each day. The New York State Education Department guidelines that apply legal and illegal absences from school will also apply as guidelines to tardiness.

• A student is legally absent from school when:

  • The parent has contacted the school to provide the legal reason for the absence. In cases of long term illness, a Doctors evaluation is required.

  • Legal reasons are illness, a doctor’s appointment, road test, college visit, court appointment, death in the family, funeral, internship, religious observance, counseling appointment, probation, military obligation, field trip or on a school approved trip such as college or workplace visit.

• A student is illegally absent from school when:

  • The student does not attend school and no reason is provided to school.

  • The student is on a trip with their parents.

  • The parent keeps the student home for academic or safety reasons.

  • A student is truant.

Procedures governing absences and tardiness

• If you are legally absent, the day you return to school you must bring a written excuse to the Attendance Office signed by your parent or guardian. If you are absent for five days or more, a doctor’s certificate is necessary.

• Anytime you are to be absent for other reasons, such as your parents taking you on a trip, the attendance aide should be notified.

• APPOINTMENTS- Students being excused during school hours must bring their excuses to the nurse before first period for verification and sign-outs.

• If at any time during the school day a student becomes ill, they must report to the nurse’s office. At no time should the student leave the building and go home on their own. They must be cleared through the nurse’s office. This is a matter of safety.

• If a student is going to be absent from school, we recommend that the parent or guardian call the attendance office between 7:30 A.M. and 8:30 A.M. that day. If the call is not received, the school nurse or attendance aide will contact the parent or guardian.

• Students are responsible for all work and/or assignments when absent.

• Students must be in attendance for at least a half day for a verified appointment in order to attend extracurricular activities or functions on the day of the absence as a spectator or participant. This includes interscholastic athletics (practices and games), field trips, dances, concerts, club meetings, play rehearsals or any school-related activities etc.

A student who does not return from lunch - If a student feels ill before leaving for lunch, they are expected to see the nurse before leaving for lunch and follow proper procedures for going home sick.

• If the student is not returning from lunch for any reason, then the student’s parent is expected to immediately call the school and provide the reason. If a student is not able to get a hold of a parent immediately during lunch, then they are expected to call school themselves before the end of the lunch period and have their parent follow up with the complete absence procedure of calling the school, sending an email or sending a note. Failure to follow these procedures will result in discipline.

• Juniors or Seniors who fail to report back to school after lunch will be denied access to an open lunch for their first offense. If they fail to report back after lunch for a second time, students will be placed in In-School Suspension for a half day upon return to school.

• If the school does not receive the proper call and documentation, the student will be considered truant and disciplined accordingly.

Tardiness

A pupil is expected to be in their 1st period class at 7:40 a.m. A parent excuse is required to verify that a legal reason exists for the student’s tardiness. Excessive tardiness forces us to keep students after school to make up for lost time. If you are late for class, you must bring a pass from the teacher that detained you, or from the office. Stopping at your locker, getting a drink of water, etc. are poor excuses for being tardy and will not be tolerated.

Procedures when arriving late to school:

• If the student arrives to school after the 7:40 a.m. bell or any other time during the school day, they are to report to the attendance office for a late pass.

• If the parent has called, written a note, or sent an email providing a legal reason for the student to be arriving at school late, then they are issued a pass and the tardiness does not count against them. If a bus is late, those students will be issued a pass and it will not be counted against them.

• Some examples of illegal reasons are: oversleeping, poor weather conditions, car trouble, traffic, power outage, or stopping at a local eatery on your way to school. Even if the parent has called and/or written a note providing an illegal reason for the student to be arriving at school late, the student will be issued a pass and the tardiness counts as an illegal tardiness to school and appropriate progressive discipline will be issued. However, since the student and parent are exercising the responsibility to notify the school, the Attendance Clerk may take the extenuating circumstances into consideration and not issue disciplinary consequences. If a student does not agree with the decision, he or she may ask to have it referred to an administrator for further review.

Procedures when arriving late from lunch

When a student arrives back to school late from being off campus at lunch, they are demonstrating that they are not being responsible with the privilege to be able to leave and come back on time.

•  If a student arrives back to school late from lunch, they are to immediately report to the attendance office to sign in and be issued a pass to class.

•  A student who is late from lunch will be assigned a lunch restriction/detention for the following day.

•  If the lateness continues, then it will be referred to the administration for increased discipline action, which may include a loss of the privilege to leave campus at lunch.

•  If a student is late from lunch or fails to return after lunch and is a registered driver, they may lose driving privileges for up to one week.

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