Middlebrook School’s Handbook
Take a moment to review the Middlebrook Handbook for Families – it contains a lot of important information for families regarding our school’s policies and guidelines.
You can find a summary of important guidelines at Middlebrook School below.
Visitors
All visitors are required to show photo identification in order to enter the school building.
All visitors must report to the office to sign in. Please tell the office staff where you are going before leaving the office. You need to obtain a visitor’s badge, wear the label in the building, sign in and sign out at the front desk.
If your child has forgotten something that is an absolute necessity, the secretary will call them to the office to minimize disruption to the classroom. We ask that you carefully plan for all necessary items the night before school.
Morning Arrival procedures
Students may arrive beginning at 8:20 AM and the bell rings at 8:35 AM. Please help your children arrive to school on time.
Late students must stop at the office with their guardian and be checked in before going to their classrooms. Office personnel will mark the child tardy and ensure they find their class.
For safety reasons, parents cannot escort their children to classrooms. If a student needs assistance someone in the office will help.
Help your children by making sure all school materials (i.e. lunch money, dismissal notes, homework, glasses) are placed in backpacks the night before and are labeled with the child’s name. We will be working on minimizing class disruptions by asking students to refrain from calling home for items after the school day has begun. In addition, it really helps your child when he/she knows of clear dismissal plans each day.
Drop-off circle. When using the morning drop-off circle please have children exit the passenger side of the car. Parents, please remain in your vehicle. There are adults stationed in the drop-off circle to help children exit cars and find their way.
Afternoon Dismissal procedures
The regular school day ends at 3:20 pm.
Students being picked up by parents are called to the Library at 3:15 pm. Parents use the side circle by TLC and remain in your vehicle. Place a white paper on the dashboard with your child’s/children’s’ name on it. Your child/children will be escorted to your car by a staff member.
Students who walk home are called to the Recess door for dismissal at 3:15 pm.
Buses are called beginning at 3:20 pm.
Students who regularly ride the bus need a note if there is a change in their dismissal plans. If there is no note and parents cannot be reached, students are automatically sent home on the bus.
If picking up a student during the school day, you must park in the parking lot and come into the office to sign the child out. Do not park in front of the school as it is a fire lane. The office will call your child for dismissal when you arrive.
Dismissal Changes. A note is needed if there is a change in your child’s regularly assigned dismissal procedure. Please send a note on a 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper with the child’s full name, teacher and date signed by the parent/guardian if there is any “change in plans” for student dismissal and have your child hand it to the teacher in the morning. We understand that sometimes there are last minute changes in family dismissal arrangements and ask that these last minute changes be kept to a minimum. Please call the main office by 1:00 pm. This will enable the office to deliver information to their teacher before afternoon instruction begins.
If your child is enrolled in an after school program such as After School Enrichment classes or Middlebrook Explorers, you do not need to send a note on scheduled meeting days. Signing your child up for the program is a commitment to attending the meetings. If your child is not able to stay for the scheduled after school program you need to notify the school in writing so the instructor will be aware not to expect them.
Bus Procedure. Students must ride their assigned bus. The only exception to this rule is if there is a family emergency and these must be approved by the principal and the transportation department. This is a safety concern and a space issue. Students are not allowed to switch buses for playdates.
View the Trumbull Public School’s Complete Bus Conduct & Policies here
Reporting an Absentee
It is the responsibility of a parent/guardian to report his/her child’s absence to the school each day by calling the school’s office prior to 9:00 a.m. that day by:
- telephoning the school secretary or school nurse (203-452-4112);
- e-mailing the school secretary or school nurse (hoggattj@trumbullps.org); or
- speaking to the school secretary or school nurse in person.
Please follow the expectations of the TPS Attendance Policy found here.
Health & Wellness
Please notify the nurse immediately of any head lice findings, even if discovered over the weekend or if it occurred during the summer. Confidentiality is always observed.
Please report all communicable diseases to the school, even if they occur on a weekend. This includes strep throat, conjunctivitis, bronchitis, chicken pox, fifth’s disease, impetigo, pinworm and pneumonia.
Please do not send any medication to school with the children – (this includes vitamins, prescription and non-prescription drugs). A parent may come to school at any time to give a medication to their child, but the nurse can only give medication if the Doctor and parent have given written permission. If your child will need medication in school, please obtain a special form for this purpose from the nurse.
When your child is ill, please call the main office to report their absence and leave a voicemail message detailing reason for absence and follow prompts.
District policy states that if a student has a temperature (100 degrees F. or higher) at night, in the morning or is sent home from school with one, they must stay home until they have been “temperature free” for 24 hours.
Please do not send children to school if they have vomited during the night or in the
morning.
A parent cannot give medication to anyone except his or her own child.
Dress Code
During the colder months, children need to dress warm enough to be outside for fifteen
minutes of recess.
During the warmer months, children need to wear proper shoes to play safely during
recess.
No flip-flops, or open backed shoes/sandals are permitted. Sneakers are highly recommended.
It would be helpful if each student could have a change of clothing in their locker for emergencies.
Physical Education. It is the town policy that all students to wear sneakers in physical education class. Students who do not wear their sneakers will not be allowed to participate in physical education.
Safety
For the safety of your child all parents who volunteer or chaperone a field trip must complete the TPS School Volunteer Security Check Form online.
Cell phone use by students at school or on the bus is not allowed. In order for a student to bring a cell phone to school parents must sign and submit the User Agreement and Parent Permission form for wireless Communications Devices. These are available from the main office. Cell phones must be turned off and kept in lockers.
Lockdown Drills. During a lock down drill no one is allowed to enter or exit the building.
Fire Drills. If you are in the school during a fire drill, you should leave with the class or nearest teacher.
Emergency Planning
An emergency weather form will be sent home with your child. Please be sure you have a plan for emergency situations (i.e. early dismissals due to weather or other conditions).
Our emergency system, Alert Now, is in place. It immediately notifies you if there is any change in the school schedule i.e. early dismissal, delayed opening or school closing due to weather or any other reason. Please check for early dismissal and school closings on WICC, WEBE 108 and Channel WTNH 8 News. It will also be on the district’s website, and announced via a PTA parent e-mail blast.
Privacy and Published Student Images
Throughout the year there are a variety of activities in the classroom and sponsored by our PTA where students may be photographed. These images are routinely displayed or shown in a variety of settings including, but not limited to meetings, publications, bulletin boards and the school’s website. Student names are not connected with their images.
Parents who do not want their child videotaped or photographed must send in a written request to the principal.
We ask that parents exercise safety in terms of video and photographic material. Please DO NOT publish any student performances or pictures on public websites! The provision of seeking prior permission does not apply to school yearbooks, school newspapers or images published by the working press. However, if a parent has a concern about the publication of a student’s image in those settings, that concern should be brought to the attention of the school principal.