Student Handbook

CAMPUS HOURS: Office hours are 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM. Students are required to be on campus by 8:00 AM when school begins Tuesday-Friday.  Monday is a late start day and students are permitted to be on campus at 9:00 AM and required to be on campus by 9:10 AM.  Note: Students are not to be on campus after 3:15 PM unless they are in a teacher-supervised activity.

ACADEMICS 

Grades are issued as A, B, C, D, F, I (incomplete).  Classwork, homework, and assessments are all factors which determine grades.  An incomplete is given only when a student has been ill or a death in the family has occurred, but never when a student had the same opportunity as other class members to do the assigned work.

The school year consists of two semesters and each semester contains two quarters. Note: Only semester grades and quarter long STEAM course grades are recorded in each student’s permanent record. 

CITIZENSHIP: Students receive a citizenship grade for each class at the semester.  Citizenship reminders will also be sent out at each quarter.  This grade is reflective of their citizenship in class and not their academic performance. The goal for all LOMS students is to earn an ‘O’ in citizenship. Citizenship is just as important as the academic grades given in the classroom andare used as qualifiers for awards.  If there is a concern about citizenship grades, students need to schedule a meeting with their classroom teacher.  

HOMEWORK GUIDELINES & REQUESTS: If a student is absent, the student should first call homework buddies and check their online Google Classrooms to get the homework assignment missed for the day.  If a student will be absent multiple days, they should contact teachers via email and request their homework.  

ACADEMIC RECOGNITION: California Junior Scholarship Federation (CJSF) is a statewide organization with over 600 schools in membership.  The goal is to promote outstanding scholarship in school and community service.  At LOMS, we are pairing this with our traditional Lion and Phoenix Pride awards.  Points are earned in all classes except PE with an A= 3 pts; B= 1 pt; C= 0 pts.; letter grades of D’s or F’s and/or citizenship grades of U’s result in automatic disqualification. Note: Students must apply for CJSF each semester as membership is not automatically given. 

• CJSF Honor Roll Recipient
• Qualify for President's Award
• Candidates will prepare a 2 minute speech on a selected topic to be presented to the selection committee. 

ATTENDANCE

For student safety and State of California compliance, absences need to be called in each day to the Attendance Office before 10:00 AM.  For convenience, the Attendance Office has a 24-hour telephone message service to leave messages regarding absences at  (805) 534-2837. Please give specific reasons for absences since the State of California requires specificity to be considered for an excused absence.  Failure to verify an absence within 24 hours, by indicating the day(s), date(s), and reason will result in a truancy/cut and detentions assigned accordingly.  Students are responsible for completing missing assignments for each absence.  The time allowed to make up work is equal to the time of the absence, for excused absences only.

EXCUSED ABSENCE: An absence is excused only for: illness; bereavement; medical, dental, or court appointment; quarantine; or school sanctioned activity.  All other absences are considered unexcused. 

UNEXCUSED ABSENCE: Unexcused absences include family travel out of town, and any absence not deemed excusable as mentioned above.  The State of California considers a student a truant if he/she receives three (3) or more unexcused absences and requires the school to notify the parent.  On the third or more unexcused absence, the school will send you a School Attendance Review Board letter indicating the classification of your child as a truant per the state’s Education Code.

TARDY TO CLASS: Punctuality is a common, reasonable, and legal expectation for students. Students need to be in their assigned seats, ready to work when the period begins. Students tardy to 1st period need to check into the Attendance Office prior to reporting to their class. Oversleeping, missing the bus, or being late because of non-medical reasons are considered unexcused tardies. Regardless of the cause, tardies are the student’s responsibility.  Continued unexcused tardies of five or more to any period will result in systematic consequences including after school detention, parent conference, and School Attendance Review Board notification by letters.

SHORT-TERM INDEPENDENT STUDY PROGRAM- OUT OF TOWN ABSENCES: If it is necessary to have your child out of school for family business/travel for an extended period of time of 5 to 20 consecutive days, please make an appointment with the Attendance Secretary no less than 10 school days prior to leaving.  An Independent Study Agreement will be developed indicating all home/class work assigned.  All assigned work will be due immediately upon return to school in order to receive full credit.  Independent Study can only be requested once per academic year.

RESTORATIVE PRACTICES 

RESTORATIVE APPROACH PROCESS: This is a process designed to value a student’s feelings and integrity in a situation where previously a punitive action would have been the norm.  The goal is for our students to be accountable for their actions and be able to remain in class so that they can continue with their learning.  When students reach the 5th and 6th tier, it means that our staff has worked very hard to model appropriate behavior without the desired outcome and, therefore, a more traditional progressive discipline process will begin.  Parent communication and collaboration in this process is as vital as anything if your student is continuing to be disruptive.  As a school community, we will work to hold ourselves to these behavioral expectations.

CHARACTER COUNTS: Learning about and building character at Los Osos Middle School is one of our core values.  This year we are an official Character Counts school site.  This program is made up of the six pillars of character - Citizenship, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, Trustworthiness and Respect.  Throughout the year, our staff will educate and reward students for exhibiting these types of behaviors. 

GENERAL STUDENT EXPECTATIONS:

1.  All students are expected to be in their assigned seat and prepared to work as noted on the Bell Schedule.

2.  Students are expected to come to class prepared with proper materials, such as pens, pencils, a charged chromebook and a binder with notebook paper.

3.  Students are expected to keep their campus clean and be environmentally responsible by placing all garbage in recyclable or trash cans. Eating is permitted in the MPR or Cafeteria Quad only; gum is not permitted on campus.   

4.   Any electronic device, jewelry, large sums of money and disruptive items such as electronic games, pagers, toys, laser  pointers, and novelties are not permitted and will be confiscated.  In addition, the administration will not spend time looking for these items if they are lost or stolen.

5.  Students are not permitted to use nor have visible cell phones, headphones, and/or electronic signaling devices on campus.  Students are not to text or make phone calls from their personal device during school hours.  Students may use the office phone if needing to contact parents.  Misuse (ie. sexting, harassment) may also result in school consequences. Note: The security of personal property is the sole responsibility of the student;  the school is not responsible for personal property brought from home.

6.   Hazardous objects that are not permitted on campus include, but are not limited to, fireworks, matches, lighters, lasers, roller blades, wallet chains, studded apparel, or weapons of any kind, including small “Swiss Army” style pocket knives.

 7.   We expect that students will maintain appropriate hallway behavior, walking, keeping hands to oneself, and respecting the established “Quiet Zones.”

8.  Displays of affection are limited to holding hands; other displays of affection are not considered age-appropriate school behavior.

9.   We expect that all students will be responsible citizens and report any dangerous or illegal activity to a staff member. 

10.  See Something, Say Something - students and parents can report concerns about themselves or others to our anonymous text-a-tip number at 805-669-7287 or confidentially by email at lomstextatip@gmail.com. Bullying or safety concerns can also be reported through the district’s “Report a Concern” online form found on the LOMS website. 

11.  We are a great school and when we have visitors on campus, we show extra respect and cooperation toward all guest teachers and visitors.

12.  Students will use respectful talk when engaging with other students and staff on campus.  Students will refrain from derogatory comments around race, religion, sexuality, identity and disability, and profanity.  

13. Bullying and/or harassment is not acceptable in the San Luis Coastal Unified School District.  Students should seek immediate help from an adult if he/she feels that they are being bullied or harassed.  Students are also expected to immediately report incidents of bullying/harassment to school personnel.  Each complaint of bullying/ harassment will be investigated.

14. Bikes and skateboards are not allowed to be ridden on campus.  They must be stored in the bike/skateboard racks for the duration of the day. Students will need to supply their own lock.  Helmets must be worn by all skaters and riders.  Students without helmets will have to walk home and their bike or skateboard will remain on campus. 

15.  There is no selling of outside products for individual profit or exchange.  This means no selling of candy or other food items for money or the like.

16. Students who wish to ride the school bus to and from school will be required to register and pay a fee for this service. It is important that all students are aware of the bus riding rules so they may keep their bus privileges.  The district’s School Bus Rules are outlined in the Secondary Schools Discipline Code that all students receive as part of their registration packet at the beginning of school.  Students are responsible to read and follow all bus rules.  If a student receives a bus referral for an infraction, the following are the progressive consequences:

17. Cafeteria expectations include no throwing food, eating in line, destruction of food, exchange or sale of free- or reduced-price meals, leaving trash, pushing/shoving/giving or cutting in line. Theft-stealing from the cafeteria or others will result in a consequence.

18. The Board of Education believes that appropriate dress and grooming contribute to a productive learning environment. The Board expects students to give proper attention to personal cleanliness and to wear clothes that are suitable for the school activities in which they participate. Students’ clothing must not present a health or safety hazard or a distraction which would interfere with the education process (AR 5132).

• Shoes must be worn at all times, including during PE activities.  
• Clothes shall be sufficient to conceal undergarments and cover the torso to mid-thigh area.
• Hats and beanies may be worn. Hoodies on the head are prohibited. Two expectations: eyes must be visible and there will be times when teachers may need you to remove hats/beanies in the classroom as related to instructional safety purposes.. 
• Clothing, jewelry and personal items (backpacks, gym bags, water bottles etc.) shall be free of writing, pictures or any other insignia which are crude, vulgar, profane or sexually suggestive, which bear drug, alcohol or tobacco company advertising, promotions and likenesses which advocate racial, ethnic or religious prejudice. 
• Clothing or grooming which disrupts the educational process shall not be permitted.
• Adornments that could be used as weapons (chains, spikes, etc.) are prohibited.
• Long belts must be tucked into belt loops.

 PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE CONSEQUENCES:

RESTORATIVE SUSPENSION ALTERNATIVE:  Students who may meet the threshold of a suspension for a single event or a culmination of several discipline consequences may be given a Restorative Suspension Alternative.  This is an in-house suspension that starts at the beginning of the school day.  This may include counseling, restorative conversations and lessons.  If a student fails to attend the Restorative Suspension Alternative, then they may be given In-School or Out-of-School Suspension. 

BEHAVIOR CONTRACTS: After various interventions for inappropriate behavior have failed, a conference with the student and his/her parents will be held.  The student and parents must sign a behavior contract, which outlines appropriate behavior as well as consequences for non-compliance with the contract. Failure to fulfill the requirements of the behavior contract may result in referral to the District where alternative placement may be considered.

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES, COUNSELING & ACTIVITIES

• Academic: GPA is below a 2.0 
• Attendance: truancy, excessive tardies or absences
• Classroom Citizenship: two or more N marks in citizenship and/or one or more U marks
• Discipline: in-school or out-of-school suspension

SPORTS: Check out our website for all of the LOMS sports opportunities.

CLUBS: We have a variety of club offerings each year on campus.  Check the newsletter for information on our different amazing clubs.

ASSOCIATED STUDENT BODY (ASB) CARDS: Every member of the Student body is given an ID Card.  Students are  encouraged to purchase an ASB Sticker.  An ASB Sticker entitles each holder to reduced rates to athletic events, dances and other functions, and yearbook purchases. The price of an ASB Sticker is $15.00.

 ACTIVITY DANCE: An Activity Dance is a combination of an informal school dance and an activity where students can enjoy games, food, and structured activity.
 

PARENT INVOLVEMENT & SUPPORT

Communication and involvement between home and school is not only welcomed at Los Osos Middle School, but is essential in improving student learning and achievement. School administration, counselors, teachers, and staff communicate with parents in a variety of ways. These may include individual parent conferences, telephone calls, letters, progress reports, report cards, email, etc. There are times during the year when home-to-school conversations are needed to clarify issues that may arise.  In addition, parents are encouraged to participate in a variety of ways that allow for collaboration and involvement. 

SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL (SSC): Los Osos Middle School has a School Site Council.  This body allows parents, teachers, students and administrators to share in school information, approve the safety plan, and provide input for the school.  If you are interested in joining the School Site Council, please contact the main office and leave your name and number with the secretary.

ENGLISH LEARNERS ADVISORY COUNCIL (ELAC): Los Osos Middle School has an English Learners Advisory Council which represents the English Learners on our campus.  This committee helps to inform these families about the school, community and special services available to our English Learner students. 

QUESTIONS ABOUT STUDENT COURSEWORK: A strong school/home partnership is vital to the success of all our students.  The below process should help both parents and school to address each concern promptly, efficiently and with due process:

1. Contact the Teacher: Every attempt to get questions answered and concerns resolved should be made with the classroom teacher.  This may be done by email,  phone conversation or in a scheduled teacher/parent conference.
2. Contact the Counselor:  If a parent’s concerns have not been met or further information is needed after speaking with the teacher, please contact the counselor. This may be done by email, phone, or in a scheduled meeting.  
3. Contact the Principal & Asst. Principal: If a parent’s concerns have not been met or further information is needed after speaking with the teacher and counselor, please contact the assistant principal and/or the principal. This may be done by email, phone, or in a scheduled meeting.   

UNIFORM COMPLAINT PROCEDURES: Complaints about school policies, employees, or incidents should be directed initially to the  principal.  In the event that the school or district is alleged to be in violation of civil rights or state/federal compliance, a Uniform Complaint Procedure Form should be filled out.  Complaint forms are available at the school site and all district offices also.  Completed forms should be forwarded for review to the Compliance Officer, Director of Personnel Mr. Dan Block, at 1500 Lizzie Street, San Luis Obispo; (805) 549-1233. [B.P.4139]

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY: In accordance with Federal Civil Rights Law, San Luis Coastal Unified School District is prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, or age.  This applies to all staff and students at Los Osos Middle School. Read more here.

Note: Subject to revision as needed.