Cougar Student/Parent Handbook
Kenilworth Elementary
Rodney Henderson, Principal
12520 Kembridge Drive
Bowie, MD 20715
School Office: 301-805-6600
Fax: 301-805-6605
School Website: http://www1.pgcps.org/kenilworth/
PTA Calendar
http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=kesptasecretary%40
yahoo.com&ctz=America/New_York
COUGAR HANDBOOK
VISION
The Kenilworth community of learners, made up of children, teachers, parents, and administrators will work to optimize the potential of all members in an environment that nurtures learning through academic excellence, artistic expression, and rich extracurricular activities, provided by a compassionate, caring, world-class faculty. This community will work together as a cohesive unit to foster positive relationships, celebrate successes both great and small, embrace diversity, and build a sense of pride and accomplishment in every child. After attending Kenilworth, our students should leave fully prepared to succeed in their life’s journey; possessing an irrepressible desire for lifelong learning and self-improvement.
MISSION
The mission of Kenilworth Elementary School is to ensure that all students are engaged in meaningful learning every day.
School Hours
7:00 a.m. Before Care Begins
7:15 a.m. Teacher Duty Day Begins
7:30 a.m. Arrival - Entrance Bell Rings, Before Care Ends
7:45 a.m. Late Bell rings - All students should be in class.
7:50 a.m. Morning Announcements on WKES
10:20 a.m. Kindergarten Lunch
10:40 a.m. 1st Grade Lunch
11:00 a.m. 2nd Grade Lunch
11:20 a.m. 3rd Grade Lunch
11:40 a.m. 4th Grade Lunch
12:00 p.m. 5th Grade Lunch
1:50 p.m. Afternoon Announcements
1:55 p.m. Dismissal Bell Rings
2:00 p.m. After Care Begins
2:45 p.m. Teacher Duty Day Ends
3:30 p.m. Main Office Closes
6:00 p.m. After Care Ends
Arrival and Dismissal
Students may enter the building at 7:30 a.m. and go directly to their classrooms. The late bell rings at 7:45 a.m. and students are expected to be in class ready to learn at that time. Students arriving after 7:50 a.m. are considered tardy and will be marked tardy by their teacher. Students arriving after 8:00 a.m. should report to the office for a late pass.
In order to guarantee the safety of your child, please do not leave your child at school unsupervised before 7:30 a.m. Only students enrolled in Before and After Care are allowed in the building before 7:30 a.m.
Please respect the posted traffic patterns in front of the building when dropping off children. No cars will be allowed in the main driveway when buses are loading and unloading.
Early Dismissals
Students must be signed out in the office for early dismissals. If it is necessary to pick up your child early, please plan to leave the school before 1:35 p.m. to avoid a conflict with the buses. To insure the safety of your children, no cars will be permitted to enter or exit the driveway once the buses have arrived.
Absences
Please send a note to your child’s teacher or call the school office (301-805-6600) to notify us of absences. You will be notified by the PGCPS automated calling system every time your child is absent or tardy.
Cafeteria
Lunch and breakfast are served daily. The price of a full lunch is $2.60, milk is $.55, and breakfast is $1.50. Please check your child’s book bag for lunch and breakfast menus. All students are assigned a PIN number and given a debit account to deposit money for lunch and breakfast. You are encouraged to send a check for the entire week or month. Using the debit accounts speeds up the serving lines and gives students more time to socialize and eat. You may call the school and ask to speak to Mrs. Hernandez to check your child’s balance. When you think your child’s balance may be low, please ask if he or she received a reminder notice. (See below)
Dear Parent/Guardian
The balance in your child’s lunch account is low.
This is just a reminder to let you know that you may want to deposit money in his or her account.
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Free and reduced lunch applications are sent home at the beginning of the year. If you believe that you may qualify for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program, complete the application and return it to the school.
Parent Teacher Association
Kenilworth Elementary School has a stellar PTA. You will have many opportunities to volunteer and participate in PTA sponsored events throughout the school year. Please look for the flyers advertising these events. PTA meetings are normally held on the first Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium or library. If you have any questions, you may contact the PTA Secretary at kesptasecretary@yahoo.com.
School Improvement Team
If you are interested in crunching data or deciding how resources are utilized to improve overall instruction at Kenilworth, then you will want to join the School Improvement Team (SIT). School-Based Management Team (SBMT) meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month at 2:10 p.m. in the library media center. The primary responsibility of the SIT/SBMT is to develop the School Improvement Plan (SIP) and monitor the implementation of the plan. No experience is necessary to join the team. You do not need to be a designated member of the team to attend a meeting.
Visiting Classrooms
In order to have a smooth start to the school day, we ask that all parents exit the building by 7:45 a.m., unless you have arranged to volunteer in your child’s classroom for the day. All individuals who are not Kenilworth employees must sign in at the main office and wear a visitor’s pass with their name and the date of the visit. This is imperative to insure the safety of your children and the security of the building. The PGCPS administrative procedure regarding visitors is outlined below.
All visitors (including Prince George’s County Public Schools employees) must report to the main office and sign the visitor’s log before going to any location in the building. The principal is responsible for posting: Notice—All Visitors Must Report to the Main Office and Present a Photo ID at the entrances to the building. The principal must have a log available and retain the daily log for two (2) years for audit purposes.
Visits to classrooms are arranged as follows:
- Classroom visits and conferences by parents and other persons in the school community are encouraged. Such visits should be arranged with the classroom teacher. Younger siblings or relatives are not permitted to accompany parent volunteers.
- Additional adults in classrooms can be very disruptive to a learning environment. Classroom observations by parents are approved on an individual basis by administration. Please notify the office if you wish to observe your child’s classroom, and an appointment will be made with an administrator.
Home-School Communication
Please check your child’s book bag for the Red Kenilworth Folder. All written home-school communication should go in that folder. If you send a note to school with your child, please encourage your child to show it to his or her teacher. Monthly newsletters and other important reminders will be sent home in the red folders. Please make a habit of checking the folder daily.
If you do not receive a response from a written note, please call the school and leave a message for your child’s teacher to return your call. Teachers do have telephones in the classrooms, but they are not available to receive calls during the school day. The office staff will take a message and every effort will be made to respond to any parent communication within 24 hours.
Resolving Conflicts
Parents are entitled to timely resolution to concerns. We believe that a positive relationship between home and school is essential for the success of each student. The following is a guideline for resolving concerns you may have for your child and it is recommended that the steps be followed in order.
- Discuss your concerns with the appropriate staff person.
- Request a Parent Teacher Conference.
- Request a conference with the administrator.
All teachers have e-mail accounts. Look for a link to staff e-mail on the website at www1.pgcps.org/kenilworth. Mr. Henderson’s e-mail address is rodne.henderson@pgcps.org.
School Bus/Transportation Privileges
Rules to Ride:
- Cooperate with the driver. The driver has authority on the bus.
- Maintain classroom conduct.
- Stay in your seat while bus is in motion.
- Keep all parts of your body and all objects inside the bus.
- Do not block the aisle with body or objects.
- No cursing or loud talking on the bus.
- Do not litter, write on, or damage the bus in any way.
- Do not eat, drink, or smoke on the bus.
- No pushing, shoving, or fighting on or off the bus.
- No radios allowed on the bus.
***Any student engaging in any of the aforementioned conduct is clearly in violation of the transportation rules and may be subject to a bus/school suspension and/or revocation of bus privileges.
How Parents Help
- Monitor and supervise your children at bus stop locations. Children under the age of seven need adult supervision to get on and off the bus safely.
- Explain conduct guidelines to your children who ride the bus to and from school.
- Accompany your children to and from their designated bus stop location.
- Allow Prince George’s County bus drivers to enforce the guidelines set by the Board for student rider conduct.
- Refrain from approaching bus drivers/attendants at bus stops, schools, or bus lots with complaints, threats, or other negative situations. Complaints should be made to school administration or transportation administrators. Failure to adhere to this policy could cause the affected student to lose bus-riding privileges.
- Transportation Department: 301-952-6570
School-wide Discipline Plan
Public schools have two primary objectives:
- Provide adequate, adult supervision to insure the safety and well-being of all students.
- Provide a quality education in a calm, orderly environment in which teachers can teach, and children can learn.
The goal of the Kenilworth Elementary School-wide Discipline plan is to insure that we achieve both of our primary objectives. We believe that maintaining appropriate student behavior is the responsibility of all stakeholders to include administrators, teachers, parents, and students. n order to achieve our goal of maintaining an environment that is conducive to learning, our school-wide discipline policy will be enforced as follows:
- Teacher/Staff observes inappropriate behavior
- A warning will be given to the student (in case of minor offenses.)
- If the behavior continues after a warning has been given
- Strike one – consequence given; behavior/consequence is documented on an Interim Referral Form that is maintained in a classroom file.
- Strike two – consequence given; a second Interim Referral Form completed; parent informed about interventions taken, as well as, future consequences.
- Strike three – a formal office referral (PS-74) will be written and the student will be directed to the administrator for further intervention.
***Note: Major infractions, such as fighting, will result in an automatic office referral.
The Passport Program
The staff at Kenilworth Elementary School realizes the importance of supporting and encouraging students who strive to make good choices; therefore, we have established the “Passport Program." At the start of the school year, each teacher is given a classroom set of Passports and a customized Kenilworth stamp. Students are given a few days to become familiar with the rules/procedures through writing, drawing, role-play, etc. The students are then encouraged to demonstrate good character, on a consistent basis, in each of the areas indicated on the Passport (classroom, hallways, playground, cafeteria, school or bus dismissal, and special areas, such as P.E., music, and the media center).
Through observation, as well as feedback, from the other staff members (cafeteria staff, bus driver, administrators, P.E./music teacher, etc.), teachers recognize students for being role models by stamping specific areas on the Passport. When students have all six areas stamped, they are sent to the Principal to receive an official seal, as well as a “certified letter” of recognition, to take home to their parents. In addition, students who have earned their passports get to participate in special activities and/or receive rewards throughout the school year. The names of Passport Holders, for the current school year, will also be displayed on a Peace Tree banner located in the hallway near the front office. Parents and teachers are encouraged to communicate about Passport goals and consistently provide students with positive reinforcement and support in order to facilitate them earning their Passports.
PHONE DIRECTORY
Kenilworth Important Phone Numbers:
Main Office 301-805-6600
Fax 301-805-6605
Before and After Care 301-805-2769
Cafeteria 301-352-2187
Area 3 Office 301-372-3431
Faculty and Staff
Main Office
Rodney Henderson Principal
Donna Harris Secretary
LaShawn Hawkins Registrar/Attendance
Classroom Teachers (*grade level chairs)
Christina Mastandrea Kindergarten
Karen Donovan Kindergarten
Adrienne Harris* Kindergarten
Dawn Brown First Grade
Ashley Lott First Grade
First Grade
Cindy LaTorre Second Grade
Barbara Ann Cheek* Second Grade
Lynn Marano Second Grade
Vicki Dinch Third Grade
Teresa Dolan* Third Grade
Bonnie Carr Fourth Grade
Kimberly Magruder Fourth Grade
Robert Watson* Fourth Grade
Mary Lou LeMasters* Fifth Grade
Katie Keller Fifth Grade
Student Interns
Specialists and Support Staff
Dr. Chris Beall Occupational Therapist
Shannon Gilliard Psychologist
Ronyl Minor-Williams Professional School Counselor
LaWaughn Rouse Nurse
Rhonda Glaude Speech/Language Pathologist
Beth Gray Reading Specialist/TAG/Testing
Mary Martin Reading Resource Teacher
Colleen Scott Reading Resource Teacher
Damien Brennan Special Educator
Carol Orozco Special Educator
Amy Evans Special Educator
Special Educator
Pam Roth Special Educator
Maria Teresa Sadili Special Educator
Ed Harris Library Media Specialist
Karen Swezy Interrelated Arts Teacher
James Kerns Instrumental Music Teacher
Katria Kuzmowycz Vocal Music Teacher
Physical Education Teacher
Yvette Virachittevin ESOL Teacher
Rebecca Felter Instructional Assistant
Antoinette Hunter Instructional Assistant
Patricia Scalise Instructional Assistant
Dr. Lawrence Silva Instructional Assistant
Pauline Stimson Instructional Assistant
Felicia Wiggins Instructional Assistant
Anabel Hernandez Cafeteria Manager
Karen Ramsey Cook
Don Arnold Building Supervisor
Night Cleaner
Andrew Seiler Motor Specialist
LaVerne Bland Before and After Care Director
Ashlie Pitt B &A Care Activity Assistant
Tina Ferguson B & A Care Activity Assistant