Safety of our students is our number one priority! Please set a good example and respect the rules of the school!
Please do not use the staff parking lot to pick up or drop off students.
Middle school students have supervision from 8 to 8:10 a.m. Elementary Students have supervision from 8:10 to 8:20 a.m. No student should be on school grounds before these times, as there is no adult supervision.
A.M. There is one designated drop-off zone in the morning, located on South Clayton Street. Do NOT park in the drop off zone. Please pull up to the front of the line. Teachers, staff and parent volunteers work each morning to help this zone run smoothly. Please look for an email to sign-up for a slot to volunteer.
Parents are welcome to park and accompany their students to the door. It is necessary for EVERYONE to utilize crosswalks traveling to and from school grounds.
Please be sure anyone dropping your children off is fully aware of these procedures.
P.M. In the afternoon there are over 700 students being dismissed at the same time. Please arrive with enough time to legally park and meet your child. It is necessary for EVERYONE to utilize crosswalks traveling to and from school grounds.
Accidents and Injury
Accidents: Most injuries occurring at school require minimal first aid, which will be administered by the office staff. If a child has a serious accident while at school, paramedics will be summoned. We will attempt to reach the parents at home or at work. Failing that, we will call an emergency number (a designated friend or relative) and/or the doctor listed on your emergency card. Keeping your phone number and your emergency number current is extremely important.
Illness
Our facilities for administering care to an ill child are limited. A child with a fever of 100 degrees or above will be sent home. We will make every effort to contact the parent or emergency number so that the youngster may be sent home to recuperate in a comfortable place. Students with a fever can return to school once they are fever-free without medication for 24 hours.
Medication
As a general rule, a student ill enough to require several doses of medication during the school day should probably stay home. Most medication schedules can be prescribed by your doctor for administration during non-school hours. If your child requires medication during school hours, medicines will be dispensed from the office only and must be in clearly labeled pharmacy bottles, including over the counter medications, with current date and accompanied by a written
Student Medication Request – Release Agreement. This form must be fully completed and signed by the parent/guardian and the physician. Copies of this form are available in the office. All over-the-counter type medicines, such as aspirin, also require a pharmacy-labeled bottle and a signed Student Medication Request – Release agreement. All medications, whether prescription or over-the-counter, must be turned into the office. No student will be permitted to carry medications on school grounds or self-dose. This includes Tylenol, cough drops, ibuprofen, throat lozenges, etc.
A student Medication Request-Release Agreement can be found at Student Medication Agreement.
Forms
Completed Forms can be returned to the Slavens Front Office.
While emergency closings occur infrequently, we are prepared in the event the building’s systems malfunction, or when weather makes it necessary to send children home.
During severe weather, please keep your radio or TV on for announcements regarding emergency school closings or delayed openings (KOA-AM 850 and KHOW-AM 630 begin broadcasts as soon as they receive information). Please listen for these announcements, as our phone lines tend to be jammed during bad weather. Additionally DPS attempts to update their Facebook page (search “Denver Public Schools”).
If school is closed, notification will be made over radio and TV. DPS will attempt to send out notifications via contact information on file. Slavens will also attempt to send out notifications via the Slavens Flyer app.
A delayed start (as implemented by DPS) will not affect Slavens. The delayed start is to allow more travel time for buses delivering students to schools with later start times. Please note students arriving late due to late buses or bad road conditions will not be considered tardy or penalized for any missed work.
“Inside Morning” applies to morning drop-off. When weather prohibits students from lining up outside, posters will be hung on school entrances indicating an “Inside Morning”. Students should proceed to the cafeteria until the bell rings, when they will be dismissed to their classrooms. Students should not stop to hang backpacks and/or coats prior to dismissal from the cafeteria.
Students are expected to be prepared for outside recess every day. This decision is made based on temperature (under 20 degrees) and moisture. Students will often have recess when it is snowing, though typically not when raining.
The safety of students at Slavens School is a primary concern to all personnel at the school. Rules and procedures to maintain safety have been established in the following areas:
Fire Drills: A fire alarm and fire drill system has been established and is periodically practiced as required by law. It is essential that when the first signal is given, everyone, including visitors, obeys directions promptly and clears the building by the predetermined routes.
Shelter in Place (Tornado Drills): In the event of a severe weather warning, students and staff will proceed to the most protected area of the school building. Drills are held to familiarize students with appropriate procedures.
Lightning Procedures: Outdoor activities will be curtailed whenever the possibility of lightning storms exists. When lightning is sighted, all students and staff are required to go inside the building, regardless of how distant the lightning may seem.
Dismissal During Severe Weather: Should there be severe thunderstorms at dismissal time, we will board bus students as soon as it is safe, and will retain walkers until the danger is past. Parents are welcome, in severe weather, to come and pick up their children. In the event that we are under a “weather warning,” we may ask parents to wait with their children until the danger has passed.
Lockdown: Parents will be notified of an imminent danger and a school wide lockdown situation by either YELLOW paper or RED paper on the main doors:
YELLOW: Parents may enter the building and sign out their children.
RED: NO parents may not enter the building until a yellow lockdown has been established and posted.
The stance of Slavens and technology is such that we want to embrace the future and reach out to our 21st century digital learners by incorporating technology into our classrooms. In order to do this, we ask that everyone have a clear understanding of our expectations:
Electronic devices may be used during class ONLY for a TEACHER-DIRECTED ACTIVITY. For example: a math teacher allows students to use cell phones as a calculator.
If an electronic device is out during class without the teacher’s approval or is being used in a way that is not part of the teacher-directed activity:
As always, if an electronic device is brought to school, it is the student’s responsibility. Though we are cognizant of the expense of the items, and work to ensure their safety, neither teachers nor Slavens are responsible for the safety of personal items.
Appropriate Internet access is the shared responsibility of the school, the student, and the family! Additionally, parents/guardians are responsible for their children’s out-of-school access to online resources. While monitoring efforts are in place in the classroom, it is not possible to monitor every student; every minute they are using technology. Therefore, students are responsible for appropriate on-line behavior and expected to be respectful of school-owned digital tools.
All 7th and 8th grade students will place their phones into a pocket chart upon entering core classrooms. The pockets are clear, so they can keep an eye on it. All phones will be OFF in order to erase classroom distractions.
IF and/or WHEN a teacher directs the students to use their personal device, the students will simply retrieve his/her phone from the pocket chart for appropriate usage.
When changing classes, phones are expected to be off, with no student usage. In lunch, recess, or any time students are on school grounds during school hours, the phone will be OFF and not used. We will no longer allow cell phone usage in the case of inside recess. (We have clocks in every room of the school so there is no need to check the phone for this information.)
Parents are responsible for determining if their students are capable and responsible enough to ride their bike to school. Bikes must be kept in the bike racks during school hours. Parents should purchase a bike lock and ensure their student knows how to use the lock to secure their bike. Students are strongly encouraged to wear a helmet. Students are required to walk their bike, scooters and skateboards on school grounds.
All visitors must check in at the office (signing in and obtaining a visitor sticker) before visiting another area of the school. Please sign out at the office before leaving the building. In the event of an emergency this list is used to ensure safety of all persons on school grounds. It does not matter how often you are at the school ALL VISITORS are REQUIRED to sign in and out each visit.
When office personnel are unsure of a visitor’s identity they will ask for identification.
All doors will be locked during the school day. Please enter and exit the building through the north door off the parking lot.
To minimize classroom disruptions please coordinate classroom visits in advance with your student’s teacher.
There are two adult restrooms available for visitor use located on the first floor near the north stairwell.
When an adult stops by the fence they will be approached by a staff member. Parents are welcome to join students for lunch & recess but must sign in at the office first. Class lunch schedules can be found in the current school directory or the Slavens app.
Students are required to pay for all damages they inflict to school property. All hardbound and soft bound books must be replaced at the publisher’s price. All desks, lockers and storage areas provided for students on school grounds remain the property of DPS. These areas may be searched by the principal, or designee, whenever there is reasonable cause.
Lost and Found is located outside the cafeteria in the north hallway. Unclaimed items will be periodically donated to charity. Advance notice will be given through the weekly emails.
To be respectful of food allergies most teachers do not allow treats in the classroom. Each teacher has a classroom birthday policy, ask your student’s teacher for details regarding their policy. To be considerate to all students, invitations for out of school parties may not be distributed on school grounds, this includes before, during and after school.
Homework is planned and assigned to meet student needs. It is assigned at the discretion of the teacher. All grades receive varying amounts of homework, generally upper grades have more.
Parent cooperation and support is crucial to student success. It is strongly suggested parents ask to see homework to ensure completion.