Policies and Procedures

Before and After Care is available to MTE second and third grade students through the Marigny Elementary Before and After Care program.  Students attending Before Care will ride a bus to MTE during morning arrival times, 8:15-8:45 am.  Breakfast is available at MTE with breakfast fees applying.  Students attending After Care will ride a bus to Marigny in the afternoon.  Students must be pre-registered for the program to attend.  Before and After Care information and registration forms can be found on the Marigny website.  For additional information, please contact Patty Cerise (985)674-3011 or patricia.cerise@stpsb.org.

As mandated by the St. Tammany Parish School Board, students in grades K – 8 will receive instruction on the topic of Child Sexual Abuse Prevention, Education, and Reporting. All materials used in the instruction may be previewed by contacting the school administration. We encourage you to talk with your child about this topic as well as other general safety issues.

Our school guidance counselor will provide counseling/character lessons to students via whole class, small group, and individual counseling.  Our school mental health provider (MHP) will provide individual counseling, small group counseling, and assist with crisis situations. Parents may arrange conferences with the counselor or MHP via email or phone.

School Counselor: Jordan Traub   
Email: Jordan.traub@stpsb.org                                         

School MHP: Danielle Barrosse
Email: Danielle.barrosse@stpsb.org

Magnolia Trace maintains a Crisis Plan to be used in the event of an emergency.  During the school year we will practice each drill – Evacuation, Shelter in Place, and Lockdown – several times as required by law.  We work closely with our local law enforcement, fire department, and school district liaison to constantly evaluate and make adjustments to the plans as necessary. 

** During crisis situations such as Shelter in Place, Evacuation, or Lockdown, students will remain in their safe locations and visiting parents will be asked to Shelter in Place, Evacuate, or Lockdown.  For the safety of our students, checkouts will not be processed during the immediate crisis. **

Magnolia Trace Elementary is a drug free school. The drug free zone that encompasses our school requires maximum fines and imprisonment for drug violation within that zone. Please refer to the STPSB Student Handbook for consequences for student use of illicit drugs. A resource list of available drug and alcohol counseling programs may be obtained in the school office. All St. Tammany Parish Schools are smoke-free workplaces. No smoking is allowed on school grounds.

It is essential that the school has up-to-date information for each child. Please notify the school immediately if you have any changes including phone numbers, addresses, contact names, custody, or any changes in before care or after care arrangements. Parents or guardians must contact the school office to make changes to the emergency card such as emergency contact information and who is allowed to check students in/out of school or pick up students in car line. This information cannot be changed over the phone, a new emergency card will be sent home for changes to be made. This information is essential in helping us provide for your child promptly and efficiently during an emergency.

A monthly calendar of lunch and breakfast menus is posted on the school website. The menu is subject to change due to availability of food items.

School meals are free for all students during the 2024-2025 school year through a program called Community Eligibility Provision. Free and reduced meal applications do not need to be submitted.

Students may bring their lunch from home and purchase a milk, juice, or water at school. All money for beverages is paid daily to the cafeteria and at a cost of 50 cents. Students may not bring soft drinks or fast food meals for lunch. Please refrain from sending any lunch items in glass containers.

Visitors may come to lunch beginning in September. The first few weeks of school the students are learning routines and the cafeteria and need time to transition back to school. Parents may not bring any fast-food or soft drinks into the cafeteria. No siblings allowed with lunch visitors. 

For more information, please contact Mrs. Melissa Singletary, Cafeteria Manager at (985) 674-0958.

 If a student arrives to school without a lunch from home, a school lunch will be ordered for that day.

Money, on my Payments plus, in Meals and Extra Food Sales may be used for snacks.

Students will receive report cards each nine week grading period. The final quarter report card will be mailed.

Our grading policy is as follows for reading, language, math, science, and social studies:
A = 90-100
B = 80-89
C = 70-79
D = 60-69
F = 59 and below

Conduct and work habits will be reported using the following:
O- Outstanding
S-Satisfactory
N- Needs Improvement
U- Unsatisfactory

Student grades are entered in JPAMS by the teachers. Using the access information (username and password) mailed, parents can access JPAMS to monitor student grades. Parents are encouraged to check grades weekly.

JPAMS automated system also calls and texts the student’s primary number in the event of a school absence.  JPAMS is used periodically to call students’ homes in the event of emergencies, bus breakdowns, school events, etc.  Please notify the office of changes in phone numbers to ensure you receive school information.

Education of Children and Youth in Homeless Situations

The McKinney-Vento Act is a federal law passed in 1987 to help people experiencing homelessness. The Act requires states and school districts to make sure students in homeless situations can attend and succeed in school. The McKinney-Vento Act applies to all children and youth who do not have a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including all children who are living in the following situations:

·         Doubled-up housing with other families or friends because they lost their home or their family is having temporary financial problems

·         Living in a motel/hotel because of economic hardship or loss of housing

·         Living in an emergency or transitional shelter, domestic violence shelter, or in a runaway/homeless youth shelter

·         Living in a vehicle of any kind; campground without running water and/or electricity; abandoned building; substandard housing; bus/train station

·         Abandoned in a hospital

Children and youth in homeless situations have the right to the following:

·         Attend and succeed in school no matter where they live or how long they have lived there

·         Enroll in a school despite the lack of a permanent address or lack of school and immunization records or birth certificates and other documents

·         Receive services comparable to those offered to non-homeless children and youth

·         Get transportation to school, if feasible

·         Access educationally related support services

Should you or your child meet these qualifications, please contact your school’s main office or contact our school counselor at Jordan.traub@stpsb.org to complete a form for consideration.

In order to create an atmosphere in which all children learn comfortably, it is necessary that certain expectations are enforced.  Our MTE social emotional curriculum is the Leader in Me Program. It is based on Steve Covey Seven Habits of Highly Effective Leaders.

Students are recognized throughout the year for practicing the 8 Habits.  

The 8 Habits of Highly Effective People

Habit 1: Be Proactive. I am a responsible person.

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind.

Habit 3: Put First Things First.

Habit 4: Think Win-Win.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood.

Habit 6: Synergize.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw.

Habit 8: Find Your Voice.   

We take pride in working with our learning community regarding accountability for appropriate behaviors, therefore daily communication about students’ behavior is provided to families.  The communication correlates to the overall behavior that is maintained in each classroom and sent home nightly via a Take-Home-Folder.

Please be aware that inappropriate behaviors deemed major will be addressed immediately by the Administration. Parents will be informed via a Discipline Notification and parent contact. These types of behaviors include: physical aggression, vandalism, theft/stealing, threats to self or others, possession of a weapon, drugs, or alcohol, teasing and taunting students. Magnolia Trace has a NO TOLERANCE policy for bullying. Such behaviors have consequences that are fair and developmentally appropriate.

If your child has medication to be administered at school, please contact the school nurse, Michelle.weber@stpsb.org or (985) 626-8238 to make an appointment to check in medication.  Medicine cannot be administered by the school without proper forms completed by a doctor. These forms are available in the office. To ensure children’s safety, medicine may not be transported on a school bus. Children are never allowed to bring medicine of any kind to school this includes cough drops.

Several holiday parties and celebrations are held at school. The classroom teachers will work with their assigned room parents once these parties are scheduled.  Please contact classroom teacher for approval prior to sending snacks. Parents are not allowed down the hallways to deliver items during instructional times.

Students are not allowed to bring any type of pet to school at any time due to health and safety concerns of others. 

The Release of Student Information Consent Forms are for students who newly register.  All previously signed forms will remain in the student’s cumulative file and follow the students year to year; therefore, students enrolled in school last year will not be asked to sign the form again.   Students may only be photographed, video-taped, etc. for publication if this form is signed and on file in the school office. If for any reason you do not want your child photographed, we would appreciate you calling this to our attention verbally in addition to noting this on the Release Clarification Form.

All students should bring a back pack daily. School bags with wheels cause injuries and are not allowed at MTE. If your child needs a book pack on wheels due to medical reasons please contact administration at MTE. Excessive amounts of key chains may not be attached to the school bags.  Please check school bags nightly for important school to home communication. 

The purpose of the St. Tammany Parish School Board is to provide public education for the school aged children of St. Tammany Parish, LA. Sexual harassment is a violation of the law and school board policy and will not be tolerated, condoned, or overlooked. The board requests and encourages persons associated with the school system who believe there are acts of harassment to report them to the school principal or designee. The board through the school principal shall promptly, thoroughly, and fairly investigate reports of sexual harassment and take appropriate action that is consistent with the results of the investigation and the legal requirements afforded by law. Inappropriate behavior will be handled according to the school’s discipline procedures. The school system and board will not tolerate retaliation by anyone associated with the school system against one who files a complaint of sexual harassment. Some acts of sexual harassment are considered criminal and are subject to prosecution. The board and school system will fully cooperate with law enforcement agencies and the district attorney in investigating and prosecuting such criminal offenses. Reporting of incidents need to be made to the principal at your child’s school. A copy of the policy is available in every school’s library.

Do not send to school toys, jewelry, electronic games, trading cards, or other expensive items that may be lost or damaged.  Children are not allowed to bring electronic devices, including electronic watches, to school.  Cell phones and smart watches, if brought to school, must be in the off position and stowed away out of sight.

Each student is assigned a Chromebook. Chromebooks stay at school. Chromebook use at home may be permitted under extenuating circumstances. This must be approved by administration.

Please ensure your child knows how they are getting home prior to arriving to school.  Mark the method of transportation in their daily folder.  Change in transportation must be provided through a handwritten note signed by parent/guardian. An email with a picture of the parent/guardian’s license will be accepted in the event of an emergency. Changes in transportation must be made through the office and will not be accepted after 1pm unless it is an extreme emergency. To ensure timely receipt of request, please do not email the child’s teacher. Car riders are picked up and dropped off in front of school. Bus riders are dropped off and picked up on the side of school in the bus ramp. There is no parking on the bus ramp side of school.

**School uniforms must be worn daily, Monday – Friday.**

BOTTOMS

·         Plain tan khaki long pants, capri, walking shorts (fingertip length), jumper, dress, skort, or skirt

TOPS

·         Navy or white polo type collared shirt (long or short sleeve)

·         Navy or white turtleneck may be layered under shirt or sweatshirt

·         MTE navy T-shirt or plain navy T-shirt

·         MTE navy dri-fit shirt with MTE letters

·         MTE navy sweatshirt or plain navy sweatshirt or sweater

·         MTE white Friday Spirit Shirt with MTE emblem

Uniforms may be purchased at any department store, chain store, uniform shop or catalog of your choice.  Shirts with the school logo may be purchased at T-shirt Po-boys: https://tshirtpoboy.com/t/magnolia-trace

Magnolia Trace Elementary official school uniform complies with the St. Tammany Parish School Board dress code. 

 We work and play hard at school, so expect your child’s clothes to get dirty.  For safety reasons we ask the following:

·         Wear athletic / tennis shoes. 

·         Open backed shoes, shoes with high heels, shoes with cleats, hard boots such as cowboy boots, or flip-flops are not allowed.

·         Bandanas and hats should not be worn to school. 

·         Shorts are encouraged as long as they meet the length requirement of fingertip length when the child is standing upright. 

·         Umbrellas are dangerous at this age!  Please opt for raincoats with hoods or rain hats instead. 

·         Elaborate jewelry that can be distracting in the classroom is not allowed. 

·         Please leave items such hats, combs, brushes, watches, sunglasses and purses at home to minimize classroom distractions. 

·         Please label your children’s clothing and items with their first and last names. 

·         Lip gloss and makeup should not be worn to school.

Unscented hand sanitizer is preferred.

Students found using, possessing and/or concealing a knife, firearm, weapon capable of discharging a projectile, or other dangerous instruments capable of causing bodily harm shall be immediately suspended and recommended for expulsion. Police notification will be made immediately. Students using, possessing and/or concealing any look-alike object that may have the principle appearance of a weapon or dangerous instrument shall be immediately suspended from school and recommended for expulsion. Upon the recommendation for the expulsion, a hearing shall be conducted by the Superintendent or his/her designee. Students in grade five or lower who have been found in the hearing process of using, possessing and/or concealing a weapon, or look-alike weapon shall be disciplined in accordance with the decision made by the Superintendent or his/her designee. Any case involving a student in grade five or lower found in possession of a firearm on school property shall be referred to the School Board through a recommendation for action from the Superintendent.

School closing due to weather emergencies will be posted on the local news or the school board website, www.stpsb.org. All STPSB severe weather guidelines will be adhered to in case of emergency conditions during school hours.
 

To stay current on the official weather alerts effecting schools, sign up for Emergency & News Alerts on the School Board website, www.stpsb.org. Instant messages may be sent to you directly from the school system in the form of text messages, phone calls, and/or e-mail.