Parent Information Night / Parent Conferences

A Parent Information Night is held each year early in the fall for grades 1 - 5. We highly encourage all parents and guardians to attend this adult only event, as this sets the stage of learning for the entire year. Special area teachers and special education teachers are also available that night.

Kindergarten parents/guardians with their student will attend an Open House in the fall.  This is not the time to discuss the individual needs of your child.  It is an open family affair. It is a time to meet other families, to view your child’s classroom, to see your child's work, and to meet your child’s teacher.

At Parent Information Nights and at Kindergarten Open House, each teacher will have a sign up for a parent/guardian conference, which you’ll specifically address the needs of your child.

If an additional parent conferences is necessary, please contact your child’s teacher by telephone at 209 – 6278 or by email to request a meeting. 

Party Invitations

Please refrain from sending party invitations to school unless the entire class is invited.  It is very difficult for children who are not invited to a party to deal with this in school. We understand that special occasions are celebrated at times with a few close friends. At such times, the invitations should be made by mail or phone with respect for the feelings of other children in the class.

Field Trip Permission Forms
A signed field trip permission form is required for all field trips. In the event that a child does not have the required form on the day of the trip, the child will remain at school for the duration of the trip in another teacher’s classroom.

This form lists an emergency number for the parent may be contacted on that day and any health information which may be useful.

A parent does have the right to not grant permission for a field trip.

Homework Guidelines

The Orchard Park Central School District subscribes to homework guidelines in order to provide administrators, parents and teachers with a sense of continuity and the assignment of homework. These guidelines are intended to provide a philosophical and practical basis for using homework to encourage and enhance learning. The teacher’s homework requirements/standards should reflect these guidelines and be clearly communicated to the students.

Whenever homework is assigned, it should provide students with at least one of the following benefits:

A.  The reinforcement of special skills learned earlier in the student’s experience.

B.  The reinforcement of in-class learning.

C.  The development of research and study skills.

D.  The enrichment of in-class learning.

E.  The development of independence and responsibility.

Requests for Homework

If a child is absent for several days and you would like to request homework, please call the main office by 10:00 am.  Remember that teachers need time to prepare materials and write assignments for your child during their busy day and will need to make arrangements as to when it would be best to pick items up from the front desk. 

Vacations

While we appreciate that you do not want your child to fall behind is his/her homework, the lessons, experiences, interactions, and activities that take place in a classroom cannot be replicated.  It is impossible to accurately predict all the concepts covered within an extended period of time.

During a child’s absence, the teacher will set aside important assignments as they are covered. Upon the child’s return to school, he/she will receive the collection of assignments that were completed during their absence. Your child’s teacher will determine a reasonable date for the work to be completed. Should your child have any difficulty understanding the assignments, or with completing them in the designated time, please notify the teacher.