UICE Handbook 2017-2018

Ephesians 4:11-14 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Handbook 2017-2018

REVIEWED AND AUTHORIZED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ON MAY 8, 2017 FOR THE 2017-18 SCHOOL YEAR

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Introduction

The Board of Directors

Arley Dueck, ArleyLDueck@gmail.com

Corny Thiessen, CornyThiessen1767@gmail.com Kris Friesen, KrisOttoson@gmail.com

Peter Giesbrecht, PetrovThiessen@gmail.com

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Dress Code

All Students

Shall not wear any clothing that portray any negative attitude to learning, school,

any group or groups of people, or are in any way deemed inappropriate by School Staff or Board. Sleeves shall be required on all types of shirts. Shirts should also not expose the midriff when worn normally.

Any Student wearing pants shall be required to make sure that they do not ride

down excessively; which shall be defined as pants that are covered by one or more inches of shirt while standing.

Students are asked to avoid using excessive makeup, perfume, cologne, or jewelry. Shorts shall not be allowed for any Students.

Male Students

Shall abide by the above rules and any classroom rules that are in effect. Hair length shall not cover their shoulders in back and/or eyebrows in front.

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Female Students

Shall not wear any clothing that is deemed immodest by Staff or Board at their

(the Staff and or Board’s) discretion. Dresses and skirts that ride up past the knee are inappropriate.

All School Staff

All Staff are asked to dress professionally with and in accord with all applicable sections of this dress code.

Slacks, Pants, and Suit Pants

Slacks that are similar to Dockers and other makers of cotton or synthetic material pants, wool pants, flannel pants,dressy capris, and nice looking dress synthetic pants are acceptable. Inappropriate slacks or pants would include jeans, sweatpants, exercise pants, Bermuda shorts, short shorts, shorts, bib overalls, leggings, and any spandex or other form-fitting pants such as people wear for biking.

Skirts, Dresses, and Skirted Suits

Casual dresses and skirts, and skirts that are split at or below the knee are acceptable. Dress and skirt length should be at a length at which you can sit comfortably

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in public. Short, tight skirts that ride past the knee are inappropriate for work. Mini- skirts, skorts, sun dresses, beach dresses, and spaghetti-strap dresses are inappropriate.

Shirts, Tops, Blouses, and Jackets

Casual shirts, dress shirts, sweaters, tops, golf-type shirts, and turtlenecks are acceptable attire for work. Most suit jackets or sport jackets are also acceptable attire if they violate none of the listed guidelines.

Inappropriate attire for work includes tank tops; midriff tops; shirts with potentially offensive words, terms, logos, pictures, cartoons, or slogans; halter-tops; tops with bare shoulders; sweatshirts, and t-shirts unless worn under another blouse, shirt, jacket, or dress.

Shoes and Footwear

Conservative athletic or walking shoes, loafers, clogs, sneakers, boots, flats, dress heels, and leather deck-type shoes are acceptable for work. Wearing no stockings is acceptable in warm weather. Flashy athletic shoes, thongs, flip-flops, slippers, and any shoe with an open toe are not acceptable in the office.

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Exceptions

Shall only be made in the event of School Fun Days, Field Trips, or School Picnic. Students and Parents will be notified ahead of time for such events.

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School Tuition Policies

Tuition and Registration Fee

The Unity Institute for Christian Education Tuition Costs are as follows: Registration Fee: $275 each student, due at Registration. Tuition costs can be paid

annually up front or in 10 monthly payments. Monthly payments are due the fifth of each month starting the 5th of September and ending the 5th of June. Late payments will incur a $25.00 late fee. Accounts more then 90 days past due will also incur a 5% interest rate until paid in full.

Tuition rates for the 2017-2018 Unity Institute School Year are as follows. 1st Child: $263 Monthly, for ten months.

2nd Child: $237 Monthly, for ten months.

3rd Child: $210 Monthly, for ten months.

4th Child: $184 Monthly, for ten months.

Additional Children per household do not increase tuition rates. Kindergarten:$126 Monthly, for ten months.

Tuition rates are expected to rise approximately 2% annually in order to keep up with inflation. Actual rates may vary year to year and will be published in the yearly handbook each year.

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If you feel you need financial assistance, there are options available. You can apply for a Student Sponsorship. For details and additional information about financial assistance and student sponsorship, please contact the Unity Principal.

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School Policies

Civility Policy

Unity Institute of Christian Education has adopted a civility policy. The policy relates to the use of civility in relationships and communication among school officials, students, parents and members of the public. The purpose of the policy is to maintain, to the extent possible and reasonable, a safe, harassment-free workplace for students and staff.

Consistent with the civility policy, the Unity Institute will not tolerate any behavior (whether by students, parents, staff or members of the public), which is physically or verbally threatening, coercive, intimidating, violent or harassing, or other behavior that is otherwise out of control. Furthermore, the school will not tolerate the use of profanity, personally insulting remarks, attacks regarding a person’s race, gender, nationality, religion, disabling condition, and other characteristics protected by law. Students who violate the civility policy may be disciplined. Parents who violate the civility policy may be restricted from being present on school district property or have restrictions placed on their communications with district personnel.

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Communication and Privacy

If you have a question concerning your child, please follow the chain of command below:

1. Teacher

2. Principal

3. Board of Directors

4. Executive Committee

Please notify your student’s school immediately if you have a change of mailing address, email address or telephone number (home, work, mobile).

Throughout the school year, the school might take pictures or video and release personal information about students for promotion. Examples might include but are not limited to:

A special event or program at a school might be covered by a newspaper or television station, resulting in student interviews and pictures.

Award-winning students might have their names and photos published in a local newspaper, a school newsletter.

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The school might post pictures of school activities on webpages and social media. Any and all images and videos shared in such a manner belong to the Unity Institute.

If a parent or guardian does not want their child’s image or information shared for this purpose, please contact the Staff.

Students will have access to web-based tools, digital resources and applications that support curricular objectives, and these online services may collect, use and disclose personal information (such as student names and email addresses), but only for the use and benefit of the school for the purpose of student learning. In accordance with Board policies and regulations, students will be strongly discouraged from providing any other personal information. Parents and guardians should contact their child’s teacher if additional information is needed about websites and online services being used for learning in their child’s classes.

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Attendance Policies

Unity Institute is committed to the philosophy that every student should attend every class, every period, every day. Daily attendance and promptness are expected in all classes and are essential for success in school.

Since attendance represents a critical component in the overall success of each student, when a student’s absenteeism is excessive, the school will send a letter to the student’s parents/guardians which sets out the total number of student absences and the importance of school attendance. If the student’s attendance does not improve, the school will take additional steps to ensure the parent/guardian is aware of the student’s poor attendance.

Attendance Guidelines:

1. Daily Absence Reporting:

a. Parents/guardians should notify the school by telephone each day a student is absent. If the parent/guardian fails to notify the school, the school will attempt to contact the parent/guardian.

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b. Students who are absent without a parent’s or guardian’s excuse may be considered truant.

c. All absences, including those approved in advance by parents or guardians or school officials, except those for school-sponsored activities, will count against a student’s attendance.

d. The school encourages parents to schedule doctor and dental appointments after school hours.

e. Excessive absences may affect a student’s academic achievement.

f. Parents/guardians may be required to submit supporting documentation in order to excuse the absence of their student if student absenteeism is excessive. For example, in order for the absence to be excused, parents/guardians may be asked to submit written notification from a licensed physician stating the reasons why a student is unable to attend school.

2. Requests to Leave School: Parents/guardians must notify the attendance office if their child needs to leave for an appointment. Students must check out through the attendance office for their absence to be considered excused. Students who leave school without prior parental consent and without checking through the office will be considered truant.

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3. School Activities: Students represent their schools in a variety of athletic and academic activities. When a student serves as an authorized representative of his/her school, the student is not considered absent (except in summer school). Students who choose to participate in extracurricular activities are to make-up all assignments missed when classes are missed. Students must attend school on the day of an extracurricular activity in order to be eligible for participation.

4. Tardiness: A student is tardy if she or he is not present at the start of class. A student arriving late to class after ten minutes without proper authorization is considered truant. A student arriving late to school must report to the office for a tardy pass to his or her first class. Students who are frequently tardy, either at the beginning of the day or to classes during the day, may be subject to disciplinary measures.

5. Truancy: Students who are absent from school without consent of their parent/ guardians and the administration shall be considered truant. School administration will determine whether the student’s absence is excused or unexcused. Truancy is a violation of state statutes as well as school regulations and may result in suspension or other disciplinary action.

6. Upon arrival to school grounds: Once arriving at school, students must remain on school grounds and in the building until dismissal.

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School Rules for Students

General Rules of Conduct

Students shall not swear or use bad language. The use of tobacco, drugs, and

intoxicating substances is prohibited. Students, staff members and visitors are prohibited from possessing or using tobacco, tobacco products, and smoking-related products (including, but not limited to, e-cigarettes) in accordance with Board policy. This includes, but is not limited to, all school buildings, on or about school grounds, on school vehicles, and at all Unity Institute activities. No student may leave the school campus during the school day to engage in the activities prohibited by this paragraph.

No knives, guns, or other weapons. Littering is not allowed. Fighting is not permitted.

Students are required to respect School property and the property of others. Use

of another student’s property must be with expressed permission. Students will be held responsible for the proper care of all books, supplies, devices, accessories or equipment furnished them by the district. Students who deface, damage or lose school property shall be required to pay for the damage or loss.

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All textbooks and instructional resources are furnished by the school and are the student’s responsibility. The school is not responsible for textbooks or resources that are either lost or stolen from a student. If a student does not return a textbook or resource, the student who was issued the resource is responsible for its replacement cost. The teacher and student will note condition of books before checking them out. Students are then responsible for the condition of the books until they are returned to the teacher. If a book is damaged, the student will be assessed the cost of repair or replacement of the text. Students with outstanding fines may incur consequences in the form of loss of privileges as determined by school on a case-by-case basis.

Students shall respect and obey all School Staff. Honesty is expected and required in all school activities.

Students shall stay off of and out of all vehicles that are parked on school

property when students are not dismissed. Students shall not leave the school grounds without expressed permission of School Staff. Students who drive to school may not drive their vehicle around on school property unless they are arriving to school or dismissed to leave school, or with expressed permission from Staff.

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Classroom Rules

Classroom Rules are instated by the Staff member in charge of that classroom or

group of students. These rules are in addition to, but do not supersede, the General School Rules written above. For a copy of any Classroom Rules at any time during the School Year, please contact the School Principal. Official Classroom Rules may be changed by Staff member in charge with review from Principal and Board.

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How To Handle Abuse

General Guidelines

The Unity Institute takes abuse very seriously. If you or someone you know

believes they are the victim of abuse by students, staff, board, or parents, please let an appropriate staff member know as soon as possible. Abuse may often go unnoticed by many, it is our responsibility to make sure that when such unfortunate situations arise, they are addressed as quickly and carefully as possible.

Specific Situations

If you feel you or someone you know is the victim of abuse from a staff member,

contact an appropriate Staff or Board member promptly. Do not attempt to approach the abuser! Instead contact a Staff member who is not involved in this situation. If you feel your concern is not taken seriously enough, contact another Staff member or Member of the Board. It is the policy of the Unity Institute of Christian Education to suspend the alleged abuser from their post until such a time that the situation can be reviewed by the Administration.

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If you feel you or someone you know is the victim of abuse from a fellow student,

contact an appropriate Staff or Board member promptly. Do not attempt to approach the abusive student! Instead contact a Staff member. If you feel your concern is not taken seriously enough, contact another Staff member or Member of the Board. It is the policy of the Unity Institute of Christian Education to suspend the alleged abuser until such a time that the situation can be reviewed by the Administration.

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