Transportation and the Parking Lot
If you have chosen to drive your student to and from school, we ask that you drop off/pick up your child at the crosswalk on Hillcrest Boulevard or use the walkway along Newport. You may also park in the designated areas and walk your child into the building. To respect our neighbors, please do not block their driveways when you drop off or pick up your child.
At dismissal, we ask that you meet at a designated location outside of the building. Having a designated meeting spot at dismissal allays fears and helps us dismiss students safely. Patrols and staff are on duty from 9 a.m. until the first bell at 9:10 a.m. and from 3:35 p.m. until the buses depart.
It is extremely important for the safety of all students that you do not drive into the parking lot to drop off or pick up your child. Please adhere to this policy.
Bus Riders: The insurance provisions prohibit any students from riding any bus other than their assigned bus. Walkers are not allowed to ride the bus at any time.
Arrival and Dismissal
Students: Students may enter the building upon their arrival at school between 9:00 and 9:10. This gives the students a chance to get organized for a productive day and sets a calm school-wide tone or the start of the day. Please do not send your child before 9 a.m. There is no supervision for students, which poses a safety concern.
Morning meeting arrangements: Since staff members are in meetings before students arrive or they are organizing the day’s materials and lessons for instructing students, please pre-schedule an appointment either by telephone or email with your student’s teacher for early entry into the building.
Tardiness: Our academic day begins at 9:15. We strongly encourage students to be on time. Tardiness results in students starting the day harried and distracted. It is also considered to be a form of truancy. Students miss important information when they arrive late and lose valuable instructional time. Please do everything possible to get your child to school on time. We do have students make up the time they have missed – before school, during lunch recess, or after school.
After School: We ask that parents picking up their children meet in a designated area – the park, the prairie, behind the school or at your car. We do not want parents standing at the Main Entrance (Door 1) or Door 3. The addition of parents in those small areas makes it difficult to monitor and quickly move students to their bus or crosswalks. Thank you for your understanding.
Sign in and Out
Volunteering/Visiting: If you are volunteering or visiting before, during, or at the end of the school day, please make sure you stop in the office to sign in and get a visitor pass. Please also sign out when you leave. It is important to the students’ safety that we know who is in the building at all times. These visitor logs also assist us in knowing who is in the building should we experience any crisis situations.
Item drop-off: We ask that parents do not go to classrooms or lockers to drop things off for their children. Those items can be left in the office, and we’ll see that the students get them. We try to avoid interrupting the learning going on in classrooms.
Tardiness (Parent Procedures): All students arriving to school after the bell rings need to be signed in by the parent, guardian or adult dropping them off. Students may not sign themselves in; it is a State of Illinois requirement that an accompanying adult be responsible for that process.
Student pick-up during school hours: We ask that parents DO NOT go to a classroom to ask your student to leave. If you need to pick your child up at any time during the school day, please come to the office, sign them out, and ask that they be called from class.
Please do not ask your child to be in the office at a certain time for early pick up. In the event you should run late, the student is losing valuable instruction time. When you arrive, we would be happy to call into the classroom to ask your student to gather his/her belongings and come to the office.
Phone Calls to Office
It is very difficult for our office staff to interrupt classroom instruction to relay messages to students during the school day. We encourage you to make any changes in routines known to your child before your child arrives at school. Of course, in emergency situations, we will make every effort to get messages to students.
Student reminders about any after-school sports activities or clubs should be written on a note to the classroom teacher so they can remind students at the close of the school day. Likewise, if you know your child needs to leave early for an appointment, please send a note/email to the teacher ahead of time. We ask that you do not call the office unless it is an emergency.
Students are encouraged to have all of their necessary supplies, their lunches, and special equipment with them when they arrive at school. Likewise, please encourage your child to gather all necessary homework materials before leaving Lincoln Prairie for the day. We discourage students from calling home for forgotten supplies, instruments, and lunches or inconveniencing parents by driving children back to Lincoln Prairie to retrieve materials. The natural consequence of forgetting is doing without them for the day. Please help your child become responsible for his/her own materials.
If your child will not be in school by 9:15 a.m., whether absent or tardy, you must notify us by calling the attendance line at (847) 357-5957. Please give your name, state the reason for tardy/absence (such as a doctor visit or sickness), and state and spell the students student’s name and give their room number.
After Hours
Completion of the school day is at 3:35 p.m. The office remains open until 4:30 p.m. We discourage re-entry into the building for bathroom usage or obtaining classroom materials due to lack of supervision and/or confidential meetings taking place.
Nurse Susan Miller, RN, is available daily.
Please see the District 54 website for more detailed information: School District 54 Health Services
Sick children must remain at home for at least 24 hours after fever or vomiting ends.
Please inform the school nurse if your child has a significant medical diagnosis or has developed a new medical problem.
All medications (over the counter and prescription) required at school must have the District 54 Medication Forms completed and signed yearly.
Emergency contact information needs to remain current so that you can be reached in the event of illness or emergency. Please list those who are readily available to pick up your child in case of illness.
A note is required if your child needs to miss Physical Education.
Physicals
Sports physicals are required for all middle-level sports and must be dated within one year of the start try-outs for the sport.
Other
Gym Shoes – All students must wear appropriate athletic shoes with tread in order to participate in physical education classes. Overly-worn or no tread on the soles of the shoes contributes to injuries.
Water Bottles – Current brain research indicates that learning is enhanced when students are able to drink water as they learn. Our students are encouraged to bring a water bottle to class. They are allowed to have a water bottle with them throughout the day.
Snacks – All students should bring a healthy snack to school daily. Fruit, cheese, crackers, juice, and yogurt are acceptable. Chips, cookies, pop, Et. cetera should not be sent as snacks.
Gum – As long as students chew gum properly, do not cause a disturbance with it, and dispose of wrappers appropriately, they may chew gum. The brain research also indicates that gum chewing opens neural pathways and aids creativity. Sugarless gum is preferred. Candy does not produce the same effects and should remain at home.
Microwaves – Microwaves are available in most classrooms for student use during the lunch period. Students may warm up their food – if the microwave is used responsibly. Should students neglect to clean up after themselves, this privilege may be rescinded for a period of time. Since many students use the microwave in a short period of time, please refrain from sending food that requires a long time to heat.
Lincoln Prairie