General Information

Jefferson Road Elementary School
15 School Lane
Pittsford, NY 14534
 

Main Office	267-1300
Attendance Line	267-1309
Mrs. Barg, Principal	267-1301
Ms. Bartolotta, Principal's Assistant	267-1302
Ms. Onimus, Faculty Assistant	267-1300
Mrs. Pichette, RN, School Nurse Teacher	267-1340
Mrs. Siebert-Hochreiter, RN	267-1340
Miss Candeias, School Counselor	267-1360
Mrs. Cochran, Student Services Teacher	267-3206
Fax Line - Main Office	385-6426
Fax Line - Health Office	218-1339
Transportation Department	267-1480

Arrival/Dismissal Times

• Student arrival for all grade levels (K-5) begins at 8:30 A.M. (doors are locked until 8:30)
• Students are expected to be in their classroom by 8:40 A.M.
• Student dismissal for all grade levels (K-5) begins at 3:00 P.M.

Please Note: School personnel are unable to assume responsibility for the supervision of children before the start of the school day, students may not be dropped off or otherwise arrive at school prior to 8:30 A.M.

For the safety of our students both in and outside the school building, cars will not be permitted in the bus loop between the hours of 7:30 am and 4:30 pm. We have a partnership with the YMCA and also after school activities that require bus access to the loop. This is also a fire lane. It is critical that we work together as a school community to ensure our school is safe. Please park in the side visitor lot to come in the school at any time during school hours, including to drop off or pick up your children, or items needed for their school day.

Parent/Guardian Pick Ups: Students getting picked up, walking, or riding a bicycle will be dismissed at 3:00. If parents/guardians are picking up their child for dismissal (at normal dismissal time) they should come to the school between 2:50 and 2:55 pm, park in the side lot, and line up at the front door nearest the cafeteria (door #19). Please form a line in the direction of the parking lot along the bike racks, rather than into the center toward the flagpole. This will keep our pick-up line from mixing with our bus rider dismissal flow.

If you are picking up your child early (NOT at the normal dismissal time), please come in through the main entrance (door #1) and sign your child out.

Walking and Biking: Some of our students walk or ride their bicycles to and from school. There are many safety factors to be considered. If you choose to let your child walk to school, we encourage them to walk with a buddy. IF they will be walking or biking (or a combination of the two) all the time (i.e. Monday through Friday) or on a consistent schedule (i.e. every Tuesday and Thursday) a written permission slip (here) sent to your child's teacher is necessary. Students walking or biking independently must always exit out the main office door and check out with the adult in the main lobby prior to leaving.

Bus Riders: Bus riders will be dismissed from classrooms at 3:05 pm. Please review bus safety rules with your child at home. It is District Transportation policy that students in grades K-3 must be met at the bus stop or driveway by an adult and cannot be let off at the stop unsupervised.

After-School Rehearsals & Activities:
Members of our performing ensembles will rehearse from 3:05 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. on the following days:

• Monday - 5th Grade Band
• Tuesday - Grade 5 Chorus
• Wednesday - Grade 4 Chorus
• Thursday - 5th Grade Orchestra

Important: If you need to change your child's regular dismissal (i.e. calling to have your child picked up by a parent/guardian at regular dismissal time, give permission to walk/bike, or be picked up early) please SEND IN A NOTE on the day of the occurrence. If you find it necessary to call the main office for such a change, please do so by 11:30 am, unless it is an emergency. Phone calls made after that time may cause disruption to the classroom and last-minute changes can lead to confusion for students and teachers at dismissal time.

Attendance and Absences

When your child will be out of school, please call the Attendance Line at 267-1309 by 9:00 A.M. on each day they are absent. Please provide the following information:

• Child's full name
• Teacher's name
• Reason for absence,

It is important for a school nurse to be informed of any contagious illness. For a list of contagious illnesses, refer to the Health Services Information section of this handbook.

Unexcused Absences:
If children are out of school on family vacations, when school is in session, it is recorded as an unexcused absence. Under our homework policy, teachers are NOT required to prepare materials in advance for students who will be on vacation. Instead, it is suggested that parents engage their child in trip-related educational activities such as keeping a journal, reading about the area visited, learning map skills, or creating a photo album that includes captions for the photos.

Building Safety and Security

Locked Doors:
For security and safety reasons, the doors to our school remain locked during normal school hours. Approved visitors will enter through the front doors (door #1) and report to the Main Office. We use a single point of entry each day, and doors are never to be propped open or handed off, under any circumstance. If you are entering the main office, please do not allow anyone (even someone you know) in behind you. Please encourage the person following you to use the bell system to gain authorized access.

Guests and Visitors:
Guests and visitors are welcome at our school. However, please prearrange classroom visits with the classroom teacher for mutual convenience. When arriving at school, you must park in the parking lot to the right of the building and enter through the Main Entrance. Please report directly to the Main Office when entering the building. All visitors are required to show photo identification and obtain a "visitor" sticker.

Cafeteria/Food Services

General Information:
Recess/Lunch for Kindergarten through Grade 5 is staggered between the hours of 10:55 A.M. and 1:20 P.M. The recess/lunch period is 45 minutes for each grade. Children have approximately 20 minutes to eat their lunch. Students in each grade level will work with Mrs. Barg to create the rules/expectations for recess and lunch during the first week of school.

Menus:
Parents of younger children may want to review the menu selections with their children before school each day from the school menu. This menu is available on the district web site, here. Help your child be aware of what choices he/she can make. Alternate Lunches are listed on the menu. These items are always available to your child instead of the daily-featured entree.

Prepaid Lunch:
Parents are encouraged to use the prepaid lunch program for their children. The use of prepaid lunch makes lunchtime a better experience for everyone as lines move more efficiently. You may print an order form from the school or district website.

Food Service Website:
You can access the PCSD Food Service Department web page by clicking on this link, here. This website contains important information about the cafeteria including how to add money to your child's account and monitor it. You can also place limits on the amount of money your child can spend and what he or she can purchase.

Tips for Packing Lunches and Snacks:

• Consider sending one-half sandwich rather than a whole sandwich for younger children.
• Consider sending fruit slices rather than a large, whole piece of fruit.
• Stress the importance of eating the most nutritious items first.
• Please discuss food-related likes and dislikes with your child. Some students will routinely discard food that is disliked.
• Keep morning snacks light and nutritious when possible; that is, small portions of fruit, crackers, cheese, raw vegetables, etc.
   

Birthday Celebrations at School:
Birthdays are an important milestone in the lives of children in elementary school. In line with Federal and State recommendations about the use of food in schools, as well as Pittsford's Health and Wellness policy, Jefferson Road will limit its use of food for both rewards and celebrations. Birthdays will be acknowledged in classrooms without food in a manner determined by the classroom teacher. Please refrain from outside birthday activity on school grounds (i.e. invitations, gifts, group party pick up, etc).

Communications with Jefferson Road Elementary School 

District and School Websites:
To link to the PCSD and/or Jefferson Road website go to https://www.pittsfordschools.org/ and click on the menu icon to select "Schools".

Communication Office Web Page:
You can link to the PCSD Communication Office web page by going to the following link, here. There are a number of ways to stay connected to our district and our school, and the Communication Protocol is a helpful document that outlines who to get in touch with across the District depending on the nature of your concern or need.

Infinite Campus Messenger:
By providing your e-mail address on the student information form, you will automatically receive information via our Infinite Campus message system.

PTSA E-news:

Subscribe and receive a monthly electronic newsletter by going to the PTSA website at Pittsford PTSA | Home. Click on "eNEWS" in the top banner and then "eNews Sign Up". Type your information and subscribe to Jefferson Road Elementary and other information as you wish. Click "Subscribe to List" when complete.

Twitter:

Follow Jefferson Road on Twitter @PCSDJeffersonRd.

Via Your Child:

Check your child's backpack daily as most classroom/school notices come home via your child. Other important information will also be mailed directly to your home.

Emergency Preparedness

The Pittsford Central School District has adopted a uniform Emergency Management Plan. All school personnel have been trained in the execution of these plans. In case of an emergency, students have been trained to remain calm and follow specific instructions.

Parking

For the safety of all our children, CARS ARE NOT PERMITTED IN THE BUS LOOP DURING SCHOOL HOURS.

Parents/visitors should use the side parking lot to the right of the bus loop.

• Obey all stop signs, cross walks and traffic flow arrows.
• Speed limit is 15 miles per hour.
• Use the designated student drop-off lane located to the right of the bus loop. Students should exit the vehicle on the curbside of the lane.
• Please be mindful of walkers and bike riders and use caution when driving on school property.
   

Personal Belongings

What to Bring / What Not to Bring:

Students are expected to bring appropriate school materials (e.g., pen, pencil, notebook, or as outlined by the teacher) and homework to school each day and are responsible for them. During the summer, supply lists will be posted on our school website. These items may be brought to school during the scheduled classroom visitation day or on the first day of school.

Students may bring only legal and safe objects to school. Any weapon brought to school will result in disciplinary action. All objects that bear any resemblance to a weapon, or could be misconstrued as a weapon, must be cleared by the principal before being used as an instructional aide in the classroom or as part of a presentation.

Clothing should be appropriate for the weather and the school day activities. Footwear should be appropriate for school activities and should not pose a safety concern. Everything should be labeled with the student's name.

Cell Phones, Smart Watches, and Wearables:

As part of our commitment to creating a focused and productive learning environment, we are providing you with guidance around the use of cell phones, smartwatches and wearables during the school day.

To minimize distractions and ensure that all students remain fully engaged in their learning, we ask that cell phones are off and away in the student's backpack during the school day. Additionally, we kindly request that all smartwatches and wearable devices be either put in school/airplane mode (not receiving or sending data) or placed in your child’s backpack during the school day. This includes any devices that may receive notifications, message, or calls. Also important to note is that we do not assume responsibility for any devices brought to school.

If your child needs to communicate with you during the school day, please encourage them to work with an adult at school to contact you. This is particularly important for any changes to dismissal plans, which must go through our main office so that we can account for every student.

We appreciate your support in helping us maintain an environment where all students can focus on their schoolwork without interruption, and we can account for the safety of all our students

Games and Toys:

Items of significant value should not be brought to school. Electronic games/gadgets are not permitted during school hours. Any other items should have the prior approval of the teacher.

Care of Personal Property:

A student's personal property is the sole responsibility of the student. Students should not bring large sums of money or valuable/irreplaceable personal items to school. The replacement of lost, damaged or stolen property is not covered by the District's insurance and the District does not replace personal property. During recess and lunch, students are responsible for the safe-keeping of all personal belongings.

Lost and Found:

The Lost and Found is located inside the cafeteria. Any items not claimed are donated to charity during winter break and the end of the school year. Please contact the bus garage directly for items left on school buses.

Pets in the Building

No animals are permitted in the school building without the permission of the principal.

Recess/Outside Play

Please make sure your children are properly dressed for winter weather. They will need coats, mittens, hats, and snow pants. Boots and snow pants are required for kindergarten through third grade when there is snow cover on the playground.

Consider sending a plastic bag in your child's backpack in case the outside clothes and boots get wet. This will help keep other backpack contents (e.g., papers, books, folders) dry.

Check the weather forecast to determine how to dress your child for the day's weather. Children will play outdoors every day except when the temperature with the wind-chill factor is "feels like" 10 degrees or below.

Playground Rules:

• Respect and follow the directions of the adults on duty
• Play safely
• Be kind to others - Take turns, include everyone, and keep hands and feet to yourself
• Take care of the equipment. Be responsible for returning balls, jump ropes, etc.
• Stay in the assigned area
• Ask for assistance or permission when needed
   

School Closings 

Information about the District's practice and procedures for school closings can be found at this link: School Closings (pittsfordschools.org)

Transportation - School Bus 

PCSD Transportation Department
Bus Garage, 100 Mendon Center Road, 267-1480

All students who ride the school bus should carefully read and follow the bus regulations that are printed in the District Student Transportation Handbook mailed to all students' homes before school begins in the fall. Failure to abide by the district safety rules can result in a loss of bus privileges such as a temporary suspension of busing.

Child Care Transportation Requests:

Parents whose children attend daycare must fill out a daycare request for transportation. This form is available from the bus garage. All questions pertaining to bus transportation should be directed to the Transportation Department at 267-1480.

Bus Safety:

The Pittsford Central School District has a comprehensive bus safety program in place called the "Safe Rider Program". This consists of a series of three sessions for all classes in kindergarten through third grade, covering such topics as the "danger zone", safe crossing, winter behavior, spring behavior and emergency evacuation. The program is presented by bus drivers and administrators and uses discussion, demonstration and role-playing as instructional tools.