Student Handbook

absences

If your child is absent for any reason, call 936-5451 each day of the absence before 9:00 a.m. Students whose absences are unverified will be marked “U” for Unexcused. If your child's absence is related to an illness, he/she must be fever free for at least 24 hours before returning to school. If your child will be tardy due to an appointment or other, please leave the information on the absence line as well.

arriving/leaving during the school day

Any student arriving after the morning bell, must check in at the office. Tardies are recorded and a part of your child's attendance record. If you are picking up your child early for any reason, you will need to sign them out in the office. Please notify the teacher in advance of any appointments during the school day. 

campus activity

Monitor small children and wait in front of the school or at Chaparral Park for dismissal. All guests must check in with the front office before coming on to campus during school hours.  No animals/pets allowed on campus unless they are a documented service animal.

Campus supervision

Students should not be on campus prior to 8:00 a.m. unless accompanied by a parent/guardian. For safety reasons, at dismissal, primary students may not play on the apparatus or wait on campus for older siblings. Supervision is provided for 10 minutes after school in front of the school ONLY, to see that children are on their way home. Early drop-off and late pick-ups are documented and parents will be notified. Before and after school child care is available. Contact Rainbow Rising 949-509-6736.

dress code

Appropriate dress and personal appearance at school and school –related activities shall not include any clothing, attire, or accessory that by its manner of appearance, arrangement, trademark, fit, or any other attribute, is unsafe; disruptive; unhealthful; obscene; profane; ethnically, racially or sexually degrading; libelous or slanderous; exposing undergarments; provocative or revealing; advocating unlawful behavior or illegal substances ; or suggesting or promoting and affiliation with any street gang or other group that commits unlawful acts.

forgotten items

Please help your child be responsible by coming to school prepared with everything they need for the day (homework, lunch, musical instrument, etc.). We cannot interrupt the classrooms to  deliver forgotten items or inform students of deliveries. Please label jackets, lunchboxes, and other items. 

lunchbox

(Gr. 1-6) Deposit funds into your child’s LunchBox account via the school office or online. Students who forget to bring lunch will be allowed to borrow lunch funds that must be repaid or a courtesy lunch of juice, milk, crackers, fruit and cheese (subject to change without notice) will be offered. Students may purchase snacks during recess using lunch funds. Please try to avoid delivering lunches during the day as storage space is not available and these items attract crows, etc.   If you must, the lunch will be left on our cart outside the back door to the front office and your child will retrieve it there.  Parents are not permitted in the lunch area during school hours.

medication or illness

Students who show signs of illness (headache, fever, sore throat/cough, etc.), should remain at home until symptoms are clear. Keep your child home if he/she complains of not feeling well. Students must be fever-free 24 hours before returning to school. Please do not medicate and then send your child to school and never send your child to school carrying medication of any kind. Parents must complete required forms through the school health office if dispensing medication during the day (including over the counter items such as cough drops, Tylenol, etc.). Contact the health office at 936-5461 if questions.

playground and supervision guidelines

We have a wonderful playground thanks to the generous financial support of our parent community. Students have the opportunity to play on the equipment fifteen minutes before school, during snack recess, and during lunch recess with staff supervision. For the safety of your children, please adhere to the established guidelines below:  Parents may drop off students at school beginning at 8:00 a.m. – NO EARLIER! Supervision will be available on the playground until the 8:15 a.m. morning bell. Students on campus prior to 8:00 a.m. will be directed to the school office, information will be documented, and parents will be notified.

  • The school grounds/playground is for the sole use of Bonita Canyon students during the school day. Only Bonita Canyon students may use the playground during this time. It is not open to preschoolers or older/younger siblings during school hours.
  • All students are to go home at dismissal unless attending after school child care or after school classes. There is no supervision on the playground after school.
  • Students may not stay to play on the equipment or to wait for an older sibling, parent, or babysitter on the playground after school.
  • All students should go to the front of the school at dismissal unless a parent has designated an alternate pick up location. There is a staff member on traffic duty for 10 minutes only (after school) at the front of campus.
  • THERE IS NO SUPERVISION AT CHAPARRAL PARK AT ANY TIME. IT IS NEVER SAFE TO TELL YOUR CHILD TO WAIT UNSUPERVISED AT CHAPARRAL PARK OR ANY OTHER UNSUPERVISED LOCATION! Late pick-ups are recorded and parents will be notified.
  •  Once students go home and the responsibility for their safety and well-being has thus been transferred back to the parent, students may return to school to play, provided they have parent permission and provided all students, both primary and upper grades, have been dismissed (3:00 p.m. daily, 2:00 p.m. on Wed.)
  • Students not picked up on time after school will be directed to the school office. Late pick-ups are documented and parents will be notified. Thank you for your cooperation and support.

school communication

If you would like to make an appointment or speak with your child’s teacher, please email or phone them directly @ 936-(4 digit extension). During class instruction, you will reach voicemail so as not to interrupt learning. Visit the school website for staff email or you may email teachers via MyIUSD/Parent Portal. School communication (conduit) will be sent home each Thursday.

star student tickets!

Students earn Star Student tickets by following the “Bonita Be’s”: Be your best! Be Responsible! Be Respectful! Be Safe! Be a Friend! Tickets are entered in monthly classroom drawings for a chance many different prizes that includes Popcorn Party, Tech Time and many other prizes.   Please visit the Bonita Be's page of our website for more detailed information.

traffic/pedestrians

Left turns into the school driveway are NOT ALLOWED. Proceed to the top of Sundance and U-turn @ Rimrock. Do not stop your vehicle in the roadway, blocking the flow of traffic or leave your vehicle unattended curbside in the loading/unloading zone. For safety reasons, please do not cross Sundance Dr. except at the crosswalk at Sundance/Turtle Rock Dr..  We ask that you remain in your vehicle when dropping your student off at curb along Sundance.  We have friendly folks out there to help your children exit the car and keep the cars moving.

Visitors/volunteers

All visitors must check in the office upon arrival and obtain a Visitor ID tag. Volunteers new to BC must complete a Security Clearance form before volunteering.

Telephone & Mobile Devices

 Unless otherwise directed by a teacher, all cellular phones and electronic devices (i.e. smart phone, tablet, iPad, smart watch, etc.) must be competely turned off (not just placed on silent mode) and put away in backpacks during school hours (including recess and lunch). Texting, social media, taking videos, photographs or audio recordings at school is not allowed without prior permission from a teacher or administrator. Any phone that rings, vibrates or is used during the school day without teacher permission is subject to confiscation and parent pick-up. We realize that having to pick up a student’s phone or device may be inconvenient and, therefore, we recommend you discuss this policy with your child in order to avoid this problem. Bonita Canyon does not take responsibility for lost or damaged cell phones (Board Policy 5131.6).

The phone in the front office may be used by students during the school day for emergency purposes or urgent matters and used by students after school who are unable to locate or otherwise contact their parent/guardian. In order to minimize classroom interruptions, we also do not deliver non-emergency phone messages from the office to individual classrooms. We ask that any emergency messages to children be telephoned through the office since we strive to keep instructional interruptions to a minimum. Any after school arrangements should be made before coming to school. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.