Families & Students

ATTENDANCE

Regular attendance is essential to learning. It also reinforces skills that are essential to students for future education and employment.  For these reasons, the New Mexico Compulsory School Attendance Law requires that all students of appropriate age and condition attend classes regularly (NMSA 22-12-1, et seq., 2009).

Maintaining regular school attendance is the joint responsibility of students, parents, educators, and the legal system. The following rules for school attendance shall be observed and enforced for students attending Los Alamos Public  Schools.

To Excuse an Absence call or email:   505-663-2471    ∙    t.mojica@laschools.net
Provide the following information via email, phone call, or written note  prior to the absence or within 24 hours of the absence:

• Student name & grade level.
• A brief reason for the absence with the date and time away from school.  (Illness, Bereavement, etc.).
• Parent name, daytime phone number, and signature (if sending a written note).

What to Say
Parents have requested a standard format to help them give the school the required information about a student’s absence. You may use the following as a guide.
“My name is _______________.  My child ______________________  in _________'s class will be (absent/tardy/leave early) on __________________ because ________(illness, doctor or dentist appointment, family trip, bereavement). If you have any questions, please call me at __________.”

Qué decir
Los padres han solicitado un formato estándar para ayudarles a dar a la escuela la información requerida sobre la ausencia de un estudiante. Usted puede utilizar el siguiente como guía.
"Mi nombre es _______________. Mi hijo en clase _______________________________ ' s será (ausente / tarde / salir temprano ) en __________________ porque ________ (enfermedad, médico o dentista cita, viaje familiar , duelo ) . Si usted tiene alguna pregunta , por favor llámeme al _______ " .

Excused Absences

Parents or an adult student may excuse up to ten days of absences per academic year.  It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian or adult student to notify the school of every absence within 24 hours.  Please notify the school office by contacting the attendance phone line or attendance email on the day of the student’s absence. Absences may be excused for the following reasons with proper notification:

• Illness (including chronic illness documented on a health plan, IEP or 504 plan)
• Limited family emergencies
• Family deaths
• Hazardous weather conditions
• Late bus arrivals
• Medical, health or legal appointments
• Suspensions
• Religious observance
• College or University visits
• Deployment of a military parent
• Parent or Adult Student Requested absences for educational travel as approved in advance by the school principal
• Limited extenuating circumstances as approved in advance by the school principal

Unexcused Absences

All absences for reasons not included under excused absences shall be considered unexcused.  Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Non-school sponsored activities or trips
• Family vacations outside of the normally scheduled school breaks
• Excused absences greater than 10 will be considered unexcused

Travel And Pre-arranged Absence Notification

Students planning a family trip lasting more than two days must obtain and complete a Pre-Arranged Absence Form from the main office. Please submit the form to the main office for the principal’s approval no fewer than 5 days prior to departure. Absences for travel are included in the 10 allowed excused days per year. Travel that extends beyond 10 days will be considered unexcused. 

Make-up Work and Grades

Students and/or families are responsible for requesting makeup assignments.  Teachers may need one school day from the time of the request to compile work.  Makeup work must be submitted within a period of time equal to the number of school days absent, unless arrangements have been made with the teacher in advance.  Teachers will assign any make-up work that can be completed outside of class, but credit for class participation and lab activities cannot be guaranteed.  To maintain continuity in learning, students are encouraged to complete work missed during unexcused absences.  Teachers are not required to accept work missed during unexcused absences unless otherwise notified by administration.  Individual teachers may require students to complete assignments prior to a scheduled school-related absence or family trip.  
LAPS Policy/Regulation 5110/5110R

LATE ARRIVAL: Tardy

Students arriving late in the morning or departing early must check-in through the office WITH A PARENT. Parents are responsible for seeing that their elementary school-aged children arrive on time. Students entering class after the instructional activity has begun miss out on preliminary readiness activities in addition to causing a disruption to their fellow classmates. Also, please consider that pulling students out early at the end of the day causes them to miss out on valuable learning and is a disruption to their teacher and fellow classmates. Less than 5 minutes late constitutes a TARDY and more than 5 minutes late constitutes LATE in Powerschool.

MON., TUE., THUR., FRI.		WEDNESDAY
8:27 AM	Warning Bell	8:27 AM	Warning Bell
8:30 AM	School Begins	8:30 AM	School Begins
9:45AM	Kinder and Middle Team Recess	9:45 AM	Kinder and MIddle Team Recess
10:00 AM	Primary and  Upper Team Recess	10:00 AM	Primary and  Upper Team Recess
11:15 AM	Primary Team and Pre-K  to Lunchroom	Noon	DISMISSAL
11:45 AM	Upper Team to Lunchroom	NO SCHOOL	Pre-K
11:55am	Middle Team Lunch Recess Begins
Noon	Primary Team Recess Ends
12:30 PM	Upper  Team Lunch Ends
12:30 PM	Upper  Team Lunch Ends
12:30 PM	Upper Team Recess Ends
12:35PM	Middle Team Lunch Ends
2:00 PM	Primary and Upper Team Recess
2:15 PM	Recess Ends
2:15 PM	Middle Team, Kinder Recess
3:30 PM	DISMISSAL Pre-K-6th
3:45 PM	All students off school grounds

School Counselor:  Victoria Roybal   (505) 663-2466   v.roybal@laschools.net
School Nurse: Michele Wright    (505) 663-2467    m.wright@laschools.net

Should an emergency or disaster situation ever arise in our area while school is in session, we want you to be aware that the schools have made preparations to respond effectively to such situations. In fact, public schools in New Mexico are built to meet stringent construction standards, and they may be safer than your own home in the event of a disaster.

Should we have a major disaster during school hours, your student(s) will be cared for at this school. Los Alamos Public Schools have detailed emergency response plans, which have been formulated to respond to a major catastrophe. While the specific details of these plans cannot be made public, we will provide any information necessary for your emergency planning needs and peace of mind, in case of an emergency. After you have thoughtfully reviewed this process, please sit with your child(ren) and help them to understand that it is necessary for them to follow the directions of any school personnel in times of an emergency drill or actual emergency situation. The safety of all depends on all personnel and students treating drills and emergency directions with serious respect.

Your cooperation is necessary in any emergency:

1. Do not telephone. You can receive updated information through an emergency communication system, provided by the school district and Los Alamos County. Telephone lines may be needed for emergency communication.
2. In the event of a serious emergency, students will be kept at their schools until they can be picked up by an identified, responsible adult who has been listed as such on a LAPS emergency card, which is required to be completed by parents/guardians at the beginning of each school year. Please be sure you consider the following criteria when you authorize another person to pick up your child at school:
   • S/He is 18 years of age or
   • S/He is usually home during the
   • S/He could walk to school, if
   • S/He is known to your
   • S/He is both aware and able to assume this

During an extreme emergency, students will be released at designated reunion sites, to be identified by the Incident Commander and located on school campuses. Please instruct your student to remain at the school until you or your designee arrives.

3. Turn your radio to AM 1610 for emergency If students are to be kept at school, radio stations will be notified. If electrical service is not affected, information will be relayed via LAPS to the radio and television broadcast media. In addition, information regarding day-to-day school operations will be available by accessing our website, or subscribing to our E-Alerts web-based system. All sites have hotline numbers, which will be updated.
4. In the event that any emergency takes place during the time that students expect to be transported to or from school:
   • If students are on the bus at the time, they will be kept on the bus, and the driver will ask for assistance through radio contact with the school and district
   • Any child who is home waiting for the bus will not be picked up and remains the responsibility of the parent or
   • In any situation, if the student’s bus does not arrive at the stop within fifteen (15) minutes, the student should return
   • In the event that an emergency occurs in the afternoon, the driver will make every attempt to continue delivering the students to their homes. Should road conditions prevent the driver from delivering students to their home or to school in the morning, the students will be delivered to the nearest district site, and that site’s personnel will communicate with home school personnel to inform them of the students’
5. In case of a hazardous release event (i.e. chemical spill) near the school area, Shelter procedures will be implemented to provide “in place” All students and staff will clear the fields, report to their rooms, and all

efforts will be made to prevent outside air from entering the classrooms during the emergency. “Shelter-In-Place” signs will be placed in classroom windows or hung outside classroom doors during a drill or emergency. Students arriving at school during a Shelter drill or event should report to the school office or to a previously designated area at the school because classrooms will be inaccessible. When the dangerous incident has subsided, an “all clear” signal will be given.

In the case of a county-wide evacuation, which would include the schools, that evacuation would proceed in accordance with the protocols established in the Los Alamos County Emergency Operations Plan. Please access the County’s website for this county-wide evacuation plan.

Parental Roles in Emergency Preparedness

• Discuss the Standard Response Protocol with your child(ren)
• Please make sure to update your student’s school emergency Call or come by the school to update. Remember to update again when necessary.
• Sign up for E-Alerts on the school and district You’ll be notified by email whenever an emergency results in a delay, cancellation, or early dismissal.
• As part of your family plan, know your student’s Please check the accuracy of this schedule with your child.
• Parents with students currently taking emergency medication (i.e. medication for diabetes, seizures, anaphylaxis, asthma, etc.), please provide the nurse with a three-day supply of medication in a prescription container that is clearly marked with your child’s name and Please include doctor’s orders for the prescription and parental permission for a dispensation of the medication and any special storage instructions.
• Notify and provide the school with the special dietary needs of your

You might want to think about having your student have a change of clothes and personal hygiene articles (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, contact lens kit) in their locker.

Please discuss these matters with your immediate family. Planning ahead will help alleviate concern during emergencies.

Before School Program Permission
Pre-Arranged Absence Form
LAPS Volunteer Handbook
Chamisa Volunteer Agreement

The decision to close school or delay the start of school will usually be made by 5:30 A.M. We will be coordinating with Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Los Alamos County on all decisions about a delayed start, cancellation, or early dismissal. In general, if the Lab is on a delay, school opening will be delayed; if the Lab is closed due to weather, our schools will usually be closed. When school is dismissed early or canceled for the day, all after school programs including athletics (both home and away contests) and activities are canceled.

School Cancellation

A “snow day” plan will be declared when snow and weather conditions warrant.   

• Visit the District Office homepage announcements: https://www.laschools.net/alerts
•  SchoolMessenger will send out email/text notifications. If the parent or guardian is signed up to receive messages
• Watch one of the local morning news programs 
• Information Lines: 
  • District Closure Information Line: 663-2223
  • Chamisa Elementary: 663-2472 

Delayed Start

Any activities before school are canceled on snow days.

Students should arrive at school for these start times:

• 10:30 A.M. - Elementary schools 
• On Wednesdays, no school when there is a two-hour delay
• Busses will arrive at bus stops two hours later than the usual pickup time
• Parking lots will usually be cleared and ready for buses and cars by 7:30 A.M. Please allow our maintenance staff to clear the parking lots.
• Sidewalks will usually be cleared by 8:00 A.M.

Early Dismissal

On rare occasions, schools will dismiss early because of unusually heavy snowfall during the day. The Superintendent, in collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory and Los Alamos County staff, makes this decision. When the decision to dismiss school early occurs, it generally precedes county and laboratory closings. For that reason, it is important for students and school staff to proceed home quickly in order to avoid traffic congestion within the county. If your personal information changes, especially the phone number, you must inform the school office so that we can contact parents.

RECESS BAD WEATHER GUIDELINES

Chamisa prefers that students be outside for recesses. Please make sure your student is dressed appropriately, keeping in mind that weather can change while your student is at school. 
A “bad” weather day will be called when the temperature is 20 degrees or below, including wind chill. The weather station website Chamisa uses is www.wunderground.com: 

• Weather will be checked at the White Rock Station on Ridgecrest 
• The “feels like” temperature will be used, as this factors in wind chill 

When the above criteria have been met but weather is “questionable”, i.e. thunderstorms, sideways rain, or extremely windy conditions, the Office staff will make the determination. 
 

Chamisa Elementary Parent and Family Handbook
Chamisa Parent and Family Preschool Handbook

District Calendars

 

LAPS uses the School Messenger system to notify parents for reasons that impact safety and academic performance of students.

Once your child is enrolled at LAPS, you will be automatically enrolled to receive email notifications from School Messenger. LAPS highly recommends that parents also sign up for text messaging so that they may receive important announcements via text, such as emergency notifications. To sign up for text messaging, please follow these instructions in English or Spanish.

If you have a student in one of our schools, please ensure that your school contact information and emergency contact information is up-to-date.

If you need to make a change to your contact information, please call or visit your school office.

PreK Supply List

Kindergarten Supply List

1st Grade Supply List

2nd Grade Supply List

3rd Grade Supply List

4th Grade Supply List

5th Grade Supply List

6th Grade Supply List

The purpose of any computer utilization is to enhance the educational experience. All students and staff are required to have a signed district Technology Agreement on file. Use of computers is a privilege and not a right. Inappropriate use will result in the cancellation of those privileges. LAHS administration will determine what is inappropriate use and that decision will be final. Inappropriate use will result in the closing of an account at any time or by removal from a computer-based class.

• Ethical Use of Technology Board Policy 6144R