|
SMHS changes, tobacco-free policy mark schools’ opening
By Lynn Hotaling and Justin Goble
When local schools open on Monday, Aug. 27, the winds of change will be in the air.
For many students, in addition to new teachers and classes, it will mean higher prices for school lunches and new administrators.
For teachers, parents and those older than 18 who attend athletic events, this school year marks the advent of Jackson County Schools’ tobacco-free campus policy.
“Parents and members of the community are invited and encouraged to join with the administration and staff of the schools to make the 2007-2008 school year a successful one for the young people of our community,” said Superintendent Sue Nations.
Paving on Jones Street, which is a new entrance to Smoky Mountain High School was completed late last week. According to officials with the N.C. Department of Transportation, a traffic light at the entrance will be operational by the start of school Monday, Aug. 27. SMHS Principal Jay Grissom said the road will initially be used to access paved student parking lots, and buses will begin using the road after new bus lots are complete. “Buses will be able to use that road, and that will thin out some of the traffic at our front entrance,” he said. – Herald photo by Nick Breedlove.
All in all, it’s likely to be students, parents, faculty and staff at Smoky Mountain High School who will be most affected. Construction over the summer has added a new entrance road as well as new parking lots, and officials are encouraging different traffic patterns for students who drive themselves to school, a change that’s aimed at alleviating congestion at the N.C. 107/N.C. 116 (Webster Road) intersection.
According to SMHS Principal Jay Grissom, the parent drop-off and bus drop-off will be the same as it was last year, at least for the first few weeks.
“All students will be dropped off at the front entrance,” Grissom said.
However, once new bus lots are completed, the buses will use the new Jones Street entrance and drop the students off at the new bus lot, the principal said.
“Having the students who drive use that road to get to their parking lots will thin out some of the traffic at the front entrance in the mornings,” he said. “We really want people to use those two entrances and not to use the road going to Fairview – that road is congested enough in the morning.”
Grissom said paving on the front lot should be completed by the first day of school, and officials from the Department of Transportation have indicated the new traffic signal at the N.C. 107/Jones Street intersection should be operational when school starts.
Ongoing construction should not affect traffic at SMHS sporting events, Grissom said.
“We should have all the new lots ready by the next home football game on Aug. 31,” he said.
Tobacco-free schools
In June 2006, the Jackson County Board of Education adopted a Tobacco-Free Schools Policy for the School System.
The policy was a recommendation of the School Health Advisory Council, which includes parents, students, community residents, teachers and health care professionals, according to Becky Olson, a nurse who serves as the group’s co-chairman.
“Reducing tobacco use is personal with me,” said Olson, a nurse who lost her father, Dr. Philip Dewees, who served on the school board, to lung cancer 34 years ago. “My father’s last public act before slipping into a coma was to attend a school board meeting. He died four days later, and he always made it clear to us that he had done it to himself by smoking.”
SHAC members used the past school year for community education on the new policy before mandatory compliance began on Aug. 1. School policy now prohibits the use of all tobacco products everywhere by everyone at all times, including those on campus for athletic and other events.
The new rules were in place for Smoky Mountain’s home football opener this past Friday, and Olson said she was pleased with how smoothly things went.
“We handed out cards reminding people of the no-tobacco policy,” she said. “Everyone was cooperative, and most comments were positive.”
The group was ready to ask smokers politely to stop and highlight the new rules with a friendly “Bet you forgot ...,” but found those plans weren’t needed, Olson said.
“The crowd was totally cooperative,” she said.
Announcements made at the beginning and several times during the game reminded those in attendance of the new policy, she said.
The tobacco-use ban will apply to all middle-school athletic events as well as all SMHS and Blue Ridge contests. During basketball games this winter, smokers will no longer be able to light up outside, Olson said. Those who don’t abide by the policy will be asked to leave, she said.
“All the principals have been very supportive,” Olson said. “I’m not foolish enough to think it’s all going to be perfect, but I think we’ll be able to deal with problems in a positive way.”
Child nutrition
Changes in U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines and rising costs have forced some increases in school meal prices this year, according to Child Nutrition Director Donna Bommer.
Because of rules that place fourth- through 12th-graders in the same nutritional category, Bommer says she and her staff now have to provide larger servings to children beginning with fourth grade.
“We have to change out the serving spoons and serve more food – and sometimes additional food – beginning with the fourth-graders to meet the federal guidelines,” she said.
According to Bommer, an additional entree choice will be provided Monday through Thursday for grades 4-12. The additional food purchases have necessitated a lunch price increase for those grades, she said.
The highest student meal prices this year are at SMHS, she said.
“Grades 9-12 at Smoky Mountain are our largest population of young adult consumers, and we offer a lot more choices, which increases our labor and food preparation costs,” Bommer said.
Ninth- through 12th-graders at Blue Ridge and the School of Alternatives don’t have the same variety and choices, Bommer said.
A complete list of this year’s prices follows:
– Breakfast, preK-12th grade, $1.10 (20-cent increase); reduced meal breakfast cost will be 30 cents (same as last year)
– Lunch, preK-third grade, $1.75 (same as last year); fourth-eighth grades, $2 (25-cent increase); ninth-12th grades (SMHS), $2.25 (25-cent increase); ninth-12th grades (Blue Ridge and School of Alternatives), $2; reduced-price lunch, 40 cents (same as last year); adult lunches, $3 or a la carte price, whichever is less (50-cent increase).
School officials approved the new price schedule during an Aug. 13 called meeting.
All students will receive an application for free/reduced meals at the beginning of school, and parents are encouraged to complete the form and return it to the school for processing
Administrative changes
Three schools will begin the year with new principals. In addition to Grissom at SMHS, who began work there Aug. 1, Blue Ridge’s new leader will be Roy Sapough and Lisa Younce will head the School of Alternatives.
Both Blue Ridge and SMHS have new athletic directors, Todd Drum and Jimmy Cleaveland, respectively.
Any parent with a child who will be 5 years old on or before Oct. 16, who has not registered the child for kindergarten should contact the school in their district for registration information.
A number of the schools have scheduled meet-the-teacher night or other events prior to the opening of school:
– Fairview School will have a PTA meeting/opening house tonight (Thursday) from 6-7:30 p.m.
– Both Scotts Creek and Smokey Mountain Elementary schools will hold meet-the-teacher night tonight (Thursday), with Scotts Creek’s from 4:30-6:30 p.m. and the SMES event from 5:30 until 6:30 p.m.
Bus routes, bus rules
There are no major changes in bus routes from the end of the school year, and buses should run at approximately the same time as when school ended.
New school bus safety requirements in place for the new school year include:
– School bus drivers must wear seat belts.
– It is illegal to operate a school bus while using a cell phone except in an emergency situation.
– Students must remain in the seating compartment; school buses may not be operated unless all students are seated.
– Buses may not idle more than five minutes.
Dress code
A student dress code is in effect for all students, and officials recommend that parents consider safety, activity needs, and modesty when selecting children’s clothing. Dress should be appropriate for an educational setting and not interfere with or distract students and faculty from teaching and learning. Extremes in hairstyles and mode of dress deemed by the principal to be clearly inappropriate or which tend to disrupt or distract from the educational process will not be permitted.
Jackson County’s student dress code:
1) Clothing must completely cover the shoulders and extend to mid-thigh without exposing bare skin.
2) All students must avoid wearing see-through, midriff, bareback, or cut-off shirts.
3) A shirt must be worn under athletic jerseys.
4) Students are expected to wear their shorts or pants fastened around their waists, and shorts or skirts should extend below the student’s longest finger when resting against the leg in a normal stance.
5) No large or heavy chains that could be used as a weapon may be worn on school grounds.
6) Students’ clothing shall be free of inappropriate or suggestive slogans and pictures, including any depiction of drugs, alcohol or tobacco products.
7) Any clothing that is deemed unsafe or disrupting of the teaching/learning process is considered inappropriate.
8) No caps, hats, or head coverings will be worn inside the school building (elementary only; secondary at teacher discretion).
9) Schools may modify these requirements for special events, such as proms and dances, as long as dress requirements for those events are published in advance.
Violation of dress code policies will result in disciplinary action as outlined in the Jackson County Schools’ Handbook and Student Management Plan. (A copy of this handbook will be given to each student on opening day.)
Immunization
Every child in North Carolina shall be immunized against certain diseases by receiving minimum doses of certain vaccines by specified ages. These requirements are listed in all registration materials and the student handbook.
School safety
School safety is a major concern of school administrators and staff, officials say. As the new school year begins, parents and students are encouraged to review the following:
1) Teasing refers to critical statements about a person’s actions, appearance, family circumstances, or other characteristic made by someone to produce a strong reaction from the person being teased and/or other observers (examples include name-calling, put-downs, and laughing or commenting on mistakes or accidents). Friendly teasing does not offend or hurt the feelings of the person being teased; hurtful teasing is fully intended to hurt the feelings of the person being teased, exclude them from a group, and diminish the dignity and worth of the individual or group being teased. This “hurtful” teasing will not be tolerated.
2) Bullying behavior, typically, refers to the exercise of power by one individual or group over another weaker individual or group. This type of bullying usually involves threats of injury or other negative consequence for non-compliance. Another type of bullying is emotional assault, commonly called peer pressure. A third type of bullying is called “dangerous bullying” and is likely to result in serious physical injury or death.
Teasing, bullying, slurs, innuendos, derogatory remarks, jokes, demeaning comments, mimicking, name calling, graffiti, gestures, physical contact, stalking, displaying or circulating written materials and pictures (including clothing), hostile treatment, violence, or other verbal or physical contact against a student or employee reflecting on his or her race, national origin, gender, disability, age, religion, or any other designated and protected category, will not be tolerated.
Online information
Parents are encouraged to use the Jackson County Schools’ Web site – www.jcps.k12.nc.us, which will have school announcements and updated information.
|
