Student Handbook

Your counselor is here to support you academically and socially as you go through middle school. Please reach out if you need anything.

• 8th Grade Counselor – Carolyn Stelling; cstelling@lwsd.org
• 7th Grade Counselor – Danielle MacDonald; dmacdonald@lwsd.org
• 6th Grade Counselor – Kapala Hoge; khoge@lwsd.org

All absences must be verified by a parent or guardian. Parents should contact the Attendance Office or call the Attendance Hotline 425-936-2461 within 24 hours to verify an absence. The student may also bring a note to the Office upon return to school. Notes must include the student's full name, date(s) absent, reason for absence and the signature of a parent or guardian.

• Students are required by Washington state law to always be in their assigned classes.
• If students are late for more than half the class period, they are marked as absent for that class.  
• Absences are “excused” with a parent/guardian phone call or email and a valid reason. RHMS administrators can determine if the reason is valid or not based on state-determined criteria.
  • Students are responsible for making up any work that they miss from an excused absence.
• Absences are “unexcused” if there is no valid parental reason for the absence.
  • Students are responsible for making up work that they miss from an unexcused absence.
• If students have frequent unexcused absences, a conference will be held with their family, counselor and an administrator in order to create a plan to attend school more often. If the plan does not work after multiple attempts, students and families will be reported to the district and the state as truant. Truancy means that students are not attending school and violating the laws that require them to attend school.
• Students are expected to be in their assigned class before the bell rings. If a student arrives after the bell rings, they are marked tardy by their teacher.
• Teachers may assign a lunch detention if the student is tardy more than 3 times in a semester to their class.
• Ms. Tollefsen, Ms. Mendez, and Ms. Chauhan will run tardy reports and will develop plans for students with chronic tardiness problems (more than 10% tardies to all classes in a quarter). These plans could include a required adult escort to class, parent/guardian conferences, and/or lunch detentions.

Since you are required to always be in class, if you need to leave class for any reason...

1. Ask for permission from the teacher. If they agree that it’s a good time to leave...
2. Sign out on the sign out sheet, giving the day and time you are leaving and returning.

If you are going to the bathroom, go to the closest bathroom to your class. If you are going anywhere else besides the bathroom, you need to take the teacher’s hall pass. If the pass is missing, the teacher needs to write you a note.

If you arrive late to school between 7:50-8:10, go directly to class. If you arrive to school later than that, you must go to the main office to sign in and get a pass. If you need to leave school for an early dismissal, you will receive a pass or a call from the main office and will need to sign out in the main office.

RHMS is a closed campus. This means that in order to provide safety to all students, students cannot leave during the school day and outside community members cannot be on campus during the school day without permission. If a student leaves campus without permission during the school day, they will receive a half-day in school suspension for their first offense.

Pride Time is 30 minutes during the school day on Tuesdays and Thursdays to finish work or get help with work from teachers. We will use a program called Flexisched to sign up for a class to attend during this time. Students will only be allowed to leave their class on these days if they sign up on Flexisched or a teachers signs them up.

Advisory is 30 minutes on Mondays and Fridays. Each week we will learn together about ourselves, others, and our school.

Organization is a set time on Wednesdays to focus on finishing assignments and finding and completing missing assignments.

Students are reminded that their appearance significantly affects the way others respond to them.  Matters of dress remain the primary concern of students in consultation with their parents. Creating an environment where all students feel safe, comfortable and able to focus on learning is our priority. Our dress code supports that environment and applies to all genders.

• Clothing that promotes drugs, alcohol, tobacco, racism, and sexism or contains profanity, offensive logos or language, sexual connotations, weapons, or gang-related material is not permitted.  
• Clothing may not use or show hate speech targeting groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation or any other protected groups.  
• Clothing can’t be see-through and needs to cover all private parts.

If a student is in violation of the dress code, they will be counseled privately by staff or administration. The student will be supported with solutions to resolve the violation, including, but not limited to, an option to turn the clothing inside out, change clothes, or wear RHMS gear.

Library

The library is open each day from 7:00am until 2:35 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and until 1:05 pm on Wednesdays. Students can come to the library during classes or Pride Time if they have a pass from their teacher. Teachers may send only two students from class to the library at a time.  Students can come to library to check out books, or for technology help. Students can also sign up on Flexisched to come to the library for silent work and reading time during Pride Time. The library is open during lunches for students to spend time after they finish eating (no food or drink allowed in the library).

Lockers

Lockers are assigned to students who want one by Mrs. Love in the main office. Students can choose to partner up with another student as well. If you forget your locker combination or the door gets stuck, see Ms. Love in the main office. Lockers are school district property and can be searched at any time, without warning.

Students scheduled in PE classes will be assigned a locker in the locker room.  Do not share your locker combination with anyone.  Doing so puts you at risk for having items taken out of your locker and you will be held responsible.  If you leave valuables in your locker, you do so at your own risk.

Health Room

The Health Room is located in the Counseling Office and run by Ms. McNeal.  Students must get permission from their classroom teacher to go to the Health Room.  The maximum stay is 15 minutes.  If you are too ill to return to class after 15 minutes, a parent or guardian will be notified to arrange for transportation home.  There is no nurse on duty at all times. The Health Specialists assigned to our school are Keturah Romer, RN and Mirna Soliman, RN. Nurse Romer & Soliman oversee immunization compliance and case management for our students with Individual Health Plans.

If you need to use an elevator due to injury or illness, you must bring a note from your doctor to the main office.

Bathrooms

Gender Neutral bathrooms are available for student use in the Main Office and in the Health Room.

All students must ask permission to go to the bathroom and, after receiving permission, sign out with the date and time. Bathroom use should be no more than 5 minutes, unless in the case of an emergency. Students will sign back in when they return.

Acts of vandalism in the bathroom, including, but not limited to, graffiti, trash, breaking things, etc., will receive an appropriate consequence. Please alert an adult if you see students vandalizing the bathroom or if you find vandalism that has not been reported yet. We take pride in our school environment and want to take care of it.

Food on campus

Unauthorized use of food in hallways and classrooms is not allowed. Students must receive permission from an individual teacher to eat in classrooms. No food should leave the Commons during lunch time and no food should be eaten in the hallways.

 

LWSD provides a laptop for educational use for all middle and high school students. The laptop and its charger belong to the school district. Laptops are checked out to students and may go home with students during the school year. Students are responsible for taking care of these items and using them appropriately. All students and their parent/guardian must agree to the district’s Acceptable Use Procedures (AUP) and submit their signed electronic AUP form before receiving a laptop. The AUP states that the computer is to be used for educational purposes only. Any violation of the AUP including using the computer for anything inappropriate, using it in a way that is disruptive to others, or downloading anything onto the computer may result in the computer being taken away and investigated. The entire AUP can be read in the Student Laptop Handbook | Español which is available on the Lake Washington School District website.

Lost and/or stolen laptops: students will have to meet with Ms. Mendez or Ms. Tollefsen to receive a new device. If the laptop is lost multiple times, Ms. Mendez and Ms. Tollefsen could create a plan or assign consequences.

Lake Washington School District Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) Policy defines HIB violations as severe, persistent or pervasive behaviors that create an intimidating or threatening educational environment; or that have the effect that substantially disrupts the school learning environment. These behaviors can include but are not limited to acts intended to physically or emotionally harm the student or damage their property.

All incidents need to be reported to an administrator for investigation. Depending on the situation and the severity of the incident, these investigations can vary from building level to formal investigations that include district-level cooperation. Students involved can be placed on an emergency expulsion for up to 10 days while the investigation is open.

Emergency drills are taken seriously and performed monthly in order to prepare for the event of a real emergency. Emergency drills fall into 3 categories:

• Evacuation: these are usually fire drills and require students evacuating the building and gathering with their first period teachers at their designated areas.
• Lockdown: lockdown drills have various levels of precaution, Shelter-in-Place, Modified Lockdown, and Full ALICE Lockdown. During these drills students and staff generally remain in the building. During each of these drills, students will be given instructions over the intercom or from their teachers.
• Earthquake: this drill takes place in the classroom. Students are given directions over the intercom to drop, cover and hold on for safety.

This refers to cell phones, bluetooth speakers, noise makers, sunglasses, or anything that is a distraction in class or in the hallways.

RHMS is committed to providing an engaging and distraction-free learning environment. If students bring items that are a distraction to the learning environment, they can be confiscated by staff.  Confiscated items can be picked up at the end of the day in the main office or in that teacher’s classroom.

Any item that is a continual distraction may be kept in the main office until picked up by a guardian.

Parents/Guardians/Families: PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT YOUR STUDENT BY CELL PHONE during the school day.  You may call the office and we will be happy to deliver messages that are of an urgent nature quickly. Students may also use the student phone in the office to contact home as needed.

To ensure privacy and focus on learning in classrooms, students must place all cell phones, tablets, headphones, and other non-school provided electronic devices in their backpacks between 7:50 am and 2:20pm. All devices must be powered “OFF” and out of sight during the school day (which includes lunch and passing periods). This includes phones being visible in pockets, headphones visible around the neck, air pods in ears, etc. Phones and electronic devices may be confiscated at any time on the school campus including non-school hours if being used inappropriately or posing a risk to student safety. If you need to call your family, please use the phone located in the main office.  

• 1st offense: Item will be confiscated and delivered to the main office. Item may be picked up by the student at the end of the day.
• 2nd offense: Item will be confiscated and delivered to the main office. Item may be picked up by the student at the end of the day and parent/guardian will be notified electronically.
• 3rd offense: Item will be confiscated and delivered to the main office. Parent/Guardian will need to pick up the device in-person.
• 4th and following Offenses: Item will be confiscated and delivered to the main office. Parent/Guardian will be contacted for a conference and to pick up the device in-person. Students will be put on a contract that may include turning in their phone at the main office at the beginning of the day for up to a week following the offense.

Electronics brought to school are subject to search by an administrator.

If a student refuses to have the electronic item confiscated, a parent conference will be required. If the student continues to refuse to turn over the phone, they receive an in school suspension until they choose to turn over their phone.

Further interventions and consequences may be assigned by an administrator based on severity and frequency.

*In rare cases, an individual teacher may choose to allow personal electronic devices in his/her classroom for a specific learning activity. The students MUST have all parts of the device and headphones put away in their backpacks before leaving that classroom or they will be subject to the above consequences. In addition, personal laptops must be used according to the district technology guidelines and only with each teachers’ permission.

Students are not allowed to photograph or record others without their permission (including TikTok, Instagram live, and other social media platforms), and will receive consequences if they choose to do so. It is strongly recommended that students leave electronic devices at home to prevent loss or distraction. Lost, misplaced or stolen electronic devices are rarely recovered. RHMS is not responsible for any electronic devices that are lost or stolen at school.

At Rose Hill Middle School, we value safety, kindness, and responsibility. The chart below lists clear expectations based on these values in different areas of the school that we expect students to follow at all times.

If you are not able to follow the expectations in this handbook and you are in a classroom, the following may occur:

• your teacher may ask you to fill out a reflection sheet either in your classroom or in another teacher’s classroom
• you may be asked to have a meeting with the teacher
• your teacher may call or email your parents/guardians to let them know
• you may be assigned a lunch detention
• other activities may be assigned to help redirect you back to the stated expectations
• if these actions by the teacher have been attempted multiple times and you continue to not follow the stated expectations, you will be referred by your teacher to Ms. Tollefsen, Ms. Mendez or Ms. Chauhan for further consequences (see below).

If you are not able to follow these expectations and you are not in a classroom, the following may occur by assigned administrator (Ms. Chauhan, all students; Ms. Mendez, 6th graders last names A-M, 7th graders; Ms. Tollefsen, 6th graders last names N – Z, 8th graders):
All of the above, plus…

• Behavior contract
• Community service
• Restorative conferences and/or circles
• After school detention
• Wednesday school detention
• Parent/guardian conference
• Warning

If the behavior that does not align with expectations causes safety concerns for you or other students or if you are exhibiting a pattern of behavior out of line with our expectations, any action from above may be imposed AND Ms. Mendez or Ms. Tollefsen could also assign an…

• In school suspension
• Out of school suspension
• Other actions consistent with the behavior shown that does not align with our expectations.

Learn more about our Discipline Plan