Family Handbook
2023-24 | Burns Park Elementary
Burns Park Elementary
1414 Wells St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-994-1919
https://www.a2schools.org/BurnsPark
Leslee Bullock, Principal, jonesl@aaps.k12.mi.us
Heather Miller, Assistant Principal, hooppaw@aaps.k12.mi.us
Meghan Nollen, Office Professional, nollenm@aaps.k12.mi.us
Our Mission & Vision
Mission Statement:
Burns Park is committed to providing a safe and equitable educational environment where students, staff, and families feel visible, voiced and valued in content, instructional practices, relationships and opportunities.
Vision Statement:
Burns Park staff will enlighten the lives of the children we serve by becoming immersed in the study of Social & Emotional Learning, Trauma Informed Instructional Practices and a Deeper Dive of developmentally appropriate curriculum. Together we will identify realistic student outcomes, create shared goals and monitor student progress through a culturally responsive and relevant lens every day of the year.
School Hours
Normal School Day
8:45 AM: Arrival Bell
8:48 AM: Instruction Begins
3:48 PM: Dismissal
Early Release Days
1:00 PM: Dismissal
Last Day of School
11:28 PM: Dismissal
Attendance
Teachers take attendance each morning and afternoon. If your child will be absent or tardy after 8:45am from school, email bur_attendance@aaps.k12.mi.us or call 734-994-1919. Within your message, please be sure to include details about the absence, for example: Bobby Smith will be out due to illness. He has been vomiting and has a fever. While alerting the teacher of absences is nice, official attendance verification is done at the office so it is critical that you communicate with the office. If your child arrives after 8:45 am, they must get a tardy slip from the office before going to class.
If your child is absent due to a positive COVID test please use this link to let the district know please also inform the office immediately. If your child is absent due to any other contagious disease (strep, influenza, pink eye, etc.), please inform us so that we may share this information in the weekly county wide health report.
Parents who wish to pick up their child during school hours should notify the school in advance by 2pm via phone or email. When you arrive at the building, please ring the buzzer to let the office staff know you’ve arrived. We will buzz you into the building where you should report directly to the office. Students will only be released to those listed in a student’s emergency contacts and you may be asked to show your ID. Please note that we will not release students to minors. This includes older siblings.
If you need to make a change to your child’s end-of-day plan, please email your child’s teacher by 8:30 am and call the office before 2:00 pm. Examples might include changing the plan from riding the bus to going to parent pickup. The earlier you can alert us the better.
Arrival & Dismissal
The arrival window is between 8:40am and 8:45am. Any student who arrives earlier than 8:45 am must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Parents are encouraged to park on one of the streets that are perpendicular to Wells and walk from there. Many park on Olivia, Lincoln, or Martin Place, and walk (or send children to walk) onto the playground.
All walkers are asked to cross Wells street at the Lincoln intersection. For children in Young 5’s or Kindergarten, parents escort them to their line-up zone and pick them up there at the end of the day.
Drivers are encouraged to make a right turn only when entering and exiting the parking lot to avoid unnecessary traffic congestion, unsafe conditions, and slowing down the process. Therefore, drivers must be heading east on Wells to enter the lot. Please remember to turn right ONLY when exiting on to Wells and continue heading east.
Children enter and exit vehicles on the curbside/passenger side door ONLY. This is an essential safety consideration. Exiting on the traffic/driver side puts our children at risk.
Families are encouraged to have children ready to exit when entering the drop-off and pick up zone. If students need to finish breakfast, find belongings, or otherwise prepare to exit the car, it slows the line down.
- There is absolutely no parking in the staff parking lot for drop off and pick up.
Bus Drop Off and Pickup Buses drop off and pick up on Wells Street. Principals and/or lead teachers greet students each morning. Principals, and/or lead teacher oversee departure each day. Young 5, Kindergarten, First grade, and Second grade students are walked to the bus each day by 5th grade bus buddies or teaching assistants
Transportation
The Ann Arbor Public Schools provides bus transportation to each student who lives one and a half or more miles from school. Bus service is not currently available to School of Choice families or In-District Transfer families. Bus routes and schedules are published on the district’s website.
All students living within the Burns Park attendance area, and at least 1.5 miles from the school, are assigned a bus stop. Students living closer should walk or use alternate transportation. Please ensure safety by having an adult at the bus stop with children each morning and afternoon. Students should be courteous and safe while awaiting the arrival of the bus. They should remain socially distanced from others at the stop, and they must wear a mask while waiting for the bus.
Alternate Bus Plans
Alternate bus plans will not be permitted. Students can only ride the bus to and from their assigned bus stop. Students who do not regularly ride the bus are not permitted to ride the bus.
Bus Rules
The first responsibility of bus drivers is the safe transportation of passengers. If any student’s behavior endangers the safety of others, the driver will issue misconduct reports. These reports can result in bus suspension. The school administrator is responsible for any disciplinary action for misbehavior on the bus and at the bus stop. Riding privileges may be suspended for up to ten days at a time for serious offenses. Expulsion from riding privileges may also occur.
The rules listed below are provided by AAPS and should be followed by all students:
Observe classroom conduct.
Be courteous, use no profane language.
Do not eat or drink on the bus.
Keep the bus clean.
Cooperate with the driver.
Do not damage bus or equipment.
Stay in your seat.
Keep head, hands and feet inside bus.
Do not fight, push or shove.
Do not tamper with bus equipment.
Do not bring pets on the bus.
Do not bring flammable material on the bus.
The bus driver is authorized to assign seats.
Have a safe trip.
School Closings
Health & Wellness
Medication
Occasionally, children may need to take medication during the school day. In accordance with district policy, no medication of any kind may be given in the school unless a physician prescribes it. This includes prescription medicine and over the counter medicine. The medicine must be in the original container from the pharmacy. Medication must be accompanied by the written, signed instructions from the physician prescribing the medication and must be specific as to the time, method, and dosage to be administered. Please request the proper form from the school office. It can also be found here. Written permission from parents must accompany the medication. Instructions on the medication label prepared by a pharmacist are not sufficient. This policy also applies to all “over the counter” medication, including aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, cold pills, and medicated lozenges.
Emergency Forms
Emergency forms will be online through each student’s PowerSchool account, so that the school has a contact person for your child in the event of illness or an accident. Please assist the school staff in keeping the names and telephone numbers of the contact persons current. Any changes should be immediately reported to the school office i.e., home phone, work, cell phone changes, e-mail addresses.
Illness and Injury
In addition to the COVID safety protocols, a student who is injured or reports not feeling well at school is monitored in the school office for a short period of time. Minor cuts and scrapes are cleaned and attended to as needed. Parents may be notified at the discretion of the office staff if the condition is mild. Parents are always notified and the child is sent home if (s)he has a fever or if there is an injury or other condition that prevents the student from a productive return to class. The school nurse is notified and consulted whenever there is a serious injury or apparent medical condition. Students who have been ill must be fever-free — without fever-reducing medication — for 24 hours before returning to school, unless they have been directed to quarantine by a school contact tracer, the Washtenaw County Health Department, or your family physician. Students who have vomited must wait 24 hours from the last episode before returning to school.
Emergency Situations
We have established procedures to follow in the event of an emergency at school. Fire, severe weather, lockdown, and indoor emergency drills are held to ensure that children know what to do in these circumstances. During an emergency situation, all occupants of the building are expected to respond to instructions of the school staff.
School Dress Code
Packing Your Child's Backpack
We recommend that every family sends the following items to school with the children.
Their school issued device (iPad or Chromebook): Chargers do not need to be sent to school, but families should make sure the device is charged each night. Devices will be distributed likely the second week of school.
Water bottle
Masks (if required)
Lunch (if bringing from home)
Technology
Recess
Recess is held outdoors when the weather permits. As a general rule, we feel that if students are well enough to be in school, then they are well enough to go outside for recess. Requests for indoor recess must be accompanied by a physician’s statement. Recess is held inside when temperatures drop below zero degrees Fahrenheit (including wind chill) or when it is raining.
During recess, the children are always supervised by teachers or lunchroom supervisors. The supervisors’ relationship with the children is the same as a teacher’s. The students are expected to be cooperative with and obey the supervisors.
Playground Rules
Wear the right clothes for the weather!
Be courteous and respect others. Don’t interrupt other children’s games.
Only safe play is allowed. That means no throwing snowballs, sticks or stones, no pushing, shoving, fighting, tripping, wrestling, tackling, or pulling on clothes.
Be careful on swings and slides. Stay seated!
Throwing snow is not allowed.
Stay outdoors for the entire recess period, except for emergencies.
Tell the teachers or supervisors if you see an accident or misbehavior.
Talk nicely to each other! Bad language, mean teasing and harassing other students are not permitted at any time during school.
Please do not bring expensive toys to school. No toys or trading cards are allowed on the playground.
Electronic games are not allowed.
Indoor Recess Rules
Students must remain within their designated classroom or indoor space.
Use indoor voices.
Remember to use indoor behavior: move about the classroom slowly and quietly.
Frequently Used Contacts
Burns Park Elementary 734-994-1919
Burns Park Attendance bur_attendance@aaps.k12.mi.us
Family Tech Support 734-997-1222
Durham Transportation 734-994-2330
School Closing Hotline 734-994-8684
Community Education and Recreation 734-994-2300