Services
CAFETERIA INFORMATION
Food will be provided breakfast, break lunch and after school in the cafeteria and is available to all students.
Cafeteria Procedures:
• Maintain straight and orderly lines without pushing or cutting line.
• Elementary students must sit in designated class seats and remain seated until dismissed.
• Clean up your area of the table and floor when finished.
• Place all trash in the trash receptacle when finished.
• Elementary Students may go to the soccer field or the upper playground. There will be a space designated for rainy day lunch recess. The teacher will inform students of this area.
COUNSELING
• A counselor is available to assist in developing better study habits, learning to get along with others, establishing educational goals, and resolving personal problems.
• Counseling service is here to support and assist students in post-graduation planning; however, it is the student’s responsibility to meet college application and admission deadlines.
• Counseling services are available to all students, staff, and parents.
• Counseling may conducted individually or in groups.
• Counseling will be conducted in a climate of confidentiality.
• Counseling is conducted in such a manner as to help the students achieve better self-understanding, self-awareness, and planning.
All discussions with the counselor will be confidential unless the child is considered to be at risk or a danger to themselves and others. In these instances the Director and Principal will be notified by the counselor and together they will assess the severity of the situation and take the necessary precautionary steps.
The following are procedures for seeking Counseling:
• Appointments¬ – contact the counselor or secretary.
• Students must sign up between classes or during free time.
• In an emergency students may be sent to the Counselor with a pass.
HEALTH CARE AND RELATED INFORMATION
Parents must provide the school with three functional emergency numbers. We cannot release a child in case of an emergency to a person not listed on the emergency card. Without a list of emergency contacts, we would have no choice but to call 911, at your expense, if your child has an injury or illness that could be life threatening. Please complete health records with all important health information and keep these updated at school.
• Please do not send children to school if they are ill. If a student comes to school and starts to have a fever, or questionable rashes, we will call the parents to take the students home. Acute illness and accidents will always be dealt with immediately.
• The nurse office is located next to the cafeteria. A nurse is stationed at the school Monday-Friday from 8:00-4:00p.m. You may contact the nurse at 293-2567.
• All students must have a pass to receive treatment in the nurse office.
• The health room is available for first aid and emergency situations. It is not a substitute for medical needs requiring the services of a physician.
MEDICATION
In those instances when it is necessary for a student to receive medication in school for any reason, the following procedure must be followed:
• Parents must complete the school form “Authorization for Giving Medication at School”. Please note that we must have a copy of the physician’s prescription. The medication must be brought to school in the original prescription bottle. The prescription must be clearly marked with: the doctor’s name, the child’s name, the name of the medication, the dosage, how and when it may be given.
• The school will not administer any medication without a written consent from the parents.
Any student giving any medication to other students will face disciplinary action by the administration.
IMMUNIZATIONS
All students must have the proper immunizations to attend school. This includes 4Hib for preschools, 5 DPT, 4 Polio and one or two MMR depending on the students’ grade level. All students entering the 7th grade must have a second MMR, if the second MMR was not previously given. Students without the required immunizations are subject to exclusion from school.
LIBRARY
The Library is open from 7:30 to 3:30, Monday through Friday. The library has been established, maintained and developed to serve students and teachers as a reading, learning, and research center. Faculty members may schedule time to bring their entire class to the Library for research or study. Scheduling must be done through the school librarian or appointed staff member, and faculty members must supervise their students at all times. Library skills, research, storytelling and literature discussions are available through the Library. Students, parents, faculty and staff are welcome to sign out books for personal use.
Library Rules:
• No food or drink allowed.
• Take proper care of all library materials.
• After using the books, please put them in the book cart provided for that purpose. Do not put them on the shelves.
• A silent environment should be maintained at all times.
• Students will not be allowed to check out AV equipment or videos.
• Students are not allowed to lie on the sofas or chairs. No feet on the furniture.
Lost books or materials/ Late Books
• The minimum fine for a lost book is 5.000 colones. When the cost of a book exceeds 5,000 colones, the student will be responsible for purchasing the replacement cost same book or covering the total cost of the book plus shipping when necessary.
• Students pay a fine of 100 colones per day for books turned in late.
• The fine for lost magazines will be the price of the magazine.
Students with overdue books will have their borrowing privileges suspended until overdue materials are returned and/or charges are paid. Report Cards and progress reports will be withheld until all fines are paid.
COMPUTER LABS
AIS is proud to offer a computer lab, for both elementary students and high school students.
The Computer Lab is available to students’ for instructional periods as well as use during breaks, lunch and after school. No students are allowed in the computer lab without teacher supervision.
Please see attached computer usage policies in appendix. Students must sign and return the Acceptable Use Agreement as prerequisite to use of any school computer.
INTERNET ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY
STUDENT AND PARENT AGREEMENT FORM
The American International School supports access by students to rich information resources along with the development by staff of appropriate skills to analyze and evaluate such resources. In a free and democratic society, access to information is a fundamental privilege of citizenship.
Access to telecommunications will enable students to explore thousands of libraries, databases, and bulletin boards while exchanging messages with people throughout the world. AIS believes that the benefits to students from access in the form of information resources and opportunities for collaboration exceed the disadvantages. Ultimately, parents and guardians of minors are responsible for setting and conveying the standards that their children should follow when using media and information sources.
The use of technology at AIS must be in support of the mission and educational goals of the school. The use of technology is a privilege, not a right. Appropriate etiquette is expected and required of all users. Users are permitted to use the technology resources for the purpose of research, lesson preparation, peer communications, and/or other information gathering and sharing as it relates to education. All AIS computers are to be used in a responsible, efficient, ethical and legal manner.
Internet access requires responsibility on the part of the student. Independent student access to the Internet will be provided only to students who have agreed to act in a considerate and responsible manner by signing, and having their parent(s) or guardian(s) co-sign an Acceptable Use Policy form.
All access to the network and Internet is permitted only via the student’s own user name and password. A student will be responsible for any access attained through his user name; thus it is imperative that a student safeguard his password to avoid the use of his account by another. User access may be monitored, and a record of all user activity, including web sites visited, is maintained.
Communication on the Internet is often very public in nature. Students are responsible for good behavior in the use of computers and the Internet, just as they are in a classroom or on school property. Inappropriate materials or language should not be used. A good rule to follow is never view, send, or access materials that you would not want your teachers or parents to see. Should students encounter such material by accident, they should report it to their teacher immediately.
All students will be trained in “Netiquette”, Electronic Communication Ethics and User Responsibilities, as well as how to search the Internet competently.
Unacceptable behaviors include but are not necessarily limited to the following:
• Sending or displaying offensive messages or pictures.
• Using obscene language and harassing, insulting or attacking others.
• Loading software on school-owned computers.
• Damaging computers, computer systems, or computer networks.
• Violating copyright laws.
• Using another person’s password or trespassing in another person’s file(s) or work.
• Copying or using someone else’s work.
• Intentionally wasting limited resources (time, paper, ink).
• Using the network to access pornographic or other inappropriate materials.
• Portraying oneself as a representative of AIS.
• Using the Internet for personal communication, or to access chat lines.
• Playing games.
• Non-academic uses, e.g., personal e-mail, downloading music, games, etc…
• Users are not permitted access to any part of the operating system or a given computer or computer network.
• Users are not permitted access to servers other than to save and retrieve personal files from designated places.
• Users are not to delete, add or alter any data other than their own.
• Users are not to deliberately destroy or diminish the value or effectiveness of any technology or information systems. This includes but is not limited to vandalism, creating or uploading viruses, attempts to breach system security, and the use of food or drink.
• Users are prohibited from copying AIS software for use on their home computers or to pass on to others.
CONSEQUENCES
Students who commit any of the above listed acts of misconduct will be disciplined in one or more of the following ways:
• The student’s parents will be contacted.
• The student may be given limited access to school equipment, networks and services.
• The student may be denied access to school equipment, networks and services.
• The student will be required to pay for all damage.
• The student may receive detention.
• The student may receive in-school suspension.
LEARNING SUPPORT PROGRAMS
The Learning Support Program (LSP) at American International School of Costa Rica is based on the assumption that every child is unique and has unique educational needs. The school makes every attempt to provide the student with the least restrictive environment where they can maximize his/her learning. The LSP works closely with administrators, teachers, and parents of students who need academic support in order to succeed in school.
LSP coordinates with teachers and administration to provide curricular modifications. These include accommodations provided for the MEP and college entrance exams. The program provides a variety of services to meet student-learning needs such as:
• Formal evaluation coordinated with recognized outside professionals in various areas in order to seek objective third party diagnosis.
• Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) for individuals who do not meet their grade level expectations. Every student in LSP has an Individual Service Plan, which indicates the educational benchmarks, and standards that are being met by the student in the program.
• Small group sessions when various students share a particular learning need and/or in need of specialized instruction to master a skill.
Parents or teachers are encouraged to discuss the need of LSP services for any student. LSP services will begin only after a student is referred in writing by a parent, teacher or administrator to the LSP specialist. The student is then tested and the deficiency has been identified and a course of action has been defined. Any additional formal testing for diagnosis completed outside of AIS will be the financial responsibility of the parents.