Mount Hope Elementary School
Mount Hope Elementary School
Welcome to our Web Page. Please click on any of the categories in our Directory for additional information. Please check with us periodically as more information becomes available in each category. Every effort is made to provide accurate information. Questions and/or comments may be directed to Dr. Baner's office, who will then forward them to the appropriate personnel.
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Welcome to Mount Hope's web site. As principal, I would like to offer you an invitation to visit us in person. We encourage our parents to take an active role. Our school motto, "I Belong to a Family of Friends", reflects the atmosphere we hope to maintain at Mount Hope Elementary. We all have one very important factor tying us together - your child. By working together, sharing, giving, taking, and nurturing, we can help your child succeed to the best of their ability while meeting their emotional needs as well.
When I became principal of Mount Hope in 1986, we had 275 students in kindergarten through sixth grade. It was a small country school in a suburban school district. Parents felt Mount Hope offered a personal family environment for their children. We now have approximately 500 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, in a district that is one of the fastest growing in the state. Although our area is quickly growing, and our numbers have doubled, Mount Hope continues to strive to maintain an inviting, safe family atmosphere. Involved parents will help ensure our success in meeting this goal.
We offer parents plenty of opportunities for school visits. Come join us for breakfast, lunch, a school activity or to volunteer.
Sincerely,
Sandy Baner
On behalf of our staff, welcome to the 2008-2009 school year. We are honored to have the opportunity to serve you and will provide the children of Mount Hope our best throughout the year. As principal, my door is open to all. Please call or visit whenever you have questions.
This portion of the Mount Hope Web Page has been prepared to help answer many frequently asked questions students and parents usually have concerning the activities, procedures, and rules for the successful daily operation of our school. Following a common ground of understood procedures will enable us to provide the best possible educational experiences for our Mount Hope students in a safe and caring environment. Through the cooperative efforts of home and school, our children will continue to blossom academically, socially and emotionally into contributing citizens of this community.
Sincerely,
Sandy Baner, Principal
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PEANUT FREE ENVIRONMENT - Please be aware that Mount Hope Elementary is a peanut free school. Due to a child enrolled with a rare air-borne allergy to peanuts and peanut products, no items containing peanuts, peanut oil, flour, etc. are allowed at school. We ask our parents to check ingredients on any questionable items. Possible cross contamination products (packaging will have a peanut alert symbol) such as regular M&M's, for example, are permissible.
SCHOOL HOURS
| AM Kindergarten | 9:15am |
12:15pm |
| PM Kindergarten | 12:45pm |
3:45pm |
| Grades 1-5 | 9:15am |
3:45pm |
| Office | 8:00am |
4:15pm |
Please note the following time frame regarding daily arrival and dismissal:
Children arriving late need to be signed in at the office and receive a note that will be given to their teacher. To help us maintain the safest environment possible, we ask parents to allow children to walk to class on their own rather than accompanying them.
Sometimes throughout the school year, it is necessary for parents to pick up their children early. We always appreciate a note from home informing us of this need. Whether planned, or due to an emergency, parents must come to the office to sign their children out of school. At that time we will call down to the classroom and request your child be dismissed. The teacher will send him/her to the office ready to leave. Parents should never go to the classroom for their child. Teachers cannot and will not dismiss a child to a parent from the classroom. For safety reasons, we are certain you understand why we seek your cooperation in this matter.
Should you require your child to be picked up by someone other than yourself, or change his/her routine in some other fashion, we must have a note from home. Children will be sent home as usual, no matter how insistent they may be, unless we hear from you.
Regular school attendance is vital to the academic success of any child. However, in the event your child must be out due to illness, please contact the office by phone the day of the absence and send a note to your child's teacher upon their return. If we are not notified the day of an absence, we must then try to contact you to verify the child is at home. Although obviously discouraged, we understand at times parents find a need or opportunity to vacation with their children during the school year. Should this be necessary, there is a "Planned Absence" form we ask you to fill out prior to traveling.
District policy requires teachers to notify parents when children have reached five (5) days of absence even if these days have been previously verified. Upon teacher request, a letter may be sent home from the principal when absences have reached ten (10) days or more and are affecting academic and/or social growth.
If your child is absent due to illness, especially for a number of days, you are encouraged to contact our office to make arrangements for your child's work to be sent home or picked up. We need at least a day's notice (request at start of school if to be picked up by the end of the day). This notice will allow your child's teacher adequate time to organize materials without taking away from class instruction. Students are given a day for each day missed to complete and return assignments made during their absence.
Bus transportation is provided to every child who lives one (1) or more miles from school or to those who would be forced to walk along designated "dangerous" routes. Children may ride on a bus other than their own only in emergency situations. These accommodations cannot be approved by the school office. Such emergency requests must be made through the Director of Auxiliary Services, Mr. Tom Berry, at 240-3138. We will be notified of changes from his office if approved.
We always encourage our family members to visit school at any time. We find children always enjoy this special treat, and these visits help demonstrate your interest in their schooling.
Research has proven the more involved and active parents are in their child's education, the more likely children will reach their full potential. Again, for safety, no matter what the reason for your visit, please stop by the office first to pick up a visitor or volunteer button that must be worn while you are at school.
CLASSROOM - If you would like to visit the classroom, please speak with your child's teacher. Conferences should also always be scheduled ahead rather than trying to talk with the teacher when he/she has class. This will help preserve instruction time.
BREAKFAST - You may come any day for breakfast. There is no need to call ahead. Breakfast is served from 8:50 - 9:05 am.
LUNCH - We ask you to call no later than 9:30am on any day you are coming for lunch. This allows our cooks enough notice to adequately prepare additional food as needed. Please feel free to bring in a lunch if desired.
Please be aware that we have parents joining us daily for breakfast and lunch. Don't be shy!!
VOLUNTEER - School volunteers are always appreciated. Teachers often seek and utilize parent volunteers. Our Parent Teacher Council (PTC) also actively seeks parents willing and able to help.
BACKGROUND CHECK FOR VOLUNTEERS - It is Fort Zumwalt School District's policy to require background checks on all parent volunteers. If you plan to volunteer during the school year, please see our office for the necessary forms. Background checks need to be completed before volunteering. Please be sure to allow enough time to complete the forms, turn them in, and have the check completed prior to the dates to volunteer.
EVENTS - Mount Hope has many special activities during the year, and parents are always invited.
Breakfasts and lunches are served each school day. If your child will participate on a regular or occasional basis, we ask you to use available meal envelopes to send in cash or checks (made payable to Mount Hope Elementary). Money is deposited in your child's school meal account. Deposits for accounts need to minimally equal the equivalence of five lunches and may be as much beyond that as you choose. Money may be sent in daily to purchase meals or drinks at the door, although this is strongly discouraged. Every child has a plastic card we keep that is scanned when a meal or drink is purchased. The appropriate amount is then deducted. Each Wednesday we notify families when their child's account is $5.00 or less. A printout of all transactions for your child may be requested at any time.
Free and reduced-price lunch forms are available in the school office. If you feel your family may qualify, please request a form from our school secretary or principal. Such information is kept strictly confidential. With our computerized system, it is impossible for our students to distinguish between those paying and those on free or reduced-price meals.
During many of our special events, parking can be at a premium! Weather permitting, we allow parking in the grass areas. Although the open space can be tempting, PLEASE DO NOT PARK ALONG THE UPPER CURVE OR ALONG THE SIDEWALK! Busses cannot get around the curve with parked cars, and our bus lane is along the sidewalk.
Early Dismissal - At times the Fort Zumwalt School District is forced to consider early dismissal due to possible hazardous conditions in the winter. If school is dismissed early, morning kindergarten will be dismissed at 11:05am with afternoon kindergarten classes being cancelled. Grades One through Five will be dismissed at 1:45pm. The YMCA School Age Child Care program will also be cancelled for their after school session.
School Closing - Winter in Missouri provides some unexpected vacation time for our students. Please make preparations for your children in advance should school be cancelled.
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The St. Charles County YMCA offers a "School Age Child Care" program at Mount Hope. This program has hours both before and after school, starting at 6:30am until the start of school each morning, and beginning at the end of the school day until 6:00pm. You are responsible for dropping off and picking up your child, and the program operates only when school is in session. For information, call the YMCA at (636) 922-9321, or (636) 928-1928.
After the courts designated boundaries for five St. Charles County school districts, eliminating many elementary and secondary districts in the county at that time, Ft. Zumwalt School District was created. It was believed at that time that the Highway P corridor would be the fastest-growing area in O'Fallon and St. Peters.
Mount Hope was named for a one room school house that had been built around 1838, and was located on Highway P west of our current location. Originally named "West Liberty School", it had been located adjacent to a church named Mount Hope. Most of the original students were also members of Mount Hope Church, and soon the school came to be known as Mount Hope School.
It therefore seemed appropriate to name the new school in honor of the one room school which had served the community so well for more than one hundred years. The original one room building formerly known as Mount Hope School has been donated to the Daniel Boone Historic Site in Defiance, Missouri so our community might enjoy its historic significance.
The first phase of the current building was finished in 1968. At that time it included the office area and the main hall of ten classrooms. By 1975 the teacher work room, gymnasium and kitchen were completed, and by the 1978-79 school year the kindergarten wing had been completed and was in use. This kindergarten section had been necessitated by the state mandate requiring kindergarten classes be available to district patrons. In 1992, yet another addition was completed, to address the needs for a music room, art room, library, and storage space for the gymnasium and kitchen. In 1995, an addition of seven classrooms, a special education facility, and more student restroom facilities were completed, freeing up yet more classroom space that had been used for other purposes. This also allowed us to remove four mobile classrooms located directly behind the building. For the 2000-2001 school year we opened five additional classrooms, bathrooms, special education classrooms, and additional art, music and multi-purpose rooms. These improvements allowed for the removal of two more mobile classes. We opened the 2007-2008 school year with renovations to our office, teacher workroom, kindergarten classes, and a kitchen addition. Each addition has met a need at Mount Hope Elementary, as our attendance area continues to grow in population.
Examples of violations requiring disciplinary action may include, but are not limited to, use of tobacco, inappropriate behavior, vulgarity, extending body parts or items out of bus and scuffling or fighting. The action to be taken by the principal will be as follows, unless a serious disciplinary infraction requires an immediate suspension from the bus:
It is Fort Zumwalt's policy that all schools and school campuses are to be smoke free. Please refrain from smoking when on District property.
Each year we ask for parent volunteers to serve as room parents. These parents coordinate special room activities throughout the year, as well as three parties - Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day.
We ask each child to contribute $3.00 to help defray the cost of three parties our room parents prepare for the children. During our Halloween party, children should not wear costumes with a violent theme (murderers, gang members, mobsters, bloody characters, etc.). Although many of our "super heroes" fight, we make exceptions since they defend our freedom so well. If children bring cards to the Valentine party, we ask that they bring a card for every child in their room.
Our school district requires families to send individually wrapped, store-bought treats. Treats or snacks may also include such purchased items as pizza, cupcakes, cake, etc. Non-home baked treats better promote and control a healthy environment. Please remember that we are peanut free.
A copy of any legal court order pertaining to the health, care, and safety of a child should be provided to our school. We respect the rights of all parents unless otherwise dictated by the courts. Documentation must be on file at the school.
Those new to our area, or who have not had the opportunity to register to vote, may do so in our school office. If you are interested in registering, see our school secretary any time during regular school hours.
Please print on the front of all checks written to school your driver's license number and date of birth.
I dreamed I stood in a studio and watched two sculptors there,
The clay they used was a young child's mind
And they fashioned it with care.
One was a teacher: the tools that were used were books, music, and art.
One was a parent with a guiding hand and a gentle heart.
Day after day the teacher toiled with a touch that was deft and sleek,
While the parent labored side by side and polished and smoothed it o'er.
And at last when the task was done
They were proud of what they had wrought.
For the things they had molded into the child,
Could never be forgot.
And they agreed each would have failed
If either had worked alone.
For behind the parent stood the school and behind the teacher, the home.
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The new school year is underway and the PTC officers would like to invite everyone to become involved in the various activities offered at Mount Hope.
We have two Book Fairs each year; one in the fall and one in the spring. These earn free books for our school.
The purpose of the PTC is to promote the welfare of children and youth in the home, school, and community.
The PTC has supported the students of Mount Hope Elementary by purchasing such items as:
Mount Hope has two Book Fairs, one in the fall and one in the spring.
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Physical Education: The elementary physical education program emphasizes physical fitness activities, including health related concepts, skill development, participation and fun. Movement skills, body awareness, social skills, and perceptual motor development are other parts of the program.
Jump Rope Team: The Mount Hope Elementary School rope skipping team, the SHOW-ME JUMPERS, is in its nineteenth year as a demonstration team for the American Heart Association's Jump Rope For Heart program. The group's purpose is to demonstrate the fun and health benefits of skipping rope, and to promote Jump Rope For Heart, a student exercise event. The team generates a great deal of enthusiasm for jump rope throughout the eastern part of Missouri at school assemblies, teacher workshops, civic groups, festivals and conventions.
Jump Rope For Heart: Approximately 275 Mount Hope Elementary students participate in the Jump Rope For Heart program this year to benefit the American Heart Association, Missouri Affiliate. Approximately $7,000.00 was raised for heart research and heart healthy educational programs. Mount Hope has participated in the program since 1981, raising over $120,000.
Mount Hope Field Day: An old fashioned "Field Day" is held during the month of May. Field day is an exciting time for all students. Events such as the ball pass relay, tug of war, races, and station activities make up the day. All students end the day with a ribbon and a certificate of participation. It is a positive day for all!
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Our focus in the Mount Hope Library Media Center is to encourage library use for leisure reading and retrieval of research information. We have weekly times scheduled for our classes, during which we teach library information skills, literature appreciation, and have weekly checkout. Teacher-librarian team teaching projects are encouraged and we arrange research time for classes as our schedule allows.
We are proud of our attractive library, which has the only "Reading Station" in the district, and of our growing curriculum based collection. We are completely automated and have a variety of electronic resources, including the Internet.
We feel our elementary library media center is our students first stepping stone on the path to a life filled with the love of reading and knowledge.
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