•   Parent Council
  •   Parent Events & Meetings
  •   Parent-School Covenant
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    Parents have been active in all phases of the school, from its founding to its governance. All parents voluntarily signed a ten-point involvement pledge and all parents come to school three times a year to pick up their children's report cards. The Parent Council is an organization made up of North Star Parents. Each fall parents elect four officers of the Parent Council. In addition, other parents have many other opportunities to step forward to serve the school. For the 2008-09 school year, the following individuals comprise the leadership team:

    • Toni King, President
    • Micheal Lytle, Vice-President
    • Sharon Daids, Treasurer
    • Millicent Harris, Secretary



    Stay tuned for updates and additional events!

    Event Date
    Back to School Night/Parent Council Elections September 18, 2008
    Parent Conference Night October 16, 2008
    Latino Cultural Celebration November 10, 2008
    Report Card Night December 4, 2008
    Elementary Kwanzaa Celebration December 17, 2008
    Black History Month Celebration TBD, February 2009
    Middle School Open Houses for Interested Incoming 5th Graders & Parents

    February 18, 2009 (Downtown Campus)

    March 4, 2009 (Clinton Hill Campus)
    Elementary Open Houses for Interested Incoming Kindergarten Parents (Elementary Campus)

    February 19, 2009

    March 3, 2009
    Report Card Night March 12, 2008
    Lottery Night March 25, 2009
    High School Graduation June 18, 2009





    Commitment Pledge by Parents/Guardians:

    Attendance
    • We believe that our child's attendance and timeliness are vitally important to his/her success in school.
      • We will make sure that our child has a safe and reliable means of transportation to and from school each day. We are fully committed to an 11-month schedule and support the idea that our child will be in school during July and in the end of August.
    • We will not plan for family vacations or other extended absences to occur in July and in the end of August.
    • We will make certain that our child attends school every day, except in cases of illness or another legitimate reason.
    • We will telephone the school prior to 9:00 a.m. on the day of any absence to report why the child is out.
    • We will not schedule routine doctor and dentist appointments during the school day. Consulting the North Star Academy calendar, we will try to schedule appointments on days or at times when school is not in session; or if such an appointment becomes absolutely necessary during school hours, we will return the child to school after the appointment.
    • We will provide notes for any absences more than one day and will provide doctor's notes for any absence more than three days or for repeated absences.
    • We will see to it that our child arrives on time each morning, and fully understand that lateness will result in public apologies, detentions and loss of credit in the high school.
    • We understand that 20 or more absences without a doctor's note will require that my child repeat the grade.
    Uniform

    • We promise that our child will wear the North Star uniform to school each day.
    • We understand that our child is not allowed to substitute the required clothing and that uniform violations will result in the child missing class, being sent home or the parent bringing the proper items to school.
    Homework
    • We understand that our child will have 90 minutes to two hours of homework each night, including weekends.
    • We understand that regular homework completion is one of the keys to academic success.
    • We understand that it is our responsibility to see that homework is completed. We will check our child's homework each night to ensure that it is complete, accurate and neat.
    • We will provide a quiet, undisturbed time and space for the work to be completed.
    • We understand there will be a series of consequences for my child if homework is not completed, including after school detention, poor grades, possible retention and mandatory parent attendance to show completed work.
    Parent Conferences and Report Cards
    • We understand that parent conferences and the report card are essential to understanding a child's academic growth, strengths and weaknesses.
    • We will pick up our child's report card on each Report Card Night between the hours of 3:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. and will attend all parent-teacher conferences.
    • We understand that if the report card is not picked up one day after the report card night that our child will not be allowed to attend classes until it is picked up.
    Parent Council
    • We will actively participate on the Parent Council and attend its activities, events, and workshops. We will participate in annual election of parent representatives to the Board of Trustees and Parent Council committees.
    Discipline
    • We have read, understand and support the North Star Academy Code of Conduct including all its rules, rewards and disciplinary consequences.
    • We understand that teacher detentions happen on the day of the offense and that it is our child's responsibility to contact us and let us know they are staying.
    • We understand that our child can not be excused from detention, extended day program or in-house suspension unless there is a family emergency.
    • We understand that if our child is suspended that s/he will have to be picked up from school on the day of the offense, that we will have to accompany the child for a meeting in order for the child to return to classes and that our child will have to present a sincere apology before the community.
    Promotion Policy
    • We understand that our child must pass all but one core academic class in order to be promoted to the next grade. More than one failure will result in retention.
    Parent-School Communication
    • We agree to support our child's academic work by communicating regularly with my child's teachers.
    • We will attend conferences to help our child succeed academically.
    • We understand that we are not required to sign this covenant as a term of our child's admission to North Star, but do so voluntarily because we believe that North Star is a partnership between parents and educators in creating the best possible education for our child.

    Commitment Pledge by the School
    1. We will operate North Star in accordance with its mission and its charter from the State of New Jersey.
    2. We are fully committed to an 11-month schedule, September through July.
    3. We will see to it that teachers always come to class prepared and that they continually engage students in the challenging, hard work that paves the way for success in school and life.
    4. Each student will be assigned to a faculty or staff advisor to oversee the child's individual needs and progress within the school.
    5. We promise to keep the school's doors open to parents, who may come into the school at any time - after gaining office clearance - and enter any classroom for observation, as long as there is no disruption.
    6. Faculty will assign productive, meaningful homework each weeknight (except in special circumstances) to focus students on working to their fullest potential.
    7. We will pick host Report Card Nights and/or Conference Nights during each trimester when faculty will be available to parents to discuss student progress.
    8. We will facilitate the creation and organization of a Parent Council, which will provide parents a forum to offer input and express their concerns.
    9. We will enforce the North Star Academy Code of Conduct consistently and fairly. When students are detained or suspended, we will notify parents of the reason.
    10. We understand that this covenant goes above and beyond the call of duty. We sign it voluntarily because we believe that North Star is a partnership between the parents and the faculty and staff in creating the best possible education for our students.