Daily Life Behavior/Discipline – Expectations for behavior are outlined in class, advising groups, and school gatherings. We expect children to build friendships and “learn how to learn” in various settings. If a child is struggling to manage impulses, to listen or to engage with the work at hand, teachers gently redirect, and collaborate with colleagues, the Developmental Support (DS) team, Lower or Middle School Head, our Mental Health Specialist, and other administrators and/or parents to understand how to best support the student. We work to help parties in conflict of any sort—aggressors, victims, or bystanders—and emphasize the responsibilities of every child and adult at school to manage all kinds of conflict. A child who kicks, pushes, or hits another child is brought to the office; the administrator will call home and will likely ask that the student be taken home. Please do not hesitate to call your child’s teacher or advisor with questions or concerns about behavior or discipline. Homework – Kindergartners and 1st-Graders do not have homework on a regular basis, although we strongly urge parents to join their children in reading and storytelling each evening. Teachers will occasionally send home projects that require parent help or supervision. 2nd- through 6th-Graders will have about half an hour of reading each evening and additional work in writing, science, math, or Spanish. Generally speaking, we try to plan about 10 additional minutes of homework per grade—20 minutes in 2nd Grade, 30 minutes in 3rd, 40 minutes in 4th, etc. Homework assignments are differentiated to accommodate individual needs whenever possible. Periodically, we will ask you to work informally with your child to reinforce skills and concepts we are learning here at school. If your child is struggling with some part of the curriculum, we’ll devise strategies (including some extra time at home and at school) to provide support. Please stay optimistic and encouraging; some of the sweetest academic fruits are born of the hardest work! All of our teachers underline one important message about “homework”—the best academic gift you can share with your child is reading each day, even if only for a short while. Jobs – Each child, faculty, and staff member at San Francisco Friends School works in service to the school community at large. Children often have classroom jobs, and grade levels have wider school jobs that they are responsible for, such as organizing the Lost and Found, or sweeping the yard on Friday afternoons. Help us teach the importance of each person’s work both at school and in the larger community. Labeling – Labeling clothing, lunch boxes, water bottles, books, etc. is a vital way to keep your child’s possessions in the home-school orbit. Every 4–6 weeks, the
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