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

lost-and-sadly-unlabeled items go to Goodwill or a local community organization. If you bring snacks or a special treat to school, please label the platter or bowl.

Lost and Found – The Lost and Found is located in the northwest corner of the first floor, near the Facilities Office. Hopefully it will remain empty all year—please see Labeling. Unretrieved items get donated every 4–6 weeks, after many reminders in Circle Back. When we host various school events, we will display the hanging rack in the lobby or on the patio for you to peruse lost items.

Lunch and Snacks – Please pack your child a lunch each day. Do not send candy, soda, gum, or anything in a glass container to school ever, even on a birthday or holiday. SchoolFoodies bagged lunches are available for purchase and are delivered to school each day. Please send along a healthy snack for your child each day of the week.

Messages – Please do not call with a message for your child unless there is an emergency. When you need to touch base with a teacher, send an email or a note, call the front desk or leave a voicemail message here at school. You can expect a call back within 24 hours. If your middle-schooler has a mobile phone, please do not contact them during the school day. Please arrange playdates before the school week starts, and indicate your plans on the Weekly Dismissal Form, which is available on the Parent Portal.

Picture Day/Photo Usage – Early each school year our photographer from MugsyClicks will take a photograph of your child and of his/her/their full class. If you’d like to purchase prints, you may do so online or via an order form we’ll send home with your child(ren). We use pictures of our students at work and play in our publications and on our website. We don’t use full names, but if you’d rather not have your child’s picture appear in our materials, please contact Alissa Moe (Director of Communications).

Phones – Any student requiring a cell phone for after-school communication is asked to keep it off and out of sight during the school day. With adult permission cell phones may be used in designated areas referred to as “phone booths.”

Reduce/Reuse/Recycle – We’ll be vigilant on all these fronts. Please pack your child’s lunch in a reusable lunch bag or box, with a cloth napkin, reusable utensils, and as little non-recyclable material as possible. Help your child understand what can be reused, recycled and composted. Look for ways you can support our teaching about the interconnectedness of all things and people. Help your child understand where paper comes from, how water is a valuable resource that should not be wasted, and how important it is to understand the “cost” of all that we consume.