January 2013

Welcome to Bolles!

I want, once again, to extend a very warm welcome to the Bolles community.  We are excited to have you with us and look forward to a wonderful experience through offering All Things Possible at Bolles.

There is some important information that we would like to share with you as you begin your new journey.  There are a number of materials on our website regarding the 2012-13 school year.  

The items marked “Required Reply” must be completed and returned to the Registrar’s Office or to the Athletic Office by January 23, the start of the second semester.  Some of these can be obtained from the school your child most recently attended.  If you have any questions about the documents or their deadlines, please contact the person indicated.

Much of the day-to-day information about school life can be found in the Student-Parent Handbook, which can be accessed here.  If you have any questions about anything, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Warmly,

Moya Marks
Principal/Upper School

Text Books
All textbooks required by the school are available online through MBS Direct here.

Dress Code Information
There is a prescribed dress code policy at Bolles Upper School San Jose Campus. If you have any questions about the information provided here, please call the Upper School Office.

Required Forms
There are a number of forms that we are required to have on file at the school, and again, many of these can be obtained from the school your child most recently attended.

REQUIRED REPLY:   Medical Information — The medical information form, downloadable here, lets us know what, if any, over-the-counter medicines you would like us to give your child as the need arises.  It also requests other important information in case of an emergency. Please return this form to the Registrar’s Office by January 23.

The Bolles School is required by HIPAA (the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) to preserve the privacy of your child’s health information. In accordance with this policy, access to all student health forms is limited to the school nurse or administrative staff, and is only utilized for the safety and protection of your child or in an emergency. By signing this form, you authorize The Bolles School to use your child’s health information only in the manner for which it was intended.

REQUIRED REPLY:   Florida Certificate of Immunization — You must obtain a copy of the Florida Certificate of Immunization from your child’s physician and return the completed form, signed by the doctor, to the Registrar’s Office by January 23.  This document can come from your child’s physician’s office or from the school he or she most recently attended.

REQUIRED REPLY: Cumulative Records — We are required to maintain the records of your child’s complete academic history. Please contact the school your child most recently studied at to ask them to forward the cumulative records to the Registrar’s Office by January 23.

REQUIRED REPLY 2012 – 13 Confidential Student Information Sheet — This information is for statistical use only. The school is often asked by our accrediting agencies, scholarship verification authorities, and the Department of Education, for statistics reflected in the questions below. Your cooperation in helping us to achieve accuracy in reporting this information is essential. Please be assured that all information will be held confidential. Download the form here and mail to the Registrar’s Office.

Office of the Registrar
The Bolles School
7400 San Jose Boulevard
Jacksonville, Florida  32217

Athletics Information and Participation Forms

The 2012-13 FHSAA Sports Calendar can be viewed here.

REQUIRED REPLY  Preparticipation Physical Evaluation, Parent Consent and Release, and FHSAA Concussion and  Illnesses Information Release forms — The Preparticipation Physical Evaluation (physical exam) Form, Consent and Release from Liability Form, and FHSAA Concussion and Heat-Related Illnesses Information Form are required for all students in grades 6-12 before they can participate in athletic practices.  The physical exam form must be dated after April 1, 2012, but please note that this evaluation is only valid for one year, and if your child is planning to participate in a sport, you will need to verify that the evaluation will still be valid for the duration of the athletic season and any possible post-season play. 

These forms can be downloaded from our website here.  You may be able to obtain the Preparticipation Physical Evaluation Form from the school your child most recently attended. 

Please attach a copy of your child’s birth certificate to these forms if it is not already on file. If you are uncertain if your child's birth certificate is on file, please verify with Dawn Pickren at (904) 256-5005, and return these items to the Athletic Office by January 23, 2013 to

Athletic Office
The Bolles School
7400 San Jose Blvd.
Jacksonville, Florida 32217

Please note that these forms must be in before a child may participate in athletic try-outs. 

From The Dean — John Newman and Angela Gamble
As part of the student services component at The Bolles School, the Dean’s Office plays an integral role in your child’s school day. As such, we would like to present some guidelines and offer a few suggestions that might assist your family in meeting the day to day challenges of student life. 

Attendance: If a student is absent from school all or part of a day, please notify the Dean’s Office by note or telephone the same day as the absence. If you know in advance that an absence will occur, please inform the Dean’s Office as soon as possible. Please keep in mind that absence from a class may have an adverse effect on a student’s extracurricular participation and that made-up work for an unexcused absence carries an academic penalty.

Underclassmen are required to be in school until 3:45 p.m. and are not afforded off-campus privileges. All underclassmen should have scheduled classes or activities for all school day hours.

Signing In and Out: Students arriving late or leaving early must have parental permission, and must come to the Dean’s Office to sign in immediately upon arrival or sign out immediately prior to their departure. Parents wishing to have their children sign out during the lunch hours must personally sign them out in the Dean’s Office.

Dress Code: Please refer to the dress code section above. A student varying from the dress code might be asked to remain in the Dean’s Office and not attend class until the dress code variance has been corrected. If there is a question about whether a piece of clothing is appropriate, please bring it to school and the Dean’s Office can help make that determination.

Parking: On-campus parking is assigned during the summer months, and at the moment, we have no available parking spots on campus for student parking.  However, parking is available along San Jose Boulevard in front of the school.   

Demerits: Demerits are given as a consequence of misbehavior. Multiple demerits may be given for more serious offenses such as inappropriate language, class disruptions, and disrespect for another member of the Bolles community. With each demerit, students are responsible for completing a “lunch duty” which occurs on the day following the infraction. If a student accumulates a significant number of demerits, alternative consequences are implemented such as Saturday workdays and suspensions.

Missing Items: The lost and found area is located on the first floor of Ulmer Hall in the Dean’s Office. To minimize the risk of losing an item, students are encouraged to store all personal items in their school and P.E. lockers, with a lock securing their possessions. In addition, book bags and athletic bags should be secured and never left unattended on campus. While the school cannot reimburse students for lost or stolen items, we have installed security gates with cameras to aid in monitoring campus traffic.

Messages for Students: During the academic day, some correspondence with students can be communicated through the message delivery system in the Dean’s Office. Those parents wishing to relay important information to their child are encouraged to call between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The Dean’s Office appreciates limiting student messages to information that is urgent and will make every attempt to notify the student. In an effort to limit distractions and better facilitate the learning experience on campus, students are reminded that the use of cell phones during the academic day is prohibited. Instead, students are encouraged to use the two courtesy phones provided on campus which are located in the Bent Student Center and the Ulmer Courtyard.

College Counseling:
We at Bolles are very proud of the College Counseling program that we offer, and we invite your questions.  Please refer to the College Counseling section of the Bolles website for more information about this program and about what is involved at every grade level as our students work toward college application and admission.