Facility Use

Herbert Green Middle School is located in Placerville, near Highway 50, in the beautiful foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. We serve 500 fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students in the Mother Lode Union School District.

The staff is committed to creating a learning environment that will enable students to achieve their maximum potential in academic performance, critical thinking skills, expressive talents, physical development, social and emotional growth, and respect for self and others. Herbert Green strives to maintain a clean, safe, organized school, with a positive school climate, where students, parents and staff are welcome, comfortable, and treated with respect. 

The Herbert Green staff believes that all students can and want to learn. In addition, they expect students to meet the expectations of the California Content Standards and Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in the core subject areas. Curriculum, instruction, and staff development to support and improve teaching and learning are based on current research and sound educational practice.

General Information for the School Year

Pick Up and Drop Off Procedures:  Due to traffic, please allow extra time to drop off and pick up your student. “Traffic” is an unexcused tardy.  Students dropped off across the street must use the crosswalks. Please do not put backpacks in the trunk of your car.  Students should have backpacks ready in order to exit the vehicle as quickly as possible. 

Checking Students Out of School:  If you need to check your student out of school before the end of the school day, you will need to come into the office to sign your student out.  Whenever possible, please send a note with your student so that they can leave class at the appropriate time.  This will cut down on the time required for the office to send a student aide to retrieve them.  Please note that students in P.E. will take a longer time to get to the office as they will need to change clothing and could be in the middle of an aerobic run.  If you were unable to send a note with your student, you are encouraged to phone us ahead of time so that we can have your student waiting for you.

Messages During the School Day:  Please try to set up family emergency procedures with your student in advance.  In order to minimize classroom disruptions, messages will not be delivered during class time.  The office staff makes every effort to deliver messages during study period, but we can’t always guarantee that the student will receive the message.

Tardy Students:  If your student is late to school (whether it is excused or not), he or she will need to acquire a tardy slip from the office.  Please use the Student Entrance to sign in and/or check out your student during the school day.  Our Student Aides will be happy to assist you.  Late students should report to the office with a note from their parent/doctor explaining the reason for their tardiness and a tardy slip will be issued.  The State of California has specific guidelines as to what is an excused absence.

Absent Students:  If your student missed school for any reason, please call the school attendance line (press option “7” after the initial greeting), to notify the school of the absence and the reason.  If you do not contact us, we will require a note explaining the reason for the absence.  Please remember it is extremely important that students are in class each day and only absent if sick.  School Attendance Review Board (SARB) states a student is considered truant from school when absent without a valid excuse more than three days and tardy an excess of 30 minutes on each of more than three days in one school year.

Phone Use:  The office phone is available to students in emergency situations only.  Please make arrangements for transportation, etc., with your student before school to alleviate the need for the phone to be used.  In accordance with passed legislation, cell phones are allowed at school but are to be turned off (not on vibrate) and out of sight during school hours (7:35 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.).  If your student is ill, they need to check in with our health office and use the phone in the office (not their cell phone) to contact a parent/guardian. Please be aware if your student’s cell phone is confiscated, only a parent (no siblings) can retrieve the cell phone from Office Staff or Administration.

Forgotten P.E. Clothes, Homework and Lunches:  We DO NOT deliver forgotten lunches, P.E. clothes or homework to students during the school day.  If your child forgets his/her lunch, parents may bring it into the office, and it will be taken out to the lunch area.  Students need to check with a Yard Duty in the lunch area during their lunch time if their forgotten lunch has been delivered.  Forgotten homework, PE clothes and miscellaneous items will be kept in the front office.  Students will need to come down between classes and check for forgotten items on their own.  We do not send messages indicating something is here in the office. 

THIS DISTRICT POLICY IS IN PLACE TO ENSURE THAT OUR CLASSROOMS ARE NOT INTERRUPTED DURING INSTRUCTIONAL TIME.  WE THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR COOPERATION AND UNDERSTANDING OF THIS POLICY.

Appointments with Principal and Assistant Principal:  It is the desire of the Herbert Green administration to be in the classrooms as much as possible in order to best support teachers and students.  Therefore, the administrators will NOT be available for walk-in appointments.  If you would like to talk to the principal or assistant principal, please either e-mail, leave a voice mail message or call the front office to schedule an appointment.

Independent Study Contract:  California State law allows for students to complete an Independent Study contract if they are going to be out of school for AT LEAST 5 CONSECUTIVE SCHOOL DAYS.  If your student needs a Contract, it must be requested 5 days PRIOR to the first day he/she will be out of school.  Upon your student’s return, completed work must be submitted to Mrs. Skinner in the office – NOT TO YOUR STUDENT’S TEACHERS.  Please note that contracts cannot be taken out due to illness.  The duration of the contract cannot exceed two school weeks.  Students may not go out on contract at all during the last two weeks of school.

Lunches:  In order to facilitate a quick moving line, it is helpful for parents to pre-pay for lunches online.  Please go here to pre-pay.   

If your child has forgotten to bring his/her lunch, you may bring it to the office. The lunch will be sent to the lunch area where students have been instructed to check for forgotten lunches. 

Notes from the Nurse:  We encourage students with asthma to carry their inhalers with them; however, to do so, they must have a signed permission slip from their physician and parent on file with the health clerk.  District policy requires all medications, including over-the-counter medications, to be stored in the health office and be administered only when a physician and parent’s signed permission slip is on file.  Students are not allowed to have medication in their possession at school, walking to and from school, or on the school bus unless a physician determines it to be a medical necessity.  Forms are available in the office to designate medications to be given to a student at school.

Dress Code Reminders

• Shoulder straps must be one inch in width.

• Shorts and skirts need to be mid-thigh (3-inch inseam recommended).

• No cleavage or midriffs showing.

• No sagging pants.

• No rips or tears above the knee.

• No inappropriate lettering, printing, patches, artwork or messages.

• No chains or spikes.

• No gang-related materials.

• No slippers or pajamas.

Students found in violation of the dress code will be asked to change and behavior consequences may result.

Please consult the Herbert Green dress code which can be found in its entirety on our website or in the student handbook. 

Emergency Information

The school has a well-developed and complete emergency response plan that is coordinated with local agencies. The emergency plan clearly identifies the specific actions for any emergency situation. Students and staff practice emergency procedures such as fire drills and classroom evacuations during the school year and are familiar with how to respond in an emergency situation. 

Information on possible school closures due to inclement weather or other situations will be announced through Parent Link, our emergency phone/e-mail system.  A notice may also be posted in front of the school.

During an emergency situation, the superintendent will only dismiss children to go home if there is time for children to safely return to their homes and a parent/guardian has been notified. If a student’s parent cannot be contacted and/or the parent is unable to pick up their child, the school will maintain responsibility for the child until the parent or an authorized individual can pick up the child. The safety of individual students is our highest priority. Students will not be excused except to the care of a parent, or another adult designated on the emergency card.

If evacuation of the school is necessary, students will be transported to a predetermined location where their parent or another designated adult can pick them up. Information on this location will be announced through our Parent Link phone/e-mail system and posted near the school. The school will not be evacuated unless necessary.

The Mother Lode Union School District has implemented an instant alert notification system.  Under certain circumstances the district may determine it is necessary to notify parents regarding an emergency situation.  An alert will be sent to each family member’s home phone number listed on their child’s registration card.  The purpose of this system is primarily for emergency situations and district wide reminders.

For further information on Herbert Green Policies and Procedures, please refer to our Student/Parent handbook. Here you will find information regarding:

• Attendance

• Technology Use

• Homework

• Promotion

• Independent Study Contracts

• School Dress Code

• School Dance Policy

• Sports Policy

• And much more