Gourley Handbook 2026-2027(Google Document)
David Gourley Elementary
Home of the Pandas
385-646-4846
Student and Parent Handbook
2026-2027
WELCOME to David Gourley Elementary School! We are pleased to have you here and have prepared this handbook to help make your experience at Gourley more enjoyable and successful.
School Hours: School begins at 8:35 a.m. Students should arrive no earlier than 5–10 minutes before the bell, as supervision begins at 8:20 a.m. For safety reasons, students may not play on playground equipment before school and should line up at their designated entry doors upon arrival.
The dismissal bell rings at 3:20 p.m. Students will exit the building with their teachers and should board their bus or leave school grounds immediately. Students may not remain on school grounds after dismissal, as supervision is not provided.
Attendance: Regular attendance is essential for student success. Students should arrive on time each day and enter into the building through their class designated doors, as instruction begins promptly at 8:40 a.m. Absences should be limited to illness or family emergencies. If a student is unable to attend, parents should notify the school office.
Students are responsible for making up missed work; however, some classroom instruction and learning experiences cannot be fully recreated. Consistent attendance helps students stay engaged, build strong academic habits, and achieve their full potential.
Behavior/Citizenship: Two very important characteristics a child can gain are a positive self-concept and good citizenship. Our school-wide expectations, character education program and positive behavior program are each designed to support these characteristics.
- Schoolwide Expectations: We have 3 schoolwide expectations that all students and staff members are expected to comply with:
- I Can Show Respect
- I Can Be Responsible
- I Can Work Hard
- Social Emotional Learning: We believe in teaching children social emotional skills. These skills will help students understand the role of the brain with emotions, learn to verbalize emotional needs, and gain control over their emotions and behaviors. The program we use is called Skill of the Week in conjunction with The Leader In Me. Together we believe these programs will promote important social and emotional skills by focusing on teaching important life skills step by step.
- Positive Behavior Program: The school-wide positive behavior program teaches students how to monitor and regulate their own behavior through feedback from their teachers using a proficiency leveled system. Students who show positive behavior are rewarded with Panda Paws to spend in our school store, they can participate in class reward activities, and can be recognized for school-wide rewards. We have many other programs that promote and reward positive behavior. Please contact your child’s teacher or the main office for more information.
Birthdays in the Classroom: If you are choosing to bring birthday treats to celebrate your child’s birthday, please adhere to the following guidelines. Treats must be store purchased, not homemade, and individually wrapped items are preferred. Please provide enough treats for each student in your child’s class. When bringing treats to school, they must be left with the front office. The office will make sure the treats get to your child. Balloons and large distracting decorations will not be allowed in the classroom.
Providing pizza or other lunch items for the class interferes with students’ lunch time and may result in wasted food and money already paid by parents for school lunches. We do not allow lunch-type items to be brought to school unless requested by the teacher for a classroom event. Please contact your child’s teacher for information about class food allergies and to make them aware that you will be dropping off treats to the office.
Breakfast: Gourley has a school-wide breakfast program where all students have the opportunity to eat breakfast, for free, in their classrooms at the beginning of each school day. Students may choose whether they would like to eat breakfast at school or not. If your child is late to school, please be sure that they eat breakfast at home. All breakfast is cleaned up no later than 9:00 a.m.
Bringing Food to School: Food should only be brought to school if students are bringing a home lunch. Student’s packed lunch may only be eaten in the lunchroom and not shared with others. Single serving items are appropriate. Large portion size items, that cannot be finished during lunchtime, will not be saved or stored for students. Students will need to dispose of them before leaving the lunchroom. Gum is not allowed at school.
Concerns: From time to time concerns may arise with parents over school related issues. If you have a concern, the first person to address the concern with is your child’s teacher. They are the person in the building that knows your child the best. When parents and teachers stay in close contact with each other, most issues are easily addressed. If you have tried to resolve an issue with the teacher without satisfactory results, you are welcome to schedule an appointment in the office to visit with administration.
Consequences / Behavior: We strive to hold all students to consistent behavioral standards, and when expectations are not met, we apply consequences fairly and thoughtfully. While we value and consider parent input, we are not able to modify or remove school consequences based on individual requests. Our priority is maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all students.
Dress Code: Students are asked to adhere to the following guidelines regarding dress. Students who violate the dress code will be asked to call home to obtain appropriate clothing.
- Clothing should be neat, clean, modest and appropriate for a school setting.
- Hats are not to be worn to/at school. If a child wears a hoodie to school they are not to wear the hood on their head inside of the building.
- Tops without backs, show the stomach when arms are raised, or that have large arm holes are not appropriate.
- Tank tops are not regarded as appropriate school attire. Shoulder straps on all tops should be at least three inches wide.
- Skirts and shorts must be no shorter than 4 full finger widths above the knee or have pants or leggings underneath. Any pants with tears above the knees will require leggings underneath.
- Make-up is not appropriate for elementary age students.
- Coloring your child’s hair can prove distracting to your child and other students. Please consider saving this activity for summer months.
- Students who come dressed in dirty and torn clothing will be referred to the school social worker.
- Clothing with inappropriate pictures, liquor/tobacco advertisements, violent acts, sexually suggestive messages, drug or gang related messages, including bandanas of any type, are not allowed at school.
- Shoes are required at school at all times and should provide adequate protection for the students’ feet. Flip flops are not appropriate. Proper P.E. shoes should be worn on days where students are required to participate in P.E. For their safety, students may be asked to sit out of certain activities if proper shoes are not worn.
Electronic Devices: Personal electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, may not be used during the school day. If a student brings a device to school, it must be turned off and stored in their backpack upon arrival.
Please note that bringing electronic devices to school may result in loss, theft, or damage. Students bring these items at their own risk. Devices may not be used in classrooms, restrooms, or during recess. Devices used in violation of this policy may be confiscated, and a parent or guardian may be required to pick them up from the school. If you need to contact your child during the school day, please call the front office at 385-646-4846.
First Aid and Illness at School: In the event a student becomes ill or is involved in an accident while at school, their parent or guardian will be notified in order for proper arrangements for the child’s care to be made. Any student who is sick or injured must come to the office and be checked out by an adult. Other than simple first aid, which includes having the student wash his/her own injury and apply a band-aid, school employees cannot administer medical services nor give a student any kind of medication, not even Tylenol. Any medication that needs to be administered to a student during the school day must be brought to the office with a note from a medical doctor. Students should not carry medication in their pockets or backpacks to self-medicate. Also, please do not send your student to school if he/she is running a fever or showing signs of a contagious illness.
Homework: Students are encouraged to practice math facts for 10 minutes each evening and read for 20–30 minutes, depending on their grade level. Teachers will provide additional information about homework expectations and reading logs.
Establishing a regular family reading time is a wonderful way to support literacy, spend quality time together, and model the importance of reading.
Lunch Money: Free and reduced lunch is provided to those who complete the lunch application and qualify. There is a box on the counter in the office that parents may use to pay for lunch money. Parents may also choose to use the following web site to make lunch payments: www.paypams.com.
Personal Belongings: It is not recommended that students bring personal belongings to school with them, especially if the items have significant personal or monetary value. Students are discouraged from carrying money with them at school as well. It is very difficult to tell one student’s dollar bill from another. Coats, snow gear, and backpacks should be clearly marked with the student’s name for identification purposes. All toys should be left at home, including fidget toys, trading cards, etc.
Recess: Our students will participate daily in 2-3 recess periods depending upon their grade level. Parent requests to hold students in from recess for more than 2 consecutive days will require a medical note. Students who have three or more behavior infractions during recess time may lose recess privileges, will participate in our leveled structured recess program, and parents will be notified. During this time, they will learn skills to help them with safer behaviors at recess.
Safe and Orderly School: Granite School District is committed to providing a safe, supportive, and welcoming learning environment for all students. Behaviors that disrupt learning or threaten safety are not permitted, including violence or threats, weapons, gang activity, vandalism, persistent defiance, and the possession of illegal drugs, alcohol, or other prohibited substances.
Bullying, cyberbullying, hazing, harassment, and retaliation are also prohibited and will not be tolerated.
Granite School District prohibits discrimination, harassment (including sexual harassment), and retaliation based on race, color, sex, pregnancy, religion, national origin, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected status in its educational programs, activities, and services.
Staff and students can be the best resources for identifying and addressing incidents of unsafe behavior, discrimination, harassment, bullying, cyberbullying, hazing, and retaliation. Granite School District provides several avenues for reporting:
- every school posts the contact information of two or more administrators or staff members that will receive reports
- students and parents are encouraged to make verbal or written reports to any teacher or other staff member immediately after an incident
- the District Safety Hotline is available if students are aware of any dangerous situations involving bullying, weapons, or unsafe behavior – Phone: (801) 481-7199, Text: (801) 664-2929
- students can use the SafeUT application on their phones
Students found in violation of District policies regarding school safety, discrimination, harassment, bullying, cyberbullying, hazing, and retaliation may subject themselves to student discipline including parent/guardian conferences, suspension/expulsion, referral to law enforcement, placement in an alternative program, and/or other consequences and action steps appropriate for the circumstance.
Student Check-out Procedure: If your child needs to leave school during the day, a parent, guardian, or authorized emergency contact must sign them out in the office. For student safety, a photo ID is required at check-out. The student will then be called to come to the office. Please do NOT expect to go to the classroom yourself to pick up your child.
We do not issue street passes at the elementary level for students to walk home by themselves during school hours. All students must be escorted off school grounds by an authorized adult. We ask that you avoid checking your child out in the last 30 minutes of school, this time can be the busiest time in the classroom and office.
Student Records: Please update home, work, and emergency phone numbers throughout the school year if they change. It is critically important to be able to contact guardians in case of an emergency or other special need. Also, by law each student must have a birth certificate and a current immunization record on file in order to attend school.
Transportation: Students who ride a school bus to and from school are required to be cooperative and demonstrate appropriate behavior on the bus. Parents of students who act in a disorderly manner on the school bus will be contacted by either the school or Granite District transportation services. Students who persist to act in a disruptive and unsafe manner on the bus may have their transportation services suspended. It is highly recommended that parents walk their child to and from the bus stop each day to prevent student conflict.
Walking to and from School: Students who walk to and from school should use designated crosswalks and follow the directions of crossing guards. Bicycles, scooters, skateboards, and similar items must be walked while crossing streets and while on school grounds. Students bringing these items to school must secure them at the bike rack; they may not be stored in classrooms or other school areas.
Students are expected to respect school, community, and neighboring properties while traveling to and from school. Parents are encouraged to teach safe walking routes and encourage students to walk with others when possible.
For safety reasons, students are discouraged from walking through David Gourley Park due to limited visibility in some areas. Students may be held accountable for inappropriate behavior on their way to or from school when it affects the safety, welfare, or learning environment of the school community.
Weather: Utah’s weather can vary greatly throughout the school year, so please dress your child appropriately for daily conditions.
When there is significant precipitation or temperatures are 24°F or below, students will remain indoors before school and during recess. On indoor days, students will participate in quiet, supervised activities. Students should check the red or green signs posted on entry doors to determine whether it is an indoor or outdoor day.
After-School Program: We do have an after-school program that is by invitation.
