General Guidelines

GRADES AND REPORTS

There are four grading periods for Grades 1 – 8 and two for Pre-school during the school term. A marking code is provided with each report card to assist parents in interpreting the student’s grades.

MARKING CODE AND REPORTING

In DCS, student achievement is judged on the basis of broad spectrum that consists of tests, essay/report writings, projects and performances, group activities, behavior and extra-curricular activities. DCS uses the averaging grading system. Grading policy follows a GPA (Grade Point Average) system. The GPA system and its correlation with the letter and number grade are tabulated below:

Letter Grade	Number Equivalent
A A- B+ B B- C+ C F Inc.	97-100 94-96 91-93 88-90 85-87 80-84 75-79 below-74 Incomplete

Report Card evaluates the student’s progress in each subject area as well as spiritual, social, physical and aesthetic development.

Whenever possible the following percentage standard of grading will be used: GRADE EQUIVALENT FOR ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL

ACADEMIC:

Quarter	Highest Grade
1st Quarter	94%
2nd Quarter	96%
3rd Quarter	98%
4th Quarter	100

DEPORTMENT:

A	93-100%
B	85-92%
C	75-92%
D	70-74%

Preparatory report cards are issued at the end of each semester, elementary and middle school at the end of each quarter if tuition payments are up-to-date.

Report cards are signed by the parents and must be returned to their respective teacher.

EXAMINATIONS AND GRADING SYSTEM

Quarter Examinations (Grades 1 – 8) and Semestral Tests (Pre-school) are administered four times and twice a year respectively. A student’s grade in each subject is weighed according to the criteria presented below:

Quizzes	30%
Recitation/Daily Works/Projects	30%
Homework	10%
Periodical Test	30%

• Behavior is always observed in every activity a student does.
• Points for Extra & Co-curricular Activities are considered during deliberation at the last quarter of the school year.

AWARDS AND HONORS

Requirements/ Qualifications for a student to be considered a candidate for honors

• Must not have grades below 88% in any subject, including Deportment
• Must obtain a general average of at least 90%
• Must maintain academic class standing
• Must be a member of the Young Honor Society*
• Must be selected as a “Well-groomed Student”
• Must have an active participation in extra curricular activities
• Must show evidences of good leadership skill, positive growth and good citizenship
• Must possess good conduct (must not have a record of disciplinary rule infraction for the respective year)

***Honor pupils/students will come from each grade level regardless of the number of sections.

Dominican Catholic School has a chapter of Young Honor Society which recognizes Grade 1 – 8 outstanding students on a quarterly basis. The school will review each member’s GPA every quarterly exam to inform and update membership

DCS ranks candidates for honors every quarter. However, the 7.2.1 scheme (please refer to the criteria below) will be used at the end of the school year to determine the final rank of each candidate.

1. Academic - 70%
2. Deportment - 20%
3. Extra/Co-curricular Activities - 10%

Academic/Learning Areas (70%)

This criterion consists of all subjects/learning areas i.e. English, Mathematics…..etc.

Deportment (20%)

This criterion is based on the following:

Preparatory

TRAITS	HIGHEST POSSIBLE POINTS
Shows respect Shows consideration Demonstrates sportsmanship Has love of school Shows honesty and truthfulness Is obedient Is kind Is neat and orderly Is diligent Is helpful and cooperative	10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Total	100

Middle School (Grades 6-8)

TRAITS	HIGHEST POSSIBLE POINTS
Shows honesty Recognizes and respects school staff Follows school rules Meets class standards of teacher Gets along with others Respects rights and properties of others Exercises self control Works independently Completes work and assignment Is helpful and cooperative	10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Total	100

Extra/Co-curricular Activities(10%)

This criterion has the following areas

AREAS	HIGHEST POSSIBLE POINTS
Club Membership Leadership/Service Contest Participation (on-campus) Contest Participation (off-campus) Sports	20 20 10 30 20
Total	100

***There is no set maximum number of candidates for honors per class. As long as a student meets the requirements, he/she is qualified, however, only the top three students will be given certificate every quarter. Those who will be ranked 4th and onwards will still be posted in their respective rooms for recognition. Nevertheless, every student who qualifies for honors will be awarded with certificate/medal accordingly at the end of the school year.

***All candidates for honors automatically become members of the Young Honor Society.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

Scholarship is given to honor students (as listed below) provided that they have been honor students of the preceding year at Dominican Catholic School.

KINDERGARTEN honor pupils who will enter Grade 1
First Honor - 50% discount on tuition fee only
Second Honor - 25% discount on tuition fee only
Third Honor - 15% discount on tuition fee only

ELEMENTARY – Honor pupils who will enter Grades 2 - 5
All First Honors receive 25% discount on tuition fee only

MIDDLE SCHOOL - Honor students who will enter Grade 6
First Honor - 50% discount on tuition fee only
Second Honor - 25% discount on tuition fee only
Third Honor - 15% discount on tuition fee only

Honor students who will enter Grades 7 & 8
All First Honors receive 25% discount on tuition fee only

ACADEMIC FAILURE

A student’s overall grade is the average of his performance over the four quarters of the school year. For Grades 1 – 8, failure in three major subjects (Christian Living included) is grounds for retention. However, a failing student will be given a chance to make up through remedial classes given during summer.

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE

Scheduled conferences are held at the end of each semester.

The teacher may request a conference with a parent or guardian at anytime during the school year. In this case a mutually agreed upon appointment will be made. When necessary, the parent may request a conference with the teacher. However, it is important that a parent/guardian call and arrange an appointment with the teacher and not just ‘drop in’. A teacher’s day is with little or no time for an unscheduled appointment. Before and after school are used for planning and giving students extra help. If the teacher uses this time for conferences, it must also be planned ahead.

Telephone conferences are also used for communication between parent/guardian and teacher. A parent can call the teacher and if he/she is not available, a message may be left and the teacher will return the call during his/ her free time.

Communication between teacher and parent/guardian is absolutely necessary for an effective Catholic education. At our school we also encourage parents/guardians to communicate with the teacher whenever necessary.

UNSATISFACTORY WORK NOTICE

Parents of students failing a particular subject during each quarter will be sent unsatisfactory work notices. These parents are encouraged to confer with the teacher about the matter. If after these conferences, a student still gets a failing or low grade in two or less than two subjects at the end of the school year, he/she will be recommended to take up summer or make up classes. A student who gets a failing grade in three major subjects including Christian Living will be retained in the same grade level.

CARE OF PROPERTY

Any school property that is destroyed, damaged or broken (broken windows, books, desks, wall, etc.) must be paid by the person(s) responsible.

BULLETIN/MONTHLY CALENDAR/NEWSLETTER

A copy of the school’s monthly calendar of activities will be sent to parents before the beginning of each month. It will reflect the holidays, marking periods and other items of interest. Please keep this calendar handy for reference and mark the important dates.

All school messages will be sent home in the school bags of pre- school pupils. These messages will be entrusted to the elementary and middle school student themselves.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE

A written notification of change of address or phone number must be sent to the office as soon as the information is available. Telephone numbers of additional persons who may be called in an emergency must also be up-to- date.

TELEPHONE CALLS

Except emergencies, teachers, students are not called away from the classroom. Appointments with teachers are made through the school office.

Students who neglect to bring textbooks, homework, etc. will not be allowed to call home.

VISITORS

Dominican School is a closed campus. All Visitors Must Report To The Office and Sign In. “Visitors” include parents, friends and members of the media.

TYPHOONS

Should the island be placed in Typhoon Condition 2, parents should not send children to school. Parents should depend on public media for announcements concerning resumption of school after a typhoon.

CAFETERIA

DCS issues monthly menu to all students to use as reference.

School Cafeteria serves lunch and snacks. Coupons/Chits are used to buy food for lunch and snack. Parents can purchase chits/coupons on a daily, weekly basis, or can make arrangements at the Administration Office.

SUPPLIES/YEARBOOK AND OTHERS

School supplies, religious articles, school’s personalized items (pins, stickers) and other merchandise are also available at the office.

Yearbook covers the entire school events and is published at the end of the school year for souvenir.

SCHOOL ID

School ID is part of the school’s uniform and should always be worn at the school campus at all times. Random inspection is conducted and there is a fine for not wearing the school ID. Lost or stolen ID should be reported and must be replaced immediately.

CAR DECAL/STICKER/PARKING & TRAFFIC RULES

Parents must secure car decal/sticker for their vehicles from the administrative office for identification and security purposes. A no car sticker/decal no entry policy will be strictly implemented.

The YELLOW ZONES indicate "No Parking Areas." The RIGHT LANE in front of the office and cafeteria is designated for ACTIVE LOADING AND UNLOADING ONLY. This means the driver can assist the children in and out of the vehicle, unload/load bags only. The driver must not leave the vehicle to walk to the classroom or office. The LEFT LANE is strictly for thru traffic only. These two areas are a NO PARKING ZONE AREA. Please use the available parking spaces in the main and middle school building. Please drive slowly in the school campus (5m/ph). Children could run out and get hurt. When backing up out of a space, use extra caution. Be mindful of small children who might be walking behind your vehicle.

All staff must utilize the available parking spaces designated for employee parking at the back of the cafeteria, back of conference room and kiosk near the conference room to provide more spaces for the parents/guardians.

The safety of everyone especially the students is more important than our convenience of parking close to the building. A $100.00 fine/penalty will be imposed on those who will fail to comply to these rules. A violation ticket will be issued and should be paid within 10 days at the Treasurer’s Office.

FIELD TRIPS

Occasionally our teachers plan individual class field trips for their class during the school year as a part of the grade level curriculum. All students are required to cooperate and attend these various field trips as they are part of the curriculum.

Students will be permitted to go on a planned field trip only after he/she has returned a signed permission slip by his/her parents/guardian.