HORACE MANN SCHOOL FAMILY HANDBOOK

Homework, except reports and projects assigned far in advance, is not assigned over theThanksgiving, Winter, or Spring breaks. All teachers are asked to respect the major religiousholidays of students and their families. School policy recommends that homework not be due,nor tests scheduled, for the day after such a holiday. In the Upper Division, as a generalguideline, the maximum time required to complete regular weekly homework assignments for amajor course should be equivalent to the class time for that course for a week. Most UpperDivision students have free periods during the school day during which they can begin orcomplete homework assignments.LibraryEach campus maintains a library. In the younger grades, storytelling plays an importantrole in the library curriculum. As the students get older, they begin to use the library as a focalpoint for their class work. Professional librarians are available to assist students with circulation,research, and photocopying at the Lower, Middle and Upper Division campuses.In the Nursery Division, the library is staffed by a committee of the Nursery ParentsAssociation. Children visit the library once a week during a designated library time. The libraryis also available for faculty to use with children and for browsing by parents and children beforeand after school.The library at the Lower Division serves as an important hub of school life and is openwhenever school is in session. Children in Kindergarten through grade two may borrow booksand audio books for one week; older children may borrow books for a two-week period. Summercirculation is very popular. Books may be reserved, and reimbursement is required for lost items.Payments are refunded if books are found and returned.The primary purpose of the Katz Library’s collections, which serve students in grades 6through 12, is to provide a broad range of materials to enrich and support the intellectual, social,and personal development of all students. Foremost are the resources that support the school’scurriculum. We acquire the resources needed for specific research assignments. Much of thevideo and DVD collection has a curricular connection. In addition, the Katz Library has a strongfiction and graphic novel collection, designed to support student interests, encouraged by bookdiscussion groups. The Library staff provides students and teachers with a wide range ofmaterials of diverse appeal. Materials are available in a variety of formats and represent varyinglevels of difficulty and varying points of view.Periodicals and newspapers are available in hard copy, microform and online through thelibrary's database portal, which can also be accessed remotely. The library’s online catalog canbe accessed at http://library.horacemann.org. Library hours are 8:15am to 5:50pm on Mondaythrough Thursday and 8:15am to 3:15pm on Friday. The Library is open in the summer from8:30am to 3:00pm on Monday through Thursday and 8:30am-2:30pm on Friday.Middle and Upper Division library books and audio books circulate for three weeks andaudiovisual materials circulate for three days or a weekend. Special arrangements are made forcirculating reserve and reference books. Current issues of magazines and journals remain in thelibrary; past issues circulate overnight or over the weekend. The library provides at least one19