Handbook & 2012-2013

Daily Procedures and Information Anjelika Michelle Kocher: Licensed director, facility operator, and preschool teacher. Back up provider: In the event that I should have to be gone for any reason, you will be notified. Generally, I will just cancel school, but on occasion your child may have a substitute teacher. Kurt Kocher is listed as my emergency back up provider. I carry preschool liability insurance to ensure the safety of your child while at school. Staff Ratio: 3-4 year olds. One staff member per 12-14 students Arrival and departure: Doors open at 8:50 a.m. for morning session, and 12:20 p.m. for afternoon session. Preschool starts promptly at 9:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Children are not allowed to enter the church any earlier than 8:50 or 12:20 as there isn’t a supervised adult available. If my classroom door is closed, that means I am still prepping for class. Once open, your child is welcome to come in. Please not that I often am at school as early as 8:00 a.m. This is my prep time, so even though the classroom lights may be on, I would appreciate that no child arrive to school any earlier than 8:50 Parents must provide their own transportation to and from school for their children. No child may be just dropped off at the outside door for preschool. All parents/guardians etc. must walk children into building, and pick them up at the classroom when school is done. If somebody other than you the parent; will be picking up your child, a written notice including the person’s name, and relationship is required. If prior notice is not given, your child will not be released. We cannot release children to anyone other than the parent(s) or guardian listed in our records. * I know this is small town North Dakota, but State licensing requires this. If your child is ill or gone, please notify the school. You can call me at home 965-2073 or on my cell 641-9902. You may also send me a text. Please note: If your child has special needs, please let me know. I am not licensed to provide preschool for certain special needs. I will do my best to work with any child that has special needs. If however, I feel that the child in question is more than I can handle, I may have to discontinue preschool services for that child. Concordia Lutheran Church I am very thankful that the church has allowed us to use their facility at a low rate. The church council has asked that we do the following: 1.) No children can be dropped off for preschool any earlier than times listed on previous page, as there isn’t a supervised adult available. 2.) All children should use the east entrance across from the parsonage. If you should need to get a hold of me during school hours, or leave me a message during school, please feel free to call my cell phone at 641-9902. I carry it at all times, and it does work at school. If I don’t answer, chances are I am in an activity with the children. You may also call the church office, and Julie can relay a message to me. Personal Belongings: Personal items from home are not permitted in school (ie. toys, stuffed animals, jewelry gadget etc.) as they can cause problems within the classroom setting or get lost. If your child has a security item such as a blanket, or teddy bear, the item may come to school, but must remain in your child’s backpack. Some times just knowing it there can comfort a child. If your child is still in need of a bottle, or pacifier, please note that these items are NOT allowed in school. * Early Learning Begindergarten cannot be held responsible for lost of stolen items brought to school. Personal Issues and Policies Clothing: Play clothes appropriate for a variety of indoor and outdoor activities, including painting and other art projects, are recommended. Please do not dress your children in their “Sunday” best. We will be doing a lot of hands on activities that may get your child dirty. Please see that your child has a button or zip down painting shirt for school. This will help avoid getting school clothes dirty. All clothing must be easy for the child to put on and take off with minimum assistance. Please don’t send your child to school in overalls, or outfits that are impossible for the child to get on and off. Children will be learning how to be independent; therefore we want to make it as easy as we can for them. Children must wear a pair of “runners” or tennis shoes while in the classroom. No shoes with laces please. With 12-14 children running around, I find that I spend, what seems like forever, tying shoes. They must velcro or slip on and off. Crocks work very nice. You may leave their shoes at school or bring them to and from home. * Please note: If your child cannot put his/her school shoes on, do not send them in those shoes. They MUST be able to put their own shoes on! Please leave a change of clothes at school. This includes pants, undergarments, and a spare shirt. Accidents happen, so we want to be prepared. Health and Nutrition: Children, as we all know, start the day off best with a good healthy breakfast. Please make sure your child has been fed breakfast or lunch before coming to school. Morning snack is at 10:30 and afternoon snack is at 2:00. Children will alternate the daily snack. A snack calendar will go home with the child each month. Please make sure your child brings a sippy cup of milk, juice or water to school each day. No sugar drinks like Kool Aid, or Bug Juice. Snack Time: Please try sending nutritious healthy snacks to school during snack time. Snack suggestions include the following: Crackers & Cheese Yogurt Pudding Sandwiches Fruit cups Apple Sauce cups Fresh fruit Veggies and dip Apples and PB or camel dip Cheese sticks Muffins Pudding snacks Yogart Tubes 100 cal. Snack packs Chex mix Cheeze wiz buns Please DO NOT send the Yogart in the tubes. It is a disaster every time. This doesn’t mean your child can’t bring fun things like cookies, etc. It just means that we want to limit the number of “empty calorie snacks,” like fruit snacks, that come to school. Backpacks: A sturdy backpack, and folder is required to transport papers, etc. to and from home. Progress Reports: Simple progress reports will be sent out 2 times during the year. Parents wanting additional progress reports shall contact me. Wed session This class is geared toward older 4 and 5 year olds whom will be entering kindergarten the following year. This class is however available for 3-4 year olds depending on availability. Older students will be given priority first. Cost for Wed preschool changes the price to 115.00 based on 12 days a month. See me with any further questions. Open Door Policy: This policy encourages parents to get involved in classroom and center activities. Please drop me a text, or give me a call if you plan on visiting. I can also use an extra set of hands on project days. I believe the open door policy is critical in assisting families to monitor each child's development, as well as maintaining a high level of confidence between parents and teacher. It is also extremely nice to have the extra help, so feel free to volunteer to drop by and help with projects, field trips etc. Forms: State licensing requires us to have the following forms on file by the first day your child attends school: Please note, if you are pre registering in the spring or summer, these forms will not be mailed to you until the fall. Your child may not start school until I have these forms. Release form Parent statement of health Child information sheet Immunization form Payment contract Application of admission Immunization form- If you are a Divide County resident, I will get this form for you. If you are from out of town, you will have to provide one to me before school starts. Please contact Upper Missouri District Health here in Crosby If you are from out of town and having troubles getting your form. Closings: We shall follow the Divide County public school systems list of days off. Please note that the payment of $75.00 is based on 8 days a month. Payment adjustments/deductions shall be made during Christmas and Spring breaks. 3 day a week preschool is $115.00 and is based on 12 days of school a month. Neglect and Abuse: North Dakota Law mandates that I report suspected cases of abuse or neglect. (NDCC 50-25.1-11) See attached copy provided by Divide County Social Services. Behavior management: I recognize that children frequently test limits, therefore there is always going to be some conflict within the preschool setting. I am ready for whatever these preschoolers are ready to dish out, therefore I have made it my goal to use lots of praise and positive reinforcement. I want to redirect a child from inappropriate behaviors to actively engage them in other more appropriate behaviors. We shall use the “time out” approach to redirect a child from inappropriate behavior. This simply means that the child will have to go to their desk, and put their head down for 2 minutes. I then talk to the child about their behavior. Under no circumstance will your child every be hit, spanked, threatened, or ever hurt verbally or physically. Any child that has behavior problems or troubles playing or working with other children, may be referred to a behavior specialist. If problems get out of hand, I may have to discontinue preschool services for that child. We have had severe problems in the past, and I want to assure that this never happens again. Discipline Problems: 1.) If discipline problems occur, I shall observe and document the behavior pattern. 2.) If there is a pattern, I shall contact the parents on resolving the problem. Medical issues: You will be notified to pick up your child immediately if he or she has a temperature of 100+ degrees or higher, or has symptoms of illness. I understand that parents work or can be busy, so parents must have an emergency person to pick up their child if they cannot. In the best interest of all children, our policy is that your child may return to school only after her or she has been symptom or fever free for 24 hours, or if on prescription medications. This allows time for complete recovery and less possibility for relapse. Accidents: Should an injury occur to your child, reasonable aid will be administered, and parent(s) shall be notified. If necessary, an ambulance will be called and the child shall be taken to the nearest hospital. Please note that Early Learning Begindergarten is not responsible for any expenses. Divide County Disaster plan: If in the event, some kind of crazy disaster should happen in which we would have to get the children out of the church and taken to a safe place outside of Divide County, our disaster plan is to go to either the Bowbells School or the Westby School. Communicable Disease: Children with chronic communicable disease may be denied admittance or removed from Early Learning Begindergarten if medical judgments substantiate that such children pose a significant health threat to other students and or staff. A communicable disease shall be defined as a persistent or recurring infection, which may be potentially transmitted to susceptible person who is in contact with the infected individual. Rule of Thumb for Pink Eye: Please do not send your child to school unless they have been treated by a doctor, and have been using medicated drops in the eye for at least 24hrs. Rest Room Use: Please make sure your child has gone to the bathroom prior to coming to school. When one has to go, they all have to, and that can significantly cut into our busy preschool time. J Library: Children absolutely love going to the library, however I have had a lot of bad luck with preschool parents returning the books. Each year we give it a try, and if there are troubles we discontinue going. Just note that on occasion we will walk over to the library. Letter Bag: On your child’s treat day, they will also be responsible for “The Letter of the Day.” A special letter bag will go home. Inside the bag will be a paper copy of the letter of the day. Please have your child decorate the letter and put it back into the bag. Then go around your house, and have your child fill the bag with items that begin with that letter. All items will be returned. Decorations/Seasonal Activities: Please note, we do a wide variety of seasonal Halloween, Christmas, Easter etc. activities. This may range from Pumpkins, witches, Santa Clause, to the Easter Bunny. Please see me if this is a problem for you. Potty Training: Children must be potty trained to enter the program. Children must be in underwear and have minimal accidents. If a child does have bowl movement while at school, I will have to terminate preschool services until potty training is complete at home. It is just way to hard for me to take 12-14 children to the rest room to clean up any messes we may have. Adjustment Period: As with anything new for a child, there is always going to be some adjustments. Some children have no trouble at all, while some suffer. I will do my best to assure that your child have an easy adjustment period. If for some reason after 1 month, your child just isn’t adjusting, I may possibly recommend that he/she discontinue the program and start again next year. Children turning 3 between May & August are considered my “young threes.” Sometimes a young three year old, which may seem ready to a mom or dad, isn’t quite ready for the responsibilities and tasks needed to be in a preschool environment. Please note, If after a couple of weeks I notice that a “young three” isn’t ready for full time preschool, I may recommend he/she go one day a week until Christmas or even the entire year. Cost of one day “young three” preschool is $40 per month for 4 days of preschool. Young 3 preschool is only available when there are open spots. Fundraising: Early Learning Begindergarten is a privately funded preschool that gets no aid from any outside sources. Your payments are the funds that allow the program to succeed. Your payments pay for room rent, and supplies. In order to pay for supplies etc, you may be asked to partake in fundraisers to help the preschool. Please take these fundraisers seriously. Without the extra funds, we cannot function as productively as we would like, and therefore may have to increase preschool rates. Blog and Facebook page ELB does have a blog and facebook page: You will be given a release that either allows or forbids me from posting pictures. Forms will go home in the registration packet. www.elbpreschool.blogspot.com Field Trips: Most school trips that we will take are within walking distance to the church. If we should go on a trip, in which I will have to transport children, they will all be in a safe insured vehicle that is equipped with enough car seats and seatbelts for all children. If in the event that I should need another driver, the driver of the vehicle must provide a copy of their insurance card to me, and have enough child seats for all children. You will always be notified of field trips and will be asked to sign a permission slip as well. There may be additional costs to you if we should go on a field trip. Most costs are very minimal, but you do have the option of sending your child on any field trip. www.elbpreschool.blogspot.com is our official Begindergarten web site. I will be posting information weekly/biweekly on the sight. Please take the time to check it. I post pictures, and fun things that we have done in school. You will be asked to sign a release to allow your child’s picture be posted on the web site as well as the ELB face book page. If you do not wish to have your child’s picture posted, please just check no on the release form. School Supplies: I know the list seems a little overwhelming, but I guarantee that your child will use each and everything on this list. Family Contribution Item: Because we do so many projects, and supplies can get very costly for me, I am asking that each parent/child bring one family contribution item. This item will be found on your child’s school supply list. General policies Registration: a.) There will be a $35 non-refundable registration fee each year. If enrolling more than 1 child, registration fee is $60 b.) Parents with children currently enrolled in Early Learning Begindergarten have priority in pre registering for the following year. c.) Enrolled families wishing to enroll siblings have priority over outside families on the waiting list. d.) If you find it necessary to withdraw your child from the preschool program, you must give a 2-week notice. If you should withdraw your child in the middle of the month, you will not be refunded any money. General Financial policies: Rates and Fees: 2012-2013 school year $35 non-refundable registration fee for 1 child $60 for 2 children- must be in same family. $75 monthly fee- This guarantees your spot in the preschool program. There are no deductions for sickness, vacation etc. Based on 8 days of school. Tue & Thur Class. $115 monthly fee- This is based on the full 12 days of preschool a month. Tue, Wed, and Thur afternoon class. Ms. Kocher is allowed 4 paid sick/personal days during the course of the year, where no deduction in payment is made. Any more than 4 and she will deduct the standard $6 per day off your next month's bill. Contract: All parent(s) guardian must sign the Early Learning Begindergarten Contract. You are signing that you understand and agree to all policies in this handbook, as well as, the contract itself. Payment: Payment is due by the 1st Thursday of each month. Please be prompt in paying. · A $6.00 deduction is taken for each day we are not in school for holidays, storm days etc. Because I have to pay rent regardless of whether we are in school or not, there a use of the room fee per day that is figured into your $75 payment. There is no deduction on this fee, so a flat $6.00 is taken off for days we aren’t in school. · Payment schedule is subject to change at any time. I do make mistakes, and if I should happen to miss a day or calculate something wrong, a new payment schedule shall be handed out. You may pay by check or money order. I prefer to not get cash for receipt purposes. All returned checks will be charged a $20 NSF fee. Termination of preschool services may result if there is more than 1 returned check. Late Pick up: Children picked up any later than 11:35 or 3:05 will pay a $5 late fee EACH time. If this becomes a problem, preschool services may result in termination. This handbook was updated in August of 2012. Any handbooks with an earlier date, should be discarded. If you have any questions, please feel free to contract me.. Ms. Kocher J