Class Lists
We would like to provide a class list to all the families. This can help with carpooling, play dates, and birthday parties. If you do not wish to be on this list please let me know. We will not be able to pass out party invitations at school, as it creates hurt feelings for children not invited. Also, please try to keep talk about the party to a minimum, for the sake of all the children. If any information such as phone # ‘s (home, cell, or work ) or address change please notify us of the changes.
Holiday and Birthday Parties
We allow our families to be included in the planning of our holiday parties. Each family will be assigned a party . I would like to have one mother be in charge of coordinating each party. If you are interested please let me know . The other families will help in the planning of the party. If your family does not celebrate any of these holidays, please keep them home the day of the party.
Birthdays are a special time to share details of your child’s life. We ask that you provide a picture depicting each year of their life since birth. We will give them back that day. We have a special way to celebrate your child’s birthday in our classroom and invite your family to join us. We allow the child to bring in special treats that day to share with the class. Please be aware that we have some food allergies, and request that you not bring treats which include these foods or ingredients. Please consult your classroom teacher as to what allergies exist in your child’s classroom. If you bring cupcakes ,please keep frosting to a minimum and preferably not chocolate. To make cupcakes crumb less use any cake mix and add only a can of clear pop. Bake as directed, and no crumbs!
Allergies:
Peanut Butter, Cow‘s milk, Pork, raw eggs
Medication
The school must have written parental permission ( signed and dated ) to give prescription medicine to your child. The following information must be included in the note; Student’s name, name of medication, dosage of medication, and times to be taken. Prescription drugs must be in the original bottle with clear dosage information on the bottle. No over-the-counter medicines will be given.
Illnesses / Absences
If your child has any of the symptoms on the no show list, please Do Not send your child to school. Please leave a message at school in the morning as to what their illness is so we can notify families of any outbreaks of communicable diseases in your child’s class. If your child comes to school with any of the symptoms on the list, you will be called to come and pick them up. If your child has a fever before school, please do not give them Tylenol and send them to school. A child must be fever free for 24 hours before returning to school. If they are antibiotics, they must have 24 hours of medicine before they return to school. All skin infections, cuts, and scrapes should be covered by a clean dry bandage until healed. Any child with an uncovered, open or draining wounds will be removed from the classroom and a parent/guardian will be called to care for the wound. No reduction or refund will be granted for absences due to illness. Any family that objects to their child being immunized, or treated due to religious beliefs, must submit a signed form, which can be picked up at the office. Please submit a copy of your child’s immunization records to Miss Dawn.
Snacks
Each family will be assigned a week to provide snacks for the class. You can refer to the snack suggestion list for ideas of what the children can prepare themselves. Please bring them in on Monday of the week you are assigned. If your child is not here on Mondays, Please bring them in on your child’s last day the week before. We focus on the snacks being healthy ,and also providing an opportunity for the children to sample foods that they may not have been exposed to before. We like the children to prepare the snacks, so please don’t cut up anything for us. If you miss your week you will be charged $25.00.
Field Trips
Each child must have a chaperone for each field trip. Grandmas ,Grandpas Parents and siblings are usually welcome to attend. Some of the trips will have limited numbers available. You can ask another Parent to chaperone your child, please let us know who will be responsible for your child if you can not attend. No teachers or any other staff members will be able to transport your child to or from any field trip. It is strictly a liability issue. If you can not arrange any other transportation, then your child will not be able to attend the field trip. There will be no staff at the school until after the field trip and there will not be any before school care unless specified. You must return the permission slip with the fees by the due date. We will not accept any late forms or money. If you commit to a field trip or bus ride, you will not get a refund for any reason. The field trips require that I pay in full well in advance of the trip. All the field trip dates are given to you at the beginning of the year for easier planning.
Toys at School and Show and Share
We do not want any toys or money at school. If your child brings them to school they will have to put them in their drawer, until it’s time to go home. They can bring educational items in to share with the class, such as specimens or items collected on a trip ( sea shells, etc. ) . The children will present their item and tell us some facts about it. Then the other children will be allowed to ask two questions about the item. Please talk with your child ahead of time to help them present their item. This will give the children a chance to speak in public in front of their peers. Many materials in the classroom consist of small pieces that are attractive to the students. Sometimes these small pieces “ find” their way into pockets. These pieces are very important!! If you discover any items please place them in an envelope and return them to school. Please do not reprimand your child.
Clothing
Clothing that fosters independence helps the child become self-sufficient. Clothing with large buttons and buttonholes and easy zippers help to pave the way for your child’s success. We encourage all the children to dress and undress themselves as far as coats, boots, shoes, hats, gloves, and slippers. Please label your children’s clothing and lunch boxes!!! We do get a lot of the same clothing and lunch boxes. The children should be able to easily remove clothing to use the bathroom and re-dress themselves easily. We request that each child have a change of clothes to leave here in case of spills or accidents. If dirty clothes are sent home, please replace them the following day. Please be aware that the children will be working with paints, markers, ink stampers, play dough, crayons, etc., and we will be going outside to play when the weather permits. When possible let your child start choosing their outfits. Please make sure your child comes dressed for the weather. We try to go outside even in the cooler weather. Out by the playground it is us very open and usually windy. The children need a hat and even gloves in the late fall and early spring. If you would like to bring a hat and pair of gloves to keep at school that would be fine. Slippers are kept at school all year and need to be practical. No large character heads, preferably suede or rubber bottoms. Shoes should be easy for your child to put on and take off by themselves. When your child is learning to tie shoes, dye one half of the shoe lace a different color. The 2 colors make it easier for them to learn.
Allow for Independence
Your child will become increasingly independent as time goes by. We encourage a great deal of independence in dressing themselves, preparing, serving, and cleaning up food, making choices, pouring drinks, cleaning up own messes, etc. Allow extra time at home when possible, and give them every opportunity to succeed in becoming more independent. Allow them to take on responsibilities and chores. They will feel such a joy and sense of accomplishment.
Lunches
The children bring their own lunches. We have refrigerators in each room only for items that may spoil. Please put an ice pack in their lunch boxes to keep drinks and other items cool. If your child forgets their lunch or a drink , I will have spare lunches and drinks available. This is for emergencies only! There will be a charge of $3.00 for lunches and $1.00 for drinks. We also have a microwave so the children can bring items that need to be warmed in their lunches. Please limit these lunches to things that take no longer than 2 minutes to heat up. Please do not send pop or candy in your child’s lunch.
School Arrival and Dismissal
We have a drive that goes along side of the building and around for arrival and dismissal. Please pull up even with the sidewalk and we will come and get you child in the morning and bring them out to you at dismissal. This procedure will only apply during the hours of 8:30 and 3:00. If your child is here before 8:30 or goes home after 3:00 then you will be responsible for bringing them in , or picking them up, and you will need to punch them in and out for before and after care. If you forget to punch them in or out then you will be charged for three hours of care that day. If it is raining, Please park and bring your child in or pick them up. Each family will be given a number to put in their car window. This will help us identify your car. If someone else is picking up, make sure they are on the pick up list or give us a note with your permission for them to take your child. We will ask for identification. Please ask them to write your assigned number on a piece of paper and put it in their car window. These #’s need to be returned at the end of the year. If they are not turned in you will be charged $5.00. It is very important for your child to be on time for your child to get the full benefit of the program. There are special group activities and presentations of new materials done first thing in the morning.
Before and After School Care
We offer before school care starting at 7:00 a.m. and after school care from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at an additional cost of $3.50 per hour per child. Please punch in and out on the time clock and you will be billed at the end of each month for this time. If you need this service once in a while please get it approved ahead of time. My staffing is scheduled according to the number of regular users and may need to be adjusted to accommodate more children. Do not pick up your child late after school assuming that staff will be there anyways. If you have not been approved for after school care that day and you are late, we will charge you $10.00 every 15 minutes. Our staff is only here until 6:00, if you are late these same fees will apply. We will round off to 15 minute increments when billing for before and after care. If you forget to punch in or out, you will be charged for the entire time.
Tuition and Fees
Tuition is due on the first of every month. There are no statements sent out. You can mail payments or drop them in the locked box in your child’s classroom. No payments should be given to any staff member. The before and after care payments are due within one week of receiving the bill. After the 5th of every month a late fee of $25.00 will be charged. A fee of $25.00 will be charged for bounced checks. If you do not pay your tuition by the 10th of the month , your child will not be allowed to attend class until you are caught up. You only need to write one check for all the fees due that month. The locked boxes in the classrooms are a convenience to you, it is not the only way you can pay. If we are on a break at the first of the month you can mail your checks in or turn them in early postdated. The late fees will still apply even if we are not in school during that time of the month. There is no credit granted for vacations or time off due to illness.
Emergency School Closings
In the event of severe weather conditions, parents should use their own judgement as to whether to transport their child to school. School closings will follow the Crown Point school closings. This does not include any delays the Crown Point schools may have. School closings are broadcast on WJOB radio station.
Contacting your Child’s Teacher
If you need to speak to the teacher please send a note with your child . The teacher will contact you as soon as possible. We try to keep adult conversations to a minimum at arrival and dismissal and in the classroom. It becomes very disruptive and distracting to the children. We appreciate open communication and welcome any questions you have about your child’s progress. We will have conferences twice a year, but if your curious or have questions about specific work please feel free to ask. We welcome classroom observations and also help in the class with special projects. If you would like to observe please make arrangements with your child’s teacher. The children do most of their work sensorially, so there is not a lot of paper work sent home. Their work is collected in their drawers and sent home when the drawer is full. We keep some of the work to show you their progression at conference time. Feel free to look through their drawers anytime. We also allow the children to leave their work out to show you at the end of the day. We will invite you to park and come in to see their work. Take time to share in their joyful success when possible. Once your child starts reading we will send the book home in an envelope for you to read with them at home. Please send the book back to school, in the envelope, the next school day.
Freedom and Discipline
Within the Montessori class the child is given choices. The Montessori teacher facilitates these choices so through them the child builds the person he/she is to become. Due to this orientation, Montessori environments are peaceful and non-aggressive. Freedom implies responsibility. If a difficulty arises, the teacher will assist the child by proposing the observation of how people behave in this community, or by inviting the child for purposeful rest. We search together for the resolution of conflicts using our words not our fists, and encourage the children to seek the help of our staff if their words do not work. Procedures for discipline include talking to the student, removing the student from the situation, re-directing the student to another activity, and conferring with the parent/ guardian when necessary. The parent will be contacted if inappropriate behavior continues or if behavior is detrimental to other students or to the functioning of the classroom. Continued inappropriate behavior may lead to suspension or dismissal.
Any of the following unacceptable behavior on the school property, or at school sponsored events will result in immediate suspension or withdrawal: causing bodily harm to another, fighting, obscenity, and profanity.
Child Abuse
The school shall implement procedures to insure that existing public laws regarding child abuse are followed.
Parents’ Rights
Both parents of a student enrolled at the Montessori Academy have a right to participate in all school functions, confer with their child’s teacher and receive school information. A student may be released to either parent. In cases of divorce or legal separation, these rights will be granted to both parents unless the school receives a copy if a court order which affects these rights.
Scholastic book orders
We will send home a scholastic book order form every month. If you would like to purchase any books, fill out the order form and return it with a check payable to scholastic books. The books are cheaper than you can buy them in a store. The books usually come in within 14 days of ordering. We will earn free books for our classroom libraries.
Spanish, Art, and Music Classes
We are offering additional classes in Art and Music. These classes You may sign up for these any time throughout the year and are only obligated for the sessions that you sign up for. Young Rembrandt’s is doing the Art classes, and Kindermusik is the Music program we will be offering.
Summer Program
We will continue to offer a summer program as long as we have enough interest. I do the summer program as a service to those of you who need care during the summer. It is barely a break even program for me financially. I will hand out the registration forms in February and you will need to make a non-refundable deposit at that time. You will not get a refund or adjustment on your payments if you decide to change the schedule after May 1st. I schedule my staff based on these commitments and have lost money each summer because people don’t honor their commitments. If this program becomes too much trouble we will no longer offer it.
Phone Tree
There will be a phone tree system installed in September. Each family will need to provide a phone number where they wish to receive messages concerning school information. I will initialize the phone tree to give reminders about upcoming events and forms to be turned and it will automatically dial all the #’s and leave a message if no one is there. Our school calendar will also be on our web site at www.montessorinwi.com Please refer to this if you have lost or forgotten to check the calendar. Please refer anyone interested in our school to the website, as it is very informative about what Montessori is, and what our curriculum has to offer.
Visits from Alumni
The school welcomes visits from former students. Please contact Miss Dawn to schedule a visit. We want to make sure the visit can accommodate the classroom and school schedules. Please schedule the visits as early as possible. We have a lot of alumni who try to come when their schools have a half day or a day off when we are still in school. |
