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Arrival and Dismissal | Alternate Pick-Up | Parking | Snacks and Lunch Calendar/Cancellations/Absenteeism School Calendar We follow the Bedford School District calendar for holidays and school vacations. In addition, we are closed for several teacher in-service days and parent conferences. The school year ends the last week in May. Cancellations/Snow Days We also follow the Bedford School District for school cancellations due to weather conditions. However, because our students travel by car, and because we have many students outside the Bedford District, even if we do open the school, we ask that you make the decision based on the safety of the roads and where you live. Please listen to the following station for cancellation info: Absence From School If your child will not be attending school, please call the school and inform your child's teacher. The staff takes a special interest in each child's health and welfare and we would appreciate a phone call from you. ARRIVAL: On-time arrival ensures smooth traffic flow in and out of the driveway. Arriving on time is important in order for your child to feel part of their class. A child who often arrives late misses beginning group presentations and generally feels awkward about coming into a classroom situation in progress. DISMISSAL: It is equally important that you arrive on time for dismissal. Arriving late causes undue stress to your child and detracts from staff's ability to properly prepare the environments. If there is an emergency and you are not able to be punctual, please call the school so that your child does not become concerned. DRIVEWAY: Due to the fact that there is no parking area in our driveway we ask that you form a car line to the right side, proceed counterclockwise around the cul-de-sac, and pull up beyond the school doors to allow for the loading/unloading of 2 vehicles at a time. If for any reason you must park, please drive up beyond the school building and park against the stone wall. SAFETY BELTS: Please do not allow your child to unbuckle his/her seat belt until you have come to a complete stop anda staff member comes to greet your child and help him/her out of the car. Upon departure, a staff member will buckle your child into their seat, however we would appreciate you taking a few seconds to be sure your child is seated properly and securely. We care very much about the safety of each child and appreciate your support with these procedures. LATE FEE: If you are repeatedly more than 15 minutes late in picking up your child, a $5.00 late fee will be charged per incident. You will need to fill out a form listing those people who are authorized and may be responsible for picking up your child after school. If a situation arises where someone other than the people listen on the form will pick up the child, we must receive a written, signed and dated note. No child will be released to anyone without a written consent. This includes pick up by parents of classmates making a 'play date' after school. Please follow these guidelines to maximize parking for school events. When driving IN to the driveway, please park DIAGONALLY along the driveway to the right. PRESCHOOL: Approximately once per month, each child will be asked to bring in a healthy snack to share with classmates (20 students). Snack time is a chance to gather the group, to share food and drinks, help with clean up, and is a special event for the 'host'. We will celebrate your child's birthday on or as close to the date as possible. Half birthdays or other arrangements are made to celebrate those birthdays occurring in the summer. Parent attendance and participation is encouraged. The birthday celebration begins with the "Birthday Walk". For every year of a child's life, they walk once around a representation of the sun carrying a small globe. This gives the child a sensorial experience of time and their relationship to the world. As the child goes around the sun a picture is shown of them at that age, and a sentence or two is read about what was significant during that time in their life. A group snack provided by the birthday child, and is then shared with the class. This is a time when we make an exception to our no -sugar policy, however we would appreciate moderation even on those occasions. Whipped cream or cream cheese frosting, ice cream, or frozen yogurt are good alternatives. Special Events Special events at our school include the Family Fall Picnic, Harvest Breakfast, Friendship Night, Mother’s Day Tea, and Father’s Day Pizza Party. As in all aspects of the Montessori philosophy, we are looking to encourage independence and success. The confidence that a child acquires in caring for themselves carries over into other areas of their lives. The following are some suggestions for clothing that will allow a child to dress for success. Velco sneakers - These are an absolute must to have in your child's wardrobe! Until they can learn to tie, Velcro makes it easier for the beginner. Toys - We discourage bringing toys from home as they may become lost of broken, and are difficult for us to track. We do, however, encourage books, science discoveries, artifacts from different countries, and anything related to the unit study we are exploring at the time. End of Week Take Home Work Day- Any work a child has completed will be put in their work bag including newsletters and snack calendars. Please remember not to put emphasis on the amount of “paper work” your child may or not bring home each week. In a Montessori classroom there is much learning going on and the process is more important then the product. Much of what your child does for work does not include “paper work”. Orientation Week We cannot stress enough the importance and success of our fall orientation program. Whether your child is a new student, returning student, or has even been with us during the summer, every child on the same level will experience an adjustment and transition period as they prepare for a more structured situation. This transition period is one that parents and teachers want to see go smoothly. Orientation week is the first week of school, with a reduced and modified schedule for both preschool and kindergarten classes. In this way, we will be able to give special individual attention to each child An orientation schedule is mailed out in August to each student attending in the fall. Kindergarten classes only participate in field trips. Depending on what we are studying we have gone to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, SEE Museum in Manchester, Audubon Society in Auburn, Science Center in Holderness, and other surrounding areas. A New Hampshire health form must be completed by your physician within 60 days from the start of the school year. Health forms are good for one year only. A Medical Release form must be signed by a parent in order for the school to seek proper emergency care. In the event of an accident or sudden illness, the school will make every effort possible to contact the parents first, before calling the emergency number on file. If necessary your child will be transported by ambulance to the local hospital. The emergency form will accompany the child so that treatment can be administered immediately in the absence of the parent. If a child gets hurts during school hours on the playground or otherwise (i.s. bump, cut, scrape) and first aid is required, we will have you sign an accident report when you arrive to pick up your child. All members of our staff have updated CPR and First Aid training at all times. We expect children who are ill to be kept at home and we reserve the right to call and request that your child be picked up from school if we feel their health is in question. Please do not send your child in when the following symptoms are present: The following are a few facts about some common communicable diseases of childhood and general illness regarding when a while may return to school. Chicken Pox - Incubation period 13 - 17 days, child may return once all chicken pox are scabbed over. Dispensing Medication Parent - Teacher Communication Keeping an open communication between parent and teacher is necessary for the success of your child both at school and at home. Teachers may be reached at school 30 minutes before their class begins or 30 minutes after their class session ends. You have also been given teacher phone number in case you need to reach them at home in the early evening. You or your child's teacher may feel it necessary during the year to conference at other times in addition to the scheduled conferences. Please do not hesitate to call for any reason. It is important that we know as much about your child as possible in order for their year to be successful. What may seem insignificant may have an impact on your child's day, i.e. a parent is away, your child had a rough start in the morning, family illness, etc. It may be as simple as handing your teacher a note. Please know that, as always, any communication between parent and teacher is confidential. Note: Due to the respect we have regarding each child as a person, it is our philosophy to refrain from making any comments about your child in their presence. Please call 627-9545 when leaving a message for a teacher. Teachers are not available to speak with you during class time. You may reach your child's teacher 30 minutes before class or 30 minutes after the class session ends. Sending a note to school is a good way to communicate with your child's teacher without interrupting the class. The teacher will get back to your as soon as the class ends, if necessary. It is required that parents observe and conference with their child's teacher at least once a year. Observations and Conferences are scheduled for late Fall and Spring. School is closed for Conferences so other arrangements must be made for your child at this time. The first four full weeks of school is considered a trial period. If for any reason the staff feels that your child is not ready for the program, we would notify you at that time. In rare instances, parents will be contacted to review child issues and placement. If, after several parent/teacher conferences have occurred to discuss the teachers concerns for a child, the teacher still feels that the situation needs further and immediate attentions, the following describes the necessary steps for resolution. We have adopted a slogan over time - "If you carefully work with the parent, you can work with the child." 1. Administrator and teacher meet to discuss the child. |
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