Parent Handbook Parent Handbook 3501 W Westcott Dr. Glendale AZ 85308 3501 W Westcott Dr. Glendale AZ 85308 Tel: (623) 582-4700 heritagemontessorischool.org Tel: (623) 582-4700 heritagemontessorischool.org Heritage Montessori School Mission Statement Table of Contents Page Mission Statement/ Goals 1 Program /Montessori Method 2 Hours of Operation/Admission & Enrollment 3 Tuition/Fees/Arrival and Dismissal Procedures 4 Visits and Observation 5 Conferences/Parent Involvement/Dress Code 6 Dress Code 7 Discipline/Birthdays/ Sharing Objects 8 Snacks/Lunch/Medications & Illness 9 Special Needs/Transportation/ School License 10 Emergency Procedures /Liability Insurance 10 Pest Control, Alcohol and Tobacco 11 Our mission is to provide a nurturing, safe and supportive small school community with an environment rich in hands-on learning activities promoting independence, self-confidence, respect, and joyful acquisition of knowledge about our world and its diversity, that form the foundation for a life-long love of learning. Heritage Montessori School – GOALS To promote the highest standards of academic achievement for all students; To assist all students in the development of their full potential; To guide all children in the development of positive communication and social skills; To nurture the growth of self-discipline, self-control, selfconfidence and positive self-esteem within each child; To direct each child toward constructive decision-making and behavioral choices that demonstrate respect for self, others and the environment; To foster the joy of life-long learning within each child. 1 Program Heritage Montessori School is a private school for 3 to 6 year old children. We offer high quality school experience based on the Montessori philosophy and method of education. In our carefully prepared environment students are working in the following areas: Practical Life, Sensorial, Mathematics, Language, Geography, Botany, Zoology, Art, and Outdoor Environment (gardening courtyard area). During the course of study the children are developing concentration, independence, initiative, problem solving and lifelong study skills. Through social interaction they are able to practice grace and courtesy and respect in a loving and peaceful atmosphere. Hours of Operation Academic Hours Morning Class 8:30 – 12:30 PM Full Day Class 8:30 - 3:00 PM Extended Hours Early Bird 8:00 – 8:30 AM Extended Day 3:00 – 5:30 PM Extended day children will bring a lunch and eat at 11:30. School holidays will be based on Deer Valley School District’s calendar, with some variation. School is in session August – May. Summer programs will be available if required. Montessori Method Admission Requirements & Enrollment Procedures The Montessori philosophy and method is an approach to education developed by an Italian physician Maria Montessori in the 1900’s. She believed children learned by interacting with the environment rather than passively having the teacher “teach” them. They learn through discovery using their five senses and develop confidence by mastering the many hands-on activities that gradually increase in difficulty throughout the classroom. Students are respected as individuals and are allowed to select their work and progress at their pace, with encouragement and guidance. Our aim is for a child to enjoy learning, be kind to one another, develop self-discipline and independence, as well as be exposed to a broad range of academic activities. 2 Enrollment at Heritage Montessori School is open to children without regard to race, religion, or national origin. Enrollment for a new academic year of current students and siblings – February; Enrollment of new students – March; We also accept applications for new students during the academic year whenever the child turns three years of age and/or is toilet trained. School must receive completed enrollment packets with any fees due in order to retain spot. 3 Tuition & Fees There is a non-refundable annual registration and activity fee. May’s tuition (last month of school year) is due by July 15 in order to remain enrolled. It is refundable on mandatory 30 days notice and applied towards last month of the child’s attendance. Tuition will be due on the first of each month, with no tuition due the last month (May’s prepaid). A late charge of $30 will be added to the tuition if paid after the 5th of the month. After the 8th of the month, a child may not return to school unless tuition has been paid or alternate arrangements have been worked out with the director. No refunds or allowances for absences or scheduled vacation will be made. Full tuition is still due during months with school holidays. There is a 5% sibling discount on a second child enrolled at the same time. Arrival and Dismissal Procedures Arrival Sign In and Out All parents must sign-in at drop off and sign-out again at pick up in the appropriate forms provided using their complete signatures, not initials, as per state regulations. For drop off and pick up of the children before and after regular school hours please enter and leave through main school entrance. Please, for safety of all the children, do not use cell phones during the time of arrival and dismissal. Separation Separation anxiety is natural in young children when they are saying good-bye for the first time. Usually, children adapt quickly (in only a few days). You can trust that the teachers will notify you if your child is over stressed from separation. We suggest that you say good-bye to your child instead of slipping away without any form of closure. Usually stressed behavior subsides once parents are out of their child’s sight range. At arrival time parents are required to enter the school through the main entrance and sign in their children on the forms provided by the office. Dismissal Visits and Observations At dismissal time (12:30 PM or 3:00 PM) all parents are required to park their vehicles in the parking lot and enter through the playground gate to the outdoor environment. Please wait in the front of the classrooms until the children are dismissed. After you sign out your child all parents are required to hold their children hands while escorting them to the car. Please keep both gates closed at all times while entering and leaving school property. Parents are welcome to come and visit their child in all areas of Heritage Montessori School at any time. All parents will be granted access to all areas of the facility where their child receives child care services. In addition parents are welcome to come and observe the classroom after the children have had time to adjust to the routines and the environment. Therefore, the first in-class observations of the school year will begin after two months of school. When new children are added to a class, observations will stop until the child has had time for adjustment. Please contact school office for observation appointments to avoid having too many observers in the same room. Observations are for adults only. 4 5 Parent – Teacher Conferences Parent-teacher conferences are conducted two times during the school year – November and March. Please make every effort to attend and discuss your child’s progress. Sign-up sheets will be available prior to these conferences. Parents Involvement If you have a special talent you would like to share with our children such as playing an instrument, etc. – we would welcome it. Such visits should be scheduled in advance. We will occasionally need volunteers to help with parties, playground duties, gardening etc. Dress Code Children's clothing should not be an obstacle to their enjoyment of the activities at school. Their clothes should allow them to work and play freely. Certain accessories are a distraction to children at school i.e. jewelry, purses, toys, and money. These items are better left at home. Knee-length dresses are acceptable for girls or knee-length shorts and long pants. Blouses and shirts should have sleeves. Boys should wear knee-length shorts or long pants, shirts with sleeves and avoid T-shirts with fad based pictures (monsters, pokemon, batman, etc.). We strongly recommend that soft-soled shoes be worn to enable the children to effectively participate in activities which will develop coordination. Hard leather-soled shoes, lighting shoes, cowboy boots and flip-flops can be hazardous as well as defeat the purpose of these activities. Shoes with closed toes are acceptable. Socks should be worn with shoes. Extra Clothes Although we do wear aprons for some of our work involving water, paint, food, etc., accidents still happen and we would encourage you to not have your child wear some of his/her most expensive or favorite "good" clothes. We ask that all children bring an extra set of clothes (socks, too) with his name marked on it. This way, if your child ever needs a change of clothing, it is available. Our program stresses independence and clothes that allow a child to dress and undress himself without help, are preferred and of great benefit in that regard. Avoid difficult snaps, belts, shoulder straps, or anything that your child cannot undo himself. Elastic waist band shorts and pants are more easily managed and help with toilet independence. T-Shirt Day A school T-shirt is given to each child as part of the registration or activity fee. Friday is our T-shirt day at Heritage Montessori School. If your child chooses to, have him/her wear the school T-shirt every Friday for our show of school spirit. It is fun for the children (and teachers) to be dressed alike for a day! Sun Protection We advise that the children wear hats and apply sunscreen before school on sunny days. Children are also encouraged to stay in shaded areas of our playground and outdoor environment. Excessive hairstyles i.e. mohawks, long spikes, unnatural color, tattoos (temporary or permanent), nail polish, body piercings and markings that call attention to the individual and distract from the educational process will not be permitted. 6 7 Discipline Redirection and refocusing will be used to help young children learn acceptable behavior in school. We use positive redirection as our main means of discipline. We would state what the child should do in a positive way such as “we walk in the classroom” instead of “don’t run”. If a child becomes a disruption he may be asked to sit apart from the rest of the children and observe the rules of the classroom. Any problems would be discussed with parents. In cases of extreme misbehavior parents would be required to pick their child up from school. Birthdays On your child’s birthday, we will try to make sure they are the “snack person” so they can bring in a birthday snack if they choose to. We will give them a paper crown, sing to them and try to make it a special day for them. It’s fun to bring in pictures of them as a baby, a one year old, two year old, three year old, etc. for the children to share with friends. A healthy snack would still be preferred. For example, muffins (from a commercial bakery), fruit and birthday napkins. Please, no iced cakes or cupcakes. Children who have summer birthdays will be given the opportunity to celebrate during our annual “unbirthday” day in May. Sharing objects of educational value or broken. Cowboy boots, guns, holsters, gum and candy also fall into this category. Please talk to the teacher before you decide to share any item with the class. Snack During the first week of school, we will provide snack. After that, we will send a “snack list” for each class home monthly and each child will have turn bringing snack. This list will have the child’s name and two items the child is to bring for snack (example: graham crackers & bananas). Please also bring plates, cups and napkins. (Important Note: All baked goods must be purchased from a commercial baker, not homemade. Sorry! Also, we are a PEANUT AND ANY OTHER KIND OF NUTS FREE school due to extreme food allergies. Please help us check all labels and LEAVE ITEMS WITH PEANUTS AT HOME! Thanks.) Lunch Children bring their lunches and place in refrigerator. Lunches should be ready to eat without teacher/microwave preparation. Again, we are a PEANUT FREE school in order to protect other children who have severe allergic reactions. Thank you for your help and understanding. Medications & Illness We encourage children to bring objects of educational value such as plants, flowers, shells, nature and science objects, books, etc. to school at any time. It should be understood, however, that these will have to be worked into the teacher's classroom plans and may not be able to be presented that day. We do not have a regular show and tell day but usually take some time to share these items. We ask you to cooperate, however, in seeing that toys, treasures, money, play jewelry, etc., be left at home. We also do not want dolls, Disney items, or other such fads brought to school. These items only cause trouble since the children cannot play with them during the school period and they are easily lost We do not administer medications at school. If a child becomes ill he will be sent home. If your child is not feeling well (fever or stomach upsets during the past 24 hours, bad cough, very runny nose, any unexplained rash, or eye redness, etc.) please keep him/her home to let him rest and to protect his/her classmates. If your child has been diagnosed with a contagious disease such as chicken pox, strep throat, pink eye, etc., please let us know so that we may notify other parents to be on the lookout for symptoms in their child. 8 9 Special Needs Special needs children are evaluated individually to determine if our program is a proper fit. Transportation We do not provide transportation service for students of Heritage Montessori School. School License We are licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services. They are located at 150 N. 18th Ave., Ste. 400, Phoenix, AZ. Their phone number is 602364-2539. Our records are open to the public. Pest Control In the event of any pesticide being applied in any area of Heritage Montessori School pesticide information will be available to all parents, upon a parent’s request, at least 48 hours before a pesticide application occurs on facility premises. This information will include the following: 1. The brand, concentration, rate of application, and any use restrictions required by the label of the herbicide or specific pesticide; 2. The date and time of the pesticide application; 3. The pesticide label and the material safety data sheet; and 4. The name and telephone number of the pesticide business licensee and the name of the licensed applicator. Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco The Heritage Montessori School campus is an alcohol, drugs and tobacco free environment. By State Law there cannot be any smoking on our property and alcohol cannot be served while children are present. Emergency Procedures In the event of an emergency or disaster, children would follow our fire evacuation procedures. Staff would take children to a safe location and call parents by cell phone to notify them. Liability Insurance Heritage Montessori School carries an insurance policy that complies with the requirements of the State of Arizona. 10 11