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Parent Information Handbook 2009-2010
Mt. Scott Jubilee School What Is Center Based Education Children Sign In & Out Book/Release Authorization Late Pick Up Tardiness Bulletin Board & Newsletters V.I.P. Bag Birthdays Snack Extra Clothes/ Items from Home Winter Clothing Payment Information Disenrollment Policy Discipline Illness Accidents & Incidents Emergency Care Medication Our Schedule |
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Mt. Scott Jubilee School Mt. Scott Jubilee School is a small, caring Christian preschool & Kindergarten. Our school uses a complete child development program that will provide each child an opportunity for academic growth through learning centers appropriate to the age level. We are a non denominational Christian school aimed at teaching Christian values through bible teachings, prayer & songs with a hands-on teaching method for individual academic growth.
What is Center Based Education? Center Based education is both a philosophy of childhood growth and a method for guiding this growth. It is based on the child’s developmental needs for freedom within limits, and a carefully prepared environment which guarantees exposure to materials and experiences through which to develop intelligence, as well as physical and psychological abilities. The Center Based classroom is designed to take full advantage of the self-motivation and unique ability for children to develop their own capabilities. Some of Mt. Scott’s premises of education are:
*children are to be respected as different from adults, and as individuals who differ from each other.
*The most important years of growth are the first six years of life when unconscious learning is gradually brought to the conscious level.
*The goal of early childhood education should not be to fill the child with facts from a pre-selected course of study, but rather to cultivate his/her own natural desire to learn.
*The child has a deep love for purposeful work. He/she works for the sake of the activity itself. It is this activity that is his/her most important goal: the development of himself/herself - his/her mental, physical and psychological being.
The young mind of a child is likened to that of a sponge. The child literally absorbs information from the environment. Acquiring information from the environment in this way is a natural and delightful activity for the young child who uses all his senses to investigate his interesting surroundings.
Children The child is free to move about the classroom at will, to talk to the other children, to work with any equipment in which the purpose is understood by the child, and to ask the teacher to introduce new materials to him/her. He/she is not free to disturb other children at work or to abuse the materials important to his/her development. The children are taught to respect themselves, others and the environment.
Sign In & Out Book/Release Authorization Parents are to sign their child/children in and out in the book along with the date and time; this is required by the state of Oregon. At the time of enrollment parents were asked to list those people authorized to pick up their child. If it becomes necessary to have someone not listed pick up a child, written release must be provided. If a person other than yourself, (i.e. babysitter, neighbor, relative...) drops off or picks up your child, instruct them to see a staff member so he/she can show them how to use the sign in and out book. Remember, a babysitter, neighbor, relative, etc., must be on our release authorization form signed by you before we will release your child to them. If they are unfamiliar, we will call a parent to confirm pick up of the child and they will be asked to show proper I.D.
Whenever you deliver your child in the morning, after signing in, make sure that your child has been greeted and acknowledged by a staff member. When you pick up your child, after signing out, he or she must be dismissed, (goodbye handshake,) by a staff member. Please make sure your child has been dismissed before leaving. It is up to the parent to instruct any person, (babysitter, neighbor, etc.,) of this procedure. Please keep siblings of Mt. Scott Jubilee students with you at all times during arrivals and pickup times. To avoid disruption of circle time, a teacher will direct your child to you in the entry area. We use circle time as an instructional teaching time and extra distractions make it difficult for this to occur.
Late Pick Up It is suggested you contact the school as soon as you know you will be late for your regular pick up time. This is very important to your children who may feel forgotten and become emotionally upset. Your notice to staff will enable us to inform your child that you will be late.
Tardiness Exceptional consideration is asked of the parents to have your child to class on time. Late arrival may impair your child’s learning for that period of instruction.
Class Hours Morning class promptly begins at 8:30a.m. and ends at 11:30a.m. unless your child is staying for lunch, Afternoon class begins at 12:30p.m. and ends at 3:30p.m. Before and after school care is $4.00 an hour.
Bulletin Board & Newsletters Please check the bulletin board everyday when you drop off or pick up your child. There may be important announcements that pertain to your child. Keep your newsletter handy to check for upcoming events. Other important information will be clipped to your sign in and out page.
V.I.P. Bag Children can bring things for show and tell (books, toys, etc.), but only when they bring home the V.I.P. bag. Each child will have a turn to bring home the V.I.P. bag.
Birthdays To avoid hurt feelings, do not send “party invitations” to school for the child or teacher to pass out. Parents will be provided with a parent address list so that you can send invitations through the mail. Birthday Party Policy: No teacher invited please. If you would like to bring snack for your child’s birthday, please notify us 24 hours in advance so we can inform the other parents.
Extra Clothes/ Items from Home It is important that we have an extra set of clothes for your child in case of spills or accidents. A Ziploc bag, clearly marked with your child’s name, with one set (for older children) or two sets (for younger children). Please remember to label your child’s clothing. Your child’s Ziploc bag should include *Under pants *Socks *Pants *Tops/Shirts Other Items to leave at school: *Slippers or Slipper Socks with rubber grips on bottom *Plastic cup or mug Please bring your Ziploc bag of clothes and items from home the first day of school.
Winter When winter arrives please provide your child with a warm jacket or coat, (no thin windbreakers) boots, hood or warm hat, and mittens. Remember to label all clothing, especially boots. If weather conditions are hazardous the school will be closed. We follow the Portland Public School closure.
Clothing Learning to dress and undress is an important part of your child’s growing self-reliance. When purchasing clothing for your child, please give consideration to zippers, snaps, straps and buttons. Chose items your child can manage by himself/herself. Please send your child in shoes they can take off and put on by themselves. This will allow the children more time outside rather than inside fussing with their shoes. Please avoid shoes with laces or buckles unless your child can fasten them himself/herself. When your child is ready to practice the tying or buckle dressing frame, we will encourage those shoes.
Clothing is expensive, so be sure to mark your child’s clothes with his/her name in indelible pen or with sew-on labels. Bottoms of socks, inside of mittens, hats and boots should be marked with initials. Be sure to also mark sweaters and jackets.
Snacks A snack sign up sheet will be available monthly for you to choose a snack to purchase and donate. The children will have a healthy snack each morning and afternoon. The snack will be posted on the bulletin board daily. Please notify staff if your child has any food allergies.
Lunch If your child is staying for lunch please provide two cloth napkins or two paper napkins for your child, one to provide a space to put their food items on and the second for their lap. Most children enjoy helping to prepare their own lunch as an extension of their cooking and nutrition lessons at school. Please pack their lunches in containers and boxes that the children can operate by themselves. A Velcro closure lunch bag is easy for small hands. Small children have difficulty in opening some plastic wraps and baggies. Fruit cups and other foods in metal pull top containers need to be transferred to an easy open plastic container if you wish to include them in your child's lunch. (The metal pull tops are difficult for most children to open by themselves and could potentially cause cuts.) Fixing lunch at night may offer your child the time and opportunity to help prepare his/her own lunch. Please provide a nutritious lunch for your child. Besides the usual sandwiches, some suggestions for a variety include: cheese, fresh fruits, vegetables, crackers, rice cakes, yogurt, nuts, hard boiled eggs... Milk or water is recommended as a beverage. Your child will be asked to place uneaten food back into his/her lunch bag so that you can remain aware of his/her daily food consumption. Payment Information The school year begins the first or second week in September and the last day of school is the Thursday June 23rd. The tuition is divided into ten equal payments due and payable by the 5th of each calendar month. A late fee of $15 will be added to accounts not paid or postmarked by the 5th of the month. No allowances will be made for school or family vacations, illness or school closures due to the weather.
Disenrollment Policy If you are planning to remove your child from the school, two weeks written notice is required. If the school needs to terminate services to a child or family, we will try to give the same notice. Reason for the school to terminate service to a child or family may include; *Failure to pay tuition or extra care fees. *Decision by the school that another type of program would better serve your child or family.
Discipline Mt. Scott Jubilee School environment is prepared to offer children a wide variety of satisfying and purposeful activities. The need for external discipline is often met by redirecting the child, in a loving manner, toward one of these more appropriate uses of energy.
In situations where a child is disruptive such as, pinching, biting, kicking, hitting etc., the child is showing us he/she is using inappropriate behavior. 1. He/she will be given the opportunity to regain his/her self-control. *we will remove the child from the situation, discuss it, and bring in the other child if necessary, and come to a mutual agreement of appropriate behavior. 2. If the negative behavior continues, he/she will be sent to the thinking chair. (equivalent to a time out.) *The thinking chair involves sitting down in a designated chair for a short period of time. 3. Before the child returns to his/her activity, a staff person will pray with him/ her about the situation. 4. The child will apologize to the appropriate person (teacher or student). 5. If a child continues with inappropriate behavior the parents will be called to pick up their child. PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT IS NOT ALLOWED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE
Illness Illness certainly can be unfortunate, with flu-bugs, colds and coughs. In a group setting, such as this school, we all need to come to a comfortable agreement about what health conditions are acceptable. Working together in the classroom, the children tend to infect and re-infect each other as well as the staff. The staff understands limitations of parents in regard to sick leave and the pressure parents feel not to miss work. Likewise, it is a very unhappy experience to try to comfort a sick or uncomfortable child when you can’t offer him your total attention. When young children are sick or simply trying to regain strength after an illness they may be fine at home (exhibiting all the signs of health,) but put them in a group setting with requirements to walk, eat, work and go outside, and you simply push them over the edge and ultimately they stay sick longer. Beyond the basic Health Department guidelines, we want your children to be well enough at school to take care of their own physical needs, and to contribute as a member of their group. Please do not ask us to keep your child inside during outside playtime. If your child is well enough to attend school and is appropriately dressed, he/she should be well enough to go outside as well.
If your child has clearly developed a communicable disease or illness, please make other arrangements for his/her care. Do not bring your child to school where the disease could be spread to other children. We advise working parents to arrange in advance for a care giver should your child need to stay at home. Should your child become ill at school, he/she will immediately be isolated from the other children and the parent will be notified and expected to make arrangements to take the child home. The school does not have facilities to care for a sick child for more that a short period of time. Any child who has had an elevated fever, vomiting, or diarrhea is required by Oregon law to be free of symptoms for 24 hours before returning to school.
Please phone the school and advise us of any communicable diseases so that we may alert all families to look for symptoms. This includes head lice, pin worms, pink-eye, strep... Communicable diseases reported will be posted on the bulletin board. When your child is absent due to illness or vacation, please notify the school staff.
Accidents & Incidents If your child has an accident or is involved in noteworthy incident at school, normal first-aid procedures will be followed. An accident report will be completed, one for the school files and one for the parents. Parents will be notified at the time of the accident if it is questionable whether the child should be picked up.
Emergency Care In the case of a life threatening situation, school personnel will call 911 to request paramedics. The parents will be called immediately to advise them of the situation.
In the case of a non-threatening injury, first-aid will be given and the parents will be notified immediately. The parents will give instructions as to what procedure they wish school personnel to follow. If parents cannot be reached and the staff thinks medical care is necessary, the child’s doctor will be called. All staff at Mt. Scott Jubilee are certified in CPR and First-Aid. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT PARENTS KEEP THE SCHOOL RECORDS UP TO DATE ON PHONE NUMBERS WHERE THEY MAY BE REACHED AT ALL TIMES.
Medication If it is necessary for a child to take any medication, the prescription must be currently dated with a doctor’s note stating that the child is not contagious and requesting, with exact instruction, that the prescription be administered by the school. A medication Form must be filled out by the parent; attach the doctor’s note to the form. Do not send medicine in your child’s lunch box, hand it directly to a staff person. Not permitted at school: Vitamins, non-prescription drugs such as aspirins, cold medicines, Rolaids, cough drops or any other over the counter medication.
Our Schedule 8:30 Arrival Time: Children will play, get acquainted with each other and choose their job for the day.
9:00 Together Time: Take care of jobs the children have chosen. Show new work. Learn about daily topics.
9:30 Snack Time
10:00 Work Time
11:00 2nd Together Time: Story time, games, and outdoor playtime (Weather permitting).
11:30 1st Dismissal (3 ½ hour program), Afternoon Arrival (4hour program), Lunch (please provide a sack or box lunch from home)
12:30 2nd Dismissal, Afternoon Arrival
1:00 Together Time: Take care of jobs the children have chosen. Show new work. Learn about daily topics.
1:30 Snack Time
2:00 Work Time
3:00 2nd Together Time: Story time, games, and outdoor playtime (Weather permitting).
3:30 Dismissal
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For ages 3-6 Located in Mt. Scott Presbyterian Church 5512 SE 73rd Avenue * Portland, Oregon 97206 503-319-3318 |
