Interviews

The Director is available throughout the year to talk with you about your child, the school or our program. It's best to make an appointment so that you can ensure that you will have the privacy required.

Teachers will update you on your child's progress throughout the year, during an appropriate time when they are not involved with the children. An appointment to speak to a teacher can be made regarding your child.

Health

Please do not send children to school if they are sick. We do not administer medication to the children except for Epi-Pens or asthma puffers. These exceptions are at the discretion of the preschool. In the case of these exceptions, a medication authorization form has to be completed and signed by the child's parent.

The medication, supplied by a pharmacist, must be in the original container, clearly labelled with the child's name, the name of the drug or medication, the dosage of the drug or medication, the date of purchase and instructions for storage and administration. It is the responsibility of the preschool Director to ensure that the medication left at the preschool has not expired. If the Director becomes aware that a medication has expired, they are to notify the parent immediately. If a medication has expired, new medication must be supplied by the child's parent before the child can attend the preschool.

If a child requires an Epi-Pen, the Epi-Pen must remain at the preschool for the entire preschool year. When the child is in attendance, the teaching staff will wear a fanny pack, supplied by the parent that indicates the child's name and contains the Epi-Pen, Allergy Alert Form and Medication Authorization Form. When the child is not in attendance, the fanny pack containing the above, will be locked in a storage cupboard in the playroom.

If the child requires an asthma puffer, the puffer will be stored in the emergency box located in a cupboard in the playroom. The puffer does not have to remain at the preschool. A completed Medication Authorization Form must accompany the puffer. The above medications will be administered by the teaching staff only.

Children are required to see a physician before being admitted back into the program if they have a skin rash or sores, prolonged high fever or diarrhea.

A good way to judge whether to send your child to school is to ask yourself if they are well enough to play outside. Remember, all children play outside each day for a minimum of 15 minutes unless it is raining or very cold.

We are required to send a copy of our enrolment list to the Health Department, so it is very important that the immunization cards are complete and up to date. Please notify the preschool if your child develops one of the childhood communicable diseases, e.g., chickenpox, so that other parents can be made aware of signs and symptoms to watch for.

All children admitted to our program should be immunized as recommended by the local medical officer of health. Where a parent of the child objects in writing to the immunization on the ground that the immunization conflicts with the sincerely held convictions of the parents' religion or conscience or a legally qualified medical practitioner gives medical reasons in writing to the preschool as to why the child should not be immunized, the child will be admitted into the program but if an outbreak of a vaccine preventable disease occurs, the child must be excluded from the program for his/her own protection. Tuition fees will not be refunded for this period of exclusion. The child will be admitted back into the program when it is deemed appropriate by the health department.

Arrival and Dismissal

If you are driving, please park your vehicle on the south side of Withrow Avenue (Note: 15 minute limit) or in the church parking lot. Please do not park in the first two spaces closest to the building, as these are reserved for the church's pastor and administrator. You may walk the children through the building, keeping in mind that services may be going on.

Please sign in children in the attendance book found beneath the parents' notice board in the hall. Take children to the coat room, remove their outdoor clothing and place all clothing and backpacks on their designated hook. Preschool doors are open at 8:30a.m.; but you must wait with your child until the teachers arrive at 9:00 a.m. At dismissal time, please collect all artwork and notices from the kitchen, pick up your child, and sign them out in the attendance book.

If you are carpooling, please drop off children who start outside in the play yard once the teachers have arrived at 9:00 a.m. and place backpacks on the table beside the door. At dismissal time, please pick up the children inside first (having first collected all artwork, etc. from the kitchen).

Sign all children out in the attendance book. Children are to be picked up between 12:20 and 12:30 p.m. Please do not park on the north side of Withrow Avenue at any time.

Parking

All parents are asked to park either on the south side of Withrow Avenue in the 15 minute parking lane or in the main church parking lot on the Rossland Avenue side of the building. Parking on the north side of Withrow is not permitted at any time. Please respect the privacy of neighbours by not using laneways to turn your car, and by not blocking the laneways when parking. Please do not park in the first two spots nearest the building, as these are reserved for the church pastor and administrator.

Please exercise caution when approaching or leaving the school at drop-off or pick-up time. Small children move very quickly and can be difficult to see, especially when backing up.

Clothing

Daily outdoor play is an important part of our program. Please dress your child appropriately for seasonal weather to ensure that they will be comfortable in the play yard.

Some important points to remember are:

• Please label all clothing that can be removed.
• Boots should be warm, waterproof and easy to slip on.
• Mittens are warmer and easier for children to manage than gloves. Please remove strings as they are a serious safety hazard.
• Neck warmers are preferable to long scarves, again for reasons of safety.
• Drawstrings should be removed from clothing as they have caused serious playground accidents.
• Backpacks are useful for transporting shoes and artwork.
• Shoes are required for indoor play for safety reasons. Special 'indoor only' shoes are not necessary. Shoes must go home each day as storage space is not available.

Children are encouraged to dress and undress themselves independently as much as possible. Please choose outdoor clothing that is easy for them to manage. This important school-readiness skill contributes significantly to a child's self-esteem.

Artwork

The art center is an important stop for most children during time spent in the playroom. There, they may pursue individual interests by exploring a variety of materials; express personal creativity through open-ended art experiences, or learn new techniques through teacher-initiated activities.

It is important for parents and caregivers to recognize that for young children the art experience is often all about the process of painting, gluing or cutting, and seldom about the end product. "How did you make this?" is a more meaningful question at this stage of a child's development than "What is this?" We encourage parents to take artwork home promptly while memories of creating it are fresh so that parents and children can share the excitement of new discoveries and experiences.

Tip: A large sheet of plastic or a garbage bag spread in the trunk of your vehicle makes bringing wet artwork home a lot easier.

It is important to remember that not all children enjoy painting. Many choose to express their creativity in other ways - through activities such as building with blocks, modelling play-dough, or dressing up. To expect a painting from your child places too much emphasis on this one area. Be sure to ask children where they have played that morning and to celebrate all forms of their emerging creativity.