Welcome to Parent Orientation

1. Welcome to Parent Orientation August 28, 2013

2. Welcome and Introductions

3. Philosophy • We believe that children are unique and special beings who develop in their own time and at their own pace. • Developmentally appropriate • Focus on the whole child • Encourage life-long learning, problem solving, and decision making • Motivate the child to reach his individual potential

4. Hours of operation Morning session: 8:45 – 11:15 Afternoon session: 12:15 – 2:45 Full day session: 8:45 – 2:45 Arrival: PK4 – 8:40 and 12:15 PK3 – 8:50 Dismissal: 11:15 and 2:45

5. Arrival and dismissalbeginning the week of September 9

6. Early Pick-Up or Late Drop-Off • Go directly to the school office and sign your child in. • The office will call the preschool classroom. • Escort your child to the main door of Reddington Hall where a staff member will meet you to let you in.

7. What to bring to school each day • A backpack that is a manageable size for your child labeled with your child’s name. • A labeled water bottle for water. • A complete change of clothes including socks and underwear – this will be left at school. • A labeled lunchbox and drink for full-day students. • A blanket and snuggly for rest time for full-day students. A smile!!!

8. Please do not bring… • Candy or gum • Toys from home • Pacifier • breakfast Please keep toys at home!

9. Clothing • Safe and comfortable • Elastic waists are best! • Play clothes – we get messy! • Sneakers are best – no flip-flops, crocs, or clogs • Dress for outside play • Label everything with your child’s name!!

10. Toileting • Your child must be toilet trained to attend St. Louis Preschool. • If your child has an accident, we will change him or her and let you know about it. • If accidents happen on a frequent, regular basis, we will meet to make a plan to solve the problem. Please be sure your child always has extra clothing including socks and underwear.

11. Birthdays Your child will receive very special treatment on his or her birthday! Please do not send in birthday cake, cookies or other sweets – you will be signed up for snack that day so pick something special! You are also invited to come in and share a special book.

12. Special events Be sure to check the website frequently to find out about up-coming events. There will be two Science Celebrations during the year – times when family members are invited to come in and participate in science activities with your child. Many other special events will be scheduled during the year. There will be no off-site field trips or evening events for preschoolers.

13. Positive discipline and guidance One of the most important goals of preschool is to teach your child good social-emotional skills. • We will: • Explain rules and why they are important • Consistently expect rules to be followed • Actively listen to children’s problems • Redirect whenever possible • Provide natural and logical consequences • We will always communicate with you about any difficulties your child is experiencing.

14. Curriculum We use the ScienceStart!/LiteraSci Curriculum. • Hands-on science based • Provides a meaningful context for mastering language, literacy, and mathematics • Develops a rich knowledge base about the world around us • Multi-sensory • Developmentally appropriate

15. What will your child be learning? Development of the whole child: • Approaches to learning • Physical development and health • Social and emotional development • Communication, language, and literacy • Cognition and knowledge of the world • NYS Preschool Standards: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/common_core_standards/pdfdocs/prekindergarten_learning_standards_jan_10_2011.pdf

16. Child assessment and conferences • On-going assessment • Observation notes • Checklists of developmentally appropriate skills • Portfolio with samples of child’s work • Photographs of important moments Conferences will be held in November and March.

17. Communication at St. Louis There is a parent communication system set up for the whole school. • Parent communication envelope sent home from school twice per month with the oldest child. • Envelope will contain information about what is happening in the whole school as well as specific information about what is happening in preschool. • Also will include a weekly outline of what we are learning, titles of book suggestions, and suggestions for home activities. • Please return the empty envelope to your child’s teacher.

18. St. Louis Website • http://www.slspittsford.org • Information about upcoming events • Teacher pages – there will be a page that specifically focuses on your child’s classroom • Will include information about curriculum topics • Photos of daily classroom activities Please visit the website regularly and frequently!

19. Teacher e-mail Mrs. Conezio – kconezio@dordcs.org Mrs. Miller – lmiller@dordcs.org We will check our email before school, at lunch time and after school if you need to reach us for any reason. You can also call the school office and leave us a message.

20. Security • All visitors must report to the school office first. • The school buildings are locked. • If someone else is picking up your child, notify us with a note with the date and person’s name. They must present ID to an office staff member. • Verbal messages from children cannot be accepted. • Call the school office in an emergency - 586-5200.

21. Emergencies • Parents will be contacted in the event of an emergency, illness, or other problem. We must be able to reach you at home, at work, or on your cell. • We must also have at least two reliable emergency contacts. • Fire drills and lock down drills are held regularly during the school year.

22. Child custody requirements • In the event that there are custody arrangements involving a court order, one or both of the following must be presented to the school office and remain on file: • Legal court documentation establishing the custodial rights of the parent or guardian. • Legal court documentation denying custodial rights to a parent. We are unable to deny a parent access to his/her child without proper legal documentation.

23. Child abuse We are required by law to report any suspected child abuse, child neglect, exploitation, or deprivation to the Department of Family and Children’s Services. All staff members have completed background checks and received training within the guidelines of the Diocese of Rochester. All staff members will complete DHS approved training in child abuse identification reporting.

24. CASE Training All volunteers who are in the classroom with children for any reason (including birthday celebrations) are require to: • Participate in an on-line training workshop • Sign a Volunteer Code of Conduct • Complete a criminal record check The safety of your children is our #1 concern at St. Louis. Directions to complete the on-line course are located on the website under “News.”

25. Reporting absences • Please notify the teacher of extended absences because of illness or vacations. • If your child is sick for a day, please give the school a call so that we know. • Please notify us about , new babies, changes in routines or any problems at home. These things affect preschooler’s classroom behavior and we can help best when we know what is happening.

26. Allergy policy and medication policy • Reddington Hall is a multipurpose facility. We cannot insure an allergy free environment for any child. • Please be sure the nurse is aware of any allergies your child has before the first day of school. • If your child has special needs, please make an appointment to talk with the coordinator to decide if we can provide the best environment for your child. • We have a full-time nurse at school. All medications must be taken to the nurse. Emergency medication (i.e., Epi pens) must be accompanied by written documentation form the child’s physician as well as medical permission to administer from the parents who are the legal guardians of the child.

27. Immunization/health record New York State Education law requires a health appraisal with up-to-date immunizations on all entering new students, PreK 3 and PreK 4, K, 2nd, and 4th graders. These records must be in our files before the first day of school.

28. Communicable diseases • Please notify the school if your child has a communicable disease such as strep throat or conjunctivitis. • The rules for keeping children at home will be in the parent handbook. • Please do not send your child to school with a fever. Use your best judgment. Ask yourself: Would you want another parent to send their child to school in this condition to play with your child?

29. Withdrawal from the program It is our hope that your family will have a wonderful experience at St. Louis Preschool. We will always seek to find a solution to any concern that may arise. However, for different reasons some children or parents may not find a favorable match with our program and the following may apply: • The child is not ready for school • The child displays socially unacceptable behavior • Failure to comply with preschool policies and procedures

30. Coming soon… • The calendar for snack for the month of September • The whole school year calendar of events for preschool Be sure to check the teacher web pages next week!! Don’t forget to bring your child to his/her scheduled Open House time!