Parents Information and Guidance Notebook

1. Parents Information and Guidance Notebook

2. You are free to contact us at any time either in person , by telephone, email or in writing addressed to Bay view Pre-school GENERALINFORMATION The SchoolAddress: F-33, Block 9, Kehkashan, KDA Scheme # 5, Clifton, Karachi Telephone: 35372781/ 35370798 / 35830420 E­mailaddress:preschool@bayviewhigh.com/bayviewpre@gmail.com Schoolweb site: www.bayviewhigh.com Vice principal: NaheedLakhani Senior Co-ordinator: Barbara Pereira Administrative support: YumnaSohail, UmairSheikhani & ShumailaSaleem.

3. Settling In: The first month that your child has in the Pre School, is an important time for everyone. This is a period that needs to be as calm and secure as possible. It may take some time for your child to get used to the new surroundings, and to make new friends. Some children take longer than others to adjust to this new environment, so be patient with them. Initially, parents can stay with their child, when he/she is settling in. During the adjustment period, you must make the effort to pick and drop your child as it is very necessary for them to feel secure and happy. Reception class timings are staggered for the first 3 weeks. Parent – Teacher Relationship: We believe that a strong parent-teacher relationship is necessary for your child to achieve maximum success. Throughout the year, we will communicate with you through letters, notes, circulars and parent-teacher conferences. We encourage you to contact us if you have any questions or concerns at any time during school hours. Parent Participation: Throughout the school year, there will be a variety of special classroom activities and celebrations. We encourage you to attend these functions, whenever possible, and also, if you want to volunteer for helping in any class activities, you are most welcome. Activities in the school, supported by you, make your child feel important and reinforces that you value school. If you are willing to become involved in the Pre-school please give your name to schoolstaff and they will ensure the appropriate forms are provided.

4. Attendance and Punctuality: • Your child’s regular and prompt attendance at school is crucial to his/her academic success. We cannot emphasize this point enough!!! Most prep School learning activities are group oriented and involve interaction with classmates, therefore, it is not possible to make up work at home. • Please view school as a priority, and see to it that your child attends every day except in cases of illness or emergency. • The timings for the classes are as follows: • Reception : Morning session: Mon ­ Thurs 8.30am ­ 11.30am/ Fri 8:30 am – 11: 00 am • Prep1: Morning session: Mon ­ Thurs 8.30am ­ 12.30pm/ Fri 8:30 am – 11:30 am • Prep2: Morning session: Mon ­ Thurs 8.30am ­ 12.50am/ Fri 8:30 am – 11:40am • We ask parents not to arrive before these times and to be punctual when picking children up at the end of the day. We feel this to be important as young children who think they have been left can easily become distressed. • At all times, children must be brought and collected by an adult. • For safety reasons, please ensure that your child and the school knows who is picking them up each day. • School ID card must be shown by all who wish to enter the school premises. Without the card the teacher will not hand over the child. • If someone else, other than you is picking up the child on any particular day, please let us know. This is for the safety of your child. If, for any reason, you are going to be delayed, please inform the school.

5. Birthdays: • Birthdays are special occasions for young children. If your child wishes, he/she may bring a cake for the class on his/her birthday. If you wish to send goody bags please ensure that no edible items are in it. Please send a note a day or two in advance, so that we can give you an exact number of children in the class and set aside some class time for the party. Parents are strictly not allowed in the class. If you wish to have this event photographed please hand over your camera to the teacher. • Snack: • Snack is an integral part of a pre-school day and helps to develop social skills. Please send lunch boxes and water bottles that are user-friendly and that have minimum spillage. All lunch boxes and bottles should have the name and class of your child. At the end of each morning session, all the children sit down together and have a snack. You are requested to send a water bottle (no cans, glass bottles or fizzy drinks allowed) and please follow the snack schedule given. Reception children will follow this schedule from second term. • Please inform us if your child has any food allergies prior to them starting Pre-school. • Accidents: • Children are busy and active during our sessions. Occasionally they may have an accident e.g. they bump their head or scrape a knee. Our Health Officer who is trained in First Aid will attend to your child and record the injury and any treatment given. In the event of a more serious accident, parents or the designated emergency contact will be contacted immediately. • NO medication is administered without informing the parents first.

6. Clothing: It is important that parents send their child to Reception wearing comfortable clothes and soft shoes. Please do not put on “good” clothes as there are always painting and gluing activities are going on. It is a good idea to put on clothes which your child can manage independently especially when going to the toilet. Accidents can happen and if you feel this is a possibility with your child, please send up some spare clothes in a bag with your child‛s name on it. Reception children will be sent a circular for this purpose. The children of Prep 1’s and Prep 2’s will wear the Bay View Pre School uniform (details of purchase from the school office). Physical Fitness Once a week we have a session of P.E. in the school for Prep 1 and 2, this is the time when children actively perform guided exercises, games and challenging group races to enhance his/her physical endurance and improve motor skills. Please ensure that your child wears his/ her P.E uniform on the designated day, mentioned in your child’s timetable.(contact the office if you don’t have one) Illness: A full session in the school is lively and demanding so if your child is unwell, he/she will not be able to cope. Please keep your child at home, until they are completely well. Any infections or contagious illness such as, diarrhea, conjunctivitis, chicken pox etc., means that your child MUST REMAIN HOME until they have been cleared by a doctor. Your caution will save putting classmates (and staff!) at risk as well as aiding your Childs recovery. We do rely upon your knowledge of your child’s health and ask that you inform us of any allergies to food stuff, e.g. milk, nuts, etc., or any other physical details of which you think we need to be aware of. If your child requires medication, then he/she should be kept at home until the course of treatment is complete. If your child becomes unwell during the day, we will contact you promptly to take him/her home.

7. Emergency Number • If you child becomes ill during the session, we phone home for him/her to be collected. Please ensure that any change of telephone number is altered on the contact sheet in the office. Also ensure that we have the name, address and telephone number of a relative or friend who would take charge of your child if we cannot contact you. • If your child is absent for more than 2 days, a written application or a sick leave by the doctor should be handed in to the office. • Education at home: • Education begins at home and we recognize how important this is for your child. One of our main aims therefore, is to ensure that a solid three way relationship is developed between your child, yourself and the teachers. • We ask you to help your child’s learning by finding time to talk daily with him/her, reading to them, answering their questions and encouraging them to think for themselves. • We display a selection of work on the walls of our classrooms and regularly send work home so that you can talk about it, praise and encourage your child to feel a sense of achievement. Displaying your child’s work, proudly at home will help to build his/her self-esteem and show how much you value their effort and hard work. • HEALTH • TOILETS – it is desirable that children are toilet trained before starting Reception, however it is recognized that children develop at different period. Please ensure that your child is able to tell the reception staff when there is a need to go to the toilet. It would also be helpful if your child wears clothes which are easy to remove .

8. Starting Reception • This means that your child will begin to be more independent in order to look after him/herself. There are many ways in which parents can help: • Do things with your child and talk about it – whether it‛s everyday things such as shopping, • playing outside, a walk or special things, such as buying a birthday present for a friend. • Play games together – board games such as Lotto, matching pairs, as well as football. • Read stories to your child, teach him/her songs and rhymes. • Encourage him/her to draw, paint, colour and model with play dough and flour. • Encourage him/her to put his/ her playthings away – this is an important mathematical activity as well as making life easier for us all! • Encourage your child to use magic words such as “Please and “Thank you” • Your child may not be fully toilet trained by the time they start Pre-school. If your child requires support and encouragement with toileting you should share this with the Pre-school staff.

9. School activities and the curriculum: • At Bay View Pre-school our Vision is • To provide a full and comprehensive education in a caring and secure environment in which everyone feels happy, confident and valued . We Provide opportunities through play which encourage children to develop emotionally, socially, intellectually and physically • To promote good standards of behavior, interaction with other children and also develop and maintain good relationships with parents, as we work with them in partnership. Our vision is to enable each child to develop as a happy, confident and independent learner with a well-developed sense of self-worth, responsibility and community. • To provide a range of activities based on the “Early Learning Goals’ recommended by QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority). This gives guidance for the “Foundation Level” for children who are under five years of age. • Mathematics • Language and Literacy • Knowledge and understanding of the world • Creative development • Physical development • Personal and social development • Although each session is essentially play oriented, there is a structure and routine, which incorporates outdoor play, sitting down together for a snack, a quiet time to look at books, group discussions, story and song – time etc.

10. An extensive range of activities is carefully planned and along with creative use of play equipment is used to stimulate all areas of development. There are many skills to be acquired before your child is ready to read, write and count and so we encourage your children to explore these areas: Socializing within a large group, making new friends as well as learning to share and take turns, are all important aspects of your child’s education. Learning to be away from parents for a considerable amount of time and exploring new experiences are all vital aspects of your child’s preschool development. These educational foundations are laid at home and in our Pre School. In closing, I would just like to say that I am looking forward to a good year working with your child! We hope this booklet has been of help to you in answering some of the questions you may have been asking yourself about the Pre-school. We will do all we can to help your child settle happily into his/her school routine. I would also like to suggest that you save this handbook for future reference. Thank you for reading the above information. If there is anything you would like clarification with or something we have not covered, please don‛t hesitate to ask. Our aim is to work in complete partnership and provide a service based on mutual trust and friendship. Thank-you in advance for your concern and support throughout the year!!! NaheedLakhani Barbara Pereira Vice Principal Senior Co-ordinator