Northminster Child Development Center
A warm and safe environment where children can learn, grow, and have fun!
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Parents' Handbook
Updated August 2009
WELCOME
Welcome to the Northminster Presbyterian Child Development Center (NCDC). Thank you for your interest in our program! Our goal is to create a loving and caring environment for your child/children - building positive attitudes, relationships and self-esteem. We encourage spiritual, mental, physical, and social development through our program. We hope that this school year will provide many meaningful and fun experiences for you and your child. CLASSROOM # 828-324-0670 DIRECTOR OF NCDC ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF NCDC MINISTER CHURCH SECRETARY BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON TEACHERS Cheri Locke is a graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne College and a certified teacher in North Carolina. Cheri continues taking classes to learn new information to help the program. Cheri is a former Mother’s Morning Out Director and Director of Christian Education. Cheri is married and the mother of one daughter. Debbie Duncan is a graduate of Western Piedmont. Debbie is a former teacher for Northminster Child Development‘s PMO. Debbie continues to take yearly classes to learn new information to help the program. Debbie is married and the mother of three sons.
POLICIES AND HELPFUL INFORMATION The following guidelines will help keep your child safe and help our school run more smoothly and effectively on a daily basis. Please help us accomplish our goals by abiding by these policies. 1. OPERATING HOURS School hours are 8:45 A.M... to 12:00 P.M. If you choose to leave your child for lunch, pick up time is 12:45 P.M. Please do not bring your child to the classroom prior to 8:45 A.M. and please pick your child up promptly at noon or 12:45 P.M. Should an emergency arise that might delay your pick up, please notify the teacher as soon as possible (324-0670.) Should late pick up become a problem, we will notify you. There is a late charge for picking up your child after 12:00 P.M. or 12:45 P.M. The charge is $1 per first 5 minutes and $1 per minute thereafter you are late. 2. REGISTRATION FEES and PAYMENT (Monthly tuition and Lunch Bunch) Registration will be held in January of each year for the following fall session. Northminster staff and church members will be given priority, followed by current students based on entry date in the program. Then registration will be opened to all others. You will be notified when registration will occur. You will need to complete a registration form and pay a registration fee to hold your child's space. NOTE: Once all available positions are filled, remaining applicants will be placed on a waiting list according to entry date and notified as positions become available. The registration fee is $60 for 1 year olds through 4 year olds and $185.00 for Transitional Kindergarten. This is a nonrefundable fee. NCDC charges a monthly tuition fee which is payable on the first of each month. Your account will be assessed a $15.00 late fee if tuition is not paid by the 10th of the month (unless prior arrangements have been made with the Directors.) Please make checks payable to NCDC. Full tuition must be paid to maintain your child's place in class. Fees: Lunch - $2 per day Each child must bring their own lunch and drink. Transitional Kindergarten tuition is $245 per month. The lunch fee is included in the tuition cost. Summer Sessions will have a separate registration held in April, on a first-come, first-serve basis. Registration fees will be announced. 3. REQUIRED FORMS In compliance with the policies of NCDC, we must have the following forms and payment on file for each registered child: 1. Tuition: For summer session I and/or II and/or III by May 29, 2009. 2. Health/Medical Information Form noting any restrictions if any. Note the form 4. ARRIVAL and PICK UP PROCEDURES Walk your child to their classroom and sign them in (ages 1-3). You must sign your child in and out every day. If someone other than you is picking up your child, a written note must be given to the teacher that morning. Please be extremely cautious in the parking lots and always be watchful for children, teachers, and other cars. 5. CURRICULUM Curriculum is integrated around themes and topics, reflecting the natural way children live and learn. Class meetings begin with a whole-group mini-lesson, and each lesson is followed by time for individuals to test new skills or concepts in the context of authentic activities monitored by the teacher. In the centers (age appropriate) teachers introduce the standards and conventions of writing, reading, phonics, math, social studies, science, the arts, and manipulative, children then apply these to independent practice while instructors circulate among their students to confer and help each child, to reinforce what they were taught and to introduce new skills and concepts in context. 6. TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN Northminster T-K is a dynamic school environment that addresses the comprehensive needs of the whole child: academically, social, emotionally, and physically. This class is for any child meeting the age requirements (born on or before 08/31/04) who, in their parents’ judgment, is not developmentally ready or mature enough to enter Kindergarten. It is also an option for those who would prefer a half day Kindergarten. This class is a mandatory five day per week program from 8:45 until 12:45. We feel this schedule will prepare the children for a five-day/full day Kindergarten/First grade class the next year. Transitional Kindergarten tuition is $185 per month. The lunch fee is included in the tuition cost. 7. WISHING TREE At the beginning of each year we put up a wishing tree located outside the first door on the left entering the building. We fill this tree with sticky notes for supply items such as wipes, napkins, etc; we ask that each person pull off a sticky note and purchase that item. These are supplies we use through out the year. 8. FUNDRAISERS NCDC has several fundraisers through out the year. We do not sell items, however we raise money by having several parents’ night outs. The times are from 6 P.M. – 9 P.M. We ask for donations of at least $10 per child. During this time we have games, crafts, story time, and gym or out side time and more. The money raised is used for teacher education, our scholarship fund, etc. 8. REFRESHMENTS NCDC provides a daily snack and beverages. Please remind us if your child is allergic or sensitive to certain foods or beverages. 9. SNOW DAYS In the event of inclement weather, please call our classroom number (324-0670) or log onto our web site www.northminstercdc.com. There will be information on closings or delays on the home page. Information about closings or delays will be available by 7:00 AM. If there is no announcement, we will operate on a regular schedule. If we are on a delay we will open at 10:00 AM. There will be no makeup days or refunds. 10. SICKNESS If you feel your child may be getting sick (elevated temperature, nasal discharge, excessive coughing, diarrhea, vomiting, unidentified eye irritation, unidentified rash, unusual irritability, etc.) then please keep the child at home until these signs resolve. Many doctors recommend that if a child has any fever in the last 24 hours, then the child should stay home for that day. If the absence is due to a contagious disease, please contact us immediately, so that we may notify other parents so that they may watch their child during the incubation period or consult their physician if needed. Parents and teachers agree that sick children should not be in the classroom. Should the child become ill during the day, the teacher will notify the parent or responsible party, and the parent must pick up the child as soon as possible. Please call us and let us know if your child is not coming to school (324-0670). We ONLY make up sick days if room is available in the class. We DO NOT make up days that you are out for vacation, weather, etc. 11. MEDICATIONS No medications will be given to any child by the NCDC staff unless the physician states on the Physician's Health Form that medicine must be given during PMO hours. 12. MEDICAL EMERGENCY Both the teacher and the assistant are trained in CPR and first aid. In the event of a medical emergency, both 911 and the parent or emergency contact will be called. NCDC will have signed authorization from the parents giving permission to have the child treated by a physician in case emergency care is needed before the parents can be reached. Emergency health care information must be on file in the school 13. DISCIPLINE Absolutely no physical discipline will be used, nor will any child be subject to ridicule, sarcasm, or isolation. Should a child need to "cool down", we use a "thinking chair." This chair is not to be considered a punishment, but rather an opportunity for explanation, or quiet thinking. Time in the thinking chair will not exceed 3 minutes. If there is a continuous pattern of disruptive or dangerous behavior, parents will be notified and a conference scheduled 14. TERMINATION The parent agrees to provide two weeks notice should it become necessary for the child to withdraw from the school. The school agrees that after every effort has been made to deal with and correct dangerous or unmanageable behavior of a child or non-compliance with school policy, the parent will be given notice of suspension and/or expulsion. 15. TEACHER EDUCATION All teachers and assistants take continuing education workshops and classes. Our commitment is to nurture our students’ individual potential and cultivate in childhood an enthusiasm for learning that spans a whole lifetime.
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