St. Paul’s Nursery School
Parent Handbook
2013-2014
76 Main Street
North Kingstown, RI 02852
(401) 295 - 7320
http://www.stpaulswickford.org/nschool
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Table of Contents
About St. Paul’s Nursery School ……………………………………………………………………………….
2
Philosophy / Mission ………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2
Objectives ……………………………………………………………………….………………………………………..
3
Family Engagement / Volunteering ………………………………………….……………………………….
4
Grievance Policy ……………………………………………………………………………………………..…………
4
Arrival & Departure/Safe Area ……………………………………….…………………………..……………
4
Health …………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………
6
Safety …………………………………………………….………………………………….………….……………….…
7
Attire………………….…………………………………………………………………………….……………………….…
9
School Calendar ……………………………………………………………………………………………..…………
9
School Hours ………………………………………………….……………………………………………………..…
9
School Cancellations
…………………………………………………………………………………..…………
9
Enrollment Policy ……………………………………………………………………………………………..………
10
Tuition ……………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………
10
School Staff …………………………………………………………………………………………………...…………
11
Sample Schedule ……………………………………………………………………………………………..………
11
Positive Discipline Policy …………………………………………………………………………………………
12
Child Assessment/Conferences/Child Outreach ………………………………………………………
12
School Bag & Folder ………………………………………………………………………………………………
13
Book Club ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
13
Photographer …………………………………………………………………………………………………………
13
Show & Tell/Mystery Boxes ……………………………………………………………………………………
13
Field Trips …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
14
Snack, Birthdays, Holidays & Lunch ………………………………………………………………………
15
Nutrition Policy …………………………………………………………………………………………………………
16
Signature ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…
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Revised July 2013
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About St. Paul’s Nursery School
St. Paul’s Nursery School was founded in Wickford, RI in 1957. It is a
developmentally appropriate preschool program for 3 and 4 year olds. At SPNS, we
have aligned our curriculum to meet the RI Early Learning Standards. These
standards help provide guidance to administrators, teachers and families on what
children should know and be able to do before entering kindergarten. St. Paul’s is
approved by the RI Department of Children, Youth and Families and our teachers
are fully certified. Our student-teacher ratio is within the state guidelines.
Mission Statement
St. Paul’s Nursery School, a ministry of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, provides high
quality, affordable, early learning education to preschool children from the
surrounding communities. Our goal is to help young children develop a basic
foundation of Christian values, social skills and love of learning that empowers them
to grow into successful students and good citizens.
Philosophy
We believe children are active learners. They learn best through interactions with
adults, other children, and materials. Teachers provide hands-on activities that are
relevant to the child’s own life experiences. Our school provides an introduction to
academics with an emphasis on play, in accordance with the RI Early Learning
Standards. Our environment is one in which boundaries and consistency help
create security, warmth, and acceptance to foster your child’s social, emotional,
physical and cognitive self.
We have inclusive classrooms. The inclusive approach to educating children with
special needs benefits all children. It reinforces our core mission of teaching
children fundamental Christian values such as citizenship, respect and social
equality.
Family engagement is an important part of our school. When families are involved
with their child’s learning, the children do better in school.
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Objectives
Creatively, we foster:
• freedom of expression through singing, drawing, painting, talking and
moving;
• thinking and listening skills;
• learning experiences through reading;
• pride in one’s work as well as in the work of others
Socially, we encourage:
• sharing and playing with others;
• taking turns and cooperation;
• talking and listening;
• consideration of other’s feelings;
• politeness and manners;
• conflict management;
• assuming responsibility for one’s actions;
• discovering about ourselves and others
Intellectually, we promote:
• color and shape recognition;
• introduction to number and letter recognition;
• questioning and answering;
• problem-solving;
• investigation of our world through nature, animals, people and different
cultures
• Science Experimentation
Physically, we strengthen:
• fine motor coordination needed to hold crayons, pencils, scissors, and
brushes;
• gross motor coordination, such as running, jumping, climbing, swinging,
skipping, hopping, and walking;
• balance and flexibility
Spiritually, children will:
• develop moral values;
• know simple Bible stories
• tolerance
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Family Engagement
A variety of opportunities are available for parents/families to become involved in
their child’s school experiences both inside and outside of school. Birthday and
holiday celebrations, assisting with activities & projects in the classroom, and
chaperoning on field trips are just a few of the ways families can get involved. We
welcome the opportunity to share your unique talents, hobbies or vocations with
our students. Check with your child’s teacher to learn more about these
possibilities and find out how you can become a parent volunteer at SPNS. We also
request one parent from each classroom to serve on the Parent Board and meet
with the Preschool Director periodically.
Please Note, as a volunteer, you are required to abide by our confidentiality policy
(last page of this booklet); that all information and observations regarding students
is confidential and must not be discussed with others.
Grievance Policy
In the event that a parent has concerns regarding his/her child, please first discuss
such concerns with the child’s teacher. If the situation is not resolved following
discussions with the teacher, the parent should present the concern in writing to
the Director. The Director shall conduct an investigation as appropriate, which may
include meeting with the teacher and the parent. The Director shall respond in
writing within five business days. If the matter is still not resolved, it may be
brought to the attention of the Board by submitting the concerns in writing to any
Board member. The Chairperson of the Board shall then appoint a committee
consisting of three board members to review the matter, including scheduling a
meeting with the complaining party, and provide a written response within 30 days.
All such matters shall be treated as confidential matters
Arrival & Departure
Arrival
Each child must be accompanied by an adult to their individual classroom for the
start of each day. Children may enter their classroom no earlier than 9:00 AM.
Before 9:00 AM is teacher preparation time. Your promptness is appreciated as this
helps to ease the transition from home to school for your child. Separation for
some children (or parents) can be very difficult. Please allow ample time to assist
your child in preparing for a successful day. If separating is a challenge, please
consult your child’s teacher so that a plan can be developed to assist this process.
Please note, for security reasons, the door will be locked after 9:15. You will need
to ring the bell to be let in. The doors are unlocked at 11:45.
Note: Be sure to have your child use the bathroom before entering the
classroom. This will help limit the number of trips to the bathroom we will have to
make during school hours.
Departure
Children must be picked up from their individual classroom by a parent or an
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authorized adult. If someone who is not on your emergency contact list is picking
up your child, please inform us of the fact in writing. A secret code word, provided
by you, will be on file for emergencies only. Please be prompt in picking up your
child from school. This helps alleviate fears and builds trust with your child.
Safe Area
We are required to conduct a set number of fire, evacuation, and lockdown drills
throughout the school year, as required by law. If for any reason we need to leave
our building, our safe area will be across the street at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church,
55 Main Street. Parents will be notified via phone tree and instructed to pick up
their child at the church.
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Health
Attendance policy
If your child will not be attending school for any reason, we ask that you notify us
between 8:30 and 9:00 that morning at 295-7320.
Health policy
Parents shall furnish the school with a current, complete, and up-to–date physical
examination and immunization record for your child as required by RI State law.
We ask parents to keep the child’s immunization records current with the school
after every physical exam, even ones taking place during the school year.
Illness
If your child is sick, we expect you to keep your child home. If your child
comes in displaying any of the symptoms below, the staff will send your child
home.
Please keep your child home if he/she:
• has a fever, vomiting, or loose stools. Child needs to be symptom free for
48 hrs. before returning to school
•
has symptoms of a possible communicable disease (frequently sneezes,
sniffles, coughs, nose blowing, heavy nasal discharge, reddened/matting
eyes, sore throat, headache and or abdominal pain, fever, etc.);
•
is simply tired or too lethargic to participate in our program
Please notify the school at once if your child or family member has a
communicable disease. Should your child have the flu, head lice,
mononucleosis, chicken pox, strep throat etc., consult your pediatrician
and let us know how long he/she will be contagious and when your child
can return to school.
If your child has seasonal allergies, please have your doctor send a note stating
that the allergies are being treated and are under control. If your child is on any
seasonal medication, please let your teacher know.
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Safety
Parking Lot
For safety reasons, please follow the rules below:
• Enter the parking lot from Church Lane and exit by the parish hall driveway
onto Main Street.
• Please do not park your car by the side glass door or in the driveway which
blocks the exit.
• Space is limited so be courteous and do not take up more space than you
need when parking.
• If you have a sleeping child in the car, please ask another parent or call
the office 295-7320 for assistance in getting your preschooler in or out of
the building.
• Please do not at any time leave a child unattended in your car.
• Always attend to children crossing the lot by holding hands and walking.
No Running in the parking lot.
Playground
Please note that you are welcome to use the playground 15 min. before and after
school at your own risk. Respect that there are other groups that have scheduled
meetings at this church property during the day. There will be no staff supervision
during these non-school hours. We also ask that you reinforce the playground rules
taught during school-time. Parents must provide close supervision of children in
the playground at all times.
Playground Rules:
• Swings: Do not walk in front or behind the swings. Children should
always be seated and holding onto the chains when on the swings.
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Slide: Go down the slide one child at a time, sitting on bottoms only.
Wait for other children to clear away from the bottom of the slide before
another goes down. No jumping off the top. 3 yr. olds only go up the
stairs.
•
Sand area: Do not allow children to throw sand at another child while
digging in the sand area.
•
Playground area: Stay in fenced, sand area only, not on handicap ramp,
parking lot or greenway.
•
Chasing, pushing, playing with sticks or climbing trees: This is not
allowed on the playground.
•
Riding toys:
Those used during school hours in coned off area only.
Child Abuse Reporting
Rhode Island state law requires all persons who have reasonable cause to know or
suspect that abuse or neglect of a child has occurred to make a report of this,
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within 24 hours, to the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. The report
must be made in “good faith,” i.e. any reasonable person, given the same
information, would draw a conclusion that abuse or neglect may have occurred. Any
person making a report in good faith has immunity from liability, civil or criminal,
that might otherwise be incurred or imposed. Failure to report known or suspected
child abuse or neglect is a violation of the law.
To report suspected child abuse or neglect, individuals will contact Child Protective
Services (CPS) by calling the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline Systems (CANTS) at
1-800-RI-CHILD to speak with a Child Protective Investigator. The Hotline may be
accessed 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.
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Attire
Please dress your child in comfortable, simple clothing that can be easily managed.
He/she will be participating in activities such as painting, gluing, drawing etc.
Clothing should be washable and durable. Also, during the winter months, please
send your child with a hat, mittens and boots (send in shoes to change into) as we
often play outdoors when it is above 32 degrees. During warm weather, apply
sunscreen before school. Label all clothing with your child’s name. For your child’s
safety, strapless shoes, clogs, crocs, flip-flops, sandals or slippers are not allowed;
sneakers or tie-shoes work best.
School Calendar
Our school schedule for vacations, holidays and professional days generally follows
the North Kingstown School Department with a few extra days off at Christmas. A
copy of the school calendar is distributed in a summer mailing. We do not make up
snow days.
School Hours
The hours of school operation are 9-12.
Extended Day Preschool Programs
(days and times to be announced)
•
Lunch/Enrichment/Free Play— TBD
•
Lunch/Free Play— 1 hour program
Both lunch programs will require an advanced block sign-up in order to ensure
enough enrollment in order to meet our purposes. Additional students may join the
program on a given day if space is available. These programs are adjusted to meet
family and SPNS needs.
School Cancellations
“No School” announcements can be heard on WPRO (630) or NBC 10 T.V. We
follow the N. Kingstown School System. However if N.K. only has a delay, we still
do not have school. An emergency phone tree will be set up for each class.
Please note that cancelled school days are not made up at SPNS.
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Enrollment Policy
•
•
•
•
•
Completed Application with Deposit.
Current Physical Examination and Immunization forms signed by
physician and copy of birth certificate, before the first day of school.
Child Outreach Screening and Results.
Age Requirement: Your child must be 3 or 4 years old on or before
September 1st for the year they are entering our programs. Children who
turn 3 or 4 after the start of the school year (September-December) may
be admitted to the preschool after the school year begins depending on
space availability. State requirements for kindergarten enrollment will still
apply.
Children must be toilet trained and independent in the bathroom.
Pull-ups are not allowed.
Tuition
St. Paul’s Nursery School is a non-profit organization. Please keep in mind that the
school depends upon each month’s tuition payments to meet our expenses.
Parents/Guardians are responsible for the full year’s tuition.
Tuition may be paid in full, half or divided into 10 equal monthly payments
with two payments (the first and last month) due on or before the first day
of school.
Tuition is due on the first school day of the month regardless of your child’s
absence due to illness, holidays, vacations or school closings due to cancellation.
Tuition refunds will only be paid for students who have permanently ceased to
attend and only for the month(s) a student has not attended at any time.
Checks should be made out to “St. Paul’s Nursery School”. Please be prompt
with your payments to avoid a late fee. You will be required to cover bank fees on
bounced checks.
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St. Paul’s Nursery School Staff
Rector:
Director/Head
Teacher:
Rev. Virginia Heistand
Linda Taraborelli
Teacher:
Lisa Carter
Teacher:
Elise Kenyon
Teacher:
Sharon Walsh
Teacher Assistant:
Admin. Assistant
Laura Factor
Mary-Kate Mulligan
Sample Schedule
Arrival
Free Play
Circle Time
Activity/Center Time
Snack Time
Outdoor Play/ Centers
Story Time
Dismissal
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Positive Discipline Policy
We believe that children learn best through experiences.
We believe that teachers must guide and redirect children to help them learn to
cooperate with their peers and to have positive educational experiences which
encourage and enhance their growth and development.
We can best accomplish this and avoid discipline problems by:
1. Offering a variety of activities in the classroom.
2. The use of preventative group management techniques (i.e.. limiting the
number of children in different areas of the classroom, allowing for sufficient
materials, providing developmentally appropriate materials.)
3. Using positive language to remind children of limits and boundaries (i.e..
“walking feet” rather than “don’t run,” “hands to yourself” rather than “no
hitting”).
4. Using praise for appropriate behavior, (i.e.. “I like the way John is sitting”).
After exhausting these methods if a child is still having a problem with appropriate
behaviors, the child is asked to sit apart from the group. This is a time to think
about what rules were forgotten. Teacher’s discussions with the child will help the
child to understand what might be a better way to interact with the other children,
materials, etc. Time out lasts for 3-5 minutes depending on the age of the child
and the reason for it.
We are consistent with our classroom rules and discipline policy so that children will
know what is expected of them. We find that this helps children to succeed.
At times, outside resources will be sought, with the cooperation of the parents and
teachers, to help determine and meet the needs of a child. However, if the child
does not appear to be benefiting from participation in our program, the Director
reserves the right to dismiss the child from the program.
Child Assessment
Each year the Director and team teachers with the help of staff, observations,
assessments, conferences, and screening results; evaluates all the students in the
school. Every effort is made to work with parents to meet the needs of each child.
At times, outside resources will be sought, with the cooperation of the parents and
teachers, to help determine and meet the needs of a child. However, if St. Paul’s
Nursery School is unable to meet all the needs of the child, the Director will meet
with the parents and the teacher to outline alternate avenues of preschool
assistance.
Conferences: Parent/teacher conferences will take place in the Fall and Spring
for the children in the 3 and 4 year old program. In addition, a parent or teacher
may request a conference at any time during the school year. If you need to speak
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to your child’s teacher about an urgent matter, please do so after school. This will
help the children settle into the classroom routine quickly with minimal
interruptions.
Child Outreach: Child Outreach is a service provided by your town to assess the
total development of the children between the ages of three and six years. The
short assessment includes hearing, speech, vision, and development factors that
affect your child’s learning. It is mandatory for children entering kindergarten.
This screening and results is also required for every 3, 4 and 5 year old at St.
Paul’s Nursery School. This is a valuable tool that helps the teachers to better
understand and meet your child’s needs. The North Kingstown School Dept. will
come in January to screen all NK residents for the following year. Depending on
Enrollment other community Outreach programs may also come.
School Bag & Folder
St. Paul’s Nursery School provides a canvas school bag and a folder for your child to
bring back and forth to school each day. Any communications you need to send to
school or we need to send home to you will be put in the folder and school bag.
Your child will not need a backpack for school. Please provide a small nutritious
snack for your child each day. The ideal snack will offer the child an item from at
least two food groups e.g. cheese and crackers, grapes and pretzel etc. We provide
filtered water. A lunch box is only needed for lunch programs and not for snack
each day. A small zip lock baggie with a clothespin is sufficient for snack. This will
make snack time a great independent activity for your child.
Book Club
Several times during the year you will have the opportunity to purchase materials
from the Scholastic book club. There is no obligation to participate; however, their
prices on quality children’s literature are usually quite good. Deadlines for ordering
will be posted. The book club will only accept checks payable to “Scholastic”—
no cash. By purchasing materials this way, St. Paul’s Nursery School is able to
augment our collection of books and cassettes at deeply discounted prices or at no
cost.
Photographer
A professional photographer will be available during the school year to take
individual pictures and class pictures of the children.
Show & Tell/Mystery Boxes
During the school year your child will be asked to bring in items from home as part
of a specific learning activity. The four year old classes use mystery boxes for this
purpose. Your child’s teacher will tell you more about this at the appropriate time.
Please send in items that are child-safe, unbreakable, or will not be missed if any
damage should come to them. We consider guns, swords or like toys,
inappropriate for preschool.
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Field Trips
Field trips are scheduled to coordinate with learning units and are fun learning
experiences. Our 3 yr. olds participate in several “in school” field trips. Our 4 yr.
olds however will participate in several out of school trips. Some of these will
require parent transportation.
St. Paul’s Nursery School teachers will not provide transportation for any child.
However, they will help parents coordinate with other parents, if permission is
granted, in finding transportation.
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Snack, Birthdays, Holidays & Lunch
Due to the many food allergies found among children today, SPNS has developed
clear policies for the way our snacks, birthdays, holidays and lunch are handled.
Please let the SPNS staff know of any food allergies your child has.
Birthday celebrations will take place at a special time during the day and will
include songs and a birthday crown. Your child’s teacher will tell you more about
how we handle birthdays. Each child will continue to bring their own snack. Food is
no longer brought to school for individual birthdays. We hope you can understand
that there are many risk factors involved for anyone with food allergies.
Please do not send in birthday invitations to be passed out in class for “at home”
celebrations unless the entire class is invited. This hurts feelings.
Holidays are special occasions at SPNS. We do celebrate several holidays
throughout the school year. Each class will post a sign-up list of specific snacks
that can be supplied for the parties depending on the make-up of the class. Store
bought items with the original packaging so we can check the ingredients are
preferred. They usually include cut-up fruit or vegetables, cheese and crackers,
juice and sometimes one sweet treat.
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St. Paul’s Nursery School Nutrition Policy
At St. Paul’s Nursery School, we try to promote a healthy attitude toward food. We
teach children about good food choices and encourage parents to send in a variety
of snacks from the various food groups. Please try to serve foods low in fat,
sodium, sugar, and preservatives. Children should also be encouraged to explore
new tastes. Healthy snacks are important in providing good nutrition for growth and
development. At St. Paul’s Nursery School, we promote and encourage lifelong
healthy eating habits, which in turn prevent costly and potentially-disabling
diseases, like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.
Snacks and Lunch
St. Paul’s Nursery School is a nut free school.
Each child brings his/her own snack. Snacks should be healthy and consumable in
10 minutes. The ideal snack will offer the child an item from at least two food
groups e.g. cheese and crackers, grapes and pretzel etc. We serve filtered water
with snacks.
If a child is staying for lunch it should also be nutritious. Whole grain breads and a
fruit or vegetable should be in the lunch. Children may bring a non-sugary drink
with the lunch. Water will be always be available.
Below are examples of some good and inappropriate snack choices.
Good Snacks
Cut up fruit
Vegetables and Dip
High-Fiber, Low Sugar Cereal (Shredded
Wheat, Chex™, Life™)
Graham Crackers
Pretzels
Low Salt Crackers
Inappropriate Snacks
Candy
Highly Processed Cookies
High Sugar Cereal (Cap’t Crunch™, Fruit
Loops™)
Potato Chips
Slim Jims
Donuts
We use the water from the North Kingstown public water supply.
Safe drinking water will be accessible to children who can serve themselves and
offered at snack time. Drinking water will be dispensed in single-use paper cups.
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Food Brought from Home
1. Food brought from home that is to be shared with other children must be store
bought and in its original package. Baked goods may be made at home if they are
fully cooked, do not require refrigeration and were made with freshly purchased
ingredients. The preschool reserves the right to have an ingredient list for all foods
shared in a classroom.
2. Lunch and snack foods brought from home will meet nutritional guidelines for the
types of foods and portion sizes. They will be prepared and transported in a
sanitary fashion, including maintenance of safe food temperatures for perishable
items.
3. Children will not be allowed to share food provided by the child’s family unless
the food is intended for sharing with all of the children.
4. Leftover food will be discarded. The only food that may be returned to the family
is food that is in a package that can be resealable.
5. No peanuts or nut products allowed.
6. Food should be cut in small bite size pieces.
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This handbook was compiled to answer any questions about our school and to
outline our policies that ensure your child’s safety, health, and sound growth during
his/her time here with us at St. Paul’s Nursery School. Please put this handbook in
a safe place for easy reference. If your questions are not covered or answered in
this handbook, please do not hesitate to ask our staff.
Your signature below will indicate that you have read and are aware of the
information in this booklet.
——————————————————————————--------------------------------PLEASE, SIGN, DATE AND RETURN as soon as possible, but no later than the last
school day of September.
Please Print Name____________________________________
Signature___________________________________Date____________________
Confidentiality Agreement for Volunteers
As a volunteer at St. Paul’s Nursery School, I will respect the privacy of the children
and their families and abide by the confidentiality agreement. I will never discuss
my observations and knowledge of the children and their families (whether medical
or otherwise) with others.
Print Name ____________________________________
_______________________________
Signature of volunteer
___________
Date
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