Dear Schoolhouse Families,
Happy Friday! We had a great week. Students are all settling down well. It is required that your child is on time to attend school as school promptly starts at 8:30 AM for morning and full-day students. If your child arrives late, she/he will be marked tardy after 8:30 AM. Tardiness will be recorded in your child’s progress report and a progress report will be sent home in November.
I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the daily procedures regarding entering the building to drop off your child. We strongly recommend making your goodbyes sweet and short as this will allow your child to practice their self-care and master the skill which is especially important for Lilac, Olive Mulberry, and Magnolia students. Maple and Willow students are very capable of the steps and routines however, they will need assistance to be escorted to their classes. Some of them are very advanced for their age. According to Dr. Maria Montessori the sensitive period and the window of opportunity is from birth through 6 years. Practice, repetition, and patience help a child to master the skills. At the end you will be grateful.
On the other note the classroom doors will be closed at 8:30 AM. At this point classes are in full swing, children are already working, the lead teachers are giving small group lessons, individual lessons, doing their line and presenting the Montessori materials. We have sign posted at the doors to not to enter the classroom as well. Please wait for a teacher/staff that will assist your child if they are tardy. If you have concerns or questions speak to your child’s teacher (Mrs. Murray-Lilac, Mrs. Moore-Olive, Mrs. Wasala-Magnolia, Mrs. Vaidya-Mulberry, Mrs. Robert-Willow, and Mrs. Zope-Maple). Email me at aperry@schoolhousemontessori.com to set up a proper, convenient time to discuss your concerns or answer your questions with the teacher. It is difficult, during the instructional period, as the teachers are busy teaching, and it may be hard to give you their full attention.
Please note a concern that has come to my attention. During the curbside drop off, pick up for half day, full day and PM Kids club please DO NOT BLOCK THE WAY (Curbside zone). Please DO NOT conduct phone conferences, please mute the phone and be very mindful of the vocabulary, and please take note that children do pick up the “vocabulary” quickly. Hope you will understand. If your work conferences are urgent, please pull aside and away from the building or curbside zone to finish your meeting.
Help us to help you the best way we can. Thank you for choosing Schoolhouse Montessori Academy.
Reminders will be mentioned in every Friday updates for your convenience.
Important Reminders:
• If you are first in line for, drop off or pick up pull up all the way in the front so two other fellow parents can pull closer to the curbside to drop off or pick up their child as well. If your car window is tinted, please pull down or display your child’s name placard visibly for the staff/teacher to recognize you.
• Drop off: Curbside starts at 8 AM, the curbside door will be closed at 8:30 AM The Main Entrance will open at 8:30 AM.
• Late pick up: There will be overtime billing for any late pick up. Morning dismissal is 11:30 AM, PM Full Day dismissal begins at 3 PM and ends at 3:30 PM. Our grace period is for courtesy for any unplanned emergencies and not applicable for late pick-ups for every single day. KIDS CLUB ends promptly at 6 PM. You must pick up your child not later than 6 PM. If you know you will be late beforehand, we recommend arranging an alternate pick-up plan or call the school ahead. Due to the teacher/student ratio it is especially important you inform us in a timely manner.
• Labeling: Label all your child’s belongings to avoid losing them. Teachers and staff will NOT be responsible for identifying your child’s mittens, hats, boots, indoor shoes etc. We would love to be able to, however it is impossible and not feasible. You must send in a proper water bottle with the child’s first and last name /dated every single day. Proper lunch box labeled with first and last name dated daily.
• Party favors: Please do not send in party favors for the “Walk around the Sun” (Birthday Walk). Please refer to the teacher’s birthday note for further instruction when it is your child’s birthday.
• Appropriate Attire: Dress your child appropriately for the changing season.
• Toys/backpacks/Extra blankets/Plush animals: Keep your child’s toys/extra blanket/ plush animals at home and please no backpacks.
• Nap Bedding: For the safety and licensing requirement, if your child is a napper, please provide appropriate bedding. Crib size fitted sheet to cover their mat, a small blanket, and if your child needs a pillow, it should be travel size. If the bedding does not comply with the licensing requirement, it will be returned with a note to provide us with the right size. We really appreciate your co-operation in helping us. Provide tote bags that are washable to carry their bedding. When bedding is sent home fresh and clean, the bedding must be provided NOT the same unwashed bedding that went home.
• Outdoor/indoor Shoes: Always send your child in closed shoes for outdoor (No light up shoes). For indoor shoes (No Disney, cartoon characters for indoor) it must be plain and comfortable one.
• Curbside Safety: Between 8:00-8:30 AM, please turn right while leaving the school parking lot as safety is important and turning right out of the lot is the safest option during the busiest times of the day. Thank you for your patience and cooperation at curbside. Morning curbside is a super busy time, but we are mindful of the fact that younger and new students need more time to acclimatize to the routine. We make all attempts to make the morning transition smooth, gentle, and pleasant.
• Sick policy: Do not bring your child to school if they show any symptoms of illness, temperature 100.04 degree, even common cold can infect the entire classroom of young children.
• Goodbyes: Goodbyes are hard but make your goodbyes sweet and short during the curbside/drop offs that will help us tremendously.
• Friday Pizza: For full day students on Friday’s if your child is not allergic, you may choose to not pack their lunch as pizza will be served for their lunch.
Looking ahead:
• October 19th: Our entire school is scheduled for Portrait/Picture Day on Thursday October 19th. Please dress your child appropriately for the day. Picture flyers were sent home this week. It will be from 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM, be on time, do not let your child miss their classroom picture. The photographer is on time. Once all the students in each classroom are photographed, they pack up their equipment. Parents are not required to be present. The teachers will supervise the students.
• October 20th: We are going to Bower’s Farm. We are not accepting any more forms. There will be NO SCHOOL if you are not attending the field trip. The deadline to submit the form along with payment was October 2nd, 2023. We cannot accommodate any late request to join the trip. Should you decide or plan to purchase your own ticket and join the SMA group at the farm, we have been informed that they are not accepting any more individuals as we have reached the group limit and staffing has been set for our specific group. Families driving separately, please meet the group directly at the farm. Students and chaperones riding the bus, please be at school by 9:15 am.
• October 31st: It will be a regular school day but NO PM Kids Club. School will end promptly at 3:00 PM for the full day with PM Kids Club students. If you are unable to pick up your child on time on this day, please make another pick up arrangement. On this day your child is allowed to come in their Halloween costume with one condition, it must be easy access to the bathroom, easy to move around, to go about doing their normal schoolwork. Masks and pretend weapons are not allowed. Must wear regular closed shoes. On this day we will also have an indoor parade, as we draw closer to the day, we will send you detailed information.
• November 10th: First Marking Period.
• November 17th: Parent/Teacher Conferences (NO SCHOOL).
• November 23-24th: Thanksgiving Break (NO SCHOOL).
• December 5th: Portrait Retake 8:30AM to 10AM.
• December 15th: Family Carnival detailed information will come home closer to the date.
• December 25th-January 5th: Winter break (NO SCHOOL).
• January 8th: School resumes.
Have a fabulous weekend!
Sincerely,
Dr. Ajano Perry
Director
aperry@schoolhousemontessori.com