Arrival and Dismissal
When arriving at school, parents should park in designated spaces in the parking lot and walk their child to their classrooms. For dismissal, parents should pick their children up inside or weather permitting at the playground gate. Please observe the direction of the traffic in the parking lot.

Carpools
We are eager to see the formation of as many carpools as possible. For your child’s protection, we will not release any child to someone other than a parent in the absence of a written authorization. Please avoid any inconvenience by providing us with the proper authorization ahead of time. Pickup permission forms need to be on file.

Snacks and Lunch
Families take turns providing simple, nutritious snacks for their child’s class. Snack routines may vary between classrooms and teachers from year to year. Always check with your child’s teacher with regard to the snack procedure.
If your child is enrolled in the full day program you will need to pack your child a lunch. Please pack well-balanced nutritional meals, excluding candy and other highly sugared foods with excessive quantities of additives and preservatives. If possible, avoid foods that need to be micro waved or refrigerated. Send food items in a lunch box labeled with your child’s name. Lunch boxes are kept at your child's coat hook so that your child may learn to become independent at helping him/herself.
Due to the number of nut allergies in children, please note that we are a nut free program!
Suggested Snack and Lunch Items:
Slices of hearty bread (rye, pumpernickel, oat, zucchini, etc.); Bagels, Bagel chips, Rice, Crackers
Slices of vegetables, raw, cooked, pickled-all kinds (carrot sticks, celery sticks, cucumber slices, string beans, baby corn, cherry tomatoes, peas, beets)
Slices of fruit, all kinds (avocado, apple, pear, banana, orange, tangerine, peach, plum, grapes, grapefruit, blueberries, strawberries); Dried fruit (dates, apricots, mangoes, papaya, figs, raisins)
Slices of cheese, Boiled eggs, Deli meats
Pitted olives, Pickles

Items to be kept at School
Each child must keep a complete set of clothing at school. Each item must be labeled with the child's name and placed in a large ziplock bag which is then kept in a canvass tote bag. Bags are sent home weekly for laundering and restocking. Each child should also keep a pair of properly fitting ballet slippers for indoor use at the school.
Each child enrolled in the full day program must keep a large crib sized sheet and blanket at school for naps. The sheet and blanket are sent home every Friday for laundering.
CHILDREN IN THE PREPRIMARY CLASS MUST BE TOILET TRAINED.
If your child is enrolled in the toddler program and is not yet toilet trained, then a supply of diapers, baby wipes, and a hand-sized towel for diaper changes must also be kept at school.

Dress
Play clothes that are comfortable and appropriate are encouraged. As it is our aim to foster the children's independence, we strongly suggest shoes with Velcro tabs and trousers with an elastic waist and no belts! For the purpose of safety, jewelry is prohibited.

Television
Like driving, TV may be an accepted part of daily life but not appropriate for young children. Angel Care Montessori strongly advises postponing TV watching* until a child is more mature. This delay is vital to your child’s success in the learning environment provided at Angel Care Montessori.
* In today’s world ‘TV’ is meant to encompass all screen time i.e. computer games, videos, x-box, etc.

Items to Keep at Home
The program emphasizes cognitive and social skills. Toys from home distract in many ways from the carefully prepared environment and purpose of the program. It is assumed that your child has many opportunities to play with their abundance of toys when they are home. Therefore we ask that all toys remain at home and not in the classroom. Please negotiate parting with a toy before it arrives at school so as to avoid starting your child off in a disagreeable emotional state. The following items should remain at home to help maintain classroom safety and management by the teachers.
1. Bottles. Instead send a thermos and drinking cup.
2. Pacifiers. Pacifiers in this environment are not considered to be hygienic and they get in the way of learning.
3. Toys- including board games, videos, etc.
4. Backpacks
5. Umbrellas
6. Jewelry (rings, bracelets, necklaces)
7. Hair clips, bands, pins, etc. These items never stay in the hair and are a distraction. Instead, make sure your child has a proper hair cut maintaining the hair out of the face.
 
Birthdays
Montessori birthday celebrations are a very special way to focus on your child. In celebration of a child’s birthday, we will celebrate in traditional Montessori style where children learn and review the planetary rotation of the earth and the sun and the months of the year from the time they were born up to their present age. It is Montessori tradition that the birthday child presents the classroom with a book in honor of his/her birthday.
Children may enjoy having a birthday snack at school and parents are invited to provide a special snack for their child’s celebration. Skewers of fruit, mini muffins or carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting that are decorated with raisins are popular healthy birthday choices. We ask that parents refrain from high sugar choices. Please check with your child’s teacher if your child has a birthday coming up.
If you are planning a home party for your child, please do not hand out invitations in school unless inviting everyone so as to avoid hurt feelings and sad children. Likewise, if your child is attending a party after school, please do not send gifts to school with your child.

Gifts
It has been a tradition for the children to present their class with a book for the classroom library to celebrate their birthdays. This begins to enable children to learn the value and pleasure of giving rather than just receiving. Parents wishing to participate in this tradition should inscribe the book with the child’s name and birth date and the number birthday the child is celebrating. You may want to consult your child’s teacher as to the choice of books.
At holiday time, the teachers ask that parents do not give them personal gifts, but give their classrooms a gift instead. They are all very willing to come up with suggestions. Parents may also wish to pool their resources to purchase a group gift of a Montessori material/activity for the benefit of the classroom.

Holidays
Holidays are celebrated in each environment according to the discretion of the classroom teacher.

Mother’s Day Tea (The Social Event of the Year)
Every child bakes and prepares well in advance for this annual event. Mothers are invited to share tea and pastries with their children in this special celebration.
 
Parent Observations
Parents and grandparents may visit their children’s classrooms, but appointments must be made ahead of time. This is time for the child to share their day with their parents or grandparents.

Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent-teacher conferences are held once each semester however, parents or teachers may schedule conferences at any given time throughout the year upon request.

EACH SEMESTER PARENTS ARE REQUESTED TO ATTEND ORIENTATION AND PARENT NIGHTS BEFORE P/T CONFERENCES WILL BE SCHEDULED. PARENTS WHO MISS AN ORIENTATION OR A PARENT NIGHT  MAY NOT HAVE THE BENEFIT OF BEING FULLY INFORMED FOR A TRULY BENEFICIAL P/T CONFERENCE TO TAKE PLACE.

Please appreciate that your child’s teacher is managing and caring for a group of children. Please do not enter into “mini-conferences” with your child’s teacher at arrival and dismissal times; instead, schedule a more appropriate time to speak outside of classroom time.
 
Health and Safety Policies
Immunization and other medical records:
Each child’s health and safety is of extreme importance. Upon enrollment, each parent must provide:
1. Proof of immunization;
2. Physician’s signed health form;
3. Tuberculin test results;
4. Complete medical history, including any allergies, medications required, and other special medical conditions.
All children must comply with the Department of Health Services regulations with regard to physical exams and inoculations.
The forms to comply with the above State requirements are sent in the orientation packet before the start of school.
 
Medication:
Teachers will not be responsible for the dispensing of over the counter medication. If your child requires medication then it is deemed that your child is too sick to be in school and should remain home until medication is no longer required for his/her health.
However, special Medication will be dispensed provided that:
1. It is in prescription form, properly dated and labeled.
2. Parent/legal guardian and physician written authorization is received which includes the dosage, instructions for dispensing, parent/legal guardian and physician signature and date.
 
Medical Emergencies:
In the event of a medical emergency, accident or sudden onset of illness, the School will seek proper care for a child. The child’s individual emergency instructions on file in the school office are consulted immediately and the parent(s)/legal guardian(s) are called. If the parents/guardians can not be reached, the school will then attempt to contact the individual indicated on the emergency treatment authorization form. The person listed on this form should be local and available for emergency calls. If immediate emergency treatment is required, your child will be taken to the nearest emergency medical treatment center or hospital, unless you have instructed otherwise in writing. The consent statement that is kept on file will accompany the child so that treatment can be given immediately in the absence of the parent. It is IMPERATIVE that you keep the emergency contact information in the office up-to-date.
Parents are responsible for any charges incurred in the above.

Minor Accidents:
All minor accidents that are treated at the school are recorded in a daily medical logbook. Parents are advised of any minor accidents each day.

Illness:
Occasionally a child arrives at school with a high temperature, heavily congested, coughing or with an undetermined rash or medication. This not only affects the child’s regular behavior (e.g. sleepiness, hyperactivity, clingingness, etc.) but also puts other children’s health at risk through infection.
Please do not send your child to school if they are not feeling well; instead, make an appointment to see the Doctor. Also please inform us of any illness especially if your child has contracted a contagious disease so that other parents may be informed.
Angel Care reserves the right to temporarily deny any child admittance to the program for reasons of obvious illness, or to request early departure should symptoms become apparent during the course of the day. This is to ensure the continued good health of everyone at the program.
If your child is well enough to attend the program, but is still in need of medication, please have your doctor sign a clearly written order for such and give it and the medication to the Director. Written parental authorization must also accompany each medication before the program can administer any medication. Parents may pick up an administration of medication form from the office.
 
When To Keep Your Child Home:
In order to protect your child and the other children enrolled, children will not be admitted in the morning, or allowed to stay in school, if it is felt that they are too sick or contagious to others. Please DO NOT send your child to school if any of the following mentioned symptoms are present:
1. Fever (elevated temperature over 98.6 F.)
2. Diarrhea (in the last 24 hour period)
3. Vomiting (in the last 24 hour period)
4. Undiagnosed rashes, impetigo, or head lice
5. Severe cold or flu symptoms (sniffles, re eyes, sore throat, headache and abdominal pain, plus fever)
6. Too sick to participate in regular activities
7. Discharge of discolored or profuse amounts of mucous from the nose
8. Persistent cough
The above-mentioned symptoms usually indicate a contagious condition. Please be considerate of the other children and parents (and teachers!) in the program. If a severe cold/flu epidemic breaks out, the school WILL shut down for three to five days until the infectious period has past. Children who have been ill may return to school if they show none of the above symptoms and:
1. if an antibiotic has been prescribed, they have been on that medication for at least the preceding 48 hours;
2. if exposed to a communicable disease, the incubation period has passed and we receive a physician’s note that the child is no longer contagious;
3. if out for more than five consecutive days or more due to illness, we receive a physicians note that the child may return to school.