PHILOSOPHY
St.
Mary's Extended Child Care Program
(ECC) gives quality care that meets the developmental needs of children. The
atmosphere is stable, secure, and well organized. The environment provides an
atmosphere of safety and security in which children may grow. Enrichment activities enable children to
explore and use their own talents. Trained staff seek to provide quality care,
supervision, and activities to meet the needs of the various age groups of
children. Space is available for quiet
study, study with friends; supervised play indoors and outdoors; movies and/or
videos (on occasion), or simply wholesome conversation. Children are provided
some freedom of motion and a sense of privacy.
One
of the goals of the staff is to encourage each child to be compassionate,
tolerant, mutually respectful, loving and forgiving. Each child is expected to respect the rights,
property and good name of others. Each child is expected to be courteous and
well-mannered. Good behavior and
cooperation are a must. We believe that children can have fun and enjoy
themselves in an atmosphere of trusting love and consideration for others.
EXTENDED CHILD CARE
AFTER
SCHOOL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Æ DAYS OF OPERATION
The ECC After School Program is
OPEN on:
• all school days and
• holidays (except as noted on the
School Calendar or in ECC handbook)
Æ HOLIDAYS
The ECC After School Program
will be closed on the following holidays:
| • Labor Day |
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| • Thanksgiving Day and the Friday after Thanksgiving | |||
| •
Christmas Eve, Christmas and the day after Christmas |
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| •
New Year's Eve and New Year’s Day |
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| • Good Friday and Easter Monday |
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| • Memorial Day |
Æ HOURS OF OPERATION
| • AFTER SCHOOL: | 3:00 P.M. until 6:00 P.M. | ||
| • AFTER SCHOOL (Wednesdays) | 2:10 P.M. until 6:00 P.M. |
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| • SCHOOL HOLIDAYS | 7:00 A.M. until 6:00 P.M. |
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| • SNOW DAYS: | If the school is closed, ECC will also be closed. |
Æ ANNUAL REGISTRATION
Non-refundable
registration fee of $25.00 per family is payable at the time of
registration. This fee reserves your
child's space in the Extended Child Care After School Program for one year,
provided there are no extenuating circumstances that would warrant removal of
your child from the program.
Æ ENROLLMENT
Enrollment is limited to
children who attend St. Mary's School. Temporary enrollment is available to
assist parish families in times of parental illness, unexpected family
emergencies, hospitalization, change in work schedules, etc. For information concerning registration
and/or enrollment in the program, please contact the Director of the After
School Program or call the school office and leave a message.
Extended Child Care Building: 766-8567
(after 1:30 P.M.) or leave a message
School Office: 483-9700 (8:00 A.M. - 3:30 P.M.)
Æ ENROLLMENT AND EMERGENCY INFORMATION
FORMS
All
enrollment and emergency information forms must be completed and signed by the
Parent/Guardian before the child can be admitted to the Program.
Any change in information during the school year MUST be forwarded to
the Director as soon as the change is effective.
Æ ENROLLMENT PLANS
We offer three enrollment plans during
the school year: full-time, part-time, and school holidays only. PLEASE MAKE ALL CHECKS PAYABLE TO ST.
MARY’S CHURCH. All enrollment plans include one daily snack
and activity supplies. Our summer program, St. Mary’s Summer Escapades, is offered under a separate application
and fee schedule.
On full day sessions (school
holidays) each child must provide his/her own lunch, beverage, and
morning snack.
Æ FEE SCHEDULE (effective August 1, 2007)
AFTER SCHOOL FULL TIME (3-5 days per week)
| $ 68/week | 1 Child | |||
| $ 99/week | 2 Children |
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| $ 110/week | 3 Children |
AFTER
SCHOOL PART TIME (1-2 days per week or drop-in basis)
| $ 25/day | 1 Child | |||
| $ 37/day | 2 Children |
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| $ 43/day | 3 Children |
SCHOOL
HOLIDAYS FULL TIME (3-5 days per week)
| $ 81/week | 1 Child | |||
| $ 105/week | 2 Children |
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| $ 116/week | 3 Children |
SCHOOL
HOLIDAYS PART TIME (1-2 days per week or drop-in basis)
| $ 32/day | 1 Child | |||
| $ 43/day | 2 Children |
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| $ 48/day | 3 Children |
Æ PAYMENT OF YOUR ACCOUNT
St. Mary's Extended Child Care Program
is planned and budgeted on an annual basis and requires the timely payment of
your bill to operate on a sound financial basis. Therefore, tuition is due weekly. A $ 5.00 late charge will be added weekly
to all late accounts. We prefer
payment by check if possible.
Æ LATE PICK-UPS
The Extended Child Care After-School
Program closes at 6:00 P.M. daily. Parents
who are late in picking up their child will be expected to pay a late charge of
$1.00 per minute. Your child’s teachers have their own commitments after hours that they
need to meet. Your consideration of
their schedule is appreciated.
Æ MEDICATION
A standard medication form MUST
be filled out for medication your child is to take during his/her time in the
Program. Staff are NOT permitted to give any
medication (including over-the-counter drugs like aspirin, Tylenol, etc.)
without a signed, written note from a parent. If medicine is liquid, please
send the dosage instrument with the medicine (medicine dropper, medicine spoon,
etc.). The medicine must be in a container and clearly marked.
Æ CHILD CUSTODY ARRANGEMENTS
In order to deny any parent access to
a child, the program must have on file a copy of the court order that
denies parental access. It is the
custodial parent's responsibility to provide the court order for the child’s file. It is
strongly recommended that non-custodial parents who are allowed access be
listed on the enrollment form under "Authorization to Pick-Up".
Æ ARRIVAL
Parents are required to “SIGN IN” their
children upon arrival during days in which St. Mary’s School is not in session.
This is a safety procedure for your child. Please take the time to walk your child into
the Extended Care building. No child
should be dropped off at the curb. You
will find the attendance register in a binder just inside of the door of the Extended
Care Building.
Æ DISMISSAL
Parents or authorized individuals are required
to “SIGN OUT” their children in person. .
CHILDREN WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO WAIT FOR PARENTS OUTSIDE THE BUILDING OR
TO MEET PARENTS AT ANY OTHER
LOCATION. Children will not be
released to any person other than the parents or those persons authorized on
the enrollment form. Please ask
individuals not known to our staff to be prepared to provide
identification. The staff MUST BE
notified in writing if a person other than those already authorized will
be picking up your child. Our goal is
the safety and protection of your child. You will find the attendance register
in a binder just inside the door of the Extended Care Building.
Æ AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
Your child is expected to check in
with the After School Program staff prior to reporting to an
after-school activity. This will help
the staff to be aware of where your child is at all times. The adult(s) supervising the after-school
activity are also expected to escort the children that they are dismissing to
the Extended Care Building. Children are
not allowed to wander the building or dismiss themselves from an activity.
Æ HOMEWORK POLICY
The Extended Care Program recognizes
that most families have busy evening schedules and outside commitments that
allow children to participate in sports and other activities after they are
picked up from our program. To assist
our parents in meeting these commitments and their child’s commitment to school, all children in the After School
Program who have homework are given time to work on it following a brief period
of active play and snack. If you would
prefer your child to work on homework at home, please send the Director a note
indicating this. Your child will
otherwise be expected to complete their work before participating in any
recreation activities.
Æ COMMUNICATION
It is our philosophy that parents and
teachers are in a partnership for the benefit of the child's growth and
development. Our goal is to communicate
with you and to keep communication lines open. Some sensitive information such
as illness in the family, change of living location, special fears, etc., may
be necessary if we are to meet the needs of your child. The exchange of
information from the perspective of the parent(s) and the staff can be very
helpful to your family and our program.
REMEMBER: A written note is required if
your child has a change in plans for dismissal, medication, etc. Verbal
messages will not be accepted by any staff members.
.Æ DISCIPLINE
One of the primary reasons parents
choose our program over others is the positive atmosphere and reinforcement of
good behavior that reflects the values and beliefs of St. Mary’s School and Church.
To maintain the atmosphere for all of our children, it is important for
each child attending our program to recognize the part he or she plays
here. For this reason, we meet with the
children at the beginning of each program year (and throughout the year as
needed) to discuss the expectations of the teachers and the system of consequences
for making behavior choices that do not follow the guidelines they were given.
In most cases, children are asked to
apologize, when appropriate, and correct the behavior, or they may be asked to
sit out of an activity for a short period of time. However, if a child continues to choose to behave
in an inappropriate manner, he or she will receive a conduct note from one of
the teachers that will need to be signed by a parent. One copy of this note will go home with the
parent, and the other will be maintained in the student’s program file. We
expect that a parent who receives a conduct note will discuss with their child
the behavior choices that were made, and they will reach an understanding about
the importance of following the rules.
It is our hope that a child will never require more than a single
conduct note to help him or her understand the consequences of making poor
behavior choices. However, if a child
receives three conduct notes in a program year, a meeting with the program
director and the parent will be required, and the child may be asked to leave
the program. A decision to remove a
child from the program will be made on the basis of maintaining a positive
atmosphere for all of the children in the program.
We look forward to the time we spend
with your child, and we try to make the time we have together enjoyable for
everyone. If, at any time, you have
concerns or questions about the program, please contact one of the directors or
the program coordinator.
Æ APPROPRIATE DRESS
Students are expected to remain in uniform after school. This applies to both clothing and shoes. Changes of clothing will only be permitted in the case of an activity after Extended Care that requires it (e.g., athletic games, dance lessons).