Elementary Parent Handbook

- Recommendations and/or Record Requests

- Medications and/or Allergies

- When and How Work Comes Home

Visiting the Class at Other Times

Simple Everyday Procedures

 Please call and notify the school any day your child is absent.

 The school must be notified of all car pool arrangements and must be notified in writing if anyone other than yourself or those on your Transportation Authorization form is to pick up your child from school.

 We ask that all drivers exercise extreme caution in our parking lot. Do not park in the fire lane and never allow children in your charge to cross the parking lot unattended.

 Please make every effort to be on time when dropping off or picking up your child. Tardiness is disruptive to the group, can be embarrassing to your child, and may cause him to miss an important part of the beginning of his day. Unless you have car trouble or are otherwise unavoidably detained, you should be punctual in picking up your child as well. A late pick-up is unsettling to your child and puts an unacceptable burden on staffing.

 Please do not allow your child to bring toys, blankets, gum, candy, cosmetics or money to school.

 Each class has its own way of recognizing a child’s birthday. Please contact your child’s teacher a week or so before the event to find out about it. A simple and nutritious special snack can be provided for the class on a child’s birthday but please do not send cake, cupcakes, birthday hats, napkins or favors. We also ask that you do not send birthday presents to school or ask us to distribute party invitations.

 Please do not ask us to keep your child inside during play periods. If your child is well enough to attend school and is appropriately dressed, he should be well enough to go outside as well.

Forms

In addition to the application form filled out before a child is accepted into the program, we need to have on file

 a signed contract,

 an emergency treatment form (EMT),

 an immunization form,

 and a transportation authorization form

before a child begins. The law requires that each child have a current-year medical form on file at school and conform to Oregon immunization standards. Please notify the school’s office whenever your child is given additional vaccinations or if insurance or contact infor- mation changes, so that the forms can be kept up to date.

Communicating with the Staff

Concerns About Your Child

It is difficult for staff to remember verbal messages when several individuals are involved. If you have a specific request regarding your child, please hand us a written message or call a teacher’s voice mail.

You should know that we make it a policy never to discuss your child in front of her. If you have a concern you would like to discuss with someone on the staff, please call the office and leave a message and the appropriate person will get back to you.

Your child should never be left unattended in the classroom or outside while you are having a discussion with the staff. Therefore, please do not engage us in informal discussions about your child after school, or bring him to the parent/teacher conference.

Changes in Schedule/Driver

Please send a written note to the office when there will be a change in your child’s arrival or departure time, or a planned absence/vacation. The office will relay the information to your child’s teacher.

If your child will be picked up by someone whom you have not authorized to do so on the Transportation Authorization form, please send a note to the office. Include:

• date of the pick-up change,

• your signature,

• the driver’s name,

• driver’s phone number,

• & car description.

If you would like to add a new driver to your Transportation Authorization form, please notify the office.

Recommendations and/or Record Requests

Send all requests for teacher recommendations and/or records to the office. In order to track the various deadlines and ensure timely responses, it is imperative that such requests are initiated through the office, not the classroom.

Health

Illness

A healthy environment involves prevention, early recognition of illness symptoms, prompt diagnosis and treatment. If you notice any sign of illness, please do not send your child to school. Students who are not feeling well have a difficult time concentrating and therefore do not benefit from the instruction they receive during that time. If your child should become ill at school, we will do our best to make him comfortable until you can pick him up. Home is the best place for a sick child.

Consider keeping your child home with the following symptoms:

• Severe chest congestion (deep, heavy cough) with or without runny nose

• Nausea

• Redness of either eye

• Extreme fatigue

• Rash

Do not send your child to school with the following symptoms:

• Fever of 100 degrees or more

• Vomiting

• Severe diarrhea

• Redness of either eye with discharge

• Sore throat with elevated temperature

• Jaundice-yellow skin

Report any communicable disease to our office as soon as possible and ask your doctor for guidelines on when you can safely return your child to school without infecting others. Some children have medical conditions, which can become life threatening when exposed to: measles, chicken-pox/shingles, fifth’s disease, rubella and hepatitis.

Medications and/or Allergies

Inform our office and your child’s teacher of any special health problems such as allergies or dietary restrictions.

Whenever possible, please administer any medication outside of school hours. If your child must take medicine during the school day, please give it directly to one of the office staff, along with a note signed by you that includes:

• the date,

• the name of the medication,

• the dosage,

• and exact instructions regarding how and when it is to be administered.

All medicine must be in the original packaging.

If your child is at risk for a severe reaction (such as with allergies to bee stings or peanuts) or has acute asthmatic episodes for which an epipen or inhaler has been prescribed, we will need to have one to keep at school. In addition to providing complete instructions, you must meet with your child’s teacher, the classroom assistant, and one of the office staff to describe and demonstrate the procedures for use.

In cases of extreme medical emergency, every effort will be made to reach the parents. However, when the parents cannot be reached, the child will be taken to the nearest medical facility for treatment. Parents are therefore required to fill out and sign the Emergency Treatment Authorization form.

If your child should be injured at a school function, our student accident insurance can be used to supplement your own medical insurance up to $10,000.00 per occurrence. In this event you should request the necessary forms without delay since there is a deadline for submission

Being at School

School Supplies

Children do not need to bring their own school supplies from home. We furnish, basically, all of the supplies the children need.

Clothing

Dress should be simple, comfortable, and appropriate for the activities at school. Children should be adequately prepared for outdoor activity, even in cool and wet weather. We try to permit the children to play outdoors, and only on the most severe windy, cold, or rainy days, will we stay indoors as a group. A warm cap or hat is particularly important as is some form of rain gear. We encourage children to have waterproof boots.

We find that the atmosphere of the classroom is enhanced if children wear clothes that reflect the fact that this is primarily their place of work, just as most adults dress appropriately for their work. For example, clothing that features themes, such as superheroes, or clothing otherwise designed to be especially attention-getting is not for school. We encourage you to help them select appropriate school clothing when shopping and when choosing what to wear each day.

Often, items such as sweaters, coats, gloves, boots, etc., are left at school for a time and go unclaimed. We suggest that you mark these with your child’s name.

Snack

The school supplies a small, nutritious morning snack. It should not be relied upon to compensate for an adequate breakfast. Sometimes a child or parent would like to furnish a snack, perhaps in conjunction with a birthday, holiday, or garden harvest. This is appreciated. We only ask that it be nutritious non-sugary food, and that the teacher be notified.

If your child has dietary restrictions, you must notify the school, even if your child is capable of monitoring him/herself.

Sharing

We appreciate children’s desires to share their personal treasures and experiences with their classmates . It also enriches the class significantly. We ask for parental assistance in helping your child exercise tasteful choice in what he brings to school.

Here are some guidelines. Try to select items from which the entire class might benefit. Such items often spark a far-reaching discussion or investigation. This could include:

o natural specimens (rocks, shells, flowers, nests, etc.)

o interesting books

o items from other cultures

o something the child has made

o a photo or newspaper article that has particularly interested him

o an item that relates to an important story that the child can relate from his personal life.

The verbal sharing of an experience is valued as highly as an object. You might discuss with your child any interesting experiences that she could share with the class.

Discipline

Ideally, the children and teachers cooperate in creating an environment conducive to work and growth. Within each class, there is frequent discussion of appropriate behavior. As much as possible, we try to have natural consequences for inappropriate behavior. At the first occurrence, there is a discussion with the child. Repetition of the behavior results in a limitation of choices for the child. If the child abuses a material, for example, then he/she may not choose to work with that material for a time. We reserve the right to send a child home who seriously abuses the social environment, as in hurting another child

Library

Children have the privilege of using the class library during the day and may also sign a book out overnight. The book is due back at school the next morning. You can help your child be responsible for these books by designating a place in your home to put things that need to come back to school in the morning.

When and How Work Comes Home

Children’s written work is kept at school. Some examples are set aside for inclusion in the child’s portfolio. Other written work may be sent home from time to time. You are always welcome to come to the classroom to see your child’s work.

Going Out

An important part of the children’s experience during the elementary years is “going out.” They have an inherent need to relate to a broader environment beyond the school, and it is there that they apply the keys to discovery that were leatned in the classroom. They also gain much from the experience of planning as much of the outing as possible. Children will, for example, learn to use transportation schedules, etc., in relation to these outings.

Outings could include a neighborhood walk, a trip to a store, library, or various venues for exhibits or performances. Children will be accompanied by staff and/or parent volunteers. Travel could be by foot, public transportation, or in insured private vhicles driven by staff or a parent volunteer, in which children are seated in a back seat and wearing a seat belt. Because the need for these excursions may arise spontaneously, you will be invited to fill our a blanket permission form for outings within a 20 mile radius of the school. For any longer outing, a separate notification and permission form will be provided.

Holiday Celebrations

Basically, we leave the celebration of holidays to be enjoyed at home according to each family’s particular tradition. We do recognize the holiday at school, discussing it from an historical perspective, including its seasonal themes in our art work and song, and often have a short and pleasant celebration for the last hour or so before a vacation. We are somewhat low key about holidays because they tend to be overemphasized in their commercial aspects in our culture, and it can be nice for the children to enjoy some relief from the over stimulation when they come to school.

Parents as Resources

We always welcome parent volunteers who wish to share something with the children. If you have a particular skill, talent, or experience to bring to the environment, please talk to your child’s teacher

Parent Nights

Several times during the year the school will provide parent evenings. These are intended as an opportunity to discuss child development and Montessori principles, and to get to know the staff and each other better. We encourage parents to attend and to give us suggestions on topics and formats.

Conferences

We invite each family to participate in two parent/teacher conferences during the school year. To that end, we have set aside two days in the fall and again in the spring as conference days.

The conference provides an opportunity for you to compare your observations of your child at home with ours at school, to be introduced to the activities with which your child is involved and to preview some of the lessons he will have in the months ahead, and to ask questions about policies and philosophies of the school. From time to time, either the parent or the teacher may request the administrator to attend the parent/teacher conference.

We do hope that you will share with us both your joys and your concerns at other times during the year either in a note, letter, or over the phone. If there is a particular problem or concern that merits an additional parent/teacher conference, it also can be arranged. We ask you to remember, though, that teaching demands a great deal of our staff’s time already and that they have their own families and interests outside of the school that need their attention, so their time is precious, as is yours. Please be sensitive to this and make sure that your requests for time fall within the reasonable limits.

Observations

Parents are most welcome to visit the class. We do ask that you make an appointment and that you wait until after the first six weeks of school so that the children have a chance to become secure in their new environment. To reduce the impact that an observer has on the children’s activities, we ask that you limit your stay to about half an hour, remain seated in the designated “observer’s chair,” and refrain from engaging children in conversation.

Your own child will be the most aware of your presence in the classroom and will probably not behave as he or she normally does. This means that you probably can’t expect to see a typical day for your own child, but can still enjoy observing his or her school environment and classmates. Please allow a few minutes after your observation to visit with the administrator and set aside some time later during the day to discuss your observation with the teacher, as well. To preserve each child’s right to make mistakes and grow from that experience within the secure privacy of the classroom, we ask that you do not discuss with others your observation of children other than your own.

Visiting the Class at Other Times

Children love to show parents their classroom and work they do. After school is a good time to visit the room with your child. Please check with the teacher. A lot of advance noticeis not needed, but if the teacher has scheduled something different in the room this would create a conflict. Of course, at the conferences and parent nights, you will have opportunities to see the material, have discussions about curriculum, and ask questions of the teachers.

School Closures

You will be provided with a school calendar that loosely conforms to that of the Beaverton School District. If snow, ice, or other conditions warrant, the school may close, delay opening, or dismiss early. Announcements regarding any closures or delays can be found at www.pdxinfo.net under ‘private schools’ and on local TV and radio stations under Washington County

Withdrawal

Our contract requires a written notification 30 days prior to withdrawal from school. There is a 30 day tuition charge if no notice is given. Yearly tuition can be prorated for withdrawal during the year unless the withdrawal occurs after April 15, at which time tuition for the entire remainder of the year is due

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Elementary Parent Handbook

Contents

- Medications and/or Allergies

Send mail to carol@msb.org with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright © 2003 Montessori School of Beaverton Last modified: 03/16/04

Send mail to carol@msb.org with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2003 Montessori School of Beaverton
Last modified: 03/16/04