Normal school day drop-off is between 8:30-8:45am. All of our teachers and staff will be outside to help with the drop off and separation. Sign your child in at the table and help them place their backpack in their class row on the blacktop. Say good bye and one of the teachers will walk your child back to the play area.

When you are signing in your child, please note any changes to their pick up time or pick up person. Please remind your alternative pick-up that they must bring a photo id before we will release your child to them.

Early Arrival

If your child is scheduled for morning care (arrival before 8:30am), please bring them to the Blue Room in the main house. At 8:25am students will walk outside and start the morning playtime.

Toys

We do not allow toys from home at school. Please remind your child that toys are for home.

Lunch

Change for Summer 2011 and forward

NO PEANUTS OR SHELLFISH are allowed on campus.

Full day students will eat lunch at noon. Please provide a nutritious lunch that includes a main item with multiple snacks and a drink. We do not heat up food; please use a thermos to keep food warm.

In an effort to reduce our waste, please send in:

Reusable thermos with their drink for the day

Reusable utensils – please label them all so that they do not get lost.

We do not force children to eat. We send all uneaten food home so that you can guide us on how much to encourage your child to eat. If you have any questions or concerns, please speak directly with your teacher.

Morning Snack

As part of this lunch time change, we will implement a morning snack as part of our center work rotations. Children will invite a friend to the snack table and serve the snack to each other. Each class will work with the class parents to provide a variety of snacks for the class.

Staying Home / Sick Child Policy

As a member of our school community it is your responsibility to keep our students and staff members healthy by reducing their risk of exposure to a sick child.

If you are planning on keeping your child home for the day please call the school (973-762-6451) between the hours of 7:30am and 9am. Let us know the reason for keeping them home.

If a child exhibits any of the following symptoms while at school you will be notified immediately and asked to take your child home. A child may return to school when they have been symptom free for 24 hours.

Severe pain or discomfort Acute diarrhea

Episodes of acute vomiting Oral temperature above 101.5

Sore throat or severe coughing Yellow eyes or jaundiced skin

Red eyes with discharge Untreated raw skin patches

Difficult or rapid breathing Swollen joints

Blood in urine Visibly enlarged lymph nodes

Skin rashes for more than 24 hours Stiff neck

The following communicable diseases are defined by the State of New Jersey. If your child contracts one of these communicable diseases, they will not be allowed to attend school until they receive a doctor’s note stating that they do not pose a health risk. You must also notify the school if your child contracts one of these diseases so that we may inform our school community.

Communicable Diseases

Respiratory Gastro-intestinal Contact

Chicken pox Giardia Lamblia Impetigo

German Measles Hepatitis Lice

Influenza including H1N1 Salmonella Scabies

Meningococcus Shigella

Mumps

Strep Throat

Tuberculosis

Whopping Cough

When in doubt, please keep your child home. It is our experience that children that are uncomfortable in the morning are going to be uncomfortable all day. In addition children that stay home and rest at the beginning of an illness seem to recover quicker. We are in constant contact with the local health department and we must report any communicable diseases, including the flu, present at our school. Throughout the year we may need to change this policy based on direction from the local health department.

Immunizations

You must provide a record of your child’s immunizations by September 1st.

Flu Immunization is mandatory in New Jersey and must be received by December 31st. If you do not provide documentation of the flu shot by December 31st your child will not be able to attend school until documentation is provided. There will be no exceptions!

Nap Time

It is our expectation that our students (except kindergarten) will rest on their cots during nap time. We play music at nap time to help soothe children to sleep. You can provide a small stuffed animal (your child should be able to hold it in their hand) to help your child transition to nap. This stuffed animal will be kept with their sleeping bag throughout the week.

Change for Summer 2011:

SOCDS will provide a blanket for each child. SOCDS will be responsible for washing and drying the blankets.

Our Pre-K classes will be asked to rest on their cots between 12:30pm and 1pm. Our Nursery and 3’s class will have their rest period starting around 12:15pm and finishing around 1:30pm.

Pick Up Procedures – Side of the House

All students will be brought outside to the side of the house at 11:55am for half day and 3:30pm for full day students. This will ensure that teachers can keep a complete count of all students at all times.

Alternate Pick-up

We will release your child to the parents / guardians listed on the registration form. If you have an alternate person who you would like to authorize to pick up your child please fill out an alternate pick up person authorization form.

Please remind alternate pick-up individuals to have a photo id ready. Please let the teacher know if a new person is picking up your child and what their relationship is to your child.

Nursery Students Attending Part Time

Our program is flexible for nursery students supporting less than five day attendance. However, to maintain and manage that flexibility we must enforce our policy of ensuring that children only attend the days that they are normally scheduled. There are no make-up days for sick days or for holidays. For holiday celebrations the teachers have scheduled special events during the entire week so that no child feels left out of a particular event.

Aftercare

Our afternoon extended day (aftercare) starts at 3:30pm with pick-up times at 5:30pm, 6pm and 6:30pm. Students will be in the lined up and ready to go at 5:25pm, 5:55pm, and 6:20pm