Family Handbook
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Family Handbook 2018-19 School Year Sheboygan Area School District Maywood Environmental Park Mueller Road Sheboygan, WI 53081 https://sheboygancountyymca.org/camp-y-koda/maywood-nature-school-4k.html Photos will be posted on Maywood and Camp Y-Koda Facebook pages occassionaly. Welcome Families! Schedule Monday- Thursday No School on Fridays 8-11am Philosophy Statement We believe that the best learning experiences in early childhood education are two-fold. One- We believe that all children should have a high quality early childhood experience that’s developmentally appropriate, preparing children for kindergarten. Two- We believe that all children should have opportunities to connect with nature. Academic experiences should be designed around the natural world to stimulate a love of learning and build a life-long connection with the natural world. Also to develop environmental attitudes and behaviors. The ethos of nature based preschools allows learners the time and space to develop their interests, skills, and understanding through practical, hands-on experiences. At Maywood Nature School there is the freedom to explore, play, build, create, imagine, and use their senses to experience the outdoor environment and engage with one another We recognize every child is a unique individual who has their own learning style, interests, ethnic background and culture. Maywood Nature School uses the Reggio Emilia approach to develop student interest into learning projects that educate and empower young learners. Teachers facilitate cooperation and collaboration skills that develop individuals that are comfortable leading, working, and socializing with others. While Maywood Nature School assures that our students have mastered the academic skills needed to transition to kindergarten, we further value that our students have developed higher order thinking skills through endless hours of outdoor play that will serve them throughout a lifetime. Maywood Nature School has small student to teacher ratios. Teachers, and naturalists with thorough understandings of both nature and child development assure the highest standards of quality nature based early childhood education. Maywood Nature School is designed to promote a strong start in physical, emotional-social, cognitive, and language development that will serve students long after they leave. Days off Maywood Nature School is part of the Sheboygan Area School District, therefore school vacations are the same as the rest of the district. Please refer to the district calendar for specifics. Highlights of this year’s calendar are provided later in this handbook. Skills that will be emphasized through nature based learning Language and Literacy Label uppercase alphabet letters Show awareness of initial letter sounds Identify rhyming words Use vocabulary to express ideas Use shapes, lines, and figures to convey ideas Math Label 8 colors Label 6 shapes Label numerals 0-10 Count orally to 20 and object count to 20 Make number sets using objects Identify spatial relationships Fine Motor Demonstrate appropriate grasp pattern and stabilize the paper with opposing hand Draw a vertical line, horizontal line, circle, cross, diagonal line, square, and letters in name Emerging skills of drawing a person Independently place scissors on hand to cut lines and basic shapes Social Skills Engage in appropriate social interactions with others Demonstrate an understanding of rules and social expectations Recognize the emotions of self and others Express wants and needs Social-Emotional and Behavioral Support ********* Bringing Children to and from School Please walk your child in through the main entrance. Parents or other adults who bring children to school are asked to come into school with the child. Please wait with your child in the lobby until 7:45am. At those times staff will be available to greet the children. Staff supervision is provided from the lobby to the 4k classroom. When picking your child up from school, please wait outside or in the lobby. Children will be walked to the entrance at 11:00am. Adults who are not the childʼs parents must show identification such as a photo driverʼs license when picking up a child at school and should be listed on the childʼs transportation form completed by the parent/guardian. If you would like to pick up your child from school prior to dismissal time due to an appointment, etc., please stop at the desk and one of the school staff will bring your child to the lobby. Attendance Families must report reasons for a childʼs absence by telephone or email on the day of the absence or before the date of a planned absence. The school can be called 24-hours-a-day and a message left on the Maywood Environmental Park voicemail (920) 459-3906. If you wish to speak with someone directly the best time to call is between 7:15 and 7:45 am or call Camp Y-Koda and leave a message with Sarah Dezwarte, Director of Education (920) 467-6882. Illness while at School In the event that a child becomes ill or is injured during the school day and must go home the school will call the childʼs home to inform parents of the situation. It is critical that all families provide the school office with “emergency telephone numbers” to be used in the event that the sick or injured childʼs parents cannot be reached at home or work. Please make sure that the numbers are kept current and that emergency numbers are local numbers. Notify your child’s teacher and/or office staff when emergency numbers change. We cannot call someone who lives in another part of the state to pick up a sick or injured child. Appointments-Medical, Dental Dental, medical and other appointments should be scheduled during non-school time. If you must schedule an appointment during school hours, please send a written note to school and stop at the school office to let office staff know that you are at school to pick up your child. He/she will then be brought to the office. Update your Information For your child’s safety and well-being, please remember to inform office staff of any changes to your contact information, including address and phone numbers, this includes your emergency contacts, work phone numbers and child care phone numbers. In addition, it is helpful if you inform the classroom teacher of any changes in your marital status and/or living situation. School Pictures School pictures for all children who come to school four half days per week will be taken in the fall. Individual pictures arrive before the class picture. Information regarding pictures will be passed out shortly before pictures are taken. Label Personal Items To prevent loss of personal items, please label all backpacks, as well as boots, mittens, caps, gym shoes, and other small personal items. Safety Drills Your child’s safety while attending school is very important to our staff. Throughout the school year we will practice various drills including fire, tornado and intruder drills. As children may not understand what an intruder is, the children will be told to go to the class’s “safe place”. If you are visiting the school during one of the drills, you will be expected to participate in the drill. You will be given directions from the closest staff member on what to do and where to go. Student Dress School District policy states that students must be dressed neatly in a manner that does not distract from the educational process or impede their health or safety. It also states that they must be dressed appropriately for school. The school discourages students from wearing costumes for Halloween. Parents are reminded to not send their children with flip-flops or shoes with heels for footwear. With the indoor and outdoor play areas, children are encouraged to wear appropriate footwear for their safety. Remember to have children dressed appropriately for the weather, making sure children will be prepared for unexpected changes in weather. Field Trips Field trips are an important part of our educational program. Parents will be provided with information and a permission slip regarding each upcoming trip that requires bus transportation. Written parent permission is needed before a child can go on each such trip, your child will be left at school in another classroom if the permission slip is not returned. Any parent who does not want their child to participate in a trip should contact the childʼs teacher a minimum of one school day in advance so other plans for the child can be made. If you would like to join your child’s class on a field trip you MUST fill out and return the “Field trip Chaperone/Volunteer Form”, for each trip. There will be a few all day field trips later in the school year. These field trips are part of the learning curriculum. Students are expected to be in attendance just as they would for a regular school day. School Snack Please send a snack with your child. Below is a list of a few healthy snack ideas ● Applesauce, fruit and pudding in individual cups (please don’t forget to send spoons with it) ● String cheese ● Sausage bites ● Go-Gurts ● Trail/cereal mixes ● Low-fat popcorn ● Pretzels ● 100% fruit snacks ● Apples ● Bananas ● Grapes ● Fresh fruit salad ● Celery sticks with peanut butter or low fat cream cheese ● Baby carrots with dip ● Teddy Grahams ● Reduced fat Cheese Nips ● Low fat breakfast or granola bars ● Graham crackers Please do not send items that need to be heated. Medicine We understand that children may sometimes need to take medication during the school day. To insure the safety of all of our children, the district has written policies to guide giving children medication. These policies require: ● ANY medication must be in the original container. Pharmacists in the Sheboygan area have indicated a willingness to provide two containers-one for home and one for school.