Children Are a Gift from the Lord!

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West Emory

Child Enrichment Center

2016-2017 Handbook

“Children are a gift from the Lord!”

Psalms 127:3

Welcome to WECEC!

The mission of West Emory Child Enrichment Center is to cultivate and support a community of families and teachers working as a team to provide a safe, engaging and positive environment that stimulates and supports the physical, emotional, academic, spiritual, creative and social development of each individual child through hands-on, play based learning and discovery. It is our belief and goal that children learn through doing and experiencing.

Research shows that there is more rapid growth physically and mentally between birth to age five than at any other time in an individual’s life. WECEC recognizes that the home and family are the first and best models for a child and the strongest influence on a child’s development. It is our hope to extend the family and home model and provide additional experiences of value. Creativity and learning go hand in hand. By exposing children to creative experiences, we give them the gift of a rich and memorable childhood while laying the foundation for a lifetime of individual expression. We pay close attention to teaching the specific educational skills that each developmental age needs to prepare them for future learning in school. We realize the importance of our task of helping our students love learning. WECEC provides a caring, fun, safe, supportive, educational, Christian environment for children.

We look forward to working with you and your family to meet the social, emotional, educational, physical and spiritual needs of your child. We take this responsibility very seriously and thank you for entrusting your child to us.

West Emory Child Enrichment Center

1035 Emory Church Road

Knoxville, TN 37922

865-690-2422

Classes

WECEC offers four pre-school and one after-school class:

12 month old and young 2's classOlder 2's class3 and 4 year old Class

Pre-K Class (4 and 5 yr olds)

Kindergarten-5th Grade after-school class

WECEC is a Full-Time, 3 Star DHS-Licensed Child Care Center. We offer care for children ages 12 months to 11 years old. Our full day hours are 7:15 to 6:00. Our ½ day program is from 7:15 to 12:15 for the 2’s class and 7:15 to 1:00 for the 3’s and Pre-K classes.

Hours of Operation/Security

WECEC is open from 7:15 until 6:00 Monday through Friday. Please do not bring your child into the school before 7:15 am. Teachers arrive at 7:05, and prepare the school for the children until 7:15. Teachers cannot supervise children anytime before 7:15 am.

Children should be picked up no later than 6:00 pm or a late pickup charge of $5.00 plus $2.00 per minute per child will be charged. (Example: Pickup at 6:02 pm results in a charge of $9.00; $5 late pickup charge plus $2.00 for each minute)

Half-day children will be subject to a late pick-up charge of $5.00 plus $2.00 per minute late per child as well.

Three or more instances of late pick up will result in charge being increased to $5.00 per minute. Consistent late pickup may result in services being terminated, at the discretion of the Director.

CHILDREN MUST BE BROUGHT INTO THE SCHOOL BY PARENT, REGARDLESS OF AGE OF THE CHILD. CHILDREN MAY NOT ENTER THE SCHOOL UNACCOMPANIED. All parents must sign their child in/out upon arrival and pick-up. A parent or guardian or sibling over the age of 16 must sign the child in or out; younger siblings, cousins, friends, etc, may not enter the building unaccompanied.

To enter into the main hallway, each family is assigned a security code to enter into the keypad for drop off and pick up each day. Please do not allow your children to touch the keypad; our policy is that only the parent or person picking the child up may enter the code.

Registration

To register your child as a new student, an application and other appropriate forms must be completed. A non-refundable registration fee is due upon application. A preliminary visit to WECEC is required by at least one parent/guardian. All forms must be completed and returned to the Director before your child can begin attending WECEC. A registration form and fee is also required at the beginning of each fall session for already enrolled students to ensure a place for your child the upcoming school year, which begins in mid-August

REGISTRATION BEGINS IN FEBRUARY OF EACH YEAR FOR THE SUMMER SESSION and FOLLOWING FALL SESSION BEGINNING IN AUGUST.

REGISTRATION FEES ENSURE A POSITION IN THE UPCOMING SUMMER and FALL CLASSES FOR YOUR CHILD AND ARE NON-REFUNDABLE.

Check with the Director for the current registration fees.

Tuition

Tuition for the program is due in advance monthly. The Tuition Box is kept in the office. Please put only checks in the box. If paying in cash, please pay the Director and obtain a receipt. Teachers may not accept cash payments for tuition.

Statements will be sent out around the third week of each month, which is approximately one week before payment is due. Statements are written for monthly periods. Each student is charged according to the number of days that he/she is scheduled to attend during that month. Credit is NOT given for days missed due to illness, vacation, or for days that WECEC is closed due to holidays or inclement weather.

A $10 late fee will be added if tuition is not paid by the 10th of the month. Three or more late payments will result in the late fee being increased to $20. Chronically overdue payments can result in a child being dismissed from the center's care.

Please do not bring your child to school if you have not paid his/her tuition. If a balance is overdue by more than TWO weeks, services will be discontinued. There are no make-up days or “switching days”.

A $20.00 charge will be added to any account which has a check returned from the bank for Insufficient Funds.

For school-age children (K-5th graders) a $5.00 charge will be added to the account if the child is absent on a day they normally attend and no call or notice was given. If this happens three or more times, the charge raises to $10.00. (You MUST call us to let us know if your child will not be at school for us to pick up.) We are required to check with the office if your child was supposed to be coming for after-school and this takes time, as the office workers have to check with your child's teacher, check the school roll for the day, etc. We are also billed by our transportation company when we take longer than our designated time.

For pre-school children: Please call or email to let us know any time your child will not be here on a day they normally attend.

A 10% discount is given on tuition for second and additional children of the same family. Discount is taken from lower tuition rate(s).

Check with the Director for current tuition rates.

WECEC Days Closed

WECEC will be closed on the following days:

Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Day after Thanksgiving, two days for Christmas, one day for New Year’s, Good Friday, Memorial Day, and one day for Independence Day. If a holiday falls on a weekend day, the day that WECEC will be closed for the observance of the holiday will be determined by the Director. No reduction in tuition fees will be given for the days WECEC is closed.

WECEC will close when Knox County Schools close for bad weather, bad driving conditions, etc in the majority of instances. WECEC will follow Knox County on delayed openings and early closings as well.There will be no reimbursements or reduction in fees given for inclement weather closings or delays. Our priority is safety for our staff and families, and we also want to meet our families' needs for care, and at the Director's and/or Board's discretion, WECEC may remain open on days Knox Co. Schools are closed or delayed if the majority of staff are able to safely drive in. Announcements indicating WECEC's status for openings or closings will be made via email and our facebook page, so please check email frequently during bouts of poor weather. If WECEC must close early due to inclement weather, parents will be called and expected to pick up their children in a timely manner. Parents will also be expected to pick up their children from elementary school due to early dismissal in Knox Co. because of weather conditions. West Emory will not be responsible for picking your child up during hazardous weather conditions.

Classroom Supplies for students

Supplies are shared by all students in each classroom. No individual school boxes are needed. All classroom supplies are provided by WECEC, except those requested at the beginning of each Fall Session or upon registration for a new student. A supply list will be sent out by the Director and the child's teacher at the beginning of each fall semester.

Curriculum

Each teacher plans her daily activities according to the WECEC Unit of Study for each week. Monthly calendars listing daily activities are sent home at the beginning of each month. A complete list of Weekly Units of Study is available upon request. In addition to our regular classroom curriculum, WECEC offers several ENRICHMENT CLASSES for each student. These classes give students some additional reinforcement of information being taught in the classroom, as well as opportunities to receive some “special attention” as they work in small groups with a teacher learning important skills.

ENRICHMENT:

We do a variety of enrichment classes for each child in preschool. Some examples of activities we may offer are: Math Enrichment, Reading Enrichment, Science Enrichment, Art, Spanish Enrichment, Music and Movement, Bible Story with the Pastor, Personal Safety classes and an exercise class!

MUSIC AND MOVEMENT

We do a weekly Physical Fitness through music class at WECEC. Check with Director to find out which day of the week it is taught. In Music Class our students enjoy playing instruments, learning about music basics, dancing to music, and singing songs.

BIBLE LESSONS:

Bible stories and Bible verses are taught daily to all preschool classes. Once a week we have a special Bible lesson in the sanctuary with the church pastor, Miki Vanderbilt.

Gold Sneaker Initiative

West Emory is participating in the Gold Sneaker Initiative. This program is about encouraging and guiding children in physical activity and promoting a healthy, positive attitude towards nutritious food.

West Emory serves nutritious snacks and reserves the right to limit the amount of non-nutritious food your child consumes for lunch.

Gold Sneaker Initiative Policies:

*Children shall not be allowed to remain sedentary or to sit passively for more than 60 minutes while at West Emory, except for scheduled rest or nap-time.

*Television will not be used for children under 2 years of age while at West Emory. For children ages 2 and older, viewing of television, videos and other visual recordings shall be limited to no more than

60 minutes per day of educational programs or programs that actively engage child movement.

*Children ages 12 months or older attending a full day program shall be offered at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day. Children attending less than a full day program shall be offered a proportional amount of such activities. For children age 3 and older, at least 30 of the 60 minutes shall be offered as guided physical activity. The remainder of the physical activity may be other active play, learning and movement activities. This must be documented on forms provided with the Gold

Sneaker Initiative.

*Structure and guided physical activity shall be offered and facilitated by teachers/caregivers and shall promote motor skill development, basic movement, creative movement, and general coordination. Such structured and guided physical activity offered shall consist of curricula developed by, and resources recommended by the Dept. of Health, Dept. of Human Services, and the Child Care Resource and Referral Network.

*Child care facilities must ensure physical activity, if used to control behavior, is used as a positive reinforcement and is never used negatively.

*West Emory will ensure appropriate child feeding patterns, including adequate time for meal consumption. Adequate time for meals and snacks will be provided for all children and will be included in classroom lesson plans.

*West Emory will ensure appropriate child feeding patterns, including appropriate portion sizes. Appropriate portion sizes will be assured through staff training and will be monitored by random spot checks for each age group on a monthly basis.

Child’s Schedule & Drop Off Times

Arriving at WECEC at approximately the same time every day helps your child know what to expect and makes drop offs much easier. We strongly recommend and encourage parents to have all preschool children at our center by 9:00 am each day they are scheduled to attend. This ensures your child receives the full range of activities we have planned and helps keep all children on a consistent schedule. Bringing your child in too close to lunch time or nap time can be disruptive and difficult for the child, teacher, and the rest of the class. If for some reason your child has to be dropped off at a later time than normal (due to a doctor's appointment, etc) please inform the Director and the child's teacher. Children need to be fed lunch before arriving at our center if they will miss our scheduled lunch time. It is at the Director's discretion to arrange a meeting with the parents/guardians and discuss alternate options if a child is consistently brought in late to our program or at times when it is disruptive to the child or rest of the class.

As much as possible, please be sure that your child is well rested and ready for a busy day at school. If your child “sleeps in” at home, and comes to WECEC late, it is often difficult for him/her to nap when the rest of the class is napping. This disturbs all of the children in the nap room. Keeping your child on as consistent a schedule as possible – even on the weekends – makes it easier for your child to participate fully in all of the activities at WECEC.

Daily Routine

Upon arrival, sign-in your child in the notebook provided by your child’s teacher. Upon departure, you need to sign-out your child in the notebook provided by your child’s teacher. Teachers may not sign-in or sign-out your child. If they do so, they are violating both WECEC and DHS policy. All children (released and non-enrolled at WECEC) must be supervised by their parent/guardian while still on the WECEC premises. Please do not leave children unsupervised in the WECEC parking lot or anywhere on the premises.

Rest Time

Students are required to lie quietly on their mat without disturbing others during Rest Time. The room is darkened, quiet music is played, and backs are rubbed by teachers. Students are encouraged to sleep during this time. If a child is continuously disruptive during rest time, the Director and parents will schedule a conference and determine the best course of action. The welfare of the class as a whole is our priority, and rest time is very important for our students.

Diapers/Toilet Training

If your child uses diapers, please send an adequate supply on the first day of attendance. Your child’s teacher will notify you when you need to bring more. Please make sure that your child’s teacher is aware of your wishes regarding toilet training for your child.

Please do not attempt to begin toilet training at the same time your child starts attending WECEC; allow him/her time to adjust to new surroundings.

Food

Children may bring breakfast food from home to eat upon arrival at WECEC. Breakfast may be eaten anytime between 7:15 am and 8:45 am WECEC provides a nutritious morning snack daily.

A nutritious snack and juice or water is provided by WECEC every afternoon. The monthly snack list is posted on the refrigerator. If your child has any food allergies, please make sure that the Director is aware of them. Parents are responsible for sending an alternate snack for their child if they do not want them to eat the snack WECEC provides for the day.

Children should bring a nutritious lunch from home with a drink daily. No soda or caffeinated beverages are allowed for any age. Lunches for preschoolers may be refrigerated if necessary. Please label your child’s lunchbox/thermos/food containers with his/her name. WECEC provides plates and napkins for each child. If your child needs a spoon, fork, straw, or condiments, please provide it in the lunchbox. WECEC has a microwave and can heat lunches, but please be mindful of the fact that we have many lunches to prepare in a short amount of time. If many have to be heated, your child may have to wait on his/her lunch. If possible, please send nutritious lunch foods that your preschooler likes which do not require heating.