Policies and Procedures

Arrivals

Prompt arrivals and departure of the child helps in the smooth flow of our program daily. It is very important for each child to arrive on time. Arriving late makes children uncomfortable, uneasy and they often feel left out of group activities and sometimes would feel harder to catch up with their peers.

Attendance /Absences

We encourage all students to attend classes regularly and not to miss important classroom activities. If you are aware that your child will be absent, please inform us and your teacher well in advance of your plans. If your child is ill and will be absent from school. Please let us know as soon as possible by calling us at 650-226-3900 or you could email us @ Litlelambsmontessorillc@gmail.com or Littlelambsmontessori@gmail.com the night before or as soon as you are aware.

Birthdays

Each child’s birthday is celebrated at school with a special ceremony.

During Morning Circle, we celebrate the student’s birthday.

The child walks around a candle (sun) while holding a globe (earth) for each year of their life. As they rotate the earth, we tell a story for each year of their life.

Photographs from home often enhance this event. Usually the child brings a treat for the celebrations.

Parent/s participation in this important event of the child’s life is a must.

Teachers can give parents ideas for low/no sugar refreshments for these occasions.

Celebrations and Holidays

The school celebrates a variety of holidays, as a way of expanding the children’s awareness of other cultures. It is the belief of the staff that children need to become aware of rituals and celebration as part of their experience of the cultures of the world; the teachers do not promote any ethnic or religious positions.

School Holidays

The following are holidays at Little Lambs Montessori LLC:

Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday

President’s Day

Good Friday (religious holiday)

Memorial Day

Independence Day

Labor Day

Columbus Day

Veteran’s Day

Thanksgiving and day after Thanksgiving

Winter Break (2 weeks)

Spring Break (1 week)

Child Abuse Reporting Requirements

All teachers and administrators in the State of California are mandated to report suspected abuse of any kind to the Child Protection Agency. Child abuse and neglect are against the law in California.

Clothing/Dress Code

It is recommended that children wear comfortable and washable clothing that will enable them to participate freely in the many activities of the day. To prevent loss of clothes, all clothing should be labeled with the child’s name. Parents are advised to check routinely for their child’s belongings. Children need to have a change of clothes at school. Please provide backup clean clothes in a small bag with labeled with the child’s name.

Conferences (Fall & Spring)

Parent/teacher conferences are held twice a year in November and February. These conferences offer parents the opportunity to speak individually with their child’s teachers, to hear about the child’s progress and the teacher’s goals for the child. Conferences are an opportunity for parents to give teachers additional information about their child. It is best if both parents attend the conferences. Please check the school calendar for the exact dates and keep this time available, we will also post this information on Litte Lambs Montessori LLC Shutterfly website. Teachers will not schedule Fall/Spring Conferences outside of the specified dates. All families will receive written conference reports in the spring.

Confidential Information

Little Lambs Montessori LLC maintain confidentiality and fully respect the family’s right to privacy therefore, we abstain from disclosure of confidential information unless required by law. When we have reason to believe that a child’s welfare is at risk, we may share confidential information with agencies as well as with individuals that have legal responsibility for intervening in the child’s interest such as Child Protection Services, Social Welfare Services, Law Enforcement Agencies etc. Disclosure of children’s records beyond family members, program personnel, and consultants having obligation of confidentiality shall require familial consent (except in cases of abuse and neglect).

Discipline Policy

Our teacher/s take time and prepares at the beginning of the school year to train their students about school routines and how the students should behave, act and participate at school.

The students are trained to take care of each other and to take care of the materials they use at school. We want the students to be aware of their responsibility early on.

Disciplinary challenges:

Verbal Interaction – The teacher uses words to help the child know what to do. The teacher may correct, instruct, teach or assist the child in working out the problem. She may simply remind the child about what is expected and how to behave in certain situations.
Distraction and Removal – The teacher may change the activity or ask the child to get involved in something else. The teacher may remove the object causing stress.
Natural Consequence – The teacher may have the child experience the natural consequence of what has happened. The child may “fix it” by cleaning up the mess, picking up the toys, or apologizing to their classmate.
Observation Time or Quiet Time – The child may miss the current activity or some recess time to participate in “observation time”, this takes a few minutes depending on the child's behavior. A three year old would sit in time out for 3 minutes, etc.
Call the Parent – If the behavior problem is repeatedly interrupting the class or if the incident was sufficiently severe the child will be referred to the Director (or other staff member) and we will call the parent to discuss the situation.
Sent Home for the Day – In certain circumstances we may ask the parent to come and pick up their child from school for the day, this is a very rare situation. This usually happens when a child acts dangerously towards himself, a teacher or another student.
Conference/Behavior Plan – In persistent cases we will schedule a conference with the parents and make a behavior plan to better handle issues. We will be observing the child and give updates to parents as needed.
Removal from School – In rare cases when the child’s behavior does not improve and is affecting the class atmosphere, Little Lambs Montessori reserve the right to remove the child from school.

Dismissal

Departure time is as important as arriving on time. Children are often upset if parents do not arrive on time. If your plans suddenly change, please call us at 650-226-3900 as soon as possible to tell us about the changes, so that we may relay them to the child and staff. Children will be released only to those persons whose names appear on the Emergency Consent Form or for whom the parent/guardian has written a note giving permission for pick up of their child.

Drop off and Pick Up

The school begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m.

The school closes promptly at 5:00 p.m. If you arrive after 5:00pm you are charged $1.00 per minute. If you incur any late pick up charges, an invoice for your late charges will be placed in your child’s cubby and you are expected to settle the fee within 2 business days.

Emergency Information

The staff is trained annually in emergency preparedness and safety procedures -- specifically, how to prepare for an earthquake or a fire, and how to deal with the aftermath.

In addition, each teacher has an earthquake/fire safety manual compiled specifically for the school, which is updated each year.

The basic information is summarized below:

There are guidelines for communication within the school, between school and emergency agencies, and between school and parents. In addition, earthquake and fire drill procedures are listed. We have an emergency drill, alternating between earthquake and fire, each month. Other areas covered in the manual are Hazard Identification and Elimination; Post-earthquake Response and Care; and Coping with Children’s Reactions to Earthquakes and other disasters. The school has emergency kits.

Parents need to bring the following below for the emergency kit:

1 large Ziploc bag, which includes:

-1 pair of pants

-1 t-shirt

-1 pair of socks

-2 pairs of underwear

-1 non perishable dry food snack (such as a granola bar)

-printed (such as home address, parents’ names and cellphone numbers).

This package will be placed in the shed on the playground and is required by law in case of an earthquake emergency. LABEL all clothes, including socks.

Health and Safety

If your child is ill and has any of the symptoms below, please do not bring him/her to school:

Active cold symptoms such as sniffles, coughs, or sneezes with green mucus; extreme runny nose

-Vomiting

-Diarrhea

-Constant ear or tooth ache

-Fever; your child temperature should be normal at 98.6 °F for 24 hours before he/she can return to school. You may not send your child to school with a slight fever and after taking a fever depressant.

Once your child becomes ill at school, the following steps shall be taken:

The child will be removed from the group
Parents will be notified immediately and you should pick up your child as soon as possible.

It is very important that parents follow the school health policy. We would like to protect the entire school population not to be infected.

No Food/Water Sharing

All food brought in from home shall be labeled with your child’s name such as: lunch boxes, water bottles, zip lock bags etc.

If your child has special needs or requires medication, you must first fill out a medication permission slip before teachers can administer any medicine. Children with asthma inhalers and Epi-pens need to have this form filled out immediately and turned in to the teacher. Make sure that your child’s medication is current and will not expire within the school year. Teacher/s cannot administer over the counter medication without a doctor’s prescription.

If your child has had one or more of these diseases, you must keep your child home and contact the school office immediately:

Capmylobacter measles streptococcal sore throat

Chicken pox meningococcal meningitis (strep throat)

Conjunctivitis (pink eye) mumps whooping cough

Cryptosporidiosis pinworms

German measles ringworm

Giardia salmonella

Hand, foot & mouth disease scabies

Head lice scarlet fever

Heamophilus shigella

Infections slap cheek

Hepatitis A

Impetigo

Allergies

Promptly inform the teacher/s of any allergies your child may have and the severity of the allergy. If you need the teacher/s to administer medication to your child, you must first fill out a medication permission slip.

Nap Time

The children are in a structured routine 5 days a week part of being here, the longs day allows for them to take a midday rest to digest the morning and begin the afternoon and that is why we have the rest/naptime in the middle of the day. We are also required by law to have the children have an uninterrupted 20-1 hour rest period. This keeps the children focused for the afternoon. We have our rest time early in the afternoon so that the children are not sleeping too long and therefore not able to rest at night. With all the exciting activities in the classroom, children really do need that rest in our experience.

Parents are to provide your child with sleeping gears, such as: blanket, sleeping bag, or a pillow in a removable pillow case. Every Friday, your child’s sleeping gears should be taken home to be washed and brought back the next school day.

Peanut Free Zone

The rise of peanut allergies in school communities prompted us to become a peanut free zone. Please use alternates such as soy or almond butters in sandwiches. Make sure to check all the snacks that your child brings to school that they do not contain peanuts. Thank you for your cooperation.

Potty Training

Each child has been accepted to the school on the understanding that they have been potty trained. Each child must be dressed daily in underwear (no pull-ups) and must be able to communicate with the teachers when he or she needs to the toilet.

Occasional bathroom accidents may occur with the children, we encourage their independence and sensitivity by having them change themselves.

Dress them in age appropriate clothing that is easy for them to maneuver without assistance. If your child comes home with soiled clothing in a plastic bag, please be sure to replace the items the next day. We want to make sure they always have a set of clothes if they have another potty accident.

Provision

Parents should provide for all of their children’s meals, snacks, extra clothes, sleeping bags, etc. All lunch boxes, water bottles, snacks etc. needs to be labeled with your child's name on it. We don't allow food/water sharing.

Adults who are dropping off or picking up children must sign in and out every day.

State licensing requires a full signature including first and last name.

We will attach pertinent information on your child’s sign-in/out sheet.

Check the sign-in binder for notes and leave any timely information for your child’s teacher on the Communication Form inside the front cover of the binder.

Parents should inform teachers if someone else will be picking up their child or if they will be in Afterschool. If the change is for that day or short term (a week or less), this information should be indicated on the communication form with the parent’s signature or the parent must provide a letter with a signature indicating the change in pick up. If this is a permanent change the information must be included on the child’s emergency form. Please also notify us if your child will have a late drop off or early pick up so we can plan accordingly. Parents must follow the protocol above. All people picking up a child must bring a government issued photo I.D. It is required by law that all parents or caregivers sign children in and out each day. A complete last name (not initials) must be on the sign-in/out sheet. These sheets are monitored by the state agency, Community Care Licensing, and the school is charged $50 per day for every day that families are not in compliance with this regulation. This fee will be passed on to the families who are not in compliance. In addition, for any day that parents do not sign their child out, there will be a charge for three hours of Afterschool care.

Sharing

Children may bring in sharing on Monday. We encourage that children bring in objects from home that may relate to the curriculum or to the theme of the month. If your child brings a book, please bookmark your child’s favorite page so it is easier to find. We don’t allow toys, superheroes, Barbies, weapons for sharing.

Trial Period and Termination

All children are accepted under a 4-week trial period. Termination is rare but may occur. Below is a list for termination and we reserve the right to change, alter or modify the list at any time and the list is not limited to:

Child is disruptive to the point of being a detriment to the safety and well being of the children.
Failure to pay tuition or consistently late with tuition payment
Refusal to cooperate with center policy by either parent or child
Any issues or problem that has been discussed with the owner and work against the good of the center, the child and other children.