Parent Handbook 23-24 : simplebooklet.com

________________________________________________________ 1315 Concord Road † Smyrna, GA 30080 † (770) 436-4108 † FAX (770) 436-6100 † www.smyrnafumc.org A Letter from our Senior Pastor Dear Parents: Welcome, Thank you so much for choosing Smyrna First United Methodist Church to begin your child’s educational journey. We take very seriously the honor of teaching your child and our role in partnering with your family as you begin this next season of your lives. You and your family will be covered in our prayers and enveloped in the grace and love of God through this remarkable congregation. Our Clergy, Weekday Education and Children’s Ministry leaders are ready to welcome and provide support to your family in this exciting transition. Jesus continually admonished and directed His disciples to bring the children to Him. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to minister to your family and to invite you into this church that takes the words of Jesus so seriously. We will teach your children academically and spiritually in their time with us at Smyrna First UMC. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or needs. In the hollow of His hands, Derek Porter Senior Pastor

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Dear Parents: Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year! We look forward to a wonderful year with you and your child. There is much behind-the-scenes work to prepare for a successful school year and we are busy getting ready for your precious children to join us! The parents and staff work hand in hand as partners as we strive to help your child reach their greatest potential. Your child’s preschool experience sets the stage for their success later in their educational life. There are several things that you can do to help your child succeed:  Getting started on time: Children need some time to settle in and if they are late, they feel “behind.” Take an interest in what is brought home and discuss the work and activities of the day. Don’t worry if you ask, “what did you do at school today” and they reply “nothing.” It just means they are tired or not ready to tell you. You may wind up hearing about the day during dinner, bath time, or bedtime.  A listening ear: Your child will benefit and so will you by your willingness to be fully present when your child is talking. By listening to what your child says, it lets you better understand who they are and what they need. One other caveat: “If you believe half of what your child tells you about us, we will believe only half of the stories they tell us about home.”  Communication: Don’t hesitate to talk to the teacher(s) about your child, but please refrain from having these discussions while your child is in their presence. If anything upsets you or your child, please report it to the teacher(s) as soon as possible.  Sleep, Breakfast and Happy Thoughts: Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep, eats a good breakfast, and hears happy thoughts as they leave for their day.  Limit screen time: Children learn best when they interact with their environment. Screen time is “one way” play and does not always foster language development. This handbook is your guide to our policies and procedures. Please read it thoroughly and refer to it often, as it appears on the PMO and Preschool’s websites, as well as the Brightwheel document hub. Please feel free to call the Weekday Education Office with any questions or concerns. Thank you for being a part of our program and for sharing your precious children with us. Our goal is to help your child feel successful, confident, and independent. Together, we can provide a wonderful experience as they begin their journey of learning and growth. Sincerely, Deb Cook, Director Julia Shod, Associate Director

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1 ABOUT US The Smyrna First United Methodist Weekday Education program is a non-profit weekday school which consists of Parents’ Morning Out (PMO) and Preschool. Our program accepts infants and children ages 4 months to 2 years old (PMO) and 2 years to 5 years old (Preschool). The program is open to all children of any race, color, national origin, religious, or ethnic origin. The program, which began in 1969, is a ministry of Smyrna First United Methodist Church and is operated as a part of the Church’s educational program and a Preschool Board administers the school. We believe that each child is a child of God and has the right to develop to their fullest potential. Our responsibility as a church-sponsored school is to provide a program that will foster development of the whole child: emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, socially, and physically. Our Weekday Education staff is composed of qualified and experienced early childhood educators. All staff members have a current background check and are trained in the Safe Sanctuary policy of the Church. All staff maintain current certifications in CPR and First Aid procedures. Staff members also participate in a continuous program of in-service education to further their knowledge and to remain cognizant of the needs of our children. The North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church recognizes our school as a School of Excellence. While your child is at school, we expect them to be themselves and have respect for others. We expect that you, as a parent of a child in our program, read the operating procedures in this handbook and any other communications that we will periodically send. We also want you to be a part of the school, offering suggestions, comments, and constructive criticisms, as well as financial, volunteer, and moral support. We strongly believe in communication between school and home. Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, we will utilize Brightwheel, a student support platform. All families will be required to download the Brightwheel app in order to receive updates and submit payments/pertinent documents. WE AGREE “Preschool years are not only optimal for children to learn through play, but also a critical developmental period. If children are not given enough natural movement and play experiences, they start their academic careers with a disadvantage. They are more likely to be clumsy, have difficulty paying attention, trouble controlling their emotions, utilize poor problem-solving methods, and demonstrate difficulties with social interactions. We are consistently seeing sensory, motor, and cognitive issues pop up more and more in later childhood, partly because of inadequate opportunities to move and play at an early age. Source: “The Decline of Play in Preschoolers and the Rise in Sensory Issues by Valerie Strauss,” Sept 1, 2015, The Washington Post.

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2 ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS ALL CLASSES: Students must have attained class minimum age on or before September 1. (NO EXCEPTIONS will be made.) HEALTH CERTIFICATES A health certificate with a certified record of immunizations (GA DHR Form 3231) MUST be on file no later than September 1. You will have the ability to upload an image (JPG or PDF) of the GA Form 3231 to your child’s Brightwheel profile. No child may remain in school after this time without an immunization certificate. This is a STATE LAW. Please be sure to upload updated immunization forms promptly after any such visits to your pediatrician. You will be notified if your child’s certificate is not up to date. BIRTH CERTIFICATES All newly enrolled students must have a certified copy of their birth certificate on file. You will have the ability to upload an image (JPG or PDF) of the birth certificate to your child’s Brightwheel profile. COVID-19 POLICIES AND PROCEDURES (Updated July 2023, subject to change) Since the spread of COVID-19 remains a possibility in setting such as school, Smyrna First United Methodist Weekday Education Program will continue to maintain efforts to minimize the spread of COVID-19. In addition to our existing cleaning/safety measures and information provided in this handbook, policies and procedures have been drafted in accordance with the guidelines and recommendations for the 2023-2024 school year provided by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning/Bright from the Start, the CDC and the Smyrna First United Methodist Health and Wellness Committee. As COVID-19 is a fluid situation, these policies and procedures are subject to change and will be revised as needed in response to different variants and community spread. Smyrna First United Methodist Weekday Education Program will require all staff and families to abide by the following guidelines. Failure to do so may result in dismissal from our program. DAILY HEALTH We will continue to enforce a strict wellness policy. You know your child best. If your student is just not quite themselves, feeling under the weather, or exhibiting respiratory symptoms not confirmed to be allergies, PLEASE keep them at home. Children must be fever free (without medication) 48 hours prior to the return to school.

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3 Please consider the following questions and make sure you can answer NO to these questions daily before bringing your child to school. 1. Do you, any child in your care, or a member of your household have a fever, cough, and shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, other respiratory symptoms, chills, and muscle pain, headache possibly related to sickness, sore throat, or loss of taste or smell? 2. Have you or your child experienced any of these symptoms since the last time they were at school? 3. Have you or your child been in contact with anyone with these symptoms? 4. Do you have any reason to believe you, a member of your household, or your preschool/kindergarten student has potentially been exposed to coronavirus or could have COVID-19? Children who become ill during the school day will be separated from the class and remain with a staff member while a caregiver is contacted for early pick up. GENERAL INFORMATION Masks will be optional for all students and teachers but could become mandatory should COVID-19 case numbers increase in our area. Note that students in the 2-year-old classes will not be required to wear a mask, even if a mandate is in effect. As always, hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, and the proper use of hand sanitizer will be incorporated within our daily routines. Due to increasing food allergies and the fluid COVID-19 situation we will ask that children bring their own snacks and a labeled water bottle/sippy cup. Water will be available to refill students’ water bottles/sippy cups. Please be sure to label your child’s bottle/cup. COVID CASES If a student or staff member, a member of their immediate household, a regular caregiver, or anyone that has been in close contact with child, staff member, or immediate family is suspected to have COVID-19, the preschool must be contacted immediately so that the appropriate persons can be notified that they are close contacts.  Children and staff will need to follow the CDC’s Early Care and Education guidelines for isolating and quarantining in the event of an exposure and/or positive test. Those guidelines are shown below and can be found at: https://www.cdc.gov/earlycare/infectious-diseases/isolation-and-precautions-in-ECE.html.

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5 reported immediately to Cobb County Health Services as well. Every exposure or suspected exposure will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis with the best information available at that time. TUITION PAYMENTS After the non-refundable tuition deposit is paid upon registration, the remainder of the annual tuition for PMO and Preschool may be paid in three installments. Tuition payments are due on the following dates: June 1 August 15 November 15 Tuition is considered late the 5th business day after the due date. A late fee of $25 will be assessed and applied to your account. There are no deductions from tuition for absences, vacations, or school holidays. Please make all checks payable to SMYRNA FIRST UNITED METHODIST WEEKDAY EDUCATION (PMO/PRESCHOOL) and write your child’s name in the memo line of your check. Checks or cash can be sent in with your child’s bag mail or delivered directly to the Preschool/PMO offices. There are also options for paying online via credit card or bank account via your Brightwheel billing portal. Note that there may be additional charges/processing fees for paying via the online portal. Your tuition invoice(s) will be posted to Brightwheel no less than two weeks prior to the tuition due date. Please remit your payment in a timely manner. Tuition payments may be sent to school clipped on your child’s school bag or paid online. Tuition is non-refundable, except in the case of a transfer outside of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. The Board of Directors will review individual cases. All requests for refunds must be in writing and submitted at least 30 days in advance. 2023 tax statements will be available for families to download in January 2024 through the Brightwheel billing portal.

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6 PMO Class Offerings & Tuition Schedule: 2023-2024 Class Ages* Student/Teacher Ratio Annual Tuition Tuition Deposit Tuition Payments 6/1, 8/15, 11/15 Chipmunk Class 4 months - 8 months 6:2 $2,400 $300 $800, $800, $800 Fox Class 9 months - 12 months 6:2 $2,400 $300 $800, $800, $800 Deer Class 13 months - 17 months 8:2 $2,200 $300 $800, $700, $700 Bear Class 18 months - 23 months 10:2 $2,200 $300 $800, $700, $700 *Class placement is determined by your child’s age on September 1, 2023. *Class ages may vary slightly based on enrollment. Preschool Class Offerings & Tuition Schedule: 2023-2024 Age Days/Week Annual Tuition Tuition Deposit Tuition Payments 6/1, 8/15, 11/15 2 2 $2,550 $300 $550, $850, $850 3 $3,050 $300 $716.67, $1,016.67, $1,016.67 3 2 $2,850 $300 $650, $950, $950 3 $3,300 $300 $800, $1,100, $1,100 4 4 $3,900 $300 $1,000, $1,300, $1,300 5 $4,500 $300 $1,200, $1,500, $1,500 *Class placement is determined by your child’s age on September 1, 2023. LATE FEES There will be an overtime charge for children picked up later than 15 minutes after scheduled dismissal. A warning will be given for the first infraction. Late fees will be assessed after any subsequent infractions.

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7 SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY This policy applies to all parents and caregivers of children attending the Weekday Education Program, as well as staff. This policy includes ALL social networking and sharing sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, BeReal, TikTok, blogs, forums, YouTube, etc. As part of our duty to safeguard children, it is essential to maintain the privacy and security of all our families. We therefore require that:  Except for your own child, no photographs taken within the preschool setting or at preschool special events and outings are to be posted for viewing on personal social media accounts. This includes children visible in the background of photos. Parents are advised that they do not have the right to upload photos of anyone else’s child to their personal accounts if the picture was taken at the preschool, on a preschool field trip, or at a Parents’ Club sponsored event.  All photographs (taken at the preschool or at preschool events) containing children other than your own may be shared via the private classroom photo share site (i.e., Brightwheel) or via personal email or text.  Photos from a Parents’ Club sponsored event containing children of various ages and class assignments may be posted to the closed Facebook group, “SFUMC Parents’ Club.” You may NOT tag the children/parents in these photos. It is strongly advised that you join the Parents’ Club Facebook page.  No public discussions are to be held or comments made on social media sites regarding the preschool children, staff, or preschool business that could be construed to have any impact on the preschool’s reputation or that would offend any parent or staff member associated with the preschool.  Staff should not accept parents as friends due to it being a breach of expected professional conduct unless they already know them in a personal capacity before their child starts preschool. Staff should avoid personal communication, including text and social networking sites, with the parents and caregivers with whom they act in a professional capacity.  Any concerns or breaches of this policy should be reported to the Weekday Education Director, Associate Director, or a Board Member.  It is strongly advised that families join our closed Facebook and Instagram groups for the SFUMC Weekday Education program.

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8 ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL - GENERAL POLICIES PMO PMO students should arrive at school between 8:45-9:00am. At 9:00 am, or when the last car in line has been unloaded, all doors will be locked. Parents arriving after this time should walk their child to the double doors and ring the bell. A staff member will come to the door and walk your child to his or her classroom. Please remember that habitual lateness is unfair to your child and the staff, as it is disruptive to the start of everyone’s day. Each parent will be given a carpool tag to be hung on the rearview mirror of your car at pick up and drop off. These signs enable the teachers to load and unload the children more efficiently so it is very important that the carpool tag is hung from your rearview mirror so that it is readily visible as soon as you enter the parking lot. Each family is given two carpool tags. If an authorized person is picking up your child on an occasional basis, it is most helpful if you give your car tag to that person. If you require additional car tags, please email the PMO Director. No child will be released to a person not authorized by the parents. You will have the ability to add or remove individuals on your child’s authorized pick-up list in Brightwheel throughout the school year. A call to the office will work in case of emergency or last-minute changes to your carpool plan. Teachers will ask for a picture ID if they do not recognize the person picking up. It is imperative that all parents drive with extreme caution in our parking lot. PLEASE USE COURTESY AND EXTREME CAUTION!! The safety of our children is of utmost importance. Speeding and reckless conduct in the parking lot will not be tolerated. PMO children must be loaded and unloaded from the driver’s side of the car. Children must remain buckled in their car seats until a teacher opens the car door for unloading. Although cars are moving very slowly, they are still moving, and we cannot take any chances with the safety of our children! The use of cell phones while in carpool, and especially when your child is being loaded or unloaded, is strictly prohibited. This should be a time for greeting your child or saying good-bye for the day, rather than a time for conducting personal business. This is also a safety issue, as cell phone usage can be a distraction from careful driving in the parking lot. Children are to be properly restrained in vehicles before leaving the parking lot. Teachers will buckle in PMO students, but all parents should pull over and be sure that their children are PROPERLY BUCKLED before leaving the premises. We hope that you are constantly vigilant to the safety of your child when they are a passenger in your own vehicle. SFUMC takes no responsibility for the fashion in which children are restrained in your vehicle. Parents of PMO children should enter the West Parking Lot from King

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9 Street and proceed as indicated on the attached map. Parents should remain in the car during carpool and can pull into one of the designated buckling stations to check their restraints. Exit the parking lot by the King Street or Concord Road exit. See enclosed carpool map. Preschool Preschool students should arrive between 8:45-9:00am. Regular and punctual attendance is expected of every child. At 9:00am, or when the last car in line has been unloaded, all doors will be locked. Parents arriving after this time should walk their child to the double red doors and ring the doorbell. A staff member will come to the door, sign your child in, and walk them to their classroom. Please remember that habitual lateness is unfair to your child and the staff, as it is disruptive to the start of everyone’s day. Each parent will be given a carpool tag to be hung on the rearview mirror of your car at pick-up and drop-off. These signs enable the teachers to load and unload the children more efficiently. It is very important that the carpool tag is hung from your rearview mirror so that it is readily visible as soon as you enter the parking lot. If an authorized person is picking up your child on an occasional basis, it is most helpful if you give your car sign to that person. If you require additional signs, please let your child’s teacher know. No child will be released to a person not authorized by the parents. You will have the ability to add or remove individuals on your child’s authorized pick-up list in Brightwheel throughout the school year. A call to the office will work in case of emergency or last-minute changes to your carpool plan. Teachers will ask for a picture ID if they do not recognize the person picking up. It is imperative that all parents drive with extreme caution in our parking lot. PLEASE USE COURTESY AND EXTREME CAUTION!! The safety of our children is of utmost importance. Children MUST remain buckled in their car seats until a teacher opens the car door for unloading. Although cars are moving very slowly, they are moving and we cannot take any chances with the safety of our children! Children may not hang out the windows or through the sunroof at any time. Please DO NOT open your van door until the car has come to a complete stop and a teacher is ready to unload your child. Preschool children must be loaded and unloaded from the passenger side of the car. Loading or unloading Preschool students from the driver’s side or the rear will not be permitted as this puts children and teachers in the line of traffic and consequently in danger. Please do not leave your car during carpool. This causes unnecessary delays and safety issues!

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10 Our parking lots are cell phone free zones. Please respect this policy and put your phones away. Say goodbye and greet your children, and always watch the cars in front of you. Please save the call, text, or social media post for another time and place. Children are to be properly restrained in vehicles in an appropriate car seat or booster seat before leaving the parking lot. Teachers will buckle in any 2-year students and younger, but parents should pull over and be certain that their children are PROPERLY BUCKLED before leaving the premises. The Weekday Education Program takes no responsibility for the fashion in which children are restrained in your vehicle. Detailed arrival and dismissal procedures for each class are included below and will be discussed at Parent Orientation. You will be responsible for adhering to these procedures. Carpool Map (PMO/Preschool)

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11 General Dismissal Procedures Detailed instructions and a copy of the above carpool map will be provided on the back of your carpool tag and will also be accessible in the Brightwheel document hub. PMO Dismissal loading will begin at 11:45am and continue until 12:00pm. If you are delayed on your way to pick up your child, please call the church at (770) 436-4108 extension 212 so that we will know. An overtime fee will be assessed for late pick up. Preschool Dismissal loading for children in the 2 through 4-year-old classes will begin at noon. Two year olds will dismiss from the West doors and the 3 and 4-year classes will dismiss from the double red doors. If you are delayed on your way to pick up your child, please call (770) 436-4108 extension 4 so that we can reassure your child that you are coming. An overtime fee will be assessed for late pick up. Arrival and Dismissal of PMO Classes Parents of PMO children should enter the West Parking Lot from King Street and proceed as indicated on the carpool map. Parents should remain in the car at all times, keeping your child buckled, and a staff member will unload your child. Unloading of PMO students will begin at 8:45 am. Exit the parking lot by the King Street or Concord Road exit, being mindful of the other parents entering the parking lot. The same procedure will be in effect for pick-up beginning at 11:45am. Remain in your car and the teacher will bring your child to you. Arrival and Dismissal of 2 Year Classes Parents of 2-year-olds will drop their children off at the West doors. Enter the parking lot from Church Street and proceed counterclockwise around the Youth building to the unloading station. Parents should remain in the car at all times, keeping your child buckled, and a staff member will unload your 2-year-old, as well as any older siblings. Unloading of 2-year-old students will begin at 8:45 am. Exit the parking lot onto Church Street being mindful of the other parents entering the parking lot. The same procedure will be in effect for pick-up beginning at noon. Remain in your car and the teacher will bring your child to you.

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12 Arrival and Dismissal of 3 and 4 Year classes Parents of children in the 3- and 4-year-old classes should enter the parking lot at the west entrance of the Church Street parking lot and proceed as directed on the carpool map to the double red doors. Parents should remain in the car at all times, keeping your child buckled, and a staff member will unload your child. Unloading of students in the 3- and 4-year-old classes will begin at 8:45 am. There will be three loading/unloading stations designated by orange cones. Exit the parking lot on the east end (Atlanta Rd. side) or onto westbound Concord Road. Please pull up as close as you can to the car in front of you to keep the line short. It is imperative that we keep Church Street clear and do not block thru traffic. Please exercise caution at all times and be considerate of other drivers coming and going. The same procedure will be in effect for pick-up beginning at noon. Remain in your car and the teacher will bring your child to you. Preschool Rainy Day Procedures On rainy days, Preschool parents will be notified by text message (via Brightwheel) that rainy day procedures are in effect. Please make sure you are registered for an account on Brightwheel and linked to your child’s profile. 2’s and 3’s and their siblings will be dropped off at the double red doors. 4’s will be dropped off at the Welcome Center. Pick-Up: 2- and 3-year classes - Double Red Doors 4-year classes - Welcome Center Cars picking up at the Welcome Center must exit Right onto Concord Road. Cars picking up at the double red doors should follow the normal carpool pattern. Please exercise caution as cars will also be driving to the Welcome Center. Please be extremely patient. BEHAVIOR AND DISCIPLINE Our goal is to help children explore their world while developing greater self-control. Restrictions and structure are imperative to the safety and continuity of a child’s day but are not to be used for arbitrary reasons or convenience. We expect children to learn to respect authority by showing respect to them. Learning to live within rules and boundaries is vital to learning to be a productive member of society. We must all (parents, teachers, and children) follow rules set down for various reasons. Our rules will be consistent, and we will make every effort to make sure that the children understand that. Your support for your child’s teachers will go a long way in helping us accomplish this.

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13 It is our belief that children will live up or down to our expectations. A difficult day does not define a child as “difficult” and we will avoid labels, because our children are individuals. Discipline problems will be addressed by the teachers in a timely and appropriate fashion. While you may be informed of an incident, either by your child or by the teacher, it does not mean that further consequences should be given at home. Children are not to be embarrassed or discussed in front of other children. Age-appropriate time outs are acceptable in our program, but at no time will a child be isolated. A child will be removed from the classroom and taken to the office if they have hurt a classmate, are in need of some quiet “thinking” time or are in need of a little extra TLC. They will return to the classroom as soon as appropriate. On rare occasions, a parent may be called for an early dismissal due to the infraction or emotional distress. Always feel free to discuss any behavior problems with the teachers or the Director and Associate Director. We encourage and praise positive, cooperative behavior. BIRTHDAYS Birthday celebrations will take place during regular snack time in each classroom. Children with summer birthdays will have an “un-birthday” celebration. Your child’s teachers will schedule these dates. Please keep in mind the following school-wide birthday policies:  Send a special prepackaged snack only. DO NOT send drinks.  Please send the snack into the classroom at morning drop-off.  Goodie bags, special decorations, party favors, and balloons are NOT allowed.  Due to many nut allergies within our program please do not bring snack that have nuts in them. We do not distribute invitations (or thank-you notes) for off-campus birthday parties. BITING Biting is a natural stage that many children go through. However, it is not acceptable in a school setting, and it is our responsibility to help them learn acceptable behavior. If a biting incident occurs the following steps will be followed:  Biting will be interrupted with a firm “No, we don’t bite our friends.”  The bitten child will be comforted, and the bite will be assessed and cleaned with soap and water.  The biter will be removed from the situation and placed in time out.  An incident report will be completed.  The parents of both children will be notified.

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14 If a child bites more than once in a day, the biter’s parents will be called to pick up the student from school. If a child bites more than three times in a 30-day period, a conference will be held with parents, teachers and Directors. If a child has more than three biting incidents during the school year, dismissal from school is at the discretion of the Weekday Education Board. CHAPEL Preschool children in our 4-year classes participate in Chapel on a weekly basis. Three year olds will participate in Chapel in December. Age-appropriate religious education is incorporated by the teachers in the 2-year classes, published by Orange. Preschool Chapel curriculum, First Look, is aligned with our SFUMC Children’s Ministries Curriculum. Content will be shared with you so that you may reinforce concepts at home. CHILD CUSTODY In issues of child custody, parents must submit a court copy of the custody agreement. Unless an official document is on file, the school cannot prevent a biological parent from picking up a child. CLOTHING Clothing should be washable, sturdy, and free of complicated fastenings. The children should wear clothing that allows them to play, paint, run, eat, manage themselves in the bathroom, and just plain get dirty. Well-fitting tennis shoes are REQUIRED. **No boots, flip-flops, jellies, Crocs, sandals, dress-up shoes, or any slip-on shoe of any type or design is allowed as they may cause accidents and injuries in the classrooms and hallways, or on the playground. Please ask if you need further clarification or have any questions. *Children with inappropriate footwear will not be allowed to play on the playground due to safety regulations. Hoop earrings, necklaces, bracelets, tiaras, make-up, tutus, costumes, and capes (except for Halloween) are not allowed at school. We want the children to be able to focus on their school activities, not on their fashion accessories. Provide sweaters and jackets even on the first cool fall day. It is much easier to remove an unneeded item than to put on something you do not have. Remember to mark your child’s outer clothing with their name. Many sweaters, jackets, gloves, and hats are of similar size and color. Girls who prefer dresses must also always wear privacy shorts or leggings.

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15 Please send a complete change of clothing (including socks and underpants) to school with your child. Your child will need warm, removable clothing for outside wear. If your child brings a hat, we will see that they wear it outside to play. We will attempt outdoor play everyday, even if it is an abbreviated play time. COMMUNICATION We encourage communication between school and parents. Appointments can be made with the teachers before or after school hours. You may contact your child’s teachers via Brightwheel or e-mail. Please do not text the teachers on their personal cell phones. Teachers will respond to Brightwheel messages or e-mails within 24 hours during the school week. Please be respectful of their personal time. Please know that teachers will not see or respond to any email communication during the school day. After 8:00 am each morning, please call, send a message through Brightwheel, or email the school office if there is information you would like us to relay to the teachers, such as a carpool change, early pick-up, or a traffic situation. The direct line for PMO is (770) 436-4108 ext. 212. The direct line for the Preschool is (770) 436-4108 ext. 4. Please save these numbers to your phone. Administration will use Brightwheel to send messages to PMO and Preschool families. Please install the Brightwheel app on your phone if you do not already have it and link to your child’s profile. Parents, guardians, and any individuals regularly dropping off or picking up your child should also download Brightwheel and link to your child’s profile to ensure they receive any messages from Administration. The Weekday Education Program also has an Instagram page (@sfumcpreschool) that you can join. Administration may post photos and various event reminders on Instagram throughout the school year. The Weekday Education office is open Monday through Friday during regular school hours. The Director may or may not be in her office during those hours as her job encompasses many duties in the office, in the classrooms, and away from campus. The Director is always happy to meet with parents to discuss issues or concerns. However, you are requested to be respectful of both the Director’s job and her time. Please e-mail or call to make an appointment to meet with her. She will be more than happy to accommodate you in her schedule. You will be notified of meetings, events, and special programs during the school year. Teachers will note these events on their monthly classroom calendar, in newsletters, and via Brightwheel. Additional notification will be made when necessary.

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16 Messages brought to school by children must be in written form and clipped to the outside of their school bags. We cannot accept oral communications from the children. School bags will be checked each morning for any messages from home. Please clean your child’s bag out each evening to find any messages and correspondences from school, and to see your child’s work for the day. All information going home on, or in, children’s bags must be reviewed and approved by a staff member. Tuition or other payments sent to school should be clipped to the outside of the child’s book bag and not handed to a teacher during loading or unloading. CONFERENCES Virtual or phone conferences will be offered during the school year. Additional conferences may be initiated by parents or by the school and should in no way be regarded as anything other than a mutual effort to meet the needs of the child. Teachers are always happy to discuss a child’s progress with any parent who so desires. Teachers remain at school for at least 30 minutes after carpool ends each day. You may call (770) 436-4108 ext. 4 during this time if you need to arrange a conference, discuss a problem, or leave a message. You may also contact the teachers or staff via e-mail. Childcare is not provided for conferences. Please plan accordingly. FIELD TRIPS Children in our 4-year classes may take field trips during the school year. Parental permission for your child to participate in such excursions is a part of the agreement form. All field trips are planned and coordinated by the teachers and approved by the Director. Children in the 4-year classes will be transported to and from the field trips by their own parent or by someone designated by their parent. While on field trips, all children must use car seats. Your child’s teacher may request that your child wear their school shirt or a certain color on field trips. If you choose to purchase a school t-shirt through the SFUMC Parents’ Club, please do not alter it in any way. The teachers will have emergency release forms for each child on the field trip.

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17 If weather conditions become impossible during a field trip, the group will return to the school. Pick-up procedures will remain the same on field trip days. The Director will know at all times that the field trip group is en route, at the destination, or at the school. A field trip will be canceled if adequate drivers and/or adult chaperones are unavailable. Younger siblings may NOT accompany parents on field trips. Parents cannot adequately supervise the safety of the class when preoccupied with the care of a younger child. Enrolled siblings must be picked up at their regular time on field trip days. Two-year and three-year classes will not participate in off-campus field trips. GRIEVANCE POLICY Most school-related complaints and disputes can be settled in conversation between the staff members involved, the Director, and the parent(s) involved. All parents are encouraged to resolve any problems through constructive discussions and problem solving with the parties involved. If a resolution cannot be reached, the parties involved should come together to the Weekday Education Board to seek input. An earnest effort is to be made to resolve any problems as promptly as possible. HEALTH OF YOUR CHILD Your child’s health is a matter of importance to all of us. Upon enrollment, we require a copy of your child’s immunization records. Children must be kept at home if they have any symptoms of illness. These symptoms include, but are not limited to:  Has a fever or has had a fever during the previous 48 hours  Has experienced vomiting or diarrhea in the previous 48 hours  Is lethargic and will be unable to participate in normal classroom activities Parents should notify the office of any contagious illness. Notice will then be given to other parents of the exposure. We will give no medication at school other than that outlined in the child’s Medical Plan/Allergy Action form provided by the pediatrician. A child that needs medication during school hours must be kept at home. The extent of our medical treatments to children will be cleaning minor wounds and bandaging minor abrasions. It is of the utmost importance that all medical information on file, including allergies, be kept up to date. Classes go outside each day unless the weather is inclement. If your child is not well enough to be outside, they are not well enough to be at school. Both classroom teachers accompany children to the playground, consequently there is no one available to supervise a “sick” child.

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18 Your child may be sent home if any symptoms of illness appear during the school day. In such cases, your child will be isolated from the others, and you will be contacted to pick up your child. In case of accidental injury, we will make an immediate attempt to contact a parent. If we cannot reach a parent, we will call the Emergency Contacts. If necessary, we will also call an ambulance or paramedics. Until the arrival of a parent, the ambulance, or paramedics, the Director or a teacher will be in charge and make all decisions about the care of the child. The school will maintain a parent’s signed consent form agreeing to this provision. The school should be made aware of updated phone numbers, emergency numbers, and other pertinent information throughout the year. You will be able to update this information in Brightwheel so that the school has the most current information at all times. Staff members wear plastic gloves when changing diapers and when bandaging or tending to injuries involving blood. Hands are washed with soap after diaper changes, wiping noses, using the bathroom, and before snack time. Tables in the classroom are sanitized daily. Emergency plans are posted in each classroom and fire drills (in accordance with Georgia Law) will be conducted on a monthly basis. WE MUST, AT ALL TIMES, HAVE AT LEAST TWO LOCAL NAMES AND PHONE NUMBERS, OTHER THAN THE PARENTS, WHO WE CAN CONTACT IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. HOLIDAYS Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter will be celebrated. Your child’s teachers will provide additional information. PARENTS’ CLUB The Parents’ Club is a service and support organization. It is the belief of the school that the parents and staff are a team that work in concert to provide the best learning environment possible. We would like for every parent in the Weekday Education Program to be a member of our Parents’ Club. We are currently looking for parents that wish to take on a leadership role in the Parents’ Club and to help us grow this vital organization. Please join the Parents’ Club Facebook page (SFUMC Parents’ Club).

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19 POTTY TRAINING POLICY All children in the 3-year classes and beyond MUST be fully and reliably potty-trained. Our 3-year-old classrooms are not equipped for diapering. Each child should be wearing underwear – not pull-ups or diapers – at school. Each class takes at least one scheduled bathroom break each day, as well as individual access to the bathroom, as needed. SAFETY OF YOUR CHILD The doors to the PMO and Preschool hallways will remain locked during school hours. Visitors to PMO or Preschool must be admitted by and always accompanied by a staff member. Children will not be left without direct visual supervision at any time. No person other than a Weekday Education staff member or a person qualified to perform the duties of an absent staff member may provide supervision. All staff members have passed criminal background checks. Parent volunteers may be asked to complete a background check and Safe Sanctuary training. SCHOLARSHIP FUND Tax-deductible donations and contributions to the program are joyfully accepted at any time during the year and may be made in honor or in memory of an individual. Such contributions will be used for enrichment of the school program and to make scholarships available to PMO/Preschool families in times of need. Checks should be made payable to Smyrna First United Methodist Church Weekday Education. All contributions are tax deductible. SCHOOL CLOSINGS In cases of inclement weather, Smyrna First United Methodist Weekday Education will follow Cobb County’s decision concerning closing school. You will be notified of any delays or closures by text (via Brightwheel). Any Cobb County closing announced on the news will also apply. If Cobb County schools are closed unexpectedly for a non-weather-related reason, we will make our decision independently. We will make every effort to adhere to the published school calendar.

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20 SCHOOL LIBRARY Because of the generosity of our parents, students, and friends, both past and present, we are fortunate to have a wonderful collection of children’s literature. The books in the school library are used to supply individual classroom libraries and to serve as a resource area for our teachers and students. Students in our 4-year-old classes are allowed to check out books for home use and will visit the library on a weekly basis. Books may also be donated to the library to celebrate your child’s birthday or to honor or memorialize a loved one. Books especially selected for this purpose will be available in the library (C105). Please send Ms. Danielle a message through Brightwheel if you’d like to purchase a book. SCHOOL PHOTOS A professional photographer will take individual and class photos in the fall. All children will be photographed, and you may purchase online if you wish to do so. Parents are under no obligation to purchase photos. A picture of the entire class will be provided free of charge during the school year. SNACKS PMO Please send in a labeled snack and sippy cup of water each day. Products containing nuts are not permitted. If any students in your child’s class have allergies, we will ask all families to accommodate, for the safety of our students. Parents in baby classes should provide all necessary implements included, such as spoons, bottles, formula, milk, baby food, etc. Please do not send foods that need to be refrigerated or cooked, as PMO does not have the capacity to accommodate these needs. Preschool Each class observes a mid-morning snack time each day. Your child’s classroom teachers will determine the snack procedure and schedule. Due to an increase in food allergies and COVID-19 precautions, we ask that students bring their own snack and for 3- and 4-year-olds to also bring a water bottle that is labeled. Two-year-olds will be provided water in disposable cups. The teacher(s) will let parents know if there are food allergies present in the classroom.

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21 SPECIAL NEEDS CONSIDERATIONS When a teacher and/or the Director observes that a child is having difficulty performing at an appropriate developmental age level, is having difficulty adjusting to school, or is disrupting the learning environment for other children, efforts will be made to address these issues with the parents. The Weekday Education program will make every effort to work with the family, to provide resource information regarding referrals to the appropriate local school district and or state agency, and to help determine the optimal arrangement for the special needs of the child. This may include the parents providing additional support or facilitation from a private or public resource. We will make every reasonable effort to accommodate our students’ needs, however, should any child’s struggles pose a possible threat to the health, welfare or safety of himself, herself, other students, faculty or staff, dismissal from the program may be necessary. STAY & PLAY Stay & Play is an extended day program for children in our three- and four-year classes, designed to give them the opportunity to experience a longer day together. The program meets on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays until 1:00 pm. Children may stay as follows: 2-day Honeybees Tuesdays, Thursdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays 3-day Giraffes and Honeybees Wednesdays Kangaroos, Pandas and Zebras Tuesdays, Thursdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays The school’s teachers and staff supervise the Stay & Play program. Stay & Play is divided into two sessions – Session I (September through December) and Session II (January through May). There will be no reductions or adjustments in tuition for absences or school holidays. Drop-in Stay & Play is available at a cost of $10 per day. If you wish to take advantage of this offering, please send a check or cash in the amount of $10 attached to your child’s school bag, along with a note specifying who will be picking up your child on the day that you wish for your child to stay. On Stay & Play days, each child should bring a lunch with no drink. Water will be provided. Pick up time is 1:00 pm. A late fee will be assessed if you are late picking up your child.

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22 TOYS FROM HOME Toys should not be brought to school except on designated days. Teachers will designate days when a child may select and bring a toy to show/share with others. The toy selected should fit in the school bag. Guns, swords, war toys, and other toys of destruction are not allowed. No toys should be attached to the school bags. VISITORS Parents are welcome to visit our school at any time. However, in order to control classroom interruptions and to preserve a safe environment for our children, all parents and visitors must check in with the office upon arrival. Parents who are not fully vaccinated will be required to wear a mask. Visitors will be given a nametag upon arrival that must be visible at all times. WHAT TO BRING WITH YOUR CHILD PMO PMO will provide each child with a personalized school bag. Please send the following items in their school bag each day your child attends PMO:  A weather appropriate change of clothes, including underwear and socks for those children who are potty-trained.  At least three labeled diapers for those who are not potty-trained.  Babies needing a bottle during their school day should bring in a labeled bottle and instructions for formula (when to feed and how much).  Toddlers should bring a labeled sippy cup with water in it to drink. If needed, labeled comfort items such as blankets, pacifiers, special toys, etc. are permitted. Preschool Preschool will provide each child with a personalized school bag. Please send the following items in their school bag each day your child attends Preschool:  A weather appropriate change of clothes, including underwear, socks, for those children who are potty-trained.  At least three labeled diapers for those who are not potty-trained.  A labeled jacket, sweater, hat, or gloves on cool weather days.  A nut-free snack and labeled water bottle with water in it to drink.