Welcome to
Kids Down South
A Preschool located
At South Eugene High School
400 E. 19th Ave
Eugene, OR 97405
(541)-790-8069, 790-8000
Parent Handbook
2011-2012
Mission Statement
Kids Down South provides a safe, highly engaging quality program for your children where they can be nurtured in a creative, loving family environment.
Welcome to Kids Down South
Welcome to the Kids Down South program. We look forward to working together with you and your child to provide high quality family centered care. The South Eugene High School students are an important part of our program and we hope that you will value the contributions they make to your child. These students allow us the freedom to provide activities and care that is exceptional as well as to give a high level of individual attention to all our children.
Kids Down South has been operating since 1992. The purpose of our center is to provide quality childcare for the community and to allow the SEHS students a chance to interact with children in a positive, structured and enriching way. We feel that the interaction between the SEHS teens and our children is beneficial and rewarding for all.
We encourage you to ask all of your questions and we welcome all of your suggestions and comments. We are continually striving for growth and improvement of our center.
Program Design
Kids Down South‘s program is designed to meet the developmental needs of young children. It provides experiences that enrich each child’s cognitive, language, social, emotional, physical and creative development. Our daily curriculum will focus on the importance and encouragement of self esteem, social skills, and basic skills with an emphasis on creativity through arts, crafts, music, games, and literature.
Within the center’s daily schedule, each child has opportunities to create, explore the environment, learn problem solving skills, practice interpersonal skills, and learn concepts through first hand experiences. Children develop a positive self-concept through a balance of self- and teacher-directed activities.
Opportunities for solitary and group activities are provided. Foreign language instruction may be taught by teens that are in the South’s language immersion programs.
Program Information
Kid's Down South serves all community children ages four months to 6 years of age. We are open to the Eugene/Springfield community as well as District 4J employee and teen parenting students. Infant/Toddlers are enrolled on a case by case basis with preference given to district staff and SEHS teen parents first; and families with an enrolled older sibling. We welcome all children and are committed to serving all children regardless of sex, religion or ethnic background. Handicap access is available.
We respect parents as the primary and most important provider of care and nurturing, and we believe parents and teachers are partners in child care and education.
KDS is a partner with the University of Oregon program EC CARES (Early Childhood Coordination Agency for Referrals, Evaluations, and Services in Lane County. EC CARES provides Early Intervention(EI) and Early Childhood Special Education(ECSE) services to children from birth to school age who have developmental delays or disabilities. The EC Cares program provides us with specialists in speech and language, motor, and teaching/behavior consultants when needed.
Kids Down South Professional Staff: Our teachers are carefully selected for their creativity, enthusiasm and ability to meet you child's needs. Our teachers have Master's Degrees in Early Childhood Education, Sociology, and Elementary Education. In addition, they are certified in advanced first aid and CPR. A lead teacher or an assistant teacher will always be in charge of the classroom. Our paid teens are considered assistant teachers. This year, seven advanced students serve as paid work experience staff. These paid teens are giving a great deal of responsibilities and are a valuable asset to our program.
High School Students: A unique feature of our program is the involvement of South Eugene High School students. Students enrolled in our Child Psychology and Advanced Child Psychology classes are instrumental in the site and curriculum design. Their input is always encouraged. Their involvement, supervised by the classroom instructor, enables us to provide a 1:2 ratio. These students are called a classroom aide. At all times these students work under the supervision of the professional staff.
All of the SEHS students make a large contribution to the success of our center. Many of them are also available for babysitting jobs. Each year you can secure a babysitting list by the end of October.
Hours of Operation: Kid's Down South operates in accordance with the 4J's district school calendar. Students may enroll part-time or full time. We are open 7:30am to 4:00pm.
Tuition Information
Fees and Registration: Registration fee is $50.00 per child. This fee is due at the time of registration and will be held as a deposit. It will be applied toward the first month's tuition. All registration forms are available in the KDS classroom. Immunization records are required. Students will not be permitted to attend before the record is on file.
Tuition: Tuition is billed on the first day of each month. Childcare payments are due by the 15th of each month. If tuition is paid past this date, a $10.00 late fee will be charged. Tuition is $4.00 per hour. Monthly costs are computed in one of two ways: based on the total number of days in that month you slotted to for your child to attend each week, or based on the total number of attendance days they can attend to determine a set monthly fee. We do not reimburse for sick days.
Enrollment Forms: We must have all enrollment information completed by parents before leaving the child for the first day. Please notify the staff of any changes of address or telephone numbers where you may be reached. It is important that we have up-to-date information. Also, if for any reason a person other than those you have authorized on the registration materials needs to pick up your child from the center, please inform the teacher in advance. We will NOT allow a child to leave the Preschool without this information. If we have not met this person in advance, we will ask them for a photo ID.
Absences: Please notify us by 9:00am each day your child is going to be absent.
Call 541-790-8069.
Late Fees: $2.50 will be charged for first five minutes after a 4:00 pm. departure. $1.00 will be charged for every minute afterwards.
Important Dates:
Preschool Observed Holidays: Kids Down South will be closed the following Eugene School District holidays:
Friday, October 12th – State In-Service day, No school
Friday, November 11th – Veteran’s Day, No school
Thursday and Friday, November 24th-25th – Thanksgiving, No school
Monday December 19th to January 3rd, 2011- Winter Break
Monday, January 16th—Martin Luther King Day, No School
Monday, January 30st – Planning Day, TBA
Monday, February 20st – President Day, No School
M-M, March 26th - April 2nd , Spring Break, No School
Monday, April 13th – Planning Day, TBA
Monday, May 28th - Memorial Day
Friday, June 8th, Family Picnic & Last Day of School
Special Events: Family Potluck & Pumpkin Patch in October. Family Picnic in June.
Snow/Ice Days: Kids Down South will follow the same schedule as the public schools do. School closure information and late starts are broadcast on local radio stations (KUGN) beginning at 6:00am and are listed on the Eugene School District website {www.4j.lane.edu} Parents are responsible for obtaining this information. If there are some snow days this year, we will extend the date of our last day of school
Vacations: Credit is not given for vacations of one week or less. There is no charge for the second week of vacation if one-week advance notice is given. Vacations that are longer than two weeks should be discussed with the teacher.
General Information
Arrival: Accompany your child inside and wait until he/she has been greeted by the teacher or paid teen on duty. We want you to sign your child in with the correct time and sign for hot or cold lunch. Sign in sheets are located on the podium
Departure: Be sure to sign your child out with the correct time when you pick him/her up. Also, remember to collect artwork, check for wet clothes and notes to parents.
Lunch/Snacks: A balanced lunch is available for purchase. This lunch is prepared in our high school cafeteria and meets the requirements of the USDA child nutrition program. The cost of the lunch is $2.10 per day. Kids Down South provides mid-morning/afternoon snacks at no extra cost. Please inform us of any allergies. When we do have children attending who are allergic to peanut butter, we ask parents to not send peanut butter sandwiches on the days the allergic student attends.
Toys: To avoid lost or broken toys children are encouraged not to bring toys from home. If a child does bring a toy, it must be left in his/her cubby during the day or kept with the head teacher. Toy guns, warriors with guns, or other weapons may not be brought to Kids Down South.
Birthdays: We will be happy to celebrate your child's birthday at school. Talk to a teacher about the preparation. Parents are encouraged to attend the birthday celebration. Because of state law and the 4J Wellness Nutrition plan, all baked goods must be purchased from a store or commercial bakery and meet the minimum nutritional guidelines. A copy of this is located at the back of the handbook. If you are hosting an out of school birthday party for your child, you can put your invitations in the guest’s cubbies only if all their peer group is invited. Please mail them if only a few of them are being invited, as their little feelings get hurt if not invited. Thanks for understanding.
Dress: Please send your child to school in "play-clothes", some of our activities and outdoor games can be "messy'. Each child must have a complete change of clothing in his/her cubby. PLEASE CLEARLY LABEL ALL CLOTHING.
Medications: We are not allowed to administer any medications. All medications must be given through the nurse in our Student Health Center. Exceptions to this are in the case of allergies. We have at least one trained and certified adult staff member who could identify anaphylactic shock and provide an EPI Pen injection if needed. The South nursing staff can be called as well.
Insurance: A group policy providing liability coverage has been purchased to cover children enrolled in the Preschool. You may wish to provide additional coverage through your own policy.
Diapers: If your child requires diapers you must supply all diapers to the Preschool. These will be placed in your child’s bathroom cubby for only his/her use.
Toilet Training: If your child is in the process of learning to use the toilet, we ask you share with us your approach and wording you may use while teaching and encouraging this important and sometimes frustrating time in parenting. We also will ask you to bring extra underpants for those sometimes accidents.
Preschool Classroom Rules
Here are the expectations for have for your child(rens) behavior while at KDS. Many of these, we are sure, you are using at home. It helps children to have consistency during a day, thus, we have provided you the verbiage we use to remind them of our expectations.
* Walking is for inside! Running is for outside.
* Use inside voices.
* Clean up the play-area before moving on to a new activity.
* Observe quiet area when children are napping.
* Wash your hands before eating and after using the bathroom. We have a hand washing song.
* Use your words! Hitting and other aggressive behavior are not allowed. Hitting will result in a time out. The child will be told why they are being given a time out and asked to think of way they could have used their words if this happens or are feeling this way again. At the end of a two minute time out, a teacher will ask them what they will say the next time and praise them for their response.
* Gun playing is not allowed. Do not bring weapons of any kind to school.
A note from the coordinator: We appreciate your patronage at Kids Down South. We believe parents and teachers are partners in children’s education. We hope this handbook helps clarify our policies. With the program being a team effort, we welcome any questions, comments, or concerns. Thank you,
Marilyn A. Cooley
Attached:
Hand Washing and Other Favorite Songs
District 4J Weather Policy & Nutrition Policy
SEHS Health Clinic