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SRS Home & School Association

Globetrotters Foreign Language Program 2014 - 2015

SRS Home and School Association

Globetrotters Foreign Language Program 2014 -2015

Dear Parents,

We are pleased to present our updated Parent Guidelines for “Globetrotters,” the extracurricular Foreign Language Program at SRS.

The updated Parent guidelines have also been published on Home and School’s webpage (srskids.org) under Foreign Language.

The guidelines include policies that have been developed after careful consideration to provide the highest quality program and safety practices for your children.

It is important for all parents to read the Parent Guidelines.

At the end of the guidelines you will find an acknowledgement documenting that you have read the guidelines and had the opportunity to have any questions answered. You will also find a liability waiver.

Please print out both forms, sign them and return them together with your registration form and payment for the program. Forms and payment should be sent to school in an envelope marked “H&S Globetrotters Language Program.”

Checks should be made payable to SRS Home & School.

If you have questions, please contact any of the following individuals:

Katie TurnerRaluca Verona

610-543-2724

Melissa KennedyMaresa Mahoney

Parent Guidelines 2014/2015

Program Description

Home and School offers a fee based extra-curricular foreign language program called “Globetrotters.”

Language classes are offered by professional language teachers with a maximum of 12 students in the classroom. We currently offer instruction in Chinese (Chinese Globetrotters), French (French Globetrotters), and Spanish (Spanish Globetrotters).

Our mission is to provide consistent language instruction that enables students to build on their language skills from year to year. The programs are developmentally appropriate and designed to make learning a second language fun.

Information about the teachers and the curriculum can be found on Home and School’s webpage (srskids.org) under Globetrotters Foreign Language Program.

In the 2014/15 school year we will offer Level I (beginner), Level II (intermediate) and Level 3, 4, and 5 (advanced) classes. Students who completed all 3 sessions of the 2013-2014 Home and School Foreign Language Program will be admitted into Level 2/Level 3/ Level 4classes for the same language. Students with other prior language instruction may be admitted into Level II or Level III classes at the instructor’s discretion.

The program is a total of 24 weeks long and consists of three consecutive sessions. Session times, language choices, time of instruction and fees are published on the registration form and can be referenced at srskids.org.

Enrollment is for the entire 24 week program, but payments can be made according to the pay schedule published on the registration form. There is the option to pay tuition on an annual discounted basis.

There is limited space and admission to the program will be in order of applications received. If the minimum number of participants required for a class has not been reached, the organizers reserve the right to cancel the class. The organizers will work with parents to find alternatives or refund the payments made.

Admission to the Program

Please send your completed registration form, payment (check or money order), the signed Parent Guideline Forms and signed liability waiver to school with your child in an envelope marked “H&S Globetrotters Language Program.”

Checks should be made payable to: SRS Home & School.

Children who are admitted to the program in the first session will be automatically enrolled in the second and third sessions and payment is expected unless you withdraw via email or letter at least one week prior to the start of the next session. If your child withdraws from the program before the end of the 2014-2015 year, your child will not be able to participate in the program in any of the remaining sessions during that same school year.

Confirmations of placement will be e-mailed to the e-mail address you have provided prior to the start of the 2014-2015 school year. If you have not received a confirmation email before the school year has commenced, please contact Katie Turner at or 610-543-2724.

Payments

Only children who have been assigned a spot in the Globetrotters program and who have submitted the required forms and payment will be allowed to start the classes on the first day of the program or any subsequent session. Payment must be in the form of a personal check or a money order, made payable to SRS Home and School. A $35 processing fee for all returned checks will be charged. Payments not received within seven days of the due date specified on the registration form will incur a $25 late fee.

In addition to class tuition, all participants will be assessed a once annually non-refundable $10 registration fee. If you prepay for the full year, the registration fee will be waived.

All tuition payments are non-refundable, unless the class is cancelled by the program organizers and no alternative placement can be made. Please note that if you prepay for the entire year, you will not receive a refund if your child withdraws from the program before the end of the 2014-2015 program.

Scholarships

We are pleased and proud to offer scholarships to families who need financial help. Each year we have a few places available in the language program for those families who need support. Please contact SRS school counselor Kathy Gemberling at 610-892-3470 extension 4511 for more information.

Monetary donations to this Scholarship Fund are always welcome and needed. Donations can be sent to school in an envelope marked “H&S Foreign Language Scholarship Fund.” Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Children with Special Needs

We make a great effort to accommodate all children and are an equal opportunity program. However, we are not a special needs program and there are limits to the accommodations we can offer in the scope of this language program. Our language teachers are not specifically trained for special needs.

We ask parents of special needs children to carefully evaluate if this class is suitable for their children. We also strongly encourage you to provide an aide for the classroom if your child needs extra support.

If we cannot reasonably accommodate your child’s special needs we reserve the right to terminate your child’s participation in the program. It is important that parents bring needs to the attention of the program organizers and the language teachers prior to the commencement of the school year.

Globetrotters Language Program Progressive Discipline Policy

Our Globetrotters Language Programs are intended to be a creative and rewarding learning experience for everyone. When discipline is required, the below mentioned procedures will be followed:

First Incident: Teachers are encouraged to speak directly to the student about the offending behavior and give a “time out” from the class activity. Teachers are expected to be specific about the disruptive behavior and clear about the consequences if the behavior continues.

Second Incident: Teachers are asked to place the students in a “time out” zone. The student’s parents will be notified that the student has been removed from the classroom activity and the reason for that decision.

Third Incident: Teachers are asked to put the children in a “time out” zone. The student’s parents will be contacted to pick up their child. The student will be excluded for the next class session. Parents will informed that the program has no tolerance for repeated offenders and that exclusion from the whole program will be considered by the staff.

If a student has demonstrated serious disruptive behavior, the staff together with the program organizers will make a decision regarding the student’s continued participation in the program. Students removed from the program will receive NO REFUND of payments made to Home and School and will lose their placement for the following sessions for the school year.

We will strictly enforce this policy to make sure that students who want to learn will have the chance to do so. Please talk to your children about how we will enforce discipline.

Transportation/Drop Off/Pickup Procedures

Transportation

There will be NO transportation provided by H&S to Globetrotters Classes at SRS. Parents are solely responsible for getting their children to or picking them up from SRS in a timely manner.

Drop-Off for morning classes

Please be at the main entrance by 7:55 am. Classes start promptly at 8:00 am. Please park your car and walk your child into the lobby of the main entrance to meet your teacher. The teacher will walk up to the classroom at 7:55 am sharp. WE ARE UNABLE TO WAIT FOR YOU or YOUR CHILD. If your child is late you will have to walk your child up to the classroom.

REGARDLESS OF YOUR CHILD’S AGE OR GRADE, Do NOT let your child walk into the school alone. Our language teachers will be in the lobby at 7:50AM. Please do not leave your child unattended prior to the teacher’s arrival to meet the students.

Walkers

Because SRS does not provide supervision of students prior to 8:20AM, your child may not walk into the school alone. Please accompany your child into the SRS lobby to meet your child’s teacher. As noted above, our language teachers will be waiting in the lobby starting at 7:50AM. Do not leave your child unattended prior to the teacher’s arrival to meet the students.

Inclement Weather Closings

In the event of severe weather conditions, we will follow the Wallingford Swarthmore School District (WSSD) in determining whether or not to have our language programs.

If the School District does not open for the day, we will not have language classes.

If the School District opens two hours late, we will not have language classes.

When you hear a storm is pending and may start during the day, please check for information regularly. WSSD closes before travel conditions become poor.

Unfortunately, due to the brevity of the Globetrotters Language Program, should there be a class cancellation due to weather, no make-ups will be provided or scheduled.

Medicine Policy

The school nurse is NOT availablebefore the school day.

If your child is sick, he/she should remain home. If your child becomes ill during the Globetrotters language program, you will be contacted to pick up your child immediately. No medicine will be dispensed.

Please notify the Globetrotters language teachers about any allergies.

Acknowledgement Parent Guidelines

I/We______the parent(s) or

legal guardian(s) of ______acknowledge that I/we have read the Parent Guidelines which are available on the H&S webpage (srskids.org) under Foreign Language. I/we have had a reasonable opportunity to ask the program organizers to clarify policies that seem unclear to me/us.

I/We understand that H&S reserves the right to alter, amend, or otherwise modify these guidelines, and I/we agree to review changes when notified.

I/we agree to seek answers to questions throughout the program year and to abide by all policies set forth in the Parent Guidelines.

I/we understand and agree to abide by the drop off procedures as outlined in the Parent Guidelines.

I/we agree to make payments on-time. I/we understand that late payment will result in the assessment of a late fee and only children who have submitted required payment and forms for the session will be admitted to the class. I/we understand that payments are non-refundable at all times, including when we pre-pay for the entire year in advance.

Signature: ______Date:______

Signature: ______Date: ______

Liability Waiver

Being the parent(s) and/or the guardian(s) of a child/ren enrolled in the Globetrotters extracurricular Foreign Language Classes, I/we hereby release, discharge and hold harmless H&S, its officers, the program organizers, the foreign language instructors and Foreign language schools, helpers and volunteers from any and all claims, injury or action arising out of or relating to the participation by the child including, but not limited to transportation to and from said activities.

Signature:______Date:______

Signature: ______Date: ______