Treasure Creek
Weekday Preschool
Parent Handbook
2017-2018
Treasure Creek Weekday Preschool
Long Hollow Baptist Church
3031 Long Hollow Pike
Hendersonville, TN 37075
615-265-3790
FAX: 615-824-4506
TREASURE CREEK OVERVIEW
PHILOSOPHY
PURPOSE
CURRICULUM
TREASURE CREEK POLICIES
ENROLLMENT
TUITION AND FEES
SCHOOL CALENDAR
ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL
LATE DISMISSAL
SECURITY
STAFF
INCLEMENT WEATHER/SCHOOL CLOSINGS
ILLNESS
ACCIDENTS
ALLERGIES
CLOTHING AND BELONGINGS
SNACKS
LUNCH TIME
BIRTHDAYS
REST TIME
VISITORS
DISCIPLINE
BITING
BEHAVIOR RECORDS
MONTHLY CALENDARS
EMERGENCY EVACUATION
FIRE DRILLS
NOTES
NOTES
NOTES
NOTES
TREASURE CREEK OVERVIEW
PHILOSOPHY
The Treasure Creek philosophy maintains that a child should have a safe and nurturing environment in which to grow spiritually, socially, physically, and emotionally. While teaching preschoolers is our primary focus, we also desire to minister to parents and families.
Preschoolers learn by participating in developmentally appropriate activities using all five senses. Treasure Creek stresses that a child’s work is play. The importance of productive play is at the heart of all teaching and instruction provided in our program.
Treasure Creek provides a Christian atmosphere for children to learn and to play. Our program is building a foundation for faith in preschoolers. We will teach them who God is, who Jesus is, what the Bible says, and how to worship God. We seek to enable them to grow and learn as children of God, rooted in Christian values, so that one day they can respond to Him in faith and love. Every teacher and staff member should be aware of the role they play in the Christian development of young children.
PURPOSE
Treasure Creek is a ministry of Long Hollow Baptist Church. Its purpose is to provide a Christian learning environment for preschoolers in order to lay a foundation for faith in God by:
- teaching biblical truths
- demonstrating unconditional love
- fostering trust of parents and preschoolers
- meeting physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual needs
- modeling the Christian lifestyle
CURRICULUM
Treasure Creek utilizes the WEE Learn curriculum as a tool for accomplishing its purpose. WEE Learn involves your child’s total experience from the time he arrives at preschool until the time he leaves. Our desire is that the learning experience carries over into your home and family.
Throughout our program we encourage children to make progress in the following areas:
- Learning to cope with a group situation – making and enjoying friends, sharing responsibility.
- Learning motor skills that are age-appropriate.
- Developing a degree of independence and self-confidence that is age appropriate.
- Developing social skills – giving and receiving, recognizing feelings of others, finding acceptable ways of solving problems, learning courteous and thoughtful behavior.
- Learning simple skills in math and science, developing language skills, developing an appreciation of literature, music, and art.
- Learning to appreciate home, school, church, and community, and to recognize God’s plan for us to live happily in our world.
TREASURE CREEK POLICIES
ENROLLMENT
All children are required to have the following forms on file in order to attend Treasure Creek: Treasure Creek Registration Form, Tennessee Child Health Record, and Emergency Card.
Long Hollow Baptist Church/Treasure Creek Weekday Preschool has the right to deny or terminate admission to anyone whose behavior is not in accordance with the policies set forth in this handbook.
TUITION AND FEES
The annual enrollment fee is $65.00 per child and is payable at the time of registration. This fee is non-refundable.
Tuition is based on an annual amount and then divided into 10 equal payments per month. Full tuition is paid regardless of absences. No refund will be made on tuition after it has been paid.
Monthly fees are as follows:
Hendersonville,
Monthly Tuition - $1500 yearly or$150.00 August – May
Pre-K tuition - $1650 yearly or $165.00 August– May
Gallatin
Monthly Tuition - $1500 yearly or $150.00 August – May
Parents with multiple children in the program will receive $10 discounts.
** A two week notice to the Treasure Creek office is required if you need to withdraw your child during the school year.
Tuition is due by the 10thof each month. Make checks payable to Treasure Creek. Payments are to be placed into the payment box at the Preschool Welcome Desk. Teachers cannot accept payments. Cash payments should be made in person in the Preschool Welcome Desk or Treasure Creek Office and a receipt will be issued.
A $10.00 late fee will be charged after the 10thof the month unless other arrangements are made with the director. If payment is not made by the 10th of the month, the child may not be allowed back to school until payment is made.
SCHOOL CALENDAR
The first day of Treasure Creek is Tuesday, August 15, 2017 in Hendersonville and Monday, August 14, 2017 for Gallatin. The last day of Treasure Creek will be on Thursday, May 17, 2017 and Wednesday, May 16, 2017. Your child’s teacher will provide you with a copy of the calendar for the current year.
Treasure Creek follows the Sumner County School calendar for all holidays and closings, including inclement weather, illness, etc.
ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL
School hours are 9:00 – 2:00. Children cannot be accepted earlier than 8:55. Parents and children should enter through the main doors of the Kids Center at the Gathering Area. Parking is available in either the upper or lower parking lot on the east side of the building. For security purposes only east entrances of the church will be open. All others will be locked.
Children should be taken directly to their classrooms in the morning. The indoor playroom is not open. Each class has a designated time to use the playroom each day.
Please make every effort to have your child in their classroom on time. This will help establish a routine with your child and prevent disruption to the class that is in process.
You must check your child in and out EACH day that your child comes to preschool. Check-in stations are located in the Gathering Area and at the Preschool Welcome Desk. Each family will be provided a key tag with a bar code. The key tag will be scanned at the check-in station where you will verify each child’s attendance and print a security sticker. The security sticker has two parts – the part with the child’s name remains with your child’s teacher and the other part remains with the parent. You must bring your child’s security sticker to the classroom with your child and give it to the teacher. When you return to pick up your child you must present the parent portion of the security sticker to the teacher. Check-in stations are self service, but someone is always available at the Preschool Welcome Desk if you need assistance.
For the safety of all children, we ask that parents not enter the classroom. A teacher will greet you at the door and receive your child into the classroom.
If someone other than the person dropping off your child will be returning to pick up your child, the person dropping the child off should bring the parent portion of the security sticker to the Preschool Welcome Desk to complete an Alternate Pickup Form. The person picking the child up will need to come to the Preschool Welcome Desk and show identification to retrieve the parent portion of the security sticker for the child. TEACHERS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO RELEASE A CHILD TO ANYONE, INCLUDING PARENTS, WITHOUT A SECURITY STICKER. If you forget or lose your securitysticker please stop at the Preschool Welcome Desk for a temporary tag. You will be required to show your drivers license. Please realize that these security measures are for the safety of your child.
LATE DISMISSAL
We realize emergencies occur and may make it impossible to pick up your child by 2:00. Parents should call the Treasure Creek Office to report their delay as soon as possible. Regardless of the reason, if a parent comes in after 2:05, there will be a $1.00 late charge per minute from 2:06 until 2:30. After 2:30 the charge will be $2.00 per minute. Parents will be asked to sign an acknowledgement of the fee and it will be added to the following month’s tuition statement.
If a parent is habitually late in picking up a child after 2:00, written acknowledgement of this tardiness will be made to the parent. Parents may be asked to meet with director about making arrangements for picking up the child on time.
SECURITY
The main entrance to the Kids Center will be open from 8:55 – 9:15 daily for arrival. At 9:15 the doors will be locked. The doors will be opened again at 1:45 for dismissal. If you need to enter the Kids Center at a time when the doors are locked a member of the Treasure Creek staff will be available to let you in.
The safety of your children is a top priority to us. We have taken many measures to insure the safety of your children. Please respect our security policies and realize that they are in place to protect your children.
STAFF
All teachers at Treasure Creek have been selected following an application and interview process with the director. Background checks and reference checks are completed for all staff, including substitute teachers. Teachers and staff must be over the age of 18 to be employed at Treasure Creek.
Children at Treasure Creek are supervised by two teachers at all times. Floaters are available to relieve classroom teachers for breaks and emergencies should it become necessary for a teacher to leave the room.
INCLEMENT WEATHER/SCHOOL CLOSINGS
Treasure Creek will be closed for inclement weather, illness or other reason when Sumner County Schools are closed. When Sumner County Schools are delayed one hour, Treasure Creek will begin at 10:00. When Sumner County Schools are delayed two or more hours, Treasure Creek will be closed. Information regarding Sumner County School closings can be obtained from any of the local network news stations. In the event that Sumner County Schools dismiss early due to inclement weather, parents will be notified and Treasure Creek will close immediately. There will be no tuition reimbursement for these days.
ILLNESS
As parents and child care providers, we both share a common goal of wanting happy and healthy children. However, in spite of everyone’s efforts, children do get sick. Young children get sick more often because (1) their immune systems do not fight illness as well as adults and (2) they haven’t yet been exposed to many of the germs that cause infection.
Maintaining health and preventing the spread of contagious diseases are responsibilities which should and must be shared by the parents and the Treasure Creek staff.
Upon the recommendation of the Committee on Control of Infectious Diseases of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a child should not be taken from home when any of the following exists:
- Fever within the last 24 hours
- Vomiting or diarrhea within the last 24 hours
- Common Cold
- Sore Throat
- Croup
- Pink Eye or other eye infections
- Fifth Disease
- Any unexplained rash
- Any skin infection
- Symptoms of usual childhood diseases (chicken pox, scarlet fever, etc.)
If your child becomes ill while at Treasure Creek, we ask that you come immediately. Children who become ill must be isolated to prevent the spread of germs. This makes it difficult to meet the needs of all the children in our care. It is your responsibility to make alternative arrangements in advance in the event of illness.
If your child develops a contagious illness, we ask that you notify the Treasure Creek Office. A written notice will be posted in the event of any exposure to a contagious disease within a class. Children’s names are not disclosed.
ACCIDENTS
Teachers must notify the Director and the parents when a child is involved in an accident that results in physical injury to the child. All accidents must be reported on the “Ouch Report”. The teacher will complete the form and discuss it with the child’s parent. The parent will need to sign the accident report when picking up the child on the day of the accident. The signed form will be returned to the Director to be filed in the student record. If two children are involved in an incident, the names of the children involved will not be shared with either parent.
ALLERGIES
Teachers should be aware of any child with allergies in her classroom. Parents of a child with allergies will be asked to complete an allergy packet. Allergy labels are available at each classroom. THE PARENT SHOULD PLACE AN ALLERGY LABEL ON THE CHILD EACH DAY AT SIGN-IN. An allergy label should also be placed on the child’s lunch box.
Peanut allergies are particularly severe and becoming more common. Children with peanut allergies will eat at a separate table from children bringing obvious peanut products in their lunch. All tables and chairs will be wiped clean and all children will wash their hands after lunch to avoid the potential spread of any peanut product. All teachers have been trained on the use of the Epi-Pen. You will be notified by your teacher if your class is a peanut free classroom.
Peanut products will not be used at Treasure Creek for any class activities.
CLOTHING AND BELONGINGS
All diaper bags and school bags and their contents should be clearly labeled with the child’s name. Children who wear diapers should bring a daily supply. All children should bring an extra change of clothes daily.
Since children will be participating in daily activities such as painting, sand and water play, and outdoor play, they will get messy. Therefore, please dress your child in comfortable play clothes. Tennis shoes are the best footwear because of the playground mulch.
Dress appropriately for the weather. We will go outside on most days. Some classes go outside in the morning, so remember to send a jacket for cool mornings.
Please do NOT send toys, gum, candy, money, or any object that could be considered dangerous with your child.
SNACKS
All children will have a light morning snack. Snacks are provided and consist of one of the following:
- Goldfish
- Vanilla Wafers
- Cheerios
- Gerber Puffs
A sign will be posted outside the classroom if the children will be having any other type of snack.
LUNCH TIME
Children are to bring lunch in a school lunch box. Lunches should include milk or juice to drink and nutritious food the child likes to eat and can easily manage. Candy (any kind), gum, peanuts, popcorn, grapes or hot dogs (unless cut and quartered) should not be included.
We will always begin lunch with prayer. This is a good opportunity to promote good table manners and conversation. Each child is offered the meat/sandwich serving first, then vegetables/fruit and last chips/dessert.
After lunch, children are instructed to wash their hands and tables and chairs are wiped clean.
BIRTHDAYS
Children love to celebrate birthdays, and parents are encouraged to bring a special snack or treat for the entire class. Please check with your child’s teacher about her preferences and any food allergies before bringing a treat for the class. Always notify your child’s teacher if you will be bringing a treat for the class so that the teacher can make other parents aware.
REST TIME
All children, except Pre-K students, will have a rest time each day. Rest cots are provided daily for each child. Children need to bring a crib sheet and may bring one comfort item from home for rest time. Comfort items must go home with the child each day.
Children are not required to sleep but must rest quietly on their cots until the time designated by the teacher for them to get up and put their rest items away.
VISITORS
Parents are welcome to visit Treasure Creek at any time, however, we ask that observations be made from the hallway, outside the classroom door.
FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR CHILDREN, VISITORS ARE NEVER ALLOWED IN THE CLASSROOMS WHEN CHILDREN ARE PRESENT UNLESS APPROVED BY THE DIRECTOR.
DISCIPLINE
Discipline is guidance. It is to guide the child toward more acceptable behavior. Preschool children need an extra portion of love, understanding, and an extra portion of guidance. We will be firm and fair and look for ways of counteracting trouble that may arise.
Children will be disciplined with love and appropriate instruction. Discipline will be reasonable, developmentally appropriate considering the age of the child, and in terms the child can understand. Absolutely no physical contact of any kind will ever take place. Extended and excessive time out will not be used.
We will use praise and encouragement of good behavior rather than focusing on the negative. When necessary, we will withdraw the child from the group in a calm, matter-of-fact manner.