PO Box 1344
26423 NE Allen Street Duvall, WA 98019
425-844-8608
www.hillsideacademyduvall.com
Hillside Academy does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in administration of our educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and other school
administered programs.
1/10/2014
PARENT & STUDENT HANDBOOK:
PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS
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WELCOME TO HILLSIDE ACADEMY
HOURS OF OPERATION
SCHOOL CLOSURES DUE TO WEATHER
EMERGENCY SURVIVAL SUPPLIES
Welcome to Hillside Academy, where learning begins in preschool and continues on through elementary and middle school. Our goal is to provide our preschool families with a fantastic learning experience in a loving and suppor- tive atmosphere that upholds our motto: Where Education Meets Creativity and Innovation.
Hillside Academy admits students, if space allows, regardless of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin. Hillside Academy has a policy to make reasonable accommodations to physical or mental limitations of any otherwise qualified disabled child. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in administration of our educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and other school administered programs.
Hillside Academy is open from 7:00 A.M.—6:00 P.M. daily, Monday through Friday.
Hillside Academy will be closed on the following holidays:
New Years Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving Day and the day after
The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Hillside Academy follows the Riverview School District school closures due to inclement weather. If school is delayed (late start) due to weather, morning preschool classes will be cancelled. Elementary and middle school classes will begin at the time noted by the Riverview School District. If school is closed early or cancelled for the day any after school activities (including extended day care) will be cancelled. A Hillside Academy notice of school closures or delays will be sent by email to all families through our school newsletter system. If you have not yet signed up for our newsletter, please do so at
www.hillsideacademyduvall.com.
Each year Hillside Academy purchases supplies for our Emergency Prepared-
ness Survival Kits in the event that there would be a natural emergency or a
campus lockdown. The Emergency supplies include items such as LED flash-
lights, lanterns, survival blankets, batteries, water jugs, dust masks, first aid kits,
safety gloves, etc. in the event that there would be a natural emergency or a
campus lockdown.
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PARENT RESPONSIBILITES:
Read and understand the following information and action for parents:
Parents or an authorized individual must sign preschool child(ren) in and out each day on the sign in/out sheets located in each classroom.
Parents must provide a written note to the school office if they designate someone other than the parent/guardian to pick up their child(ren). Photo ID must be provided by designated person for pick-up.
Parents must provide a daily change of clothes for their child(ren) which need to be kept in their backpacks.
Parents must provide all required enrollment and health forms as needed by the Department of Health or have a Certificate of Exemption on file prior to the start of the school year.
Parents must notify the office of any change of address, phone, or other information as indicated on the enrollment agreement.
Parents must maintain open communication with the Hillside Academy director, staff and teachers and provide any information that might contribute to your child’s growth and learning.
Parents will make tuition payments as agreed upon by the first of every month. The parent or individual who signs the financial contract is responsible for payment.
Parents will pick up the child(ren) on time. (Hourly childcare will be charged for any extra time, past the 10 minute grace period with a minimum charge of one hour).
Parents must pay for damages your child(ren) cause to the school or to other’s belongings
Parents must not send sick children to school or to school activities. For more information see Illness Policy.
Your annual tuition is based on a 10 month schedule. You can pay the full amount all at once or you can pay your tuition in10 equal payments beginning September through June.
At time of registration you completed a Parent Responsibility Form indicating how you would like to pay for your tuition. Each month you will be invoiced by email (around the fifteenth of the month) for the next month’s payment for tui- tion and fees. In the email will be your invoice and a “Pay Now” button that en- ables you to pay your bill online by using a checking or savings account. This method of payment is free and you do not need to create an account. Simply enter your payment information and pay. If you would like to pay by credit/
debit card complete a Debit/Credit Card Authorization Form (available online).
A three percent credit card processing fee will be assessed to all credit/debit card charges. Hillside Academy still accepts personal checks.
TUITION RESPONSIBILITIES
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We depend on tuition to pay our overhead and teachers. Help us pay our bills by having your tuition turned in on time.
Parents must sign and return our Enrollment & Financial Contract before their child(ren) can attend. A re-enrollment fee will be collected along with a signed tuition contract each returning year.
Full annual tuition may be paid by July 1st for the upcoming school year and receive a 5% discount if paid by check.
Your tuition account must be current for a student to start school.
If tuition is past due, students may be asked not to return to school until the account is brought current.
Tuition is due on the first of the month. If the first falls on a weekend or holiday then tuition is due the last business day before the first.
If your tuition is not received by the fifth of the month, a $35 late fee will be charged to your account.
If tuition is continually late we may ask to put your account on an automatic payment plan.
A $35 fee will be charged for any NSF checks.
Any alternate tuition payment plan must be submitted in writing and approved by the Business Services Manager.
Students who remain at school more than 10 minutes after school has ended will be charged for one hour of childcare ($10/hour).
Withdrawal conditions apply. Refer to your Enrollment & Financial Contract for conditions for withdrawal.
Hillside Academy communicates to our parents via a community newsletter, teacher emails, and school wide communication. Parent and school resources are available at our website at www.hillsideacademyduvall.com. Our goal is to enable you to find the information that you need when it is convenient for you.
If you are new to Hillside Academy or have not been receiving a Hillside Academy monthly newsletter, go to our website and register to receive it. Our newsletter program is a spam free service that requires you to initiate the sign - up and activate the confirmation in order to receive it. Be sure to sign up for our monthly school newsletter by entering your email address at the bottom of the welcome page of our website. If you’ve signed up in the past, but are not receiving a monthly newsletter please contact
[email protected] so we can check the distribution list for your email address.
After you have registered you will receive monthly newsletters from the school with essential information about the upcoming month. We also use the newsletter format to send out important information such as school closures due to weather, upcoming events and so on through the newsletter.
PAYMENT TERMS & CONDITIONS
SCHOOL COMMUNICATION
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Children will not be allowed to come to Hillside Academy with any of the following symptoms:
Diarrhea (three or more watery stools or one bloody stool within 24 hours)
Vomiting within 24 hours
Open or oozing sores, unless covered with cloths or bandages
For suspected communicable skin infection, such as pinkeye; the child may return 24 hours after starting antibiotic treatment
Lice or nits. Students should not return to school until they are nit free
Fever of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher or also have one or more of the fol- lowing conditions: earache, headache, sore throat, rash, or fatigue that prevents participation in regular activities
If a student becomes ill during the school day, the student may be sent to the school office, where they may remain until either the parent/guardian is con- tacted or they return to class.
Hillside Academy reserves the right to contact a parent or guardian if there are ANY questions or concerns regarding a child’s health while in our care. Hillside Academy reserves the right to refuse service to anyone if there is a question or concern regarding the health and well-being of a child to ensure a healthy envi- ronment for all of the children in our care.
If your child will be absent from school as a result of being sick, doctor/dental appointment or other reason, notify your teacher, as well as, the school office by calling 425-844-8608 or by emailing to [email protected].
Hillside Academy teachers, staff and volunteers are required by law to report all cases of child abuse to Child Protective Services.
In case of an emergency, such as an earthquake, flooding, campus lockdown, etc. we ask that you provide a comfort kit for each student. Each student is required to bring a comfort kit to class the first day of school. If the comfort kits are not used, they will be returned at the end of the school year.
The comfort kit should be in a gallon size zip lock bag labeled with your child’s name and filled with the following supplies: one bottle of water, non-perishable NUT FREE snacks that your child likes such as granola bars, fruit snacks, jerky, or trail mix and a comforting note from parents, picture of family, and so on. Include a 3x5 card with the following information: name of student & parents, address, home and cell phone numbers, emergency phone numbers, and any medical alerts ( allergies, regular medication, and so on).
ILLNESS POLICY
ABSENTEE INFORMATION
COMFORT KITS
OBLIGATION TO REPORT
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Our morning preschool day begins at 9:30 a.m. and ends at noon, and our af- ternoon preschool day begins at 1:00 p.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. Parents are allowed to bring their child(ren) to class five minutes prior to the start of their class.
For our preschool with childcare programs, students may be dropped off any- time after 7 a.m. and picked up prior to 6 p.m however, their preschool day begins at 9:00 a.m. for our 4’s and 9:15 a.m. for our 3’s preschool.
There is a sign-in and sign-out sheet located inside each classroom for parents to sign when dropping off and picking up their child(ren). Make sure to sign your preschooler in and out on the log sheets every day.
Your preschool teacher will only release the student to the parent(s) and anyone listed on the application form under the Emergency Contact section.
If someone other than the parent(s) will be picking up your child he/she must present photo identification to the teacher. You must provide to the school office written permission for anyone to be added to your Emergency Contact Information Sheet. Please submit to the school office the 2013-2014 Emer- gency Contact Form (bright orange) prior to the start of school so that teach- ers will have these forms for recess and field trips in case of an emergency.
Living in the Pacific Northwest means we will experience all types of weather throughout the school year. Make sure to send your child with rain gear and winter gear during bad weather months. Students will play outside at all recesses regardless of the weather.
All preschool children must be potty trained prior to attending our Hillside Academy preschool programs. Pull-ups are ok to wear, however, if your child (ren) has/have a bowel movement while at school, you will be contacted to come to school and change the dirty diaper as we are not set up for the changing of diapers.
Snacks are provided for our preschool students. A morning and afternoon snack is provided for our preschool with childcare programs. If your child has any food allergies, we recommend that you provide a daily snack. Hillside Academy provides NUT FREE snacks.
Our new facility will not have a full functioning kitchen and cafeteria. Pizza Thursday’s will be available for students in our preschool with childcare pro- grams at no additional cost. Parents will need to pack a sack lunch the re- maining days of the school week.
CHILD DROP-OFF/PICK-UP INFORMATION
MEALS AND SNACKS POTTY TRAINING
APPROPRIATE CLOTHING
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MEDICATION INFORMATION
Medication is given only with prior written consent of a child’s parent/legal guardian. Complete the necessary paperwork if you need Hillside Academy to dispense medication to your child(ren). Further information about our medica- tion policy can be found in our Health Policy located at the front office.
We like to incorporate field trips into our preschool curriculum. These field trips may be walking field trips or require the use of vehicle transportation. Our preschool only programs require that a parent transport their child in their personal vehicle (or make arrangements to have your child attend with another parent).
Our preschool with childcare programs will take field trips off-site in the school vehicle, as well as, walking field trips.
We encourage our parents with children in our preschool with childcare pro- grams to participate in the field trips, but understand that you may be unable to get the time off from work. Make sure to communicate with your preschool teacher if you are interested in driving and/or chaperoning a field trip.
At Hillside Academy the philosophy on discipline is one of guidance and direction. It is not a policy of punishment or physical force. We use the Behavior Modification: “Trade A Card” Plan (see next page) in our classrooms to assist in encouraging appropriate behavior.
We believe that discipline is a process that is learned over time through clearly set boundaries and gentle reminders of the appropriate behaviors that are expected of the child. We kindly explain to the child what behavior was not appropriate and discuss alternate ways that the child may have handled the situation. Following this discussion, we move forward with caring and loving interaction. If necessary, to avoid further conflict, children will be gently redirected to other separate activities. In addition, with social skills and taking responsibility of one’s behavior being a large part of a child’s development process, we are continually encouraging the child to use his/her words and not their hands to resolve issues with others.
In the event that there is an on-going behavioral problem with a child, a meet- ing may be arranged between the parent, teacher, and the School Director to discuss the matter and work out a positive action to remedy the situation. If, when the child visits the school again, the behavior is still occurring the School Director will assist in making appropriate arrangements that would best benefit the child, the class and Hillside Academy.
FIELD TRIPS
DISCIPLINE
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