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resources for annapolis twos parents

Parent Handbook 2011-2012

Orientation, Gradual Opening and Parent Coffee

We will begin the year with an orientation and a gradual opening for students. On Thursday, Sept. 8th or Friday, Sept. 9th you and your child will be scheduled to visit their Annapolis Twos classroom for a ½ hour session with a few of their classmates. This will be a time for the students and parents to get acclimated to the school, the classroom, and the teachers. Please feel free to ask questions and explore the room with your child. We ask that just parent(s) and students attend this orientation, so you will be able to focus your full attention on your two-year-old.

September 12th or 13th will be the first day of school for your child and the Gradual Opening day. During the Gradual Opening, students attend school for a shortened class time (50 min to 1 hour) with some of their classmates. During this shortened session, parents are invited to a Parent Coffee in the front lobby while they wait for their child. Gradual opening is an important and common practice in early childhood programs. Opening the school year gradually is one way to ease the children’s transition to their new setting. An adjusted schedule allows children to become familiar with the classroom, teachers, and peers. In this way, your child may get used to school happily, without becoming too fatigued. Please refer to the Orientation and Gradual Opening schedules for your assigned dates and times. The first full day of school for your child will be on Sept. 14th or 15th depending on which session you are signed up for.

Extra Clothes/Diapers
Please bring an extra change of clothes in a Ziploc plastic bag labeled with your child’s name. We will keep the extra clothes at school. As the weather changes we will ask you to replace the clothing with clothing appropriate for the season. Diapers will be provided by the school.

Snack/Light Lunch
The school will provide a snack or light lunch (offered to the T/TH 11-1 Session) during their class time. Coming together around a table promotes social skill learning and sharing. The school provides a healthy, allergen free snack/light lunch that consists of grains, dairy, fruits or vegetables, and milk, juice or water are offered.

If your child has food restrictions or allergies and you wish to provide food from home, simply speak with the teachers. All teachers are trained in recognizing food allergy reactions and in the use of the Epipen. Please notify Jul Lee Martensson if your child has a food allergy, so that she may give you an Action Plan Form to complete. If your child requires an Epipen, you must provide one that will remain in your child’s classroom for the school year.

Communication
Communication between home and school is very important. We are partners in your child’s growth and education. We will do our best to keep you informed of your child’s development throughout the year. Through conversations, newsletters, and meetings, your teachers will share knowledge of child development, and curriculum. Please contact us regarding any question or concerns you may have or changes taking place at home that may affect your child at school. We can be contacted at school 410-263-8650 or via email, Jul Lee Martensson, jmartensson@st.annesschool.org, or Shannon Casteel, scasteel@st.annesschool.org.

You will receive a regular classroom newsletter a couple of times a month. The newsletter will highlight detailed information about classroom activities, include photos of the children, inform families of upcoming events, and will include developmental articles of interest for families.

Drop-off/Pickup
Beginning the second week of school, Sept 19-23, we will use a carline for drop-off and pickup. Carline will begin 5 min to the start of your child’s class time and pick up will begin at the end of your child’s class time and last about 15 minutes. We appreciate your promptness. Here is how carline works:

  • Enter the parking lot using the far right lane,
  • Proceed to the front doors of the school,
  • Form a line with the first car waiting by the front doors of the school,
  • Stay in your car,
  • Do not pass other cars,
  • A classroom teacher will take your child out of the car and put them back into the car,
  • Once your child is safely out or in your car and the car in front of you has moved on, you may proceed to leave the parking lot.

Once your child is in the school, he/she will be escorted to the classroom. If you wish to walk into the school to drop your child off, you can either walk your child directly to the classroom or say goodbye in the foyer and a teacher will escort them to the classroom.

If you walk inside to pick up your child, we ask that you wait for us in the foyer. Please do not come to the classroom at dismissal unless you have made arrangements with the classroom teacher to pick your child up early. Part of the learning process for these little ones is the routine of packing up and walking down to the foyer for dismissal. Thank you for your cooperation.

Morning Meeting
Morning meeting is a time when we come together as a group, greeting each other and sharing the plan for the day. While short in duration, morning meeting offers a time for children to acknowledge one another, have the opportunity to share something that is important to them, and to talk about their day. During this group time we sing songs, read a story, engage in a short activity, finger play, dance, or game. Morning Meeting lasts for about five to ten minutes depending on the attention of the group.

Work in Interest Areas
This planned small group work typically last for about 50 minutes. Children are offered a wide variety of materials and equipment to choose from, as well as daily opportunities to express themselves through art, creative movement, and music. This is a time for children to explore meaningfully throughout the room while teachers present ideas, projects, and new materials in the various interest areas such as: dramatic play, open-ended art, blocks and structures, and our classroom library. Teachers implement plans they develop based on the interests of the children and which incorporate emergent literacy, music, art, dramatic play, sensory activities, motor development, science, nature, and pre-math experiences into the classroom on a weekly basis. Trips to the playground and walks around our school may round out this time. Special guests like our school music instructor, science teacher, or art teacher may be invited from time to time to interact with our Annapolis Twos.

In all of these activities, you’ll find teachers joyfully moving among small groups and individuals, perhaps developing projects with them, reading in a cozy setting, presenting problems and ideas for children to explore, guiding social interactions, and documenting children’s play. This setting provides your child with ample opportunities to learn important social skills such as asking for a turn, sharing, being helpful, respecting others, assertiveness, and using words to have needs met.

Closing Circle
At the close of the morning, the teachers again gather the children together to celebrate the morning with a brief discussion of all that’s happened, and a happy “good-bye.” Children begin to learn simple responsibilities such as gathering their coats and backpacks along with any projects or work that’s ready to share at home, forming a line, and walking cooperatively down the hall for dismissal.

Bathroom
Diapers and wipes are provided by the school. Teachers will change diapers as needed to keep your child comfortable and happy during the morning, using a diapering station in the room. The teacher will talk with families whose children are using the toilet in order to extend the progress established at home with respect to bathroom usage. Using common terms or prompts with your child, for example, and accompanying your child on visits to the bathroom are some ways teachers will work constructively through the morning in this important learning area. Potty training is a process and our staff will support and assist your child in the developmental milestone. Once your child is using the potty without accidents, you may send them to school in underpants without a diaper/Pull-ups. However, if you child is still having accidents, we ask that you keep them in a diaper/Pull-ups while at school.

Inclement Weather Policy
St. Anne’s School follows the Anne Arundel County Public Schools for closings, late openings and early dismissals when there is inclement weather. If A. A. County calls a delayed opening (1 or 2 hour), The Annapolis Twos Program WILL operate under a revised schedule.

  • MWF Session (which normally runs 9-11:30):
    • On a one hour delay: students attend from 9:30-11:30
    • On a two hour delay: students attend from 10:30-12:00
  • T/TH 8:30 Session (which normally runs 8:30-10:30):
    • On a one hour delay: students attend from 9:30-11:00
    • On a two hour delay: students attend from 10:30-11:30
  • T/TH 11:00 Session (which normally runs 11-1):
    • On a one hour delay: students attend from 11:30-1:00
    • On a two hour delay: students attend from 12:00-1:00

Safety
The classroom teachers will use proactive language and strategies to create an age appropriate toddler environment however, we do know that biting is a normal behavior or phase for most younger children and incidents may occur. Our goal is to set the stage for a safe environment for all children. If there is a biting incident both parents will be informed. After a child has a second biting incident we will remove the child from the classroom and call the parents to come and pickup the child. After the third biting incident the child will be removed the child from the classroom and ask the parents to keep their child home for one week. If biting continues to occur the child may not be developmentally ready for a social group setting and may be asked to leave the program.