A Letter for Prospective Parents
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” — Matthew 19:14
July 1, 2011
Dear Parents:
We are looking forward to another rewarding year at Granada Day School! Classes begin on Tuesday, August 23rd promptly at 8:45 a.m. We ask that you say your good-byes at the door of your child’s classroom. You are welcome to remain on campus throughout the day, and to ease the transition for the parents, we invite you to attend our “Boo Hoo Breakfast” in the Fellowship Hall. We ask “seasoned” parents to join us as well, in order to meet and encourage those who are first-timers. Infant and one, two, and three-year-old classes will be dismissed at 1:00 p.m. PreK-4 classes will be dismissed at 2:00 p.m. Children will be taken to After School Care if they are not picked up at dismissal time (infants will remain in their room). A fee of $3.50 an hour is charged for After School Care.
“Orientation” will be held on Monday, August 22nd from 10:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m. in Fellowship Hall. The children will meet their teachers in their classrooms at 9:50 a.m. and stay there until our brief meeting is over. You will receive a postcard in the mail the week before school starts notifying you of your child’s classroom assignment. Please do not request a change in classroom assignments.
For those families that are new to the school this year, you should have already received at least two (2) parking permits. If you did not receive them, or if you need additional permits, please come by the office and pick them up. If other individuals will be picking up your child, please make sure they have a parking permit. Parking permits must be displayed on the outside front windshield bottom corner by the driver’s side. For new and returning families, if a permit is lost, you must purchase a new one for $3.00 in the school office.
In light of recent research, we request that you do not send your children to school with Power Rangers or Ninjas, or any other action figures that may promote violence, on your child’s backpacks, book bags, lunch boxes, clothing, etc. Please label all of your child’s belongings with his/her name.
School uniforms may be purchased from AA Uniforms, located at 8807 S. W. 132 Street. You may also place your order by phone at (305) 254-0000 or fax (305) 254-0303.
Before and After School Care is provided for all enrolled children at an additional charge, Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Previous registration for Before School Care is also required, so don’t forget to sign up after our Orientation meeting. A “Nap-Time Package” is also required, which you may purchase in the school office. This package consists of a fitted sheet (which will fit onto our cots), a small pillow and pillowcase, and a thermal blanket. These items also come with a matching fabric bag for easy carrying and storage. Each item also has a nametag label for easy identification of each child’s belongings. “Nap-Time Packages” must be ordered and paid for in advance. These packages are required for all children staying in After School Care (except infants).
Our “Parent Volunteer Committee” adds greatly to the program. We always need parental help in this area. If you are interested in any of the following positions, please let us know as soon as possible.
President ~ Oversees the whole organization and directs meetings as needed.
Vice President ~ Oversees Room Mothers and Fathers.
Treasurer ~ Distributes funds collected from Activities Fees and keeps track of monies spent.
Secretary ~ Records minutes at monthly meetings and writes thankyou notes.
We hope you will sign up to volunteer in the classrooms or the school office, or to coordinate parties and special events. Parental involvement is a must to ensure a really good year! The committees are as follows:
Main Committees
Fall Harvest Festival ~ Responsible for decorations, food, and publicity.
Christmas Program ~ Responsible for costuming, publicity, decorations, and refreshments.
Art Auction & Carnival ~ Main fund raisers of the year
Art Festival ~ Responsible for food, helping the art teacher with set up and take down.
Spring Program ~ Responsible for costuming, publicity, decorations, and refreshments.
Graduation ~ Help with diplomas, gowns, classroom party
Other Committees
Room Mothers and Fathers ~ Responsible for individual classroom events
Class Clerks ~ For each classroom to keep parents informed of classroom and school events.
Newsletter and Yearbook ~ Writers and/or Photographers to write articles or take candid shots of our students on field trips and other school activities; collect ads, supervise layout of yearbook
Teacher Appreciation Week ~ Assist with ideas, requesting donations, etc.
Other important areas of need
Substitute Teachers ~ Paid $7.50 per hour
Please prayerfully consider volunteering in at least one of these areas. There will be a parent volunteer meeting on Friday evening, September 9th at 7:00 p.m., in the Florida Room (located in the Main Office) to get to know one another and to find out more about the different programs that need volunteer support. Childcare will be available through the church’s Friday Night Out Program. This is a service we offer to church and school families every Friday night for children of all ages through 5th grade. Cost is $10.00 per child or $20.00 per family, 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. Reservations must be made in advance, by noon, the Thursday before. Call Lily at (305) 444-8435.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call the school office. Our office hours are 9.00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. If we are not available, please leave a message on the answering machine, or send us an e-mail at dayschool@granadapca.org, georgina@granadapca.org or zuly@granadapca.org, and we will reply as soon as possible. During the first week of school your child will be bringing home additional information (parent handbooks, yearly calendars, etc) in their weekly folders. You will be receiving an annual calendar as well as calendars on a monthly basis. You may also view our website at: www.granadadayschool.com
A successful and smooth running year depends upon our families working in close cooperation with teachers and staff. Please read carefully the enclosed policy reminders. We look forward to meeting new parents and renewing old acquaintances. Have a wonderful summer, and we’ll see you in August.
Sincerely,
Marisol Medina
Director
School Policy Reminders
• A child should not be brought to school when he or she:
- Has dark yellow or green mucous coming from the nose or throat, regardless of whether it is allergy-related or an infection.
- Has been vomiting, or has diarrhea prior to coming to school.
- Has a temperature elevation of 99.6 degrees or above.
A child exhibiting any of these symptoms will be taken to the school office and the child’s parent or guardian will be called to come pick up his/her child.
• A child should be free of temperature elevation for 24 hours prior to coming to school.
Before returning to school, after recovering from a contagious illness, the school office requires a written doctor’s notice specifying that the child is able to return to school.
• In the event that the parent is called to pick up a sick child and decides to take the child to a physician, policy requires a signed note from said physician stating that the child may return to school or after school care that same day. The child should be returned to the school office, in order to be properly checked back into school.
• No medication may be administered by any member of the school staff at any time (this includes inhalers).
• Parking and Traffic Safety Your child’s safety is of utmost importance. Therefore, we ask that you comply with the following traffic rules.
- Enter the school from Bird Road side. Gates on Bird Road are open from 8:40 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and then again at 12:00 Noon p.m. for VPK only students. For infant;s, 1’s, 2’s and 3’s the gate will open at 12:50 p.m – 1:10pm. For the 4’s (VPK) the gates will be open from 1:50-2:10pm The flow of traffic in the parking lot is one-way. Please enter East and exit West. Follow the traffic pattern to make arrival and dismissal as safe as possible.
- Proceed slowly through parking lot. Children sometimes dart out in front of cars unexpectedly. Five (5) miles per hour is advisable.
- Park your car in the Bird Road parking lot or on the grassy areas surrounding the parking lots. The University Drive parking lot is to be used by church staff only.
- Drive-through portico near Fellowship Hall may only be used on rainy days.
- Please do not leave children unattended (or handbags and briefcases) in your car while picking up or dropping off students. This is for your own security.
- Those spaces designated “VISITORS” are reserved for Church visitors.