I. School Policy:
The First Baptist Church Children's Ministry Center is a Christian, tuitional, self-supporting, non-profit organization whose policies are determined by a the Children's Ministry Center Committee, appointed and overseen by the Committee on Committees and the governing body of First Baptist Church of Covington. The First Baptist Church Children's Ministry Center does not discriminate on the basis of race, nationality, ethnic origin, or religion. However, it is important to realize that this is a Christian Preschool, and as such, will include prayers, blessings, Bible stories, Christian songs and the Gospel message of the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in the daily schedule of activities. We teach traditional Christian ethics and family values.
The First Baptist Church Children's Ministry Center reserves the right and privilege of dismissing any child, if, after entering the school, he/she seems unable to participate in group experiences or if fees have not been paid in a timely manner.
II. Hours of Operation, Dropping Off and Picking Up
Our school day begins at 9:00 a.m. sharp. You may drop off as early as 8:50 a.m. Please do not be any earlier than this unless prior arrangements have been made through the office, as this is the teacher's planning time. If it is necessary to drop off after 9:00 a.m., please walk your child to his/her classroom, knock on the door and wait for a teacher to greet you.
Due to construction on hte church property, we prefer that all parents of our 2 year old classes through kindergarten classes use the carpool to drop off and pick up your child. After much consideration, we feel as though this is the safest procedure for the children to enter and exit the school. Carpool is NOT mandatory. If you would like to walk your child into the building in the morning, please part your car in the parking spaces located next to the playground. For the saftey of our children, please wait until drop off and pick ups are complete to enter the building. For parents using the carpool, please drive through the designated drop-off area. Your child will be taken out of the car by one of our staff members. The drop-off area is staffed from 8:50 until 9:00am. Please be sure to have your orange car rider tag visible for carpool. For parents of our infants and toddlers, we ask that you park and walk your child to his/her classroom. All classes end at 1:00 p.m. Children in our two year old class through kindergarten classes will be dismissed through our pick-up line. Again, to the parents of children in our infant and toddlers classes, we ask that you park and come in to pick up your child. If you need to pick up your child before 1:00 p.m. or if you would like to observe your child's class, please notify the director. Please notify us if you will be later than 1:10 p.m. getting your child, otherwise a late fee of $5.00 per 15 minutes will be charged. This fee will automatically apply after the child is left late more than twice in a one-month period.
We ask that you never enter a classroom without knocking and waiting for a teacher to greet you. This will cut down on disruption of the children in their classes.
There is absolutely no parking in the driveway. If you must come in, or need to speak to your child's teacher, please park your car in the parking lot and walk in. Thank you.
Also please be very careful and alert in the driveway and parking lot of our facility for the safety of our children.
We must have written permission if your child is to ride home with another child or will be picked up by someone other than a parent or guardian. Upon your request, your child's teacher will give you a Pick-up Release Form. If an emergency arises, please call Cathy Tanner at 770-784-7570 or the main church office at 770-786-9031. Picture I.D. is required for anyone whom the child is to be released to other than a parent or guardian.
III. Registration, Tuition and Fees
A family discount of 10% is offered on tuition and registration to those with more than one child registered. We also offer a 5% discount to families who wish to pay the full year's tuition at the beginning of the year. You will be given an envelope for remittance of your child's tuition. Please return this envelope along with your child's tuition between the first and the tenth of each month. After the tenth of the month, please add a $20 late fee to your child's tuition. Tuition is not deductible for sick days or days not in school. There is a $5.00 replacement fee for lost envelopes. You may give your tuition to any of the staff persons.
Children whose tuition is not paid before the beginning of the next month will not be allowed to return to school until fees are made current unless prior arrangements have been made with the director.
The Children's Ministry Center charges $20.00 plus any applicable bank fees for any returned check. After the second returned check, we ask that you please pay by cash or money order.
Please make all checks payable to FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH Children's Ministry Center.
| Class | Registration Fee | Monthly Tuition | Curriculum Fee | | Infants (Mon/Wed) | $125.00 | $125.00 | $50.00 | | Toddler 1 (Tues/Thurs) | $125.00 | $125.00 | $60.00 | | Toddler 2 (Mon/Wed) | $125.00 | $125.00 | $60.00 | | 2 Yr. Old (Tues/Thurs) | $125.00 | $125.00 | $65.00 | | 3 Yr. Old (Mon/Wed/Fri) | $145.00 | $145.00 | $75.00 | | 4 Yr. Old Class (Mon thru Fri) | $175.00 | $175.00 | $80.00 | | 5 Yr. Old Class (Mon thru Fri) | $200.00 | $200.00 | $90.00 |
IV. WithdrawalsIf for any reason you must withdraw your child from classes, tuition will be reimbursed as follows: Withdrawals before the 15th of the month will receive a reimbursement of one-half of that month's tuition; after the 15th of the month, there will be no reimbursement.
V. Safety/Security
When the custody of any child is in question, the First Baptist Church Children's Ministry Center must act in accordance with rulings of the court. All legal papers pertaining to custody must be on file in our office. We are required by law to report any suspected child abuse, neglect, exploitation or deprivation to the Department of Family and Children Services.
The Children's Ministry Center utilizes a security system to protect our staff and your children. Your family will be assigned a code to use when entering our facility. Please protect this number and do not share it with your child.
We do not administer any medication unless it is a medical emergency. With your consent, we will administer acetaminophen for a high fever or Benadryl for an allergic reaction. Without your consent and if we cannot reach you, we will call emergency personnel if a situation warrants immediate attention.
VI. Health Requirements
We are required by the state of Georgia to have on file a current immunization record for each child. We can accept the official Certificate of Immunization (form #3231) from the health department or from your personal physician. All immunization records must be turned in by the first week of school. After the first week of school, children will not be allowed to return to school until the center director receives immunization records. Please observe the Golden Rule as our illness policy: Do unto your fellow preschool families, as you would have them do unto you. If you wouldn't want your child to catch it, don't spread it. If your child is sick, he/she needs you. We will call you if your child becomes ill at school. You should keep your child home from school if he/she shows any of the following signs/symptoms:
- Fever, vomiting, or diarrhea within last 24 hours
- Common cold from onset to 1 week
- Unexplained rash
- Any symptom of any childhood diseases
(chickenpox, measles, etc.)
| - Croup
- Sore throat
- Any eye or skin infection
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VII. Biting Policy Whether it may be age related, because of teething, due to illness or because it seemed like a good idea at the time, many children will bite to express their emotion and to explore the world around them. If you child begins to bite other children or adults, our staff will work closely and patiently with you, however, we must protect and do what's best for all of the children in our care. If a child bites another, that child will be places on probation for the next 60 days. During this probationary period, if the child bites again, that child may be subject to dismissal. Dismissal is at the discrection of the Children's Ministry Center Committee after careful consideration of all circumstances relating to the biting occurrences. VIII. ConferencesWe will have two scheduled parent/teacher conferences for parents and teachers of children in our 3, 4, and 5-year-old classes. However, we encourage you to request a conference any time during the school year if there are special concerns. Please write a note to your child's teacher and deliver this with your child at drop-off. Please do not use drop off or pick up times as time to discuss concerns. Also, we will never discuss negative behavior in front of any child; please do not attempt to do so.
IX. Clothing and What to Bring
All children should bring two changes of clothing (one summer and one winter) at the beginning of the year. Please remember to include diapers or underwear, which ever is appropriate. These items should be placed in a large Ziploc bag with the child's name written on it. This bag will remain in your child's classroom in the event of an unforeseen accident. In the event an accident does occur, we will send the child's clothing home in the Ziploc bag to be laundered. Please return replacement clothing and bag with your child the next day he/she has classes. Washable play clothes are the jost suitable for preschool. Children enjoy their varied experiences at preschool more if they are not concerned about dirtying their clothing. Clothing should be appropriate and suitable to the season and the day. Please send sweaters or jackets on cold days. Removable clothing such as hats, sweaters, mittens and other similar articles should be marked with the child's name.
We suggest that children not wear sandals or open toed shoes. Our outside play areas are covered with wood mulch that can hurt little feet and toes. For their own saftey, children who wear open toed shoes or sandals will be kept inside during outside play time.
For our infants, toddlers and two year olds, please pack your child's bag with everything they will need for the time they are here. This includes an additional change of clothing, diapers, wipes, bottles, any item of comfort, etc. Parents of infants are asked to provide a clean crib sheet, which will be sent home with your child each day.
Bottles and cups must be marked with your child's name in permanent ink. If this is not done when the child arrives, our staff will do so.
Please try to discourage your children from bringing toys or other personal items with them to preschool unless it is an item that your child uses for comfort. We will have designated "show and tell" days when favorite toys or stuffed animals can be brought in and shared with the class. We suggest educational items such as books, stuffed animals, flash cards, videos, nature items, pictures, etc. War toys such as guns, knives, and action figures depicting violent acts are not allowed. Your child's teacher has the right to decide if a toy or other item is inappropriate to be shown in our school.
X. Contributions and DonationsWe are always happy to receive contributions of liquid soap, bandages, tissues, wet wipes and general classroom supplies. You will also be supplied a list of items that may be thrown in the trash on a regular basis around your home that we can use for crafts and projects.
XI. Toilet TrainingIf your child is or begins toilet training during our school year, please notify the child's teacher of any schedule or special techniques that you use at home. Our staff will work closely with you during this time to help ensure success.
XII. Lunch and Snack Time
All children will be served a sack lunch which you provide each day. We will have a snack-time each day. Snacks are provided on a rotating schedule by parents. A note will be sent home with your child when it's your turn to provide snacks for his/her class. We would like to encourage you to keep the snacks simple and nutritious. A suggested list includes:
2 Years Old and Under:
| Goldfish Crackers | Animal Crackers | Cheerios | | Arrowroot Crackers | NutriGrain Bars | Kix Cereal | | HiHo/Ritz Crackers | Butter Cookies | Fig Newtons | | Graham Crackers | Cheese Crackers | Pretzels | | Fresh Vegetables* | Cheese | Fresh Fruit* | | Vanilla Wafers | Peanut Butter | Saltines |
* sliced and peeled, cut into small pieces. Grapes must be quartered. 100% All Fruit Juice (Juicy Juice concentrate is suggested)
3 Years Old and Up:
| Any of above list | Ice Cream Cups | Pudding Cups | Fruit Cups |
For health and safety reasons, we do not suggest the following snacks.
| Popcorn | Raw Carrots | Raisins for children under 3 | | Soda | Whole Grapes | Cheese Puffs (very, very messy) |
Your child's teacher will send home a snack rotation calendar monthly and a reminder prior to your assigned week.
XIII. BirthdaysA young child's birthday is probably the jost important day of the year to him/her. We will try to arrange the snack schedule to allow you to bring snacks on your child's birthday if you wish. We will have a party and celebrate his/her special day with him/her. Rather than cupcakes or a cake (which tend to be messy), we suggest a large message cookie or individual cookies that the students can decorate with their class. For the saftey of all of our children, balloons are not permitted. Thank you for your cooperation.
XIV. School Parties and Room Parents
Each class will ask a parent to be designated room-parent to be responsible for contacting the other parents and planning parties and special events for the individual classes. You are encouraged to contact the room-parent and indicate your willingness to help when needed. Each class will have a roster with the child's name and parent's names on it as well as the addresses and phone numbers. This roster will be available to room-parents only within the first month of school. Please let the director know if you do not wish your information included on this list. XV. Parent Council The Parent Council is made up of the following committees: Executive Council, Room Parents, Family Enrichment and Outreach, Fundraising, Pictures, Publicity, Resources and Recyclables, Special Events, and Spring Fling. We encourage parents or grandparents who want to be involved in their child's school experiences to volunteer through one or more of these committees. These committees help plan fun activities for the children, uplift fellow CMC families in times of need, raise special funds for the Center, tell others what we are about, and much, much more. Your help is greatly appreciated by everyone at the Center, especially the children. Volunteering can be very rewarding when an open mind and willing heart are utilized to nurture the children. Please prayerfully consider where you may be needed.
XVI. Fieldtrips
Our 3, 4 and 5 -year-old classes will go on fieldtrips. These are sure to become very special times for our students and staff alike. We try to ask each parent who can chaperone to do so and drive on at least one of the trips during the year. We ask parents to please be understanding and not sign up to chaperone on every trip until we are sure all have the opportunity. jost field trips are local and you will be notified at least one week prior to the field trip.
New seatbelt laws for children are in effect. All children four years of age and younger are now required by law to be in an approved safety seat. The Children's Ministry Center does not allow children to ride in our vans or in private vehicles (other than that of child's own parent/guardian) during any Center event without a safety seat. We will use all care and caution possible when securing your child in his/her seat. To ensure the highest level of safety, you may be asked to help secure your child's seat in our vehicle prior to a trip.
XVII. School PicturesWe will offer school pictures in the fall. These will consist of class pictures for each age group, as well as individual portraits. Our four and five-year-old classes will have their portraits made in their graduation attire in the spring, also. For Spring pictures, girls should wear a solid black dress or a black skirt with a white blouse and black shoes. Boys should wear a white button up shirt, solid black tie, and black pants with black shoes.
XVIII. Special Programs
We have special programs during the school year which involve our 3, 4 and 5-year-old classes. These include activities at Christmas and the end of the year (program for 3 year old class, preschool graduation for 4 year old class, and kindergarten graduation for the 5 year old class). You are encouraged to invite family and friends to attend all of our programs.
XIX. Inclement WeatherNothing is more important to us than the safety and well being of our preschool families. When inclement weather occurs, we will follow the Newton County School system when determining whether or not the roads are safe for travel. Please tune into the local or Atlanta news channels for this information.
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