hazelmere school parent handbook

Down-to-earth inspirational academics 1

PARENT HANDBOOK


Mission

To create a community to enable children to honour and respect their innate goodness, their joy in learning and their responsibility

as caring global citizens and stewards of the earth.

Purpose

Roots & Wings Montessori Place is dedicated to providing an optimum school environment based on Montessori’s philosophy of individualized education of the whole child, ethically, socially, academically, physically, spiritually and creatively, thus enabling each to become a self-reliant, satisfied, confident and productive citizen.

Communication

Your child comes to us having already grown a great deal in your loving care. The time your child spends in school is still a relatively small proportion of her experience. You, her parents or guardians, are her greatest educators. Also influencing him may be other caregivers, teachers and staff, his peers and other family members. Because of the minimal amount of time spent at school, and particularly because the Montessori approach is still somewhat unique, it is important to your child’s progress that there be as much communication as possible amongst these influences.


Tenets of Roots & Wings Montessori School

The staff at Roots & Wings Montessori believe and impart to the students that:

1. Every student is innately good, loving, motivated, intelligent, honest, happy, energetic and satisfied. Negatives drop off in the right atmosphere of thought.

2. Every individual deserves respect. Pursuit of one’s own happiness must not violate respect for others’ happiness.

3. There is greater satisfaction in serving others than in pursuing selfish goals, but self-care is a vital pre-requisite to the ability to serve others..

4. Reverence for life is a key to being at peace. Intelligent, active, self-disciplined earth stewardship is vitally necessary to the progress and survival of our society, from our immediate environment to the whole earth.

5. Each student has a gift to contribute to humanity. Potential, whether intellectual, creative, spiritual, physical, social or ethical, is developed as one is empowered to be an independent thinker and doer.

6. One must develop the self-discipline to work diligently, to step outside one’s comfort zone and to make challenging goals, working systematically towards their achievement.

7. Thought determines experience, and it must be nourished positively and protected from whatever would hinder progress or health.

8. We aim for academic excellence. Students are educated through student engagement, by meaningful experience, creative and factual literature, purposeful experiment, useful memorization, research, especially self-motivated, thought-provoking discussion, peer to teacher mentoring, creative expression and problem-solving. A new step in learning follows mastery of the prerequisites.

9. Civilization progresses as we build on the experiences of our predecessors.

10. Mistakes are welcome in that their lessons are vital to our progress. Therefore challenges in whatever form are regarded as stepping-stones not stumbling blocks, projects not problems.

11. Everyone learns at an individual rate and in his or her own unique style. Learning is cooperative, and no one is superior or inferior to another.

12. Obedience to a leader is vital, but one always has the freedom to question the leader’s actions at an appropriate time.


It is helpful to understand the roles of each staff member involved with you and your children.

Directress/Director

Your child’s Directress is his or her prime guide to progress at school, including academic, social, emotional, ethical, artistic and physical learning. Discussion of any of these areas should be directly with the Directress. If you are not satisfied in these discussions with your child’s guide, please speak to the Principal.

Each family is invited to meet with the Directress before the first day of school. This is a good time to clarify goals of each, to become aware of any challenges, and to take first steps in making the child comfortable in her new environment.

During the school year, there are two scheduled formal parent/teacher interviews: one at the end of November, the other usually in April. (Please refer to the school calendar for exact dates.) Elementary children will receive assessment reports prior to the interviews. Information exchanged during these interviews is vital to your child’s progress, and it is expected that all parents (hopefully Mum and Dad) will attend during the scheduled times, which are carefully planned to accommodate parents’ work hours. If it is absolutely impossible to attend these two interviews during the times allotted, it is expected that parents will schedule a different time. Your child may attend this interview if teacher and parent feel it is appropriate. The second elementary interview is student-led. Students, of course, do not attend school on parent/teacher interview days. Parents should feel free, however, to contact the teachers at any time they feel a need. Don’t worry that your concern is too petty or not worth asking. Your satisfaction is important to us, so let us know and we will always try to give you the necessary attention. The most convenient time for this communication is usually after the class is dismissed; or send a note with your child; or simply leave a message with office staff and your call will be returned as soon as possible. Please avoid discussions with teachers just before classes begin, or during class time, as focus needs to be on the children at these times.

Principal

The Principal holds the vision for the school and ensures all aspects of our organization are in accord with the mission and purpose. She is responsible for overseeing the academic and curricular side of the school, including staffing, student placement and progress, assessment and reporting to parents, parent education, performances and special events. The Principal reports to the Board of Directors.

Vice-Principal

The Vice-Principal is responsible for many of the business aspects of the school, including ministry connections, building and grounds maintenance and safety, parent communication and overall planning and organization.

Administrative Assistant

Our administrative assitant is often your first contact with our school. He will direct you to appropriate staff, and take care of registration procedures, including financial arrangements, earthwear guidance and record-keeping. He coordinates promotion and fund-raising, and keeps records of volunteer hours for parents. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping your phone and office discussions brief, in order to allow him to fulfil his duties within office hours. We also ask, for privacy reasons, that you please not enter the office without staff knowledge.


Role of the Parents Our school’s wealth is in ideas, and parents are some of the greatest contributors! Each of you has a unique experience and expression, which enables you to contribute a bouquet of complimentary ideas that bloom in every area of the school. Our suggestion box by the office is always open and eager for your thoughts, as well as any concerns.

Most bulletins and newsletters are emailed to parents, and we have

phased out the parent mailboxes. In order not to inundate you with mail, we usually confine messages to the “Thursday email”. If you

do not have email access, arrange for another parent contact you when messages arrive. For individual messages, please let the registrar know if you don’t have email access, so we can deliver your messages to your child’s teacher. Teachers also often send email messages specific to your children or your child’s class. Newsletters and bulletins are a prime avenue for parent/school communication. It is vital that you read these letters in detail, and immediately record on your calendar any necessary appointment or events. If you do not yet understand English, it is your responsibility to have your newsletter translated so that you do not miss out on vital information. On our part, we try to make these newsletters as readable and interesting as possible, usually producing them the end of each month. One copy is always placed in a binder in the foyer for your reference; as well, copies are available from our website, www.rootsandwingsbc.com, in PDF format. In order for a child to fully benefit from our program, his or her parents must be informed about Montessori education. This encourages consistency of parent and teacher approach, as well as enabling mutual support. We continually assess the best way to meet this need, without making unreasonable demands on our busy parents. We hold parent information evenings each year, concerning all areas of the curriculum and Montessori philosophy as it relates to topics of interest to most parents, such as discipline, eating habits, sex education, etc. We work at constantly improving our presentations so that they are fun, as well as informative.

If you have not previously attended a session on the topic to be given, you are expected to attend. We are also exploring the possibility of creating video material on each topic, so that parents may borrow DVD’s for home viewing, although these can never equal the value of attending the meeting. Please consider this information seriously. Failure to keep informed may result in your child losing priority status in being accepted the following year. An excellent resource is Montessori Madness by Trevor

Eissler: http://www.montessorimadness.com, available for $15 at the office.

Parent Library We have a parent library, containing books by and about Montessori, regular NAMTA (North American Montessori Teachers’ Association) Journals and other books and periodicals that you may find interesting and helpful in understanding the philosophy of the school. We also welcome ideas on books you have found helpful that could be included in our library. Just sign out books in the provided hanging notebook.

Volunteer Opportunities

A child’s experience at school is always enriched by his or her parent’s involvement, and it is expected that you will help out in some way each year. During your child’s first month here, you will pay a volunteer fee ($100). If you contribute 20 hours of volunteer time to the school during the year, you will not need to contribute this again next year, and in fact you will receive a refund of the volunteer fee when your child leaves the school. It is parents’ responsibility to record volunteer hours in the volunteer book in the office. This system seems to work very well to evenly distribute the work load. Although it is not usually in the best interest of the children for you to participate in their classrooms during class times, a good opportunity for you to observe interaction of your child with his or her peers and teachers is if you drive a group on a field trip. We use our bus or van whenever possible, but sometimes it is important, especially at the primary level, to have more adults present, so we ask for volunteers. Parents seem to enjoy this participation and their children are usually proud to have them along! $1,000,000 liability is sufficient insurance coverage, so no extra premiums are usually necessary.

http://www.montessorimadness.com/


Clubs Day We believe it is important to provide children with leisure alternatives to television and other electronic entertainment and to expand their leisure “bank” so that you will never again hear, “I’m bored!” To this purpose, for part of the year, we plan Clubs Day on Friday afternoons. Students break into small groups to learn anything from chess or photography to skipping or juggling to cooking or sewing to golf or… The areas of interest are as broad as the interests of our parents, staff and friends. We believe every parent has at least one leisure skill which could be shared with from one to ten students (your choice of how many); so think about what you enjoy doing, then find an hour on a Friday afternoon between October and June when you could come and share this interest. (Of course you are welcome to come as many Fridays as you wish and there are students interested!) Volunteer sign up sheets are distributed in September. This could be a great way for you to contribute your volunteer hours per year. It is often a wonderful opportunity for seniors to become involved with children. It is helpful for us to know as soon as possible what and when you could contribute, but any time during the year that a new idea comes to you, please feel free! Several times each year we try to plan opportunities for parents, relatives and friends of our students to get together with the staff and children. This is more of a challenge until we have our new gym, but we use our space creatively! We require parent help for preparation of these events. We may also hold a work party one weekend during the year, and of course welcome as many helpers as can come. We

can accomplish great things when we work together.

Some parents with fine-tuned artistic and accuracy skills help us to make materials – a never-ending task to fill the students’ infinite appetite for learning! If you have a particular skill or business that you believe could be useful for the school, (e.g. locksmith, plumbing, carpet-cleaning, etc.) please let us know and you may be able to use that as your volunteer contribution.

Another way to help out may be to phone other parents. As soon as possible we set up a “grapevine” for each class, which is posted on the web Parents Section. This is a very effective tool for quick communication of news, such as a cancelled field trip, school closure on a snowy day, reminders to bring something, etc. Of course it becomes ineffective if it is not kept up-to-date. Therefore, please let us know immediately if your phone number changes. Of course an even quicker method of communicating is through email, but the phone option is still necessary for important news, as everyone doesn’t seem to check email daily. Our website includes a Parent Page, which includes the Parent Handbook and the year’s calendar. It also gives you the opportunity to add comments, communicate concerns, ask questions and obtain the latest information on the bulletin board. In summary, in order to best serve your children, we expect parents to be informed about Montessori education, to read the newsletters and books on Montessori, attend parent meetings and to watch for opportunities to contribute in other possible ways, such as driving for field trips, Clubs Days, etc. Other Communication Like all professionals, in order for our teaching staff to keep current with new ideas in education, to learn from other teachers, and most important, to maintain the wonderful unity and harmony that we so enjoy at our school, we need to have times to grow without the students. Apart from our weekly Staff Meetings and parent interview days, we have four professional development days each year. These days are used to visit other schools, attend conferences or to work together on a particular topic. Staff also use a great deal of their evening and week-end time attending conferences, embracing new ideas and preparing materials, but these four days are a time for us all to work together. Of course, students do not attend school on these days, but the daycare is available for primary children, and Out-of-School Care is available if there are enough interested. Please consult your school calendar for this year’s professional development dates.


FINANCIAL POLICIES & PROCEDURES

Our prime purpose is education. We have devised financial policies and procedures which allow us to put as much energy as possible into your child’s experience with us, without undue focus on the business and financial side. Experience has shown the need for policies and procedures, which will be strictly enforced.

When you completed your child’s registration form, you agreed, among other things, to ensure all payments are in as required, and to pay late fees or NSF fees if necessary. If you wish to review your commitment, you are welcome to do so at any time. Just ask the office staff.

Late Fees

Five dollars ($5) per day. (Late fees apply to any monies not paid on time.)

NSF Cheques

For any cheque(s) or preauthorized debits returned NSF, a $25.00 service fee will apply per item. Payment of NSF items must be submitted in full within two days of notification. (eg. If we contact you Wednesday, payment must be received prior to closing on the Friday.) If we are unable to reach you by phone, we will leave a memo at either the daycare or after school care. Late fees will also be added retroactive to the 1

st if not replaced within the two days.

Payment Options

As outlined for you during registration, there are three payment options for fees. All regular monthly payments are paid through pre-authorized deposits, which save a great deal of time and energy on both sides. Because exceptions are time-consuming, there will be an additional charge for anyone who requires special arrangements.

When paying cash for any reason, please submit exact payment. For security reasons, we rarely have cash on hand to make change.

Payment for all overdue accounts (including service charges and/or late fees) will be accepted in cash only.

General Information

Because your child fills one of a limited number of spaces in our facility, your space must be paid for, whether or not your child is present. Therefore, there is no exemption from fees for absence due to illness or vacation. This applies to all rate options.

It is your responsibility to ensure payments are received on time. Failure to do so will result in late fees being levied against your account.

Should your account fall into arrears and not be paid within thirty days (with the exception of drop in fees), your child will no longer be accepted into our programs. Should you fail to pay drop in rates daily, your child will not be accepted again until your account is brought up to date.

But of course none of this applies to you because you have everything in on time, right?!

There are some options with daycare, due to erratic attendance, that require individual attention.

After School Care Only

It is always our intent to be able to offer After School Care during school breaks (i.e. Christmas, Spring, Summer, etc.). Unfortunately in the past, this has not always been the case due to a limited number of participants. Should this happen, and you have paid in advance the monthly rate, we will credit your account for the days care was not available. Out-of-School Care is for children at the elementary level.


PRIMARY PROGRAM

Getting Ready

When does my child start?

We have an opening celebration for the year for all students on the Tuesday after Labour Day. All children who have previously attended a Montessori school will begin on Wednesday for a full day. Extended day children will attend only their half-day session for the first-week. They will begin a full day the following Monday. Our new little ones will begin as scheduled by the teachers, once the returning children are settled, and will initially stay for an hour each day. As soon as your child is settled, usually after about three days, (s)he will stay for the full morning or afternoon. The directresses will let you know when (s)he is ready.

What should we bring?

We invite each child to bring to his or her class a small plant. The plant should be labelled with your child’s name and have a drip catcher (such as a saucer) under the pot. This is a special way for your child to contribute to and feel a part of the classroom. The children share the responsibility of caring for these plants.

Your child will also need to bring, on the first day, a pair of inside “holey” shoes and a complete change of clothing, including socks (usually used when water spills). This clothing will be placed in a cotton bag, provided by the school, hung on your child’s hook. (These bags may be purchased if you wish.) These spare clothes do not have to be earthwear, unless they are used frequently. It saves us a great deal of time if each item (yes, even the socks!) is labelled. Also, please ensure your child is prepared for any weather, with complete raingear; write the name on boots and coats.

As soon as your child begins attending full session, he or she will need to bring a snack. Rather than worry about allergies, and to encourage a balanced diet, it is easier and healthier for snacks to be restricted to fresh or dried fruit or vegetables. All snacks are pooled, then prepared by the teachers or the children for all to share. We find there is usually ample to eat if the children bring a snack every other day, rather than each day. If we find we have too much, or are short, a note on your bulletin board will ask you to increase or decrease accordingly. It is often an initial challenge for a child to learn to share his or her snack, but this is usually soon overcome. We like to encourage the children to appreciate our wonderful water, so do not provide or allow juice except on special occasions.


What not to bring

We discourage children from bringing toys to school. Any brought will be collected on arrival and returned at departure. Also, please don’t send stationery items, such as pencils or paper, as the children learn that any items in the classroom may be shared by all. If a child has something very special to show everyone, he should check with the Directress in advance. This does not, of course, apply to items such as a bird’s nest or a cocoon, that is always welcome and would go on the science shelf and be of interest to everyone.

Dress Code

After several years of thought and much polling and discussion, we now have our own “Earth Wear”. We believe it provides a balance between allowing the children some individuality, yet avoiding the focus on clothing and the societal class consciousness that goes with commercial clothes. We chose it to reflect our stewardship of the earth (the basic earth colours) and the individuality of the “flowers in the garden” – our shirts. Parents/students are encouraged to further individualize their “Earth Wear” with appropriate appliqués, patches or embroidery. Our local supplier is Kiran Uniforms at 13030-76 Ave. (778-565-4726). Parents are free to purchase khaki (beige) bottoms – pants, skirts, culottes, shorts) from any location – or make them! Used clothing is also available, to be organized by parent volunteers. All Primary and elementary children, will be expected to wear their “Earth Wear” daily. The Secondary students are at a different level of development, with different needs, so graduation to this level means greater freedom to choose clothing, although it is still governed by a “dress code”.

What time should we be there?

Usually the door will be opened five minutes before the class starts. In weather which calls for more cumbersome outdoor clothing, it may be opened slightly earlier. Because a child arriving late is often uncomfortable, as well as disruptive to the rest of the class, we close the door ten minutes after the class starts and will open it only for exceptional circumstances. No one will bite you if your car broke down once, but we feel punctuality is important enough to the children to take the occasional chew on chronic latecomers.

Class hours are as follows:

Morning Primary Classes: 8:30 – 11:30 or 8:45 – 11:45

Afternoon Primary Class: 12:30 – 3:00

Extended Day, Intermediates and Seniors: 8:30 - 3:00

Upper Class 9:00 – 4:00

After-School Care and Daycare: 7:00 - 6:00


When you arrive, please realize you are responsible for your child under 12 until (s)he enters the classroom or is received by a staff member. Also, we will not allow children to leave with anyone who has not been specifically designated by you on the registration form, so please provide a signed note if someone new will be picking up. It is also important that all adults know the child is leaving. NEVER REMOVE A CHILD WITHOUT A STAFF MEMBER’S KNOWLEDGE.

It is important you arrive promptly to pick up your children. It is often devastating for some children to be the only one left after the others have gone home, and staff often have other commitments to attend to after class, such as staff meetings. $5 is levied for every 15 minutes overtime.

What if my child isn’t feeling well?

Please do not bring your child if he or she is not feeling well. Apart from the risk of spreading the problem, an ill child may have a negative school experience, which could influence subsequent attitude to coming. If your child is away for more than one day, we appreciate a call to let us know how he or she is doing. Just leave a message on the machine.

How do we keep in touch with what’s going on in the classroom?

Few young children are able to answer satisfactorily the question, “What did you do today?” so resist the temptation to ask. You might be more specific, such as “Did you work with the pink tower today?” or “Did you have a story today?”, but usually children will, in their own time, come out with comments on whatever they found interesting. This is far more likely if they don’t feel pressured. In the meantime, we will send home “notes” with your child, which he or she is encouraged to “read” to you. Teachers of older children usually send emails once or twice a week. These will inform you of your child’s interest, challenges and triumphs in the classroom. Please remember that each child is individual, and much as we are tempted, we can only hurt them by comparing their progress. Neither feelings of inferiority nor superiority are healthy for us or our children.

What happens on birthdays?

Every primary child’s birthday is observed at school by a small ceremony which varies from class to class but likely involves lighting a candle to represent the sun, and having the children carry the globe around it, once for each year of his or her life. They may also bring a photo for each year. Usually all birthdays in a particular month will be grouped on one day, often the last Friday of the month. Birthdays occurring over the summer break will be celebrated in June. At this time parents are invited to send a special, healthy snack, such as veggies and dip, muffins, fruit plates, etc. We make careful note of allergies. Please note that we downplay age-labelling as much as possible and we do not refer to “grades”. Decisions on class level are made according to readiness, not age, and we avoid as much as possible grouping the children according to age or labelling the levels. This helps avoid


negative connotations for a child who needs more time at a certain level, or a sense of superiority for those who are ready earlier.

Closure for extreme weather conditions

School Closure Procedures

1) Email will be sent to all parents by 7:00am.

2) We will calling radio station CKNW NEWS 1130 AM Phone 604-873-2599

3) School Phone will have a special greeting/message informing about the school

closure. (you have to wait until the answering machine picks up, usually 3 or 4 rings.)

For information on closure, phone Roots and Wings Montessori Place 604-574-5399 Health Emergency cards are filled out with the registration package. Here you will note any allergies of special health requirements and note your child’s medical number and practitioner. You will be notified first in any emergency, but alternative contacts are important. The following policies have been drawn up with the interest of all the children in mind. We are careful to consider the well-being of the group as well as the individual child. A child with the following symptoms should be kept at home for at least 24 hours following a clearance of the following symptons: * A severe cold with fever *Temperature over 38C *An intestinal or stomach disorder with vomiting and/or diarrhea *a communicable disease (e.g. c hicken pox) *a parasite, skin infection, discharge from the eye (pink eye) or an undiagnosed rash (not diaper or allergy related) Should your child be ill during the day, we will notify you so that you can arrange for him or her to be taken home. Medication Any medication to be given to a child must be prescribed by a medical doctor or provided by the parent. However, the parent must ensure that he/she completes the "medication Form" which staff will provide. The staff will then administer the medication according to the instructions given on the form. It is the parent's responsibility to ensure amounts and times are correctly entered. All medicine brought to daycare must be given directly to staff, who will lock it in the lock box in the fridge. Please remember to take medicine home when picking up your child.


Nutrition We know you all agree that good nutrition is essential to the young child’s growth, health and development. When considering your child’s lunch, we recommend that parents follow the Canadian Food Guide, as well as eating locally as much as possible. Suggestions include: Crackers and cheese Whole grain breads Whole grain pasta brown rice

oatmeal and other cereal Fruits Vegetables Eggs

Nuts (if can handle them) Meats Baked items (with minimal sugar)

It is recommended that the children have a variety of snacks, but a main lunch such as a sandwich or a pasta dish, and at least some foods they can eat independently. Please provide the necessary amount of formula or milk bottles needed for your child in a day.


PRIMARY PARENTS: A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT SEPARATION

The Time is approaching when you, as well as your child, must be ready to separate at school. Keep in mind that you are not separating, so much as gaining new experiences which will eventually give you more to share.

If this is a new experience for you, please don’t feel anxious about it. We know you must feel that school is a good, safe place for your child and if you show this confidence, he or she will soon realize it too.

There are some ways you can help prepare your youngster. Talk to your child in a positive, enthusiastic way about the fact that soon he or she will go to school while you are at home or work. Mention his or her directress’ name often and help him or her to understand that we will care for him or her lovingly while you are gone, and that (s)he needs anything (s)he can talk to his or her guides. Reassure your child that you will always come back to pick him/her up. Your child should realize that you are firm in your decision to take him to school. Allow him to participate in choosing snacks and preparing clothes for school.. Try and grant a grown-up privilege at home to coincide with the grown-up experience of starting school.

The first day you come to school, appear confident, expect him to stay happily, and reassure him that you will pick him up in a little while. Then, please don’t hesitate or linger. A hug and kiss, say good-bye and leave. Don’t ask her if she’s OK and don’t be upset if she cries. We are professionally trained to introduce your child to this new experience; she will be comforted and directed to an activity that helps make her feel a part of the group. Although you should never try to sneak away, your entering the classroom would simply delay this adjustment.

Our new little ones stay for an hour per day until they are settled. In most cases, they become comfortable within a few minutes. If your child seems to really feel frightened and abandoned, we’ll call you before the hour is up. Feel free to call us if you are worried.

If your child has not had much experience away from you, separation may take time. Be patient and you will soon both feel comfortable.


INTERMEDIATE, SENIOR AND SECONDARY PROGRAMS (Ages approximately 6-9, 9-12 and 12-15)

Lunches

All elementary (including Extended Day) and secondary students bring lunches to school. Their lunch hour is from 11:30 - ~12:00, followed by half an hour or more for free activity outside. On rare occasions, the weather is too miserable and we’ll have an inside day. However, we like to teach the children that there is no such thing as bad weather – just inadequate clothing. Therefore please make sure your children are always adequately prepared for our changeable weather. Each elementary child must have available a pair of waterproof boots and a waterproof jacket and headcover. You may also like to include some “muddy-buddy” waterproof pants. These rainclothes are also necessary for spontaneous field trips. They may be kept at school, or sent each day. Lack of adequate clothing will result in a student remaining under the Supervisor’s umbrella during playtime. Be prepared for the “hose test” in September!

Occasionally teachers have been asked to supervise students’ eating habits and to force them to eat certain foods. We feel this is neither appropriate nor possible. However we do ensure that students eat main courses before dessert, and that they don’t trade healthy for non-healthy foods. We also ask that they take home left-overs so that you can see what has been eaten. It is up to you and your child to work out appropriate eating habits, and it is seldom useful to force eating of any food. This topic may be addressed at a parent meeting if there is interest. (A great way to improve eating habits is to have students choose and pack their own lunches!) We also ask that you please not send juice boxes. Healthy habits mean not requiring flavouring in our water, and we have excellent filtered water available at all times. Juice boxes cannot be recycled locally and they attract flies if kept for recycling.

And finally, you’ll be glad to know that we teach good nutrition and ecological habits, and students enjoy occasional random analysis of their lunches. They soon become aware of nutritional balance, and of the inappropriateness of “junk” food such as pop or chocolate bars, and of the amount of packaging used in their lunches. Reliable research has proven microwaves to be damaging to food, so we no longer have a microwave available.

Recycling

Related to lunches is our intensive “reduce, reuse, recycle” program, which we have followed for 23 years! We are proud of the minimal garbage we produce, as the children compost and recycle daily. Remember to tear out windows from your envelopes and be sure all paper is clean. All compostable food (no fat, meat or milk products) is taken daily to our compost bin and students use the compost to prepare the soil for vegetables and flowers. Cans and recyclable plastics go

out in the blue bin each week. Naturally, we encourage as little lunch waste as possible. Uneaten food is returned home; beverages should be in reusable containers. We encourage you to use plastic sandwich containers, rather than wax paper or foil, and to buy as little “instant”, prepackaged food as possible. We look forward to working with you to ensure our children’s education as healthy citizens responsible in the 3 R’s.


Homework

It has been interesting to note how often parents judge the success of the school or of their children by their homework. Consistent with the Montessori philosophy at home as at school, we do not believe a child is best prepared for life by doing, for example, rows of assigned math questions. However self-discipline, following interests, expanding experiences and goal-setting are important. All elementary students are expected to do constructive activity each night. This activity may be baking, doing a science experiment, summarizing and educational program such as Bill Nye, playing a family game, walking the dog, playing a sport or lying on the trampoline observing the clouds! What is not useful is hours of screen entertainment. It is up to parents to decide, with their children, to what expectations they are willing to commit. The following are general recommendations:

1. Evening activities and goals should be set by the student, rather than by a parent or staff member, although guidance is certainly useful. Students record their evening activity on their checklists.

2. If work time at school was not used wisely, a student may have some home requirements to encourage self-discipline and good choices. If this is the case, (s)he should work away from distractions of family, radio, and especially television. It is also useful to have one location for school books which is habitually checked each day before your child leaves for school. Please don’t give in to the temptation to rescue your child by bringing forgotten work or clothing. Remember the aim is to establish good work habits, not a great product.

3. If a child seems frustrated trying to reach a goal he has set, parents are welcome to help if they can

do so without doing the work for their child. Again, the purpose of homework is not to please a teacher, but to help a child feel successful in reaching a goal. If a child is feeling a lot of frustration, there is probably a misunderstanding of the Directress’ intent or some other communication breakdown and it should be resolved before the child continues. No child should spend unpleasant hours trying to do homework.

Television and Electronic entertainment

It cannot be emphasized enough that misuse of television is one of the prime deterrents to our children’s success in life. While there are some wonderful educational shows, I believe that watching more than the general maximum of an hour per day reduces your child’s creative thinking ability and retards school progress. Computer games fall in the same category. We work hard to offer alternative leisure activities. To be consistent with our program, there need to be TV restrictions that give your children the opportunities to come up with their own activities, not only without electronic entertainment, but without relying on parents or anyone else. Children who are constantly entertained, either by their parents or electronics, become easily bored and depend on non-constructive leisure activities. Allowed enough time with no alternatives, your children will begin to create their own activities. It is vital that much of this activity occur in a natural environment outdoors. (Read Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv). Lying on the ground watching a beetle is a very constructive activity!


Performances

All students in our school usually perform on stage at some time during the year. As in all other areas, each child is at a different level musically and will be involved and progress according to individual ability. Various instruments, from voice to percussion, recorder to keyboard, are used to further their progress. Our Christmas performance usually involves all the children, and is created by them, following

our theme for the year, with the aim of giving them the opportunity to work with each other and discover creative abilities. Our Spring performance usually involves the older children only, and is a more polished performance, aimed at exposing the students to the hard work and commitment necessary to a production in which they can feel a great deal of pride. We take pride in bringing out each student’s musical capability, and you can look forward to excellent performances throughout your child’s elementary years.

Field Trips

Because first-hand experience is so important to learning, we venture beyond our classrooms as much as possible. The second week of September is the annual camping trip, with Intermediates attending for one night, Seniors staying the full week. During this time they enjoy a variety of learning sessions and jump start many social issues for the year, while increasing independence and self-esteem. It is important that every elementary child attend this camp, as strong roots are established for a harmonious classroom throughout the year.

We also enjoy several skating sessions each year, as well as at least one complete swimming cycle. All costs are included in your fees.

There will be many other field trips during the year, many of which parents are welcome to join.

Graduation

We have two levels of graduation: primary and senior. Primary children ready to enter the Intermediate level have a ceremony in June; and Senior students, having completed their elementary years, ready to enter Junior High, have a somewhat more elaborate ceremony, usually in the evening of the same day.


Discipline - Elementary Level

The purpose of discipline is to help the individual discover his or her innate goodness. There are two aims of discipline:

1. To correct inappropriate behaviour 2. To protect others from the influence of negative behaviour

We concur with the First Nations people’s view of discipline, that a wrong-doer belongs in a clinic rather than in a jail, so that the problem causing the wrong behaviour can be discerned and corrected through nurturing, caring treatment, rather than condemnation. Discipline is then based on the need to respect oneself, each other and property.

To correct unacceptable behaviour at Roots & Wings, we first need to focus the individual’s attention on the behaviour, then help him or her to understand that it is unacceptable, why it is so, and the consequences for its reoccurrence. There should not be arbitrary, imposed punishment by an authority, but clear choices made available to the individual, so that he or she is empowered and encouraged to make right choices, always aware of the consequences of whatever choice is made.

The following behaviours are absolutely and unequivocally not acceptable:

hurting oneself or another person swearing destroying property disobedience to a designated leader leaving the school grounds war toys or clothing It is not possible to set a formula for behaviour problems, because it is vital to look at each situation individually, considering the motive and abilities of the wrong-doer. Opportunity must always be given for reform. A person who feels condemned will probably repeat the offence.

The general procedure for correcting inappropriate behaviour is as follows:

1. At the first infraction, a warning is given

2. At the second infraction, the individual is usually removed from a group and asked to clarify his mistake, either orally or in writing, stating what he or she could have done that would have been more appropriate, and committing to correcting the mistake, with the consequence of not doing so clearly defined. A note is made of this procedure.

3. A third infraction for the same mistake would usually result in the individual’s being removed for a longer time, and both the parent and the Principal being informed. A conference may be appropriate at this time.

4. A fourth infraction would likely involve a longer period of removal of the individual, and a parent conference would be necessary. It may be helpful for a contract to be drawn up between the individual and the teachers, parents and Principal at this time.

5. Continued infractions would no doubt point to a need for counseling. Dependent on the effect on other students, it may also involve suspension or dismissal from school.

It is important during this entire procedure that details be confidential, that other children be encouraged not to condemn, but to help and encourage an individual who is struggling with misbehaviour, and that all involved attempt to work at separating the behaviour from the doer, constantly encouraging him or her to recognize that this is not part of him/her, and it is possible to be free from it.


MEET OUR DISTINGUISHED STAFF!

ADMINISTRATION

Kristin Cassie, Founder and Principal

Children have been a key ingredient for most of Kristin’s life. Born in England, the second of twelve children, she emigrated to Vancouver when she was ten and grew up caring for youngsters. She has three sons of her own: Kyle, a professional actor who pops up in commercials and local TV shows; Shaun, who attended Strawberry Hill Montessori in his elementary years and is now working at his own plumbing business; and Daryn, who attended Roots & Wings from age two to thirteen, followed by Surrey’s Inter-A High School program and a degree from the Art Institute of Vancouver, now studying music with continued passion at Vancouver Community College and teaching piano to children at our school.

Kristin holds a B.A. in linguistics and a Professional B.C. Teaching Certificate from Simon Fraser University. In addition, she trained four years with St. Nicholas Montessori, based in London, England, attending branches in Coquitlam and Windsor, Ontario. She also spent three summers, including an intensive six-week training course, on Montessori adolescent education. She regularly attends Montessori conferences to stay abreast of progressive thought.

Kristin taught public elementary school for ten years, specializing in French and including kindergarten to grade ten. After extensive research and experimentation in how children learn to read, she taught continuing education classes on how babies learn, in Langley, New Westminster, Delta and Surrey. She also ran a family daycare for two years. After her Montessori training, she founded Roots & Wings in 1985, teaching at the primary level for four years. She gained two years experience at the elementary level in the Surrey public Montessori program, then returned to expand her school to the elementary level, teaching at the Intermediate, Senior and adolescent levels.

Kristin also loves to garden, take photos of children, sing in a choir, cruise the Internet to connect with other Montessori and school reformers, and lobby city leaders for our school’s future! Roots & Wings has been her primary focus for more than 23 years, and she’s loving the opportunity to put it into so many other capable hands.

Kristin is a member of the North American Montessori Association, the David Suzuki Foundation, the Council of Canadians, Greenpeace, a local church, a former member of Vancouver’s Institute for Ethical Leadership, and many conservation and philanthropic organizations. She has been nominated for the YWCA’s Women of Distinction award and three times for the Governor-General’s award for Excellence in teaching Canadian History.


Vivien Yang, Office Administrator

Vivien is our spark of professional fun in the office. Fluent in mandarin and Cantonese, Vivien brings an Oriental expertise to Roots & Wings. She holds her BA from UBC in Economics and Math so your fees should be in good hands! She has also worked as a customer rep at the Scotia Bank and as office assistant in a local business. She is also teaching our students Mandarin.

DAYCARE Arceli Llanes, Daycare Supervisor

We are so fortunate to have Arceli in the Daycare for her eighteenth year! Originally from the Philippines, where she earned her B.Sc. in Elementary education, Arceli taught elementary school, with her husband, in Brunei for twelve years before coming to Canada. She froze in Winnipeg for two years, working in a daycare centre, then moved to warmer B.C., where she joined us at Roots & Wings in 1993. Arceli holds her Early Childhood Education Certificate for B.C. And in case she needed any more experience, she has raised four children of her own, now in their twenties and thirties. Our children are very much blessed by Arceli’s caring and innovative programming in our daycare centre.

Ruby Wei, Daycare Assistant Ruby is another very welcome face in our daycare. Adding Mandarin to the list of languages spoken in our centre, Ruby holds her Early Childhood and Preschool Education Certificate from Jiangsu Province, China, where she taught a class of 42 preschoolers and published articles in their journal. In Canada, Ruby has taught preschool in Richmond, and has taught Mandarin to children ages 4 – 7 in Burnaby and Vancouver. We’re enjoying Ruby’s son, Kenny in our Extended Day program.

Maria (Pinky) Sangalang, Assistant Pinky has prepared well to care for our little ones, as she continues to raise six of her own children, now in their teens and early twenties. Her family is her treasure and her source of inspiration, and we’re so fortunate to have her bring moral and spiritual strengths to Roots and Wings. Pinky holds her Early Childhood Education Certificate from Vancouver Career College, as well as a BSC in Marketing and Management. She says, “I look forward to working, playing and laughing with little children and leading them in their acquisition of initial education.


BABYCARE

Miffy Yang, Babycare Supervisor at Surrey Central Miffy supervises the Surrey Centre location. She was born in South Taiwan, where she completed her Bachelor of Food Science before immigrating to Canada with her two brothers and sister, in 1996. She then achieved her Early Childhood certification and her Infant/Toddler certification in Burnaby. The last step to becoming perfectly qualified to care for your little ones was to have her own baby, in 2007. Miffy has worked for five years in preschool, daycare and infant/toddler centres and cares with confidence and joy for your children.

Ella Lee Ella was born in Taiwan and grew up in Canada. She studied at Douglas

College where she earned a degree in early childhood education with a

specialty in childcare for infants and toddlers as well as children with special

needs. Ella widened her horizon by spending three months in Sweden learning

the country’s well renowned childcare system.

Amy Arnold Born in Surrey, Amy spent 12 years in Ladner before returning to her roots.

Amy studied childcare at 'Delta Continuing Education College' and also

earns a certificate as special education assistant. Amy brings ten years of

experience working in various daycare settings including children who

require additional support and have special needs.

Amy likes spending time with her 11 years-old daughter and their two

dogs and two cats. In her spare time she enjoys scrapbooking, reading,

working out, and retreating to their family cabin in BC's interior with her

parents and siblings as often as possible.

Melissa Prohaska

Melissa was born and raised in the Lower Mainland. She graduated from the

Langley College as an Early Childhood Educator. Very much a family person,

Melissa spends her summers fishing with her grandparents on Vancouver

Island. Melissa enjoys reading, learning how to play the guitar, traveling,

dancing, singing, and simply spending time with her family and friends.


SCHOOL GUIDES

Lauren Plaviak, Primary and Extended Day Directress, Head of Primary School We’re blessed to have Lauren guiding our little ones since 2005. Lauren received her Montessori training from the Montessori Centre International, in London, England. She holds her B.A. from the University of Regina, with a Psychology major. Lauren is also a certified Kindermusik teacher, and can be heard enthusiastically drumming with her youngsters.

Chami Fernando, Primary Directress A sixeen year veteran of Roots and Wings, Chami is a very versatile teacher, having worked in many capacities at our school, including daycare, Intermediate Assistant and, currently, Primary Co-Directress. Chami took a couple of years off to have her own child, Hasith, who now entertains us daily! Chami comes from Sri Lanka, where she received her Montessori Certificate. She has also worked with mentally challenged children in Surrey. Staff welcome samples of her excellent cooking skills!

Maureen Boudier, Directress, Creative Dance, Drama and Music for Primary and Elementary, Primary Associate

Maureen delights our children from two to twelve with her innovative creative dance and drama classes. Maureen has taught dance, including ballet, tap and musical theatre, for 30 years to children and young people from 3 – 19 in her own Martiniuk School of Performing Arts. She also holds her Primary Montessori Certificate and has taught 14 years at the Primary level. She has certificates and degrees galore: B.A. in Theatre and Psychology from UBC, Early Childhood Certification, Montessori Certification, Primary and Elementary level, and Royal Academy of Dance. She has composed songs for and choreographed many productions, including “Fiddler on the Roof”, “Bye, Bye Birdie”, “Cinderella”, “Joseph…”, “Hello Dolly, Guys and Dolls, and a mini-ballet for “Water Babies”. We are so blessed to have Maureen in our Fine Arts program. Jennifer Tett , Intermediate Co-Directress, Earth Stewardship Manager Jennifer continues with great dedication as part of the backbone of our elementary program, where she has taught since 2003. Jennifer holds her Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Outdoor Recreation from Lakehead University as well as Advanced Montessori Training to age 12 from Victoria’s acclaimed Angela Martin Montessori Training Centre. She taught the 9 – 12 class at a Montessori school in Tucson, Arizona for two years, before returning


to Roots and Wings, where she has worked with the Intermediates and Extended Day children for four years. Jennifer impresses us with her creative ideas and great initiative, and a fascinating knowledge of flora and fauna. She has vast experience with recreation leadership, from Ontario to Tucson to Surrey, from young children to Senior citizens, both indoor and outdoor programs. Our Intermediates are in great hands!

Shahr Bano, Primary Associate

Shahr continues her great partnership, begun with Rhonda in 2006, in the Primary program. She holds Montessori certification from the Montessori Training Institute of Malaysia and well as her Bachelor of Science degree. After teaching elementary, including kindergarten, for several years, Shahr emigrated

to Canada, where she obtained her Early Childhood Education Certificate in BC and worked in a number of preschools, including some work with special needs children. Along the way, Shahr has picked up English, Urdu, German, Punjabi and Pashto. Think we have a gem here?!

Véronique Bodart, Primary Associate, French Directress

How exciting to have a long-time parent of one of our students, now in her second year on our staff. Véronique left a prestigious position as a research scientist to train in the Montessori Method and begin a whole new career working with our little ones. Prior to receiving her AMI Montessori training in Vancouver, Véronique achieved her B.Sc, M.Sc and Ph.D in biochemistry and pharmaceutical science in Belgium and Montreal. Fluently bilingual, Véronique partners with Lauren in the extended day program and also teacher French to all levels. We’re grateful to include this talented lady in our school family!

Out-of-School Care Parbhat Opal, Supervisor

Parbhat has recently joined us as the new Out-of-School Care Supervisor. The elementary children are enjoying her varied program and close attention to their needs and desires. Staff are appreciating her grace and noting how well she fits into our school family. Parbhat has worked, and continues to work as a supervision aide for the Surrey School Board. She has completed a Food Safe course, prior to working in the food services industry, and last week joined our staff in renewing her First Aid Certificate. Her best qualification is the two thriving boys she has

raised! Parbhat ensures her charges make the most of our opportunities for outdoor play and connection to nature.


Vanessa Paton Yoga and Physical Education teacher and Individual Student Aide

Vanessa leads us in yoga, and has taught a super individualized gym program to the primary children. At the tail end of Kristin’s siblings, Vanessa is no less a lover of children and has endeared herself to many of our children and parents. She worked at Roots & Wings, both in the daycare and the preschool, for seventeen years, except for a couple spent at home to concentrate on her own children, now in their teens. Vanessa also received her Montessori training from Carol Scarratt in Coquitlam, and holds an Early Childhood Education Certificate. Her intuitive understanding of the needs of our children is a blessing for all of us. Beyond her children, Vanessa is devoted to total health, unifying fitness of body, mind and spirit through yoga and wholesome diet.

hazelmere school parent handbook

Documents