The following are highlights of Northfield Community Nursery School policies. For a complete listing of policies, please see our complete Parent Handbook and Guide. If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact us.

Children's Files:
All forms required by law must be on file in the school office prior to the first day of school. This includes:

• Child and Family History or Update

• Medical Form

• Emergency Card including general release/permission

Children whose files are incomplete may not attend preschool, so please be sure to schedule an appointment with your child's physician in a timely manner if a physical form is required.  Information in your child's file will not be made available to any other school, agency, or individual without your permission.

Hours of Operation:

• Music & Movement:
  8-23 Months + Sibling: 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM Tuesday
  8-16 Months: 9:45 AM - 10:30 AM Tuesday
  17-23 Months: 10:30 AM - 11:15 AM Tuesday

• Parent & Tot:
  9:00 AM  - 10:15 AM Thursday
  10:30 AM - 11:45 AM Thursday

• All By Myself
  9:00 AM - 10:45 AM Friday

• 2 DAY AM
  8:45 AM - 11:15 AM Thursday and Friday

• 3 DAY AM
  8:45 AM - 11:15 AM Monday - Wednesday

• 4 DAY AM
  8:45 AM - 11:15 AM Monday - Thursday

• 5 DAY PM
  12:15 PM - 2:45 PM Monday - Friday

Phoning the School:
There are two telephone numbers that can be used to reach the school. The first and primary number is (847) 446-1116. The second number is (847) 446-6687. The first number when called will be answered by a staff member, or it will go to a voice mail system where messages can be left. Your call will be returned as soon as possible. The second number will always be answered by a staff member. The only time your call would go to voice mail when using this number is if two people are calling at the same time. Should this happen our phone system will signal the staff that a phone message was left, and your call will be returned immediately. For your child’s safety, voice mail messages will not be accepted for carpool changes, please make sure you speak directly with a staff member.

School numbers: (847) 446-1116 or (847) 446-6687
Fax number: (847) 446-5598

Arrival & Departure:
Arrival: The classroom doors are opened at 8:40 A.M./12:10 P.M. Park your car in the lot on the West side of the church and enter through the North double glass doors of the church. A responsible adult must accompany your child into the classroom. For security purposes, the double glass doors are locked at 9:00 A.M./12:30 P.M. Entry after this time will be granted by ringing the door bell that is located on the wall just to the right of the double glass doors. At the end of each session, each child is signed-out by an authorized adult.

Departure: Please pick-up your child promptly at 11:15 A.M./2:45 P.M. A $10.00 (yes, ten dollars) charge will be assessed for each child pick-up later than 10 (ten) minutes after the published time (beginning at 11:25 A.M./2:55 P.M.) with an additional $1.00 (one dollar) charged for each additional minute thereafter.

Weather:
In case of school closing because of snow or bad road conditions, you will be called by a Nursery School Board Member. For school closing information
listen to the following stations: WMAQ 670, WGN 720, WBBM 780, and WBBM 96 (FM). When Middlefork/Sunset Ridge school district 29 is closed due to weather conditions, NFCNS is also closed.

Car Pooling:
Car pools not only offer convenience for our families, but also help to maintain safety for all our children. The car pool chairperson, Marita Tiesi, will assist in the formation of car pools. Each child will be issued a numbered tag to affix to the school bag. The car pool parent will have a large corresponding number that should be displayed in the front driver’s side window of the vehicle. Once the car pool procedure begins, the vehicles will form a single file line on the east side of the parking lot. The NFCNS staff will bring the children to each car. All children will need to be signed out. Please contact a staff member when changing a pre-arranged car pool or having someone other than an authorized driver pick up your child. The car pool adult is responsible for placement of the child within the car and fastening the seat belt. Please move to a parking space to secure your child in his/her seat, so as not to hold up the line. Please contact Marita Tiesi at (847) 729-7959 with your car pool questions and/or changes.

Clothing:
The Nursery School fashion motto is “dress for mess!” At school, your child will be exploring various media. Even though smocks are available, the mess seems to land on a spot the smock did not cover. We want your child to enjoy the day and not worry about soiling their clothes either on the playground or in the classroom. An athletic type shoe is preferred for daily wear at Nursery School.

Please send a change of clothes for your child (including shoes and socks) in a large zip lock bag. Be sure your child’s name is clearly marked on all items, including the bag. Since this clothing will remain at school for the entire year, it should be large enough to accommodate your child’s growth. The clothing will be returned on the last day of school.

During the cold and wet weather, please send your child with hats, gloves, boots and snow pants everyday as we do go outside whenever possible and everyone needs to be dressed properly. Please mark all of these items (each glove and boot) with your child’s name as there may be duplication within the classroom. We do not always recognize which items belong to each child.

Absence Procedures:
If your child is going to be absent from school, please inform the school by 9:00 A.M. of each day the child will be absent. You can leave a message on the school answering machine. This helps us keep track of illnesses within the school. It is necessary to inform the school of a contagious illness, such as Strep throat, chicken pox, conjunctivitis, etc. The following are school guidelines with illnesses:

• After a fever, a child’s temperature must be normal (98.6) for 24 hours before returning to school.

• A child must be kept home for 24 hours after medication for Strep throat or conjunctivitis (pink eye).

• A child must remain at home at least 7 days after the outbreak of chicken pox AND until the eruptions are dry.

If your child’s health is questionable, please consider the health of the other children in the class and the staff members, and keep your child at home.

Snacks:
All children will be served a snack each day at nursery school. A simple, healthy snack will be provided by the school. Since the school is licensed by the Department of Children and Family Services, we must abide by their regulations with regard to food service. We are required by DCFS to post a menu of snacks for two weeks. You will find this posting on the bulletin board outside your child’s classroom as well as online. All questions regarding the snack calendar should be directed to the corresponding NFCNS Board member.

If your child has a food allergy, it is necessary to inform the teacher immediately. Should your child need special snacks, it will be your responsibility to bring a box of snacks marked with your child’s name to keep in our cabinet.

Birthdays:
Each child will celebrate his/her birthday or half-birthday at school. Teachers will continue to follow a birthday routine to make your child’s day more special. Also, in honor of your child’s birthday, a book, video, or other item may be donated to the school.

Holidays
At Northfield Community Nursery School we are sensitive to the developmental stages and needs of our young students. Celebrations, rituals and social activities are an important part of childhood. They help children learn that they belong to the family, community, culture, and society. Most holidays are based on things children do not understand. Therefore, early childhood educators recommend keeping the classroom routine consistent to avoid over stimulating children. This means we keep holiday activities to a minimum. We use a seasonal approach to celebrations instead of a holiday-centered approach. This approach allows everyone to celebrate something that is universally shared, such as winter. We invite families to share their customs, traditions, holidays, and celebrations with us. We feel it is very important and beneficial to connect holidays to the children's daily lives, to learn about one another and to approach them in a developmentally sensitive way. Thus, while we want to validate their importance in the lives of children, we do not want to "teach" about them or base our curriculum on holidays.

Outdoor Play
The children play outdoors whenever the weather permits. In general, this means any day when it is not raining and warmer than 20 degrees. On days when the temperature is between 20-32 degrees, factors such as sunshine and wind chill are taken into account. The Director will make the best judgment call on these days. Please accept the Director's decision, even if it is not one you might have made. Remember to dress your child appropriately so she/he can enjoy play outdoors.