A Message From The Principal:

Dear Merryhill families, 

Happy New Year to you all! We can’t wait to spend 2022 with you and your children and to fill the new year with new and fun learning experiences.

I would like to express my profound gratitude to all of you for the warm thoughts and gestures, kind words, loving cards, and thoughtful gifts that the preschool staff received during this holiday season.  You and your families have made this holiday season so special. We are all so grateful to have each and every one of you be part of our school.  Your kindness and gratitude reminds us of our initial purpose in being early childhood educators. Your constant support and appreciation make us feel like we are succeeding in making a difference in our children’s lives. We are deeply grateful for all you’ve done for the staff at Merryhill.

I would like to thank you all who participated in our holiday giving initiative last month.  We partnered with “La Familia Community Center” and were able to donate 14 full boxes of clothing and toys that were distributed among many families in need. We can’t even tell you how happy and grateful these families were! They wanted you to know that your kindness and generosity is truly appreciated! 

I wanted to let you know that I will be taking some time off at the end of the month. I will be traveling to Venezuela to visit my family. I will be out from January 31^st, returning February 22^nd, 2022. Ms. Ashley will be leading the Admin team, along with our new Admin member, Ms. Rose. You will have the opportunity to see Ms. Rose at the front lobby daily and please feel free to stop by to say hello and introduce yourself. Ms. Rose is a wonderful addition to our team and she will always be around to help and assist you with anything you need.

Cheers to the New Year!  May it be a memorable one for you and your family!

Yvonne Valenzuela
Principal

School Closure Dates & Reminders for the 2021-2022 School Year

January 17 – School Closed for Marthin Luther King

February 21 –  School Closed for President’s Day

March 4 – School Closed for Teacher in-Service Day

May 30 – School Closed for Memorial Day

June 17 – End of the 21-22 School Year

News From our Education Department

Meaningful Ways to Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. With Your Preschooler

December, 2021   |   Topics: Citizens of the World

January is a great time to reflect on the important work of Martin Luther King, Jr. Although we explore diversity and inclusion all year, we have many activities planned this month to celebrate his life specifically. We’ll be reading books, making arts and crafts, discussing the importance of acceptance and[.....]
Read More »

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Keep in mind…. *

Ancillary Classes Coming to Merryhill Karitsa!

Tiny Tykes Soccer class, Hip Hop dance class, and Music Matt music class are in full swing now here at Karitsa!   Information regarding the sign up for these classes is available at the fron desk.

Extra Clothing Reminder
If you’ve not already done so, please send in an extra set of weather appropriate clothes for your child. Extra clothing must be brought to school in a ziplock bag. No loose items can be stored in your child’s cubby.

Links 2 Home
If you’re not currently receiving photos and daily reports for your child, you can easily change this by downloading the Links 2 Home app on your phone. Just type ‘Links 2 Home’ in the search bar for the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. After downloading, you can register with the same email address that you used to enroll your child in our school.

Online Parent Communication
In addition to our newsletter the ‘For Parents’ section of our website also includes links to our menu, monthly calendar and school year calendar. We update these items frequently to ensure you’re always in the know. Though we send information through Links 2 Home, our calendar can be printed or even downloaded directly to your device. Our menu and school year calendar can be printed or saved for easy reference as well.

• Monthly Calendar
• Menu
• School Year Calendar

Updating your Information in Alma
Do you have a different email address or phone number? Need to add or remove an emergency contact? You can do this at any time in Alma. If you need help logging in or accessing the system please let us know.

A few friendly reminders …….

Illness Policy Reminder:

Our parents are vital partners in helping us to maintain a safe and healthy environment for the students in our school. The most important thing you can do to assist us in creating a healthy environment is to keep your child home if they are ill. This reduces the spread of illness and allows your child to fully recuperate. Children may not attend school until they have been symptom free for 24 hours if they display any of the following:

• Fever of 100 degrees of more—must be fever free for 72 hours with no fever-reducing medicine before returning to school
• Vomiting, diarrhea or stomach upset
• Heavy nasal discharge requiring wiping every 3-5 minutes
• Persistent, non-productive or barking cough
• Sore throat
• Skin rash, including diaper rash
• Head lice
• Symptoms of a communicable disease
• Fussy, cranky behavior unlike child’s normal demeanor that may indicate illness
  For more information please see our Parent Handbook or reach out to a member of our administrative team.

Parking Lot Safety

Please remember not to leave any valuables in your car (including your children) when entering our building or any other location. With the slump in the economy, thieves are getting BOLD! They are taking part in a practice  refer as “Smash and Grab”. They target mostly women’s cars who leave without a purse in hand who have left their purses, lap tops, etc. sitting in plain view in their locked vehicles! The “locked vehicle” does not stop them as they come prepared with a special glass breaking tool! They break your window, grab what they want and speed away!

Rules for Vehicles While On School Grounds:
Because the safety of our children is of paramount concern to us, we require all parents to adhere to the following rules of the road while on campus:

1. There is a 5 miles per hour speed limit at all times while on school property.
2. Park in designated parking spaces only.
3. While on school grounds, pedestrians always have the right of way.
4. Vehicle ignitions MUST be turned off, and the keys removed, while parked on school grounds.
5. Children may NOT be left unattended in a vehicle at any time or for any reason.
6. Violations of these rules may result in a warning. If a violation is serious, or if violations continue, school personnel are authorized to take a tag number for a report to the local police.

Tuition Policy Reminder:

• Tuition is due no later than Friday prior to the week of attendance. Tuition is considered delinquent at 12:00 PM on Monday. A $25 late fee charge will be assessed at that time and should be included in your payment. Tuition is continuous throughout the year. There are no deductions in tuition for absences, illness, or the holidays that are observed throughout the year. Each child is entitled to one week of vacation credit for each school year after attending school for six months. Requests for vacation credit must be presented in writing to the office at least two weeks in advance.
• A charge of $1 per minute will be assessed for children picked-up after 12:00 PM for half-day students, and 5:30 PM for full-day students.
• Sign up for our Automatic Payment Program and avoid late fee charges via your parent portal, ALMA! You can also use this portal to submit payments via credit card.
• We encourage you all parents to sign into your parent portal, ALMA, to view your account, print statements, make payments, and update contact information.  ALMA is an online platform that can be reached from this website from the “For Parents” tab.  Please see an administrative staff member if you need help setting up your account or a password reset.

Additional Reminders:

• Please make sure that your child has a crib-sized fitted sheet to cover his/her mat, a blanket, and at least two spare set of clothing in his/her cubby. On Fridays, you must take blankets and sheets home to be laundered and return them on Mondays. Please check your child’s cubby everyday for soiled clothing or other items that may need to be taken home. Please also make sure all items are clearly marked with your child’s name (clothing, sheets, blankets, sweaters and jackets, towels and bathing suits, etc.).
• We ask that your child wear appropriate shoes to School in order to protect them for potential injuries. Flip Flops are not permitted at school.
• Merryhill School is a NUT FREE environment, we ask that you not bring any food items into the school that contain nut products.

Love Our School? Review Us!
In today’s connected world, many families turn to online reviews to learn more about the reputation of schools. Just a reminder that you can find our school on Facebook, Google, Yelp and other online directories. We’d love more families like yours, so please consider spreading the word about our school.