A Note from the Principal’s Desk:

Tis’ the season…..  I cannot believe how fast this year is coming to an end. This month the children will be going around the world and learning about how children in other countries celebrate the holidays.  We also will be getting a visit from Santa on December 12th.  The children will have the opportunity to tell him what they would like for Christmas.

This holiday we are excited to announce we are teaming up with the elementary school, to collect donations for the Mustard Seed School for homeless children.  We will be collecting donations until December 18th. The teachers are talking to the children about the importance of giving during the holiday season.  We would like to thank all the families who donated food for the Elk Grove Food Bank we were able to donate over 200 cans of food.

Mark your calendars for Friday, December 20th  from 3:00 pm to 3:30 pm for our Holiday Shows.  The children are working hard on preparing for the special day.  We hope you will be able to join us.

Have a wonderful month!  Happy Holidays

Nieva Gatbonton

Principal

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 24 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.

Health & Safety First:

• Please remember to sign your child into the school as soon as you arrive before going back to the classroom and sign your child out of the school last thing before you leave after picking them up from their class.  A good way to remember this is to always use the sign in/out iPad when you have your child with you.
• Should you require an alternate person to pick-up your child, please enter the necessary changes through the ALMA parent portal. Please inform the person picking up the child that they must provide a valid form of identification with photo. A staff will ask for I.D. to properly identify this person as someone who is authorized to pick-up your child.
• It is very important that you make contact with the teacher on duty when arriving or picking-up your child. This will help you better understand how your child’s day went and allow you time to ask any questions and/or voice any concerns you may have.
• With the exception of our infant population, children at Merryhill Preschool will be involved in physical fitness activities, both indoors and outdoors, as an important part of the curriculum. If a parent believes that his/her child is not well enough to participate, s/he will probably be more comfortable at home in more familiar surroundings. The school is not equipped to accommodate the needs of a sick child. Additionally, to prevent widespread flu in the school, we recommend that your child stay home from school if experiencing flu or cold symptoms.
• Make sure all doors close securely behind you when you leave a room or the building. Please refrain from exiting through the Emergency Exit Door to the parking lot. (We do not want the children to think it is okay to use this door.)
  Please do not allow “piggy backing” at the front door. If there is someone behind or in front of you that does not know the code, please ring the door bell, which is located above the key pad.

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 6:00 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 provides a hot lunch as well as a morning and afternoon snack. We do not provide breakfast, but we’ll be happy to assist your child with breakfast brought from home until 8:45 AM. If you would like your child to eat breakfast at school, he/she must arrive by 8:30 AM.
• Merryhill School is a NUT FREE environment, we ask that you not bring any food items into the school that contain nut products.
• In order to keep you informed of everything happening at Merryhill, please check the Merryhill Links to Learning Parent Board and students’ files located in each classroom, our monthly newsletter, and our website. In an effort to establish prompt communication with parents please make sure to provide us with an e-mail address for up-to-date e-notifications

Ways Our Students Are Giving Back This Holiday Season

December, 2019   |   Topics: Social Emotional

The holidays are a time for giving, and as you know, our schools are doing their part in giving back to those in need. We greatly appreciate all the parent support with these initiatives, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. The donations not only[.....]
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