Fall Letter to Parents

I hope you all are having a terrific summer! I am enjoying mine, but I am missing you! We are preparing for our new year and I am SO EXCITED to have you be a part of our program!! This preschool program is God’s ministry, and I am humbled and honored to be able to work with you and your child! Preschool is a wonderful gift to give your child. So many special relationships and learning experiences take place at preschool and kindergarten. Thank you for choosing us with which to share your child. We pledge to you to take good care of your child and provide the best experience for you and your child.

I have a lot of important information for you. For important dates for your calendar, visit the calendar on Memberhub.com. You should have received an email inviting you to join Memberhub for your class. If you did NOT receive an email inviting you to set up your account, please let your teacher know.

Lunch and Learn: Our after school enrichment program is called Lunch and Learn. More information will be forthcoming about this exciting fun experience!

Hours: 11:45-12:45 for all children. Carpool pickup is 12:45-1:00pm

Cost: Children staying until 12:45: $6/day

Security Team: We, the church staff and the preschool staff, consider safety as our number one priority. We have security cameras and silent alarms with a monitoring system for our preschool. We also have a security team made up of off-duty Newnan police officers. One officer from this team will be on our church campus from 8:30am until 12pm each school day. The officer will be walking around the entire campus, from the Annex building (Bank of America building) to the Parish Hall. Fortunately, our church family is supportive of our pro-active approach. The church pays for half of the cost of the security team. Preschool pays for half. Again, this is a pro-active approach. I am very appreciative of our church supporting this with both finances and actions.

Math Enrichment for 4’s and Kindergarten classes: This year, we are offering Math Enrichment for our 4 yr classes and Kindergarten class. Betsy Conoly will be teaching this to all the 4yr classes and the Kindergarten class on Thursday. Betsy will be teaching Science on Tuesday and Wednesday and Math on Thursday. We are excited about this new opportunity for our 4’s and K students. Math will continue to be a standard part of the curriculum in the classroom, Betsy’s class is an enhancement to what the teachers are already doing.

Kroger Community Rewards: Our school participates in the Kroger Community Rewards program. New Kroger policy: Each shopper has to enroll/re-enroll every August for a non-profit to receive benefits. Kroger donates a percentage of your shopping bill to our school. We receive a check from Kroger once a quarter. Our acct number (NPO no.) is 30791 and we are listed as Newnan First Methodist Preschool. To enroll or re-enroll, go to www.krogercommunityrewards.com, or call 770-496-7538, OR visit the customer service desk at any Kroger. This is an easy way for our preschool to receive funds just by shopping at Kroger.

Parent Orientation: August 31, 10:00 a.m. in the upstairs portion of the Parish Hall. After a short meeting, you will go to your classroom.

If you are a new enrollee, you will receive a t-shirt and school bag. If you attended last year, you should have your clear bag and t-shirt to use again this year. If you need a new bag, the cost is $5.00. If you need a new t-shirt, the cost is $5. You may purchase one from your teacher at Parent Orientation. We ask that your child use these clear bags, not cloth book bags.

First Day of School: Tuesday, September 5. Please do not arrive more than 5 minutes before your child’s class time. Please send in to your child’s classroom:

TUITION PAYMENT: Tuition payment is due the first of each month, cash or check. You may send tuition in to your child’s teacher in the student’s bag. Please put your child’s name and class in the MEMO section of your check.

Substitute Teachers: A great way to be involved in your child’s school. We need substitute teachers. This is a paid position. I will have a sign-up sheet for you to sign and a packet of information at Orientation.

Shot Records: FORM 3231 is the ONLY accepted shot record by the state of Georgia. I need an up to date shot record by the first day of school. It may be faxed to my attention at 770-253-7404.

Carpool Lines: If you arrive before 8:25 a.m. and plan to wait in the carpool lane for carpool to begin, PLEASE park so the teachers can get into the parking area. Do not BLOCK the entrance to the parking area. My suggestion is to park in the parking lot between the Church building and the Parish Hall. Then, at 8:25, pull around to the carpool lane and drop your child off for school.

Drop off: Please do not drop your child off sooner than 5 minutes before class begins. Playschool, two year olds and four year olds should not be dropped off earlier than 8:25 am and three year olds no earlier than 8:40 am. If you are earlier than 5 minutes, teachers will ask you to circle because your child’s teacher may not be ready to receive students.

Pick up and dismissal time:

At pickup time, your child’s teacher will be outside for 10 minutes past dismissal time for your child’s class. After 10 minutes, and you have not picked you’re your child will be placed in Lunch and Learn and you will be assessed the $6 Lunch and Learn fee for that day.

PLEASE NOTE if you are late picking up your child from Lunch and Learn, $1 per minute is charged PER CHILD and paid directly to the teacher for the number of minutes past 1:00 p.m. for which you are late in picking up. (For example, if you have 2 children here for 5 minutes past 1:00, you will be charged $5 for each child—a total of $10 is paid to the teacher.)

Parents of Playschool II, 2’s, 3’s, 4’s and 5’s, please use the carpool line the first day! Please remain in your car. Your child’s teacher will be waiting for your child to take him/her to the classroom. Assure your child that he/she will have a great day and that you will be back to get him/her very soon. If your child cries, please remain in the car and let the teacher get him/her out of the car. Usually within 5 minutes, the child is fine. If not, we’ll call you. We want the children to be happy.

You will receive a nametag for your car. Please hang the nametags on the rear view mirror on the front of the windshield to help the teachers identify cars and children!

Healthy Snacks: Thank you for sending in healthy snacks for your child’s class. You will receive information from your teacher about a schedule. If you need ideas for healthy snacks, ask your teacher for help. We serve water to drink.

Illnesses: For the safety and health of others in your child’s class, please do not send your child if he/she does not feel well or has had a diarrhea, or vomiting, or fever within 24 hours of school time. Again, 24 Hours must have passed since the last “bout” of diarrhea or vomiting or fever. If your child should mention that he/she “threw up” last night, we’re going to call you! It may have been something they ate, but MANY time it perpetuates and the child has a virus. We TRY HARD to keep germs from spreading, but we need those germs to stay home when necessary! We ask that you be considerate of all the other children in the classroom, as you would want them to be for you.

“GREEN” noses and deep congested coughs spread germs! Again, please be considerate of the other children in the classroom and the teachers and DO NOT send your child when he/she has “green stuff” coming from their nose or a congested cough! It may be allergies, it may be infection. Talk to your doctor about what to do to clear it up before sending your child to preschool. Our staff is very committed to insuring a healthy environment for your child, but we need your help.

Teacher Conferences: Teachers are happy to meet with you and conferences may be scheduled. We want to be a team with you and meet the needs of your child. We ask that you not confer with your teacher during carpool line.

Kindergarten Enrollees: You will be receiving a letter from Josie Exner, Kindergarten teacher. Kindergarteners will have different supply needs.

Please do not park in the area of road between the entrance and exit of the carpool line. Cars pulling out of the carpool line cannot see oncoming traffic if a car is parked there.

CONSIGNMENT SALE: September 22 and 23. A BIG thank you to Tara Thomas, chairperson, and Melanie Castleberry, co-chair, for leading this sale. We have two consignment sales a year, Fall and Spring. These sales are our major fundraiser for the preschool. We ask that each parent work both sales for each child you have enrolled. We need you on the Consignment Sale Committee. The Committee will be having its first meeting August 9, 9am, Henry Kitchens Sunday School classroom in the MAIN church building. If you would like to join the Consignment Sale Committee, please come to the meeting August 9 at 10am.

Classes are ASSIGNED a time to work the sale. I will be sending you a Class Work schedule soon. By receiving this schedule now, you will have time to plan well in advance to work your class shift.

When you arrive to work the sale, sign in and there will be a FLOOR MANAGER who will assign you a job. AGAIN, we appreciate your help. Parents, you are the reason our sale is so successful. Your volunteer efforts are what make the sale a success. A total of 4 to 5 hours a year of volunteer time from you is what we need in order to have two successful sales. I thank you in advance for your help. The positive support of the parents has been great! The last two sales we had 98% parent participation.

This sale is a ministry. Not only is it a great fundraiser for the preschool, but many parents get to know each other from other classes who might not otherwise would have met. It is a great positive experience for our preschool and our community for many reasons. For info on consigning, go to our website: www.nfumcpreschool.org , click on “Consignment Sale” and register for the sale.

Hopefully, the money raised from the Fall sale can be put towards new playground groundcover. So, please consign, and encourage your friends to do so, as it truly helps with preschool expenses!

ONE MORE THING . . . . Our preschool staff meets each Friday morning for doughnuts and prayer. Our staff prays for you. If you have a prayer request, email me. I will send it out to the preschool family (if ok with you) and the staff will pray your request on Friday morning. We have always been a loving and caring preschool family, and we want to pray for you.

I know I have given you a great deal of information to read, but I wanted you to have everything now, so you can have some time to go over it in your mind and plan for our consignment sale dates. You will be given a hard copy of our Handbook either at your classroom visit or at Parent Orientation. Please take time to read the Handbook.

Preschool teachers will be calling you for a visit to the classroom soon. This is a wonderful opportunity for your child to get to know his/her teacher in his/her own classroom. I hope to see you at Parent Orientation. Please call me at 770-253-1237 or email me at nmartin@newnanfumc.org if you have any questions. Leave a message, as I am not in everyday, YET! I will get back with you! I wish you God’s grace, peace and love. I can’t wait to see you!

Blessings to you all!

Nancy