Purpose:
College Parkway’s Creative Beginnings Preschool is a non-profit school operated by a Board of Directors comprised of members of College Parkway Baptist Church, and is a mission outreach program of this congregation. The school is nondenominational in its teachings, but is operated on the basis of Christian beliefs and values. We believe that a church-sponsored educational program provides an environment in which children will find the opportunity to develop their gifts as children of God. The richer their environment and variety of experiences, the greater their opportunity will be to develop fully. Children attending Creative Beginnings Preschool will receive Christian nurturing that will continue to be a part of their lives as long as they live. We offer a quality education to children 2, 3, and 4 years of age. Creative Beginnings Preschool admits students of any race, color, religious faith, sex and national or ethnic origin.
Philosophy:
Creative Beginnings Preschool is a child development preschool which provides a loving, caring, supportive environment for young children, meets them at their present levels of growth and maturity, and encourages them in their social, emotional, spiritual, mental and physical development. We believe that it is important that children develop a strong sense of self-worth and self-confidence so that they can relate to their peer group and assume a sense of responsibility. By building a positive experience, it is our belief that children will grow to adulthood confident in their ability to influence both constructively and creatively the social and physical environment around them. We contribute to this learning in the following ways:
- Language Experiences will develop the children’s use of the English language, increase their vocabulary, and ultimately give them a delight in the use of words.
- Science Experiences will develop the children’s sense of spatial and numerical relationships, involve them in the wonder of natural growth, and increase their interest in the physical world around them. It will give them an elementary sense of cause and effect and develop their own ability to influence and affect the world around them.
- Creative Experiences in music, art, poetry, drama, and dance will stimulate their artistic skills by working with their natural abilities to see, hear, taste, touch, and smell. As these skills develop, the children will expand their creativity and grow in their appreciation of the arts.
- Physical Experiences both inside and out are planned to develop small and large motor coordination skills. Daily involvement in a variety of physical activities will release the children’s natural tensions, develop their muscles, and give them a sense of accomplishment in the mastering of body skills.
- Spiritual Experiences will provide opportunities for children to feel a sense of wonder as they discover the world God made.
- Social Experiences will develop the child’s ability to interact with both peers and adults. We will help the children to find constructive ways for dealing with their anger, joy, frustration, happiness, disappointment and wonder. Such experiences will also support their relationships among other people in different environments.
Discipline:
Discipline at the school is handled through behavior modification techniques - good behavior is praised. The “thinking chair” is used for a child who needs to be removed from the group for a time and allowed time to think about his/her behavior. A teacher is always present and this usually occurs right in the classroom. Children are never physically touched, hit, or slapped for punishment and the name of GOD is never used in a punitive manner. Children at the school are given as much love, tenderness, and concern as we can possibly give them. Our staff has been trained to give physical as well as verbal nurturing, encouragement and rewards. A pat on the back, a loving hug, a story read while holding a child on their lap, are all outward examples of our love and concern for children.
Class Times
| Morning Hours | 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM |
| Afternoon Hours | 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM |
| Extended Day Hours | 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM |
| Lunch Hour | 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM |
Class Offerings
| 2 year-olds | Mon & Wed | AM |
| 2 year-olds | Tue & Thu | AM |
| 2 year-olds | Friday | AM |
| Pre-3 year-olds | Tue & Thur | AM |
| 3 year-olds | Mon/Wed/Fri | AM & PM |
| 3 year-olds | Tue & Thur | AM & PM |
| 4 year-olds | Mon/Wed/Fri | AM & PM |
| 4 year-olds | 5 Day | AM & PM |
| 4 year-olds | 5 Day | Extended Day |
Teachers
| 2 Year-Old classes: | Mrs. Osterritter, Mrs. McDougall (assistant), Mrs. McFarland (assistant) |
| Pre-3 Year-Old Classes: | Mrs. Miner |
| 3 Year-Old Classes: | Mrs. Deitrick, Mrs. Hogan, Mrs. Morihlatko, Mrs. Munley |
| 4 Year-Old Classes: | Mrs. Deitrick, Mrs. Doll, Mrs. Giokas, Mrs. Lay,
Mrs. Mason, Mrs. Poerio, Mrs. Ridgeway, Mrs. Sippl
|
Class Age:
To register for the 2010/2011 school year, the following criteria must be met:
- Students enrolling in the 2 year-old program must be 2 years old by September 1st of the school year. (Toilet training is not necessary for 2's, but please dress your child in easily removable clothing. Do not send them in one-piece overalls.)
- Students enrolling in our Pre-3 year-old program must be 3 by December 31st. (All students in the Pre-3 and older classes must be toilet trained.)
- Students enrolling in our 3 year-old program must be 3 years old by September 1st.
- Students enrolling in our 4 year-old program must be 4 years old by September 1st.
Any parent holding a child out of kindergarten that will be 5 by September 1st of this year must inform the Board of Education on Riva Road of this decision prior to the beginning of school.
Registration and Tuition
Each year you enroll your child in Creative Beginnings Preschool you must submit a registration form and pay the yearly nonrefundable registration fee. You will be sent a letter of acceptance once your child has been placed into a class and the following May's nonrefundable tuition will then be required to hold their spot for the next school year. Tuition is pro-rated, so your monthly payments will be the same amount each month. Tuition payments are due by the first day of each month.
Any cash payments must be delivered to the office by an adult and a receipt obtained. If tuition payments are not received by the 10th of the month, a late charge of $25.00 will be assessed. Delinquent payment of one month will be grounds for dismissal. There will be a service charge of $25.00 for all returned checks. If tuition payments are a problem, please speak to the director and every effort will be made to help with the difficulty.
If a student has not been present for thirty (30) days and the school has not been contacted as to the reason for the absence, the student’s place in the classroom could be filled by someone on the wait list.
In order for a child to attend school during the month of May, all outstanding fees to the school (late tuition, late fees, late lunch fees, etc.) must be paid in full by April 30 of the current school year.
Limited scholarships are available to families with special needs for 2, 3, and 4 year- olds.
School Closings
If Anne Arundel County Public Schools are closed due to inclement weather, Creative Beginnings Preschool will also be closed. In order to find out if school will be in session, please listen to local TV or radio stations for the Anne Arundel County Public School closings. You can also check the status of school closings on the Anne Arundel County Public School’s website which is: www.aacps.org.
If the public schools open 2 hours late, Creative Beginnings will be closed for the morning session with no lunch program. The extended 4’s classes will come in at 11:30 am after eating lunch at home. Regular afternoon classes will meet on time (12:30 pm).
If the public schools close two hours early during the day because of bad weather, we will be closed for the afternoon session and all extended 4’s classes should be picked up at 11:30 am. The lunch program will be cancelled.
If it becomes necessary to close our school for any reason other than weather, you will be contacted.
Evacuation Site
We have received permission from Anne Arundel Community College to use their facility as an evacuation site in the event that it ever becomes necessary to leave our building. If this were to occur, you would need to pick your children up at the college. AACC Public Safety workers would be present to direct parent vehicles to the location on campus where students could be safely picked up.
Arrival and Dismissal
Morning classes begin at 9:00 am and dismiss at 11:30 am. Afternoon classes begin at 12:30 pm and dismiss at 3:00 pm. Extended Day classes begin at 9:00 am and dismiss at 2:00 pm. Please do not bring children to school any earlier than 8:55 am or 12:25 pm. Teachers need this time for room preparation. Please pick up your children promptly at dismissal. A few minutes waiting for a late parent is a very long time for a small child. If you are going to be more than a few minutes late, please call the school so we can inform your child and the staff.
Late Fee
Parents that are consistently late by 15 minutes or longer will be charged a late pick-up fee of $1.00 per minute past 11:45 am and 3:15 pm. Staff members have their own families with appointments and other commitments after school so please try to be on time.
Parking
There are two parking lots located at the church. The lot that you drive into from College Parkway is reserved for church members and visitors only. Preschool parents are asked to use the preschool entrance parking lot only. If the lot is full, please pull around behind the row of pines that edge the parking lot and park facing the trees. Please do not drive or walk over the grassy berm just beyond the back row of parking spaces. This is part of a water management system required by the county and we need to protect it. If you elect to park and walk into the school building, please do not walk across the middle of the lot. We ask walkers to go to the grassy edge of the parking lot and walk on the grass until reaching the sidewalk. All children must hold an adult’s hand when entering or leaving the building.
Drop Off and Pick-Up
Parents can use our drop-off and pick-up line by driving their car in a single line around the playground. Passing is not permitted in the parking lot at any time because of safety reasons. A staff member will be outside to take your child out of or put into your car. Please have the door unlocked and the car seat unfastened as you drive up to the staff member. As a reminder, please do not open the car door until the car is at a complete stop and do not allow your child to get out of the car unless a staff member is there to take their hand. Children should also never be standing in a running vehicle or leaning out of a car window. Children will be put in and removed from the passenger side of the car only. We do not want children or staff members walking between parked cars with the engines running. There will always be a staff member in the hall making sure the children get to and from their class or dismissal area. Due to the volume of traffic, it will not be possible for teachers to carry on a conversation with parents when helping children out of or into their cars.
Buckle Up
Please buckle-up before leaving the parking lot, but not in the car line. After your child has been put in the car, drive around out of the pick-up area before you buckle up. This will keep the line moving.
Car Cards
All students will receive a car card at orientation to use during dismissal time. Please make sure this card is placed on the front passenger side of your dashboard or against the side passenger window so the caller can read your child's name. If you pick up more than one child, additional car cards will be available listing all the children’s names. It is not necessary to display your car card when dropping your child off at school.
Carpools
Parents are encouraged to carpool both for their own convenience as well as to reduce the volume of traffic in the parking lot. If you need additional car cards for this purpose, please let us know.
Pick Up Protection
To ensure that no unauthorized person can pick up your child, we require that the Creative Beginnings Preschool car card that we give you be used when picking up your child. If someone else will be picking up your child, give them your card, and let the school know the person’s name. Please tell them about our dismissal procedure. If you cannot give them your car card, call the school and let us know who the person is that will be picking up your child. Creative Beginnings Preschool staff will only dismiss children to the care of their parents, carpool parents, sitters, or persons listed on the registration or emergency form unless other permission is given at which time picture identification will be required.
Creative Beginnings Preschool must have a copy of any court order stating that a parent is not allowed to have your child on the days that your child is attending Creative Beginnings Preschool.
Inside Arrival and Dismissal
Parents that walk in to bring their children into school or to pick them up at dismissal should plan to arrive 5 minutes prior to normal arrival/dismissal time. Please park your car in the lot and do not walk through the cars in the lot. Walk to the grass on the side of the lot and follow it up to the sidewalk. Hold your child’s hand at all times and make sure there is no running in the parking lot. At dismissal time, there will be a staff member in the hall that will call your child to meet you.
Preschool Entrance
Creative Beginnings Preschool students and parents are asked to use the preschool entrance only. All parents and visitors are also required to sign in with the office if they are in the building any time of the day other than arrival or dismissal. This includes times when you are picking your child up early or bringing them in late. The safety of your children and our staff is our number one priority and we ask all parents and visitors to our school to please abide by this request.
Use of Outdoor Property
Families are not permitted to congregate on school property and the adjacent field and stage area near the parking lot and College Parkway after dismissal due to our concern for the children's safety. Also, once a child has been dismissed, we will not be able to allow individuals back in the building to use the facilities due to the potential disruption that this could pose to the school.
Parents are Welcome
Classroom doors at Creative Beginnings Preschool are always open to our parents and you may observe the class at any time, however, as previously mentioned, we ask that you sign in with the office first. Parents are also welcome and encouraged to participate in classroom activities on an occasional basis. Please arrange dates and times with the teacher in advance so she can utilize your help. There are also various other ways your help can enhance the school such as being a lunch volunteer, cutting projects for teachers either at the school or in your home, helping with picture days, helping with vision and hearing screening days, helping with Scholastic book orders, helping cut out Labels for Education, etc.
Student and Parent Records
Student and parent records should be kept current at all times. Please inform the preschool office of any changes in information including cell phones, addresses, doctors, carpools, and medical information as soon as possible. If you leave your cell phone as a contact number and you are away from home, please have your cell phone turned on so we may reach you in the event of illness or emergency.
Health and Emergency Forms
Each child must have a medical form including the immunization record filled out and signed by the child's physician, an emergency form, and an emergency card on file at school before the child's first day of school. These forms are available in the school office.
Health Requirements
Parents should keep their child home from school because of a serious illness, injury or a condition that can be passed on to other children and staff members. If a child is not allowed to go outside with his or her class, they should also be kept home for the day. Although no comprehensive list is possible, the following conditions may be considered appropriate reasons to keep a student home from school:
Examples of serious illness or injury
- Vomiting within past 24 hours
- Temperature of 100 degrees or greater within past 24 hours
- Abdominal pain
- Earache
- Head Injury
- Adverse medication effect
- Suspected fracture
- Chest pain
- Severe pain
- Severe shortness of breath or wheezing
Examples of possible communicable conditions
- Vomiting within past 24 hours
- Loose stools/ diarrhea
- Suspected communicable disease
- Nuisance condition not currently being treated; e.g., ringworm, scabies, head lice
- Red, draining eyes
- Persistent runny nose with yellow/green discharge, accompanied by fever
- Productive cough, accompanied by fever
- Undiagnosed rash
Please notify the school if your child has contracted a contagious disease so we can alert your child’s classmates’ families to look for symptoms.
Due to a rule put into effect by the Office of Child Care, a child cannot be readmitted to care after an absence of 3 days or more due to illness without a written statement from the parent or physician stating that the child may return to his/her regular schedule. Please send a note to your child’s teacher if this occurs.
If your child becomes ill during the day, the school will contact a parent, and if unable to reach them, a person you have designated as an emergency contact will be called.
For those emergencies requiring immediate medical attention:
Your child will be taken to the nearest emergency hospital in the company of a staff member. Every effort will be made to contact the parent, guardian, and the child's physician.
New Staff Members
We are very proud of our professional staff at Creative Beginnings Preschool; and it is with your child's safety, well-being and happiness, that we choose our staff members so carefully. A background check by the State and FBI is required of all new employees.
First Aid & CPR
The preschool will have in attendance, in a ratio of at least one staff member for every 20 children present, staff members who are currently certified in approved first aid and CPR. The school offers these classes for the staff members by certified instructors.
Lunch Program
The lunch program, which is optional, is open to all children that are 3 and toilet trained attending either the morning or afternoon session. Reservations are not necessary and payment is paid daily. Students bring a non-perishable box lunch including a drink from home and $5.00 or a lunch ticket. Ticket sheets may be purchased in the school office (a sheet of 6 tickets is $30.00). Please do not send in yogurt or pizza/taco "lunchables" as they are too messy for the children to handle on their own. The lunch hour begins at 11:30 am and ends at 12:30 pm. No children will be accepted into the lunch program after 11:45 am. If there is no teacher outside on duty, please walk your child into the building. Children staying for lunch from the morning classes need to be picked up at 12:25 pm during the afternoon class drop-off time. Parents that are consistently late by 15 minutes or more will be charged a late fee of $1.00 per minute. Staff members have responsibilities in different areas of the building at 12:30 pm and need to be available to attend to those duties.
Dress
Please dress your children in comfortable clothes that they can get on and off by themselves. Overalls are cute, but inappropriate for young preschool children. We have found that even children that are toilet trained have accidents because of the time it takes to remove this article of clothing. Belts are also hard for most preschoolers to manipulate on their own, so please do not use them on school days.
We will be doing some messy activities such as painting, gluing, and playing outdoors. Every effort will be made to keep clothes from getting stained; however, accidents sometimes happen so please do not send your child to school in his/her best outfits.
Please send an additional set of clothes for your child in the backpack each day and change them according to the season. The school will also have an outfit or two on hand in case anyone has an accident. If your child comes home dressed differently than how you sent them to school, please launder the clothes and return them to school as soon as possible. Please include a note letting your child’s teacher know you are returning the clothes.
State regulations specify that children may not play on climbing or moving equipment while wearing inappropriate shoes such as slick leather soles, flip flops, clogs, or crocs. Sandals are also not a good choice to wear on the playground because they are very uncomfortable due to the sand and gravel that gets caught in them. Capes are also considered inappropriate to wear on the playground. Please make sure the children's outerwear is warm enough for outdoor play since all classes go outside each day unless it is raining, snowing or below 32 degrees.
Items To Bring To School
The two year-olds should bring a change of clothes, two disposable diapers, wipes, a plastic bag large enough for dirty clothes and a changing pad if not toilet trained (a receiving blanket is fine) in a backpack each time they come to school. All children should bring a large backpack (no mini backpacks, please) to carry home their art projects each time they come to school with a change of clothes as well. Please refrain from purchasing backpacks with wheels as they are hard for small children to maneuver. Show-and-tell items should be sent to school only on the specified days stated in the monthly newsletter.
Mark All Items Brought from Home
All coats, sweaters, mittens, hats, boots, show-and-tell items, backpacks, lunch boxes, thermos, and other items sent to school should be clearly marked with your child’s first and last name. With the large number of children we have passing through the school each week, our teachers and staff members find it very difficult to remember each child's possessions.
Items Not To Bring To School
Please do not allow children to bring gum, candy, food, money, or small personal toys to school. Children have a hard time sharing their personal items with others in a school setting, and often small items are lost, misplaced or broken. Umbrellas, pacifiers and bottles should also be left at home.
Class Roster
You will receive a list of the children in your child’s class, their addresses, parents’ names and telephone numbers. This list is not to be used to solicit any merchandise; it is published for school use only for things such as inviting classmates to a birthday party, setting up carpools, sending holiday cards, inviting classmates over for play dates, etc.
In order to avoid hurt feelings, please do not send party invitations in with your child to be passed out to members of your child's class unless every classmate has been invited.
Paperwork
Each day your child will return home with papers which may include the artwork that your child completed in school that day, newsletters or notes from the teacher, dates to remember, or other important papers from the office. Please empty out your child’s backpack and look through these papers each day.
Science
Once each week your child's class will attend a special science class. There will be experiments, stories, games, songs, finger plays, examples, pictures, and hands-on activities for the children to do. The monthly science newsletter will be located on our website.
Music
All classes except the Friday 2's will attend a special music class once a week. The children will experience God's love through the sound of music. Music classes will also include creative dance and movement.
Snack
Parents will supply snack to their child’s classroom several weeks during the year. A schedule will be provided informing you when you are to bring in snack. Snack consists of a large bottle of 100% juice for each day of the week your child attends class; a packaged, unopened snack for the number of children in the class for each day your child attends school; utensils if needed for the snack; a napkin for each child for each day your child attends school; and either a roll of paper towels or a box of tissues. The monthly newsletter will let you know which of these are being collected that particular month.
Please do not send in items that a child could choke on easily such as whole grapes, cherry/plum tomatoes, gummy snacks such as fruit roll-ups or gummy bears, or any other high sugar content snack that resembles candy.
Parents are also asked to provide special snacks and treats for the school parties and concerts.
If your child has any food allergies, please inform your child’s teacher immediately. All the parents of children in that class will be notified and be asked to refrain from sending in snack items that would be a problem for a particular child. If the allergies are to the extent that this would be improbable, you may be asked to provide suitable snacks for your own child each day to ensure their safety. Please speak to the director and teacher directly if you have any concerns in this area.
Birthdays
Please let your child’s teacher know if you are planning on sending in a special treat for your child's birthday. Homemade snacks are acceptable on birthdays; however, please do not send in cupcakes, as they can be excessively messy for young children to eat on their own. Suggested birthday treats would be cookies, brownies, rice crispy squares or ice cream cups.
Once again, in order to avoid hurt feelings, please do not send in party invitations for teachers to pass out unless every child in the class is being included.
Newsletter
Each teacher will send home a monthly newsletter with information such as dates to remember, birthdays, the snack schedule, items to bring to school, the theme for the month and other important information. Monthly newsletters from the office will also be sent home.
Yearbook
Assuming we have parent volunteers to work on this project, a yearbook will be made available to purchase at the end of the school year. We encourage parents to send in school pictures throughout the year for possible inclusion in the school yearbook.
School Pictures
In the fall, a professional photographer will take individual pictures of your child to be placed in the yearbook. If you would like to purchase your child’s pictures, packages must be prepaid and you will receive the pictures back in time for Christmas. Class pictures will be taken in the spring and you will have the option to purchase them at that time. Check the school calendar for the date that the photographer will be at school.
Conferences
Parent/teacher conferences can be scheduled any time you or the teacher feels the need to schedule one. School-wide conferences will be held in January. Parents will be asked to sign up for a 15-minute conference. Classes will not be held on conference days.
No Asbestos or Lead Paint
Under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) regulations were developed to address asbestos problems in schools. College Parkway Baptist Church was inspected for asbestos by Law Engineering of Columbia, MD. No asbestos was found. The complete inspection report and management plan is in the school office for anyone to review at any time during school hours.
An inspection for lead paint was conducted at the same time and none was found in any of the samples that were taken.
Website
The school's website is www.collegeparkwaybaptist.net/cbp. A release must be signed by a parent or guardian in order for your child's picture to appear on this website. We will not use your child’s name anywhere on the website.
Email Address
The school's email address is: cbp@starband.net. Feel free to contact us through email at any time.
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Arnold,
MD 21012