Frequently Asked Questions

If our child is absent or we go away, do you make tuition adjustments?

No we can not make tuition adjustments for absences. Absences will occur throughout the school year for many reasons, i.e. appointments, family vacations, illness, family emergencies, etc. School expenses, however are not diminished by a child’s absence. No tuition adjustments can be made for a child not in attendance. Nor is it possible to make up missed time due to licensing regulations.

How do we know how our child is doing at school?

We encourage open communication between parents and the school. Twice a year, parents will receive a progress report and parent/teacher conferences will be held so that we may discuss your child’s progress and development with you. Conferences are much more informative and helpful than progress reports and we sincerely encourage both parents to attend. Conferences are voluntary and there will be a sign up sheet posted on the parent notice board, as well as sent home with available times. If you have a question or concern, please do not wait for conference time. A
conference with your child’s teacher or the school Director can be arranged at any time by calling the office.

Do you require a child to be toilet trained to attend school?

Yes. Although we do hope that by the time your child attends school they are fully potty trained and can remove their own clothes to go to the toilet, as well as wipe themselves. We will work with you and your child on potty training should they be almost there and only require a few reminders and a little help. Please work with us and try to help your child to become potty trained as this will make the teachers job of teaching much easier. Our teachers will remind all the children often throughout the day to attempt to “go potty” and will help them to feel safe and comfortable using our restroom facilities. We will help them to button and unbutton clothing etc but our goal is in helping them to be able to do these things for themselves. Please do not put clothing on that is too tight or difficult for your child to get off in a hurry i.e. overalls, belts, “onezie’s” etc…, at this delicate stage in their lives it is our goal to help them to become self sufficient and to achieve many successes, clothing that is restrictive or too many layers is counterproductive to this.

Do you have a school uniform?

No. We do however ask that you please send your child in comfortable and practical clothing. The children do play outside, eat snack, glue, paint, and use markers. Although aprons are worn for many activities, there are bound to be accidents. Children should not be inhibited about participating in an activity because of their clothing. Tennis shoes are the best footwear at school. The playground has shaded areas and full sun areas so you may want to send a jacket or sweater for cooler days and a cap for warm sunny days. Please make sure ALL ITEMS your child brings to school are clearly marked/labeled with your child’s full name, including lunch boxes and backpacks. If you child’s name is not on the item a teacher may use a permanent marker to label the item on the inside or bottom where it is visible but not prominent to detract from the “beauty” of an item. Please NO SUPER HEROS on shirts worn at school. Some little girls are very sensitive to this: if you send your daughter in a dress or skirt please put shorts underneath so that they may be comfortable when they sit at circle and not worrying about their underwear showing. Please try not to send your child to school in tights, as they are very difficult for children to pull down and up and thus make going to the toilet in a hurry very difficult (see potty training policies).

Are Snacks and Lunches Provided by the School?

A mid-morning and a mid-afternoon snack are provided by the school for preschool and kindergarten children. We try to provide a variety of healthy snacks: snacks include fresh fruits and vegetables, cheese, crackers, peanut butter and cream cheese. We will try to reasonably accommodate children with allergies on a case by case basis. Your child is required to bring a packed lunch from home to be eaten at lunch time. Please try to provide a healthy, nutritious lunch, a fruit or vegetable, some “growing food” i.e. a sandwich, etc. and a small snack i.e. a small cookie or treat, to be eaten after the child has finished an adequate amount of their “growing food”, Soda and candy will NOT be allowed at school, the child will be required to leave these items in their lunch box and will not be allowed to consume them at school. If this is all the child has for lunch, the teacher may prepare/request a lunch from the kitchen and the parents will be billed $5.00 for this lunch. If a child forgets his lunch at home on an occasion, a school lunch will be given to the child and the parents will be billed $5.00. If this is a continuous problem, the parents will be called in and this may be grounds for The Whole Child Montessori School not to offer the child a re-enrolment package for the following year.