PreK Handbook

Admission

Saint Helena School admits students of any race, religion, gender, or ethnic origin.  Children enrolling in the Three-Year-Old Program must have turned three by September 1st.  Children enrolling in the Four-Year-Old Program must have turned four by September 1st.  Registration begins in February and may be completed online through FACTS on the SHS website.  A non-refundable deposit is required, and all immunizations must be up to date. 

Arrival/Dismissal

The preschool program begins promptly at 9:00 A.M. Doors to the school open at 8:45 A.M. You may pull your car into the circle and escort your child to the outside of the front door PreK classrooms, or you may park your car in the back lot and walk your child to their classroom.  Mr. Smith’s and Ms. Kreb’s classrooms can be accessed through the lower-level door.  Mrs. FitzPatrick’s entrance is on the north side of the building with steps going up.  Please ring the doorbell, and a teacher will receive your child. 

The half-day program ends at 11:30 A.M.  The full day program ends at 2:30 P.M. Please pull into the circle or the back parking lot and ring the doorbell to receive your child. 

If you need extended care, you have a few options.

  1. Early Birds:  With Early Birds, you can arrive to school as early as 7:00 A.M.  Early Birds takes place in the main school building, usually in the cafeteria but sometimes in the library.  Mrs. Smith will escort your child to their classroom at 8:00 A.M.  Early Birds is open to the entire school community, and breakfast is provided for each child.
  2. Tiger Time:  With Tiger Time, you can arrive as early as 8:00 A.M.  Tiger Time takes place in the classroom, and you would follow the regular drop off/pick up procedure.
  3. CARES:  CARES is our extended day for the entire school community and takes place in the main building.

More information regarding Early Birds, Tiger Time, and CARES can be found on the SHS website.

Dismissal will work the same.  Please park your car, and pick your child up from the outside door.   You can pull into the circle, or park in the back lot.  If your child is in the playground area during dismissal, they will be dismissed from there.

If, for any reason, your child must leave early or arrive late, we ask that you communicate this information via email to your child’s teacher, Mrs. Rene Ryan, and Miss Denise Britt as soon as possible.

Toilet Trained

To be considered for our Pre-School Program, your child MUST be toilet trained.  This is defined by the following:

  • A child must be able to communicate his/her needs to use the bathroom.
  • A child must be able sit on or stand in front of the toilet seat independently.
  • A child must be able to wipe him/herself independently.
  • A child must be able to pull down and up their clothing independently.
  • A child must be free of pull-ups and/or diapers.

We understand accidents do happen, but if we see your child is continuously having accidents, the teacher and Miss Britt will reach out to you and let you know your options.

  1. You may keep your child home for two-three weeks while you work on toilet training. You will still pay tuition.
  2. You may withdraw your child from pre-school and place his/her name at the top of our waitlist.  Registration and supply fees are non-refundable; however, if your child is reenrolled in our program at a later date, during the same school year, you will not need to pay these fees again.

Dress

The Pre-School children are not required to wear a uniform, but you are welcome to purchase a SHS gym uniform from Flynn and O’Hara.  We strongly suggest sneakers for our playground and the various activities which take place.  Please do not have your child wear belts or scarves.  All clothing should be washable since we tend to get messy in PreK.  Easy, elastic waistbands make going to the bathroom much easier.  The children will go outside unless it is below 32 degrees and/or precipitation is present. Please dress your child accordingly.

Each child will need a backpack that is large enough to fit a folder and various other supplies that may come back and forth.  If your child is staying for a full day, they will need a lunch box/bag.  We cannot refrigerate or heat a lunch.

We ask each child to send in a complete set of clothes in case of emergencies.  We shall swap the clothes at the change of seasons.

Celebration Guidelines

There will be various holiday parties which will be celebrated in the classroom.  We ask for a volunteer classroom parent to help coordinate these celebrations along with the teacher.  We are also happy to celebrate your child’s birthday with the class.  We ask that if you want to send in a treat, it should come individually prepared and ready to serve.  The classroom teacher will communicate with you if there are allergies in the classroom.

Illness

Please complete and return the Emergency Form you will be given during orientation.  We shall use this form to contact you in case any of the following occur during the school day:

  • Temperature higher than 100 degrees F
  • Vomiting
  • Diarrhea

A child who has shown signs of illness in the previous 24 hours may not attend class.  A child must be fever-free, without medication, for 24 hours before returning to school.

Conferences

There will be a mandatory parent/teacher conference during the first trimester after a benchmark assessment has been given.  Additionally, your child will receive a mid-year and end of the year report.  Your child will continually be observed and monitored throughout the school year.  Your child’s teacher will contact you if any additional conferences are necessary throughout the year.