Pre-School

Arrivals and Departures

New Jerusalem Christian Preschool opens at 7:00 a.m. and closes at 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Infant to preschool students should not arrive at the center prior to 7:00 a.m. All students must be present and on time by 9:00 p.m. If a child is to be absent or late arriving to the school notify the office (Before) 8:45 a.m. If a parent fails to contact the school of late arrival, a tardy pass will be issued. If a child is not picked up by 6:00 p.m., a late fee of $10.00 will be charged. After five minutes the charge will be $1.00 per minute.

Biting Policy

Biting is a common natural developmental condition that typically occurs in young children between thirteen and twenty-four months of age. It is an emotional issue for children, parents, and caregivers. The following biting policy will be followed if and when biting occurs in any of the classrooms.

Reasons Why Children Bite 

1. Children bite because they are frustrated, tired, or hungry.
2. Children bite when trying to get the attention of the caregivers.
3. Children bite when teething because biting helps relieves the pressure resulting from a new tooth breaking through the gums.
4. Young children are territorial in their behavior and bite when they feel threatened.
5. Young children have very limited, if any social skills. They have not learned self-control or social skills.

Actions Taken by the Caregiver When a Bite Occurs

1. The immediate attention is focused on the victim, and not the biter.
2. The wound of the bitten child shall be assessed, and the caregiver will administer first aid.
3. The caregiver will also apply a small icepack for a few minutes.
4. A notation of the incident will be made in the caregiver’s logbook.
5. The caregiver will complete an injury report on the biting incident, and provide a signed copy for the parents.

Parent Communication Concerning Biting Incident

1. When a biting incident occurs, the parents of the victim and the parents of the “biter” will be notified by phone and written communication.
2. Parents will be provided with home literature that deals strictly with biting.
3. The center’s staff will work with the parents of biters and frequent victims collaboratively to keep all informed of continuous progress or lack of progress. This process works well in alleviating the biting utilizing a team approach.
4. Parents will be asked for their patience and understanding with the children and the staff with reminders that this is a developmental issue that goes away in time.
5. If a child’s biting becomes out of control or chronic, then parents should be asked to attend a conference to discuss appropriate ways to deal with the problem.
6. If a child continues to exhibit excessive biting, parents will be informed in writing about the possibility that a child may need to be removed from the Center for the duration of the biting stage. Removal of a child from the school is chosen as a last resort only after all other strategies have been attempted.

Techniques Used to Prevent Biting in the Classroom

1. Home literature will be provided to parents of toddlers and two year old children that deals strictly with biting as soon as the child is promoted to these classes.
2. Toddlers and twos’ group size will be kept as low as possible.
3. Children will have access to appropriate toys on which to bite to alleviate the pressure such as tethers or thick rattlers.
4. Children who bite will be “shadowed” by a caregiver.
5. Caregivers will work with children to give them the words to express their frustrations.

Actions Caregivers Cannot Take When a Child Bites

1. Preschool caregivers will never physically hurt a child to punish them for biting.
2. Preschool caregivers will not put anything into a child’s mouth, withdraw love or food, or keep them in isolation.
3. Because of confidentiality issues, caregivers will not tell parents who bit their child, even if the parents demand to know the biter’s identity.

Field Trip

Preschool students will take field trips periodically as it relates to the current unit of study given in the child’s classroom. Field trips are additional activities that are not covered in the monthly tuition, therefore parents will be asked to cover the expense of the specified trip, as well as the cost for transportation. Parents may be asked to provide transportation for students under the age of four to and from the field trip location.

Dress Code

New Jerusalem adopted a dress code policy in order to maintain uniformity. Parents are not allowed to add to or take away from the specified uniform policy, Proper attire is to be worn by all students. Sunshine Uniform is our current uniform distributor. Parents with children in preschool must purchase NJCS uniforms from Sunshine. A Uniform Violation form will be issued to students who fail to meet required guidelines of the school’s dress code policy.

Monday Tuesday, and Thursday

1. Red or navy polo shirt (short or long sleeves) with navy or khaki bottoms
2. Girls may also wear plaid bottoms

Wednesday

1. (Girls) – plaid jumper, puff sleeve white collar blouse, navy knee hi socks or tights. Closed toe dress shoes.
2. (Boys) – navy slacks, white oxford shirt, plaid tie, navy socks and dark shoes. No athletic shoes allowed.

Friday

1. New Jerusalem t-shirt
2. blue jeans

Shoes

1. Approved Colors: white, navy, black, brown, red, grey, or any combinations of these colors. Approved colors for Chapel shoes are navy and black only.
2. Shoes may be selected from any store.
3. Ankle length or riding boots may be worn only if it contains a solid color. Multi-colored boots, boots with fur, balls, or other dangling attachments are not allowed.
4. Students are not allowed to wear shoes that light up, make sounds, or cause any other visible distraction. Other shoes that are not allowed are Crocs, flip flops, sandals, multi-colored shoes, etc.
5. Any shoe that the administrator deem inappropriate will not be allowed.

Socks

1. White paw printed socks, white or navy socks
2. Knee hi navy socks or tights for girls on Wednesday (chapel).

Winter Wear

1. Only navy jackets and sweaters are approved for light weight winter wear.
2. All jackets and sweaters must contain an NJCS logo.
3. Jackets are available at Sunshine Uniforms or you may purchase a patch from our office to attach to sweaters or jackets purchased from an outside source.
4. Navy or black coats worn during the winter months must be navy or black only.
5. White turtleneck shirts may be worn under shirts, blouses, or T-shirts.
6. Solid color hats, gloves, and scarves may be worn with jackets or coats.

Special Requirements

1. The first Friday in the month is considered Free Dress Friday.
2. Students are required to wear free dress on certain special occasion days.
3. Uniforms must be clean, neat, and ironed daily.

The administrative staff reserves the right to amend the uniform profile should a problem arise that is in direct violation of the goal to achieve uniformity.

Hair Styles and Accessories

Infants, Toddlers, and Two year old students are not allowed to wear hair beads to school. Beads pose an ingestion threat for young children. Parents are encouraged to use a very limited amount of barrettes for this age group for safety issues. All New Jerusalem students are required to maintain modest hair styles.

Students should not wear the following styles:

1. Mohawks or large or tall styles
2. Haircuts with words, parts, or any type of symbol
3. Long ponytails, braids, or twists for boys
4. Large Afros
5. Crowns, hats, or any other head gear, with the exception of cold weather wear.
6. Spray painted or colorful hair
7. Tight braids or other hair styles, especially for young children
8. Any other style deemed inappropriate by the school administration.

Infant Sleeping Position

In compliance with the recommendation of the American Pediatrics Association concerning SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), New Jerusalem will place infants on their back for sleeping. If parents wish their child to be placed on his/her stomach for sleeping, parents must sign an Authorization of Sleeping Position Form.

Meals

Breakfast is served between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. for preschool students. Lunch is served from 11:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. An afternoon snack is served from 2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. An evening snack is served at 5:30 p.m. Students will be encouraged to eat in family style settings, but never forced to eat.

Food Allergies

Please notify the school’s staff if a child has known food allergies. This is important for the child’s safety.

Prohibited Foods

Due to choking risk for small children, the New Jerusalem Christian School does not permit or serve hard candies, suckers, hot dogs, popcorn, raisins, or grapes to children under four years of age.

Outside Food Preparations

Parents are not allowed to provided outside food, fast food, home-cooking, etc. to students as a replacement for the daily meal served in the facility unless the student is on a restricted diet as regulated by the child’s pediatrician. Parents and students are not allowed to bring outside food in the classroom or cafeteria.

Special Occasion Food

For birthdays, holidays, and other special occasions, parents are encouraged to supply special snack foods for celebrations in the center. This allows children to have a special time of fellowship together. Suggestions for special snacks include: sandwiches, cupcakes, fruit juices, etc. Due to an increase in allergies, and other safety issues, homemade foods are no longer allowed for parties and special events. Foods must be catered through a Serve Safe or Tummy safe institution such as restaurants, or the school cafeteria.

Outdoor Play

The Mississippi State Department requires that childcare facilities which operates more than six hours daily must provide a minimum of 2 hours of outside activity per day, weather permitting. Our center adheres to this policy. On excessively hot or cold days, outdoor play will be limited.

Students should arrive to school in clothing appropriate to the weather conditions (i.e. a coat sent on windy or cool days). If a medical condition exists that prohibits your child from participating in outdoor play, you will need to provide a doctor’s statement detailing the condition. This statement will be placed in the student’s file.

Rest Periods

According to Mississippi state mandated guidelines, a rest period is observed at New Jerusalem for children from Infancy to Kindergarten. Rest periods are scheduled for a minimum period of one hour and will not exceed a maximum of two and a half hours. Children’s rest periods are observed after lunch. During rest periods, children are not allowed to walk around, talk, or play. Rest is defines as time asleep or time spent lying still and quiet. Parents are asked to call before coming to bring or pickup a child during nap time.

Sign In/Sign Out, Pick Up and Release of Children

Parents are responsible for signing their child/children into the school and signing their child/children out of the school everyday. Parents are required to sign their first and last name. Sign-in sheets are available with the teachers. Children are not allowed to sign themselves in, or arrive at their classes without the parent or guardian.

Generally, office personnel are not able to bring children to the office to wait for pickup. Parents must pick up children and sign them out from their classroom. When signing out your child, please make the teacher aware of your presence and follow the sign-out procedure. This procedure is crucial as teachers are responsible for sign-in/sign-out procedure. Parents are asked to be diligent in following procedure, especially if the class is outside the normal classroom environment , such as the playground, the gym, at a park, or any other location.

Toilet Training Agreement

All children in a three year old class are required to be toilet trained. If a child is ready, this process should only take a short period of time. When you are ready to begin the toilet training process, a consultation will be held between the parents and the Director.

Parents and the child’s teachers will be required to sign a Toilet Training Agreement and Orientation Form.

A copy will be provided for the parents and one will be placed in the child’s file. Pull-ups are no longer permitted during the training process. After a two-week period, the center will evaluate the child’s progress. The following signs may indicate that your child is ready to begin toilet training:

1. Your child remains dry at least two hours at a time during the day or is dry after naps.
2. Your child’s bowel movements become regular and predictable
3. Your child indicates by words, expressions or posture that he/she is about to urinate or have a bowel movement.
4. Your child can follow simple verbal directions.
5. Your child can take off pants or diapers and walk to the bathroom.
6. Your child is uncomfortable in soiled diapers and wants them changed
7. Your child asks to see the toilet or grown up underwear.

*This list may be modified at any time by the NJCS Staff.