Volume 14, Issue 1 September 2014 Communication Books We have large hardbound books next to the phones in both downstairs rooms. They can be used to leave messages of any kind for staff. Please use them! Important Numbers Daycare 416-484-4825 Director’s cell 416-670-5583 2nd floor cell 647-271-8796 Fax 416-484-6092 Email [email protected] Website www.jrrcc.ca News and Views Welcome Back For Another Fantastic Year at JRRCC Executive Director/Supervisor Mosez Kanatkin RECE Special thanks go out to all JRRCC parents who contributed to the individual and collective year end gifts for our staff. It was highly appreciated! Assistant Director Nasrin Askari RECE 2014-2015 Staff Susie DiVincenzo RECE Lisa Burt RECE Mariana Manassieva RECE Etleva Vila RECE Jocelyn Valdez RECE Herman Alvarenga RECE Sandra John RECE Maliheh Assadi RECE Preschool Music \ Larissa Dorovko of Kindermusik Musical Drama Melissa Donheim Staffing Changes at JRRCC We say good-bye to Krisztina and Olga both of Yoga the hall working as whom will only be down Mai Meret RECE’s in two of JRRECE School’s Full Day Kindergarten programs. We welcome three new RECE staff. They are Maliheh Assadi, Herman Alvarenga and Sandra John. Staff teams will be announced in September. W Yoga for Nursery, Preschool and Kindergarten Classes In our ongoing quest to provide new and developmentally challenging educational and fun experiences for our children at JRRCC and to encourage mind–body integration we have brought back our Monday morning Yoga Program to complement our musical drama classes. Mai Meret, a highly experienced ECE has been teaching yoga for about the past thirteen years and will return to offer another year of child centred yoga to our preschool groups. For more information check out Mai’s website at www.123kidsyoga.comand scroll down to page 3 of this newsletter to read her commentary. See next page........... News and Views Daycare Hours 7:30am to 6:00pm Daycare Closures For all in 2014-2015 Thanksgiving October 13 Christmas Break for Nursery School 1` December 22 - January 2nd Christmas Break for all others Dec.23-Jan2 Family Day Monday February 16 Good Friday April 3 Easter Monday April 6 Victoria Day May 18 Service for Preschool Kindergarten and School age groups is available on the following JRR School closure days but Nursery Programs are closed. School PA Days Friday Nov 14 Friday Dec 05 Friday Jan 23 Friday Feb 13 Friday Jun 05 Friday Jun 26 Spring Break March 16-20 Last day of Nursery School June 12, 2015 Last day of Daycare- for Kindergarten, Preschool and School Age Groups June 26, 2015 Closed June 29-Sept 7 Page 2 of 6 . First Year of Full Day Kindergarten As of September 2014 JRR School will be implementing the Ontario governments mandate to create full day kindergarten for all 4 and 5 year old children across Ontario. John Ross Robertson Child Centre will provide before and after school care for a number of JK/SK children who will require it. The school will be opening five rooms to the FDK program and at least two of those rooms primarily 101&102 will be shared with the day care Please refer to our websites Parent Handbook, Fee section and Calendar for more detailed information. Please note that Senior Kindergarten children will be placed on a waiting list for grade one school age program. We cannot guarantee that all of this year’s SK’s will automatically move up to get a school age space since this depends on how many children leave the grade one to six school age program in a given year relative to how many SK;s need to move up. We will look into the possibility of acquiring and licensing additional shared space for a school age expansion should that option be feasible for JRR School. Further questions should be directed to Supervisor/ E.D. Mosez Kanatkin. The ABC’s of our caterer Real Food for Real Kids Transforming the way children eat and perceive food is no small feat. This change cannot be accomplished through serving up all-natural foods alone; there needs to be a shift in perception - a new understanding of our health in relation to our bodies, the food we eat, and our environment. We are very fortunate to have a natural foods catering company that supplies us with local and organic, antibiotic and hormone-free poultry, fish and meat as well as fruit, veggies and grains that are sourced locally and are chemical, herbicide and additive free. The snacks have no refined sugar. Breads served are from whole grain or occasionally from unbleached flour. RFRK has a 4-week rotating menu cycle, featuring a variety of globally inspired dishes. Our menu changes twice a year to ensure that we're serving up the freshest seasonal flavours. The RFRK hot lunch and snack program exceeds the requirements of the Day Nurseries Act (DNA) and the City of Toronto Children's Services Operating Criteria. RFRK menus are reviewed o & approved by Registered Dieticians and Nutritionists. Important Reminder We’re a Nut and Peanut-Free Centre Due to our peanut and nut free policy, we will not be able to accept cookies, muffins, cupcakes and other food products brought from home. Parents may however bring baked goods that are clearly labelled as nut free or that come from certified nut free bakeries such as Amazing Donuts etc. JK/SK & School Age Lunch Supervision JRRCC Daycare does not supervise Kindergarten nor School age children during lunch. Supervision of school age kids takes place in the designated lunchrooms and later in the playground by TDSB staff hired for that purpose News and Views Page 3 of 6 A word from our Yoga Instructor, Mai Meret Early Childhood Educator Director and Founder of 123 Kids Yoga As an Early Childhood Educator, I have taught 2 ½ to 12 year olds in the public and private school sector for 29 years and have practiced yoga for over 10 years. I am a RCYT, Registered Children's Yoga Teacher. I received my training with Yoga for Kids, in Toronto. I am also a RYT, Registered Yoga Teacher with training in Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. I teach yoga to both children and adults. My goal, as a Children's Yoga Teacher, is to provide a safe, responsive, creative and loving environment where all children can be introduced to and experience the fun and benefits of yoga. I feel that in order for yoga to be accessible to all children, it should be incorporated into the daily, weekly or monthly schedule in schools and childcare centres. Proper nutrition, exercise, body and self awareness, plus learning to deal with stress and anxiety are extremely important to everyone's overall health. My hope is that while learning yoga at a young age, children will become empowered and influenced to enjoy a healthy and active life style, learn about themselves and the world around them, and be compassionate to all living things. I believe that gaining this knowledge and experience will last them a lifetime. 123 kids yoga....bringing yoga into schools and childcare centres. “If we wish to create lasting peace we must begin with the children.” Mahatama Gandi Who Gets Catered Lunch&Who Doesn’t Catered lunch is served to Pre-school Children and included in their monthly fee. Menus change seasonally and are posted in the centre. Lunch is also optionally available to School Agers (grades 1-6) for an additional fee as listed below on page 4. Unfortunately, catered lunch is not available to Kindergarten children as of this printing. It may be possible for a parent group independent of the daycare to set up an optional lunch service for this age group. Please contact our caterers Real Food for Real Kids if you want more info about how this can be arranged. School age children who opt to buy our catered lunch will have it served to them in the designated lunchroom where they will eat with all other children their age whether in daycare or not. If your child brings a lunch from home it must be nut and peanut-free and properly insulated to stay fresh. We do not have refrigerator space or microwaves for warming lunches. Snacks are included in monthly fees for all ages. Children Arriving or Leaving on their Own Only school age children, ten and over are allowed to arrive at and leave the centre on their own. A dated and signed note giving permission to this effect must first be submitted. Notwithstanding a note on file, Child Centre Staff reserves the right to disallow the departure of any child if there is a perceived danger from weather or other sources on a particular occasion. Younger children must be signed in by an adult or older sibling and signed out accordingly. + Can We Reach You? Please note that it is every parent’s responsibility to be accessible in the event of an emergency. Parents who travel should always let the Daycare know where they may be reached or who at their office could relay information in an emergency Parents who have cell phones or pagers are requested to leave them on during daycare /school hours for ease of access in emergencies. Late Fee Policy Every Centre has one of these! Please note that Nursery School pickup after 11:25 A.M. and child care after 3:05 6:05 P.M. will cost parents a late fee of $1.00 per minute cash. A five minute grace period is built in. However, if parents are ten minutes late or more the grace period will not be factored in. Ten minutes of lateness will cost $10, 15 minutes will cost $15 paid in cash. Parents who are late more than twice in the same month will be charged twice as much on the third occasion. News and Views Page 4 of 6 Lines of Communication General Communication Please remember that the child care centre is separate from the school. Therefore when your child will be absent or picked up early for an appointment or going on a play date, both the school and daycare need to be contacted prior to the time that your child would normally sign-in. Otherwise we will be trying to contact you to find out where your child is. JRR School’s safe arrival program does not know which kids are also in daycare and do not contact us to share information. Payments All clients are required to pay first and last month fee deposits upon registration in Daycare or Nursery. Most of you have already done so. The remaining year is covered by tendering a series of post-dated cheques from October 1, 2014 to May 1 2015. Cheques are due by September 16th. All cheques are to be made Upstairs school age phone number 647-271-8796 Please use that number from 3:30 to 6:00pm only, or leave a message on this cell’s voice mail with the knowledge that it may not be picked up by staff until then. Timely messages are better left on the daycare’s main line at 416-484-4825. Email Please do not depend on email to pass on information that is very timely. There is no guarantee that staff will see your message in time. Email is best used for passing on information that is applicable 24 hours or more after the time that it is sent. If you do not receive a timely response to an email please phone the centre and leave a message. Communication Books We have large hardbound books next to the phones in both the downstairs rooms. They can be used to leave messages of any kind for staff. Please use them! Monthly Fees $ Subsidized clients should multiply their daily Effective Sept.2014 assessed fee by the number JK/SK AM only $185 of days in each month JK/SK PM only $525 listed below. JK/SK AM&PM $690 All-day Preschool $1275 Sep-22, Oct-23, Part Day Preschool $980 Nov-20, Dec-16, School Age Gr.1-6 $427 Jan-20, Feb-20, School Age AM only $175 Mar-22, Apr-22, Nursery School May-21, Jun-20 5 days-$535; 4 days-$475 3 days-$405; 2 days-$335 payable to JRRCC. Monthly Fees for Optional Catered Lunch (Grades 1-6) 5 weekly lunches = $125 This fee may be added to your monthly fees or paid by separate cheque. News and Views If music be the food of love...play on! Give me Excess of It! We have an exciting new Music Program for preschool and Nursery School Children starting this academic year. Larissa Dorovko presents an internationally acclaimed program called Kindermusik starting later in September. Please check out “Kindermusik” online on You Tube or Google Search for more details. Melissa Donheim of “Kids Can Boogie Too” will continue her Dramatic and musical program as well. With the help of Pepper her special canine puppet friend, Melissa will get children to shake a tail feather and kick their ya ya’s out while also learning a variety of life skills in the process of having such tremendous fun. Melissa is currently scheduled for all preschoolers every second Wednesday. When you child becomes ill.... Children who are ill should be kept at home. Staff will not accept children into care who cannot participate in both the indoor and outdoor parts of the programme. Please note that children who are sent home from school or daycare due to fever, diarrhoea, or vomiting may not return to care the following day. It is our policy that children with these symptoms must remain at home for a minimum of one day after leaving the centre. The temptation to load your child up with Tylenol and send him or her back the following day could be harmful for all. Children who have been absent due to a lengthy illness of 3 days or more, must have a doctor’s note confirming that it is safe for them to return to school and child care. Unexpected Closures Two or three years ago, the TDSB closed all of its schools for a day due to harsh weather conditions. Parents are therefore requested to keep an eye on their emails on harsh weather days and to monitor the early morning news. Every attempt will be made to inform parents about what is going on by also placing an outgoing message on our main phone line 416-484-4825 Please note that in stormy weather conditions our 7:30 AM staff might be late opening the centre. In the rare event that this should occur please be patient and wait in the hall with your child or leave your child in the care of another adult who can supervise until the staff member arrives. Page 5 of 6 Dispensing Medications at Daycare Please read the parent handbook for our detailed policy. Members of staff do not dispense any over the counter medication such as Tylenol or skin cream unless there is a note on file from a doctor stating that this type of medication may be given at a parent’s request. Prescribed meds must be in their original container and a form must be filled out indicating how and when staff should dispense the medication and how it should be stored. Proper Attire and Extra Footwear Please make sure that your child is dressed for the weather conditions. Through September and possibly October we all still need hats and sun screen as the UV may still be high. Please avoid sending sandals for outdoor shoes as they are not safe for running and climbing. Sandals may be kept as extra indoor shoes, which are mandatory for every child to help us keep the floors and carpets clean. Extra sneakers or slippers are also acceptable. All Nursery, Kindergarten and even most School Age kids should keep some extra clothes at the centre. Nursery and kindergarten kids should keep two sets of clothes in their cubbies or in a pack or bag on their assigned hooks. News and Views Page 6 of 6 All-Day Preschool & Nursery School Tid Bits Dolphins and Pandas Nursery and Preschool All or Part Day Preschool Since most Nursery and some Preschool children are new to our program we find it best to stagger entry on the first week allowing children and staff to get better acquainted in a smaller group. Here are the start day schedules: Preschool children are part of two combined programs Daycare and Nursery School. When there is a closure date for Nursery, all and part day preschool children who normally attend on the given day of the week may still attend for the full day since they are in Daycare as well as Nursery School. Nursery School Start Dates: 4 & 5 day Nursery School Children-Mon Sept. 8 (or Tues Sept 9 for 4 day clients who exclude Mondays) 3 day childrenWednesday, September 10 Start Date Tuesday, September 2 if attending on Tuesdays. Otherwise start Wednesday or Thursday, Sept 3 or 4 2 day children Thursday, September 11 In the morning from 9:15-11:30 we have two randomly mixed groups of children ranging in age from 30 to 44 months. We call one group Dolphins and the other group Pandas. Preschool children may also attend between 7:30-9:15AM. Placement of Children in Nursery School/Preschool We regret that all requests for placement in a specific group could not necessarily be met since we had to consider reasonable size classes and gender balance in both groups. Returning children were automatically placed in the same group as last year unless otherwise prearranged with the Director. 2014-15 Dolphin RECE Staff Mariana Manassieva Jocelyn Valdez Panda RECE Staff Lisa Burt Etleva Vila Staff (floating as needed between both Groups) Nasrin Askari, Susie DiVincenzo, Maliheh Assadi, Sandra John and Herman Alvarenga
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