 Dear Extended Day Friends and Families, I hope this letter finds your family well rested and as anxious as we are for school to begin! We are very excited to welcome the 23 new children to our program and happy to share another year with our current families! Before our school year begins, we know that you may have a few questions or concerns regarding our program. You will find many of the answers to your general questions in the Heath Extended Day Programs Handbook; however for more specific, site-related questions, please read below or feel free to contact me. The countdown is on and there are only a few more days for us to prepare. With much planning, reorganizing and preparing for the fall well underway, I would like to update you with some important dates, policies and information. The first day of school is just around the corner and I am delighted to be spreading this electrifying news with you. Our 2013-2014 teaching team is composed of many wonderful teachers who are excited about the upcoming year and look forward to working with your child. Classroom Breakdowns PreK Extended Day will begin on the first official day of BEEP, on 9/11 for the first ½ group, 9/12 for the second ½ group and 9/13 for the full class. Alyssa Davis will lead PreK extended day with assistance from Malaina LeSage or myself when needed. HEDP PreK extended day will be held in Min Jens PreK room. Alyssa is looking forward to working with your child to help build off of the BEEP preK curriculum to make for a rewarding afternoon component for your child. Pickup will be located in Min Jens PreK room no later than 2:25pm each day. This room is located on the first floor near the Multipurpose Room in the left rear wing of the building. Kindergarten Extended Day will also be held in Min Jens PreK Classroom. Kindergarten children will be picked up by an extended day teacher each day and walked to the classroom when an afternoon of fun while learning will take place. PreK children who are attending our wraparound program will stay in the classroom with a teacher waiting for the arrival of friends. Alyssa will be leading the classroom with Jared Mael assisting and collaborating with Alyssa to make the afternoon full of STEM activities. Kindergarten extended day will begin on Monday 9/9 for all children. We strongly encourage you to try to pick up your child a little early for the first few days since it can feel very long to this age group. Pickup will be located in Min Jens PreK/K HEDP room no later than 5:45pm each day. This room is located on the first floor near the Multipurpose Room in the left rear wing of the building. First Grade Extended Day will be enjoying the afternoons in KBK with Sofia Hamula as the Lead Teacher and Emily St. Laurent and Katrin Reeder as the assistants. This terrific team of teachers has planned many wonderful activities that will keep curious minds through fun games and activities. First grade friends will be picked up from an extended day teacher for the first month. Pickup will be located in KBK/ First Grade HEDP room no later than 5:45pm each day. This room is located on the first floor near the Multi-purpose Room in the left rear wing of the building. The lower level of Extended Day (next to the gym) will be home to our 2nd and 3rd (2/3 Extended Day) grade program. Ellie Edaros will lead this fantastic teaching team. Ellie will be collaborating with Caitlyn Ennis and Priscilla Bartley to create excellent hands on curriculum that will help keep your child happy! They have many hands on activities and projects planned for the first few weeks. An extended day teacher will be picking up your second grader for the first week of school. Pickup will be located in this classroom no later than 5:45pm each day. Our 4th through 6th (4/6 Extended Day) grade program will continue to meet in the Upper Extended Day. This classroom will be led by Malania LeSage with collaboration from Kevin Doherty and Jackie Latucca, who have the knowledge and experience, will also help create a meaningful curriculum that encourages and supports friendship, self-confidence and leadership. Pickup will be located in this classroom no later than 5:45pm each day. I am also happy to announce that HEDP will be continuing our one of a kind older kids program called Tripping Out (for 5th-8th graders). Malaina and Kevin will lead this program and have already planned many fantastic activities for this age group. Please email [email protected] or phone the HEDP office for more information before September 13th. Space is limited for this one of a kind program. Our dedicated teachers are enthusiastic and will teach through pleasurable hands-on activities that help enhance and bridge the learning from that is happening during the school day. We are happy to have such good natured and experienced teachers. All are committed to great afternoon programming that supports and encourages academic learning. As our first day of school quickly approaches please feel free to give us a call should you have any questions or concerns. You may also reach us by email at [email protected]. We welcome you to Heath Extended Day and wish your child a wonderful first day of school! Warmly, Noelle Ahearn, Director Additional Notes…. *HEDP will need additional paperwork for all children who require medication. Please note that we will need our own set of meds to keep at HEDP. *Our program is nut free. Please keep this in mind when sending special snacks or food for your child.* Because HEDP is becoming more of a cooperative program please look for ways to volunteer in each classroom. These needs will be posted on the information station bulletin board. There is a mandatory 5 hours volunteer commitment for each family. **Families who are applying for tuition assistance need to have all forms mailed to Noelle by September 27th 2013. Please contact Noelle by phone at 617-879-4565 should you like an application. Please share your child’s extended day schedule with the classroom teacher to minimize any confusion. We ask that you keep both HEDP and the classroom teacher in close contact should you have any schedule changes. PreK Alyssa will pick the Pre-K children up from Cary and Min Jen’s Classroom’s on a daily basis. Please send your child with: ~ A packed lunch (we can no longer heat any food) ~ A change of clothes in a labeled bag ~ A king size pillowcase with his/her name on it ~ A family photo. Kindergarten Both 9/9 and 9/10 is a half day for Kindergarten with BPS. We encourage you to use the first day to visit our classroom with your child to help him/her begin to feel comfortable and confident within our classroom, if possible. If that is not possible, we highly recommend picking up your child no later than 4:40 pm since it can be a very long first day. Jared will pick up the Kindergarteners at dismissal and walk them to HEDP each day. Please provide your child with A) Change of clothes in a zip-lock bag with his/her name on it. B) family photo. This may be a challenging day for a kindergartener that does not feel confident due to the unpredictable schedule. Please contact us before within the next week should you have any concerns. 1st-6th Graders All are welcome to begin attending HEDP on Monday, September 9th at 2:30pm. Please look for HEDP teachers in the hall to guide you to the HEDP. Please call or email the HEDP office should your child not be attending on the first day. 1st-2nd graders will be picked up by an extended day teacher to help guide the children to HEDP. 3rd-6th graders should walk directly to the HEDP at 2:30pm. We have encouraged teachers to have HEDP kids walk together with buddies. Please note that there will be homework and reading time (DEAR) each day. So remember to bring your favorite reading materials (books, magazines, newspapers, comics…). We are always looking for good reading material so please feel free to donate. Tripping Out Tripping Out has additional forms that MUST be complete before your child can attend. Please phone Noelle should your family be Interested in this program. Children with Allergies or Medical Limitations PLEASE contact Noelle ASAP for the required forms. Your child cannot attend HEDP without signed medical forms and medication from a certified practitioner. We also need a full container of medication when applicable (epi pen, prescription…). Please see Noelle ASAP for more information. The MA Department of Early Education and Care has mandated us to call a parent immediately for pickup should we not have the appropriate forms and medications. General Information The majority of families have successfully completed the SMART TUITION registration enrollment requirements. Thank you! Please note that it is essential that this step be complete no matter what your financial condition. Paying with our Bookkeeper is no longer an option. EVERY family is responsible for enrolling in this program. All registration documents are needed before your child begins attending HEDP. This helps ensure that we will be prepared for your child. I will be in the office each day and would be more than willing to meet should that be easier for you. The annual meeting date has yet to be announced. Please look for notices regarding this mandatory meeting. Please remember to phone HEDP at 617-879-4565 or email us at [email protected] should your child be late or absent from HEDP. Please let us know as soon as possible. Please note that HEDP closes at 5:45. We encourage you to make necessary arrangements should you not be able to make that time. Late fees will go into effect Monday, September 30th. **Be prepared to sign your child out at the end of each day with YOUR signature or initials and the pick up time. This is a mandatory policy set forth by the MA Department of Early Education and Care. It is essential that you make a habit of this. Please make an effort to make contact with a teacher and sign your child out each day. If a nanny or babysitter will be picking up your child, please be sure they have a picture ID for the first few weeks. We have made the switch to green communication and encourage you to check out our webpage at the beginning of each month to read about our updates and happenings. It is essential that you notify us immediately should want a hard copy of all handouts. We will try our best to keep you up to date and well informed. Please check us out at http://heathextendedday.org / We hope that you are ready for a terrific year and are happy that you have joined our Extended family!
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