Childcare – Pre-K care Update 8-1-19

Greetings Incoming Spark Child Care Families-    If you are receiving this e-mail it means that you have a child(ren) registered for the Spark Child Care program for the 2019/2020 SY. We are so very excited to partner with you and your family and we are gearing up for the upcoming SY. I apologize about this e-mail being rather long but it is the best way to send mass info to all of our incoming families. Many of the e-mails from district staff get filtered into a Spam/Junk folders, so please be sure to check those folders often and if applicable change your e-mail settings to allow for these e-mails to go to your inbox.  If you have additional questions not covered please feel free to e-mail me at any time at sheahanhall_alicia@svvsd.org.  

• As an FYI “Pre-K Care” and “Wrap” are synonymous. Our program was called “Wrap Around” for several years (many people still use this term). The actual name of the program is now “Pre-K Care”. You may here us called either or both, but we are the same program. When your kiddo goes to elementary school that child care program will be called “K-5 Care”. 
• The Preschool office will open back up on 8/1/19. If you have any specific questions for the PS staff, you can get in contact with them after 8/1/19.
• There will be an ice cream social on 8/9/19 at Spark @ 3:30pm (the school will send out additional info soon about this). 
  • This is an amazing way to meet your child’s Preschool teacher and the child care staff. You can also familiarize yourself with the layout of the school and drop off some supplies for the first day of child care/school. Myself and all of the child care staff will be there.
• The first day the child care program is open for kids is 8/13/19. 
  • The first day for some of the PS kiddos is 8/15/19. When you go to the preschool parent orientation there will be more information about your child’s specific PS schedule/classroom etc. (The school will send out more info about this soon) We will run full day child care for these first few days. 

Child Care Tuition:       August and September Tuition Invoices will go out on 8/20/19. These are the only months that will be combined due to the fact that August only has a few days in it. This invoice is due on 9/1/19 and is considered late after the 10th. Please be sure to pay your invoice ASAP to avoid a $25.00/per child late payment fee. Late fees will be automatically added on 9/11/19. Invoices can be paid for online (link is in the invoice e-mail ,see attached “How to Make payments online”) or you can pay in person with cash/check (made out to Spark Community Schools). Most families pay online as it makes it more convenient to track childcare payments for tax purposes.    You can also sign up for Auto Pay after 8/1/19 by clicking this link https://stvrain.revtrak.net/auto-pay#/f/auto-pay-authorization. Auto pay is ran on the 8th of every month. If you pick this option and have more than 1 child at Spark you must pick the “additional child name” section and add any additional kiddos that you need Auto Pay for at Spark.    Child care tuition is invoiced/paid and charged separately from your preschool tuition. You will receive a separate invoice from the preschool for their tuition.  Invoicing/Schedules:     All schedules are due in Rev Track by the 5th of the month for the upcoming month. Most families have already picked their schedule for the entire year, and if you did this you don’t need to do anything else. After the 5th schedules will be locked down, and can’t be changed. Below is the breakdown for the rest of the year.  The rest of the months will invoice as follows:

• August 20th invoice will be for all of August and September- This invoice is due by 9/1/19 and late 9/11/19.($25.00 late fee /per child) applied on the 11th
  • October schedules due in revtrack by 9/5/19 
     
• September 15th invoice will be for all of October- This invoice is due by 10/1/19 and late 10/11/19.($25.00 late fee /per child) applied on the 11th
  • November schedules due in revtrak by 10/5/19
     
• October 15th invoice will be for all of November- This invoice is due by 11/1/19 and late 11/11/19.($25.00 late fee /per child) applied on the 11th
  • December schedules due in revtrak by 11/5/19
     
• November 15th invoice will be for all of December- This invoice is due by 12/1/19 and late 12/11/19.($25.00 late fee /per child) applied on the 11th
  • January schedules due in revtrak by 12/5/19
     
• December 15th invoice will be for all of January- This invoice is due by 1/1/20 and late 1/11/20.($25.00 late fee /per child) applied on the 11th
  • February schedules due in revtrak by 1/5/20
     
• January 15th invoice will be for all of February- This invoice is due by 2/1/20 and late 2/11/20.($25.00 late fee /per child) applied on the 11th
  • March schedules due in revtrak by 2/5/20
     
• February 15th invoice will be for all of March- This invoice is due by 3/1/20 and late 3/11/20.($25.00 late fee /per child) applied on the 11th
  • April schedules due in revtrak by 3/5/20
     
• March 15th invoice will be for all of April- This invoice is due by 4/1/20 and late 4/11/20.($25.00 late fee /per child) applied on the 11th
  • May schedules due in revtrak by 4/5/20
     
• April 15th invoice will be for all of May-  This invoice is due by 5/1/20 and late 5/11/20.($25.00 late fee /per child) applied on the 11th

Sickness:School season is the season for sickness to start especially in our little ones that are just now starting to get exposed to it.  As a reminder there are some guidelines that must be followed for sick kiddos. Attached is the illness policy for sickness in child care(See attached “keeping kids home sick”):

• Vomiting: Must stay home until they are symptom free for 48 hours without the use of medicines
• Diarrhea: Must stay home until they are symptom free for 48 hours without the use of medicines
• Fever: (100°F or above): Children may return when they are symptom free without the use of fever reducing medicines. 
• Flu-Like Symptoms: (w/wo fever 100°F or above) Must stay home for 24 hours AFTER the fever is gone without the use of fever reducing medicines, and until symptoms have subsided. 

Weather Delay/School Closures: 

Each year, our community experiences severe weather events that may result in the closure or delay of our schools.

When forecasts are definitive, the district will close or delay school with as much advance notice as possible. When forecasts are less definitive, the district will monitor conditions closely and consult with county and state officials prior to making a decision to close or delay schools. In these instances, the district will make every effort to communicate with you no later than 5:30 am on the school day in question.

In the event of a delayed start due to inclement weather, the district will start school 2.5 hours later than regularly scheduled start times (**11:00 am for Spark Discovery Preschool/Wrap Around Child Care**). 

School days delayed due to inclement weather also require the following service adjustments:

Preschool

• AM/Morning: Will be canceled

• PM/Afternoon: Will follow normal schedules

• Full Day PS: Will start at 11:00 am

Community Schools

• Wrap Around Child Care: Will open when the school opens at 11:00 am

• Child care tuition credits will only be given for “entire day” school closure days

Meals:

• AM Snack: Will not be provided

• Lunch: Will be provided (fees applicable) or you can bring a cold lunch for your child

• PM Snack: Will be provided 

 What to bring the 1st day of child care/General Info: Now to the good stuff!! Below is a general outline of our schedule in Child Care and important reminders. Child Care hours are M-F 7am-5:30pm (174 day calendar see attached. Child Care is closed on the “X” and “X” marked days) 

• Parent Drop off/Pick up is at Outside door #3 (south side of the school by the Spark Sign). There is an A-Phone on the wall that you will need to push for us to buzz you in (just like the front office)
  • All students attending AM preschool need to be dropped off in childcare before 8:15am in order for us to take them to AM PS. If drop off is going to be after this time, the parent must drop off with the PS teacher at their door. 
  • At pick up please be sure to have your picture ID with you (also for authorized pick up people) until we get to know you. We will ask for photo ID to compare to your registration forms. It can feel like a hassle, but it is a safety measure that we use and we appreciate your patience while we are getting to know names and faces. Once we know you, it won’t be necessary to bring it at every pick up. If you ever need to add someone to the pick up list please let me know. We can add anyone you wish (or take off people). If we can’t verify the ID of the pick up person, we will not release your child to them.
  • When ringing the A-Phone be sure to stand in front of the camera, facing the camera until someone speaks to you. This will help with identification and to make entering the building smoother. Please just sit tight in front of the camera until we answer.
  • Door #3 and the door next to it “swells” when it gets warm outside. This is being fixed by the district, but at this point in time the work has not yet been completed. Please help us by making sure the door shuts completely behind you when you enter or exit. 
  • When entering and exiting the building be sure to not let unknown people enter behind you. Several parents know other parents that pick up/drop off around the same time as they do and that is fine, however there could be other people unknown to you that try to slip in behind you. Be aware of your surroundings. I also want to encourage patience among our parents. If another parent doesn’t hold the door open for you, it may just mean that they don’t recognize you and are trying to keep the building safe. Please don’t take offense. The #1 priority of all of our families is to have a safe program. 
     
• We offer an AM and PM snack daily which is included in your daily fee. We don’t do a breakfast, so please make sure your kiddo has had something prior to coming. The AM snack is truly a “snack”. Many kiddos bring a small granola bar or mini muffins to eat with their AM snack, or parents drop off in the morning with a little something to start them off. If you come in with something we just have your kiddo sit at a table and eat it prior to free play/PS in the morning. If your kiddo has AM preschool they will eat the snack with the PS and if they are in PM preschool they will eat the PM snack while in the PS.  Kiddos will eat the snack with us (wrap) on the opposite side of their PS schedule but will always have lunch with us. Snack/lunch/nap times are as follows: 

• • 9:00am- AM Snack
  • 11:15am- Lunch Time
  • 12:30pm-2:30pm- Nap Time (if your kiddo is in PM preschool they will not nap)
  • 2:45pm- PM Snack
     
• Lunch is either provided by the parent, or you can purchase hot lunch through our cafeteria. The cost is $3.00 per child/per day if you get hot lunch (unless you qualify for free/reduced lunch. You can apply for free/reduce lunch after 8/1/19 at https://www.myschoolapps.com/Home/PickDistrict?ZipCode=80504&State=CO) Hot Lunch is paid for through the myschoolbucks.com lunch accounts and is how you will pay for lunches in the future. These accounts will follow your kiddo through their school time with SVVSD. 
  • We typically give a monthly menu to our parents and they go in and pick what days they want hot lunch. Some days are winners with the kiddos and others not so much. You can decide which days (if any) you will want hot lunch for your kiddo. We have to turn in our daily hot lunch count by 8:30am each day, so If something comes up (or if you just didn’t have time to make cold lunch that day) you can tell us in the morning (by 8:30am) and we can order hot lunch for your child. We will verify with you each morning at drop off if you are cold/hot lunch. We ask that all students not being dropped off at AM preschool by their parents need to be in the childcare program by 9:00am so we can get an accurate count for snack/lunch and for the day.
  • Most kiddos at this age are a little picky so most families bring cold lunch. We have a fridge that we stick all of the lunch boxes in to keep cold, so you won’t need ice packs in them. We just ask our parents to be conscientious about soda and junk type foods. We can’t heat stuff up in a microwave so cold lunches need to be a lunch that can just be eaten(sandwich/lunchable etc.). 
  • We are considered an “allergy aware” school so we do ask for no nuts, as there are kiddos in our program that have allergies. You can do sunflower butter as an alternate to peanut butter. If you have specific food needs/allergies please let us know.
     
• Nap Time is 12:30pm-2:30pm Daily. If your child is in the PM Preschool they will NOT nap during the day. We offer a true nap time where the lights are off and we play sleepy time music. Below are some items that may help your kiddo with our nap time:
  • Small comfort item (stuffy etc.)(must fit in their cubbie)
  • Blanket (must fit in their cubbie)
  • Small Pillow (must fit in their cubbie)
  • We provide the nap mat and sheet
  • Per state regulations we are not allowed to purposely keep your child awake during this time. Because napping is considered a biological need for children at this age, we must allow for the opportunity for them to nap. If your child doesn’t fall asleep we allow for a 30 minute rest period and then give them quite activities to do during the nap time. 
     
• Spare Clothing/Potty Accidents:
  • We HIGHLY ENCOURAGE you to bring a spare set of clothing for your child(including under garments and socks.) Please place these in your child’s backpack. All spare clothing are NOT to be in plastic or Ziploc bags. This is a state licensing rule(suffocation hazard). Please just roll your child’s clothes and place either in a 2nd zip compartment or in the bottom of their back pack. Please label EVERYTHING, including clothing, blankets, nap items etc. Many kiddos have the same outfits and items, and we want to make sure your stuff stays with your kiddo. 
  • If your child has an accident we will place their soiled clothing in a locking container. Please bring this container back to the child care program. They are very costly to replace, and we appreciate you bringing them back to us as frequent accidents do happen at this age.
  • If there is potty concerns with your child please talk with myself or the staff. We know that this age requires frequent restroom breaks, and we schedule these times into our daily schedule. If your child needs special accommodations/assistance please let us know. Parents are responsible for providing diaper/pull up/wipes if their child is still in them(special education students only).

Late Pick Up/Fees: We charge $1.00 per minute/per child after 5:30pm. Per our parent handbook, which you signed off on when you registered for the program, it states on Page 5: Late Pick–Up Procedures        It is critical for children to be picked up on time. All emergency contact persons on their contact list with phone numbers and addresses must remain current at all times. Parents should not list themselves or their spouse as an emergency contact, nor should they list a relative that lives far away. Contacts must be people who would be available to pick up the child in the event of an emergency. Anyone picking up a child from childcare must be 18 years of age or older and may be asked to provide identification. Frequent late pick–up may result in withdrawal of your child from the program   Our staff have to clock out promptly by 5:35pm per their contracts. When parents are late, it in turn causes our staff to be late clocking out and thus past their contracted time. Please be sure to be at the site PRIOR to 5:30pm, so you have time to pick up/sign out, and ask the staff any questions about your child’s day.  If you are going to be late picking up (after 5:30pm) you MUST call the program to notify us. Please be aware that if we are outside on the playground, the cell phone number will be the only way to reach us. If we don’t answer one line, please try the other.   Signing In/ Out:All parents are required to sign in/out their child from the child care program daily. If you utilize CCAP you are required to also sign your child in and out from the ATS system daily and approve any provider changes daily. This is done on a black chrome book located in the program. Please remember to do this every time you drop off and pick up. Because this is a legal documentation of attendance for the state, only the parent/guardian or authorized pick up person are allowed to do this.  If you are a CCAP family you must have your case worker authorize care for our provider number. (CCAP Provider # 60015- Spark Discovery Preschool 555 8th St. Frederick, CO 80530) Any child care services rendered without proper authorization will be charged at full price and be the responsibility of the parent until CCAP has authorized your care to be covered. CCAP can take up to 10 days to authorize care, so please be proactive and let your case worker know ASAP.  If you are wanting to visit inside the school or need to talk to someone in the front office, you will need to exit the Wrap program(to the outdoors) and walk around to the main front entrance to do so. We are not able to allow parents to walk within the school due to site and district safety protocols. We appreciate your understanding with this and for helping keep all of our kiddos safe and secure. Direct Phone Lines/Call to Check On Your Kiddo:Our child care program has 2 direct phone numbers that can be used for our families. If you are running late, or if you just want to check in on your kiddo you are more than welcome to call the program directly.  If you are going to be late picking up(after 5:30pm) you MUST call the program to notify us. Please be aware that if we are outside on the playground, the cell phone number will be the only way to reach us. If we don’t answer one line, please try the other.  Below are the phones numbers that you can save in your cell phones. 720-652-7909 (Direct Number To The Classroom/Child Care Program)720-597-5673 (Child Care Program Cell Phone) 720-652-7908 (Direct Number To The Community Schools Site Manager)  I know this is a TON to digest! If you have any follow up questions/concerns please feel free to e-mail me. I am here to support you and your kiddo in all of their educational and child care needs. I am so thrilled to welcome you and your kiddo to our Spark Family!