The Little Monk Seal Montessori Program Handbook

 

Little Monk Seal Montessori is an authentic Montessori program with fully accredited teachers. 

 

Our program abides by the licensing regulations of the State Department of Human Services (DHS).

 

The facility is allowed a maximum 24 students 3-6 years old. Students must be potty trained as per our licensing regulations. 

 

We also abide by licensing regulations concerning confidentiality of information regarding students, families, and staff. We expect that families and visitors to our program will adhere to this policy to safeguard the well being of children in our program.

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Please understand that policies and regulations in this handbook are subject to change when necessary.

This handbook provides a statement of operations policies and is advisory in nature. The school reserves the right to make changes and updates to the handbook, as necessary and at the absolute discretion of the acting LMSM Director.

 

LMSM enrolls Children ages 3-6. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ability, national/ethnic origin, or sexual orientation in administration or its educational policies, admission policies, financial aid and other school administered programs.

 

Hours of Operation

LMSM is open from 8:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., Monday-Friday.

 

Children may be picked up earlier than their scheduled time if you have other activities planned. Please let us know if your child’s drop off or pickup times or drop-off/pick-up person changes. Please call the school before 8:15 am to inform LMSM if your child is absent.

 

Car Line

It is extremely important that you arrive exactly between 8:00 and 8:15 for drop off and arrive exactly between 2:30 and 2:45 for pick up. This will ensure that car line moves efficiently. We do not want the parking lot to get backed up, as we do share and respect the space with other businesses in the building.

 

Please, no phone use during the drop off/pick up car line process.

 

The teachers will explain more about car line prior to the first day of school.

 

School Year Calendar

Our school year begins in August and ends the following May. 

 

We mainly follow the State Department of Education (DOE) with some exceptions at conference time and breaks.  If the DOE has school closures due to weather or emergencies then LMSM is also closed. Reminders of days off school will also be given throughout the school year.

 

Admission

LMSM is open to all families on a space-available basis. Children must be three years old and completely toilet trained (no pull-ups or diapers used) by their first day of enrollment. LMSM reserves the right to withdraw a child at any time if we feel they are excessively harmful to peers, teachers, environment or self. We reserve the right to withdraw a child if they are not abiding by the rules and regulations of LMSM. In the event of withdrawal, whether it is the decision of the family or LMSM, a tuition refund will not be given and parent/guardian will still be responsible for the contracted amount of tuition monies due.

 

Application/Registration

The process begins by taking a tour of the school, after which we will make an appointment for a readiness assessment for your child. A $400 registration fee is collected to hold your child's spot. The enrollment forms and medical paperwork can then submitted by the parents and your child is all set to start! 

 

1) State Dept. of Health Form 14 health record (physical exam and TB clearance done within the 12 months prior to entry, and current immunization records). Medical and religious exemptions are allowed by State law for immunizations only. You must present a medical exemption form signed by the child’s physician. Your child must have a current TB clearance to enter school. We may accept a notarized exemption statement on official letterhead from your religious organization.

 

2) Preschool Emergency Information card (this goes everywhere we go) LMSM requires copies of court documents affecting your child (e.g. legal guardianship, custody, TRO). If your child has an IEP, we require a meeting with your child’s IEP team or lead consultant prior to enrollment so that we may determine if we are best suited to meet your child’s needs.

 

Tuition and Fees

Tuition is $1,200 per month. An invoice with your tuition payment will be emailed to you each month. You may pay online by clicking the link on the invoice or by bringing a check to school (checks must be made out to Little Monk Seal Montessori and a $10 processing fee will be charged if writing a check). Tuition is due by the first of each month or the first Monday of the month if you are bringing a check to the school for payment. Notice must be submitted in writing at least 30 days prior if you choose to withdraw your child from LMSM for any reason. This applies to the months school is in session and prior to school starting. Failure to submit your withdrawal in writing 30 days in advance will result in the parents being responsible for paying one full month of tuition.

 

At the beginning of the enrollment process, a $400 non refundable fee is due to hold your child's spot on the class roster. Paying this fee is the only way to hold a spot for your child and is non refundable under any circumstance. There is a $1/minute fee for late pick up of your child. 

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Financial Aid

Maui provides state-funded programs that offer financial assistance for preschoolers attending LMSM. For more information contact Arbor Childcare/Connection (866) 972-7267 or Preschool Open Doors (800) 746-5620. Patch is also an excellent resource for questions on financial aid (808) 242-9232.

 

Excursions and In-School Presentations

A release form will go home at the beginning of the school year that will cover ALL the excursions we will take throughout the year. Specific information about in-school presentations or excursions will be given to parents in advance. Parents have the option of keeping their child out of school for that day if they prefer not to have their child participate in any of these activities.

 

Family Involvement

We believe that the best support for a child as he/she grows is a strong partnership between families and the school. We also look forward to families sharing their knowledge and experiences, talents and skills. We invite parents to share a skill, or teach a lesson at circle time. The teachers and directors will decide if the lesson that the parent or guardian has proposed will be appropriate for the children.

 

LMSM does REQUIRE that the guardians of the children complete 10 hours of volunteer work per school year. These volunteer hours include helping with fundraising, laundry etc. More details will be given on those hours in the beginning of each school year. Parents do have the option to choose what particular activity they would like to volunteer with.

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Health Agreements/Emergency Policies

ADMINISTERING MEDICATION

 

We will administer medication to your child providing:

 

1) you have completed and signed the medication permission form

 

2) the medication has been prescribed by your child’s physician

 

3) the medication is in its original container, and includes the proper dispensing tool. NO over-the-counter medications will be administered without a doctor’s prescription. We are not allowed to administer cough or cold medication.

 

We will call you to pick up your child if your child has: a fever over 100F, diarrhea, vomiting, has an unknown rash, unusual discharge from the nose, ears or eyes, a persistent cough or any other health conditions that may be a concern.

 

A written clearance from your child’s doctor is required for the following: chicken pox, measles, mumps, hepatitis, flu, ringworm, pink eye (conjunctivitis), hand, foot and mouth disease, strep throat, whooping cough, pinworms, and impetigo

 

If your child has a medical or religious exemption for immunizations, we will ask you to keep your child home for your child’s protection if there is a possibility the disease is present in our school.

 

These policies protect all children and MADCC clients in our care. Please contact the school right away if your child is exposed to any of the above. We ask that you keep your child home from school and obtain a release note from your child’s physician before bringing your child back to school. Ukus (head lice) and Pinworms

 

If your child is found to have live ukus or nits (eggs) or suspected pinworms, we will call you to pick up your child right away, and provide you with information on treatment. Your child may return to school as soon as treatment is completed, and we have cleared his/her return.

 

The teachers are trained in first-responder First Aid and Infant-Child-Adult CPR only. For any serious or life-threatening medical emergency, we will call 911 first and make every effort to contact you. Your child may be transported to Maui Memorial Medical Center by ambulance if necessary. A teacher will accompany your child if our staffing ratios permit.

 

Parents will receive a written report for accidents/injuries requiring first aid. Parents will be contacted if we feel the situation is serious and requires your immediate attention.

 

We are obligated by law to report any concerns we observe about abuse and neglect to Child Protective Service.

 

We do not allow alcohol or drugs on our campus, and smoking in and around the building is banned by law.

 

EMERGENCY AND CONTINGENCY PLANS

 

Evacuation

 

We will have one fire drill per month. If you are on campus during a drill, you are required to participate. This also encourages your child to follow the rules for safety, and tells your child that YOU know what to do in case of an emergency. If we are required to evacuate the facility during school hours, and time is available, we will call parents to pick up children if this can be safely done. If children must be moved quickly, we will leave information on our entry door to tell you where we are, how to contact us, and who is with us. We will make every effort to contact you by phone when we are in a safe location. Please be sure that we have accurate and current phone contact information.

 

School Closure Notification

In the event the school must close unexpectedly during operating hours, or we cannot open due to dangerous conditions or any other reason, we will make every effort to contact families. Please make sure your phone contact information is always up to date. LMSM will close school if there has been an emergency.

 

Meals and Snacks

Please inform the school in writing if your child has any food allergies. 

 

Your child is required to bring a full bottle of water each day, a snack, and a packed lunch. LMSM asks that the children only bring water to school as their beverage. Milk, juice boxes, etc. is prohibited. 

 

What To Bring For Your Child (please label all of your child’s belongings)

2 sets of extra clothes in plastic bags. This includes 2 pairs of shorts, 2 shirts, 2 pairs of underwear, and 1 pair of slippers.

Please bring a sleeping blanket and a small pillow/stuffed animal if your child prefers.

 

What Stays At Home

These items need to be kept at home: your child’s own toys, money, candy/gum, soda, sweets, cough drops and over-the-counter medications and vitamins (potentially harmful to children who may think they are candy).

 

What To Wear To School

Loose-fitting, comfortable clothes that they can easily take off or put on by themselves.

 

SLIPPERS that can be put on quickly if we need to leave the premises due to emergencies and fire drills. High-heeled shoes, sandals, and cowboy-type boots stay at home. Please do not send your child to school in shoes that they cannot manipulate independently (i.e.: no shoelaces if they cannot tie). The children wear their slippers during outdoor play.

 

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent-Teacher conferences are held twice a year. These allow the teachers to provide you with feedback about your child’s experiences and growth in school. These conferences are not mandatory but are offered if you would like to schedule one.

 

If we observe that your child would benefit from formal screening and/or assessment through programs such as the D.O.E. special needs or Imua Rehab, we may recommend a referral. This would also assist us in meeting your child’s individual needs, and the services are free or on a sliding scale basis. Please ask the directors if you have any questions.

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Communication between the teachers and parents is of upmost importance. We send out a Friday Newsletter each week to inform you of school news, important dates, and information about how your child spends his/her day at school. These emails are important so please read them.

If you'd like to speak with us, the very best way to reach out to us is via email. You can email with a question, an appointment request, or request for a phone call if you need to speak to us. Please refrain from bringing up questions at car line. This is a difficult time for us to give you the proper attention and communicate clearly to resolve issues and/or answer questions. We appreciate you bringing up concerns and asking for clarity about any and all things. Please give a 24 hour response time to us to get back to you via email. Often questions that arise will be answered in our Friday Newsletter. Please use your own parental wisdom if your child seems to have questions/concerns about friends at school, rules, lunch time, bathroom rules and other events that occur at school. If there are ongoing issues/questions, that is the time to ask us for clarity. We are happy to inform you about anything you and/or your child are unclear about. Clear communication is so very important, so please use email as the first step to a clear communication channel. 

 

Birthdays 

We love to celebrate your little one and their big day. The children will all participate in a special Birthday circle celebrating the day for your child.  Please do not bring in any goodie bags, edible treats, or anything to share with other children at school for your child's Birthday. PLEASE do not ask the teacher to pass out invitations to Birthday parties at school.  You will be given a parent communication list and you will be able to communicate through email with other parents.  

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Curriculum

We practice the philosophy of Maria Montessori and strongly agree with her methods and practices. We emphasize freedom within limits and practice independence. Maria Montessori recognized that children have “sensitive periods” and windows of opportunity in which they develop more naturally. The teachers recognize this and utilize these times to allow children to absorb as much information as possible.

 

LMSM also stresses the importance of our ecosystem and giving back to the community. We encourage our children to develop good stewardship and respect at an early age.

 

The classroom is broken up into six main areas: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Geography.

 

Montessori believes in mixed aged classrooms, which provides the opportunity for children to learn from each other. The younger ones look up to the older ones. The older ones practice concept reinforcement as they are given chances to teach their younger classmates. Research has shown that the best way to learn is through teaching and observing and this is exactly what the Montessori environment provides.

 

We recognize that each child matures and learns in his or her own way and at his or her own time. Although children will bring home things they have created and worked on, the most important part of learning is what they remember about the experiences, what intrigues them enough to want to learn more and to share this knowledge with others. Our children are more capable than we realize. Many times at LMSM a teacher will not do things for the child every time they ask. We will simply say, “You try, you can do it.” When they try things on their own, they will learn the skill they are practicing and experience the feeling of independence, which ultimately builds lasting and real self-esteem. The role of LMSM is to create opportunities for these learning experiences.

 

LMSM also offers special activities each week including but not limited to yoga, music, soccer, gymnastics and art. Your child WILL have the opportunity to engage in all of these.

 

Holiday Policy

Little Monk Seal Montessori is a non-denominational school. We therefore do not celebrate any religious holidays nor do we give any spiritual or religious education. The holidays that we celebrate here at school include:

Halloween

Thanksgiving

Valentine’s Day

The other holidays that we acknowledge and discuss are:

Ground Hog’s Day

Mother’s Day

Boy’s Day

Girl’s Day

May Day

Father’s Day

We observe and are closed on all state and national holidays that the DOE recognize such as:

Labor Day

Statehood Day

Election Day

Veteran’s Day

Martin Luther King Day

President’s Day

Good Friday

Prince Kuhio Day

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LMSM asks that you do not bring in goodie bags, or toys to pass out for any occasion for the following reasons

*Too many children have dietary needs and allergies.  Children feel left out if they cannot have the same treats as other children.

*Some families feel left out when other families bring in items for students and they are not able to do so in return.

*Some items that have been shared were not okay with other parents. 

We do our very best to accommodate everyone and we have found that goodie bags and treats are just too controversial.  We often find ourselves spending too much time answering emails, phone calls and concerns over this matter.  We prefer to focus more time on the education and the well-being of the class than this issue.  We do recognize that celebrating holidays and special occasions is important.  The children have plenty of opportunities during the year to display generosity. We have lessons on “giving” during school hours and the children are constantly making gifts, thank you cards, etc. for each other and for visitors that come to LMSM.

 

Policy for Media Exposure

A consent form will be included in the registration packet that allows your child to be included in any photos, videos, web media for Little Monk Seal Montessori. You are not required to sign this release form and LMSM will respect your privacy if you do not wish for your child to be included.

 

Fed I.D. and State I.D. #s

These are the identification numbers for the Preschool to be used for tax purposes. Please keep your monthly receipts to verify your child’s enrollment in our preschool. In accordance with our confidentiality agreements, we will not release any financial information to outside parties. Please inform your tax return preparers that parents must personally request a release of information for tax and legal purposes.

 

Miscellaneous

*Covid-19 has delayed the start of some of our enrichment activities listed in this handbook.

*LMSM will continue to operate in the safest way possible through the times of this pandemic and so certain areas of our curriculum may change such as having guest presenters into the school and going on field trips. 

*Covid-19 has prompted LMSM to add special policies for health and safety. Parents will need to sign a statement that they are aware of and following the Covid-19 policies set fourth by LMSM periodically throughout the school year. 

*Please direct all questions or concerns to Katie Farley. 

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SAMPLE DAILY ROUTINE

 

Daily Schedule: Little Monk Seal Montessori

 

8:00-8:15 Drop Off

8:00-8:30 Circle & Daily Lesson

8:30-10:30 Work Cycle and snack time

10:30-10:45 Bathroom Break & Transition to Recess

10:45-11:30 Recess

11:30-11:45 Bathroom & Wash Hands

11:45-12:15 Lunch

12:15-12:30 Jobs & Bathroom. Older ones transition to lesson in gross motor room and younger ones transition to nap.

12:30-1:00 Older children listen to chapter book while younger children nap.

1:00-2:00 Older children have lesson while younger children nap. Each day of the week is a different lesson (literacy, art, drama, music & art.)

2:00-2:20 Gross motor room and pick up time.

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Thursdays: PE with Ms. Beth

Alternating Fridays: Music with Uncle Wayne

 

LMSM Approach to Misbehavior

LMSM enforces positive behavior and recognizes students and actions that promote growth and learning. We encourage respectful behavior. If a child misbehaves by acting out, by using inappropriate language, harming others or causing harm to themselves, then the teacher will inform the parents through a phone call or email. If the behavior continues the teachers will suggest ways in which the problem can be solved and work with the parents or guardians as a team solve the issue. The best interest of the child, his/her peers and our school community is our top priority and we will do everything possible to help in this situation.

 

LMSM does have the right to send a child home for the day if they are disrupting others in any way. LMSM will only do this if absolutely necessary.

 

Due Process and Expulsion

If LMSM feels that it is in the best interest of the school, staff, and children that a student be removed from school, then LMSM has the right to expel a child.

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Little Monk Seal Montessori places great value on trusting and mutually respectful relationships between the parents of our enrolled children and LMSM staff and administration. Without genuine trust and respect from the parents/guardians of LMSM Children, the mission and vision of the program cannot be accomplished. In that regard, if the situation arises, wherein mistrust, disrespect and/or irreconcilable differences of opinion  arise with regard to management of any situation relating to LMSM’s program and the enrolled child, LMSM reserves the right to discontinue services to the family, resulting in the child being withdrawn from the school. 

 

Rules and Policies

LMSM does not allow any disrespectful behavior.  If a child is causing harm to themselves or another, parents/guardians  will be notified and the directors will handle the situation on a case to case basis.  LMSM will take the necessary action to solve the issues that arise. 

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Mailing Address:

Katie Farley Director

Little Monk Seal Montessori

PO Box 532530

Kihei, HI 96753

(808) 205-9118

 

Physical Site Address:

Little Monk Seal Montessori

300 Ohukai St, #206

Kihei, HI 96753

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Please ask a director for more details on rules and policies or if you have any other questions regarding this handbook.