A $25.00 late fee will be charged daily for any child picked up from school after the scheduled pick-up time.

Arrival

Arrivals will take place at the south entrance of the building between 8:00 am-8:15 am. The south entrance is to the right of the building. You will park your car and walk to the door. A staff member will be present to greet you and your child. Coming to the door to drop of your child is very important! This is part of connection building. Seeing you interact with the staff will help your child feel more connected with them as well and this will help children integrate better and avoid simple behavior issues. We want to know our families and a build a culture where parents and children feel cherished and welcomed.

Tardiness
All students are considered late after 8:30am. Late arrivals are required to come in from the main door of the building. Please park your car in the front and walk your child to the classroom. 

Dismissal

Dismissals will take place at the south entrance of the building between 3:00 pm to 3:10 pm. The south entrance is to the right of the building. Please park your car and walk to the door to pick up your child. Try to arrive five minutes before dismissal time to ensure that you are on time and that your child and the staff are not waiting for long periods of time. 

A $25.00 late fee will be charged daily for any child picked up from school after the scheduled pick-up time after three uninformed late pick ups. 

This policy is not in place to punish you, but to ensure that teachers and staff are able to get back to the work of restoring the environment and planning for the next day.

Early Dismissal

Call or email the office as soon as possible, preferably a day in advance unless required due to an emergency, if your child will be picked up early from school (phone number) or Admin@FigTreeMontessori.org. Please come in through the main doors to sign your student out.

Late Pick-Up
Call or email the office as soon as possible if your child will not be picked up within 10 minutes of their dismissal time (phone number) or Admin@FigTreeMontessori.org

Attendance

We ask that all children are dropped off at the school by 8:15 am at the latest unless there is a valid excuse. We want to ensure that every child is able to participate in all the opportunities offered. It is also very disrupting to the classroom environment when a child enters late. In addition, a child will have a difficult time adjusting to the classroom community if they are often late or absent. If your child will be arriving late or leaving early, please notify us beforehand. Parents are asked to call the school office prior to 8:30 a.m. to notify the teachers when a student will be absent from school in the case of illness, appointments, or other important commitments.

Please make an effort to arrive by 8:00 am so your child can make the most of the morning Quran session, which is led by an experienced Quran teacher.

Absences

It is important that your child is in class every day. Each child is an essential part of the classroom dynamics. Lessons are planned for children each day, thus a child’s absence impacts the schedule. We do not, however, expect you to send your child to school when he is sick or recuperating. Please reference our Illness policy found in this handbook. Absences are also considered excused in the event of a family death or funeral, exceptional circumstances, and doctor’s appointment. Please call the office when your child has an unexpected absence for sickness or other reason.

Illness
In the case of any illness and/or COVID symptoms please begin by connecting with your family health care provider.

General Illness Policy
In the interest of the health and well-being of our community, keep your child home if:

• They have a fever of 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit or greater or need medication to keep their temperature down. (Children must be fever-free for 24 hours without medication before returning to school.)
• In the last 24 hours prior to coming to school they have had diarrhea, have vomited, or have conjunctivitis (pink eye).

Parents will be called to pick up a child who appears ill or becomes ill at school. If you are unable to pick your child up within 1 hour of notification, we will contact your child’s emergency contact so that they may pick your child up.

Return to School
Upon return to school, after any absence due to illness, our health staff will assess your child prior to their re-entering the school. According to CDC guidelines, a child with Covid who has exhibited symptoms may return to school when the following criteria have
been met:

• At least 48 hours have passed since the resolution of fever without fever-reducing medications; and
• The child has improvement in respiratory symptoms such as cough and shortness of breath; and
• At least 10 days have passed since the symptoms first appeared or the child has negative results from at least two consecutive COVID-19 tests taken at least 24 hours apart.

The above applies to any household member. A child may return to school after having COVID-19 symptoms with a medical professional’s note to clear them for return based on a negative COVID-19 test and an alternative diagnosis.

COVID-19 Illness Policy
If your child has been exposed to someone with COVID-19 or possibly with COVID-19, keep your child home for:

• Symptoms of COVID-19
• Congestion or runny nose
• Sore throat
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell

If a child has symptoms of COVID-19 and does not get evaluated by a medical professional or complete testing, it is assumed that the child has COVID-19 and cannot return to school until they have met the criteria.

Medication
By county and state regulations we need to have updated medical forms for any new and returning student. All medical forms can be found in Transparent Classroom and should be complete by August 5. All other forms such as emergency contact, immunization form, and school health form can be found in Transparent Classroom and are due before the first day of school.

It is required that the school have written permission from you in order to administer over-the-counter medication(s) such as Benadryl, Tylenol, Advil, and Neosporin. This must be updated annually as it is only good for one year. We keep a supply of basic over-the- counter medications to allow your child to comfortably return to class in the case of a need.

If your child requires any prescription medication(s) during the school day, please notify a staff member by emailing us at Admin@FigTreeMontessori.org to complete the Prescription Medication Release Form in Transparent Classroom. BOTH you and your child’s physician must sign this form. Medications must come in their original container with the prescription label and the doctor’s order must match the label on the bottle. With the exception of an EpiPen, your child needs to have taken the first dose at home to make sure he/she will not have any adverse reactions. Please inform your child’s physician that the orders need to have specific directions of use and detailed times for administration. Dates of administration should cover the school year (August-May). 

Going Out is a unique aspect of a Montessori Elementary program and is a way for students to further explore an area of interest and
broaden their social horizons. Generally, a small group of two to six children will decide on a topic, plan their trip, then leave the classroom together to learn about their topic firsthand. An adult chaperone always attends to keep the group safe and offer some assistance only if necessary, but all aspects of the trip are ideally the responsibility of the children! This includes setting up appointments, directions to the location, budgeting, schedules, and interacting politely with a sales clerk or tour guide.

Some places the children may go to are: the local parks to explore the local flora and fauna and collect plant specimen, the arboretum, the zoo, wildlife hospitals, grocery stores, libraries, local businesses, city hall, city museums, and more. The possibilities are always open to the creativity of the children. 

Going-outs may occur on a weekly basis, more or less. They might be spontaneous, or they might be planned. For planned going-outs, you will be informed before hand. Spontaneous going outs include trips to local parks not more than a 10-12 min drive or the library.

If you're interested in volunteering as a going-out guide, please get in touch!