In answer to God’s challenge to meet the ever growing needs of West County , Wildwood Christian Church has developed a Christ-centered learning preschool program called Wildwood Christian Academy (WCA).

By the grace of God, together with parents, we will touch every child’s heart; by showing them the love of Jesus and guiding them to maturity in  Biblical wisdom, stature and favor with God and man.

GOAL

Our goal is to develop loving, respectful, socially responsible, and faithful children.

MINISTRY AIM AND EMPHASIS

The emphasis will be Christ-centered values addressing all aspects of nurturing God’s children.  This will be accomplished by including a curriculum designed to challenge children to excel in academics along with encouraging Christ-centered values in a socially nurturing environment.  The program will provide an atmosphere where children and adults can interact cooperatively to promote social, intellectual, and spiritual growth.

ORGANIZATION

WCA is a not-for-profit ministry of Wildwood Christian Church located at 16717 Manchester Road in Wildwood, Missouri . 

ACADEMIC PROGRAM

The WCA Staff will strive to help each child reach his or her highest potential in every area of development - physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual.  Learning will be fun and exciting.  The curriculum and learning activities provide outlets for creative expression and opportunities for cognitive growth.  Children attending Wildwood Christian Academy will be given an opportunity to:

·            Learn of God's love

·            Acquire an enthusiasm for learning

·            Learn to make good choices

·            Interact positively with his or her peers

·            Strengthen language skills

·            Acquire basic phonics skills

At the preschool level, directed play is the single most important avenue for learning.  WCA strives to make learning a safe, positive, and fun experience for each child.

A Beka Publishing is the primary supplier of curricular materials used at WCA.  A Beka curriculum has been used for many years by Christian schools and preschools throughout the world.

ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES 

We encourage parents to visit the school and meet the staff prior to beginning enrollment procedure.  The procedures are as follows:

·      Secure an application from the school office/website or Director

·      Submit completed application with $120.00 non-refundable enrollment fee.

·      A meeting will be scheduled with prospective school parents by the Preschool Director. At this meeting the director will go over the handbook, application, curriculum and answer any questions you might have concerning the preschool.  This process is to insure that as parents you understand the curriculum materials that will be taught, and to learn school policies and procedures.   

Notice of Non-Discriminatory Policy 

HEALTH POLICIES AND REGULATIONS

You will need to provide the school with the following information:

·    A copy of your child's birth certificate;

·    Up to date medical records showing that required state immunizations have been met (this must be done prior to your child attending WCA);

·    A picture of your child.

JULY  PACKET

A packet will go out the first week of July.  In this packet you will receive the following:  letter from Director, checklist of forms or items needed, authorization forms, Open House and Parent Orientation flyer, school supply list, school calendar and tuition labels.

ARRIVAL

School hours are from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon for the morning session and 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm for the afternoon session.  We will start bringing in children at 8:55 am for morning session and 12:30 pm for the afternoon session.  Parents should remain in their cars.  Staff will escort children into the building.  When arriving, please use entrance to the church and drive to back parking lot where you will pull up to the door. 

DEPARTURE

Parents must pick up their children promptly at 12:00 noon for morning session and 3:30 pm for afternoon session.  We will start bringing children out to the cars at 11:50 am for Morning session and 3:25 pm for the Afternoon session.  Parents should remain in their vehicles.  Each child will be given a car pickup number.  The car number should hang from the rearview mirror so the number can be seen clearly. When picking up children, please use entrance to the church and drive to back parking lot where you will pull up to the door.  Staff will escort your child to the car.  You will then pull forward to fasten your child’s seatbelt, then proceed to church exit.  If you are later than 10 minutes past pickup time a $10 late fee will automatically be assessed to your account.

PICK-UP AUTHORIZATION

Students will be released only to those authorized to pick them up from school. School must be notified in writing when other than authorized car pool or parent is picking up child from school. Pick-up authorization forms must  be completed to designate individuals who are permitted to pick up children.  Proper identification is required when picking up a child.

TRANSPORTATION

Travel to and from school is the responsibility of parents.  Parents should make every attempt to see that children arrive at school on time in the morning and are picked up immediately after school in the afternoon.  Many parents establish car pool arrangements with others.

SCHOOL CLOSINGS AND INCLEMENT WEATHER

In case of weather related school closings, we follow Rockwood School District schedule. Please pay close attention to the TV and radio for announcements.  We will also send out a One Call Now message to communicate closings and other information as well.

Days missed for inclement weather closing will not be rescheduled and fees will not be reduced or refunded.

The decision to close the school rests with the Administration at WCA.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS / TELEPHONE NUMBER

It is the parent's responsibility to inform the school of:

·        A change of address or telephone number

·        A change in place of employment.

The emergency telephone numbers you give us are our only means of locating you if your child has an accident or becomes ill at school.  It is extremely important that you keep us informed of any changes in emergency number.

DISCIPLINE POLICY

"Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days."  Proverbs 19:20

Discipline is essential in order for students to learn in a safe atmosphere free of disorder and unnecessary pressure.  The Preschool Administration seeks to establish and enforce rules in accordance with Christian principles as set forth in the Bible.  Parents will be informed if there are any discipline related problems so that a conference may be scheduled if needed.

The goal of our discipline is to direct students toward acceptable behavior which helps develop self-control and to maintain order necessary to accomplish the academic and social growth desired.  We do not see discipline as punishment but rather as correction.

Children may be corrected using positive techniques for displaying behavior such as:

·        Actions that disrupt the class or interfere with the learning process of the class or classmates.

·        Actions that could possibly cause physical or emotional harm to the child or classmates.

·        Actions in direct violation of a well-explained school or class rule.

·        Willful disrespect toward a teacher.

When a conflict arises, verbal suggestions to improve behavior are discussed. If inappropriate behavior continues, redirection and other positive discipline will be used.

Occasionally a child is out of control and is required to sit quietly until he/she regains composure (maximum 3 minutes).  If a child's behavior is consistently inappropriate, the teachers, director and parents will share information and will plan to implement strategies to improve the child's self-esteem and ability to function successfully in a group situation.  Corporal punishment is not allowed.

Positive behavior will continually be rewarded by verbal praise, reward certificates, hugs, written praise on work etc.       

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

School holidays are listed on the school calendar.  WCA celebrates Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.  Halloween is not celebrated.  Please obtain approval from Teachers before sending holiday treats.  A school calendar will be given to you in your July packet.

DISMISSAL POLICY

The school reserves the right to dismiss any student who proves to be incapable of adjustment or for other reasons becomes detrimental to the best interest of himself or herself or the other students.  The student will be required to withdraw from school upon the recommendation of the Director.

Reasons for dismissal can include but not limited to:  not being potty trained (3’s class & above), exhibiting consistent disruptive behavior, not following schools policy & procedures, or requiring special attention that cannot be provided by our schools.

SICKNESS

A child may not remain at school if he or she is ill.  Therefore, please do not send your child when there are signs of possible contagious illness.  Parents will be called to pick their child up if he or she should become ill during the day.  Parents are requested to report any contagious illness to the teacher immediately for the protection of other children.  Reasons to keep a child at home include vomiting, unexplained diarrhea, general inability to participate crusting of eyes, greenish discharge from the nose, unexplained rashes or excessive coughs.

Please do not send your children to school until the following conditions are met:

·        Fever, vomiting and/or diarrhea free for 24 hours

·        Antibiotics have been taken consistently for 24 hours.

If your child is going to be absent, please notify the school as soon as possible.

Medicine will only be given to your child if you have signed a medicine release form with all requested information provided. 

INJURIES

Minor injuries, such as scratches, scrapes, insect bites, etc., will be treated by the WCA staff.  Any serious injury or head injury will be reported to the parents immediately so that the appropriate action may be taken.

If a major injury occurs, the staff will immediately call for professional help (911).  Parents, designated emergency contacts, or child's doctor will be notified immediately.

If an emergency is such that immediate transportation to the hospital is necessary, a staff member will accompany the child and will have in their possession the emergency consent form signed by the parent.  Parents or guardian will be notified to which hospital the child is being transported.

FIELD TRIPS

Although field trips are a great way to enhance a child’s learning, our board has decided that the liability risk is too high to take any chances with your child.  In lieu of field trips, we will be bringing in special events such as butterfly house and a petting zoo.

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES

A strong parent-teacher relationship is both desirable and necessary to WCA's total school program.  The administration and staff will keep parents informed of all scheduled school activities.   Individual parent-teacher conferences will be scheduled Fall and Spring during the school year.   Parents wishing additional conferences with teachers or the administration are invited to schedule appointments before or after school hours.  A Progress report is sent home at the end of January also.

REFUND POLICY

Students who are admitted to WCA are expected to attend for the entire school year.  When students leave during the school term, the school may have difficulty filling the vacancy, thus a financial hardship may be placed upon the preschool.  For this reason, families who voluntarily withdraw before the end of the school year may not receive a full refund for pre-paid tuition.   Families who have been on a payment plan may owe additional payments even after the student has been withdrawn.  Also, Enrollment Fees are non-refundable.

PERSONAL PROPERTY

Please be sure to mark all personal articles and clothing brought to school with your child's name.

Children should not bring toys to school, as there is an ample supply of materials available in the classroom.  However, children may be allowed to bring toys or personal items for show-and-tell.  These items should be small enough to fit in a back pack.  Show-and-tell items will remain in back packs until show-and-tell time.  (Please exclude valuable or fragile toys, mouth toys, war toys, guns, monsters, frightening toys, ghosts, trolls and ghouls.)

CLOTHING

Dress children comfortably in clothes which they can manage with little or no assistance.  Please remember that your child will be involved in many activities, some of which may be messy.  We suggest closed toed shoes for the playground to help in the prevention of accidents.  Hats and mittens should be worn to school during cold weather.  Clothing should be marked plainly with the child's name.

BIRTHDAYS

Celebrating children's  birthdays is an important and fun part of the preschool program.  Special songs, stories, and other meaningful activities will be used to let each child know that this is his or her special day.  Children with summer birthdays will celebrate their half birthday during the school year.  Please notify the teacher several days in advance if you wish to furnish a special birthday snack for your child. 

AGE CUT-OFF

Your child must be the appropriate age for the class on or before July 31st of the enrollment year.  All children in the Pre-K Class must be eligible for Kindergarten the following year.  Children in the 3-yr old class and older MUST be potty trained.  Use of pull-ups is not considered potty trained however will be allowed the first month of school.

SNACK TIME

A mid-morning nutritious snack is provided on a parent donation basis.  Suggestions are:  a drink (milk, juice, or water) and a snack, such as crackers, cheese, fruit, raw vegetable, popcorn, muffins, cookies, or dry cereal.

Parents will be placed on a rotating schedule.  This schedule will be coordinated with children’s birthdays and 1/2 birthdays.  If you do not want to participate with snacks let the teacher know at orientation or before school starts.

PEANUT POLICY

WCA does everything possible to provide a safe environment for children with peanut or any other food allergies.  If your child has a food allergy please notify the office as soon as possible.

LUNCH BUNCH

Lunch Bunch will be offered after school for an extra fee on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.  Students will bring their lunch and drink to school to eat during this time and have other planned activities as well.  The time allotted will be from 12:00 to 1:30 pm.  Signup and payment must be paid at the beginning of each month in order to attend.

STAFF

Our Staff consists of qualified teachers and child care professionals who love children.  They are dedicated to our ministry goals of providing the best quality child care and training for your child in a loving Christian atmosphere.  They are sincerely concerned with what is best for your child's development.  All Staff of WCA profess Christ as their Lord and Savior.

SUPPLIES

A supply list will be available for parents to use for purchasing school supplies.  Please do not send school supplies other than those requested.

VISITING SCHOOL  

Parents are welcome to visit the school. There are many opportunities available for parents to help in the class at parties, programs, etc.  Doors are locked at 9:30 am for safety.  When you come to visit or help you must ring the bell and someone will let you in.  At this time you will need to sign in at the desk and make a nametag before entering the preschool wing.  No one will be allowed in the preschool wing without a nametag. 

If you wish to speak with your child’s teacher, please make arrangements ahead of time.  Parents should limit conversation with teachers during school hours since this is time for your children to enjoy his/her school experience.

FINANCES

The financial support of WCA is gained in one of three ways:

·                By tuition payments;

·                Gifts received from interested friends of the school;

·                Fundraising projects through our parents group.

We do not receive government support at WCA and your financial support is encouraged to sustain and strengthen our educational ministry.

Tuition payments may be paid in one of two ways:

·        Annual tuition is due August 1st, with a 3% discount;

·        Monthly tuition payments are due on the first of each month beginning August 1st.  A late fee of $10.00 will be assessed to your monthly payment if not received by the 10th of the month.

In the event that a check is returned for insufficient funds, you will be charged the current bank fee.