ARRIVAL & DISMISSAL:
All classrooms and nursery areas will be OPEN 15 minutes prior to regularly scheduled services and/or activities. If you arrive prior to this time, we ask that you stay with your child or take him/her with you until a teacher arrives. Children should not roam the hallways or be left in a classroom unattended or unsupervised.
All classrooms and nursery areas will CLOSE 15 minutes after all services and/or events have ended. As courtesy to your child and your child’s teacher we ask that you pick your child up in a timely manner. It is upsetting for a child to be left after the others have been picked up. It also delays teacher’s from picking up their own children.
For the safety of your child, teachers will dismiss children only to the care of their parents and/or guardian. Please note: Siblings 14 years old and older may pick up a child with parent’s approval. Please inform your child’s teacher if an older sibling is allowed to pick up your child. Also, older school-age children (2nd – 5th grade) may be dismissed on their own from Sunday School only with a parent’s approval.
Parents of Preschoolers: Prepare your child for a happy time at church during the week. When you arrive, wish your child a happy time, say you will return later, and promptly leave. A crying child feels more insecure if a parent stays and seems overly concerned. Please be assured, we will not allow your child to cry continuously. If your child cannot be consoled in a reasonable amount of time, the teacher will send for you as this is upsetting for the crying child as well as the rest of the class.
CLASSROOM USE:
To help maintain the quality of our materials, toys and supplies, children older than preschool age should not be in a preschool area unless approved by the Children’s Director. Older children should only be present in the classrooms during class/activity times and only with adult supervision.
TOYS:
In order to avoid potential classroom distractions, we ask that children do not bring toys from home. Teachers may place distracting toys away from the learning areas until the end of class at which time they will be returned to the child.
PROMOTION:
Promotion coincides with the school year and usually takes place at the beginning of August. The date of Promotion Sunday changes depending upon the calendar.
Toddlers will be promoted into the Children’s Department once they have turned three years old and are potty trained.
To minimize a constant fluctuation of class size, preschoolers are promoted once a year as opposed to promoting on their birthday. Preschoolers whose birthday is before October 1st should be promoted to the next class. Preschoolers whose birthday is after October 1st are asked to stay in their current class.
Grade school children are promoted once a year according to their grade level.
VAN RIDERS:
All children who ride the church van without their parent will be required to have a parent/guardian sign a release form (available in church office) before they are permitted to ride the van. Children under the age of 6 will not be permitted to ride the van unless with a parent/guardian and with the appropriate car/booster seat. A detailed van policy is available in the church office.
CHILDREN’S CHURCH:
Going from a “free-play” environment of the nursery to the worshipful environment of a church service is quite a leap for small children. To help make the transition to “Big Church” easer, CHILDREN’S CHURCH is available for preschoolers. Parents are asked to take their child to the sanctuary for approximately 1/3 of the morning worship service. At the appropriate time, preschoolers are dismissed to attend CHILDREN’S CHURCH. Children ages 3-5 years old that are NOT yet in Kindergarten are invited to attend.
ILLNESS:
In order to protect the health and welfare of each child in our care, we ask that you not bring your child to church if he/she exhibits any of the following symptoms:
1. Fever – currently or within the last 24 hours
2. Vomiting or diarrhea – currently or within the last 24 hours
3. Any symptoms of contagious childhood disease (ie: chicken pox)
4. Common cold from onset through one week
5. Thick or discolored nasal drainage
6. Sore throat
7. Croup
8. Any rash other than diaper rash
9. Any skin infection (i.e. welts, boils, blisters)
10. Pink eye or other eye infection
11. Head lice
12. Obvious lethargy when accompanied by cold-like symptoms or symptoms of illness
When a child is sick, there’s no one like mom or dad to administer care and comfort. If your child develops any of these symptoms while in our care we will notify you immediately. We will NOT administer any type of medication to children.
EMERGENCIES:
In the event of an evacuation, parents will meet their child/children on the back parking lot behind the church. Any parent coming to a classroom during an emergency will be asked to help evacuate the class and not leave with their child until all children are safe and accounted for. All classrooms will be double checked by the Children’s Director and/or Program Coordinator to ensure all children are evacuated.
In the event of a tornado warning, all children will be taken to an inner classroom along the children’s hallway. These classrooms do not have windows and are located on the lowest level of our building.
If your child is injured while in the care of Park Hill Baptist Church, first-aid treatment will be administered, and you may be notified immediately depending upon the severity of the injury.
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT:
All children at Park Hill will be treated with love and respect. If correction is needed, teachers will first redirect the child’s attention when they are having trouble with another child or with obeying rules. If “redirection” does not help, the child may be removed for a short period of “time-out” in a separate area of the room.
Our first attempt will be to take care of most situations in the classroom and only address the issue with the parents if the child consistently has difficulties in the classroom. Teachers will notify the Children’s Director and/or Program Coordinator who will then notify the parents.
Copies of the teacher guidelines for classroom management are available to all parents and can be picked up in the church office.
CLASSROOM SAFETY/SECURITY:
For the safety of both children and teachers, at least two workers will be present in ALL classrooms during class activities/sessions.
The personnel team will perform background checks on all paid childcare employees. All teachers, both volunteer and paid, will complete a simple screening “interview” with the Children’s Director or Program Coordinator.
REQUESTING CHILDCARE FOR A CHURCH EVENT:
1. Childcare can be scheduled for children birth – 5th grade for church-related activities/events.
2. Requests for childcare must be made in writing – using the Childcare Request Form also available in the Nursery – no later than two weeks prior to a scheduled event.
3. Childcare is a first-come, first serve basis depending upon the availability of paid workers.
The cost of childcare for events considered “social” in nature (ie: Sunday School Class Party) is $4.00 per child with a family maximum for $10.00.
