Nursery School

View:  Nursery School Mission Statement | Nursery School Teachers | Nursery School Board | School Calendar 2011-2012 | School Delays and Closings | Class Schedules | Arrival and Dismissal | Entrance and Parking | Registration and Tuition | Information and Messages | School Bags | Clothing | Show and Tell | Snacks  | Birthdays | Health | Visitation

Nursery School Mission Statement

The Berne Nursery School strives to provide a nurturing environment where the transition of home centered learning to school centered learning can begin. The staff works to provide a pleasant environment where the child feels loved and secure and experiences the love of God while learning the values of everyday Christian living. The curriculum focuses on the total development of the child: spiritual, emotional, social, physical and mental. This mission promotes social, emotional and academic readiness for the future.
 

Nursery School Teachers

Greta Lehman, Director

Melinda Taing

Nancy VanEmon

Lori Sprunger
 

Nursery School Board

Chris Gilbert, Chairperson

Amanda Bluhm

Lora Flueckiger

Paul Lehman

Greta Lehman

Carole Neuenschwander

Sharon Wulliman
 

School Calendar
2011-2012

Parent Meeting August 29 at 7:00 PM
Meet and Greet September 7
AM classes from 8:30-11:00

PM classes from 12:15-2:45
First Day of School September 8
Fall Vacation October 27
Thanksgiving Vacation November 24
Christmas Program December 15 at 6:30 PM
Christmas Vacation Begins December 16
Nursery School Resumes January 3
Spring Vacation March 27, 28, 29
Tentative Last Day of Nursery School May 17
 

School Delays and Closings

Berne Nursery School follows South Adams School’s decisions regarding delays and closings due to bad weather. For announcements listen to Berne radio station WZBD (92.7 FM), watch TV channels ABC, NBC or CBS, or check their web sites. Below is our class schedule for delays.
South Adams 2 hour delay - AM class 10:00-11:45 & PM class 1:00-2:45
South Adams 3 hour delay - Nursery School canceled
South Adams canceled - Nursery School canceled
Cancelation Policy: If, throughout the year, Nursery School misses a week or more of school days because of weather, an extra week will be added onto the end of the school year. This would then make the last day of school on May 24.
 

Class Schedules

Classes for Cubs (3 year olds)
Morning class: Tues. and Thurs. 8:30-11:00 AM

Afternoon class: Tues. and Thurs. 12:15-2:45 PM
Classes for Bears (4 year olds)
Morning class: Tues., Wed. and Thurs. 8:30-11:00 AM
Afternoon class: Tues., Wed. and Thurs. 12:15-2:45 PM
 

Arrival and Dismissal

For your child’s safety, do not drop your child off outside the church or leave your child at Nursery School until you know that a teacher is present. Children are allowed to enter their classroom no earlier than ten minutes before class begins and should be picked up no later than ten minutes after class ends. This includes our fog delay schedule.

Children are only permitted to leave the church with their parents, carpool driver or other adult designated by the parents. If there is a change in transportation arrangements, Nursery School must be notified ahead of time.
 

Entrance and Parking

When you bring or pickup your child, you will need to use the south door on the west side, all other doors will be locked. For the safety of the children and adults, we request that you do not park in the fire lane along the awning of the church, and that you do not use the entrance to the parking lot that is nearest the Locker. You may use the other two entrances. Because other cars use the parking lot and people sometimes illegally “cut through” the lot, please walk with your children at all times and don’t let them run ahead to the building.
 

Registration and Tuition

The registration fee is $40.00 and is not refundable. The monthly tuition for the Cubs is $52.00, and the monthly tuition for the Bears is $68.00. This is a yearly tuition divided into 9 equal monthly payments, even though the number of school days will vary from month to month. Payments are due the first school day of each month and should be made using the envelopes provided in your folder. Checks should be made payable to First Mennonite Nursery School. If paying the tuition is not possible for your family, please talk to the director about whether a scholarship might be available for your child.
 

Information and Messages

Always check you child’s bag after school. We might have a note or information for you, or more importantly, your child might have a special project he or she wants to show you. If you ever need to relay information to us, talk with one of the teachers or send a note and pin it to your child’s bag. Verbal messages from children are not reliable.

We will send home a monthly newsletter and calendar, so you will know what we have planned.
 

School Bags

You are responsible for providing a simple bag with handles for carrying items to and from Nursery School. We request no snaps, zippers or backpacks. Please place your child’s name on the outside, so the teachers are able to identify it. Your child might enjoy decorating his or her bag.
 

Clothing

We encourage you to dress your child in comfortable play clothes that can take the consequences of active play. We have found that tennis shoes and rubber soled shoes are the safest. For this reason, we suggest your child not wear flip flops, cowboy boots, or dress shoes with a heel.

The temperature in the church fluctuates, especially during the winter months, so layering your child’s clothing might be beneficial.

All outer clothing should be labeled. This helps decrease our collection of unclaimed, clothing.
 

Show and Tell

Starting in October, we will usually have show and tell the first Thursday of every month. To help you remember, it will be on the monthly calendar. For show and tell, your child may bring one item to show to the other children. If the item is too large for your child’s school bag, please place it in a grocery or garbage bag with your child’s name on the outside. If your child would like to have his or her pet visit, just let us know in advance.
 

Snacks

Each day the children will receive a small snack. Your child will have the opportunity to provide the snack 2 or 3 times during the school year. You will receive a snack notice and a snack bag one week before it is your child’s turn. We will provide the drink.

All snacks need to be store bought and sealed in the original package or container. We are not allowed to serve home baked items or candy for snack. If you wish to send fresh fruit, we will clean and cut it at school.

Some suggestions that the children enjoy for snack time include:  crackers, oranges, pretzels, cheese, grapes, chips, carrots, fruit bites, cookies, dry cereal, bananas or apples.

Please send only one kind of snack, and 1/3 cup of snack per child is plenty.
 

Birthdays

One of the times that your child will bring snack, is when we celebrate his or her birthday. If your child has a summer birthday, we will celebrate it about six months from the actual date. The snack notice will specify if we are celebrating your child’s birthday. In addition to the snack, you may send a take home treat of candy or gum for your child to pass out at dismissal time.
 

Health

If your child has a fever, vomiting, diarrhea or heavy nasal discharge, please keep him or her home for 24 hours after symptoms or fever are gone. Hopefully, this will help prevent the spread of illnesses. If your child does contact a communicable disease, please notify the school. We also appreciate it, if you notify the school when your child is going to be absent.

If your child develops symptoms of an illness or is injured during Nursery School, we will contact you. If we cannot reach you, we will call the emergency numbers you have listed on your child’s enrollment card. If none of these are available, we will call your child’s physician. It is really important that you keep us informed of any changes in your telephone numbers, address or place of employment during the school year.
 

Visitation

You are very welcome to visit and let your child share his or her school day with you. Just tell us a day that would work for you.

If you ever have questions or concerns, please talk to one of us. We want this year to be a positive experience for your child, and having communication between the school and the home is very important. Thank you for the opportunity to work with your child this year.