Due to the increasing number of children with life-threatening food allergies, Holladay Preschool has developed guidelines to ensure the safety of our children and the support of our teachers and parents. Holladay Preschool is a “peanut sensitive zone”.
Parents of children with a diagnosed food allergy will complete a Food Allergy Alert Form which will be posted in the classroom. If the child has a prescribed epi pen and/or other medication, it will be stored in that child’s classroom. Parents of the child with allergies will assume the daily responsibility of providing a safe snack for their child to be housed in a safe location in the child’s classroom. Parents can approve the daily snack for the entire class and place in their child’s safe box or bring a separate snack for their child. In short, Holladay Preschool teachers will only provide children with serious food allergies food that has been placed in said child’s safe food box by said child’s parent.
This policy is intended to involve the parents of a child with food allergies directly, placing daily snack responsibilities for the allergic child with that parent, and informing and involving the teachers of an allergic child. While we understand the social benefits of snack time, we feel that the serious nature of a food allergy requires additional parental responsibility to provide the safest possible environment for the child with food allergies.
Children should wear washable play clothes appropriate for art activities and outside play. Students go outside every day unless the temperature is below 25 degrees or the air particulate matter is above 35.4. Please dress children for the weather.
Holladay Preschool follows “positive discipline” guidelines, which involves using verbal praise for positive behaviors. When positive praise is given at a high enough rate, most inappropriate actions are diminished. All discipline is done in a matter-of-fact way with no overtones of anger or frustration. The behavior cannot be tolerated, but the child is not “bad.” We may use mild restraint and physical redirection or actual removal from the scene to a new activity. We maintain a non-punitive attitude when a child must be removed.
Parents are required to escort children to and from the classroom each day. There is no curb or outside door drop off or pick up. Do not leave children unattended in the car or on the school grounds. Please no idling cars in the parking lot. Our parking lot is a Cell Phone Free Zone. Parents are considered late picking up their child up to 10 minutes after class has ended. At this time, parents must sign their child out from the office. If parents are late a second time, a letter will be sent charging a $25 late pick up fee.
Holladay Preschool requests that children have an in-state and out-of-state contact to keep on record in case of emergency. All teachers have a SecurEvac Classroom Evacuation and Lockdown Kit in their classroom as well as emergency contact information for the children. The SecurEvac kit contains water, protein bars, flashlights, supplies for first aid, warmth and sanitation to name a few. Holladay Preschool also participates in routine fire and earthquake drills.
It is important for preschool learning to be reinforced outside the classroom, which is why we plan unique experiences through field trips and assemblies. Some of the things we’ve invited into Holladay Preschool are musical guests, reptiles, and even a kangaroo! Parents are often invited to attend these assemblies, as well.
Field trips are also taken to enhance the experiences the children have at preschool. Transportation to and from field trips are provided by parents, not preschool staff. Field trip parent volunteers should not bring any other siblings, family, or friends with them to ensure full attention to students. Volunteers should not take calls or use cell phones on field trips. Parents should only attend field trips if you have signed up to be a volunteer.
All children enrolled at Holladay Preschool are required by law to have an immunization card on file.
Little children often get sick. You should keep your child at home throughout the duration of the illness so as to expedite the healing process and avoid getting other children sick. Keep your child home for 24 hours after any fever. Notify the school and we will notify the teachers. We will also inform the other parents if they need to watch for signs of anything contagious.
Parents will be required to keep their children out of the classroom if any of the following are noted:
● Fever of 99.6 degrees or greater
● Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, or diarrhea
● Unusual drowsiness or fatigue
● Sore throat and/or persistent cough
● Red, inflamed, or discharging eyes
● Swollen glands around the jaw, ears, or neck
● Head lice until 24 hours after treatment was begun
● Suspected impetigo (a highly contagious bacterial skin infection common among preschool children)
Holladay Preschool takes the safety of our children seriously. All of our teachers have undergone a criminal background check and receive certification in the following: defibrillator, CPR, and Epi-pen administration. Certification is required every other year and a refresher course is offered yearly.
Parents take turns providing healthy snacks for their child’s class. Sweet snacks should be reserved for birthdays. The preschool provides water, but parents may choose to supply a healthy alternative beverage.
The Salt Lake County Health Department requires all food be pre-packaged, unopened, and store-bought. Holladay Preschool staff members have food-handling permits and are able to properly store, handle, prepare and serve your food items. Paper goods and utensils are always provided courtesy of the preschool.
Holladay Preschool encourages the enrollment of special needs children who can function in our classroom situation. Special needs children include any child who has physical, emotional, behavioral, developmental or mental handicap. We believe it is important for special needs children to be integrated with other children as much as possible. Holladay Preschool sees our function in this as a dual one; providing an enriching experience that helps meet the needs of the special child and also offering a setting where other children can have the benefit of interacting in a casual and natural way with special needs children.
Each request for placement of a special needs child is evaluated individually to determine whether the appropriate teacher, physical equipment, environment, and the appropriate classroom setting are available. Our teachers are well-trained preschool teachers, but they are not trained in special education. We ask parents to recognize that we are not designed specifically for special needs children. If a child is referred by another agency, we request regular consultations during the year with the therapist or particular staff person that has worked most closely with the child.
Parents must be willing to accompany their child on field trips or on any activities where the staff feel the child would need extra time or help in the classroom. With all special needs children, we stipulate that parents be willing to withdraw the child if the situation seems to be detrimental to the child or to the class. Special needs children are evaluated by the director, staff, parents, and any consultants for adaptation to the preschool and to evaluate the appropriateness of the placement every 30 days or as needed.
If, at any time during the school year, it is determined that Holladay Preschool placement is not in the best interest of a child after conferring with teachers, director, and parents, we will assist the family in finding a solution that better meets the child's needs.
Tuition is due on the 1st of every month. A $25 late fee is applied after the 10th of each month. Tuition may be paid in nine installments or the full year’s tuition may be paid in one payment. The last month’s tuition for the next year is due in May of the current school year.
