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Children ages two months old through
Kindergarten are eligible to attend Wonderworks.
Registration forms are available at the Wonderworks office: 2060 Reed Street, the church office
at 152 Stowe Avenue, or in the church Welcome Center.
Accreditation
Wonderworks
is accredited by the United Methodist Association of Preschools (UMAP),
which ensures that our church-related program meets and/or exceeds state
licensing standards to provide children the best possible environment,
program, curriculum and experiences. In May of 2006 Wonderworks
received the United Methodist Association's Gold Seal Accreditation. Our school is listed with the State of Florida as a Gold Seal School.
Gold Seal Quality Care designation reflects quality care and supervision.
Child to Staff Ratios
We keep our staff-to-child ratios below state requirements. When a class
reaches our maximum enrollment, we establish a waiting list and contact
parents when we can accommodate their children.
Also, we give priority to members of our governing body, the Orange
Park United Methodist Church, before open registration.
Our
Staff
We carefully select our staff to provide the best possible care and
education for your child. Our staff members are warm, nurturing, and
understand child development. They apply their knowledge in the classroom
and respect each child as an individual. Wonderworks staff value working
as a team with parents, colleagues and volunteers.
All staff members are high school graduates and many have college degrees
and training as well as certification as a Child Development Associate.
Registration
Forms
To enroll your child, you must complete the following
registration forms:
- Registration form
- *Emergency
medical authorization
- Current,
Student Health Examination Form (tan form)
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**Florida
Certificate of Immunization (blue form)
*(which
must be notarized. Notaries are available at Wonderworks).
**Immunization forms are available from your child's physician, the Naval
Pediatric Clinic, or any Public Health Department Branch Clinic.
The Florida Department of Children and Families requires that all children
enrolled in a pre-school program provide current immunization forms. When
changes are made to the immunization form, a copy must be submitted to Wonderworks. Parents also must acknowledge by
signature that they have received a copy of the brochure “Know Your Child's
Day Care Center”; as well as a written copy of the Wonderworks disciplinary
practices (addressed in this Parents' Handbook).
The Wonderworks schedule closely follows the Clay County
School Board Calendar.
Parking is provided
in back of Fellowship Hall and off Stowe Ave in back of the Religious Education
Building. Parking is available in front of the Family Life Center, Please only
small vehicles.
Available Programs
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Pre
K & PRE-SCHOOL
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Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays
9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.Parents must bring their children
to class at 9:30 a.m. each school day and pick them up promptly at 1:30
p.m.
(Except VPK who go 5 days a week)
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KINDERGARTEN |
Monday through Friday 9:30
a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
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Please do not bring
your child to the classroom before class is scheduled to begin. If you
must bring your child to Wonderworks before school starts, we provide
fee-based child care in our:
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| BEFORE SCHOOL CARE PROGRAM |
8:30a.m. to 9:30 a.m.After
Care 1:30 p.m. to 4:00p.m. The staff will escort
your child from the regular classroom to After Care at 1:30 p.m.
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Children whose parents
do not pick them up at the end of the class day, will be taken to: |
| AFTER SCHOOL CARE |
Our After School Care is
a baby-sitting service, available for all children enrolled (except babies
under one year of age one).
Children whose parents do not pick them up at the end of the class day,
will be taken to After School Care, available from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.,
and parents will be billed for the child care service.
Late
Fee: We apply a $1-per-minute late fee after 4:00 p.m.
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A baby-sitting service only for all children enrolled- -except babies
in our nursery program (Angel class).
Your child may or may not be with his/her regular teacher and will not
be in the regular room.
Extended Care is billed
at the beginning of each month for the previous month's care. Please look
for these bills with your child's papers. Payment in full is due upon
receipt of notice.Late
Fee: We apply a $1-per-minute late fee after 4:00 p.m.
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DROP-INS
Wonderworks
accepts enrolled children as Drop-Ins on a space available basis. There
is a “Drop-In Request” form in the office.
If you would like an extra day, simply complete the form. If an opening
is available, you will be notified. For this to work, the parents must
inform the office when your child will not attend on his/her regular day,
so that we can open the space up to someone else. The Drop-In fee is $30
per day.
If your child is absent please call so that we can accept a drop-in in
your child's classroom. The price for this is $30 a day. |
Fees and
Tuition
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REGISTRATION
FEE |
To enroll a child, a non-refundable* registration fee is required upon submitting an
application. |
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TUITION |
Tuition is a yearly fee, which may be paid in the following ways:
1. Annually in full at the beginning of the school year.
2. Monthly in 10 equal payments due the first class day of each month.
3. Quarterly, payable the first week's of August, November, and February.
The month of May is a separate payment. A full month's
tuition is due in August. |
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TUITION
DISCOUNTS |
A 10 percent discount is applied on the combined tuition for two to three
children in the same family. |
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ANNUAL
SUPPLY FEE |
A non-refundable* Supply Fee will be collected
for all children.
Half of this fee is due upon registration and the rest of the balance is
due in February. |
Payments and
Policy
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PAYMENT |
Payment for all tuition and fees may be made by cash, check or money order.
Checks and money orders should be made payable to Wonderworks. Your cancelled
check will be your receipt. If you pay in cash, please obtain a receipt
from our staff.Please note on every check for whom and for what the payment is to be
applied, such as “Katie-Oct. tuition & Sept After Care;”
or “Tim-zoo field trip”. |
LATE FEES |
A late fee of $10 will be charged for payments received after the 15th of
the month. |
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There will be no refunds when children are absent, for any reason. Our program
must be open, our teachers paid, and supplies bought whether your child
is present or not.
*Non-refundable fees. Half the fee may be refunded
if the child moves out of state. |
ENROLLMENT AGREEMENT |
Please remember that we expect you to honor your enrollment agreement through
May of the current school year.
If you decide to withdraw your child from Wonderworks, you must give a two-week,
written notice, or pay for that time. |
Security
SAFETY
Because
we take our responsibility for caring for your child seriously, we have
established procedures and expectations to ensure safety for all children
at Wonderworks.
Thus, we expect parents to bring their child to his or her assigned class
each school day. and to pick them up promptly at 1:30 p.m.
If a parent is not at the child's classroom to receive their child, he
or she will be taken to After Care and parents will be billed for the
child care service.
WE WILL NOT RELEASE YOUR CHILD TO ANYONE WHO IS A STRANGER TO US.
In many cases, this
may be a father or grandparent. Even when daddy's or grandma's name appears
on the enrollment form as an authorized person, we will need a photo identification
for verification |
DIVORCE/SEPARATION
In the case of legal separation or divorce, parents are required to present
documentation that is official regarding who has legal and physical custody
of the child or children. The document must specify the names, addresses,
phone numbers and relationships to the child of those persons who are
authorized to pick the child up at the school. If there is a custody arrangement
or agreement, a court decree or separation agreement must be attached
to the document. If any agreement or custody arrangement changes, this
information in the student's file must be updated immediately. * Please
let us know if your child has any pre-existing medical conditions.
We apologize if this creates an inconvenience; however, we also expect
that parents understand this procedure is necessary for the protection
of all the children in our care.
And we would do nothing less for those we love. |
EVACUATION
In the event of a natural
disaster, the children will be moved to the Family Life Center in the
locker and stage area. Please check our answering machine for an emergency
message.
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TRESPASSING
Any person entering the school
shall report to the school office (including parents) to present identification
and the reason for being at the school. If there is no reason for an individual
to be at the school, they will be escorted to the church office or removed
from the building. If necessary, the police will be called immediately
for assistance. Parents are permitted to visit the school and/or their
child's classroom at anytime, but must report to the Wonderworks office
first.
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Discipline
The
Wonderworks approach to discipline is to make it a positive (rather than
a punitive) learning experience.
Our goal is to guide children to acceptable behavior and self control
through established limits in keeping with a safe and nurturing environment
for all the children in our care.
Corporal punishment is never appropriate and will not be used at Wonderworks.
When a child's behavior is unacceptable, he or she will be encouraged
to find alternative ways to express himself or herself.
“Time out” will be provided only when a child's
behavior represents a danger to himself or herself or to others.
At specific stages in a young
child's development, hitting, pushing, and biting, are age appropriate
behaviors. These are innate mechanisms to protect or defend oneself. Children
act out of instinct.
Our desire is to teach children positive, acceptable ways to deal with
these normal feelings of fear, anger, fatigue, determination, sadness,
frustration, elation, and excitement.
However, children whose behavior endangers others will be supervised away
from them.
When we experience a situation in which a child is having difficulties
coping with our school program, which we feel cannot be handled within
our school system,
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We will do the following: |
1. Ask the parents or guardian to come in for a conference at a mutually
convenient time.
2. Allow the parent or guardian to hear feedback from the child's teachers
and the Wonderworks director.
3. Encourage the parents to discuss the situation with the child's teachers
and director, and determine a mutually agreed on course of action.
4. If necessary, we will provide parents with a list of professional resources
(not affiliated with Wonderworks) to deal with the issues involved; such
as behavioral problems, or family problems that may affect a child's ability
to concentrate or lead to uncontrollable anger,
5. Continue with the child's schooling, unless the issues cannot be resolved
within an appropriate time, or cause disruption of the school program,
and/or harm to another child or teacher. At that time we will ask the
parent or guardian to remove the child from the Wonderworks program. |
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hope our caring concern for your child will help you to regard us as part
of your extended family and as such you will feel free to confide in us
whenever the need arises. |
Illness and
Medication
Children
with ANY of the following symptoms should NOT!
be brought to Wonderworks.
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Fever, or have
had a fever within the last 24 hours
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A child who has taken
Tylenol within
the last 24 hours for a questionable illness
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Running noses
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Cough
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Lethargy or unusually
cross
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Vomiting
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Diarrhea
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Rash
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A disease or virus treated with
antibiotics within
the last 24 hours.
The
child needs to have a full 24 hours of medication before returning to Wonderworks.
An obvious childhood illness, such as measles or
chicken pox (all skin eruptions must be dried up;
usually 7-10 days after breakout).
Although this can
create inconveniences and missed work, we do not want your child exposing another
child, just as we do not want other children exposing your child to illness.
If
your child becomes ill at school or has a temperature
of 100°F or above, you will be contacted to make arrangements to take your
child home. Please keep your cell phone with and on you when you leave your
child at school or have a reliable person available to pick up sick child.
In the meantime, your child will be isolated and made
as comfortable as possible awaiting your arrival. Please remember, you signed
a form stating you will not bring sick children to school.
In case of accident
which
needs emergency care, parents or a designated person will be contacted immediately
and will be expected to come to the aid of the child.
Our staff will
not administer medication of any kind.
Please schedule medications around our hours, or make arrangements to come to
Wonderworks to administer your child's medication personally.
COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
Please notify
the director of any confirmed cases of communicable disease (strep
throat, pink eye, chicken pox, lice,
ringworm, etc.).
We do not have the proper facilities to treat sick children.
Therefore, if your child has a fever, diarrhea or vomiting within 24 hours before
school, please keep your child at home.
You will appreciate your child being in a healthy environment at
Wonderworks!
What to Bring
to School
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BACKPACK |
We ask that all children have a backpack (a diaper bag is fine for younger
children).
Backpacks provide teachers with a place to put your child's important papers.
A folder for notes to and from teacher and homework. |
| FOOD |
Lunch Each child must bring lunch, including milk, as required by the State
of Florida (medical or religious exemptions must be on file in the child's
records).
A lunch box and a thermos container are recommended.
Refrigeration is available only for infants in our Nursery program, who
bring food and formula.
Nutrition is a concern of ours. Generally, we ask that you avoid sending
candy, gum, chocolate, or other "sweet treats."
Instead, we suggest sending fresh fruits, vegetables, raisins, granola bars
and cheese. |
Please Note: Infants under age one cannot have
raisins because they are a choking hazard.
For children under age 3 please cut all foods into small, non-circular
pieces (grapes, hot dogs, and similar foods should be cut both lengthwise
and crosswise).
Snacks will be provided by Wonderworks for all the children.
Snacks will generally include an item from the fruit group and one from
the bread group (apple juice and graham crackers.)
Parents must provide all food and drink for their babies.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Birthdays are special at Wonderworks!
We encourage parents to bring treats for the class so we can all celebrate
and share the occasion.
Please make special arrangements in advance with your child's teacher.
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NO
TOYS, PLEASE! |
Please leave your child's toys at home or in the car. Personal toys cause
disruption and hurt feelings.
We provide adequate and appropriate equipment for your children while they
are here. |
A book or record to share with the class is welcome.
Special Items. Of course a "binky," security blanket, pillow,
or other security item is most welcome and expected with many children.
Remember to label these items. |
| CLOTHING |
Disposable diapers should be used
and provided for babies and toddlers unless an allergy precludes their
use.
Please label the diapers with your child's first name. We don't allow
pull-ups because this delays proper potty training.
EXTRA CLOTHING
All age groups should come to school with an extra set of clothing in
their backpack-just in case! Extra socks and underwear are always good
if you child was to have an accident, we will put clothes in plastic bag
in your child's backpack as per Department of Children and Family. Also
shoes must be worn, no sandals are allowed.
Please label everything your child brings to school with his or her name.
That includes, the clothing he or she wears to school, as well as diaper
bags, backpacks, coats, hats, and any outerwear that may be taken off
during the day, lunch boxes, thermoses, cups, container items, blankets,
and diapers. |
Field Trips
CHILDREN ENJOY FIELD TRIPS ON AND OFF
CAMPUS |
Part of learning is exploring new "worlds" and our field trips on and
off our church campus are planned to be both education and fun. *When a
child is transported in any vehicle, the driver must either be the child's
parent/guardian or a screened adult or a paid staff member.
Please note that our Advisory Committee has changed our policy regarding
field trips. Since these are special trips for the individual child, we
will no longer allow siblings to attend.
Please direct any questions or concerns about this change to the
Wonderworks director.
Field trips include visits to the Jacksonville Zoo and a local farm. |
Contact
Pat Noonan, Director of WonderWorks
WonderWorks Preschool and Kindergarten
152 Stowe Ave. Orange
Park, FL 32073
Office : (904) 264-7330
Fax : (904)264-6244
or 264-0134
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