WELCOME!WELCOME! St. Mary's Child Care Center

Enrollment Information Presentation Learn about the Center Learn about the programs Learn about the age groups/ratios Learn about the staff Learn about the curriculum Learn about the waitlist process

The Center Hours are 6am-6pm, Monday through Friday Children ages 6 weeks – kindergarten accepted Full-time, part-time and rotating part-time available for employees of SMH and SMCC Full-time available for employees of Dean & Affiliates and Community Breakfast, lunch and snacks provided, in addition to baby food

Holiday Closings SMCCC is closed for seven designated holidays per year: New Year’s Day Memorial Day 4 th of July Labor Day Thanksgiving Day (The center is open on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, for those who are scheduled to work at the Hospital and Dean Clinics.) Christmas Eve Day Christmas Day If any of these days fall on weekends, the Center will remain open for all other days of the year. The Center does not close for inclement weather or other school closings.

Mission Statement The mission of St. Mary's Child Care Center is to provide children with care that is child-centered, family-oriented and community based. The teachers and support staff believe that a healthy development of positive self-esteem and a well developed self-concept is most significant in the formative years, 0-6.

Our Philosophy Care for children is inclusive of racial, ethnic, social, economic and family structure diversity. Your child will participate in age- appropriate play, dance, music and movement, drama and creative visual arts.

Philosophy cont. Each child at St. Mary's Child Care Center is treated as an individual. We have no preconceived notions of age expectations— when they are toilet trained, when they must learn to count, etc. We offer a “no pressure” approach to reaching developmental milestones. Interests, needs, and home situations are all respected and acknowledged in each child’s primary care situation. We see the Center as an extension of the home. Each child has a right to significant bonding, and they are therefore assigned a primary care teacher. Parents have one person to check in with, conference with, and depend upon. This primary teacher then is responsible for keeping the other program team members informed. The team teaching concept allows your child and your family to get to know all program staff and feel confident and secure in your child’s daily care.

The Child Care Center has a model that includes parent/teacher conferences on a regular basis. Intake Conference: occurs shortly before enrollment begins. Parents learn about their child’s program, room specifics and daily activities. The primary teacher will learn more about the new child and the family. Midyear Conferences: held every six months. Update for parents on their child’s developmental progress, activities within the program and update the primary teacher on any changes with the family. Transition Conference: held 4 weeks prior to transition Acquaints the parents with their child’s new primary teacher and program when they become old enough to move from one program to another.

Our Curriculum Play-based: we believe the most important learning for young children occurs in their naturally occurring play. Each program utilizes weekly, bi-weekly themes that are child-centered and emergent. The five areas emphasized are: language arts, pre-math, art, large motor and science. We offer a 4-K curriculum in our Preschool program that prepares children for Kindergarten.

General Daily Schedule for Toddler and Preschool 6:00amCenter Opens 8:30amBreakfast 9:00 to Scheduled Activities, 11:00 am Group Times, Free Play, Outside Play 11:30 amLunch 12:00 to 3:00pmNap and Quiet time 2:30pmAfternoon snack, Free Play, Outside Play 6:00pmCenter Closes * Infant care is individualized according to their own pattern for feeding and sleeping.

Our Age Groupings Infants Ages 6weeks - 9 months Toddlers Ages 9 months-3 years Preschool Ages 3-5 years

Age Ratios Infants (Koalas) 3.5 (children) :1 teacher Younger Toddlers (Pandas) 4:1 Older Toddlers (Dreamers) 6:1 Younger Preschool (Turtles) 10:1 Older Preschool (Penguins) 10:1

Teachers Our staff is comprised of 21 teachers. Many have 4- year degrees in Early Childhood Education or Elementary Education. Some have 2-year degrees in Early Childhood Education. Our turnover rate is low, 6% in 2012 and our years of experience are many.

Scheduling Options SMH & SMCC Employees SMH & SMCC staff have the option of either full or part time scheduling for their enrolled children. Part time schedules can also be flexible and rotating. The minimum enrollment requirement is the equivalent of 5 whole days in St. Mary's 2 week pay period. The contracted days can be split into any combination of whole days and half days as needed. A whole day is 9.5 hours and a half day is any 5 consecutive hours. Tuition contracts are required, for accurate billing, but may be changed as needed. Extended days that exceed 9.5 hours are also available. Dean/Affiliates & Community Dean/Affiliates & Community may only submit fulltime schedules for their enrolled children. The contracted days can be varied into any combination of start and end times as needed. A whole day is 9.5 hours. Tuition contracts are required for accurate billing. Extended days that exceed 9.5 hours are also available.

Scheduling Options cont. Full time enrollment is 10 whole days in St. Mary's 2 week pay period, or 8 extended days. Schedules: Schedules are posted in the classrooms for the upcoming two week scheduling period and left up for one week. Parents must fill in their needed hours of childcare on the schedules by the deadline of 8am, St. Mary’s payday Friday*. If you have a fixed schedule, having your child’s schedule permanently typed in is also an option. *When scheduling your child’s attendance it is recommended that parents look at their own work schedules first, then add additional time onto the beginning and ending portion of their child’s day to ensure adequate time to drop off and pick up.

Payment Methods SMH & SMCC Payroll Deduction Check All payments are due on payday Friday for the current session. Many employees utilize payroll deduction as a stress free method of ensuring prompt payment. –Tuition rates are posted on St. Mary’s Intranet located in the childcare section. Dean/Affiliates & Community Check All payments are due on St. Mary’s payday Friday for the current session. Current Tuition rates are available on the St. Mary’s Intranet located in the Childcare Section. Available upon request by calling the childcare center.

Sick Child Policy A child must remain at home, or be sent home if: they have a significant or increasing fever; they have explosive or multiple loose stools or vomiting within 12 hours of attendance; they are unable to participate in a daycare day. In other words, your child must feel well enough to play, eat meals and go outdoors. Parents should notify the center when their child is sick and/or absent. A child who becomes ill while at the center will be isolated. Parents/guardians/emergency contact person are expected to pick up within 1 hour of notification. (Emergency contact person must live within 1 hour of center)

Tour the Center Come any day between 8am and 4pm and take a look at the Center in action. For a guided tour, please call our business office at (608)

Waitlist Process Upon completion of this enrollment information session, you will be asked to complete a short quiz to understand the process After completing the quiz you will be able to download a waitlist application form Please READ and fill the form out completely. Return the form with a $45.00 check (non-refundable application fee) to St. Mary’s Childcare Center (sending through interdepartmental mail is an option) Questions about the form, contact the Child Care Center office at or