        BETHEL NURSERY SCHOOL

            90 Bryn Mawr Avenue Auburn, Ma 01501

        "Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray"

                            Proverbs 22:6 (NRSV)

                        School phone (508) 832-9411

                        Church phone (508) 832-3427

Introduction

Bethel Nursery School is a non-profit Christian preschool established in 1977 under the direction of Anna E. Westlund. The school is a self-supporting ministry of Bethel Lutheran Church within its mission to serve families and children in our neighborhood and beyond. We are a Christ centered, joy filled place where children grow and learn within a framework of love, care, and respect. We provide a developmentally appropriate curriculum for both Nursery (age 3 approx.) and Pre-Kindergarten (age 4 approx.) classes.

Bethel Nursery School meets all the licensing requirements of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office for Child Care Services. We are members of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the Evangelical Lutheran Education Association. We work closely with parents to provide the best preschool experience for each child.

All school policies are set by the Board of Directors of the school. The Board sets tuition rates, hires staff, and approves the school budget.

We enroll children at the age of 2 years and 9 months from Auburn and the surrounding towns. We do not exclude any family because of race, creed, political beliefs, religion and cultural heritage, national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, or color. Children with special needs will be enrolled if parents and staff determine that the school can serve the child’s needs appropriately

Religion is not taught at Bethel Nursery School, but Christian attitudes are upheld by the staff and Christian concepts are modeled through our songs, our prayers at snack time, our holiday celebrations, and Pastor Voosen’s weekly sing along with the Pre-K classes.

Location – Arrival - Departure

The preschool rooms are located in Voosen Hall, on the west side of the church building. The parking lot, school entrance, and coatroom are accessed from Homestead Avenue. Our outside play area is adjacent to the parking lot. It is a large, level, fenced in grassy area with swings, climbers, sandbox, picnic table, playhouse and lots of room to run. Our equipment is stored in a shed on the property.

We are ready to welcome children at 8:55 AM . Please walk your child in to the classroom.

Class is dismissed at 11:30 AM . Children should be picked up promptly. Children will be released only to those listed on your Parent Authorization form. You must notify the school office if anyone else is to pick up your child for any reason.

Our classrooms have centers for painting, dramatic play, reading, block building, small manipulatives, carpentry, music, gross motor activities (such as balance beam, tumbling mats, parachute play), puppetry, play dough, sand table and more. A session at school would include the following:

9:00: arrival and greeting, calendar rug for opening song, “leader of the day”, calendar, weather, news, overview of day’s special activities.

9:15: self-directed play, opportunity to paint, time to do the daily project.

10:00: “pick up time”

10:10: time to use the bathrooms and wash up for snack.

10:15: go to the other room for snack, say grace, share our food.

10:25: story time.

10:40: Get ready to go outside and play or join in gross motor activities inside.

11:05: Transition back inside, prepare for music.

11:10: Music time with piano, guitar or tapes.

11:30: Dismissal

This is the basic framework within which we direct our classes. “Show and Tell” for the older children, holiday parties and other special events are fit in as needed.

Health Information

Your child must have a current Medical form signed by his/her physician stating that he/she is in good health, free of contagious disease and has received necessary immunizations. Please keep your child home if he/she shows any sign of illness and do not send him/her back to school until he/she has been free of all symptoms for 24 hours and is considered well enough for outdoor activity. Staff personnel will not dispense medication to children. If your child becomes ill with a communicable disease, please let us know immediately so that we may notify other parents.

Birthdays and Holidays

    Birthdays are important to children and we like to celebrate each one individually either on the actual birthday or as close to it as possible. We have some surprises ready for each child on his or her special day. If you would like to send in a snack for the class on your child’s birthday, it would add to the celebration and we would welcome your participation. Something small and simple, perhaps a snack your own child especially likes, would be appropriate. Please speak to one of your child’s teachers if you would like to contribute. Summer birthdays will be celebrated together in the latter part of May.

School is closed on all Holidays and vacations listed on the school calendar.

Snow Days: If the Auburn public schools are canceled because of inclement weather, the Nursery School will also be closed for that day. If a delay is announced for the opening of the Auburn public schools, the Nursery School’s morning session will be cancelled, but the afternoon session will be held at the usual time. Local radio and television stations usually begin broadcasting school closings by 6:00 AM. The announcement would be for the town of Auburn, not specifically for Bethel Nursery School.

Bethel Nursery School will be closed during school vacations as do the public schools in Auburn. These days have also been taken into consideration and will not affect the rate of tuition for the month in which they occur.

Clothing Suggestions and Toys

            The activities of your child, in our school program, require comfortable, washable clothes. Jackets, sweaters, hats, boots, etc., should all be labeled so as not to create confusion. Sneakers are ideal for safety.

   We suggest that toys be left at home unless requested by a teacher for "Show and Tell". This saves tears when things are misplaced or lost.

Our Discipline Plan

At Bethel Nursery we seek to gently but firmly redirect negative behavior through teacher intervention and explanation. Corporal punishment is forbidden, as is humiliation and verbal abuse. Denial of food is never used as a form of punishment and no child is ever punished for soiling or wetting. In extreme situations, a child may be separated from the group (in the same room) and told to sit on a chair (never in "the corner") for a short time. Essentially, we assume that our children are well behaved, and we find that they respond to that assumption by behaving well.

Snacks

Nutritious snacks, such as milk with graham crackers, pretzels or Saltines and peanut butter are served at each session (provided by school). If you would enjoy providing a snack on any given day, please see a staff person to make arrangements.

Field Trips

Most of our "Field Trips" will now come to us. On occasion, we may be able to employ one of our town School buses for a short trip.

Special Events

Special events throughout the year enhance the learning experience. During the school year, there are several occasions when families and friends are invited to come to preschool.

We celebrate the birth of Jesus with Christmas programs and parties for all classes. We mark the end of the school year with Graduation for the Pre-K children and a program for the nursery children. School ends with "Fun Fest Day" - a gala party for children and parents. We have events specifically planned for Fathers & children, Mothers & children, and Grandparents & children.

Our Parent-Teacher Group meets several times throughout the year.

Parents are welcome to visit a class and share an activity, a story, a hobby, or pet. Sharing our program is important to us, as we strive to let our light shine.

Fees and Tuition

Since our school is a non-profit organization, we ask that you pay monthly to help us keep our costs as low as possible and still maintain the high quality program. Payment is due on the 1st of each month and checks received after the 15th of the month will be assessed a late penalty of $5.00 There is a $10.00 fee for checks returned by the bank for any reason. Discounts are available for Bethel Church members.

Income Tax Benefit

COST OF CHILD CARE: Parents of children enrolled at Bethel Nursery School may be eligible for Federal Income Tax deductions on cost of child care. Consult your tax advisor.

Transportation

We do not provide transportation. Every effort will be made to assist parents in arranging car pools for the children. Please inform us of your need.

2004-2005 SCHOOL YEAR

Pre-Kindergarten - 4 years old by August 31, 2006

            9:00 A.M. - 11:30 A.M. M/W/F: $110.00 per month

If you are interested in a Pre-K afternoon class, please speak to the Director.

Nursery - 2 years and 9 months by August 31, 2006

            9:00 AM - 11:30 A.M. T/Th $85.00 per month

This schedule has been prepared with the Auburn entrance age for kindergarten in mind. If you are from another town and have a question, please contact the school.

APPLICATION FORMS: To ensure enrollment, the application form must be filled out completely and returned with a $25.00 non-refundable registration fee.

SCHOOL BEGINS on Sept. 7 and 8, 2006 - the Thursday and Friday following Labor Day.

APPLICATION FORM: To ensure enrollment, the application form must be filled out completely and returned with the registration fee. The non-refundable registration fee is $25.00. You will receive a written confirmation of your child's acceptance into the program.

APPLICATION FORM ONLINE

HEALTH FORM on line
HEALTH IMMUNIZATION on line

Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church

90 Bryn Mawr Avenue, Auburn, Ma., 01501

832-3427 - Church Office   832-9411 - Nursery School

Bethel Church invites your family and friends to worship with us and to take part in any of the congregation's activities. If you wish to receive our newsletter, please speak to the Nursery School Director.

                      The Rev. Edward W. Voosen - Pastor

The Rev. Robert Fenby, Pastoral Assistant

Worship:     Sunday, 8am, 9:15am and 10:30

                  (Nursery Care provided at 9:15 and 10:30am.)

                    Wednesday, 5:30pm (in the chapel)

Education: Sunday, 9:10am: age 3 to adult

                    Weekdays as announced

Church Homepage: http://webpages.charter.net/blc/

                        Email: bethellutheran@charter.net

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