General Regulations and Procedures
1. A Written Registration form with the registration fee of Dhs. 150. This registration fee covers the expense of the application process and is not refundable. This step places your child on the waiting list for admission.
2. A Parent-Child-Directress interview may be called for. The purpose of this conference is to enable the Directress to determine if the child is suited to the Montessori program. After this conference, the Nursery will notify the parents whether the child has been accepted, needs further observation or is not accepted.
3. When a place is available, the full term fee must be deposited in advance. The child is enrolled on a One week trial basis. If he is ready for the Montessori program, he may continue. If our program does not meet the needs of the child at that time, a Parent-Directress conference will be held to determine another time for enrollment of the child if necessary. If the child will not be continuing the program after the one week trial period, the tuition fee will be refunded. The registration fee is not refundable.
Fees/Tuition - Nursery & Bus fees are payable by the term in advance, with a late fee of 10% of the full term fee amount added for payments received after the school term starting. Any child whose fees are not paid in full by the end of one month of the school term starting shall not be allowed to return to school.
For new children, fees are paid when their place is allocated. For children continuing to the next term, fees are paid before the end of their present term. Fees for the first term in a new school year (September) are paid on or before the first day of school. Tiny Home Montessori Nursery does not invoice parents for tuition due for regular fees. Please be aware of the amount due and the date by which it should be paid. Refunds or allowances of the Fees paid cannot be made to compensate for absences from school in the event of illness, vacations, if the child eventually does not attend the Nursery, if the child has to leave at any time during the term, or other circumstances. All advance payments of fees are on a strictly non-refundable basis except for severe illness or school initiated dismissal of the child under circumstances herein stated.
Tiny Home is an independent establishment and meets expenses of a continuing nature based on projected fee receipts. Fees may increase from year to year reflecting increases in operating expenses of the Nursery.
A Late Pick-up Fee is charged for parents who need to pick up their child after 12:00 p.m. and before 12:45 p.m. The school cannot arrange facilities for pick up after 12:45 p.m. At present the late pick up charge is Dhs. 50 per month.
Nursery Timings are from 8 a.m. to 12 noon, Sundays through Thursdays.
The School Calendar will be distributed early in September. Notice of revisions will be sent to parents through their child. We try and intentionally coincide our calendar, as far as possible, with those of schools our children's brothers and sisters attend. We are closed for all public holidays.
In brief we have three terms. Autumn Term is from the second week of September to the second week of December. Spring Term, from the first week of January till the end of March. Summer Term is from the middle of April till the third week of June. The last day of each term is usually a Thursday.
Teacher in-service days are scheduled to give our staff the opportunity to exchange ideas about school affairs and students, to make materials and better prepare the classroom, plan the curriculum, etc. They might also attend workshops, or observe at other schools, helping to insure the personal growth and development of our staff. There will be approximately 2 in-service days a term which will be scheduled on normal school days. The children will not attend classes on these days.
Terms are structured as follows :
AUTUMN TERM Sept.- December ( 4 months )
SPRING TERM January - March ( 3 months )
SUMMER TERM April - June ( 3 months )
Safety - The importance of the safety of children in our care cannot be stressed enough. The outer gates/front door must be closed after entering or leaving. On arrival the child should be handed over to a staff member. If you arrive at the Nursery early, please wait in the garden with your child until a responsible staff member is present. If your child is being collected by a person other than yourself, please ensure that the child is confident to go with the person and that we are informed well in advance. If there is any doubt whatsoever, one of the parents will be contacted before the child is allowed to leave.
Illness - For the protection of all students, the following rules are followed. Parents will be called to immediately take home their child if he/she has the following symptoms:
Suspected contagious disease. Fever or vomiting or diarrhea. Feeling too ill to remain at school. A bad cough or cold.
If your child has any of these symptoms in the morning before school, please keep him at home. The child should remain at home if he has a temperature above normal, has a rash, discharges from the eyes, nose or ears, or an upset stomach. After an absence of the child due to a contagious illness, a doctor's certificate of fitness will be required when the child returns to the Nursery. Under no circumstances should a parent send their child to the Nursery before he has completely recovered. Infection can spread quickly.
Please keep your child at home if you suspect the child is unwell.
Clothing - Please ensure a change of clothes is sent with your child everyday. Children must always have a change of clothing available in school. Children should wear comfortable clothes and shoes that allow for classroom work and playing outdoors. In order to foster the child's growing independence, we urge that all clothing be as easy to put on and take off as possible. Look for large buttons, front zippers, shoes with snap on buckles or velcro, and so forth.
Valuables - Jewelry and valuable items should not be worn or brought to the Nursery. The Nursery can not be responsible for the loss or damage of such items.
Drop-off in the morning - It is essential that your child is dropped to school on time by 8:00 a.m. Promptness in a child's life is very important. Parents should consider their child's best interests by making sure the child's day begins in a positive manner. Being on time allows for a smooth start and a productive day. Children who regularly arrive late feel awkward and uncomfortable, and often cannot settle well into the daily routine. They also miss early morning time when essential social skills are developed. If a child arrives after class has started, the person dropping the child should use the office door, and not the garden or kitchen door. A note will be made of the child's late arrival. If a child is tardy ( 15 minutes or more ) for more than five days, parents will be asked to take their child home again.
Smoking is not allowed on the Nursery premises. We also request you not to smoke just out-side the front gates when children are arriving or departing during drop-off and pick-up time.
Pick up after school - Please ensure your child is fetched on time at 12:00 noon. The front gates are opened at 11:55 a.m. for parents to enter and wait in the garden area. We request you to wait outside the Nursery until this time. The glass door facing the garden are opened at 12:00 noon when parents enter and wait outside their child's class. Children only leave their classroom after their parents have arrived. Children do not feel comfortable having to wait after all their friends have left. A late pick up fee is charged to parents who regularly pick up their child after 12:00 noon.
Parking - Please do not park in front of the gate or drop your child by stopping your car in front of, or near the gate area at any time. Please also do not block or park in the staff parking areas. Cars can be parked opposite the school where there is ample parking space. Please cross the road carefully and use the opportunity to show your child good road-crossing habits. If your driver or a taxi is dropping your child, please make them aware of these procedures. See the map of permitted parking areas.
Bus - For children using the bus: the child should be waiting at the pickup point on time. During drop off, the person collecting the child should be waiting on time. In case your child is ill, or for any other reason will not be using the bus in the morning, please page the bus driver the evening before, between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m., and inform him that you will not require the bus service the following day. If it is not possible to page the driver the night before, please page him in the morning from your residence telephone at least half an hour before your child's pick up time. When the bus driver receives your residence telephone number on his pager, he will know that he does not have to pick up your child that morning. In case there is any doubt, someone should be at the pickup point to inform him that the child will not be using the bus that day. If the bus is repeatedly delayed for the above reasons, we regret the bus service for the child will be cancelled, and no refund of bus fees or term fees can be made. The bus driver's pager number is 9290164.
Field Trips - In case a parent requests that their child should not to participate in a field trip out of the Nursery premises, the child will have to be kept home on that day.
Messages and Phone calls - Directresses and classroom staff will not be available to speak on the phone during normal school hours. Staff will not be able to pass on or deliver non school related messages or items for parents.
Emergencies - In the event of an accident or sudden onset of illness, the Nursery will not hesitate to seek proper care for a child. The child's individual emergency instructions on file in the office are consulted immediately and the parents are called. If necessary, the child will be transported to the appropriate clinic or hospital. For these reasons, it is imperative that the emergency contact information in the office is kept up to date.
News Letters - We periodically send home newsletters informing parents of current topics being explored, pertinent notices, and articles of interest. This enables parents to follow up on school events at home through books, trips, and general discussions.
Parent-Teacher Conferences - A good communication flow with your child's teacher is highly desirable and should be the principal vehicle for questions that may arise. Parent-Teacher conferences are scheduled throughout the year for this purpose. During these conferences you will be able to discuss your child's strengths, weaknesses, individual needs, and feelings about school. You will have the opportunity to talk about your child's ability in the Montessori environment, relationships with others, special interests and abilities, and ways in which the home environment can complement our work. It also allows you to learn more about our Nursery and curriculum.
Parent Observation in the Montessori Classroom - Parents are encouraged to visit their child's classroom during regular working hours, but appointments must be made with the school office in advance. There are comprehensive guidelines and hints available on how to best observe children in a Montessori environment and get the most out of the experience.
Parent Education - For a child to be able to gain full advantage of his Montessori Nursery experience, it must be complemented with a similar approach at home. To successfully incorporate the Montessori ideas being used by us in the classroom to the home environment, we have open house discussions with parents, slide presentations, and meetings to familiarise parents with the different curriculum areas of the classroom.
Birthdays - Children can enjoy having a birthday snack at school. We suggest that parents supply a special snack for their child's celebration. Healthy cupcakes are a good idea. Please do not use sugar icing/frosting or send other types of sweet treats.
Vacations - We consider each child's day in the classroom a vital part of his ongoing development. Please respect the learning and growing that goes on each day, and schedule vacations, dental or doctor appointments outside of school hours or during school vacations.
Missing Materials - Please be aware
that any material with a missing part is removed from the
children's use until the part can be replaced. Searching for and
replacing missing parts takes an inordinate amount of time and
effort. Any small object you may find in your child's lunch box,
bag, or pockets, regardless of how insignificant it may seem or
whom he says gave it to him, should be returned at once.
It is quite natural for children to pocket things, especially
tiny or unusual things, so we hope you will stress only the need
to return it and not mention the child's act of removing it. You
might say to your child "This must be in its place,"
"You need this at your school," or "The children
need this for their work."
If your child goes through a period of pocketing, please help us
during that time by checking carefully each day. Let him help you
check and let him help you seal the objects in an envelope, write
"For Tiny Home" on it, and send it back the next day.
Please remember this is in no way a sign of theft at this age.
Discipline - Discipline and guidance shall be consistent, shall be based on an understanding of the individual needs and development of each child, and shall promote self-discipline and socially acceptable behaviour. There will be no harsh or unusual punishment. Brief, supervised separation from the group is used if necessary. Children will be attended to firmly if their behaviour is such as to harm themselves, others, or the environment. Children will be helped to understand why their conduct is unacceptable, and what is acceptable in a given situation. If a child presents a constant discipline problem, he will be dismissed from Tiny Home, rather than to continue to take all the Directress' energy and her constant supervision, leaving her no time to direct and give lessons to other children in her class. Suggestions will be made to help the parents find an appropriate environment for their child.
Dismissal of a child from Tiny Home
- The following are reasons for dismissal of a child:
The child poses as a constant discipline problem.
The child/family is habitually and excessively late for arrival
or departure.
The family does not follow school policies.
When any of these situations arise, we will have to ask you to
find another school.
In the case that the child's parents, guardians, or anyone
authorised by the parents or guardians to deal with the Nursery
in any way, are found to be discourteous, insulting, abusive or
rude to any member of the staff or management.
The parents will be asked to immediately withdraw their child
from the Nursery. There will be no refund of fees paid.
Snack Information - An important
part of the Montessori program is allowing the child to be
independent. One of the ways we can do this is for the child to
learn to eat on his own. For this to be possible, the child's
snack should be simple as well as nutritious. We would like
parents to observe the following guidelines for snacks.
Please limit snacks to the following :
Some Crackers with cheese or peanut butter spread on them.
OR
Thinly sliced vegetables, like cucumber, carrot, celery and a not
too runny dip eg. made from yogurt or whipped cream cheese etc.
OR
A small sandwich
Fruit, such as apple, orange, grapes, banana etc., something that can easily be peeled or bitten into.
A few raisins, nuts or dates.
A drink such as orange juice, apple juice, or milk.
You may send the same snack all five days or rotate with one
selection each day such as Sunday - crackers with cheese &
two apple quarters, Monday -- Sliced veg. with a dip and raisins
& nuts, Tuesday - A small sandwich with ½ a banana etc.
Remember, snacks are only to refuel the child, not to lure him
from work.
Please keep the portions small - all leftover food will be
returned home so you may evaluate the size of portions needed the
next days. Please make sure your child can easily open and close
his lunch box and that his name is written on it. Please do not
include fizzy drinks, chocolates, sweets, etc.
Show and Tell - Children often want to bring toys or interesting objects into school. This provides us an excellent opportunity to allow the children to address a group of his peers, and build his vocabulary and confidence.
Each child is allocated a day in the week on which he may bring an item of interest that he is fond of, or would like to share with the other children. We welcome books, taped music, pictures, items the child has made himself, or objects related to culture, science or nature. He may also sometimes wish to bring in his exciting new toy.
The child is given time to present the item to his class, and say a few words about it. Please make sure your child brings in one item only, and on his allocated day only.
Please encourage your child to bring to school an item for "Show and Tell" which he has chosen himself.
Slippers for classroom use. Your child will need a comfortable pair of slip on-footwear, like a nice pair of rubber slippers ( flip-flops ) or bedroom slippers, which must be labelled with your child's name and left in the Nursery. These are worn only in the classroom.
Parking - Please do not park in front of the gate or drop your child by stopping your car in front of the gate area at any time. Please also do not block, or park in the staff parking area. Cars can be parked opposite the school where there is ample parking space.
If your driver or a taxi is dropping your child, please make them aware of these procedures.
If you arrive at the Nursery early, you can play with your child in the garden area until a responsible staff member is present.
Please cross the road carefully and use the opportunity to show your child good road-crossing habits. PLEASE DO NOT STOP IN FRONT OF THE GATE You may find it convenient but it is very dangerous.