IMPORTANT CALENDAR DATES
Aug 14 – Meet the Teacher
Aug 16 - 20 Year Celebration!!
Aug 18 – First Day of School (3 and 5 full day students)
Aug 19 – First Day of School (2 full day students)
Aug 28 – Parent Preview Night
Sept 1 - NO School - Labor Day
MEET THE TEACHER EVENT
We will be holding an Meet the Teacher event (PKA - Open House) on Thursday, August 14, from 4:30pm to 6:00pm. This is a time to stop in and meet your child’s teacher, see the classroom, get your student's blue KP bag, and connect with KindiePrep leadership. Hope to see you there!
CELEBRATING 20 YEARS!
Welcoming past and present American Academy Families to celebrate 20 years with us! You are all welcome, please review our Celebrating 20 Years Page for more information.
POTTY TRAINED
We have had many questions about potty training. All students must be fully potty trained! That includes being able to wipe their own bottoms. We understand that this can sometimes be difficult to teach; however, our state license does not cover diapering/cleaning/potty training. We understand that accidents happen. That is why we need a change of clothes, but we have the children change their own clothes with supervision if needed. If you have any further questions on the topic please let me know.
KP BAGS AND THE THINGS THAT GO IN THEM – NO BACKPACKS PLEASE
All the students will receive their KindiePrep bag at our Meet the Teacher event . The children will need a snack, a water bottle, a change of clothes, crib sheet, and a small blanket. Your child will also need to bring lunch unless you plan on ordering a hot lunch for them. The children will also need 1 to 3 snacks depending on their classroom, and whether or not they will be in aftercare. The 3-year-old classes have 2 snacks a day, the 4-year-old classes have 1 snack a day, and the aftercare program has a snack, so please plan appropriately. Every child needs a water bottle every day! The children will also be resting daily. They will need a crib sheet for their mat at rest time and a small blanket. Please label all your child’s items. Please make sure to have a labeled change of clothes for your child because accidents do happen; however, please remember – All KindiePrep students must be potty trained! Everything should fit in the blue bag the children will be receiving from their teacher at Meet the Teacher.
SUNSCREEN
If you signed the sunscreen document saying you wanted the teachers to reapply sunscreen please make sure you bring in the sunscreen labeled with your students first and last name. If possible, the stick sunscreens work really well and are way easier for your child and the teacher. Getting sunscreen on 12 students is time consuming. If you opted to not have us reapply you have no further duties pertaining to sunscreen.
KINDIEPREP HOURS AND FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL
School starts on August 18, 2024. The KindiePrep school day hours are from 8:30am to 3:00pm. It is important for your child to be at school on time. Students arriving at school on time have the advantage of settling in, preparing their class materials, and focusing their minds on the day to come. Being late can also cause children to miss important information for the day. The doors to KindiePrep open at 8:15am giving families 15 minutes to get their student signed in and settled for the day.
In the afternoon families have from 3:00pm to 3:15pm to pick up their children, unless they are signed up for extra-care. If children are not picked up by 3:15pm they will be put in extra-care and you will be charged $15.00 for their care plus a $25 late fee. We will also call to inquire about your pick-up plan. (Extracare is not a drop-in service. Families must sign their children up to attend extracare.)
EXTRACARE
We offer a before and after school program for those families that need more care than 8:30am to 3:00pm each day. Our morning program runs from 7:00am – 8:15am, and our aftercare program runs from 3:15pm – 5:30pm. If you would like to utilize this program you will need to fill out a calendar each month and turn it in to Assistant Director Laura Starrett. Calendars can be found in the KP front office. You can fill them out and turn them in at Rebel, Set, Go!, Meet the Teacher Event, or after school begins. FYI, we do have limited space, so extracare will be filled on a first come first serve basis. (5 full day families that purchased the package deal do not need to fill out a calendar, and those students are first on the list.)
SMARTCARE SYSTEM & APP
SmartCare is how families not only pay their tuition, but also how families sign their children in/out of the school every day. Therefore, we need every family to download the SmartCare App and log in using the previously established information from when you enrolled your student. Some of you may already have the SmartCare app on your phone, if that is the case just make sure everything is up to date. You will need your phone to scan the QR code to sign them in at drop-off, let us know if they need a hot lunch, and to sign them out at pick-up. There is also an option to sign in using a 4-digit personalized PIN number. It should be located in the app, under your profile information. If you can’t find it in your app we can also give it to you at the KP front desk.
SCHOOL LUNCH
We do offer a hot lunch option here in KindiePrep and it is free for all students. The school district provides the meals, and they are prepared in the school cafeteria. We let the cafeteria staff know how many hot lunches we need in the morning, and then we go pick them up around 11:30am. Lunch is at 11:45am in KindiePrep. The lunch menu is out each month. If your child is going to be having hot lunch you will need to mark it in the SmartCare system. You also have the option to send your child a healthy sack lunch. Suggestion: If you know you have a picky eater please think about that when making lunch decisions. Hungry children are unhappy children! If you would like to purchase milk only for your child to go with their home lunch that is also an option; however, it is not free. You will need to set up an account in the My School Bucks System.
HEALTH APPRAISALS AND SHOT RECORDS
We need your child’s most up to date physical and shot record. Thank you if you have already turned yours into Laura. If you haven’t, or you received a new one over the summer, please bring them in at Rebel, Set, Go! or feel free to email them to Lissie Stapleton. We need copies of these forms or your child will not be able to start school on time. A picture of the document does not work. We need a scanned copy.
KINDIEPREP DRESS CODE
If you have questions about the dress code please review the KindiePrep Dress Code Policy. We will be checking for dress code compliance, and you will be notified if your child is out of compliance. The last Friday of every month is a Dress of Choice day which means the children have the option to wear any school appropriate outfit. (See Dress Code Policy) All other Fridays are Spirit days. This means the children need to wear their navy-blue bottoms, but they can wear an American Academy spirit shirt. These shirts can be found in the Spirit Gear Store or they can be t-shirts the children receive from the school for special events like Fun Run, Field Day, 20th Celebrations, etc.
FOOD AT SCHOOL
I always like to remind families about our Food at School policy at the beginning of the school year. We have these rules in place for the health and safety of our students.
NO FOOD BIRTHDAY TREATS allowed at school.
Other non-food treats are welcome, per teacher discretion! This is not a change from last year, just a continuation of what you’ve already been doing. We know kiddos love birthday sweets but it just gets to be too much sugar at school with so many birthdays to celebrate year-round.
NUTS IN THE CLASSROOM
This is always a concern. We are not a nut free facility; however, we do take precautions. If your child is in a classroom with a student that has severe allergies we will restrict nuts in that classroom. Your teachers will let you know if this is the case in your child’s room.
FOOD IS OK for classroom parties and classroom learning events.
You can bring in food items to eat as well as food items for crafts and games. However, we ask that parents work with teachers to ensure that any food allergy concerns are addressed in the planning process. We want to be sure ALL students can participate in the fun safely.
SCHOOL DISMISSAL MANAGER PROGRAM AND EXPRESS CHECK-IN
KindiePrep DOES NOT utilize the SDM app or Express Check-In. That is for the K-8 part of the school only.