Parent Quick Reference 

Morning Arrivals

• Carpool runs from 8:45 am to 9 am
• Classes begin promptly at 9 am
• Doors lock at 9 am
• If you arrive after carpool ends, please come to the office (covered entrance) to sign in. Someone in the office will bring your child to class. This is to minimize disruptions from late arrivals.
• Tardiness is disruptive to the child and the class. Please make every effort to arrive during carpool time.
• Please do not arrive after 10am. Your child will not be allowed to attend school, special activities, or stay and play that day. The exceptions to this rule are a doctor or dentist appointment or a family emergency.

 
Dismissal

• Afternoon carpool is held at 12pm, 1pm, and 3pm. All children are dismissed by 1pm on Fridays.
• If you need to make any changes to your child’s schedule (late drop off, early pick up, etc.) please inform the teacher ahead of time.  24 Hour written notice is greatly appreciated.
• When picking up early, when picking up early, it is strongly preferred that your child is picked up at one of the designated carpool times to minimize class disruption
• If someone other than you is picking up your child,  inform a staff member and let them know what type of car to look for. If we do not know them we will ask for ID.
• Make sure this person is on your transportation permission form.
• Please arrive promptly. There is a $25 late fee for arrival 10 minutes past your carpool time.

 
 
 
 
Carpool Policy

• It is very important that parents remain in their cars at all times during morning and afternoon carpool in order to keep things moving along.
• Observe the maximum speed of 5 mph. Do not go around a stopped car in the line unless directed to do so.
• For morning drop off a teacher or assistant will help your child out of the car and with any belongings. See the hand book for more information about saying good bye and talk with your child’s teacher about making this a positive and smooth transition
• For afternoon pickup a staff member will place your child in his or her car seat. We are not allowed to buckle children in for legal reasons. Please slowly pull forward into the parking lot to buckle your child.
• If you are not comfortable with the above procedure, you will need to park in the parking lot, walk down the hill, and wait on the bench for your child to be brought to you. Then you can walk to your car together. Exercise extreme caution when walking children across the parking lot and through the carpool line.
• For the safety of all children, parents, and staff, refrain from using cell phones or texting while dropping off or picking up your child.

 
 
Communicating with the Teachers

• Your child’s teacher should be the first person you approach with questions or concerns about your child’s classroom environment, work, and progress.
• Teachers are always happy to communicate with you about your child or the class. However, during class hours, the teachers are focused on the children and cannot read or respond to texts or emails.  Please call the office or call or text the director’s cell phone 678-740-1528. In case of emergency only, call the church office 770-475-9159 or you can call into the classrooms by calling 770-475-3812 and dialing 206 to reach the primary room, 205 to reach the toddler room, or 203 to reach the stay and play room.
• If you need to talk with your child’s teacher, please send a note during carpool, call or email. Allow 24 business hours for a response.
• Any communication with the teacher regarding your child’s progress, difficulties, personal development, or other issues should be discussed with the teacher during an agreed upon meeting time (or during Parent/Teacher Conference).Please do not discuss such things during carpool with the teacher.

 
 
Appropriate Clothing

• Please dress your child in seasonal/weather appropriate clothing
• Clothing should be casual and comfortable, appropriate for playing, painting, sitting on the floor, and walking outside.
• All children keep a box with extra clothes at school. As wet/dirty clothes come home, please send replacements the following day.
• Shoes should be comfortable and allow for running. Toddlers keep an extra pair of ‘indoor shoes’ at school.
• Mark all extra clothing items brought to school with your child’s name.
• Extra clothing items should be brought (update according to the season) in marked zip-locked bags.
• Clothing with characters (such as Disney, Pixar, Nickelodeon, etc…) is a big distraction for the children during class time. Please save these types of clothes for the weekend or after school.

 
What to Bring to School

• Unless your child has been asked to bring items for projects to school, he/she will not need to bring anything except lunch (if staying for lunch and not participating in the hot lunch program).
• The primary class will visit the library once a week, you may wish to send a small reusable bag on library day. Ms. Claire will let you know what day this will be.
• Your child may wish to bring items such as books, interesting pictures, rocks, flowers, or other natural items to share with the class.
• Families take turns bringing snack throughout the year. Your teacher will provide you with a schedule and shopping list. You may also pay $90 to COLM and we will handle shopping and delivery through Instacart
• Medication can be discussed with the director on an individual basis. We do not give over the counter medication at school. Epi pens are kept in a special place and require a form filled out by your pediatrician.

 
Medical Emergencies

• Please be sure to fill out your child’s medical release and emergency contact forms in case of an emergency (keep these numbers current at all times).
• You will be notified immediately of any emergency or medical issue with your child.
• If your child requires an ambulance or hospital visit, the staff will contact Emergency Services immediately. North Fulton hospital is the closest to our campus. A staff member will stay with your child until a parent arrives.
• If your child has any allergies, please fill out an allergy action plan form and provide the staff with any medication as prescribed by your doctor to administer to your child if a reaction occurs. You will be contacted immediately for a suspected exposure or reaction.

 
What Goes Home from School

• Once a week a folder will go home with notes from the teacher, school news, and student’s work.
• If you find any ‘treasures’ coming home, like small blocks, beads, etc. please return them to school. They might be part of a classroom material.
• Books from the Library will come home once a week for Primary students. Ms. Oksana will advise you which day is library day, please return books the following week.
• Each child receives a tote bag with his/her name on it. This bag is for folders and library books. Please return weekly.

 
Classroom Observation

• You may observe your child’s class at any time by scheduling a time 24 hours in advance.
• Observations may take place after the first 6 weeks of school to give children time to settle into the routine.
• We ask that you only stay for 20 minutes and not interact with your child or the children in the class if possible. A list of guidelines will be given to you at the time of your observation.

 
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS)

• CGS is held once a week for primary students in the ‘Atrium’, a special room prepared for the children. You are welcome to visit anytime.
• Participation is optional, if you do not wish to have your child participate please let his/her teacher know.
• Visit our website under the ‘curriculum’ tab to learn more about this program.

Discipline

• If your child misbehaves during class, the teacher will help the child understand the inappropriateness of the behavior and will offer suggestions to redirect the behavior.
• If the behavior continues, a logical consequence will be given to the child. Examples include remaining indoors for playground time, having certain class privileges taken away, etc
• If the child continues to misbehave and cannot be controlled, you will be asked to pick up your child.
• The teacher may ask that you attend a conference to discuss the behavior and ways to help.
• Suspension or dismissal from school may occur only when the child does not progress after every appropriate action has been taken to correct the behavior. More information about the Discipline Policy is available in the handbook.

 
 
Parking Lot Use

• Do not allow your child to walk alone in the driveway or parking lot.
• If you need to come to the office or attend a school function, park in the parking lot and not in the fire lane or carpool lane.
• After school do not allow children to play in the parking lot. If you would like to socialize with school friends, Hembree Park is conveniently located right next door.

 
Birthdays

• Birthdays in the Primary Casa are celebrated in the classroom with your child walking around the sun (represented by a candle) while the children sing a song representing each year of their life.
• You may send in a poster with a picture from each year of life for your child to share with the class during the celebration.
• Please do not send in food for birthday celebrations. Instead, you may choose an item off the class wish list or a book to give to the class as a present.
• Private birthday parties should be kept out of school, send invitations in the mail  - not during school hours or carpool. Thank you notes should also be sent through the mail.

Lunch

• A healthy lunch is important to keep your child energized and feeling good for the afternoon. Please send a lunch in a reusable lunch box with whole grains, fresh fruit and/or vegetables, and protein.
• Sugary foods are not allowed and will be sent home.
• We can warm food up as needed, please send it in a microwave safe container with a lid. 
• You do not need to send a drink, water is served at lunch. 
• COLM is a NUT FREE school. Do not sent peanut butter or other nut products in lunches. 

 
Sick Policy

• Email the school if your child will be home sick so we know not to expect him or her.
• If your child has any of the following, please keep your child home from school until they are well:

Fever of 100 or higher
Bad cold or flu
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Conjunctivitis/Pink Eye
Impetigo (Staph/Strep skin infections)
Strep Throat
Cold Sores
Sinusitis, Ear Infection, UTI
Other highly contagious illnesses or infections (the full list is available in the handbook)
 
Weather

• The school is closed if Fulton County and/or Cobb County Schools are closed due to weather. Most of our staff and some of our students live in Cobb County.
• We will NOT delay opening; if Fulton and/or Cobb County is delayed, we are closed.
• If there is a severe weather warning issued before the start of carpool, we may not open for the day at the discretion of the school. If a severe weather warning is issued during the day we will dismiss as soon as safely possible.
• To find out if we are closed, please look for Fulton and/or Cobb closings, check our Facebook page, or check your email.

 
Emergency Situations
 

• The school is well equipped to handle most emergencies. All school staff is kept current on CPR and First Aid training. The children will practice tornado and fire drills throughout the year.

 

• COLCMS will send a text message to all the parents in the event of an emergency. Please make sure we have the correct cell phone numbers on file and check your phone before calling the school.

 

• In the event of a power failure, climate control failure, storm warning, or other instances in which children would be better off at home, all children will be dismissed as soon as their parents or authorized adult can be notified. Arrangements will be made by the school staff for any children whose parents or other authorized adult cannot be reached.

 

• In the event of a storm or disaster that prevents phone contact with parents, or one so imminent that it is not safe for parents to travel to the school, children and staff will go to a safe area in the building. 

What to send for snack
COLM families take turns sending in snack for the week. Your child's teacher will provide you with a shopping list of specific foods. COLM is a nut free school. We have students with life threatening allergies, as well as students who have not yet been exposed to nuts. Please check all ingredients for the safety and health of our students. No amount of nut is safe – including foods with traces of products or foods made on shared equipment or in facilities that produce egg and nut products. Companies often change recipes and/or manufacturing processes requiring ingredients to be read each time.

Organic fruits, vegetables and dairy are wonderful, but not required. We really appreciate you making the extra effort to buy organic for our toddlers if possible.  Below you will find some helpful tips for making food choices.

Help our children get the best start in school by sending in ‘Real Food’ Snacks

REAL FOOD IS…
• 100% whole grain
• Made with no (or very little) refined sweeteners like white sugar or corn syrup
• Fresh fruits and vegetables (preferably organic), dairy products, seeds, dried fruit, humanely raised animal products
• More a product of nature than a product of industry

REAL FOOD IS NOT…
• “Low fat” or “low carb” or “low calorie” products (in most cases)
• Made with artificial sweeteners like Splenda
• Deep fried in refined oil
• 100-calorie packs made with refined grains like white flour (labeled as “wheat flour”)
• Something out of a package containing ingredients you cannot pronounce
• Highly processed food that is labeled as organic

Most of this information came from the website 100 Days of Real Food. For more information on real food, visit 100daysofrealfood.com

WHAT TO BUY ORGANIC!
Dirty Dozen List  
1. Apples                            
2. Celery                                
3. Cherry Tomatoes              
4. Cucumbers                         
5. Grapes                               
6. Hot Peppers     
 7. Nectarines (imported)
8.Peaches
9. Potatoes
10. Spinach
11. Berries
12. Sweet Bell Peppers