Guidelines

Your healthy child is expected to be in class, on time each day.  It is very important for your child to arrive on time so that they can participate fully in the classroom activities.  This discipline will make an everlasting impact on your child's punctuality habits, needed in future schooling and eventually the workplace.

We believe that parents are the child’s first and primary educators. Children are influenced within a home, community and environment. We are entrusted by parents to complement and supplement the education that is taught at the Academy. We expect that the parents are understanding of the Montessori philosophy and will support and trust the teachers to provide this process of learning to their children. 

Open and honest communication between parents and teachers builds a foundation of mutual trust, and the support necessary to work together towards the best interest of the child. At Be More Montessori, we have an open-door policy, where parents are welcome to the school at any time. We encourage all parents to discuss any concerns they have with the teaching staff. In many cases, a phone call may suffice. However, appointments can be arranged with the teachers, before or after scheduled class times .

Be More Montessori enforces a Health Policy for the students, which outlines that a child should not attend school when exhibiting any signs of illness. The following is a list of symptoms to serve as a guide when deciding to keep the child from school:

1.  Vomiting

2.  Fever

3.  Bad Cough

4. Diarrhea

5.  Discharge from the nose

6.  Contagious diseases: chicken pox, mumps, measles, hand/foot/mouth, etc.

7. Rashes that you cannot identify

In protecting the children, and ensuring a safe and healthy environment, an ill child will not be permitted in the school.

Parents are asked to notify the school when a child will be absent, by emailing the school or by leaving a message on the school telephone.

Parents are asked to notify the school when a child will be absent, by leaving a message with the school office. If a child has a communicable disease, the school is to be notified immediately, as Community Health Nurse will be contacted. A notice may be posted regarding the illness and a doctor’s note may be requested before the child can be re-admitted to the School.

If the child becomes ill or excessively upset during the school program, the emergency contact person will be called to come and pick up the child. The teachers will make every effort to make the child comfortable and move them into a quieter area (with a mat to lie down and blanket, if possible). The staff will also make the decision to call, based on the best interest of all the children in the class. The school reserves the right to judge when the child may return to the classroom.  

At Be More Montessori, we promote a positive approach to discipline keeping in mind the best interest of the children. Through explanations, talking through feelings, showing ownership in apologizing for mistakes, redirection and positive reinforcement. We instill the virtues of thoughtfulness, kindness, love and respect for one self and one another through example. Guidelines and limits, along with corresponding reasons are established and clearly explained at the beginning of the year. The explanations help the children remember the limits and the purpose behind them. Discussing these limits may be done individually, in small groups or to all students at circle time. By facilitating the use of kind words and open communication, we help each child gain the confidence and develop the skills necessary to resolve conflict on their own. By reinforcing these important values, the children are able to demonstrate independence, which they can apply to inner discipline.

Logical and natural consequences are implemented when necessary. When a situation of a safety issue does occur, the child may be removed temporarily to an area in the classroom away from the other students. 

In extreme situations, the parent may be called to remove the child from the classroom setting. The teachers will treat each individual child with respect.

All children enrolled at Be More Montessori should be near toilet trained prior to entering the preschool, and able to manage most aspects of toileting as independently as possible. At the preschool age, pull ups will be allowed if needed as a short-term solution; since this process is a matter of transition. Generally, the teachers will encourage parents to send children in underwear. Naturally, as mishaps and accidents do occur, the staff will handle these situations with sensitivity and understanding. As the teacher’s objective is to care for the whole child, they are expected to assist the child if needed, while being sensitive to the child’s privacy. The children will not be left in “soiled clothing”. Each family sends in a change of clothes for their child, at the beginning of the school year; therefore, the teacher should assist the child into clean clothes if necessary.   The goal is to guide the child to be as independent as possible, in a safe and assisted framework.