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YOUR CHILD'S FIRST DAY AT JKC:
On your child's first day of JKC, please be sure to send in a note to the school stating that you give permission for your child to be picked up by the JKC After School Program and request that the school please bring your child to the cafeteria to the "JKC table" where we will wait for all the JKC children. We will then walk together to the Shul from PS100, or drive with a staff member and our private car service from the other schools. Please include in the note which days of the week your child will be attending JKC. We sent in a list to each school with all children's names but they need to hear from you too. You can also email or call the school or teacher directly to be sure they got the message. The school will not allow us to take your child without your consent.
SECURITY:
1. Safety is number one, and so to be sure the children are safe in the building at all times, we will keep the building doors locked. Between 4:30-6:00, we will have a staff member in the lobby to open the door only for authorized parents/ grandparents/ nannies. If a pick up is done earlier than 4:30 you’ll need to call to bring your child upstairs and open the door for you.
2. If your child will be picked up by someone other than a parent or grandparent, please let us know in advance so we can be sure everyone is getting home safely.
COMMUNICATION:
It is of utmost importance for us to be able to reach you in case of any issue and likewise for you to reach us! Check the Contact section or our site to reach any of our staff members.
1. Email updates are sent out regularly. Please be sure our emails aren't going to your spam folder. Let us know if you'd like your spouse or parent's email to be added to the list.
2. We invite all parents to join the whatsapp group for lots of important announcements and updates as well as photos of your child in action! Only admins post to be sure the group isn't overwhelming to keep up with.p.
3. We ask you to please be considerate of other children and staff members and to let us know when your child is not in school or for whatever reason will not be going to JKC on a day that he/she is usually scheduled to attend. It's very frustrating for the children (and staff) to waste time searching the school for a child who's not there.
SCHEDULE:
1. Daily schedule. In short: straight from school the children go play in the park. At 3:00 is homework hour. 4:00 is dinner. 4:30 is enrichment program. 5:10 is Jewish culture and 5:45 is dismissal.
2. Weekly enrichment schedule. Mondays- soccer, Tuesdays- baking, Wednesdays- zumba and drama (alternating each week), Thursdays- art class, Fridays- challah baking and authentic gourmet Shabbos dinner. Weekly enrichment schedule is subject to change throughout the year.
3. Monthly schedule. Before the first day of the month, we will need to know which days of the week you'd like your child to attend. Once the month has started, there is no changing days. We prepare staff and supplies based on who will be here on what day and to change the schedule once the month started is extremely inconvenient.
4. Once the month began, if you'd like your child to attend JKC on a day he/she isn't registered, we must be notified first. There is no such thing as "changing days." Even if your child is absent on a day he/she is registered for, they can not then come on a different day instead. We will charge you $100 per day that your child attends that he/she is not registered for.
HOMEWORK:
Here's what you can expect from our fantastic teachers. During homework hour, children will be divided into smaller groups to get the proper attention they need. We provide sharpened pencils, blank paper, scissors, glue, and crayons as well as a quiet atmosphere, and a light snack to keep their mind focused on homework and not on hunger. The teachers help the children to come to the correct answers without giving answers away. Teachers check to be sure every child finished all their homework completely, correctly and neatly.
Here's what we expect from you, dear parents. Please make sure to send in your child's assignment to us no later than 2:00. Once JKC starts it is difficult for staff to be communicating with you, as they want to stay focused on the students and their homework.
Please keep in mind that we are an after school program with group settings. Although we do have smaller groups during homework hour, we do not offer one on one tutoring (unless you'd like to arrange that, we can help you do so for an extra charge). This means that there may be occasionally a spelling mistake or a missing punctuation mark or a mistake in math that was overlooked by our teachers. If your child isn't focused and easily distracted, they may come home with unfinished homework. We do our best to get every single child's homework done to perfection but please be understanding on the occasion that something was missed. Again, we are an after school program and not a private tutor.
FOOD:
JKC provides a light snack during homework (crackers, fresh veggies or fruit) and a full hot delicious dinner following homework. Dinner always includes protein (chicken, meat, fish) plus one side dish (kasha, rice, pasta) and vegetables (soup or fresh sliced veggies or both). Once a week dinner is pizza. On Fridays, dinner is a three course gourmet Shabbos dinner! The children look forward all week to the homemade challah, matzah ball chicken soup, and main course with fancy side dishes and dessert!
If you'd like to send along any food with your child, please make sure the food is Kosher. Be aware that we will have your child eat the food on a separate table and your child will be asked not to share with any other kids to avoid allergy or Kosher standard complications.
DISMISSAL 5:45- 6:00:
Please be considerate and pick up your child on time. It's a long day, and when 6:00 comes, every child is ready to go home. Please don't upset your child by being late to pick up! The teachers will bring the children to the lobby at 5:45 with their jackets and backpacks ready to go. By the time 6:00 comes, it is considered late. After 6:05, we will have to charge you a late fee, since we will have to cover the costs of paying the teachers to stay overtime which is an imposition on them.
FEEDBACK
Please let us know what you love about JKC so we can keep it up. And please don't hesitate to let us know how we can improve in any aspect to make your child's experience even better. We are an after school program, but more than that, we are a family, and want every day to be a great day for every family member of the Jewish Kids Club.