PARENT PARTICIPATION

At our nursery school, the parents organize and run the school through a parent-elected board of directors and executive, with all members having a say in their child's education. The corporation hires a teacher/supervisor who implements and plans the classes. This approach demands some time and energy from each family. At a minimum, parents are required to attend two general meetings per year, but many choose to do more. It is time and energy well spent. Everyone benefits from exposure to new and different ideas and approaches. Job descriptions are detailed in the parent handbook.

DUTY DAYS
If family schedules permit, parents may play a further role by undertaking ¨duty days‚ where moms or dads come to the school to help with the program. The parents and teacher work closely together with the children and this offers parents a chance to observe and share a part of your child’s first school experience.

Young children enjoy having their mother or father spend a morning or afternoon at their school and the parent benefits from the support of other parents. Parents develop their own problem-solving skills from being in a co-operative nursery school. They learn to deal with children in a group and to assess their own child’s development within the group. A typical duty-day routine includes arriving on time to start your shift, assisting with clean-up and snack preparation and being with the children.

Duty parent staff meetings are held on a regular basis. These meetings may address issues such as first-aid training, early childhood development, behaviour management and other related topics. All parents are welcome to attend any of these meetings.

SNACKS
Your family will be scheduled to provide snack for one week at a time on a rotating basis during the school year. Snacks follow the Canadian Dietary Guidelines and must include a protein, a grain, and a fruit or vegetable. The school supplies water for the children. Parents will check all ingredient lists when purchasing food on their snack week to ensure they are not bringing peanut and tree nut products or any product with any allergic ingredient(s) specific to their class.