MPCS PreK
Click here for the Kindergarten – 8th Grade
Preschool phone number – 757-482-9557, ext 2
Preschool office email – bparadis@mtpleasantchristian.org
PreK 2 – Students must be 2 years old by the first day of school to be eligible for PreK2.
PreK 3 – Students must be 3 years old by the first day of school to be eligible for PreK3
PreK 4 – Students must be 4 years old by September 30th to be eligible for PreK4.
Pre-K Hours:
8:30am – 12pm – Half day
8:30am – 3pm – Full day
6:30am – 8:15am – Before School Care
3:15pm – 6pm – After School Care
PRE-K Handbook ’25-’26 (subject to change)
*Class begins at 8:30am, however, students may be dropped off as early as 8:15am as a courtesy to parents who would otherwise be late to work or an appointment. Please keep in mind that any child that comes into the building prior to 8:15 am, will be charged for before care. Please make every effort to have your child at school by 8:30 am in order to avoid disruptions to the classroom. Children may not be brought to PreK after 10:00 am, unless they have an appointment or if there is an emergency. Please notify your child’s teacher if your child will be arriving after 10:00 am. If you need to pick your child up prior to 3:00, please notify your child’s teacher or the PreK office, and make every effort to pick up prior to or after naptime.
Procare:
All preschool students must be signed in and out through Procare by the parent or the person dropping off or picking up. This may be done on your phone after you have reached the school, (if you set up the location option), or by scanning the QR code that is at the door. Please keep in mind that if you sign in prior to 8:15 am, you will be charged for before care, and if you sign out after 3:15, you will be charged for after care. School starts at 8:30 am and ends at 3:00 pm, so there is already a grace period of 15 minutes given for drop off and pickup, so no adjustments will be made for early or late sign in or sign outs. If you have a child in K – 8th grade, you will only need to sign them in or out if they are attending before or after care. K – 8th grade teachers keep the regular school day attendance in a different system.
Before and after care charges will be billed via email from Procare on the first of every month for the previous month, That bill may be paid by check or cash, or you may pay it through the procare app. If you choose to pay by credit card on the app, there is a credit card fee. There is an option to pay by debit card, but we discourage that method, as there is a debit card usage fee of $10 per transaction and will be invoiced separately. Tuition may not be paid through Procare, it must be paid by check or cash, or by credit card on the tuition portal on the MPCS website.
Arrival and Dismissal:
Arrival and dismissal will be at the preschool double glass doors. For arrival, a teacher will greet you and walk your child down to his/her class. For dismissal, the PreK 4/5 students will dismiss from the double glass doors and the PreK 2 and PreK 3 students will dismiss from the door across from the Preschool Playground. A teacher will greet you at the door and bring your child to you. Children MUST be signed in and out by the parent via the Procare app. Any child not picked up by 3:15, will be signed into aftercare for the day.
12:00 dismissal – Students attending half day preschool will be picked up at the main school office door under the portico. Parents may pull their vehicles around the circle and a teacher will dismiss the children as she sees the parent under the portico. There is a QR code hanging on the window by the door for you to sign your child out. Parents will be charged a $1 per minute late pick up fee if their child is not picked up by 12:05.
Children will only be allowed to leave with those listed on their registration form or Procare account. If someone is picking up your child that is not listed on their form or in Procare, you will need to send in a note, listing the date of pick up and the full name of the person who will be picking up. We will ID anyone that we do not know, so please make anyone that will be picking up aware that they will need to bring a picture ID with them.
Communication:
The easiest way to communicate with your child’s teacher is through the Procare app, but you mat also email her, if you prefer. Please know that teachers will not be able to respond to your Procare messages or emails until the afternoon, as they are busy with your children in the morning. If you have a question that needs an immediate response, please call the preschool office. You also have an option to message the preschool office through the Procare app.
Discipline:
Preschool is the time for your child to learn school rules, the type of behavior that is expected in a classroom setting, and how to be a good friend. Students will be working on listening to the teacher; following directions, and being kind to one another. We have four rules in PreK that we remind the students to abide by:
- Keep yourself safe.
- Keep each other safe.
- Take care of our school.
- Be kind.
Parents will be notified by a behavior notification when their child breaks one of the Preschool rules. After several behavior notices have been written, parents will be asked to have a conference with the teacher; in order to determine a plan of action to help the child correct the negative beh9viors. If no improvement is made after the conference, the child may be required to find alternate care.
Biting Policy:
For the child that was bitten – First aid and comfort will be given, and a bite report will be sent home to notify the parents. Names of the children involved will not be disclosed.
For the child that bites – The child will be removed from the situation and reminded that, “it is not okay to bite and that biting hurts.” The child may be put in a time out, equivalent to one minute for each year of age. The parents will be notified through a Bite Report and through other forms of communication, if necessary.
If the biting occurs more than twice, a conference will be scheduled with the parents, the teacher, and the director to make a plan to help the child to stop biting. If the child bites again after a plan has been put in place, the child will need to be picked up from school and will not be able to return back until the biting stops.
Bathroom/Potty Policy:
All students in PreK 3 and older must be fully potty trained. Being potty trained means that the child is able to ask to go to the potty when needed, completely takes care of their bathroom needs; pulls pants up and down, wipe themselves,(teachers are not allowed to wipe students), flush the toilet and wash their hands. Pull-ups/diapers are only allowed in PreK 2, and may not be worn in PreK 3 or older. If a child has an accident, they will need to be able to change out of their wet clothes and into their dry clothes without help. We do expect that children will have an occasional accident, however, if the accidents are occurring on a regular basis (daily or more than once per week), the child will need to be kept at home for more potty training practice and will be able to return when they have mastered potty training.
Sick Policy:
Children who are running a fever (100 degrees or above), have a communicable disease, recurring vomiting or diarrhea, or any communicable disease may not attend school. Children must be symptom free (without the assistance of medication) before returning to school. If a child becomes ill at school, the parent will be notified and expected to pick the child up as soon as possible. To be in compliance with the 24 hour symptom free rule, if a child is sent home from school with a fever, vomiting, diarrhea, pink eye, etc, they may not return to school the next day unless they have a note from a doctor stating that they are not contagious. Students with head lice will not be permitted to attend school until they are free from both lice and knits.
Students who have head lice must remain out of school until free of both lice and nits.
Folders:
Folders will be sent home daily. Please check them each evening for your child’s schoolwork or notes from the teacher or the school office. Folders are checked each morning, so if you have a note for the teacher, please put it in there.
Snack and Lunch:
Students will have a morning snack each day. Snacks should be dry, healthy foods that do not require a spoon. If your child is enrolled in our full day program, our lunch time is at 12:00. (PreK 2 will eat lunch at 11:30). Please keep in mind that microwaves are for warming foods up, not cooking them. Because of this, if you would like for your child to have microwavable mac-n-cheese or any frozen items that need to be “cooked”, (requiring longer than one minute in the microwave), please cook them at home and send them in a container for us to warm up at school. We have a microwave, so you may send in food that requires being heated up for lunch. We also ask that you cut up foods for you child (especially grapes, hotdogs, or any other foods that are potential choking hazards). For the safety of the children, please do not send any food in glass containers. Please remember to send spoons, forks, napkins, etc if your child will require them for their lunch. We also offer the students the opportunity to order lunch on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Water Bottles:
Please send in a spill proof, non-glass water bottle everyday, labeled with your child’s name. The children will have water with their snacks, (juice boxes are allowed for lunch, but not for snack), and we will take the water bottles outside for recess.
Rest Time:
Our daily rest time is between 12:30pm – 2:15pm (12:00 – 2:00 for 2’s). Please send in a small nap mat, one small blanket and one small pillow (travel size or the size of a small throw pillow). We have limited storage space, so no oversized mats, blankets or pillows will be allowed. Your child may keep one stuffed animal with their nap mat items, or bring one in daily. However, please do not allow them to bring more than one. All nap mat items should be put in an extra large ziploc bag, labeled with your child’s name. Every Friday, the nap items will be sent home to be washed.
Toys from Home:
All toys with the exception of a stuffed animal for nap time, should be left at home. Sometimes children have something special that they want to show their friends, so each teacher will have designated show and tell times for that.
Enrichment Activities:
All PreK students will have PE on Tuesdays and storytime in the library on Wednesdays. Please be sure that your child wears tennis shoes on PE days. PreK 3, 4, & 5 students will also have a STEAM class once per week. Chapel is on Thursdays.
Field Trips (PreK 4/ PreK 5 students only):
We will have 2-3 field trips in the Winter/Spring for the PreK 4 / PreK 5 students. Parents are invited to attend, and we also rely on parents to help transport students on the trips. If you are willing to transport children on a field trip, you will be required to fill out a volunteer form, as well as show your driver’s license and provide proof of insurance.
Dress Code/ Change of Clothes:
PreK does not follow the same dress code as the Elementary/Middle school students. We do ask that girls wear shorts under their dresses/skirts, shoes should be appropriate for running, jumping and climbing, and shirts with weapons, witches, skulls, etc are not permitted. For bathroom purposes, please send your child to school in clothing that they can manipulate themselves to easily use the bathroom. Overalls, tights, pants with buttons, etc. are difficult for the children to use on their own, as well as makes potty training a challenge in the PreK 2 classroom. Please send a full change of clothes to school with your child to be kept in the classroom in case of an accident (Shirt, shorts or pants, underwear, socks and shoes). Please put the clothes in a ziploc bag, labeled with your child’s name. If your child has an accident and does not have an extra set of clothing, we may have to call you to bring clothes.
Birthdays and Parties:
We love celebrating birthdays! You are more than welcome to send in a special treat for the class for your child’s birthday. Please check with your child’s teacher for any class allergies.
Parent Volunteers:
Each class will need a Room Mom to help coordinate parties and other events, and be a point of contact with the PTO. The room mom is also encouraged to attend PTO meetings throughout the year. If you would be interested in being a Room mom, please talk to your child’s teacher. Parents may also volunteer in other roles, such as: doing a craft or reading to the class, helping at school events, or driving students on field trips.
We look forward to a wonderful school year of learning, growing and sharing God’s love!
