A Message

From Our Director

 

Dear Wee Three Kings Families,
As Wee Three Kings prepares to welcome your child back to school, we want you to know we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of your child. The COVID19 pandemic is scary for adults and is hard for children to understand. During these uncertain times, we want to create an environment where you and your child feel safe, while being able to fully reopen to all of our enrolled students.

Based on our licensing rules and recommendations, you and your child will see
changes to our program. Some of those changes are outlined below. In accordance with Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS) regulations you will see:
● handwashing requirements increased for staff and children
● routine wellness checks for staff and students prior to entering the building. If
your child has a fever of 100 degrees or higher (s)he will be sent home
immediately. Your child cannot return to our program until they are fever
free for 24 hours, without the use of fever reducing medication
● if a child has had known contact with someone confirmed or probable to
have COVID19 (s)he cannot return to care until they complete isolation or
quarantine procedures in coordination with our local health department
● a COVID19 policy for if we encounter any confirmed cases. This will be created
using local health department guidelines and in consultation with Epiphany’s
Safety Team to ensure the safety of our students and staff

In addition to the licensing requirements listed above, we have made the following changes to our procedures:
● smaller group sizes within your child’s classroom space, as the number of
children in a group has been reduced
● change in pick up and drop off routine and locations to allow for social distancing among classes
● temperature screening stations prior to entering the building
● sanitizing common spaces, including playground and bathrooms, in between
each use
● sanitizing classroom materials and surfaces after each use
● keeping students in class pods, interacting with only children and teachers within their class to minimize exposure and risk.

We are looking forward to your child returning to our program. We have missed seeing them and know that the children have missed seeing their friends and teachers too. If you have questions about the information included in this letter, please ask. We are here to help you and your child feel comfortable and safe in our program. We look forward to continuing to help your child learn and grow during these critical developmental years.

A PHASED REOPENING
Wee Three Kings has developed a plan for reopening under three phases. On
September 8th we will reopen in Phase 1 which will be our most conservative approach to having our students back in our classrooms. Our goal will be for our students to remain within class pods in order to minimize their risk of exposure by not allowing them to have contact with children/teachers from other classrooms.

Phase 1 School will open September 8th with only core classes (18 Month PDO, 24 Month PDO, 30 Month PDO, 3s, 4s, and Pre-K) + Lunch Bunch.*
● Classes & teachers will not mix with other students, teachers and
staff.
● Lunch Bunch will be divided into 3 segments (3s, 4s and PK) taught
by 3 different teachers and separated in 3 different rooms.
● All common use areas such as playground and bathrooms and
classroom materials and surfaces will be sanitized after each use.
● Daily wellness screenings will be required before leaving for school
for both students and staff. Teachers will take temperatures of all students
upon arrival at school.
● Increased hand washing requirements for all staff and students.
● Parents will use designated pick up and drop off areas. Teachers
will get students out of cars at the start of school and bring students out to
parent’s cars at the end of the day. Parents will only enter the building with
an appointment.
● All large group events will be postponed or cancelled.

Phase 2 After comfort level is reached with Phase 1, Phase 2 will allow the addition of enrichment classes.
● STEAM* will resume with a modified schedule: (8:30-11:30) and an
afternoon class (12-3). Each class will have 9 (or fewer) students.
● Little Explorers* will resume with a normal operating schedule, each
class will be limited to 9 students.
● Enrichment teachers will teach multiple classes.
● Lunch Bunch will remain in 3 segments.
● Sanitization policies will remain as in Phase 1.
● Daily wellness screenings will remain as in Phase 1.
● Increased hand washing requirements will remain as in Phase 1.
● Parent pick up and drop off procedures will remain as in Phase 1.
● Large group activities will be evaluated and scheduled based on
local, state and health department recommendations.

Phase 3 Classes fully return to normal class size and schedule.
● Parents are invited back into school on a limited basis.
● Sanitization policies will remain as in Phase 1.
● Increased hand washing requirements remain as in Phase 1.
● Daily wellness screenings will remain as in Phase 1.
● Large group activities will be evaluated and scheduled based on
local state and health department recommendations.
* If you are enrolled in this class, you will receive more information in a separate email.

SMALLER CLASSES
At this time, we will fill each Parent’s Day Out (PDO) class with 6 students and our Preschool Classes with 9 students. This will allow for students to have more space within their classroom and potentially have less exposure to the virus because they will be in a classroom with fewer students than a typical year.
Typically we have 8 students in our PDO classrooms and 14-16 students in our
preschool classrooms. Our biggest obstacle to reopen has been coming up with a
solution that allows all of our students who are enrolled to come back to school with us in September in classrooms with more space and smaller numbers. Thanks to the efforts of our reopening committee, we will not start the school year off by having our students to stay at home for half of their class time for distance learning! Instead, we have developed a new schedule, which will accommodate nearly all of our students at school.

NEW SCHEDULE FOR THE 2020-21 SCHOOL YEAR
Parents Day Out Classes will run from 8:45 am -12:45 pm during Phase 1 & 2 of the 2020-21 school year to enable us to stagger our drop off times for classes.
We will now be offering three (3) preschool sessions for 3 year old, 4 year old and Pre-K students:

AM: 8:30-10:30am    MM (mid-morning): 11am-1pm PM 1:45-3:45pm

This schedule will be in effect during Phase 1 and 2. If we are able to enter Phase 3, Wee Three Kings will return to normal class sizes and schedule.
While we understand that these times are not what you have originally registered for, we appreciate your flexibility and understanding of how our new schedule enables us to accommodate all of our students and provide an opportunity for everyone to return to preschool in September.

FEES
Due to new policies handed down by ODJFS, preschools are recommended to reduce class sizes and increase safety measures. Due to loss in revenue, increase in staffing and additional supplies needed to combat the transmission of COVID19, a monthly operational fee has been added. For as long as Wee Three Kings is operating under Transitional Pandemic Recommendations for licensing (Phase 1 and Phase 2), parents will be charged a $25 per month per child fee to cover increased operating costs. These fees will be assessed monthly based on requirements put in place by ODJFS.

REQUIRED PARENT MEETING
September 1st, 2nd and 3rd at 7:00pm
Parent Orientation will be for all new & returning parents this year. We know that you will have many questions about the new year, and we have a lot to share in regard to our new safety protocols and operating procedures. We are requiring all parents to attend one of three Parent Orientation Sessions.
As we get closer to the date, we will determine if these meetings will be virtual, in
person or a combination of both.
MEET & GREETS
We understand that not being able to walk your child into their classroom will be one of the biggest changes for the year so we are changing meet & greets from an open house style event to individual meetings. This will allow parents and children to have one-on-one time with their teachers in the classroom before school starts. You can take this time to walk your child into his/her room, introduce him/her to his/her teachers and get to know each other before the first day of school. You and your family will make an appointment to meet with your teachers during the week of August 24th and 31st. More information will follow from your child’s teacher in August.

MORE INFORMATION TO COME
Watch your email. Between now & the start of school, we will be sending out more detailed information about the following:
● new class time registration for Preschool program 
● STEAM, Little Explorers and Lunch Bunch Classes (for all who are enrolled)
● tips on how to prepare your preschooler for the new school year
● new drop off and pick up procedures
● new health and wellness policy (including COVID-19 precautions)
● Meet & Greets
● Parent Orientation
● updated Parent Handbook
School will not look the same as it did before March of 2020: our goal for your child’s return to preschool is to make it as safe as possible while welcoming all of our students back to school. For our plan to be successful, we know that the school, our families and our teachers and staff must each do their part. We are grateful for our staff who are going above and beyond to add in additional classes and safety procedures to accommodate and welcome their students back to school. We are also grateful to our families for their flexibility and willingness to adapt to these changes so that we can reopen and continue to provide quality learning in a safe environment for our students.

We look forward to seeing all of your wonderful children back at Wee Three Kings in September!

Windy Robinson

 

“But we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.”   1 Thessalonians 2:7