Welcome to Novi Woods Montessori! 

As we begin our journey with you, please take time to review the following items to bring and some daily policies and procedures.

Before your first day:

Your First Day

  • Arrive 15 minutes early and check in with the office.
  • To enter the building:  Enter the last 4 numbers of your cell phone followed by #.
  • Sign your student in on the iPad.  Enter the last 4 numbers of your cell phone followed by your initials.
  • Bring any paperwork that is still due and your first tuition payment.  After you set up your parent portal, you can log in to check your balance HERE.
  • If you have any medications your child will be taking regularly, please complete the Medication Form and turn it in to the office.  This includes sunscreen and insect repellent.
  • If your student is new, he/she will get a name tag for the first week or so.  Please write any allergy/diet restriction on it each day they wear it.
  • Your child will have a coat hook labeled for them outside their class.  Please place any coats or bags there. All items should be labeled with your child’s first and last name.
  • Lunch boxes and water bottles should be labeled with first and last name and brought to your child’s classroom each day.  An ice pack is required in your child’s lunch box.  Please pack a healthy afternoon snack in your child’s lunch box if they stay for academic or full day.
  • Your child may be nervous and upset when you leave.  It is best that you make an agreement with your child that you will bring them in to class, hug/kiss them goodbye and tell them you’ll see them after school and then stick to that agreement.  Do not sneak out or linger too long as this makes anxious children more upset.  We will call you if we think it is necessary and you may call as many times as you like to check on your child!

Policies and Procedures

Arrival and Departure:  Please arrive on time for drop-off and pick-up.  Class starts at 8:30.  Regular late arrivals will result in your child missing important lessons and presentations.  Sign your child in and out every day on the Time clock kiosk above the fish tank.  Your pass code is  the last 4 digits of your cell phone and your first and last initial.  Instructions are found HERE.  You must authorize any individual other than a parent to pick up your child.  If a staff member does not recognize the individual picking up your child, they will ask for identification and match that to our records of who is authorized to pick up your child.  Please inform any grandparents, babysitters, etc. to bring their identification so they are prepared.  Safety is our first priority.  The door code will be given to you on your first day.

Tuition: Please drop off your tuition check when tuition is due and place it in the tuition box near the sign in sheets.  CLEARLY label your check with your child’s first and last name and for what you are paying.  Remember most banks offer online banking and you can set up automatic payments mailed directly to us.   You may also set up a direct debit method of payment in Sandbox which allows you to quickly log in and pay through that system each time a payment is due- no checks needed.

Instructions:

Cash MUST be given to an administrator and a receipt must be requested at the time of payment.  Novi Woods Montessori cannot be held responsible for missing cash payments without a receipt.

If you would like to see your account at any time or print statements, receipts, etc. you can do that through the Sandbox Parent Portal (see instructions below).

Communication:

Office Communication

  • Sandbox Parent Portal Messages: This is the best way to get in touch. We check it regularly throughout the day. You can use the app or the desktop website to send messages.  If possible, use this for all messages to the office regarding your child or their account.  Refrain from using email if possible.  This is a great way to keep conversations in one place!
  • Sandbox Parent Portal Newsfeed:  We will send school-wide or class announcements, including newsletters through the Newsfeed.  These are do not reply announcements.
  • novimontessori@gmail.com  is our office email. If possible, please use Sandbox Messages instead.
  • Remind Text Messages.  To be included, text the message @nwm2019 to the number 81010, or click on the link above to find out more information.  This is how we send out last minute or emergency messages.  It’s very important to have.

Teacher Communication

  • If you need to speak with your child’s teacher, please do so between 8:00-8:30, 11:30-12:30 or 3:30-4:00. Please do not interrupt class.  This is the time for the teachers to be instructing the students.  If you arrive at school late, please drop your child off with an administrator and they will walk your child in to class.
  • There is a notebook above the fish tank for parents to jot down any reminders (child will be out of town, a grandparent will pick up, etc.) These kind of notes can also be communicated through email.
  • Remind:  Join your child’s classroom for messages from your child’s teacher.  Text the number 81010 and the following message for each classroom:
    • Cedar: @nwmcedar
    • Maple: @nwmmaple
    • Pine: @nwmpine
    • Tulip: @nwmtulip
    • Daffodil: @nwmdaffodi (note no “l” on the end)

Other Communication

  • noviwoods.com/blog: This is our former newsletter site, soon to be a Montessori & Parenting blog.  For our newsletter, see the Parent Portal Newsfeed
  • noviwoods.com: Check our website regularly. Our calendar is there and can be imported into your google calendar

Hot Lunch:  Hot will be served daily for $4.00 per day. You can sign up for hot lunch by ipad and billed the end of the week.

Packed Lunch:  Lunch boxes need to be labeled with your child’s first and last name and must be an insulated lunch box. Please provide students with silverware. If your child’s lunch has anything that requires refrigeration (yogurt, meat, etc.), you must pack an ice pack.  We are not allowed to serve any foods that are not properly stored in lunchbox.  If we find an item that has not been stored properly in your child’s lunch box, we will have to discard it and your child will receive hot lunch for that day.  You will be charged $4 for the hot lunch.  If your child’s lunch is an item that needs to be heated, we suggest heating it at home in the morning and storing it in a thermos such as this:  Lunch Thermos

Medication:  If your child must take prescription or over the counter medications at the center for any reason, please notify a staff member.  In accordance of state guidelines, you must sign a Medication Permission Form and adhere to all rules put in place by the state.  All medication must be in its original packaging and Novi Woods Montessori will only administer medications according to its labels’ instructions.  You are taking full responsibility for any unforeseen reactions your child may have to any medication you ask us to dispense.  The medication form can be found HERE.

Illness:  To protect all children at Novi Woods Montessori, your child will not be accepted at the center if he/she has any of the following symptoms: a fever, a rash or eye infection that has not been diagnosed, or any diarrhea or vomiting.  Children must be symptom free WITHOUT MEDICATION for 24 hours before returning to school.  If your child develops any symptoms while in the center, he/she will be isolated from the other children, parents will be contacted by phone, and the child must be picked up within one hour of that phone call.

Labeling:  State Licensing requires all lunch boxes and water bottles to be labeled your child’s first and last name.  All other supplies must be labeled with your child’s name including blankets and sheets, coats, snow pants, boots, etc.

Parking Lot Safety & Drop off: Please be careful in the parking lot!!  Go slow and watch for children who may dart out from in between cars.  If you arrive late, please check in with the office and we will assist your child in to class.  Please do not interrupt a class in session or ask to talk to the teacher while she is instructing the class.   If you have messages for your child’s teacher or the office, have a note prepared or call/email the office.

Pick up at the end of the day: When you pick your child up, sign them out on the iPad.  If someone other than a parent is picking up, they MUST be listed on the emergency card and they MUST bring a valid driver’s license.  There are absolutely no exceptions to this rule and you may not add anyone to the emergency card verbally or over the phone.  If you pick your child up after their scheduled time, you will be charged $12 for every hour or portion of every hour you are late.  If you pick your child up after our 6:00 pm closing time, you will be charged $1/minute and that is payable directly to the staff member caring for your child.  This is not a service we provide on a daily basis and so regular late pickups can result in cancellation of your child’s enrollment.

Sandbox Parent Portal:  The Parent Portal allows you to see your child’s account, update any contact information and see and print statements. You can also communicate with the office by leaving messages through the portal.  Once you have completed the online registration, you will be sent a parent portal invite.  When you click on that link you can make a password.  Only the parent set up as the payer will be able to access billing information.  If both parents would like to access billing information, we suggest both parents use the same account to log in.  Any time you would like to access your parent portal go to the following website (best to bookmark it!) Sandbox Parent Portal

Parent Portal Highlights: Once you’re logged in to the portal, click on the following tabs at the top:

  • News: You’ll see any notifications for unread messages, your balance due and anything that has been posted in the Newsfeed such as newsletters
  • Messages: You can leave the office any billing questions and more.
  • Billing: Only the parent set up as the payer is able to see billing information.  You will see your balance at the top.  You will see all of your invoices at a glance.  Next to the invoice is the billing period for those invoices.  You can click on an individual invoice to see a detailed description or to print it. You can also click on a payment and print receipts for those as well.
  • Child Info: You can update any information such as name, birth date, photo, and medical information.
  • Calendar: This shows your child’s schedule
  • Attendance: This will show when your child was signed in and out via the kiosk
  • Settings: You can change your login password and set up email notices.  Under Settings, you can also add a bank account if you’d like to eliminate the need to write a tuition check.  You have the option to log in to the parent portal and pay tuition yourself, with instructions at noviwoods.com/payment, or for Novi Woods to directly debit your account each due date for you. Please follow the directions at noviwoods.com/directdebit

COVID-19 Health and Safety Standards

Classroom Procedures:

  • Teachers and children will continue to engage in frequent handwashing throughout the day, including but not limited to: when entering the classroom at the start of the day, when returning to the classroom from outside play, before and after a diaper change or assisting a child in the bathroom, before and after mealtimes, before and after sensory play.
  • Teachers will continue to use our current sanitization system and disinfect toys that children come into contact with, whether the toys are visibly dirty or not.
  • During play, centers will be set up around the room to encourage children to engage in play at an appropriate distance from one another.
  • During nap, sleeping mats will be placed 6 feet apart.
  • Directors and teachers will sanitize commonly touched surfaces throughout the day (doorknobs, front doors, bathrooms, etc).
  • Morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack will be served as usual.