Parent Handbook

Good Shepherd Preschool
28986 SE Haley Rd
Boring, OR 97009

Dear Good Shepherd Preschool Families,
It is a pleasure to welcome you to Good Shepherd Preschool. Our hope and prayer is that you may experience the love of God in all that we do during your time with us!

Philosophy of Education

At the heart of our Philosophy of Christian education is a commitment to provide an environment where children can learn and grow academically, socially, emotionally and spiritually with a Christ-centered worldview. As educators we strive to model the master of all teachers, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Good Shepherd Preschool’s program combines an early childhood education with Bible-based principles and teaching. Its curriculum allows children the opportunity to explore areas of language, math, art and science with developmentally appropriate activities. Its focus is developing the whole child with an emphasis on kindergarten readiness, spiritual and social development. Its goal is to provide a safe and fun learning environment that creates a love for learning at a child’s young age.

We model and teach Christian faith principles such as love, patience, kindness, compassion, goodness, self-control, gentleness, forgiveness, faithfulness, joy and humility.

Good Shepherd Preschool believes that children are a precious gift from God and therefore is committed to the development of the whole child. We strive to provide a program that will not only meet basic needs but also nurture the social, emotional, cognitive, physical and spiritual development of each child. We are committed to building a sense of trust, respect, and “at home feeling” between staff, children, and parents through open communication and by providing qualified staff trained in early childhood education, who are committed to partnering with individual families to provide the best possible environment for each child.

Children in the preschool ages of development learn best through actual experience and participation. We will provide daily opportunities for multi-sensory learning experiences and developmentally appropriate activities that focus on oral language development and social interaction that will allow for success and encourage advancement in all areas of your child’s growth and development. Their play is their work.

We will communicate with families using many delivery methods, and in doing so Good Shepherd Preschool staff will maintain confidentiality and privacy at all times. Growth in the young child occurs in developmental stages, with each new stage built sequentially upon the last.

Mission

Good Shepherd Preschool’s Purpose is to partner with families to provide a private, Christ-centered Education.

Goals

  • Provide every student opportunity to gain attributes of godly character and master relevant content to basic education, critical thinking and problem solving.
  • Foster a spirit of excellence in teaching and learning, behavior, relationships, communications, and spiritual growth.
  • Manage available resources effectively and efficiently to fulfill the mission. Engage families in the process of student’s learning in all areas.

About the School

  • Students develop and use their God-given gifts and abilities to serve the school, church and community.
  • Under the authority of the Good Shepherd Church Elders, the school leadership, Faculty, Staff and parents work together for the best interest of the students.
  • The school assists families in preparing students to be growing Christians while living in a secular culture.
  • The school participants learn together to live like Christ while reaching out in His name.

Preschool Requirements

  • Must be three years of age before September 1st
  • Must be fully potty trained (No Pull Ups) before school starts, if a child has more than three accidents in a 30 day period they will be asked to stay home for one week to work on potty training. If a student continues to have problems after the week home, your child may be withdrawn from the school.
  • Must be able to put their shoes on by themselves
  • Must be able to follow simple one-step instructions (i.e. put lunch box away, wash hands, put backpack on)
  • Be respectful to school and church staff (ie. no back talk, no spitting, no sticking tongue out)

Pre-K Requirements

  • Must be four years of age before September 1st
  • Must be fully potty trained (including wiping themselves and zipping their pants)
  • Must be able to put shoes on by themselves
  • Must be able to follow simple two part instructions (i.e stand up and push in chair, put water bottle and lunchbox away in your backpack)

School Day

  • Am Preschool & Pre-K
    • Drop off: 8:30 am – 8:45 am
    • School Hours: 8:45 am – 12:00 pm
    • Pick-up: 12:00 pm – 12:15 pm
  • Pm Pre-K
    • Drop off: 12:30 pm – 12:45 pm
    • School hours: 12:45 pm – 4:00 pm
    • Pick up: 4:00 pm – 4:15 pm
  • Full Day Pre-K
    • Drop off: 8:30 am – 8:45 am
    • School hours: 8:45 am – 2:45 pm
    • Pick up: 2:45 pm – 3:00 pm

Application & Registration

  • Online application fee (non-refundable) – $25 per student
  • Registration fee (non-refundable) – $50 per student
  • Classroom Material fees (non-refundable) – $100 per student
  • Tuition – See Schedule

Tuition Payments & Penalties

Unless paid in full before the year begins, all payments are made through an automatic bank account deduction on the 2nd of each month. Any late payments will receive a $15 late payment free. Any payments returned will be assessed an automatic $5 fee to re-run payment.

Attire

Children should be dressed in comfortable, washable play clothes appropriate for the season. This includes shoes suitable for running and jumping.

We ask that each child have an extra set of clothing to be kept at school.

All clothing items must be labeled with your child’s name. Good Shepherd Preschool is not responsible for lost or stolen items.

Toys from Home

We ask that personal toys or treasures be kept at home since we cannot insure their safety while at school. On designated sharing days your child may bring one special sharing item, such as a personal or family photo, a special science find, a favorite book or other item of interest.

Communication

Your child will have a cubby or folder in the classroom. Please check it daily for school communication and art work. Private communications must be approved by the director prior to being placed in cubbies.

Birthday Policy

Your child’s special day is important and we want to celebrate with you. On this day your child may bring a special item to show how much they’ve grown such as a baby picture, baby boots, favorite toy, etc. They may also bring a special snack for the class if they would like.

Snacks

Please pack a snack for your child each school day & a water bottle.

**We have a no nut policy for snacks. Please check packages.**

FOOD ALLERGY ALERT

If your child has food allergies, PLEASE let us know IMMEDIATELY so that we can take extra caution checking other students snacks.

Dismissal

We can only release children to a pre-authorized adult. This means either you, someone on your authorized list or someone that you have notified us about in writing before the time of pick-up. Authorized persons will be required to show a picture I.D. before the child will be released. It would be a good idea for you to let anyone who may need to pick up your child know of this necessity so that they will be prepared with their I.D.

Your child must be signed out in the daily attendance book each day. It is also a good idea to make quick contact with the teacher to acknowledge you’re leaving each day.

Weather Related Closure

During severe weather warnings or conditions, Good Shepherd Preschool will follow the lead of the Gresham/Barlow School District.

Medications

It is preferable that medications be given at home. Medication will only be given at school when absolutely necessary. When medications must be administered at school, they may be given to a child only with both a physician’s written permission and the parent’s written permission on the school medication form that is supplied by the school. Medications must have a prescription label indicating the child’s name and date.Your cooperation in carrying out the above health policy will ensure a healthy and happy environment for all our children.

HEALTH MANAGEMENT POLICY

It is the policy of Good Shepherd Preschool to maintain the highest standards of health and wellness for our children and to exercise the utmost caution in the prevention and spread of communicable disease. Therefore, we want you to know and understand the well-child guidelines that we have established and that will be implemented with regard to sick children at our school. It is MOST IMPORTANT that you make every effort to follow these guidelines!

Children with one or more of the following symptoms should not be brought to school.

  • A fever of 100 degrees or higher, (taken by auxiliary method), within the past 24 hours
  • A skin rash that has not been identified either through a phone call or in writing from a physician who has seen the rash
  • Vomiting/diarrhea within the past 24 hours
  • Evidence of head lice or other parasite infestation
  • Severe coughing
  • Persistent sore throat or difficulty swallowing
  • Nose congestion that produces a thick mucus
  • Rapid or difficult breathing
  • Conjunctivitis – inflammation of the eye
  • Excessive fatigue or feeling uncomfortable
  • Untreated and infected skin patches

DISCIPLINARY PROCESS & PHILOSOPHY (Preschool Version 2023/24)

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11

When mistakes are made, and/or poor behavior happens we desire to get to the heart of what happened and why a child behaved the way they did. Our goal is to invite Christ into these situations and work with the student(s) in a way that lets them know we care about them as a person, not just behavior management.

The classroom teacher will implement a variety of incentives and consequences in an effort to support the student’s positive behavior. Minor infractions of class/school rules are handled in a variety of ways, depending on the age of the student and nature of the offense, including but not limited to apologizing, making restitution, and detention. More serious infractions, or repeated offenses of minor infractions will result in the student visiting the principal’s office. The principal will have a conversation with the student(s) involved in the incident or regarding the poor behavior, determine what disciplinary action will take place (see Chart of Progressive Discipline for sample consequences), and make the appropriate phone calls or emails to notify parents. When efforts made by the teacher and admin do not produce positive and lasting results in the student’s behavior, the student will be put on Probation.

Behavior Probation

  • Notify pastor and school elders
  • Behavior plan, meeting with Teacher/Admin Team and parents (maybe a pastor) with an explanation of the plan and parents signing a form once they understand the probation plan and what the next steps will be if there is no improvement.
  • If the student improves, they are removed from probation after a determined period of time.
  • If the student continues to struggle, the Disciplinary Action Plan will be enacted.

DISCIPLINARY ACTION PLAN:

At the point when a student is referred for a Disciplinary Action Plan, which implies that other means of discipline, including Probation, have been employed without seeing the necessary improvement(s) in behavior, elements of the action plan appropriate to the student and the situation will be activated. Those elements are, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Outside help
  • Possible extended suspension (5 days), parent/admin meeting
  • Possible temporary withdrawal from school with re-enrollment on Disciplinary Probation possible, parent/admin meeting
  • Meeting of the Admin Team
  • Expulsion after a parent meeting with the Admin Team

This general process is to be followed except if the violation is egregious and necessitates immediate suspension such as violence or possession of a weapon – in such cases, a further investigation may be warranted possibly resulting in withdrawal or expulsion.

Preschool Parent Handbook (pdf)