Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is your educational philosophy and curriculum?
We believe that children learn best through exploration and developmentally appropriate hands-on learning experiences. We offer a wide variety of child- and teacher-led activities that contribute to the growth of the whole child. For our Threes, Fours and Fives, we utilize a curriculum framework based on the NJ Teaching and Learning Standards which focuses on cognitive, creative, language, literacy, mathematics, physical, wellness, science, social and emotional skills, and development.
2. What is your relationship to Christ Church?
CCNS is a mission of Christ Church, a long-established Episcopalian church in Short Hills, NJ. As part of this mission, children will participate in Bible Stories and Chapel, perform in a Christmas service, and say a prayer before eating. CCNS welcomes and embraces families of all faiths.
3. What qualifications do the staff have and what is your turnover rate?
All head teachers fulfill the NJ licensing requirements to be a lead teacher. Their qualifications may include a CDA, an education degree, a teaching license or a master’s in education. Teachers are CPR and first aid certified every two years and are required to complete yearly continuing education. Turnover is low, almost non-existent mid-year and typically due to retirement.
4. What is your teacher/child ratio?
For Twos, our ratio is 1:5. For Threes, our ratio is 1:7. For Fours and Fives, our ratio is 1:7.5. For Drop In, our ratio is 1:4.
5. What enrichment activities do you offer?
The Threes and Fours who attend school on a shorter schedule have the option to join our specialty Lunch and Learn classes. All Threes, Fours and Fives have music and gardening weekly. The Fours and Fives also have Gym weekly and Library, Bible Stories and Chapel monthly. The Twos have music weekly.
6. What is your Drop In program?
Drop In is an optional program that allows nursery school children to extend their day and allows children under two to attend school. Drop In is open 8:00am – 4:00pm and follows the calendar year of the nursery school. Within those hours, families pick the schedule they would like and are only billed for the time their child attends.
7. Do you have a summer camp?
CCNS offers summer camp for children 2 – 5 years old for six weeks, four days a week, on a half (9-12) of full (9-2:30) day schedule. Families can pick from a minimum of two weeks to all six weeks.
8. What is your policy on screen time?
Children two and under have no screen time. Threes, Fours and Fives may have up to 30 minutes of screen time weekly, with a focus on gathering information for projects.
9. How much outdoor time do you offer?
Using our four playgrounds and our outdoor classroom, children who attend for half a day go outside for 30 minutes a day and children who stay longer go outside for an hour a day. On rainy days, we have access to a gym.
10. What safety and security measures do you have?
All exterior doors stay locked and are only opened with a key fob. There are cameras recording activity at every exit, playground, and hallway. Parents must give clearance for unexpected pick-up people, and they must show identification. We count groups of children every time we move to a new location.
11. How often do you clean toys?
Any mouthed toys are immediately removed for cleaning. We wash and disinfect all toys on a regular basis. CCNS employs a full-time custodian who cleans the classrooms and bathrooms daily.
12. What are your operating hours and rates?
Twos run 3, 4 and 5 days a week from 9 – 11:30. Threes run on 3 schedules: 9 – 12, Monday – Thursday (with optional Fridays), 9 – 1, Monday – Friday and 9 – 2:30, Monday – Friday. Fours run 5 days a week from 8:45 – 12:45 and 8:45 – 2:15. Fives run 8:45 – 2:15, Monday – Friday.
13. What is your policy on vaccines?
For the safety of all, the NJ health department requires all children to be vaccinated, including getting a yearly flu shot. We do not accept religious exemptions for vaccinations.
14. What is your illness policy?
Children must stay home if they have a have a fever 100.4 F or above, diarrhea, vomiting, unexplained rashes, or red, goopy eyes. For most illnesses, children must be symptom-free for 24 hours without medication before returning to school. Our parent handbook contains complete details on illnesses.
15. What is your policy on potty-training?
We require children entering the Threes to be potty trained, as we do not have the facilities to change children in our Threes classrooms. We will support Twos as they learn to potty-train and expect children to be fully secure in their underwear use (for at least two weeks) before making the transition to underwear at school.
16. Do you provide meals?
Because we do not have the facilities to make meals for children, families must provide ready-to-eat, nut-free lunches. CCNS provides snacks for the children which is voluntarily supplemented with healthy, perishable snacks provided by families.
17. What are families expected to provide for their children?
Families are responsible for meals, extra clothes, and diapers. Occasionally, you may be asked to bring special snacks or objects from home as part of the curriculum (e.g. show and tell items). Before school starts each year, parents must give us an updated health form, immunization records, flu shot record, emergency contact information, and acknowledgement of receipt of paperwork. If your child’s health form expires during the year (is more than a year old), then you will need to submit an updated form mid-year.
18. Are you able to accommodate children with allergies and dietary restrictions?
Yes, we welcome children with allergies and dietary restrictions and will work with families to make sure we are serving their child something that is safe and appropriate for them to eat.
19. How do you communicate with families?
Teachers speak with families at pick up daily and send out weekly written communication about what is happening in their class. Emails from the administration and the parent group are sent out regularly. Occasionally, flyers will be sent home about unique events. We offer parent-teacher conferences yearly, plus more often, as needed.
20. How do you manage challenging behaviors?
We believe that it is our role to actively teach children what we want them to do, not to punish them for what they do wrong. If a child is struggling, we work to discover the cause of the struggle and figure out how we can adapt to make the environment work better for that child. We do not use time out, but we may occasionally remove a child from a situation that is not working for them and work with them to help them calm down.
21. Do we accept children with special needs?
CCNS works with all children to give them the best preschool education we possibly can. Â Occasionally, there are children who need more specialized support than we can provide. If that happens, we will work with families to transition to a school with more specialized support.
22. How can parents get involved?
CCNS has a highly active parent group that organizes room parents, plans social events for parents and families, organizes donation drives and runs fundraisers. They are always looking for volunteers for these activities. Additionally, families in the Threes, Fours and Fives can come in to read stories to the class and volunteer to help cover the classroom during meetings. We also encourage parents to come in to help the class learn about their family traditions, stories, or food.
23. Do you teach cultural diversity?
CCNS strives to be a place that is welcoming to all families. Our families come from diverse backgrounds, and we work with families to make CCNS an inclusive place for all.