The first step towards having healthy children is children feeling safe and protected. One of the ways that The Q StudioLab does this is by implementing a Transition Policy for our youngest students in the Preschool Program. The school uses a gradual entry schedule at the beginning of the school year. For the first few days, children spend increasing amounts of time in the classroom with increasing numbers of classmates. By allowing for the gradual entry of children, the teachers are better able to meet the needs of individual children on their first days of school. Each child is assigned a start-date where he/she will be one of a maximum of two children beginning in his/her class that day. On that first day a significant adult (parent, nanny, grandparent etc.) comes with the child to school and stays with him/her for the three hour program that day. The second day, a child is still only coming to the program for a maximum of three hours. On the second day the significant person comes in with the child and stays for approximately an hour and then leaves the school, still staying close by. If your child is too upset to participate in the activities and cannot be engaged within 10 minutes, we call the significant person to come back and stay with the child at school doing activities for another hour. After this hour then the child and the significant person leave school. The third day depends on the events of the first two days and we create an individualized plan for each child at this point. Children react to school with a wide range of emotions and behaviors. Some parents and children may find that they can easily say good-bye to each other on the first day. Other parents and children may still be working on separation for many weeks to come. Regardless of your child’s reactions, and your own feelings about separation, the teachers, assistant teachers and director are there to help you make this transition go as smoothly as possible.
We want you as parents to feel connected and a part of the Q Community. The transition policy never just ends at the door. The Q StudioLab encourages parents to spend time sharing their talents, hobbies, and personal interests or just helping out in their child’s classroom. It makes the child feel special and important and it can be an exciting experience for the parent. We realize that this is more difficult for some families than for others. We hope each family will be able to contribute as much time as they can.
The kitchen at The Q StudioLab prepares all food that is served for the Preschool program. There is no prepared outside food allowed at meal times due to a variety of allergies that many children have. We are dedicated to providing fresh, whole foods to the children for breakfast, lunch and snack. We introduce your child to foods he/she may not have tried before. We encourage children through family style meals where all of us eat together and share stories and thoughts about the day and the food. These meals give children a chance to practice their physical skills of pouring, scooping, passing and socializing with other children. The teachers sit and eat with the children and model the skills that we are building. By introducing children to healthy eating habits and different types of whole foods like beans, grains, vegetables, fruits, soups, homemade breads and fresh squeezed juice, they begin to appreciate the flavor and feeling of eating healthy foods.
Students in the Elementary and Middle School Programs have the option to opt into the hot lunch program at school or bring in packed cold lunches each day. The Q StudioLab is a peanut and tree nut-free facility. All families are given lunch packing guidelines in the Student Welcome Packet which indicates no candy, cake, cookies, chocolate energy bars, doughnuts, chocolate milk, and juice boxes should be included. This helps students maintain focus for their afternoon classes. Having additional sugar at lunch really affects this and parents are encouraged to help keep the sweets at home.
Students in the after school program are required to pack a snack for the program. No tree nuts or peanuts should be included. Cooking classes are offered as part of the After School Q Classes and students ages 5-12 have a chance to learn how to safely chop, prepare, and cook different dishes–a life long skill!
