The ABC's of Happy Hearts

Welcome to the Happy Hearts family!

This online handbook is a quick guide to important Happy Hearts policies, procedures, programs, and traditions. Please review it and contact the office or Director if you have questions.

A

Admissions Policy

Happy Hearts Kindergarten, Inc. admits students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally available to students at the school. Happy Hearts Kindergarten, Inc. does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, or other school-administered programs.

Arrival

Children must be supervised while on campus before and after school. For safety reasons, children should not climb stairs or go upstairs without an adult.

Classroom doors will open at 8:30 a.m. Please wait outside the classroom until the teacher opens the door. At that time, you may give your child hugs and kisses and say your goodbyes outside the classroom.

Please make sure your child uses the restroom before going to class.

Absences

We understand that absences are sometimes unavoidable due to illness, vacations, or other circumstances. We ask that your child attend school as regularly as possible.

If your child is enrolled as a VPK student, please contact the office after three consecutive absences.

B

Bags

It is a Happy Hearts tradition for each child to receive a Happy Hearts tote bag. The bag coordinates with the color of their “bird” class.

Birthdays

Birthdays are very special to us! We want each child's birthday to be a meaningful and memorable celebration at Happy Hearts.

We will celebrate your child's birthday in class on, or as close as possible to, their actual birthday. Families are encouraged to attend.

For children with summer birthdays, we will celebrate their birthday around the halfway point of the summer.

In the classroom, your child will be the Snack Leader on their birthday. Families are welcome to send a special treat for the class, such as cupcakes or another classroom-friendly snack.

C

Calendar

Your child's teacher will provide a calendar each month. The calendar will include the class focus, special events, and other important information.

D

Discipline

Happy Hearts does not use spanking or any other form of physical punishment. Discipline will never be associated with food, rest, or toileting.

Discipline methods will be age-appropriate, constructive, and focused on helping children learn self-control and appropriate behavior.

Happy Hearts reserves the right to dismiss a child from the program when deemed necessary. Please refer to the school's Discipline Policy for additional information.

Dismissal

Happy Hearts dismisses all students at 12:00 p.m. Pickup takes place at the classroom.

If you arrive after 12:05 p.m., you are considered late and must call the school.

Beginning with the third late pickup, a fee of $5 for every five minutes will be assessed for each late pickup thereafter.

E

E-Mail

The best way to communicate with your child's teacher is through email.

School Email: jthompson@happyheartsocala.org

Emergency Closing

In the event of a hurricane or other emergency, Happy Hearts will follow the Marion County School System's plan for school closings.

Families will be notified by email or through their child's teacher when the school will reopen.

Enrichment Club

Happy Hearts offers after-school Enrichment Club from 12:00–1:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

Children must be fully potty-trained to attend and must bring a packed, nut-free lunch.

Enrichment Club dismissal takes place on the playground.

F

Field Trips

When field trips are planned, we will need parent assistance with transportation and chaperoning.

Parents are responsible for supervising their own child during field trips. Students will either depart from school with a parent or meet at the designated location.

Fire Drills

Fire drills are conducted monthly, and all students participate.

Teachers will practice and familiarize students with safety procedures before the first scheduled drill.

G

Glorify God

At Happy Hearts Preschool, we strive to Glorify God in all that we do and teach.

Christ-centered character qualities are modeled through the love, guidance, and daily interactions of our staff with the children in our care.

H

Health

Happy Hearts is a nut-free school.

For the safety of all students, please do not bring nuts or foods containing nuts to school.

If your child has an allergy or other special health concern, please speak with the Director so that appropriate arrangements can be made to help keep your child safe.

Healthy Bodies

Healthy Bodies is a program designed to help children learn the basics of physical fitness and healthy living.

Students participate in fun, age-appropriate physical activities that promote healthy bodies and healthy minds.

I

Illness

Knowing when to keep your child home from school can sometimes be difficult. However, it is important to keep your child home when they are ill to help prevent the spread of illness to other children and staff.

When in doubt, please keep your child home.

Please keep your child home if they have:

Illness — Symptoms

• Fever

• Cough

• Congestion or a green/yucky nose

• Diarrhea

• Vomiting

• Sore throat

• Symptoms of COVID-19 or Flu

• Other signs of illness

Children must be fever-free without medication for 24 hours before returning to school.

If your child has vomited or experienced diarrhea due to a possible stomach virus, they must be symptom-free without medication for a full 24 hours before returning to school.

J

Jesus Loves Me

Happy Hearts is a non-denominational preschool. We want our preschoolers to take a first look at who God is and understand:

God Made Me.

God Loves Me.

Jesus Wants to Be My Friend Forever.

We hold Chapel every Wednesday in the Sanctuary, and parents are always welcome to attend.

K

Kindness

Students at Happy Hearts are encouraged and expected to treat their classmates, teachers, and others with kindness and respect.

Positive behavior is encouraged through positive verbal reinforcement. When appropriate, children may be asked to stop, think about their behavior, and practice self-control.

Constant interruption of the learning environment will not be permitted.

L

Library

Students visit the library every other week.

Each teacher has their own system for checking out and returning books. Please help your child follow their classroom's procedures.

If a library book is lost or damaged, a donation toward the cost of a replacement book will be required.

M

Music

We have Music Assembly on Wednesdays and Fridays, as well as Tuesdays for our Earlybirds. We have Chapel on Mondays.

We have so much fun making music together!

N

Newsletter

Each teacher will send a weekly and/or monthly newsletter or classroom communication by email, paper, or app. These communications will help keep you informed about what is happening in your child's classroom.

In addition, school-wide upcoming events will be emailed to families each month.

O

Office Hours

Monday–Friday

8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

P

Parties

Happy Hearts has six celebrations throughout the school year:

• Fall

• Thanksgiving

• Christmas

• Valentine's Day

• Easter

• End-of-Year

We ask that each classroom have two parent hosts for each party. The party parents plan and coordinate the entire celebration, including snacks and activities.

A sign-up sheet will be available in your child's classroom during Meet the Teacher Day.

The End-of-Year Party for our 2- and 3-year-old classes may be held off campus. All other parties must be held on campus.

If an off-campus party is held:

• The location may not have an unfenced body of water.

• A restroom must be available.

• Swimming is not permitted.

• Parties may not exceed 1½ hours.

If you need ideas or have questions about hosting a party, please feel free to ask your child's teacher.

Photography & Social Media

We love capturing the special moments, friendships, and memories that make Happy Hearts so special!

Throughout the school year, teachers may take photographs of children participating in classroom activities, special events, celebrations, and other school experiences. These photos may be shared with families through our school communication platforms.

We kindly ask that parents and families respect the privacy preferences of other Happy Hearts families. If a photograph shared by a teacher includes children other than your own, please do not post or share that photograph on personal social media accounts or other public platforms.

We understand that families have different preferences regarding their children's photographs being shared publicly. Some families choose not to have photographs of their children posted on social media, and we want to honor and respect those wishes.

We also ask that families use good judgment when taking photographs or videos at school events and be mindful of the privacy of other children and families.

Happy Hearts cannot control or be responsible for photographs or videos taken by parents, family members, or other guests at school events and subsequently shared on personal social media accounts or other platforms. Once a photograph or video is taken by an individual, Happy Hearts cannot control how or where that individual chooses to share it.

Our goal is simply to be respectful of one another and to protect the privacy of all of our Happy Hearts children and families.

Thank you for helping us create a safe, respectful, and caring community! ❤️

Potty-Training

Children in our 3’s and 4’s class must be potty-trained to be in school. If your child has three potty accidents within a 30-day period, the child will be asked to stay home for one week to work on potty-training. Tuition must continue to be paid during this week in order to reserve the child’s spot. A child may not sit out of school for potty-training accidents more than three times. After the third sit-out, the child may be dismissed from the Happy Hearts school program. Please make sure your child is potty-trained.

Q

Questions or Concerns

We want you to feel comfortable communicating with us. If you have a question or concern, please contact the office or the Director.

Jessica Thompson, Director

Phone: 352-622-7636

Email: jthompson@happyheartsocala.org

R

Restrooms

Children are taken to the restroom regularly throughout the day. If a child needs to use the restroom at another time, an adult will assist them.

Our 2-year-old students may attend school in pull-ups, although we encourage families and teachers to work together as a team toward potty-training success.

Our Hummingbirds, Greenbirds, Bluebirds, and Redbirds must be fully potty-trained and may not use pull-ups at school.

If a child has three potty accidents within a 30-day period, the child will be asked to stay home for one week to work on potty-training. Tuition must continue to be paid during this week in order to reserve the child's spot. A child may not sit out of school for potty-training accidents more than three times. After the third sit-out, the child may be dismissed from the Happy Hearts school program. Please refer to the Potty-Training section for the complete policy.

Room Mom

Each classroom will have a Room Mom.

The Room Mom helps coordinate special events and serves as a liaison between the teacher and other classroom parents.

A sign-up sheet will be available during Meet the Teacher Day.

S

Student Registration

Registration for the following school year takes place in January.

Physical and immunization forms are required before your child begins school each year. If your child has a Religious Exemption Form in place of an immunization form, Happy Hearts must receive a copy before the start of the school year.

Current Happy Hearts families must be current on tuition in order to register for the following year.

A non-refundable registration fee is due at the time of registration unless your child is registering as a VPK student.

Children must be registered each school year.

T

Tuition

Tuition is due on the 10th of each month and is considered late after the 15th. Payments made after the 15th are subject to a $15 late fee.

There are 10 total tuition payments due each school year, beginning in August.

If an account is more than 15 days past due after the 15th of the month, the child will not be permitted to attend Happy Hearts until the account is brought current. During this time, the child's spot at Happy Hearts cannot be guaranteed.

Tuition payments are non-refundable for withdrawals or dismissals after the first day of the month.

U

Unique

Happy Hearts is a unique preschool with a rich history.

Founded in 1946, Happy Hearts is a non-denominational educational program. We are proud of our long-standing tradition and the excellent reputation we have built through decades of involvement in our community.

V

Volunteers

We highly encourage parents to volunteer and take an active interest in their child's school experience.

Your involvement helps make Happy Hearts a special place for our children and families.

VPK

Florida was one of the first states in the country to offer free Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) for all eligible 4-year-olds, regardless of family income.

To be eligible, children must live in Florida and be 4 years old on or before September 1 of the current school year. The VPK school-year program provides 540 hours of instruction. VPK classrooms may have no more than 20 children; however, Happy Hearts limits our VPK/K4 classrooms to 15 children.

VPK students must attend at least 85% of the school year and may not have more than 10 tardies.

To enroll in VPK, families must register through the Early Learning Coalition of Marion County and complete the Happy Hearts Registration Form.

There is no registration fee or required fee for children enrolled in VPK during the 540 hours of VPK instruction.

Any fees associated with K4 programs outside of VPK hours are for optional programs and are not required to attend Happy Hearts.

W

Website

www.happyheartsocala.com

X Y & Z

Enjoy the Year!

Take a deep breath and enjoy the year!

We are so excited to have your child at Happy Hearts. We look forward to an amazing year filled with learning, growing, friendship, faith, and fun!

Welcome to the Happy Hearts family! ❤️

Complaint and Grievance Policy

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

Happy Hearts Kindergarten, Inc. will give prompt and careful attention to the needs and wishes of families.

Making concerns known

• A parent who is uneasy about any aspect of the preschool should first of all talk over any worries and anxieties with their child’s preschool teacher.

• If this does not result in a satisfactory outcome or if a problem recurs, the parent should put the concerns or complaint in writing and request a meeting with the preschool teacher and the Director.

We believe that most complaints are made constructively and can be resolved informally

at an early stage.  Furthermore we believe that it is in the best interests of the preschool

and parents that complaints should be taken seriously and dealt with fairly and

confidentially. Please see the stages below for a more detail.

If a parent ever has cause to believe that their child has been mistreated by a staff

member, they should inform the Director immediately. 

The Director of Happy Hearts Kindergarten Inc. is Jessica Thompson can be contacted at 352-622-7636, jthompson@happyheartsocala.org or in the Happy Hearts Office.  

If for any reason you feel that your concern is not being addressed properly by the Director, you have the right to make a written request to have a meeting with the Board of Directors.  

If after all attempts have been made and you feel your concern has not been addressed or properly handled you may then contact our Accreditating Agency and or State Agencies Below:

Green Apple Accreditation of Children's Services

2255 Dunn Avenue Suite 201 Jacksonville, Florida 32218, United States

(904) 293 - 1357 - Main Office 

(904) 657 - 5892 - Church 

(904) 328 - 3770 - Fax

info@gaacs.org - Email 

www.gaacs.org - Website

Early Learning Coalition of Marion County- VPK

2300 SW 17th Road, Ocala, FL 34471

Phone: 352-369-2315 | Fax: 352-369-2475