Children’s Special Circumstances
Parents must notify the office about any medical conditions, allergies, learning styles, social needs, or other special circumstances that might affect your child’s participation in the program, at the start of each term. Medications must remain in the New Art Center office, children may not self-administer any medications.
The New Art Center follows the Newton Public School guidelines related to covid policies. Masking, except when returning from a COVID infection, is no longer required, but optional masking at the discretion of the individual should be supported. Please see the full guidelines here.
COVID-19 policies may shift before classes or during the term to include a mask mandate if required by local government.
Hygiene Protocols
Hand sanitizing stations will be set up in each classroom and around the building.
Cleaning & Disinfecting
The New Art Center is cleaned professionally each night, 6 days a week.
Nuts/Allergies:
Due to the prevalence of nut allergies, New Art Center is a nut-free environment. No nuts or peanuts, PLEASE.
Medications:
All medications must be checked in with a staff member prior to the start of the week, with detailed, written instructions. Children may not keep medication in their backpacks or lunch boxes, and all medications will be administered by a staff member, according to parental instructions. Parents must submit an emergency form for each enrolled child.
Healthcare Policy:
Our healthcare policy can be found here. Please contact New Art if you have any questions or concerns.
Behavioral Management Policy:
Students must be able to function independently or be accompanied by an aide. As each week begins, teachers will discuss appropriate behavior, language, and the safe respectful use of materials in the classroom.
Behavioral Management for Young Students
New Art Center’s behavior management policy is intended to teach and promote self-regulation while ensuring the safety of each student. Staff set consistent, reasonable, and appropriate limits that take into account the individual needs and development of each student. Positive and reasonable responses are sought for all problems in order to maximize learning, growth, and development. All efforts are made to offer choices to help children formulate appropriate actions based on their social and emotional needs and to provide an opportunity for discussion and reflection. Children are supervised at all times.
Children are encouraged to understand that all feelings are legitimate, whether it is anger, frustration, silliness, sadness, etc. Those feelings are recognized, but children are held responsible for their actions. Children are most invested in a code of behavior that they help formulate. Children are incorporated into the rule-making process, especially as it concerns group decisions of preference, yet never where a certain decision may injure the emotional or physical well being of other children.
Behavior issues are viewed and addressed as either aggressive or non-aggressive.
Non-aggressive behavior includes but is not limited to: disregarding teacher instructions, leaving the studio without permission, physically infringing upon another student’s personal space or interfering with their ability to listen or participate in activities.
Aggressive behavior is defined as any act that is harmful or threatening to oneself, threatens physical or emotional harm to other children or staff, deliberate destruction of New Art Center property or that of others and behavior that requires constant adult corrective action. Aggressive behavior is viewed very seriously. The following steps are taken to address behavior issues.
The child is given one or two verbal warnings that include a reason for the warning with an example of positive behavior. If that action fails, the child is given a 5-10 minute break, followed by an explanation of what the correct behavior is and why the warnings were given. This break is not presented as punishment, but as a way to slow down and reflect on or reconsider the situation. At this time, the instructor has a dialogue with the child to determine the appropriate options for the situation – such as to rejoin the activity, keep taking a break, or focus on a different activity.
In cases of aggressive behavior or repetitive non-aggressive behavior, appropriate action is taken by the Director of Education. The Director will assess the severity of the situation and will proceed with one of the following responses: removing the child from class for the rest of the class period, contacting the parents/guardian(s), scheduling a conference with the parents/guardian(s), termination or suspension.
If an instructor feels that a worrying dynamic is developing among students, they are encouraged to speak with the Director of Education right away. Solutions could include, physically separating students by assigning them to different work areas, working as a class to create community guidelines, or arranging for a meeting with parents and students to work through problems or disagreements.
In no case will a child be subjected to abuse or neglect, cruel, unusual, severe, or corporal punishment including: any type of physical hitting inflicted in any manner upon the body; punishments which subject a child to verbal abuse, ridicule, or humiliation; denial of food or force of feeding or punishment related to eating or not eating food; denial or rest of use of bathroom facilities or disciplining for soiling, wetting, or not using the toilet.
Parents/Guardians have the right to review background check, healthcare, discipline policies and grievance procedures upon request.