Epworth's Weekday Children's Ministry
Contact WCM at (317) 251-1483 to learn about our school openings, report an absence, or get information about our programs!
News & Announcements
School Closings & Delays: Watch Channel 6 for Updates. If Washington Township Schools are cancelled, we will be closed. If WTS is on a 2-hour delay, we have school at the regular time.
Weekday Children's Ministry (WCM) at Epworth includes: Young Toddlers, Toddlers, Twos, Young Threes, & Preschoolers (3 - 5 years old).
Epworth's Weekday Children's Ministry follows the guidelines of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Snack/Lunches
If you are bringing grapes as a snack, for safety reasons to avoid a choking hazard, please cut the grapes in half. The teachers are very busy helping all the children get their food and drinks out and open during snack and lunchtime. It is important to have the grapes cut up prior to the children bringing them to school. Also, we discourage hotdogs being brought to school for lunch due to the choking hazard.
Health Issues
We are taking extra precautions to eliminate germs; however, washing hands seems to be the best basic line of defense to lessen the germ population. Remember to have your child wash their hands upon arrival to the school. The Epworth Cleaning Crew is being vigilant to wash down areas where germs may be lurking such as doorknobs as well as doing extra cleaning detail around sinks, toilets and bathroom floors. Our teachers are also using strong disinfectants when we are aware of a problem such as today, Monday, September 14 in the MT 3’s Preschool Class in Room 108 where 5 children were absent due to illness. The main symptom reported was diarrhea.
Continue to keep children home for at least 24 hours if they have had diarrhea, fever or vomiting. If children are coughing frequently, have a barking sound of a cough or have a nose discharge, please keep children home. We will inform parents if we have several children out with the same symptom.
Parent Council
Parent Council has an organizational meeting in early August to make plans for the upcoming school year. The council consists of a Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Director, Fundraiser Coordinator, Vision Screening Coordinator, Scholastic Book Sales Coordinator and a parent representative from each class. The council meets seven times throughout the year and plans activities to support the school. The current co-chairpersons are Elizabeth O’Gara and Betsy Wallis. If you have questions or want to volunteer for an event at the school, please contact them at:
Elizabeth: ogara.family@att.net -- (317) 202-0693
Betsy: bwallis1969@yahoo.com -- (317) 598-0133
NAEYC Accreditation Update
Our candidacy materials were approved by the Academy in January 2008. We continue to work toward completing our Classroom Portfolios and Program Portfolios.
We decided to take one more year to prepare for our NAEYC accreditation visit due to the extra time commitment required by all staff to complete the Program and Classroom Portfolios. We will continue to follow the NAEYC standards and prepare for a Spring 2010 visit.
Licensing by the State of Indiana
We are a licensed-exempt facility. Epworth W.C.M. is not licensed by the state of Indiana. We do have annual fire inspections by the Indianapolis Fire Department. Also, Nelson Security Alarm Systems inspects the electronic smoke detectors and fire extinguishers annually, and we have unannounced annual inspections by the Marion County Health Department.
The NAEYC accreditation guidelines specify that we must inform our parents that we are not licensed and need to provide them a copy of the State guidelines. We have placed a copy of the state guidelines in a 3-ring notebook. The binder is located by the Parent Folders for your perusal. A copy of the state guidelines will be made based upon individual requests. Contact the office if you would like a personal copy of the state guidelines.
Parenting Class Offered
Conscious Discipline by Becky Bailey, led by Dawn Blake
Children can bring joy one minute and frustration the next—teasing their sibling, stalling when its time to clean-up, talking back when disciplined. Without strategies to handle trying behavior, frustration may overwhelm parents and the shouting match may begin! When parents lose control, no one wins. Self-control is a priority for a parent!
Join us for a Parenting Class and learn some new strategies! The cost is $10 per family for all 8 classes. Classes will be held at the school in the Large Conference Room 200 on the first floor. Childcare is provided with a freewill donation taken each week.
Visit Becky’s website www.beckybailey.com for more information regarding Conscious Discipline. Contact Dawn Blake at 251-1483 with questions.