Welcome to The Jewish Center

Bathroom Procedures The 2-1/2 to 3 year old classes: Children need not be toilet trained. Parents are responsible for providing sealed packages of diapers, wipes and at least two extra complete sets of clothing. Children should not wear "pull ups" in lieu of diapers or underpants. It makes the changing process quite difficult and long, most often requiring the child to be completely undressed from the waist down. If your child is in the process of being toilet trained but continues to have two or more accidents per week for more than a two-week period, the school's policy is that the child must come to school in a diaper, not underpants. This policy has been established for health reasons (i.e., so that the carpet and chairs remain unsoiled). Please bear in mind that the child who uses the toilet at home in a familiar environment might not do so at school, where he/she is involved with other children or activities. A child is not considered "trained" until she/he can consistently verbalize a need to go to the bathroom and tend to his/her toileting needs independently. The 3 to 4 year old classes: Children should be toilet trained to attend these classes. This means that they no longer wear diapers and they can consistently verbalize their need to use the bathroom and tend to their toileting needs independently. Teachers will assist a child in pulling his/her pants down and up. The children should be encouraged at home and are encouraged at school to learn how to wipe themselves. If your child is in one of the three - four-year-old classes and is recently toilet trained but still has "accidents," it is recommended that you give your child's teacher a phone number where you can be reached during the day and that you not be further than a 10 or 15 minute drive from The Jewish Center. You will be phoned in the event of an "accident" and will be responsible for coming to The Jewish Center to change your child. If a child in any of these classes has frequent (two or more "accidents" in one week) and/or recurring accidents, the parent may be asked to keep the child at home for a short while to work on toilet training. This procedure will be worked out by the family involved, the teachers and the Nursery School Director. Sometimes a child entering one of these classes is not toilet trained by the first day of school. There will be no diaper or pull-up changing done by the teachers. If your child has an accident while in school, you will be called and expected to be here within 15 minutes to change them. Helpful Hints: Pull-on pants are the easiest for the children. One piece snowsuits, overalls, zippers, snaps, suspenders and belts make the process difficult for everyone. Clothing During the day, the children have lots of opportunities to get dirty, whether it be through art, outdoor play, or even while eating. Because children seem to gravitate toward messy activities, you are urged to dress your child in old, washable, comfortable clothing. The staff will take all precautions to try to keep the children's clothing from getting dirty by putting smocks on them during art. However, the Nursery School cannot be held responsible for clothing that becomes stained during the day. We strongly encourage all children to wear shoes that stay on the feet securely with laces, buckles, or Velcro. Rubber soled shoes such as sneakers are recommended. *Flip flops, clogs or other backless shoes are dangerous for the children when they climb stairs, are on the playground equipment or participate in our gym program.* Supplies A plastic or paper bag containing at least one complete (including socks, underwear, shirt and pants) season appropriate change of clothes (two are preferable, including underwear) should be provided to be left at school in case of "accidents." If these extra clothes are used, please supply a substitute set by the next day. Please label everything. Fundraising The Nursery School depends on fundraising among the parents to enrich our school equipment and furnishings. We welcome your participation. Through our fundraising efforts, we have purchased equipment for our playground, installed the security system, furnished each classroom with a library and supported a scholarship fund to help families defray the cost of Nursery School tuition. The main fundraiser for the Nursery School is the Gift Boutique held every fall. Donations If you are looking for a way to mark a special occasion (such as the birthday of a child or a wedding anniversary), to honor someone (a family member or a teacher) or memorialize a loved one, please consider making a donation to one of these funds-- earmarked to benefit the Nursery School: 1. The Audrey and Ken Gould Scholarship Fund. Money donated to this Fund provides financial assistance to defray the cost of Nursery School tuition. 2. Cy and Jackie Meisel Nursery Scholarship Endowment Fund. Money donated to this Fund provides financial assistance to defray the cost of Nursery School tuition. 3. The Nursery Educator’s Professional Development Fund. The Staff continues to learn all the time in order to provide the best possible education for your child. Your contributions to this Fund will ensure the continuing education of the teachers. 4. The Nursery School. This general fund is used to purchase equipment and/or supplies. Playground equipment and mats, the security system and computers for all of the four-year-old classes are just some of the items that have been bought due to the generosity of many families. 5. The Nursery School Playground Fund. This fund will be used to purchase equipment and playground maintenance. Summer Program A summer camp program called "Machaneynu (our camp)" is offered during the summer. Information is available to parents in January. *Tzedakah* and Mitzvot Tzedakah means more than charity. It literally means justice. At school, we stress the importance of contributing to worthy causes. Tzedakah is collected on Thursdays in the 2-day classes and on Fridays in all other classes. Children may bring any denomination of coins or bills to be placed in a classroom Tzedakah box. The money is then donated to various charitable organizations such as Jewish Family and Children's Service, Hadassah, Jewish National Fund and United Jewish Appeal. The Nursery also participates in various food and toy drives and works on various mitzvah projects. Some classes bake a casserole once per month to be delivered to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK). Teachers will post the needed ingredients which parents can volunteer to supply (for work hour credit). (Please see "Shabbat and Shabbat Parents” and "School-wide Shabbat and Birthday Celebration" for additional information about mitzvot.)