Application (pdf)

Program Brochure

March 2009

Dear Parents/Guardians,

The Mountain Lakes School District is pleased to announce the opening of an inclusive General Education preschool program in the Wildwood Elementary School for the 2009-2010 school year for students of ages 3-4. This General Education Preschool Program will operate 5 days a week, Monday through Friday, with a morning class for 3 year olds from 8:45 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. and an afternoon class for 4 year olds from 12:25 p.m. – 3:10 p.m. It is anticipated that there will be 8 openings in each session for general education students, which will be selected on an age 3 and age 4 lottery system. The maximum number of special education and general education students per session cannot exceed 15 students.

As part of our school community, the students who are selected for the preschool program will follow the Mountain Lakes Public Schools 2009-2010 Board of Education approved calendar year and Wildwood’s Code of Conduct. These students will receive five half days of instruction per week by a certified preschool teacher and a paraprofessional. In addition students will receive instruction in the areas of art, music, physical education and library by certified personnel. This program differentiates itself from others by incorporating integrated classroom related services, consisting of speech therapy, occupational therapy and/or physical therapy. The tuition rate for the General Education Preschool is $5000 a year, spanning from September 2009 to June 2010. Payment of $2500 is due on September 15, 2009 with the balance due on January 15, 2010. Checks should be sent to the Mountain Lakes Board of Education, 400 Boulevard, Mountain Lakes, NJ, 07046.

To be eligible for this program, a student must be three years old by October 1, 2009 or four years of age by October 1, 2009. Each candidate must be toilet trained prior to the program starting. A birth certificate, copy of immunizations, and proof of residency will be required of those students applying. Enrollment priority will be given to residents of Mountain Lakes.

Applications downloaded from the Mountain Lakes School District Wildwood Elementary School website at http://www.mtlakes.org/ww. The deadline for applications will be April 21, 2009. The lottery will be held on April 23, 2009. Successful applicants will be notified. Applications must be submitted directly to the Wildwood School office. Parents with additional questions may contact either Robert Reid, Principal at 973-334-3609 or Janet Wright, Director of Special Services at (973) 334 - 2587.

Sincerely,

Janet C. Wright, Director of Special Services & Robert J. Reid, Principal of Wildwood Elementary School

Welcome to Preschool

Now provided by the Mountain Lakes School District in Wildwood Elementary School.

• 5 days a week: Monday through Friday from 8:45 a.m.–11:30 a.m. for three year olds and 12:25 p.m. – 3:10 p.m. for four year olds.
  
• anticipated 8 openings in each session for students ages three and four selected by lottery.
  
• tuition of $5,000 for the school year spanning September through June.

Mountain Lakes Preschool Program Mission Statement

The Mountain Lakes Preschool Program will prepare the youngest learners in our schools to fully experience and participate in their lives at home, in school, and in the community. Our program will help our children develop the readiness skills in all content areas as outlined by the New Jersey Preschool Teaching and Learning Expectations. It is our mission to create a bridge between families and school to support our children and to give them a successful start on their journey through school.

Learning Centers

Your child’s classroom will be an enriching environment, separated into distinct interest areas where learning in the form of exploration and discovery can take place on a daily basis.

Blocks	Dramatic Play
Books	Table Toys/Games
Art	Discovery

These centers, along with guided large and small group activities, will provide your child with a well-rounded and educationally meaningful experience.

Preschool Intervention Team

This team will be in place to support general education preschool children with persistent challenging behaviors or learning difficulties in the classroom.

Positive Behavior Supports

Positive Behavior Supports is a model recommended by the New Jersey Division of Early Childhood Education to address challenging behaviors by:

• conducting school-wide assessments of behavior problems and patterns
  
• designing and implementing effective class and school-wide interventions
  
• designing environments that encourage pro-social behaviors
  
• using data-based decision making to evaluate and modify programs and interventions
  
• assessing, designing, and implementing
  
• interventions for students who engage in chronic patterns of problem behavior

Health Services

There will be a full-time nurse in the school at all times who will work with preschool children and their families by providing the following services.

• conduct health screenings (vision, hearing, height, and weight)
• monitor and follow up on individual child health records
• document and communicate with staff and
• parents about allergies or other health issues
• assist in the development of written emergency plans and procedures, when necessary

The Mountain Lakes Schools District will conduct health related activities at school that provide information regarding proper health and hygiene.

In addition, students will be able to share with their family information regarding proper health and hygiene through their communication books.

Transition to Kindergarten

Students in our preschool program will be

provided activities and opportunities to

socialize and interact with the Kindergarten

staff and students.

Wildwood Elementary School also conducts

specific days where preschool students work

directly with the Kindergarten staff, as well

as parent-visitation days, and Back-to-School Nights, to ensure a flawless transition from Preschool to Kindergarten for our students and their families.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this program, your child

must be 3 or 4 years old on or before

October 1, 2009 and toilet-trained.

A birth certificate, copy of immunizations, and

proof of residency will be required of those

students applying. Enrollment priority will be given to residents of Mountain Lakes.

Sign up today!

Applications can be downloaded from the Mountain Lakes School District website. The deadline for applications will be April 21,2009. A lottery for selection will be held on April 23, 2009.

Parents with additional questions may contact Robert Reid, Principal Wildwood School at (973) 334-3609 or Janet Wright, Director of Special Services at (973) 334-2587

Join us!

The preschool curriculum will be one of the Early Childhood Education curricula that are recommended by the New Jersey Department of Education. The curriculum will be linked to an assessment system that addresses a teacher’s need to know how children learn best. The preschool curriculum specifies content to be taught in the following areas, all according to New Jersey Preschool Teaching and Learning Expectations.

• Literacy: vocabulary and language, phonological awareness, letters, words, print, comprehension, and books and other texts as sources of enjoyment
• Mathematics: numbers, patterns and
• relationships, geometry and spatial awareness, measurement, and data collection, organization, and representation
• Science: physical science, life science, and earth and the environment
• Social Studies: spaces and geography, people and how they live, people and the environment, and people and the past
• The Arts: dance, music, drama, & the visual arts
• Technology: awareness of technology, basic operations and concepts, technological tools, and people and technology

All content being taught directly relates to subject area curricula used at the elementary level so children’s learning in Preschool forms the basis of all learning that

will follow.