Introduction

Performance Martial Arts (PMA) is pleased to offer School Age Child Care (SACC) in conjunction with your neighborhood schools. We have prepared this manual for your convenience and as a guide for you and your child. We welcome any comments or suggestions you may have for us. This program has been designed to meet the ever-increasing need of working parents to secure quality supervision of their children during the critical after school hours. It is our desire to provide you and your child with a safe, appropriate, and consistent aftercare program.

Program Philosophy PMA provides after school martial arts/performing arts training as well as transportation from local schools to our facility. Our program is designed to help our students develop important life skills. The very nature of martial arts training is to provide development in the areas of discipline, focus, courtesy, as well as other important skills. Martial arts/performing arts instruction is provided on a daily basis, because of the frequency of the instruction we are better able to develop the needs of the students. We feel it is important to know that we advocate structure as a main theme of our program. We do want our students to have fun but we believe in the proper balance of structure, discipline, and fun. Martial arts/performing arts promote gross motor skill development and fitness as well as the intellectual and social development needed and we believe our program provides optimal benefits for children. Eligibility Students in Kindergarten through 5th grade are eligible for participation in our program. Every child must have the mandated forms completed and on file at the center prior to their first day, no one will be permitted to attend without this information on file. Parents of 5 year old students must be aware of our program suitability to this age group. A 5 year old in our program must be independent enough to participate in all aspects of our program, this means that they can pick up after themselves, follow directions, and maintain some semblance of organizational skills. We also accept students in middle schools on a case-by-case basis. Staffing Our program maintains a ratio of 1 staff member to 15 students or better. Our program will have the appropriate number of staff positions as required by the State. These positions include Director, Assistant Director, Group Leader, Assistant Group Leader and Aide each of which meet or exceed the minimum State requirements. Staff members trained in CPR and First Aid as required by the State Child-Care regulations will be on duty at all times.

Tuition and Payment Policies Tuition for our program is currently $___* per week. (Check with the Director for current rate information) This includes transportation from your child’s school to PMA, martial arts or performing arts instruction, and a daily snack. If you are registered for before care service, your fee includes morning drop off service at your child’s school. We do not pro-rate tuition due to absenteeism or abbreviated school weeks. Tuition payments are automatically drafted on the FRIDAY prior to the following week of school. In addition to the returned payment fee of $35.00, a late payment fee of $30.00 is assessed for payments that are returned for insufficient funds by the bank (this is per instance). Credit card customers whose cards are declined for payment will be called immediately. An alternative payment can be made by the close of the business day to avoid a late fee. PMA reserves the right to terminate services in the case of three (3) or more insufficient funds incidents. Parents who do not make payment including the late fee by Monday at 12:00 noon will not have their child picked up from school. Your payment is authorization for PMA to pick up your child and without it we cannot transport your child to our program. Any changes that need to be made to the account information that we have on file must be done in writing by the Wednesday before the automatic draft in order to use the new account information.

Pickup Policy Pick up time is by 6:30 PM sharp, the official time is kept by the Director and the business office. A 6:30 PM pick up means that the child has departed the classroom with their personal belongings by 6:30PM. After 6:30 PM late fees shall be $2.00 per minute. Parents are required to physically come in to our facility to pick up their child. Parents are also required to sign their children out upon leaving the facility. A sign out sheet is located in the Parent Center: please write the time of departure and your initials each day. Pick up time for Whitehall, and Samuel Ogle students is 7:00 PM. Late Pickup Option Parents who wish to have the flexibility of picking up their children later may opt to choose the late pick up option. The cost for this option is an additional $35.00 per week; this gives the parent a 7:00 PM pick up time (Late fees apply after 7:00 PM @$2.00 per minute). If you select this option you must commit with payment as part of your normal Friday payment. For example, you would add the $35.00 to the weekly tuition payment and you would be enrolled in the Late Pickup Option. You cannot however, arrive late to pick up your child and attempt to enroll in the Late Pickup Option at that time.

* TUITION IS SUBJECT TO CURRENT RATE BEING OFFERED. PLEASE CHECK WITH AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR THE CORRECT TUITION AMOUNT.

Absentee and No Show Policy Parents who do not notify PMA staff that their student is absent from school or that the student has departed early (in both cases the child will not be picked up by PMA) will be charged a “No Show” or “Absentee” fee of $20.00 per incident. Our voice mail operates on a 24 hour 7 day a week basis for messages. Our transportation schedule is carefully planned out and timed accordingly. We cannot spend critical minutes looking for students who have gone home early or are not in school. There are no exceptions or warnings to this policy. The deadline for notifying PMA is 1:30 PM however, we can take calls at the last minute as long as they are made PRIOR TO YOU CHILDS DIMISSAL TIME. ONCE DISMISSAL FROM YOUR CHILD’S SCHOOL HAS COMMENCED FEE’S WILL BE ASSESSED. PMA reserves the right to increase these fees based on frequent and continuous violations.

Transportation to and from Elementary Schools Before School Transportation Information: PMA opens at 6:30 AM for before care service. Here is the schedule of departure times from PMA to the following schools; Departure time of approx 7:10 AM Northview Kenilworth Pointer Ridge Heather Hills Tulip Grove Departure time of approx 7:20 AM Yorktown High Bridge St. Pius Rockledge Grace Christian Departure time of approx 7:50 AM Holy Trinity Cornerstone Departure time of approx 8:50 AM White Hall Because of the timing of the routes, parents must get their child checked in to our facility prior to these departure times. Departure times are all approximate.

After School Transportation Information:

We ask parents to explain to their children the importance of immediately departing for the vans or buses at dismissal time. Students are to proceed to the bus/van pool immediately upon being dismissed. It is important that parents understand that teachers cannot detain or hold back students while dismissal is in progress. Our drivers must leave at scheduled times in order to keep scheduling commitments. Once the vans depart, any requests to return and pick up your child will incur a charge of $25.00.There is no exception to this policy.

Holiday Schedule-In Service Days Whenever possible, PMA will offer full day coverage to parents who need care in the event of “in service days” (PG county schools closed) and other holiday closings. Parents will be notified of these days as well as the costs prior to the day of the event. Parents are asked to pack a bag lunch for students unless otherwise indicated by PMA, please do not include items that need to be refrigerated or microwaved as we are unable to accommodate these items. For extended breaks (i.e. Christmas vacation and spring vacation) a similar arrangement will be made for parents. Parents will have the option to pay a daily rate for care or a weekly rate for care during these periods. Inclement Weather Policy PMA will offer transportation for the children in our program to our facility in the event schools close early due to inclement weather. Please be advised that normal late fees will apply for evening pick up. Please have back up options for pick up in the event that you may be late getting to our facility due to bad weather. In cases where we feel that there may be a possibility of school closing the next day, we will offer a full day option in the event we feel we can get in to open the facility. Please call PMA and listen to the voicemail message to find out what time we will be opening on these days.

SCENARIO # 1 (SCHOOLS CLOSING EARLY DUE TO WEATHER) Children are picked up from school early and brought to PMA. There are no surcharges or extra charges for this service. Pick up time is by 6:30 PM. It is advisable for parents who have a lengthy commute to PMA to arrange a back up person or persons available to pick up your child/children. LATE FEES WILL APPLY REGARDLESS OF WEATHER RELATED ISSUES.

SCENARIO # 2 (SCHOOLS ARE DELAYED FOR OPENING) Performance Martial Arts will be delayed opening by the same amount of time that the schools are delayed i.e. schools are opening 1 hour late then PMA will open 1 hour late.

SCENARIO # 3 (SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER) Parents who are in need of care for the day will be presented the following option: Performance Martial Arts will open at 9:00 AM* and will close at 6:30 PM for parents who are in need of care. The cost of this option will be $25.00 for the full day. Parents may also drop their children off after 2:00 PM for “aftercare” at no additional charge as long as they notify PMA by noon that day of their intention to do so. If PMA is not notified by noon that you will be dropping your child off at 2:00 PM then your child will not be granted access to the building. The reason for this is so that we may staff according to the number of children that will be coming. * This is an approximation only…..actual opening time may vary. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE ABOVE OPTION All students must bring a lunch. Normal late pick up fees apply. PERFORMANCE MARTIAL ARTS RESERVES THE RIGHT TO NOT OPEN FOR ANY OPTION IN THE EVENT WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS OR DANGEROUS

Martial Arts Program Information As part of our After School Program some students will participate in our martial arts instructional curriculum. The following information will help you understand the martial arts aspects of our program, its progression, and supplemental fee structure.

General Information Program Requirements Students that are enrolled in the martial arts after school program at PMA are required to participate in the martial arts curriculum. This is a mandatory activity and all students are required to take class each and every day. Only written medical excuses will be accepted for non-participation. If your child is not feeling well enough to take class then you will be called to have them picked up from the program. Forgetting uniforms is not an acceptable excuse for not taking class. Uniforms that are lost or misplaced will require parents to purchase another uniform. Students, who regularly misbehave, do not follow instructor direction or in the opinion of the instructional/after school staff do not achieve sufficient levels of progress, may be dismissed from the program. Martial arts programming is essential to the development of our students. Martial Arts training are the essence of the structure offered here.

Uniforms It is your responsibility to see that your child has his/her martial arts uniform here at the school every day. We provide lockers for the students to keep their personal belongings including their uniforms. Uniforms are to be taken home on Fridays for laundering. Parents are responsible for marking their child’s uniform with the proper identification. We suggest using a black indelible marker on the collars of the uniform top and on the inside seams of the pants. Students, who have lost or misplaced their martial arts uniform, will be required to purchase another in order to continue in the program. Our program is not designed to accommodate students who sit around and watch during class time.

Martial Arts Instruction Schedule Martial Arts instruction begins every day at 3:00 PM and ends at approximately 5:00 PM.* Please factor this in to consideration when picking up your child/children. If you are picking up your child/children at 3:30 PM then we prefer they not dress for or take class. If on the other hand you arrive at 4:45 PM to pick up your child then we ask that you kindly wait until class is over before picking up your child. Times for instruction are subject to change. * All instruction class times are approximate.

Testing and Equipment Fees The curriculum follows a natural order of progression leading to belt promotions. The following is the order of such progression. Testing is an integral part of the program at PMA. When students receive certification to test parents must be prepared (financially) for these promotions. PMA solely reserves the right to alter, change, postpone, or delay testing under certain circumstances where necessary. Parents who have a scheduling conflict for test dates may have the date changed or modified; the other alternative would be to schedule a private testing. No other circumstances will be considered for testing postponements. Students must wear their white uniform for testing; there will be no exceptions to this policy. White Belt with sparring equipment usage fee

$200.00

Yellow Belt (own rate of progression)

$50.00

Orange Belt (own rate of progression)

$50.00

Green Belt (own rate of progression)

$50.00

Blue Belt (own rate of progression)

$75.00 plus $65.00 equipment costs

Purple Belt (own rate of progression)

$85.00

Brown Belt (own rate of progression)

$100.00 plus $30 equipment costs

Red Belt (own rate of progression)

$125.00 plus $30.00 equipment costs

Red Senior Belt (own rate of progression)

$200.00

Snacks and Drinks Students receive one drink and one snack in the After School Program. We also have a snack bar where we sell juices, sodas, water and various snacks. Please accommodate your child with spending money or set up a snack account for these purchases. Parents who wish to open snack accounts for their children may do so. This account is opened with $25.00. Your child can then charge drink and snack items to their snack account. Under this policy, PMA will renew the account automatically when the balance is negative and $25.00 plus the negative balance will be added. For example if the snack account balance is -$5.00 the account you have on file will be charged $30.00 ($5.00 for the negative balance and $25.00 surplus).

Personal Belongings PMA is not responsible for student’s personal belongings. Please adequately identify your student’s personal effects. We cannot take any responsibility for any lost or misplaced items. Please label everything with your child’s name/initials.

Homework Assignments Policy We provide an environment where children can complete their homework assignments within a reasonable allotted time frame. As a normal course of our program, students are given time to complete their homework. The responsibility of homework lies with the parents.

Emergency Information It is essential that all emergency telephone numbers be kept current as well as any changes of address. It is your responsibility to provide us with any changes to these numbers. Please provide all cell phone, pager, and other numbers that we will need. In addition, numbers for other relatives and neighbors that are authorized to pick your child up will be helpful as well. If your child has not been picked up by 6:30 PM the Director will begin to call emergency numbers. Individuals listed as authorized to pick up your child must be willing to pick up the child and be within 15 minutes of our facility. In the event you are unreachable and your contacts are unreachable, we reserve the right to call the Police or Child Protective Services to come and retrieve your child.

Custody Issues PMA is responsible for the safety of all children within our facility. Parents who have court awarded custody of their child must have the custody papers on file at our facility. PMA staff must release a child to his/her natural parent unless custody papers are on file.

Withdrawal from Program Parents need to provide two week’s written notice for withdrawing students from the program. Your security deposit will be used for the final week’s pickup. There are no pro-rated refunds for short notice terminations. No refunds of security deposits will be made. The two week notice for withdrawal refers to two full school weeks. (Monday through Friday). If notice is given mid week the effective date shall be two full weeks from the following Monday. Re-instatement to the program after withdrawal notice is given shall require a new application fee and current tuition rates being offered will apply.

Medication Prior to any medication being dispensed parents must complete and turn in an Authorization for Prescription and Non-Prescription Medication Form. You may get this form from the Director.

Injury The staff is required to complete an Incident Report in the event a child is injured. Parents will receive a copy of this report. You will be contacted by phone if your child sustains any type of injury requiring possible additional medical attention. A parent must be available in case of emergency. In the event of a serious injury 911 will be called. Please remember that a hospital will not begin treatment until a parent has been contacted. Communication Communication between parents and PMA staff is a key ingredient to the success of our program. We welcome visits to our facility from parents and families. When your child is testing for a belt promotion it is vitally important that parents or family members try to be there. We will communicate the majority of our information to parents via e-mail. We will also provide telephone communication to those parents who do not have access to e-mail. In certain specific situations you may receive written correspondence from us via regular mail. Feel free to request conferences with the Program Director, or Program Administrator at any time you feel necessary. Illness ¾

Children who are ill are not permitted to attend the After School Program.

¾

Children who are too ill to attend school are too ill to attend the A/S Program

¾

In the event your child becomes ill during our program every attempt will be made to contact you or another person listed as the emergency contact.

¾

The Health Department requires that you notify the PMA staff in the event your child contracts a communicable disease, i.e. measles or chicken pox or a contagious condition, i.e. head lice or impetigo.

¾

The State Child care regulations mandate that children who are absent from the program due to illness for three (3) days or more must have a written statement from a parent or physician that the child may return to our program.

¾

If a child repeatedly displays symptoms that prevent him/her from participating in our program activities or, in the opinion of PMA, may be contagious to others, that child may be excluded from the program and a doctor’s note may be requested before the child may return to the program.

¾

Children who spend time in the health suite at school prior to being picked up by PMA may be denied transportation to our program depending on the nature of their ailment.

¾

Children who do not feel well enough for martial arts classes on a repeated basis will have their status re-evaluated for program suitability. We reserve the right to dismiss students who repeatedly do not take class or fail to bring their martial arts uniform.

¾

A child that has a fever may not return to PMA until they have been fever free for a 24 hour period of time.

Discipline Policy Our program staff utilizes Positive Behavior Modification techniques to prevent potential behavior problems as early as possible. Under no circumstances should a parent attempt to discipline a child other than their own during the A/S program. The PMA staff will carry out all discipline and all concerns should be brought to the attention of the staff. Should a child experience difficulty with the established program rules, the procedures outlined below will be followed. Parents should be aware that the steps in the procedures might not occur in the sequence listed depending on the nature of the behavior problem. • • • • • •

The Program Director will discuss the problem with the child and attempt to work out a solution. If the problem persists, an Incident Report will be completed and a conference will be scheduled between the child, then parents, and the Program Director If the problem has not been resolved following the conference, the child will be suspended from the program. A re-entry conference with the child, parents, and the Director must take place before the child may return to the program If the problem persists following the suspension, dismissal from the program may result. If in the opinion of the Director, or Program Administrator, a child’s behavior presents a physical danger to themselves or others, immediate suspension or dismissal from the program may result. Dismissal from the program may also result from: o Repeated late pickups o Parents unreasonable treatment of the staff, including inappropriate airing of complaints o Delinquent payments

Rules of Conduct Students shall not be permitted to engage in the following conduct: • • • • • • • • • • •

The use of obscene language or profanity, acts, gestures, or innuendo directed at any student or staff member The use of any derogatory language, referring to the color, religion, ethnic origin or any aspects of a person’s character or custom, and/or heritage Acts of dishonesty, deception, deceit and/or other relative behavior Failing to follow A/S staff instructions (on a repeated basis) Non-compliance of safety rules, (Ex; unbuckling seat belts, jumping or playing in unauthorized areas) The possession of any firearm, weapon, or any item that resembles a weapon. (ZERO Tolerance) The possession of any narcotic, drugs, or other controlled substances (ZERO Tolerance) Threatening another student, through intimidation, either verbal or non-verbal Destruction or damage to PMA property, or the property of other students or staff Physical horseplay, running, jumping, or other reckless behavior. This type of behavior ultimately causes injury or leads to physical confrontation. Borrowing money from other students or lending money to other students

Any other acts or conduct which in the opinion of PMA may cause harm to, or injury to other PMA students, facilities its property or staff members. PMA reserves the right to dismiss anyone for reasons which in the opinion of PMA is necessary for the safety and well being of others.

Please write down these important numbers: Performance Martial Arts 15530 Annapolis Road # 104 Bowie, Maryland 20715 Telephone: 301-805-7100 Fax: 301-805-0860 Federal Tax ID # 52-1969720 E mail: [email protected] [email protected]