School Year
Regular Session: August 15, 2023 to May 24, 2024
Summer Session: June 12, 2024 to July 26, 2024
In addition to State and Federal Holidays, the school is closed for winter break (2 weeks), spring break (1 week), summer break (2 weeks before and 2 weeks after summer session), and for about 4-5 days during the school for staff professional development and Parent/Teacher conferences.
Hours
7:00 am – 8:15am: Morning Drop-Off
8:15 am – 2:30 pm: Regular Program
2:30 pm – 3:00 pm: Afternoon Snack / Pick-up
3:00 pm – 5:15 pm: Enrichment Program (Optional)
Student-to-Teacher Ratio
There are only a handful of programs that maintain a low student-teacher ratio and accept non toilet-learned toddlers. A low teacher/student ratio, in turn, results in a higher tuition per child simply because our program, unlike the typical 1:8 and 1:12 ratio program, has more teachers and fewer children over which to spread the cost of labor. The Toddler Program strives to achieve a student-to-teacher ratio of 1:5.
Monday/Wednesday Special Classes
In addition to the normal curriculum offerings, special classes are held every Monday between 9:00 and 10:30 a.m. (children rotate in these classes) and Wednesday between 9 and 10:30 a.m. Monday classes include Physical Education, Music, and Mandarin. Wednesday is reserved for Growing-IQ.
Afternoon Enrichment Program
For busy families, The Toddler Program offers a separate afternoon enrichment program which provides for structured learning/experiences. Offerings change periodically, but have included Hawaiian / Mandarin Language, Cooking, Lego building/Pre-Robotics, Music, Arts & Crafts and Math Exploration.
Excursions
Throughout the year, students participate in a variety of field trips/excursions – both near and far. An excursion is one of the best tools that teachers can use to provide students with real-world experiences. Each experience that a child participates in contributes to their understanding of the world. When children leave the classroom, they see the connections between what is happening at school and in the ‘real-world’.
Some examples of field trips taken during the year include Aloun Farms (pumpkin patch), TheBUS, Kapa’olono Park (frequent), Kaimuki Fire Station, Manoa Care Home (throughout the year), and Lyon Arboretum. Transportation, when needed, is arranged by The Toddler Program on buses that are equipped with over the shoulder seat belts.
Meals
We encourage all of our students to develop healthy eating habits. Eating the right kinds of meals with lots of outdoor activity is stressed daily. A nutritional snack is served every morning and afternoon. Students may bring home lunch or purchase catered lunch (provided by Food Start) for an additional fee. All menus are approved by a licensed dietitian/nutritionist.