News

Happy Fall

Good Afternoon Families, We wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who was able to attend the fall Harvest Social. What an amazing Garden we have had this year and what an experience to be able to show case that this year with Miss Rachel. We are just so impressed by her skills and how she worked with our teachers and students to create such a wonderful Garden while providing enrichment to your students. We are blessed to have the Garden program and are very much looking forward to this program continuing for hopefully years to come.

Teacher Updates:

Staff Anniversaries: Meghan Krueger 4 years Kacey Greene 6 Years Sherrie Therrien 12 years Thank you all for all of your hard work and dedication. We appreciate each and every one of you and very much look forward to another amazing year with you all. Congratulations to Miss Gabby who has welcomed her newest addition, KiaMara, in September. KiaMara and Gabby are doing very well and we are very much looking forward to welcoming them back when the time comes. We are still seeking 2 After School Teachers. We have interviews lined up this week and are remaining hopeful. Feel free to share our amazing school with your friends and family and pass on that we are seeking 2 teachers to work with our oldest group of students.

Upcoming Events

The Annual Ghost Walk is Friday October 31st. We are only taking the preschool students this year (Birch, Oak, Juniper, Willow and Acorn). We will be meeting behind the post office at 1:40. We will have limited seating on the bus so please let your child’s teacher know if your child will need a ride so we can plan accordingly. We will not be keeping students behind from these groups as all preschool teachers will be needed to participate in the parade. They will have a much shorter nap, if one at all, on that day. We would love as much parent support as possible. It’s always a fun event, so many fun costumes and good energy. We will not be taking any of the Infants or toddler groups, however if you wish to pick your child up and participate in the parade with ATLC, you are more than welcome to do so. Children can be brought back to school after this event. Please let your child’s teacher know so we can plan on their return. We are open November 11th and Vacation Camp day registration is available online. We will be hosting our Thanksgiving Feast on Tuesday November 25th at 3:30.

Upcoming Closures

We will be closed on Friday October 24th for a professional development day. I am so sorry I sent that staff message to you all, however now you know what we are being trained on. Social and Emotional Development, and how to tie that into the curriculum and assessments and then inclusion of those with various needs. We are very excited about these day and look forward to learning new tricks and tips. AFTER SCHOOL IS NOT CLOSED THIS DAY! ACORN IS CLOSED After School (MES and SES) are closed Friday November 7th for a Professional Development day. The teachers are attending the After School Conference on this day. All programs are closed November 26th, 27th and 28th for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Reminder that we do close when Lamoille South closes for Snow days, this includes early dismissal. We will post on our Facebook page, send a brightwheel message, change our voicemails, put it on on the news and radio. We try to post in as many places as possible to ensure the word gets out to avoid any confusion. All programs are closed December 24th, 25th and 26th in observance of the Holiday season. We are closed Thursday January 1st in observance of New Years Day. Tuition is due for all closures if they fall upon your child’s contracted days. This is per our policies and is noted in our parent handbook.

Weather Appropriate Clothing

We are focusing heavily on the outdoor classroom this year and incorporating as much outdoor experiences as possible. With that we want to ensure each child has all needed items to be comfortable outside in all weather conditions. If you could please make sure your child has all appropriate gear to enjoy the outdoors that would be great. If you need any help getting access to gear please do reach out to Kendra at kendra@appletreelc.com or the office and we can help you find what your child needs. Rain gear Snow pants Jacket-lightweight and a winter jacket hat mittens (two pair) A couple pairs of socks indoor shoes or slippers 2 sets of spare cloths Thank you in advance! We appreciate your support in helping us be able to appreciate the outside world.

Illness Policy

Welcome to illness season! The dreaded season for everyone. We do want to ask you to kindly ensure you are following our policies and not bring your child in if they are sick. Please wash your hands and your child’s hands each day upon to help us prevent the spread as best as possible. The below policies are from our handbook and are for all staff and students. According to the Vermont State Childcare Regulations, a child will not be permitted at Apple Tree Learning Centers Early Education Facilities if she/he has any of the following symptoms: ● Fever of 101 degrees or higher (temperature will be checked several times over a short period of time before sending home to ensure the reading is accurate) ● Conjunctivitis (pink eye) (2 or more cases in a classroom requires full exclusion) once on drops for 24 hours the child may return and we will administer drops with dr note and medical form filled out by parents ● Unexplained rash (**must have Dr. note to return**) ● Diarrhea (more than 2 loose bowel movements that are through the clothes and abnormal for the child) ● Vomiting (unless infant is known to have acid reflux and we have Dr. note indicating as such and all parties must agree it’s due to the reflux) ● Lice/scabies-We have a no nit policy ● Contagious diseases or infections such as Covid, Flu, Bronchitis, Strep Throat, Measles (red or German), Chickenpox, Mumps, Bacterial Meningitis, Shingles, Giardia, Salmonella, Coxsackie (for infants and toddlers), Polio, Impetigo, Hepatitis A, Whooping cough, Pertussis, Scarlet Fever, or Roseola all are excludable and your child cannot return until on medication for 24 hours and have a doctor’s note stating they can return to Early Education Facilities. Coxsackie is full exclusion for Infants and toddlers. For preschoolers, they will be excluded if they drool excessively, the sores are spreading, they have a fever, or are unable to participate ● A cough that is severe, consistent, causing rapid and or difficulty breathing, and or wheezing (if not already evaluated and treated by a Dr.). Children will be sent home to be checked out by a doctor. Once a Dr’s note is provided, the child may return to school. If your child has allergies and or asthma a doctor’s note must be on file to avoid your child being sent home for the cough *Unexplained rashes must be excluded until seen by a doctor if they trigger behavior changes, fever, oozing or open wounds, bruising associated with injury, inability to participate, tender, red area of skin especially if it’s increasing in size or tenderness. **Please note that if your child is not able to participate, and it’s causing hardship for the child to follow the general flow of the day and/or is compromising the staff’s ability to care for other children, the child will be sent home. ** Children or staff who are out and seen by a doctor for a contagious illness, a doctor’s note should be obtained prior to returning. If a child has a doctor for a parent, notes must be written on their proper doctors note pads in order to be official and accepted. If a child needs to be sent home due to illness, they will be supervised and comforted in a space away from other children. If a child is sent home due to an illness listed above, you must require that the parent or guardian sign a form stating that they understand that their child may not return to Apple Tree Learning Centers Early Education Facility until the following criteria have been met: ● The child must be medically improved, that is, free of fever, vomiting, or persistent diarrhea for at least 24 hours without the use of Tylenol or similar medications ● If a child was suffering from a communicable disease and he/she is no longer in a contagious stage of the disease and or the guidelines presented by CDC or Vermont Department of Health. This is subject to change based on current guidance. . ● If the child is suffering from an undiagnosed rash, runny eye, or any other potentially communicable disease, a doctor’s note should be obtained and brought to an Apple Tree Learning Centers Early Education Facility ● The child has been on antibiotics for at least 24 hours in the case of bacterial infections, or has been treated for and is free of an infestation of lice and nits or scabies.

New Infant room (Aspen)

We are getting so excited to open our new classroom, Aspen, in mid December. We have all the classroom materials and furniture and are just waiting for the construction of the ADA Ramp and the new kitchen and sink that needs to be installed in the old After school space. We will let the Maple team and families know when that move will take place so you can be prepared for the upcoming change in classroom environments. We will take the children over and let them see the space so they are familiar as well, anything we can do to help make this as smooth as possible is our plan. If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out.

Parent Survey’s

Thank you to everyone who turned in their survey’s, we do truly appreciate your feedback as it’s how we continue to learn and grow. We will begin looking at the parent survey results and formalizing an improvement plan based on those results. This plan will be shared with you upon completion.

After School Vacation Camp days

A friendly reminder that all vacation camp days for MES, SES and the Acorn classrooms are located on line through our website. We have all posted currently through December 2025 and we will be posting the rest of the school year come December. We do have a three week cancellation policy for all programs. If you register and you are in that three weeks, you would be required to pay. We just ask that you be mindful of that. We do billing on Wednesdays and will run a report on that day for attendance for the following weeks camps, and if your child is on that list they will defiantly be billed and tuition would owed. We often have a wait list for these programs and we need to be able to offer spaces, so last minute cancellations often take away from a parent being able to add the day as well so we ask that you be mindful of that if at all possible. Thank you in advance for your understanding of our policies.

Enrichment programs

We are continuing our music program and our outdoor adventure program through the winter. Miss Rachel who organized our garden program will be transitioning to assisting with our outdoor program. We are so excited to be able to offer these amazing programs. We will be offering Swimming lessons and will be putting out enrollment forms for that program soon. Keep in mind this fills quickly, spaces will not be held prior to enrollment opening, and this is only available for Juniper, Oak and Willow. Keep an eye out for a brightwheel message with all the requirements to enroll your child.

We hope you enjoy looking through a random photo from each of our classrooms. This is just to give a little example of what your children are up to on a daily basis. Please feel free to reach out anytime with any questions. We are always happy to help. Have a wonderful afternoon, Nicole& Sonja