early childhood
For students in Preschool through Developmental Kindergarten.
Everything you need to know and do to ensure your child is back-to-school ready!
With the new school year right around the corner, preschool and elementary hallways are buzzing with anticipation as teachers settle into their classrooms, preparing to welcome each child into their classroom family. The summer has been filled with fun and rest as well as continued staff training in areas of phonics, math, reading, and Bible. With a fresh coat of paint in the halls, and some new and familiar faces on board, we look forward to seeing you soon!
Karen Vanderberg
Preschool and Elementary Principal
steps to complete
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All early childhood students must submit a fully completed and signed Health Appraisal form. Click here for complete instructions. Paperwork is required in order to attend the first day.
In addition, if admissions has reached out with needed corrections, please be sure accurate birth certificate and immunizations have been submitted.
Drop off paperwork to the elementary office or email to our Admissions team. High-quality scanned copies will be accepted - please use a scanner or scan app on your phone. We cannot accept photos.
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If your child needs to take a prescription medication, please complete a Medication Form and submit to Sarah Eggerichs in the office on Pop-In Day. Epipens and Inhalers need to be brought into the office with their original packaging and student’s name clearly written on it.
The office already has Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Tums, and cough drops available throughout the year.
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Let us know how your child will be departing from school.
REQUIRED: Full-day early childhood students must fill out the End of Day Transportation form, submit one form per child. Half-day students do not need to complete the form.
Please note: children must be 5 years or older to ride the bus. Busing is not provided for 3 and 4 year olds.
If you selected Deans Bus as a means of transportation on the above form - you must complete the following form:
Deans Bus Transportation Sign-Up
Free NPC Shuttle Schedule:
7:00am: MS/HS to Elementary*
7:20am: Elementary to MS/HS*
7:40am: MS/HS to Elementary
2:40pm: MS/HS to Elementary
3:05pm: Elementary to MS/HS***Colt Care must be arranged for early morning shuttles
** Tuesday/Thursday shuttle runs later as an extra stop is made to the Hybrid campus -
Brightwheel is an important communications tool for preschool and DK parents! This app will be used to share important class reminders, field trip info, and to share photos of your child throughout the school day!
Watch your inbox for an email from our Early Childhood team in the coming weeks. This email will include your student’s unique registration code and detailed instructions to create a Brightwheel account.
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August 15: Preschool and DK Pop-In Day
— 9am: 3s English
— 10am: 3s Spanish Immersion
— 11am: 4s English
— 12pm: 4s Spanish Immersion
— 1pm: 4s Nature-Based
— 2pm: Developmental Kindergarten (English and Spanish Immersion)August 26: First Day of School
September 11-13: School Picture Days
September 23-26: Grandparent/Grandfriends Week PreK-5th
October 8: New Parent Breakfast (7:30-9:30am)
October 28: Picture Retake Day
May 30: Last Day of School (half-day) -
Half-day students do not need to bring a lunch.
New families, once it has been made available to us from GRPS, an email will be sent to you with your unique login information from MyPaymentsPlus for GRPS lunch services. But no worries, your students may still get hot lunch the first week of school before setting up their lunch account! Their first week balance will just be added to their account when it is set up. Returning families, please use last year’s login credentials. Follow the instructions in the email. Email Lisa Bessey with any hot lunch-related questions.
Hot Lunch costs $3.35/day and milk is .50. A free and reduced lunch application can be completed online.
View August/September menu.
Download the Nutrislice App to view monthly menus.
If bringing lunch from home, please remember we are a nut-free facility.
Allergies: If a student has a new or existing allergy and needs an alternate meal for hot lunch, please fill out and return the diet form along with a doctor's note. If the allergy is already on file with the office, no new form is needed.Outstanding lunch payments: When accounts reach a balance of -$5.00, it will result in an alternate lunch being provided until the account is replenished. Please set up or update your MyPayments.com account to receive low balance alerts and manage automatic deposits.
Please remember, if your child comes to school without a lunch, we will provide one and add the cost to your account.
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We heard that you didn’t like paying separately for each field trip, and we listened! For preschool and elementary students, we are now combining all field trip fees into one fee, which you can pay through your FACTS account by September 20th.
Please log into your FACTS account to see the fee in Incidental Expenses. This is separate from your tuition payment plan, but the same log-in with FACTS. You can pay the fee there, or sign up for automatic payment for incidental expenses if you haven’t done so already.
Then relax knowing you won’t have field trip fees popping up throughout the year!
FAQs
When does the school day begin and end?
3s & 4s Preschool begin at 8:30am.
Developmental Kindergarten begins at 8:00am. Half days end at 11:15 am, full days end at 3:00 pm.
Colt Care Morning Care: 7:00 - 7:45am
Colt Care Evening Care: 3:00 - 6:00pm
HelP! My child is late or absent.
If your child will be late or absent to school, please email or call the Elementary Office at 616.363.4869.
If you need to pick your child up for an appointment during the school day, please contact the elementary office ahead of time.
Any changes in transportation or pick-up must be made with the office before 2:00pm.
If a student knows of vacation plans or a day he/she will be absent, a pre-arranged absence form from the office should be filled out.
oh no! My child is sick.
Please contact the school office by phone or email to notify. Your child MUST stay home and be symptom-free without the use of fever-reducing medicines for 24 hours before returning to school.
- Fever of 100.0+
- Diarrhea
- Puke/Vomit
how do i register for colt care?
How does drop-off and pick-up work?
Supervised back loop drop-off begins at 7:30am. All students should be dropped off and picked up in the back loop. You may use the front parking lot and entrance only if you are walking your child to their classroom at drop-off.
All children must be picked up in the back loop.
For end of day full-day pick-up, a car line will form at the back loop and overflow onto Sinclair Ave. Friendly reminder: please do not idle in front of our neighbors’ driveways and always leave room for them to exit.
A NPC staff member with a radio will ask for your child’s name and assign you a colored traffic cone. Pull forward to the designated colored cone where your child will be waiting for you. Please remain in your car as a staff member assist your child into the vehicle. Pull forward to exit the colored cone area, at this point you may get out of your vehicle and assist younger children when safe to do so.
Please reference our campus parking map for more details and safety reminders.
For end of day half-day pick-up, please utilize the back loop as stated above and form a car line. Staff members will be waiting with half-day preschool students at the back loop and will help them into your car.
Where can i find the faculty directory?
Our teachers can’t wait to meet you! In the meantime, learn a little about their life outside the classroom and hear firsthand why they thrive at NPC.
You can access the faculty directory at anytime from the drop-down menu on the main NPC website.
What about medication?
If your child needs to take medication during the day, the office has Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Tums, and cough drops available, but a medication authorization form must be signed on the first day of school in order to administer. Your student’s teacher will have paper copies available. Epipens and Inhalers need to be brought into the office with their original packaging and the student’s name clearly written on it.
How can parents get plugged in to the npc community?
NPC moms are welcomed to join Moms in Prayer which meets every Tuesday at 8am at the high school campus to pray for our children, their friends, classmates, teachers, and administrators! Email Val for more information.
Be a lunchroom volunteer. Whether you can commit to once a month or once a week, email Lisa Bessey to help greet and feed hungry students - it takes a village!
The PTO is always looking for new faces to join their crew! Learn more.
Mustang Men is an awesome opportunity for dads and grandpas to serve on our safety team and be present during the school days. What is a Mustang Man? Learn more or Sign-up.
Where can we order mustang spirit wear?
Our spirit wear is available online at High School Fan Stand or BSN Sports. Apparel and gifts can be purchased at the Elementary office or the StangShack at the Middle/High School campus.
Important contacts
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Karen Vanderberg
Preschool & Elementary Principal
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Sarah Eggerichs
Administrative Assistant
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Kari Robinson
Early Childhood Program Director
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Nicole Crawford
Technology Director
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Easton Levi
School Counselor
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View More Staff
View our faculty directory for a complete list of staff.
