BRIGHT MINDS HAPPY FEET

PARENT HANDBOOK

ALL FAMILIES WILL RECEIVE A PRINTED COPY TO SIGN AND RETURN AT REGISTRATION

Payments

A non-refundable deposit of $45 is due at registration to hold your space in Bright Minds Happy Feet.

All Bright Minds Happy Feet (BMHF) families will have their fees posted to their Parent Portal one week prior to the first of the month. The payment for the month will be charged to your card on file on the first of the month. If you wish to pay by check or e-transfer instead, please let the office team know PRIOR to the first of the month. Once paid, fees are non-refundable. 

All receipts can be accessed via the same Parent Portal. 

Uniform

BMHF is a special type of program that has children dancing, playing, exploring, creating and MORE every time they come! We took the stress out of "what to wear" and curated a selection of uniform tops (t-shirts, hoodies and crewnecks) that are available for purchase. As for bottoms, whatever is most comfortable for your child to move and dance in! Footwear required is pull-on jazz or ballet shoes, available for purchase from us OR Harlequin: The Dance Store. Uniform is HIGHLY recommended but not required - we understand that sometimes things are just in the wash!

Curriculum

At BMHF, we are committed to offering quality care and learning experiences for your child. Our program focuses on preparing students with necessary skills for school readiness, in addition to fostering a love for the arts and creativity. We are excited to provide structure to their day, with routines and activities they will come to anticipate daily, while still being flexible for special events and the needs of the children. BMHF will be exploring and implementing many different activities and pieces of curriculum, which include but are not limited to:

Play-Based Learning:

Your child will get to start each day choosing an activity that speaks to them. Through dramatic play centres, building and creating, they will expand their social skills, foster a love of imagination, learn new means of communication and become more confident in themselves! 

Literacy Components:

At BMHF, we love books and story telling! Our regular read-alouds will be an interactive story time that will engage your child in the text and tale. We will also focus on letter recognition and sounds throughout the year - with emphasis on your child’s first name. Students will take their first steps in writing and fine motor skills with the help of the renowned Handwriting Without Tears program.

Numeracy Components:

Counting will be part of our daily routine with calendar, games, songs and so much more! With emphasis on numbers 1-10, your child will gain confidence with numerical recognition, counting forwards & backwards, and develop spatial awareness through art, puzzles and manipulatives. 

Science/Social Studies:

Bright Minds students will participate in inquiry based learning where we get to ask questions, observe, feel and explore! We will learn about seasons, the world around us and how we can help. Children learn best when they immerse themselves in the experience! 

Music, Movement & Dance:

It is no secret that we are passionate about the arts and all the opportunities it exposes our children to, especially if we begin at a young age. BMHF will be exploring the foundational steps of what your child will experience in their elementary school music class. Using resources such as MusicPlay, a widely used curriculum in Canadian primary grades, we will listen to and make music and see how it makes us feel. Students will get opportunities to interpret music through movement and visual art, bringing a sense of connection to the songs. In addition to learning about musical instruments (and making them!) we will learn about our most important instrument: our voice! Breath support, early vocal technique, pitch matching and rhythm will be covered in our school year with fun songs and activities. Our BMHF students will of course have dance as part of their daily routine and will be similar in structure to the hugely popular preschool programs at Royal Dance at the Forks. We are so excited to prepare dances for Royal Dance’s year end recital, in addition to private performances for BMHF families!

It is our priority with our unique program to give your child the best opportunity for early success, by finding joy in learning and nurturing their creative minds!

Behavioural Management

We at Bright Minds Happy Feet understand that young children are learning social skills, and entering our program may be your child’s first time in a group setting with peers. A large part of the preschool learning experience is learning to follow structure & rules, good manners and how to be a friend. Our teachers will lead by example with kindness, care and compassion. Expectations will be outlined early on in the year and gentle reminders will be given often and as needed; we are here to support their emotional intelligence! 

We will talk about emotions and healthy ways to express them with our students. By being able to identify their emotions, your child will develop a “toolbox” of strategies to help calm themselves, of course with the help and guidance of our teachers. Some of these strategies may include deep breaths, looking at a calming tool, or separating themselves from a situation when needed. It is important for your child to know that they’re not in trouble for being sad or angry, and that they can work through those feelings in a safe way and still have a good day! We are more than happy to assist in your child’s personal growth and facilitate this process.  

At BMHF, your child’s personal safety is of utmost importance. While we will be working to prevent any from occurring, in the event of a physical altercation, we have procedures in place to keep all parties in the loop. An incident report is filled out when any child is physically hurt, and all parties involved will receive a copy the day of the occurrence – this would include parents of the child(ren) hurt and parents of child(ren) who acted. Infractions will be defined as either major or minor, and are defined as follows:

Minor: pushing, pinching, hitting with open hand (NOT causing bodily harm)

Major: punching, biting, kicking,

Or pushing, pinching, hitting causing bodily harm.

Three minor infractions will equal one major in our records. Three major infractions will result in removal from the Bright Minds Happy Feet program; this can also equate to 9 minor infractions.

In the event that any concerning behaviours become repetitive, or at teacher discretion, a meeting will be requested with parents of involved children. With each incident report, a plan of action to prevent said incident from reoccurring is recorded and can be discussed at further detail in a meeting. Our teachers will help strategize ways to help your child succeed, and we also have a Resource Library with books outlining preferred behaviours that can be borrowed to families overnight. We feel bridging the gap between home and school is the best way to support your child in growing to be the best they can be.

Drop-Off Pick-Up Procedures

Doors open at 9:30am Mon-Thurs. Parents can accompany their children into our dressing room to change shoes and drop off bag etc. We encourage parents to use this time to also chat with our office team and clarify/ask questions they may have. Doors open at 9:30am Mon-Thurs. 

Pick-up MUST be done by one of the two primary guardians on our list (you will determine this in your student info form). You can assign additional approved pick-up persons, if they are coming for pick-up they must present ID and we ask that you let us know ahead of time. Best way to inform us of pick-up change? Send an email or call the office! 

Absences

Please remain at home if your child is unwell or has come in contact with anyone who is unwell. You can let us know about your child missing a day via email (info@danceforks.ca) or phone/text (204-400-4704). Missed days due to illness will not be refunded or credited. 

If your child has lice we ask that he/she does not attend class until appropriate lice-removing steps have been taken. Please report any lice to our office so that we can inform the rest of the class and they can monitor. 

Snack Time

We will have snack time daily that is provided by home. We encourage all parents to pack their children a nutritious snack in a little lunch kit that they can manage on their own. We want to help them become independent and sending tricky to open containers can really cut into this opportunity for independent learning. We will always help those who need assistance! We ask that juice boxes are not sent as, in our experience, they don’t get finished and can’t be packaged to be sent home again. A list of allergies that students must be mindful of will be sent home closer to our start date. 

Toileting Policy

Being a preschooler can be tricky and for lots of children, learning independent bathroom skills is a huge hurdle. In order to participate at BMHF, students must be able to express when they need to use the restroom OR identify the need to use the restroom when asked by an adult. If you wish to send your child in a pull-up for additional security that is permitted. We do not have the necessary equipment to do changes daily but can accommodate when accidents happen.

School Closures

BMHF is open September - June, with classes beginning after September Long Weekend and the school year completing in mid June every year. Students will be given a time-slot before classes begin to come with their parent/guardian to meet the teacher, get acquainted with the space and learn the routines. Parents will also be invited to join on special occasions so we can share with you all our special projects. 

Closure due to weather will be decided before 8am on the day-of. All families will be notified via phone and/or email if this is the case.

Closure due to COVID government mandates will result in any pre-paid fees being put as a credit to your account. If we are able to remain open, we will do our best to! 

Withdrawal

Students who withdraw from BMHF are forfeiting their fees for the remainder of the month. For example: if you withdraw mid-way through a month you will not receive a refund for the remaining weeks. 

Important Dates 2025/2026

September 30th- National Day For Truth and Reconciliation (No Classes) 

October 30th- Wear your Halloween Costumes to Preschool 

November 11th- Remembrance Day (No Classes) 

December 11th - Bright Minds Holiday Concert/ Last Day Of Class Before Winter Break 

December 12th to January 5th- Winter Break (No Classes) 

January 6th- Classes Resume 

March 30th to April 5th- Spring Break/Easter Weekend (No Classes) 

April 7th- Classes Resume 

May 23rd- Gala Dance Recital (Bright Minds Students Will Participate) 

June 16th - Graduation Day 

June 18th- Last Day Of Classes