WECCP and Cocurricular General Policies

2019-20 School Year

WECCP and Cocurricular Program Overview

Whitby is an extraordinary school with a tradition of teaching students, both inside and outside the classroom. The goal of these programs is the same as during the academic day—to meet the spectrum of whole child development—cognitively, socially, emotionally and physically, focusing on the traits identified in the learner profile. As a student-centered school, Whitby encourages students to join and participate in a variety of school activities where children can learn, explore new interests, and make friends beyond the school day. Our activities are aimed at providing enriching experiences that build on individual interests and extend learning beyond the classroom, while supporting families who want an extension to the academic day.

To ensure that all children are properly supervised at dismissal time and in fairness to our faculty and staff, parents and caregivers are asked to be prompt in picking up children from activities. To this end, for students that are picked up consistently late we have implemented late fees, as noted in each school level page.

On the Veracross online catalog pages, you will find information about offerings for each day and for each grade level. As with each session, for WECCP activities please pay online via the Whitby Parent Portal for fee-based classes.

The Program is broken down into the following components:

  • Athletics/Team Sports: Grades 5 and 6 will play games and practice on Monday and Wednesday and Grades 7 and 8 will play games and practices on Tuesday and Thursday. For MSFAA games parents are encouraged to regularly view their parent portal and the athletic calendar periodically. Parent and student support is highly encouraged as a part of building community and promoting a balanced education.
  • Dispensation Policy for Upper School students. Please see handbook
  • WECCP: Primary 2 – Grade 4, Monday through Friday. Please see the At-A-Glance Program for specific grade level offerings.
  • Music: This part of the program consists of individual lessons, ensembles, band, chorus and glee club. Please see the At-A-Glance Program for specific grade level offerings.
  • Upper School Electives: Grades 5-8, Monday through Friday. There will be a separate registration only set-up for parents of Upper School students. Some elective classes are not open to students (they show as FULL) as teachers have indicated additional academic support is given during this time. Students will be pre-registered to classes and these include; Math Lab, Reading/Writing Lab and SAIL individual support. Presently for the Fall students will not be assigned as this will be done by teachers at the beginning of September. Parents should therefore choose an elective but their child could be moved into one of the support classes if it is deemed beneficial and a Whitby staff member will be in touch to communicate this.

Please note these programs are on a FIRST-COME-FIRST-SERVED BASIS and once we reach the class maximum for enrollment that class will be closed and a waitlist created through contacting Mr. Putnam directly since registration will be closed. It is possible that an extension may happen to try to fill out classes but history suggests that many classes fill up quick and there is often little scope to increase class sizes.

REGISTRATION TERMS, CONDITIONS AND PROCEDURES– PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE COMPLETING ONLINE REGISTRATION.

2019-20 Session Dates

Please be sure to check the notifications that will go out in advance of the preview and registration dates.

Monday through Thursday Classes: Sessions run from 3:00 - 3:50 p.m.
Friday Classes: Session 1 runs from 12:30 - 2:00 p.m.; Session 2 run from 2:10 - 3:40 p.m.

Sessions Run Dates and Times:

Fall Trimester: Monday, September 9, 2019 to Friday, November 22, 2019
WECCP Registration Opens: August 5, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
WECCP Registration Closes: August 14, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.

No WECCP Days on 9/30, 10/9, 10/14, 11/7, 11/8

US Electives Registration Opens: August 12, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
US Electives Registration Closes: August 19, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.

Winter Trimester: Monday, December 2, 2019 to Friday, March 6, 2020 (following week is a snow cancellation contingency)
Registration Opens: October 28, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
Registration Closes: November 3, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.

No WECCP Days on 12/20 - 1/3, 1/20, 2/14, 2/17

Spring Trimester: Monday, March 30, 2020 to Friday, June 5, 2020
Registration Opens: February 24, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
Registration Closes: March 1, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.

No WECCP Days on 4/8 - 4/13, 5/22, 5/25

Trimester Periods

FALL TRIMESTER:

Mondays: (9 sessions)  
Tuesdays: (11 sessions)
Wednesdays: (10 sessions)
Thursdays: (10 sessions)
Fridays: (10 sessions) (Period 1 -12:30-2:00) and (Period 2 – 2:10-3:40)

WINTER TRIMESTER:

Mondays: (10 sessions)
Tuesdays: (12 sessions)
Wednesdays: (12 sessions)
Thursdays: (12 sessions)
Fridays: (10 sessions) (Period 1 -12:30-2:00) and (Period 2 – 2:10-3:40)

SPRING TRIMESTER:

Mondays: (8 sessions)
Tuesdays: (10 sessions) 
Wednesdays: (9 sessions)
Thursdays: (9 sessions)
Fridays: (8 sessions) (Period 1 -12:30-2:00) and (Period 2 – 2:10-3:40)

Registration and Enrollment

This is a FIRST-COME-FIRST-SERVED REGISTRATION PROCESS. Registration will be online only through the Parent Portal. See below for registration after the closing date and late fees.

For music lessons on Fridays there is no supervision provided for the music lessons, so parents or caregivers are expected to be in attendance at school for when their child has their lesson.

During the week and for 1st-4th graders only on Fridays the children are escorted from their classrooms to the Library for the afternoon activities each day. LE and 3rd/4th grade students may sign up for all 5 days, which includes two periods on Friday. On Fridays, children who stay for afternoon activities will be supervised for lunch (which must be brought from home—no microwave available) and then escorted to the Library where they meet the instructor for initial attendance and are then taken to their designated room. Children who attend Friday Period 2 activities (2:10-3:40) must also register for a Period 1 activity (12:30-2:00); however, children who attend Period 1 activities are not required to do Period 2 activities and can be picked up at 2:00 at the Library. Students who wish to study Chinese should consider being registered for both days of classes in order to sustain progress in their language acquisition. Dismissal for all WECCP activities is at the Brent Oval.

Enrollment into a program will not be processed until payment is made in full. No registrations will be performed by Kurt Putnam (Director of Athletics and Co-Curricular Programs), unless under extreme circumstances such as a hurricane when many people lose power and therefore have no internet connection. We will be on hand to make changes after the registration deadline closes, when it becomes apparent which classes will run and which classes won't due to uptake and minimum numbers not being met.

Late registration fees in accordance with the general information and policies guidelines will apply for registration into programs. These will be strictly adhered to. For those classes deemed to be full year commitments the dates in the Veracross system will reflect this and payment in advance for the full-year WECCP classes will be required.

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and Fees: Fees are $22 per WECCP class held Monday – Thursday, and $33 per 90-minute class for WECCP classes on Friday. The longer chess class on Tuesday will be charged a rate of $27.50 per lesson since it is a 70-minute class. Any higher priced class is to reflect the higher instructional base cost. Music Instrument Instruction is $65 for individual lessons.

IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

You must enroll for the entire semester and no partial semester payments or credits to other programs will be given except for prolonged medical reasons that are supported by appropriate medical documentation, this does not include one-off sick days. The music instructors have committed their time in advance and therefore days missed due to sickness will have no refund (the parent should work with the instructor to make this class up). Partial payments may only be made if the request to go into a class or lesson can be supported by an under-maximum enrollment or free lesson slot. Any refunds to be given are at the sole discretion of the Athletic Director and/or Head of School. Lessons missed by the instructor will be made up as will any classes canceled due to inclement weather.

There are no fees to be in: ME Beginner Band, School-Based Mother Tongue Language not ABC Languages which is fee based, ME or US Chorus, Whitby Athletic Teams or Upper School Electives (unless conducted by an external instructor).  If a student has a music lesson on the same day as an athletic game we encourage the parents/student to make the decision as to what they wish to do and communicate this accordingly with Drew Vandewinckel at

(dvandewinckel@whitbyschool.org) as there are no refunds for these lessons. The athletic schedule simply cannot account for every possible conflict that may occur during the season and for all students taking music instruction, but parents and the instructor are strongly encouraged to find an alternative make-up date(s)

General Policies and Guidelines

Student Behavior

Students behavior in WECCP classes is expected to be the same as during the regular school hours (in accordance with the Parent Student Handbook) and therefore in situations where an instructor deems the behavior to be detrimental to the learning of the group, this student will be spoken to and the parent informed. At the sole discretion of the Director of Athletics, the Head of Lower School and/or the Head of School there maybe a period required for the student to not attend that class or be removed from it entirely for the remainder of the session, with no refund.

Non-Attendance

It is imperative that you let Linda Hepp at reception know if your child is being picked up early before a WECCP program, or by a someone different than usual, so that we can inform the instructor at the point they are taking initial attendance and the Whitby staff know who they will be leaving with. All designated pick-up persons are to be registered in Veracross.

This is very important as we need to account for every child. If you know your child will be leaving early please email Linda Hepp in addition to your child(ren)’s teachers and Kurt Putnam, since if the student is not accounted for this takes up considerable time in trying to track down their whereabouts. Head count and safety are our most fundamental concern, so we appreciate your cooperation in following our policy. If you decide to take your child right at the end of the school day and sending an email is difficult please still inform Linda Hepp. She will write this on our attendance sheet for that day so we know not to expect them for class.

Late Registrations

Registration requests to join after the first class will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Director of Athletics. If the request is granted, the fee will consist of the late registration fee plus full tuition for the entirety of the period of that program. Please note that since the School. Please be mindful of school vacations since staff may not be on hand immediately to process your request.

Dismissal Procedures

All dismissals are from the Brent Oval just as the primary and LE students are normally at 2:55. Parents should aim to be there between 3:50 to 4:05 p.m. At 4:05 p.m., students will be walked down to the Renaissance Main Lobby area where you will have to come into the school to get them. Students taking a late small group class in tennis will be picked up at the main lobby area in Renaissance at 4:55 p.m. Your promptness is appreciated as dismissal personnel have other responsibilities to fulfill outside of Whitby. All Whitby sponsored athletic teams (Grades 5-8) are dismissed from Renaissance Hall Main Lobby area. Younger siblings can be picked up by an older sibling or given permission to walk to Renaissance Hall for dismissal. Music instruction changeover i.e. going to and being brought back from an individual lesson will occur at the main reception area (except for the first lesson at 3:00 for Monday through Thursday). On Fridays all music pick-ups and drop-offs are at Renaissance Hall by Linda Hepp.

If there is persistent tardiness for pick-up the School reserves the right to apply fees in accordance with the policy stated in the Parent Student Handbook.

Class Cancellation

In the event that an instructor is unable to get to Whitby, the school will endeavor to find a replacement instructor. If this is not possible due to the lateness of us being informed, students are offered the opportunity to participate in a different activity and for ME students they may attend study support as one of those activities if it falls on a study support day. If we have sufficient time to call parents, a call will be made and the parent can decide to pick their child up. If due to inclement weather the School will shift students into other “indoors” activities or provide supervision until that child’s programs would ordinarily end.

Refunds & Class Changes

If a student withdraws anytime after 5 days after registration closes, no refund will be given unless a student from the waitlist can replace them, since the school has already committed to the instructors and vendors and this fee will remain on the parent portal with the expectation of payment. Some classes run at break-even based on initial registrations, so students withdrawing after commitments are made can mean a program does not have sufficient enrolment to run, hence why no refunds are given unless another student is admitted. One exception is strictly due to medical reasons, which must be presented with a doctor’s letter to the Director of Athletics and Cocurricular Programs (see above). Changes in activities can only be made through a request to the Director of Athletics and Cocurricular Programs and if there is space available. Once a spot is taken in a class there is the expectation of the school to the parent that this spot is committed to by a financial charge, namely the registration fee.

For music classes there is the expectation of a full commitment for the semester. Should the instructor and/or child be sick or the school closes due to a weather-related event then this should be made up in conjunction with the instructor.  However, leaving for, or remaining on vacation during the school session is not expected to be made up by the instructor. The same withdrawal policy from WECCP applies to the music lesson class.

Waitlist

If a parent cannot register a child due to the maximum enrolment being reached they should contact Kurt Putnam directly through email to be placed on a first-come-first-served waitlist. The remaining parent must pay the associated full material fee cost for any class their child(ren) started.

Class Size

Class size is limited and you should pay special attention to this when registering. In the event the class is full or there is insufficient enrollment, you will be contacted and offered alternative choices.

Chess Classes

Parents registering their child(ren) into chess should carefully read the criteria below. This year the intention is to group students by ability and experience so that instruction can be better targeted to the learning needs of the students. Only if spaces are available in the next level up can a student be placed in there.

Advanced Level 2 chess players will be automatically registered to the Tuesday class and Advanced Level 1 and 2 to the Friday class. The Tournament Chess class on Fridays is to expose those students to the tournament format of recoding their moves etc. Parents will be contacted to take their spot in these classes and if they choose to forgo then the next appropriate student will be offered the place. The criteria was established in consultation with both Adnan Kobas and Ian Harris (current WECCP Chess instructors).

Chess Class Differentiation:

  • Beginner 1 - brand new to the game
  • Beginner 2 - has received some instruction before and has taken at least one semester of classes and played no tournaments
  • Intermediate 1 - has received at least 2 semesters of chess instruction and is thinking of local tournaments or maybe played in 1 or 2 small local ones
  • Intermediate 2 - has played in 3 or more local tournaments and has a rating of 300 or less
  • Advanced 1 - has played in many local tournaments and has a rating of 301-600
  • Advanced 2 - has played in many local, regional tournaments and possibly a national level tournament and has rating 601 above. If played in national/regional level tournament and is close to 601 rating this student will fall into this group.
  • Friday Tournament Chess for the Beginner is a class set up really for students in the first 3 levels (Beginner 1 and 2 and Intermediate 1 and 2)
  • Friday Advanced Chess is a class for Advanced 1 and 2 players

Faculty/Instructors

Whitby teachers and other professionals who are highly qualified and experienced with children. All external vendors are processed via HR and the same background/security checks are applied to each individual.

For Further Information:

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