Dear Parents and Guardians,

Welcome back to another year of after-school programming at Vera Court Neighborhood Center. We are looking forward to a year filled with exciting ways to learn and opportunities to grow in the Vera Court community. The following is a brief explanation of the Middle School program:

Middle School After-School Schedule:

Mondays: 2:45 - 5:30 pm

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays: 4:25 - 7:00 pm

Fridays:  4:25 - 7:00 pm

*The program starts on Monday, September 8th. There will be open registration times September 1st - 5th. Staff will be available to answer any questions and assist with registration at this time. 

Pre registration until Aug 18, 2025

Open registration until the program is full.

The program is for children currently attending 6th through 8th grade.  Children may start attending once Vera Court Neighborhood Center has a signed permission/emergency card and signed behavior contract on file. There are times when the after-school program may reach maximum occupancy and children will be placed on a waiting list. The following list contains specifics to Vera Court Neighborhood Center’s Elementary After-School Program.  

Vera Court is a Drop-In Program where students are free to choose whether they attend the program. However, we do ask that youth attend at least three of the five days each week in order to remain enrolled. 
Students are free to leave the program at any point that they wish, however, a parent or guardian must be notified before the child leaves. 
Staff and Vera Court Neighborhood Center are not responsible for children’s actions once they leave the center. Parents/Guardians are responsible for their children’s actions once they leave the center at any time during the day.
Children may use the phone to check in and check out during the first 15 and last 15 minutes of the day but are not allowed to use the phone during any other time. 
If participants are to be picked up, please be on time. If a parent/guardian is late on a regular basis (3 or more), the child will be removed from after-school programming. Children are not supervised after the program ends. 
Please read through the attached documents with your child and return to the center. Children may not start the program until these items are complete. Please call ‪(608) 515-8018‬ with questions. Registration deadline is September 8th, or until the program is full. 

Thank you,

Kristin Hart & Sterlyn Woods

I give my child permission to participate in all program activities with Vera Court Neighborhood Center. In the event that I do not want my child to participate in activities, I understand that I must contact a staff person. I also understand that if my child does not obey Vera Court Neighborhood Center rules, he/she may be asked not to participate in activities.

Furthermore, in the event of an emergency, and I cannot be contacted, I authorize you to call my doctor. If he/she cannot be contacted, I give my consent for my child to receive medical treatment or care. I understand that staff will make every effort to contact me first.

In order to ensure the best programming possible we ask that you indicate which days that your student will miss this year. We understand that sicknesses and unplanned absences occur, but if there’s any days known that an absence from programming will occur, please list them below.

Field Trip Policy:

I give my child permission to participate in all program activities (including field trips that take place during program hours) with Vera Court Neighborhood Center. In the event that I do not want my child to participate in activities, I understand that I must contact a staff person. I also understand that if my child does not obey Vera Court Neighborhood Center rules, he/she may be asked not to participate in activities.

Furthermore, in the event of an emergency, and I cannot be contacted, I authorize you to call my doctor. If he/she cannot be contacted, I give my consent for my child to receive medical treatment or care. I understand that staff will make every effort to contact me first.

Vera Court Neighborhood Center Rules

1. Have fun and enjoy yourself
2. Be safe and responsible
3. Respect staff, participants, and the center and places we go.
4. Refrain from running, fighting, and throwing objects in the center.
5. Refrain from using loud, vulgar, abusive language.
6. No put-downs
7. No alcohol/drugs around the center.
8. Follow all health & safety protocols.
9. The center is a gang free zone. No gang paraphernalia is permitted.
10. You are encouraged to make the center a better place.

What happens when a rule is broken?

1. The 1st written warning is given by staff. If negative behavior continues:
2. A 2nd written warning is given by staff. If negative behavior continues:
3. The participant receives their 3rd warning and is removed from programming for the day, and a phone call is made to the parent/guardian. If the parent/guardian is unavailable, we will try and reach the emergency contact. If we cannot reach an adult a letter will be sent with the child explaining that the child will be suspended for the following day.

Three(3) warnings in one (1) day = a one (1) day suspension. If your child continues to receive three (3) warnings per day on several different occasions a meeting will be set up between the center, the parent and the child to discuss a plan for the child.

Fighting/Physical Altercations

1. 1. All participants involved will be suspended for 1 week from the date of the incident. Play fighting will be treated the same as any other physical altercations.
2. If there is a 2nd occurrence participants involved in an altercation will be removed from programming another week.
3. If there is a 3rd occurrence, the child will be removed from programming for the remainder of the school year.

Entering and Leaving Programming

Vera Court is a Drop-In Program where students are free to choose whether they attend the program. However, we do ask that youth attend at least three of the five days each week in order to remain enrolled.

Students are free to leave the program at any point that they wish, however, a parent or guardian must be notified before the child leaves.

Staff and Vera Court Neighborhood Center are not responsible for children’s actions once he/she leaves the center. Parents/Guardians are responsible for their children’s actions once they leave the center at any time during the day.

If participants are to be picked up, please be on time. If a parent/guardian is late on a regular basis, the child may be removed from after-school programming.

Cell Phone/Phone Use

Participants are permitted to use the phone at the beginning of program and at the end of program. Additional phone calls tend to disrupt programming and make it difficult for youth and staff to complete tasks. Children may use the phone to check in and check out during the first 15 and last 15 minutes of the day but are not allowed to use the phone during any other time.

Phone calls made any other time of day will be conducted by staff and only in the case of illness, injury, behavior or other extreme circumstance. Parents/guardians are welcome to leave messages with our administrative staff for their children during program hours.

There will be no cell phone use throughout the after-school program. Parents will need to contact the center first if they need to get in contact with their child. We ask parents to contact the center ahead of time if their child has an appointment or needs to be released early from the program. We want to avoid students having to call parents throughout program time. If students are using a cellphone, they will receive a warning and be asked to hand it to staff until the end of the day. Refusal will result in an automatic 1 day suspension.

Nutrition Policy

Vera Court provides a healthy snack every day and dinner three nights a week for all after-school participants. We have designated meal times for all participants and no food will be eaten or served outside of scheduled meal times.

No other outside food is allowed at Vera Court.

PICK UP/DISMISSAL INSTRUCTIONS

Please circle whether your child will walk home at the end of after-school (5:30pm Mon-Thurs and 5:15pm on Friday) or will be picked up at the end of after-school each day. All children MUST be picked up no later than 5:30 Monday-Thursday and 5:15pm on Fridays. Staff are not available past this time for supervision of your child. If your child does not eat dinner at the center on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays they should be picked up 30 minutes prior to the listed times. If parents/guardians are continually late for pick-up your child(ren) will be removed from the after-school program.

Enrollment/Unexcused Absences

Vera Court Neighborhood Center’s after-school is an enrolled program with a long waiting list. Students may miss camp for extended absences without jeopardizing their spot in camp. Excused absences include family vacations, sports programs and other short-term summer camps, illness and health concerns, etc. We ask that parents and/or youth communicate about all absences to Vera Court staff ahead of the absence. For example, if you call your child out of school for an illness, please contact Vera Court as well so we are aware of the absence.

If your child has reached TWO unexcused absences, you will receive a phone call home to let you know that they are allowed to miss TWO (2) more days of programming before they will be in jeopardy of losing their spot in programming to one of the students on our waiting list.

Photo/Video/Artwork Release Form

I hereby grant permission to Vera Court Neighborhood Center and its partners to use photographs, video, and artwork of my child and created by my child. Vera Court Neighborhood Center will use said material on the internet or in other official printed publications created by, or affiliated with Vera Court Neighborhood Center without further consideration. Therefore, I agree to indemnify and hold harmless from any claims the following:

Vera Court Neighborhood Center staff, Board of Directors, its partners, and its volunteers.

Authorization to Administer Sunscreen and Bug Repellant (optional)

I give my permission to Vera Court Neighborhood Center staff to apply/supply sunscreen to my child during camp hours.

I give my permission to Vera Court Neighborhood Center staff to apply/supply bug spray to my child during camp hours.

Phone Call Policy

Summer camp participants are permitted to use the phone at the beginning of programming and at the end of programming. Additional phone calls tend to disrupt programming and make it difficult for youth and staff to complete tasks.

Phone calls made any other time of day will be conducted by staff and only in the case of illness, injury, behavior or other extreme circumstances. Parents/guardians are welcome to leave messages with our administrative staff for their children during the camp day.

Cell phone use: If participants choose to bring their cell phones to after-school programming, they are solely responsible for them. As a center, we expect that participants will exercise respect toward staff and other participants when using their phones and not to use them during activity times and when we are off-site. If cell phones interfere with programming or become distracting, staff will hold
onto them for the remainder of the day.

NEIGHBORHOOD SUPPORT DEMOGRAPHICS

Disclaimer: We apologize if any questions are offensive or feel invasive. Local and Federal Community Development Block Grant Programs require the information in this section and reporting on them is mandatory for continued funding of Vera Court Neighborhood Center.