Merryhill School - Phase I - Tuition w/After School

PHASE I

GETTING READY FOR THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR

Merryhill School Milpitas Preschool through Eighth Grade Minds that seek. Hearts that serve.

Merryhill School is accredited by WASC.

Dear Parents,

To prepare for the 2023-2024 school year, this booklet contains the following information to complete Phase I requirement.

• School Only Tuition

• School Tuition plus the After School program fee for five days, one to three days option

• Capital Improvement Fee (K-8th)

• Spirit Shirt Fee

• Novel Set Fee (2nd – 8th)

• Other Required Forms

• 2023-2024 School Calendar

Please look at the information and decide how you want to pay for your child’s tuition. The Capital Improvement Fee(K-8th) and Novel Set Fee (2nd -8th) are required for all students. The Spirit Shirt fee is required for all new students. Returning students are not required provided the shirt from last year still fits properly.

Please use this booklet to complete the form that is attached to this email. Please submit the form, payment, and other forms to our office on or before June 30th. The June 30th date is the absolute deadline to confirm that your child(ren) will join Merryhill School for the 2023-2024 school year.

Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out us at any time for assistance.

Ms. Viola Lew via email at viola.lew@merryhillschool.com

Ms. Quinn Letan via email at quinn.letan@merryhillschool.com

We look forward to starting the new school year with our students and families.

Warmest regards,

Quinn Letan Head of School

2023-2024 School Year

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FEE

Dear Parents,

Before the pandemic, we had been looking for buildings to relocate Merryhill School because overall the building and the portable classrooms were old. This facility was built in the 1950s. Many of you may not know, but we rent the land and the facility from the Milpitas Unified School District. The MUSD couldn’t put in much work to take care of our facility because their budget was limited. To maintain the school, we had to bring outside vendors to fix specific items for the 22 years that I have been at Merryhill School.

Before deciding to renovate, we had looked at many options to relocate Merryhill School. The options were limited in Milpitas because we wanted a facility with more outdoor space for the children. We wanted our school to be free of retail areas, buildings, and other industries.

There are many aspects of our current location that we appreciate. We appreciate having the field in the back of the school with the grass, trees, and the space for our PE teachers to do more outside activities and sports. The public park, Murphy Park, is also accessible for us to use. We love being in Milpitas and since most of our families live in this city, we want to stay local; however, the city of Milpitas does not have another location for us to use. We approached the school district about purchasing the land that Merryhill is currently occupying before the pandemic. Unfortunately, according to the city's deed, they cannot sell the property to a for-profit company.

With that being said, I want a better facility for all the children to grow up in. The building is falling apart, we need this renovation at Merryhill School.

I understand that the $800 is unsettling and the timing is not right. Please understand that when private schools go through any capital expenditure projects, some of the cost will be passed on to the parents. For this project, the company is paying for most of the expenses. However, to complete the renovation, we must pass 1/3 of the cost to parents. This is a typical practice in the private school industry. Most schools would add to the cost of the tuition, and some would do several fundraisers. In the end, if the money was not raised, they would ask parents to pay or add the fees to the tuition. We chose not to add the $800 to the tuition because it would continue to be part of our company's tuition increase every year.

Merryhill School is my second school in management. I was also part of a private high school in the Bay Area that built a new building. This practice was the same.

For the 22 years that I have been here, we did a lot of the internal renovations to the building that parents may not be aware of, and we did not ask parents to pay. Our operating budget was able to pay for those costs. This is the first time that we are asking parents to pay. As you are aware, everything has gone up in cost significantly.

What are the benefits for the children?

o Updated classrooms (new flooring, new paint, etc.)

o New playground structures with turf flooring

o Remodeled bathrooms

o More rooms for our middle school students

o Shades

I understand and personally can relate to the cost that parents incur when their children attend a private school. My approach in managing a school is only to ask parents to pay what is needed. We provide a lot for our students to have a wonderful learning experience at Merryhill School. We will do it when we can manage, and our operating budget is healthy. We only want to burden parents when it is necessary, like now.

Thank you for your understanding. My staff and I are excited about this renovation and look forward to an updated facility for the 2023-2024 school year.

Warmest regards,

Quinn Letan Head of School

PAYMENT INFORMATION

Tuition covers 43 weeks of the school year. Merryhill School provides parents different options to pay the tuition with the option of paying with a check (initial payment only), credit card or automatic withdrawal (required for monthly payment).

Payment Options: Tuition + Capital Fee + Other Required Fees

Annual Payment

▪ One payment due on June 30th

o New Students

▪ One check payable to Merryhill School

▪ Credit Card (surcharge 2.35%)

o Returning Students

▪ One check, ACH, or Credit Card (surcharge 2.35%)

Semi-Annual Payment

• Two payments: One payment due on June 30th and Second payment due on December 1st

o New Students

▪ One check payable to Merryhill School

▪ Credit Card (surcharge 2.35%)

o Returning Students

▪ One check, ACH, or Credit Card (surcharge 2.35%)

Monthly Payment

o Ten equal payments (June through April)

o Required to enroll in the automatic withdrawal (ACH) from August through April

o One payment due on the June 30th

• New and Returning Students

o One check payable to Merryhill School

o Credit Card (surcharge 2.35%)

Tuition Standard Discount

• Sibling Discount is 5% off for one child based on the youngest sibling’s tuition.

• No other discounts such as annual, semi-annual, and sibling discount can be combined.

2023-2024 School Year

THE AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM

Merryhill After School program provides students with enrichment activities. Enrichment activities can be cooking, arts and crafts, indoor and outdoor games, team building activities, etc.

In addition to the enrichment activities, the After School program provides enrichment classes from different vendors that parents can add at an additional cost. Parents are responsible to enroll and pay for the classes with the vendors. Some of the classes that we have offered are Chess, Amazing Athletes, and Basketball camp. Information will be available in September for parents to enroll.

Optional schedules for the After School Program

• Five Days of the After School program:

o Includes Spring Break, Winter Break, and Parent-Teacher Conference days

• One to three days of the After School program:

o Spring Break Week, Winter Break Week, and Parent-Teacher Conference days are not included

o Children can attend Spring Break, Winter Break, and Parent-Teacher Conference days only on the scheduled day(s).

o No switching of the days

The focus of the After School Program

• Preschool – Jr.K

o Play and Enrichment Activities

o Last Friday of the month is a movie day

• Kindergarten through Third Grade

o Play, Homework (30 minutes), Enrichment Activities

o Last Friday of the month is a movie day

• Fourth through Eighth Grade

o Homework (60 - 75 minutes, M-Th), Play, Fun Friday*

▪

*Since students don’t have opportunities for enrichment activities because of the homework time M-Th, we are not offering homework time on Friday (Fun Friday) but replace the time for enrichment activities for the children.

o Last Friday of the month is a movie day.

2023-2024 School Year

SCHOOL TUITION WITH THE OPTION OF THE AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM

(FIVE DAYS, THREE DAYS, TWO DAYS, ONE DAY)

Preschool Hours

in the After School program fee)

Due to licensing, parents are required to walk their child to the classroom and sign in

Due to licensing, parents are required to pick up their child at the classroom and sign out

A late fee of $5.00 per minute will be assessed starting at 6:01 pm

Kindergarten - Eighth Grade Hours

AM Drop Off (Included in the After School program fee)

Car line starts at 8:00 am

(Due to the limited parking spaces, parents are required to participate in the car line)

Parents will pick up their child at the designated After School classroom

A late fee of $5.00 per minute will be assessed starting at 6:01 pm

2023-2024 School Year

PRESCHOOL

The Preschool tuition includes 5 DAYS of the After School program. The other options of three days, two days, and one day are not available for the Preschool program.

K-8th 5 Days of the After School Program

2023-2024 School Year

3 Days of After School Program

School Tuition + 3 days of After School Fee* + Capital Improvement Fee

*No discount for the three days of the After School program

*Parents can choose any three consistent days

2 Days of After School Program

School Tuition + 2 days of the After School Fee + Capital Improvement Fee

*No discount for the two days of the After School program

*Parents can choose any two consistent days

2023-2024 School Year

1 Day of the After School Program

School Tuition + one day of After School Fee + Capital Improvement

*No

OTHER REQUIRED FEES AND FORMS

• Spirit Shirt (HOME OF THE KNIGHTS)

(Please refer to the Uniform Handbook) – All students are required to have Merryhill School Spirit Shirt to wear every Friday for school spirit and when participating in field trips.

o Spirit Shirt $15 - Available Size to order (the cut is narrow):

• Recommended Size for Intermediate – Jr.K – Youth XS

• Recommended Size for K – Youth Small

• Recommended Size for 1st – 4th – Youth Medium or Large

• Recommended Size for 5th – 8th – Youth Large or Adult Small through XXL

• Novel Set $30 (2nd – 8th) – All students are required to purchase the novel set that they will study and annotate during the school year. In addition to the reading curriculum, students will study one novel per quarter.

2023-2024 School Year

COMPLETING PHASE I (DUE ON JUNE 30TH)

To confirm your child’s seat for the 2023-2024 school year, you must submit the Tuition and Other Fee Form along with payment to Merryhill School by June 30th . The form is attached to the email.

In addition to turning in the Tuition and Other Fee Form with payment, please include the required paperwork as indicated below that is applicable to your child:

• Intermediate – Jr.K

• New Students Merryhill School – Licensing Forms are to be submitted to our office by the first day of school, which will be on August 21st. The licensing forms will be mailed home to new students in June.

• All Students – Most current immunization record

• Kindergarten (All Students)

• Copy of the Birth Certificate

• A copy of the most current immunization record

Please have your child’s doctor complete the mandated Physician Report attached to the email.

• Seventh Grade (All Students)

• A copy of the Tdap shot record

• All Students

• Student Emergency Information Sheet attached to the email

2023-2024 School Year

K-8 UNIFORM INFORMATION

For the upcoming school year, Merryhill School will be changing its uniform colors to navy blue and yellow. Navy blue and yellow are the official colors of Merryhill School.

o Returning students are not required to purchase new uniform unless last year’s uniform no longer fit.

o New students are required to purchase the new uniform.

Please click on the highlighted link below for the Uniform Requirement with ordering information:

o Boys (K-1) Merryhill School Uniform Requirement

o Girls (K-1) Merryhill School Uniform Requirement

o Boys (2nd – 8th) Merryhill School Uniform Requirement

o Girls (2nd – 8th) Merryhill School Uniform Requirement

2023-2024 SCHOOL CALENDAR

Please click on the highlighted link for the 2023-2024 school calendar

2023-2024 School Year

PHASE II COMMUNICATION

Phase II Communication will be communicated mid-July.

• The communication will include the following:

o Preschool – 3rd

▪ Teacher Information

▪ 2023-2024 School Calendar

▪ Class Schedule

▪ Preparation for the first day of school

▪ Parent/Student Handbook

o 4th – 8th

▪ Orientation Information

• Class Schedule will be provided

• Other components to get ready for the first day of school

▪ 4th -5th – Homeroom Teacher and Subject Teachers

▪ 6th – 8th – Subject Teachers (Homeroom Teacher will be the same)

▪ Parent/Student Handbook

▪ 2023-2024 School Calendar

Important Dates to Keep in Mind

4th – 8th Orientation

Thursday, August 17th (more information will be included in July for the Phase II Communication)

Preschool – 8th First Day of School

Monday, August 21st

2023-2024 School Year

HOME OF THE KNIGHTS