Skip to content
215 South Third Street, Hamilton, MT 59840Monday to Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. · Saturday and Sunday: ClosedMonday to Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.Applications for the fall open in January(406) 555-0115

Family policies

Photos of your child

We ask your written permission before we share any photo of your child, on this site, in newsletters or on social media, and you can change your answer at any time. We never put a child's name with a photo, and the photos on this site are examples until we replace them with our own.

When to keep your child home

A student with a fever, or who was sick overnight, stays home until the next morning. A teacher calls a parent when a student feels unwell at school, and we ask families to tell us when a student will be out.

Drop-off and pickup

A teacher is at the door at arrival and at dismissal. Only adults on a family's pickup list may collect a student, and we ask to see ID until we know you. A parent who wants an older student to walk or bike home tells us in writing.

Closures for weather and holidays

The teachers send the school calendar each summer. We close for Thanksgiving week, two weeks around the new year and a week in spring. When snow closes the roads, we text every family before 7 a.m.

Leaving the program

We ask for a month's written notice before a student leaves, and the enrollment agreement says what happens to a term already begun.

Screens and phones

Students use computers for research, writing and drafting plans when a studio needs them. The meeting wrote the rule for phones: they stay in a basket by the door during the day, and a student can always ask a teacher to call home.

What to wear and bring

Wear what you can paint, build and sit on the floor in, with boots or closed shoes on outing days and a water bottle. There is no uniform.

Meals, snacks and allergies

Students bring lunch and a snack, and the kitchen has a refrigerator and a microwave. On kitchen days the lunch crew cooks for everyone. Tell us about allergies at the visit; we ask privately once you enroll.

Absences and late arrival

Families message the office before 8:30 a.m. when a student will be absent or late. A student who arrives late joins whatever is happening and a teacher catches them up.

Questions about a policy?

Ask at a visit, or write to the office.