Refunds: Refunds (less the registration fee) are available only before the first day of class unless the class is canceled.

Priority Registration: For winter and spring sessions, there is always a priority registration period with a hierarchy: if you are registered in the previous semester, you have first dibs for returning to the same class day/time/location over any other family who wants to switch into it. After priority registration period ends, the non-registered public is allowed to enroll in any remaining unclaimed spaces and all registrants are on a strictly equal first-come, first-served basis. Because registrations come in by web, mail, and in the classroom, we date them upon receipt and update the remaining class spaces on the website as promptly as possible.

Tuition: see this page..

Cancellation: Classes must have six to twelve children in them. There are a few extra spaces for siblings under nine months at no tuition--please register them. If a class is canceled your tuition will be refunded in full, including the registration fee.

Confirmation emails: Immediately after you register online registration, you will receive an automatic email confirming payment: do not assume that you will be in your 1st choice class. Registrations are numbered and entered as they are received. It is occasionally possible to register online for a class that is full because the website reg. engine won’t recognize faxed and mailed in registrations until we manually enter them into the system. If it is necessary to place you in your second-choice class, you will be notified as soon as possible and you will have the option of joining the wait list. Approximately one week before the first class, you will receive a an email or phone call confirming your final class placement. We recommend accepting waitlist places when offered, because changes often happen during the first week(s) of the term. If we are altogether unable to place you in a class of your choice you may choose to be refunded your tuition or to apply it to the following semester. Classes must enroll a minimum of six and a maximum of twelve students (director may override these limits based on extenuating circumstances).

Safety: We reserve the right to dismiss a family when, in the sole discretion of Music and Movement of Newton, the family cannot be served with safety and with respect for the rights of other class-members. Dismissal is accompanied by a pro-rated refund for the remainder of the semester less the semester's registration fee and $40.

Mixed Ages: All classes are Mixed Age from 0-5. The mix of ages in every class is determined randomly by parent registration patterns. For reasons of privacy and security, we cannot disclose the age of anybody's child to anybody else.

Holidays: Classes meet on all holidays except Thanksgiving and Christmas unless we notify you otherwise. If you cannot make a holiday class, please schedule a makeup. If you wish to bring a sibling to a holiday class, please schedule with us 24 hours in advance.

Inclement Weather: When the Newton Public Schools close, our classes are canceled; when they're open, our classes are on as usual. When Newton schools open on a delayed schedule, all our classes will meet as usual. Please check thebostonchannel.com before you leave the house for up-to-the-minute information. In case of inclement weather for afternoon or weekend classes, you may check our home page, our facebook page, or call (617) 928-0190 for an outgoing message. We trust your judgment: if it's not safe for you to go out, stay home, schedule a makeup class, and shoot us an email so we don't worry ourselves sick over you!

Makeups: Makeups must be completed within the semester and do not carry to the next semester. You must register for a makeup slot using our online makeup scheduler, and give a printout of your confirmation email to your teacher at the makeup. You may do a makeup with any of our teachers at any of our Newton locations, seven days a week; maximum of two makeups per semester, or one makeup per three-week mini-session. The makeup password is "Newton."

Sibling/Guest Visits: For safety reasons all sibling visits must be scheduled 24 hours in advance. Sibling visits are limited to 2 per semester and the fee is $15 per visit. Each family will receive one free guest pass per 9 week semester; however, if you have a friend who would like to try the class with the intention of possibly enrolling have them schedule a free trial class.

Phones, Cameras, Pagers: Please turn off communication devices unless you are a doctor on call. Please no texting, photos, or videoing during class unless your teacher gives you an explicit exception to this policy for a few unobtrusive snapshots of one's own family member during the playalong.

Health: We usually give our hands a quick wash before class. Washing hands ahead of time makes sure that the things we are sharing are the things we want to share. We disinfect instruments with a nontoxic, plant-based spray. Please keep in mind the following points suggested by pediatrician and Music Together^® dad Ben Kruskal MD of Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, based on the medical literature.

Runny noses: It is not correct to assume a clear runny nose is OK and green is not. The color of the runny nose does not help to determine how contagious a child is. It is more reliable to make a judgment call by the way the child is acting. If your child has slept poorly and is acting tired and grouchy along with the runny nose, assume he is sick enough to stay home. If the runny nose is a week old and your child is acting playful and active, she is likely healthy enough to attend. If your child's nose is runny enough that the mucus is being wiped on sleeves and/or classroom equipment it is best to keep him at home! Some children can have persistent runny noses of any color for weeks or months, which is often caused by allergies, and should not be contagious. Please check with the child's mother or your teacher if you are concerned about a child with a consistently runny nose in your class.

Coughs: A child with a frequent deep moist cough of less than 3 weeks' duration should stay home, especially if he is too young to cover his own mouth when he coughs. An occasional cough in an otherwise healthy-appearing energetic child is of no more concern than the cold that causes it. A persistent cough for more than 3 weeks in the absence of other symptoms is unlikely to be due to a contagious infection.

Antibiotics: While ear infections are not contagious, the colds that often lead to them are. Even if your child has been put on antibiotics for some other infection occurring together with a cold, this does not make the cold any less contagious. Please use the same criteria listed here based on your child's symptoms if your child has a cold and is on antibiotics. If your child has been put on antibiotics for a strep throat, she may return to class after taking antibiotics for 24 hours.

Diarrhea or vomiting: While these symptoms are most commonly caused by viruses rather than bacteria, they can have serious consequences, especially for infants and toddlers. Your child should not return to class until he has been free of both diarrhea and vomiting for at least 24 hours. If your child has a more significant infection such as chickenpox, measles, German measles (rubella) or whooping cough (pertussis), please check with your pediatrician about when she will no longer be contagious. The germs which cause most common infections can be transmitted by close airborne contact (face to face within roughly 3 feet) OR passed through hand to hand contact, as well as carried on clothes, toys, etc. Please wash your hands and those of your child before and after class or avail yourself of a waterless hand disinfectant such as Purell. If you are not sure if your child is contagious or not, please err on the side of caution and stay at home. People are often contagious for 24-48 hours before showing any symptoms. Therefore a child who appeared perfectly healthy in class could come down with a fever two hours later and may have unwittingly exposed the class. Obviously, this is unavoidable.

Fevers: Please keep your child at home until it has been at least 24 hours since her last fever without the assistance of fever reducer medicines. Your child is the most contagious during the time she is feverish.

Eyes: Pinkness, redness, or “bloodshot” appearance is usually due to conjunctivitis, which may be infectious or allergic. Please keep these cases home until your doctor determines that they are not contagious. Gooey yellow-green goop on lashes without redness is not a reason to exclude children from class.

Rashes: The majority of rash illnesses in children of this age range are not contagious; the majority of contagious rashes are preceded or accompanied by fever. If your child has a rash WITHOUT prior or co-existing fever or other symptoms, the rash is unlikely to be transmissible, so it is fine to come to class.

In summary: there is going to be exposure to germs no matter how careful anyone is or what the policies are. Any communal activity (for example storytime at the library, playgroup, new moms' group, church, etc.) lays us open to catching germs, which is not always bad. There is reasonable evidence suggesting that humans need to be exposed to germs at an early age to develop their immune systems. By following these guidelines, you can minimize the risk of infection being transmitted at our classes while also minimizing the need for unnecessary absences.