The Menlo Swim School is a year-round school that provides professional, goal-oriented swim lessons for all ages and levels, developing life-long competency and a life-long love of swimming.  All of our Swim School instructors are CPR certified.  Find out more in our philosophy handout (PDF).

• Session Dates and Hours
• Class Levels (also see our detailed Level Descriptions page)
• Evaluations
• Registration
• Pricing
• Open Swim Add-On
• Holidays
• Policies

All lessons are 30 minutes in length and are held during the following hours during the current session:
Monday–Friday: 9:00am – 12:00pm and 2:00 – 7:00pm
Saturday: 9:00am – 1:00pm
Sunday: 10:30am – 11:30am (Waterbabies)

Students progress smoothly through levels of instruction, graduating to the next level when they have mastered specific objectives. Beginners progress through Levels 1, 2, and 3. Then they move to our stroke levels, starting with Freestyle, then Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Butterfly. After graduating from the Butterfly level, we recommend our year-round Menlo Mavericks swim team. We also have Waterbabies for ages 6 months to 3 years, and we offer Adult learn-to-swim classes.

Visit our Level Descriptions page for details.

A 10-minute evaluation is required for all new students wishing to register for levels other than Waterbabies, Level 1, and Adult. This quick evaluation is necessary to assign a child to the class level where he or she will make the most progress and be challenged appropriately.

The evaluation takes place in the water with an experienced instructor who has the child perform a series of skills. We create a low pressure environment and look at the skills the child has naturally. We assign a level based on three factors; age, swimming ability, and responsiveness to feedback.

Evaluation and level assignment are necessary before we place a student into a lesson timeslot. After evaluation you will receive a level code that you will enter during the registration process.

Just show up! Please arrive early to check-in and have your child ready to swim at these exact times:

• Monday–Friday at 12 noon or at 7:00pm
• Saturday at 1:00pm

The Swim School registration process differs for currently-enrolled students and for new students.

Currently-enrolled students
Before each session, priority registration enables consistent class times from session to session. During the two-week Priority Confirmation period, register to keep your current timeslots. During the two-week Priority Changes period, change your lesson times, add family members, and add new classes. If you miss these priority registration periods, you will register for the next session during open registration when there may be fewer timeslot choices.

New students
If you don't need an evaluation (Waterbabies, Level 1, Adult), you are ready to register. If you have completed and evaluation, you will receive a level code that you enter during registration. The level code allows you to view timeslots available for your level.

To start lessons mid-session, register immediately. You will choose type of lesson and level, choose a range of timeslots, and when you wish to begin.

To start lessons at the beginning of a session, wait until the open registration period, two weeks prior to the session. Complete registration using your level code and entering preferred timeslots.

Linked lessons
We try our best to offer the same instructor if you sign up your child for lessons twice a week, we offer linked Mon/Wed and linked Tue/Thu classes. During registration you can choose a linked set and we will make every attempt to place your child with the same instructor for both classes each week.

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Pricing depends on the number of lessons you choose in the 10-week session. If you choose Mondays and there is a Monday holiday, you will pay for a 9-lesson session. If you begin mid-session, pricing is pro-rated.

During registration you will see your lesson quantity and price totals computed for your frequency and day choices with holidays taken into account. The table below shows the range of pricing.

Add Open Swim to your Swim School registration for a fee of $35 during the winter and spring sessions and $50 during the summer session. This allows the Swim School student unlimited access during Open Swim hours and includes non-swimming adults who are always admitted for free.  Parents of Waterbabies need to pay separately from their child's add-on pass. Your Open Swim pass will be good during the session you're attending Swim School.

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January 18: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
February 15: Presidents' Day
May 31: Memorial Day
July 2 – 3: Independence Day Weekend
September 6: Labor Day
November 25 – 27: Thanksgiving
December 20 – January 1, 2011: Christmas and New Year's
January 17, 2011: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

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• Double diaper policy: All non-toilet trained children are required to wear a disposable diaper covered by a snug fitting reusable diaper cover.  For your convenience, these are available for purchase at the front desk.
  
• No make-ups or refunds for missed classes.
• Swim school tuition does NOT cover any other services at the pool including the use of the baby pool or open swimming.  These must be paid for separately.
• Mid-session class placement depends on availability.
  
• Mid-session registration is at a pro-rated fee.
• Cancel at any time and keep 100% of balance on account to be used at a later time.
• A balance may be refunded within 30 days of a payment, a $30 administration fee will be applied.
  
• Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee a specific instructor.

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