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| The ABC’s of Kindergarten A If your child is absent, please call the school (989-8150) to let the office know. A note stating the reason for the absence must be brought to school as soon as possible to avoid an unexcused absence. Attendance is so important. In kindergarten, much of the work we do is oral or hands-on, so it is impossible to make up everything that your child will miss. Children may arrive at the school after 7:00 a.m. Any child arriving before 7:30 must go to the music room at the end of the hall until the 7:30 bell rings (that’s when the teachers get to school J ).The bell rings at 8:00. This does not mean that your child should be walking in the front door at 8:00 but that class is ready to begin at 8:00. It is best to have your child here before 7:55 to give him/her time to get settled in (folders and backpacks put away, use the bathroom, begin morning work, etc.). B Make sure to check your child’s bookbag daily. Every child’s birthday is special. If you would like to bring or send items (ideas: cupcakes, drinks, popsicles, etc.) to celebrate, please let me know in advance. Celebrations are held after lunch. Please do not send birthday party invitations to be distributed at school unless all children in the classroom receive an invitation. I will send home book order forms for you and your child to look over from time to time. Book clubs offer books at reduced prices. It's a great way to build your child's home library, and our class receives free books from points earned by student orders! Breakfast is served at school daily beginning at around 7:20 in the morning until about 10 or 15 minutes before the bell. The cost for breakfast is 60 cents. C A calendar is sent home each month to let you know more about what’s happening. Please post this somewhere in your home for easy reference. Parent and Teacher conferences will be on October 7th and 8th this year. Watch for information and reply accordingly. Communication is important. Feel free to contact me whenever you have a question, comment, or concern. You can reach me by phone (989-8150), in person, by email (hallm@tennk12.net), or by note-which is the easiest if you need an answer by the afternoon. We will have computer class twice a week for 30 minutes with Mrs. Renee. The students will be working on reading and math skills while there. We will also use the computer almost daily in the classroom. It is important for little girls to be able to use the headphones comfortably. Please make sure that if your little girl’s ears are pierced that she is wearing studs or very small earrings and not the big fancy dangly earrings to school. D Dismissal will be at 2:55 for car riders and bus riders line up in bus lines at 3:10. Our Kindergarten car riders will be dismissed by the gym doors. PLEASE remain in your car in the car line for your child. Someone will take them to the car rider line until they have become accustomed to doing this. E If your emergency numbers or contact persons change, please inform the office and me in writing. F Folders are very important this year. Please check your child’s folder each night. As long as the behavior reports are sent daily, please initial these. If you need to send notes or money to school, please place these in your child’s folder NOT IN THE backpack. I will check folders each morning for communication from home. Your child should bring his/her folder to school EVERYDAY! We will try to take two field trips this year (one in the fall and one in the spring.) Information will be sent one to two weeks in advance of the trips. G We have gym 30 minutes daily. We have P.E. early in the morning and it is important to send your child to school in tennis shoes so they are able to practice skills and have a great time safely. If you like, you can send other shoes in your child’s backpack and they may change after gym. For little girls, please have them wear shorts underneath skirts or dresses. Students will have Guidance class with Mrs. Brandy every other week for 45 minutes. H Students will have homework each week in Kindergarten. Homework will be due on Friday unless marked otherwise. As the year progresses, our homework will be as follows: short daily activity sheet, word list to read every night, and sometimes an extra page for practice (usually math). Also, later in the year I may send REAL books home for your child to read in a plastic zip-lock bag. Please be sure to return the book AND the bag to school. From time to time, I may need you to send some items to school for various activities. Watch for Help Wanted sections in the newsletter. I Independence is a goal for students because it builds self-esteem and self-confidence. Kindergarteners are very capable of doing many things on their own and I encourage them to do as much as they can for themselves in the classroom. Please work on the following self-help skills at home with your child: zipping, tying shoes, dressing, opening juice, etc. J Writing takes place almost every day in kindergarten. One way we accomplish this is through writing in our journals.. Encourage your child to write at home for a variety of purposes. Keep in mind, “pretend writing” or drawings is practice for the real thing! K Keep updated by reading all notes including the classroom newsletter, calendar, and checking our classroom website. Kindergarten is the best! L Our class will visit the library once a week. Our librarian is Mrs. Becky and the library assistant is Mrs. Starla. Students will begin checking out books from our library in January. These are “practice” books in getting ready for 1st grade when they will check out books twice a week. Please read these stories to your child and send them back to school the day before we have library. Many items get lost here at school. Please label all of your child’s jackets with his/her name on the label inside. Also, be sure that your child leaves all toys and precious items at home so there won‘t be a chance to lose them. In addition to bringing no toys to school, I am asking that my kindergarten students NOT wear SILLY BANDS to school. Our class eats lunch from 12:00-12:30. Lunch prices are $1.40 for students and $4.00 for adult visitors. When sending lunch money to school, please send it in a sealed and labeled baggie or envelope and place it in your child’s folder. The lunch room also has a la’ carte items such as ice cream or bottled water to purchase for 75 cents. This money should be sent separately in your child’s backpack and they will take this to lunch when we line up. This is not something the children “have to have.” My own child rarely gets ice cream money (maybe 2 times per month). M Remember to send all money in a sealed, labeled envelope or baggie in your child’s folder. The children will have one 30-minute music class each week with Mr. Kyles. We will have Math everyday and learn things like counting to 100, graphing, telling time, adding and subtracting. Several times throughout the year I may need you to send in items for these activities. N A newsletter will be sent home at least twice a month to keep you informed about what is happening in our class. Please read these carefully and keep them posted in your home for easy reference when you have questions. We will be having naptime in Kindergarten this year. Your child will need a nap mat and a small blanket or a beach towel to cover with. Some children bring very small pillows. Blankets and pillows must fit in your child’s backpack. Stuffed animals are not allowed except for special days which I may designate by sending a note. We also do not want any of the homemade slip covers for mats here at school. Blankets/towels will be sent home on Fridays to be washed and returned on Mondays. O When your child is late to school, you must walk him/her in to the office to sign them in. Also remember that when visiting the school you are REQUIRED to stop by the office and get a visitor’s pass. P Please make sure that you have a current Phone number on file in the room and in the office in case of sickness or emergencies. If you do not have a phone, please see if there is a neighbor or relative who we can contact. Progress reports are located on the back of your child’s folder. Throughout each grading period this sheet will remain in the back of your child’s folder for you to view as I periodically check skills. You will be asked to sign these reports periodically to indicate that you have seen them. Our main class parties are a fall party, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and End of Year party. This year, I am planning to ask each student to bring money and I will take care of the preparations. Look for notes in the class newsletters. Q Questions? Please feel free to call, stop in, email, or send a note. 989-8150, hallm@tennk12.net R Kindergarten report cards will be sent home 4 times during the year, at the end of each nine-week reporting period. We do not take grades in Kindergarten and everything is done on individual assessment. The report cards are marked with either a (+) or a (-). Skills are periodically rechecked before the school year ends. Kindergarteners have recess each day. The length of recess sometimes depends on the temperature but we do go outside even in cold weather if only for a few minutes. Please be sure to send the appropriate clothing throughout the year to ensure that your child is comfortable (keep a hat and gloves in your child‘s backpack when the weather becomes cold). Please do not send your child in his/her Sunday best and expect them to stay clean. We work hard and play hard in Kindergarten. It is important for your child to be able to “be a kid” so please dress them appropriately. S We will have snack daily and each child will have a snack day to bring for the whole class. Please watch the calendar for your child’s snack day(s). Please do not send candy/sugary snacks. Also, this year we are bringing NO PEANUT BUTTER for snack. If you choose to send fruit (the children usually love this) please make sure that it is already washed and prepared. The children do enjoy juice or milk with snack and remember to send cups or spoons if they are needed. In addition to academic skills, your child will have the opportunity to further develop his/her social skills; how to make friends, share, get along, and solve problems appropriately. I have high expectations for behavior in the classroom and will do all I can to support your child in making good choices. T If your child has any changes in their transportation please let me know IN WRITING. If your child is to ride a different bus we also need to know the address that your child is getting off the bus (Bus 10 to Aunt Sarah’s house doesn’t really help the bus driver. J ) For the first few weeks of school, your child will wear a bus/car tag home. Make sure to put this tag back in your child’s backpack so that I can put it back on them at the end of the day. This will help any teacher who may be doing bus duty until the students are used to the routine. U All children are special and important. In Kindergarten we try to create an atmosphere where all children experience love and understanding. V Volunteers and visitors (even the most familiar faces) must register in the office and pick up a badge before going anywhere else in the building. W Our class website is www.mrsmistysclass.com and I will try my best to keep the calendar and home page current. Our school website is www.chestercountyschools.org/westchester X Parents and family members may eXit and enter via the main school entry. Please make sure your child keeps eXtra clothes (don’t forget the underwear) in his/her backpack. Even if your child never has accidents, sometimes the business of school makes us forget, milk gets spilled, and mud happens! Also if you have any old extra clothes that you would like to donate it would be greatly appreciated. Y Remember that you are your child‘s first and most important teacher! Z Zzzzzzz - Make sure that your child gets plenty of rest at night. Setting and keeping a bedtime is a wonderful gift you can give your child. | |
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