Names to Know

Ms. Samantha Smith - Full-day Kindergarten Teacher Mr. Kris Kingery – Principal Mrs. Heather Gorgas-Assistant Principal Mrs. Jill Velikan, Mrs. Melody Enz, Jackie Robertson - Secretaries Mrs. Laura Samide - Counselor Mrs. Greta Fiorenten- Nurse Mrs. Jody Kingdon- Speech & Language Pathologist Mrs. Laurie Wilson-Hight-ELL

Numbers to Know

Samantha Smith - 544-6800, ext 6856 (school) [email protected]

River Birch Elementary 5456 East C.R. 75 North Avon, IN 46123 544-6800 www.avon-schools.org/riverbirch

*Don’t forget to call the school office before school if you know your child will not be in due to illness. Please call no later than 9:30am. Arrival/Dismissal All students will ride the bus to school or be dropped off at the side of the building (door #). Parents picking up students must present a picture ID. School hours: 9:00AM-3:45PM

Transportation Transportation safety is a top priority. To help insure the safety of our students, we have a strict policy on how we handle transportation changes. We consider riding the bus as the main transportation choice. Therefore, we must be informed of any other transportation arrangements, other than riding the bus. If your child will be picked up by you, a relative, friend, or daycare, we must have a note stating who will be picking up your child and the dates this is effective. If it will be all year, you only need one note for the entire year. Then, if something changes from that arrangement, we need a note explaining the change. If your child normally rides the bus, but you will pick him/her up on a certain day, please make sure you send a note with your child. If there is not a note, we will send your child on the bus. This policy is for the safety of your child. In the River Birch Parent/Student Handbook, there are “change of transportation” forms in the back for your convenience. These forms are also on River Birch’s webpage. This year we are being very strict that all changes must be made in writing (a note sent in the morning or a fax). E-mails to the classroom teacher will not be accepted (as we often don’t get to check our e-mail during the day). Parents MUST contact the office with a fax or written note by 2pm. *Each student will receive a “name tag attached to a string.” Please write the bus number, daycare, or parent pick-up on the back. If your child will be a parent pick- up or daycare please indicate this on the nametag using the following abbreviations:

PU=Parent Pick-up DC= Daycare (please name specific daycare) YMCA After School Program (Full-day students only)

Please make sure your child wears his/her nametag everyday to school until Friday, August 17th.

Weather Delay/Closings Please tune in to the local radio and television stations when there is inclement weather. You can sign up for the emergency notification list serve on River Birch’s website. Please make sure to fill out the green information card and return it to school ASAP. This ensures that we have the proper information on where to send your child in the case of an emergency such as the school having to close early.

In case of a two hour delay, the school day times are: 11:00-3:45 Lunch Kindergarten students will go to lunch at 11:25 each day. Recess will begin at 11:55. Parents are welcome to join their child for this part of their day. If you choose to join your child for lunch, you will need to sign in at the office when you arrive and wait inside the office until 11:25. The secretaries will dismiss you to the cafeteria at the start of lunch. Please keep in mind that fast-food is not permitted in our building. Also, federal regulations do not permit carbonated beverages. If you would like to eat with your child please bring a lunch from home or send a note to school for the day you plan to attend, so that I can add you to our lunch count. If needed, you can call the office with your lunch order. *Any younger sibling brought to lunch/recess is your responsibility. When out on the playground the younger sibling needs to stay with you. Related Arts Students will go to related arts every afternoon from 2:00-2:50. These special classes include: music, physical education (PE), art, computer lab and library. Below are the special area teachers: Mrs. Kathy Dow – PE (tennis shoes and shorts/pants are required) Mrs. Heather Henry–Art Mrs. Julia Plumb – Music Mrs. Anna Rowling – Library Miss Taylor Morrison-Computer Lab

Students will follow the B-I-R-C-H schedule for related arts. This will ensure that students visit related arts on an equal schedule, but class days may change as vacation and holiday schedules will impact our daily schedule. A monthly schedule will be given to help keep you on track!

BIRCH Schedule B-Computer Lab I-Media Center R-Music C-P.E. H-Art Appropriate Dress Please dress your child with the understanding that we will be doing a wide variety of activities and projects in our classroom. We will be using glue, paint, etc.— children can get messy in kindergarten! We are also always moving around, so girls should be sure to wear shorts or leggings under their skirts and dresses. Also, all shorts/skirts must be fingertip length. Please dress your child appropriately for the weather. I do not have access to extra coats, gloves, etc. Please make sure that you put your child’s name on all jackets and coats as students often have the same ones. Students are not permitted to wear backless shoes or sleeveless/spaghetti strap tops. All shoes need to have a back to insure safety on the playground. For complete details see page 11 of your River Birch parent handbook.

Health/Safety Occasionally we have special times when we will have a snack or cooking time. Please notify me and the school nurse, Greta Fiorenten, of any food allergies or problems concerning your child. This will help in planning for cooking and eating experiences in our classroom. All medications need to remain in the original containers (even cough drops).

Volunteers I would love to have you involved in our classrooms in any way you can. There are many ways to get involved: clerical work, preparation for classroom activities, assisting with small groups, and special activities in the classroom. Classroom volunteering will begin AFTER conferences, possibly not until October. *Please keep in mind that younger siblings are not allowed to accompany volunteers in the building. Celebrations We will have several classroom celebrations throughout the year, Fall, Polar Express, Valentine’s Day, and Hawaiian Day. Parties are a lot of fun and a great opportunity to practice our social skills. Volunteers will be needed for our celebrations, with information to come home a few weeks prior to the event. Please remember that siblings are not allowed to attend these celebrations.

Birthdays are special to your child. Our class will be singing to your child and he/she will receive a crown and pencil. Avon Community School Corporation school policy does not allow birthday parties at school and students may not pass out invitations at school. Please refer to the Class Directory if you would like to invite classmates to a party as I will not be able to pass out any personal information to you.

Kindergarten Phone Directory I will put together a classroom phone directory for all parents who wish to be included. Please return the information sheet to school with your child. The purpose of this is to help you be able to call another child’s parent—maybe to invite the child over to play or perhaps trade babysitting of younger siblings, etc. Only the parents who return the completed form will have their information published and receive a directory. Field Trips We will be planning at least one field trip this school year. Parent chaperones will be needed for this educational outing. More information will be sent home closer to the time of the trip. Home/School Communication I believe an important factor in your child having a successful school year is open communication between the parent and the teacher. I welcome and encourage you to contact me if you have a question, concern, or something great you want to share. You can call the school and leave a message on my voicemail, send an e-mail, or send in a written note. Please understand that I check my voicemail between 8:10AM-8:50AM and after school. I return phone calls after school hours (after 3:45PM). Newsletter- I send home a weekly newsletter that includes important dates, what we will be learning that week, reminders, and special notes. Please try to read it each week. You will also receive a bi-weekly school newsletter called “River Birch Leaflet” Parent/Teacher Conferences- Sign up tonight (parent night). The conferences will be September 10-14. Students will attend school on those days. The start times for that week will be 1 hour later than usual at 10:00am. Homework- In kindergarten we expect for the parents to read to their child 15 minutes daily. Reading Logs will be sent home at the beginning of each month to track the daily reading. Reading Logs will be due at the end of each month. Starting in January an additional homework folder will be sent home weekly. Please note all Reading logs are accessible to view or print from my Kindergarten Website. Homework calendars will also be accessible on my website. All homework is due on Friday.

Website How do you find River Birch and Ms. Smith’s Kindergarten Homepages? 1) Type the following web address: http://www.avon-schools.org/ 2) Select “River Birch Elementary” from the school box at the top of the page. 3) Click on “Directory” 4) Type “Samantha Smith” into the search box Class Procedures All students use a stoplight chart system to keep track of their behavior. Students start on green each day. They can move up or down the chart depending on their behavior during the day. This chart is not only used in the classroom, but in the hallways and at the restrooms, specials, and lunch.

Blue Our classroom rules: 1. Raise your hand and wait to speak.

2. Walk in school. Green 3. Be nice and respectful. 4. Keep hands and feet to yourself. 5. Clean up, all the time. Yellow

Our classroom consequences:  Blue and Green: no consequences (AWESOME!!!) Orange  Yellow: verbal warning  Orange: time out and loss of 5 minutes of recess Red  Red: time out and loss of ALL and a sad note sent home (or an email) to parents

* Please discuss with your child all notes that come regarding behavior issues. Also, sign and return these notes to school the next day.

For severe infractions or continuous problems, I will call home and speak with you AND/OR send your child to the office to speak with the principal or counselor. *Examples of severe infractions: physical contact, biting, spitting, swearing, and cheating. Kindergarten Curriculum Classroom Environment- Our classroom environment reflects real, relevant teaching and learning. Our classroom curriculum incorporates all of the language processes (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) in a meaningful context using a balanced approach that values purposeful reading and writing. Our classroom encourages children to see themselves as readers, writers, and problem solvers. We value the process as well as the product, and understand that all children are unique individuals.

Printing/Child’s Name The Avon Community Schools use continuous flow block print in their language arts curriculum. The company handwriting series we use is called Zaner-Bloser. Please take time to look over the alphabet print handout. Some of the letters may be formed differently than you or your older children were taught. This is the printing that your child will be using until he/she is taught cursive in later grades. In the next few days, we will begin working on printing your child’s first name. We will be asking your child to print his/her name using a capital letter first, then lower case letters (Emily not EMILY).

*Please note that Avon Community School Corporation follows Common Core State Standards for Kindergarten. Sight/High-frequency words and spelling patterns will be worked on throughout the year. Our adopted Math series is enVision and our Language Arts series is Wonders. Please feel free to ask questions about our curriculum. Kindergarten Sight Words

The words listed below are words that your child needs to become familiar with. We will be working on these sight/high-frequency words throughout the year. Please take time to practice these words at home.

High-Frequency Words * 40 a have me to and he my was are here play we can I said what do is see where for like she with go little the you has look this Parent/Guardian Involvement Sheet

Please check the following area(s) in which you are willing to become involved. Please return this to school by Friday, August 17, 2013. Thank you! Samantha Smith

I would be willing to: _____Help with special activities in the classroom _____Help make games and materials at home _____I could come to school and help with clerical needs (example: get things ready for projects—tracing, cutting, running the copy machine, get the paint easel, etc. set up or cleaned). _____I could come to school and help work with children These are the days of the week I could consistently volunteer (circle all that apply): Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Child’s name ______Class: AM or Full-day (circle)

______(Parent’s printed name)

______(Parent’s signature)

Home phone number______

 I work and you may contact me at my work # ______

during the following hours______

 I work. Please call home after______Pine Tree Kindergarten Directory

Please return this paper by August 17 th 2013 only if you are planning to place this information in the classroom directory. You may include as much or as little of this information as you would like.

Thank you! Kindergarten Team

*Please Print

Child’s name ______Class (circle): Bloomer Bush Smith Wilson

Parent/Guardian’s name______

Address______(street) (city) (zip)

Phone Number _(___)______(___)______(___)______(home) (work) (cell)

Parent e-mail______

2 nd Parent/Guardians Information (If applicable)

Parent/Guardian’s name______

Address______(street) (city) (zip)

Phone Number _(___)______(___)______(___)______(home) (work) (cell)

I ______give permission for this information to be printed (print name) in the Pine Tree Kindergarten Directory and understand that this Directory will be handed out to all Pine Tree Kindergarten Students.

(parent/guardian signature)