ABC S of Kindergarten

ABC’s of Kindergarten Dear Parent(s), Welcome to our Kindergarten classroom. We are very excited about this school year and the opportunity to be a part of your child’s education! Listed below are the general procedures and routines. An overview of the North Carolina Kindergarten Curriculum can be viewed on the Internet at www.ncpublicschools.org. We hope this information helps you throughout the school year. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to call us at 324-3139 A Absences: Please send a note explaining your child’s absence on the day he/she returns to school. If your child goes to the doctor make sure you get a doctor’s note for it to be excused. If there is work that can be made up at home for example worksheets, I will send home an absent folder. Please have your child finish any work at home over the next few days and return it. B Birthdays: We recognize all birthdays as they occur. You are more than welcome to send in or bring cupcakes or some other store bought snack for the class. Please let me know at least 24 hours in advance. Book Clubs: Orders for Scholastic Book Clubs are sent home throughout the year. Order forms and payment are usually due back to me a week after they are sent home. No cash. The check should be made out to the particular book club. Book-It Pizza: Sponsored by Pizza Hut, this program runs October through March. You will need to read the number of books stated for the month to your child and return the sheet for a certificate for a free personal pan pizza. Box Tops for Education: Please save your box tops and send them in a Ziploc bag. Our school redeems them for educational materials. Breakfast: Please make sure your child eats breakfast each day. The school offers breakfast in the cafeteria for a fee. C Celebrations: I will create a list of special celebrations we have throughout the year and ask parents to sign up for one of the different celebrations. If you would like to help more often than your one time assigned holiday, please let me know. There will be a sign-up sheet at open house. Changes: Please notify us of any changes throughout the school year pertaining to address, phone number, bus, baby sitter etc… Transportation changes must be turned into the office in writing. The office will not accept any changes over the phone. Change of Clothes: Please send in a change of clothes for your child in a Ziploc bag. Label the Ziploc with your child’s name. This is very important in case your child has an accident. The clothes usually stay in their cubby till they are needed and will need to be changed with the seasons. Conferences: We will have 2 required conferences this year to discuss your child’s academic progress. We will meet in October and then again in the spring. D DEAL: Every G day from 2:00-2:30 we will take part in DEAL time where we will stop what we are doing and have 30 minutes of a structured leadership lesson. These lessons are aimed to be fun and give a more meaningful lesson on teaching the 7 habits. Discipline: A classroom management plan will be given to each parent. Please discuss the behavior colors with your child. Dismissal: Dismissal will begin at 3:15. Car riders dismiss at 3:15. Students must sit at the designated table until Mrs. Jones takes his/her car tag and releases your child to you. Any persons picking your child up must be written on the back of your child’s car tag to be released. E Early Dismissal: If school should be delayed or dismissed early due to inclement weather, please listen to the broadcast on the local radio, TV stations and Onslow County Schools website at www.onslow.k12.nc.us. The time for early checkout to be counted present for ½ a day is 11:45. F Fees: School fees are $6.00. (Instructional supply fee-$5 and Art fee-$1) please pay this as soon as possible. Field Trips: Individuals who wish to go on a field trip with their child’s class and work with a group of students must be fingerprinted at the county office before the field trip. Information on how to be fingerprinted can be obtained at the front office. Parents may go on field trips with their child without being fingerprinted, but can only accompany their own child. They must provide their own transportation to/from the field trip. All students will ride the bus to our destination. Your child may be checked out afterwards and ride home with you. G Good behavior: Good behavior will be expected, demonstrated and rewarded. H Homework: A homework sheet with assignments/activities will be sent home. Additional alphabet/sight word practice will be sent home in addition to what is typed on the grade level wide paper and is to be done in the homework journal that will be in your child’s folder. Homework assignments will be for Monday-Thursday. Completing homework is an area that is reflected on our Kindergarten Progress Report. Please help your child develop the responsibility of returning homework promptly the next day. Journal activity ideas are listed in the front of the homework journal. Please check homework folder for additional homework that may be sent home if extra practice is needed. I Illness: Please keep your child home when they are ill. If they have a fever they will be unable to return to school until 24 hours after the fever is gone. J Just in case: Just in case you have a question please send a note in your child’s red folder or use the Remind app. K Kindergarten Health Assessments: You must turn in your child’s Kindergarten Health Assessment as soon as possible. They will not be allowed to remain in school after 30 days, if you have not turned it in. L Late arrivals or early dismissals: If your child arrives after 8:35, you must sign in at the office and receive a pass. If you check your child out early, sign out in the office, they will call the classroom and we will send your child to the office. Lunch: Your child will be assigned a lunch number. Lunch is $2.25 a day and milk is $.50 if your child brings their lunch and would like to purchase milk. You can pay for your child’s lunch weekly or monthly. You can send in money or pay online through the schools website. Leader In Me- Our school will be launching Leader In Me which will teach the students leadership skills learning and following the 7 habits. 1) Be proactive 2) Begin with the end in mind 3) Put first things first 4) Think win win 5) Seek first to understand then to be understood 6) Synergize 7) Sharpen the saw M Medications: If your child must take prescription medication at school, you must fill out “The Administration of Medication Form” which can be picked up and returned to the school nurse. You can NOT send medicine in to school with your child. Moment of Silence: We observe a moment of silence each morning. Money: Money needs to be placed in a sealed envelope with a description of what the money is for and placed inside the homework folder. Please DO NOT just put it in your child’s bookbag or pocket to give to us. N North Carolina Common Core: We follow the North Carolina guidelines in Kindergarten. Notes: Always place any notes in the folder. Do not place notes or money in book bags. O Outside – We will visit the playground every day weather permitting. Please make sure your child wear tennis shoes. Flip flops will not be permitted. P Pledge: The Pledge of Allegiance is included in our morning announcements Q A good QUALITY education is very important. R Reading: This is a major focus in our classroom. We utilize Daily 5 at RPS and this is our reading framework your child will be using every day during reading. Skills must be reinforced at home in order for your child to be on grade level by the end of the year. If an assignment is made for your child to study his/her reading word list, please support that assignment. S Snack: A snack will be needed every day of school. T Tardies: Students are marked tardy and will need a tardy note from the office if they arrive to class after 8:35 am. Students who ride a bus or daycare van will not be marked tardy for late arrival. THE LEADER IN ME: Please visit the school webpage for more information regarding this program. This is the first year RPS will be implementing The Leader in Me based on Franklin Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Transportation: Any and all changes must be written. Car riders will be picked up in the cafeteria. Parents must wait for Mrs. Jones to give you your child and make sure your child gives her a high five before they leave the line. I can not accept transportation changes through email. U Uninterrupted Instruction: If you need to contact me or you have an emergency please contact the office. I will respond back to you at when the class is at Specials or after school. Instructional time is valuable. V Visitors: All visitors must sign in at the office and receive a pass before coming to the classroom. This is for the safety of our children. If you are coming to drop something off for your child, you may leave it at the office and they will notify me. Any time you may plan to come to the classroom I must notify the office before. Volunteers: All volunteers must go through a fingerprinting process before helping in the classroom. W Writing: The children will participate in daily. We utilize the “Write from the Beginning” program. It is an integral part of our curriculum and the students will begin writing the first week of school. X Kindergarten students are eXtra special. Y You: You are your child’s first and most important teacher. You are the most important person in your child’s life and I would like to say thank you for sharing this special time with us. Kindergarten is a very special place where often a child’s educational attitude is set. It is my desire that all the children will want to be here and share the wonderful discoveries we will make this year. Z Now let’s ZOOM into Kindergarten!! Thank you in advance for your support. We look forward to the school year and hope to make it a wonderful experience for you and your child.