WELCOME TO KINDERGARTEN The entire District 15 staff extends a warm welcome to your child and to you. By working together, we can best ensure that your child’s first year of formal public school will be a pleasant and successful one. We believe that the kindergarten year is tremendously important in providing your child with a solid foundation upon which to build the future years in school. In addition to being an important year, it’s a very special year. It marks one of the milestones in a person’s life. The first day of school is always remembered by Mom and Dad. There is usually a tear or two “on both sides of the fence.” The school staff is very experienced in assisting you and your child on that exciting day. The kindergarten year is a year of learning readiness skills for future years. In the children’s academic program the key word is “readiness.” There are many social skills that the children must learn and there are a great many readiness skills that should be mastered before the first grade. In addition, we want to enhance the development of emerging literacy by exposing your child to print and the purpose of literature. KINDERGARTEN ENTRANCE AGE REQUIREMENT In 1985 the Illinois Legislature (SB 730) changed the kindergarten entrance age requirement. To be eligible for kindergarten entrance, a student must be 5 years of age on or before September 1st. ABSENCE If your child will be absent from school, please call the school office as soon as possible. Attendance is taken at the beginning of each session. By law we must make every reasonable effort to contact you if your child is absent and we do not receive a call from you. Please understand that we are merely ensuring that everyone is accounted for and safe. If you know that your child will be absent from school at a future date, please phone the office. A general word about absences—we believe that there are two legitimate reasons for absence, illness and family emergencies. If you bring your child to school after the session starts, please stop in the office first to notify them that your child is present. ARTICLES TO SCHOOL Articles brought to school by students sometimes create problems. We ask that parents closely monitor what is brought to school. Toys are not to be brought to school unless permission has been given by the classroom teacher in advance. Please make sure labels with your child’s name are put on everything brought to school. BIRTH CERTIFICATES According to the state statutes, parents who register their child for kindergarten must provide the child’s County birth certificate. A copy of the original birth certificate will be made at registration, and the original will be returned to the parents. Under the provisions of a new Illinois law, school districts must furnish local police departments with the names of parents who have failed to provide verification of birth for their children enrolling in school for the first time. BIRTHDAYS Ask your child’s teacher about the classroom procedures for honoring a child’s birthday. BUS Approximately 99% of our students ride the bus to school. Therefore, we have to be organized and ready the first day of school. Beginning with the bus driver in the morning, all school personnel are aware of the nervousness, fear and concern experienced by our five year olds during the early days of kindergarten. Safety is the primary concern. Each teacher instructs the class on bus rules—using terminology appropriate to the age level. We take extreme care to make sure that your child is on the right bus. Staff members are on duty guiding the students to the buses. The first week or so, every child’s bus pass is checked to make sure that the child is, indeed, on the right bus. This does become a matter of routine for the children and it is amazing how quickly they learn. For A.M. Kindergartners, a parent or daycare provider must be present at the bus stop before the student can be released. Transportation does offer Release without Parent waivers upon request. There are no requirements for the presence of a parent or daycare provider for P.M. Kindergarteners due to time restraints and other students getting off the bus at that time. Therefore, P.M. Kindergartners will be dropped off at the end of the school day with the rest of the students even if a parent or daycare provider is not present. Bus discipline is, of course, the responsibility of all of us. In cases of serious infractions, the driver completes a School Bus Incident Report and sends it to the Principal or Assistant Principal. The Principal or Assistant Principal speaks to the child and notifies the parent of the incident. Consequences are detailed in the individual school’s Parent/Student Handbook. Address or daycare changes must be done through the school that the student attends. A change request is filled out and sent to Transportation for processing. Please allow up to three days for processing. Only in case of an emergency will a student be allowed to ride another bus other than their own. These requests must be approved by the Transportation Department at (815) 385-6622. Please do not send a note with your child requesting approval. BUS RULES AND REGULATIONS Rules and Regulations- Safety on our school buses is very important. In order to have a safe transportation program, parents are requested to stress the following policies and rules to their children: 1. Be at your bus stop five minutes before your scheduled pick up time. 2. Form an orderly single file line to board the bus. Refrain from pushing, shoving or trying to be first. 3. Do not play on the roads, trees or lawns while waiting at the bus stop. Please show respect for private property. 4. Make sure the bus comes to a complete stop before boarding or exiting the bus. If you must cross the street to board the bus, wait for the driver’s signal. He/she will know when traffic is stopped in both directions and it is safe to cross. 5. Always use the bus entrance handrail when entering or exiting the bus. 6. Be seated as quickly as possible, facing forward, and remain seated until the bus stops. Do not stand while the bus is in motion. 7. Keep the aisles clear. 8. Voices must be kept at a conversational tone. Yelling, shouting or whistling are never acceptable bus behaviors. 9. PLEASE, BE ABSOLUTELY QUIET AT RAILROAD CROSSINGS. The driver must stop and open the door of the bus to look and listen for an approaching train. 10. No eating, drinking or gum chewing on the bus. 11. Put all waste paper in the waste container as you enter or leave the bus. Buses are to be kept clean at all times. 12. Never put your hands or head out the window of the bus. 13. Profane language is unacceptable behavior. 14. Vandalism will not be tolerated; offenders will be required to make restitution and may be suspended from transportation privileges. 15. Fighting will result in suspension. BUS RULES AND REGULATIONS-CONTINUED PLEASE NOTE: The bus driver is in complete charge and has been instructed not to tolerate misbehavior on the bus. A driver can assign a student to a seat at his or her discretion. For consistent misbehavior, the rider may be denied the privilege of riding the bus. In addition, misbehavior can result in other disciplinary action. BABYSITTING ARRANGEMENTS Bus pick up and drop off at different babysitters/child care centers on different days cannot be honored. For example the following routing cannot be honored: Monday drop off at Babysitter on Route A Tuesday drop off at Grandmother’s on Route B Wednesday drop off at home on Route C Thursday & Friday drop off at sitter on Route A If you have any questions regarding your child’s schedule, please call the Transportation Department at (815) 385-6622. CHANGE OF ADDRESS OR TELEPHONE NUMBER Please notify the school office if you change your address or telephone number. There are times when we have to contact you in case of illness or emergency. CLOTHING Please make sure that your child’s outer clothing is clearly labeled. Whenever you come to school, please check the Lost and Found Box. Labeling, of course, would eliminate the need for the Lost and Found Box. CHILDREN SHOULD BE ABLE TO FASTEN THEIR COATS AND OTHER CLOTHES THAT THEY WEAR TO SCHOOL. We would like every child to have an extra set of clothes at school in case of emergency (labeled). DISMISSAL REQUESTS If you are going to pick your child up please telephone the office or write a note. When you arrive, please come to the office to get your child; we do not allow a child to wait outside alone. We also ask that you sign your child out on the forms provided in the office. Without a note or phone call, your child will be sent home on the regular bus route. HEAD LICE (PEDICULOSIS) The American Academy of Pediatrics, the Center for Disease Control and the National Association of School Nurses recommend that students with nits (lice eggs) not be excluded from school. Students with active infestation of head lice (pediculosis) will be referred to their parents/guardians for treatment. Education of parents/guardians, students and school staff as to the transmission, identification and treatment of head lice is a far more effective management approach and will significantly reduce unnecessary school absences and reduce disruptive screening.