Communication
Parent Square (preferred): Parent Square is the most reliable way to contact me. I always have my phone with me, and any messages sent through the platform will come to my phone as a text message. All newsletters and important class information will be sent via Parent Square, as well.
Email: I check my email every morning before school starts and every day after school ends. I also check my email periodically throughout the day. I am not always able to respond right away during the school day, but I will always reply within 24 hours. If you need to get in touch with me quickly, email is not reliable as I am not always able to check emails quickly. My email is jennifern.degroof@cms.k12.nc.us.
Newsletters: Newsletters will be posted on our class website and on Parent Square every Sunday. To view the newsletter on our website, click the "Newsletter" tab in the top-right corner of the home page. Newsletters will include weekly announcements, important dates to be mindful of, and what our class learned throughout the week.
Blue Folders: This is a daily communicator between teachers and parents. Your child will return home from school with a blue folder with any work they have completed, important information to be shared with parents, and any notes to be exchanged between teachers and parents. Students are to return to school with the blue folder each morning. It is very important that blue folders are checked and emptied daily.
Conferences: All students will have a scheduled Fall conference where we will discuss your child's progress throughout Quarter 1. Fall conferences are the only formal conferences that Sharon holds, but I am always more than willing to schedule a conference to discuss your child's needs whenever necessary. If you would like to schedule additional conferences, please contact me via Parent Square or email.
Tardies, Absences, and Changes of Transportation
Tardies: School officially begins at 8:15am, and doors open at 7:45am. If your child arrives to school later than 8:15am, you are required to sign them in at the front office. Mrs. Huffstetler or Mrs. Withers will provide your child with a tardy pass. Your child will then hand me the tardy pass when they enter the classroom to let me know that they have been signed into school. Please be mindful that we do all our Literacy lessons in the morning, so it is very important that your child arrives to school on time. If students are late, they are missing valuable instructional time.
Absences: Your child is expected to attend school every day unless they are sick, on religious holidays, or in the case of an emergency. Please let me and/or Sharon School know when your child will be absent, otherwise the absence will be considered unexcused. Please remember to fill out Sharon's online absence form when your child will be absent. You can access the online absence form by clicking the "Links" tab in the top-right corner of the home page on our class website. Please keep your child home if they are sick! This will always be an excused absence.
Changes of Transportation: All changes of transportation must be in writing. You can either send in a written note from home or send me an email. In addition, please fill out Sharon's Change of Transportation Form to keep administration and the office staff updated on dismissal needs, as well. Administration will call to my room and let me know of any changes. You can access the Change of Transportation form by clicking the "Links" tab in the top-right corner of the home page on our class website. Students are required to go home as normal unless I receive written confirmation or Sharon School has been made aware.
Playdates: We love playdates in Kindergarten! If your child is a car rider or walker, they are permitted to go home with their friend, but you must send in a note stating that you allow your child to go home with another family. If your child is a bus rider and their friend rides the same bus, you must send in a note for Mrs. Phelan to sign off on and approve, and your child will be permitted to get off at their friend's bus stop. If your child is a bus rider and their friend does not ride the same bus, your child will not be permitted to ride their bus. Bus drivers cannot allow students not listed on their roster to ride their bus.
Drop Off and Pick Up
Drop Off: Car rider drop off begins at 7:45am, and students are not permitted in the building before this time. Students are to wait in their cars until they arrive closer to the entrance. Parents are not permitted to exit their cars and walk their children to class. If your child arrives later than 8:15am, you will be required to sign them in at the front office. The car rider drop off line gets very long very quickly, so I recommend that you arrive earlier rather than later to ensure your child is on time. Even if you are in the drop off line prior to 8:15am, if the line is too long and you do not reach the front entrance by 8:15am, your child will still be considered tardy.
Pick Up: Dismissal begins at 3:10pm, and buses typically leave campus around 3:15pm. To stay updated on bus transportation, download AlphaPortal (located on our "Links" page) and check Parent Square for messages from Mrs. Phelan. As with drop off, the car rider dismissal line gets very long very quickly, so I recommend getting to Sharon no later than 3:00pm. If your child is not picked up by 3:45pm, you will be required to pick them up in the front office.
*IMPORTANT PM BUS DROP OFF INFORMATION* - Due to their busy routes, the bus drivers do not have the time permitted to stop to check if a parent or authorized person is at the bus stop when dropping children off at their designated spots. Please be at your child's bus stop earlier than their assigned drop off time to ensure you are there when the bus arrives for safety concerns.
Breakfast, Lunch, and Snack
Breakfast: Breakfast is free to all students! Upon arrival, your child will walk to the cafeteria prior to coming to class to get breakfast if they would like or need it. Students are to eat their breakfast in the cafeteria, not in the classroom. Please remind your child of this! Per the cafeteria staff, students will not be permitted to get breakfast after 8:15am unless their bus arrives to school late.
Lunch: Lunch is available to students for a fee of $2.75. The reduced price for lunch is $0.40, and if you need to fill out a free/reduced lunch form, please let me know privately and I will put you in contact with the school counselor. Each student will receive a pin number and will be required to pass through the cashier and input their pin number to pay for their food. It is strongly encouraged that you put money in your child's PayPams account (located on our "Links" page) to ensure they have money to pay for the lunch. However, Sharon accepts cash and checks made payable to Sharon School, as well. I strongly discourage sending in cash as it can sometimes get lost and/or students forget to bring it to the cafeteria, but if cash is the most convenient way to pay for lunch, than it is perfectly acceptable. The cafeteria also serves ice cream, but being that we have lunch so early in the morning, Kindergarten will not be permitted to purchase ice cream.
Snack: Our class will eat snack at 2pm after we return from Specials. Unlike lunch where utensils are provided in the cafeteria, students have limited access to utensils in the classroom. Please pack any utensils your child may need in their lunch box or backpack. I try to have additional forks and spoons in the classroom just in case, but this is not always guaranteed. I kindly ask that all students bring their own snacks from home. However, I always keeps extra snacks in the classroom in the event a student forgets their snack at home or if there are financial restrictions and students are unable to bring one. Although not required, snack donations are greatly appreciated, and I thank you in advance! Snack donations can be sent with your child to school or can be dropped off at the front office.
Birthdays
I love celebrating birthdays in school and want all students to feel important on their special day! Birthday celebrations will take place from 10:45am to 11:10am when we eat lunch.You are more than welcome to bring in a treat, but please be mindful that all treats must be store-bought and there should be enough for the entire class (we have XXX students total). Please note that birthday invitations are not permitted to be distributed at school. Please refer to the Sharon School directory for addresses, emails, phone numbers, etc. to obtain information for your child’s classmates.
Behavior
Students are expected to be respectful to themselves, classmates, and teachers. I will stress this daily in class, and I encourage you all to review Sharon's SOAR behavior matrix and appropriate school behavior with your children. We have four main classroom rules and will recite positive affirmations every morning before we start our class meeting. Reciting our affirmations each morning will help instill positive character traits and a strong sense of self, which are so important for young children and to lead a healthy, successful future. Please see below to reference both:
Class Rules
Use kind words.
Use safe hands and feet.
Be respectful.
Work hard.
Positive Affirmations
I am a role model.
I am kind and thoughtful.
I make good choices.
I work hard to learn.