Mrs. Parkey’s
2024-2025 ABC’s of Kindergarten
Absences
If your child is not feeling well, please keep them home. I ask that you send me and the office staff an email/text if your child will be absent, so I know not to expect them. You should also submit the absence on the PTA website or here - Report an Absence . If I do not receive a note or email with an excused reason for being out, it will be recorded as an unexcused absence. An absence can be recorded as excused if it is due to student illness, family death, or religious holiday.
Arrival
Students may report to school as early as 7:30. Students will come straight to the classroom upon arriving. Parents are unable to walk children back to the classroom, but we will have Senior Eagles (fifth graders and staff members) to walk your child back if needed. Morning announcements will begin at 8:00. Students arriving after 8:00 are considered Tardy and must be signed in at the office by a parent. Please keep in mind that your child is missing valuable instructional time when they come in late.
Behavior
In the beginning of the year I use a clip chart where students all start on green- Ready to Learn. The students can move up on the chart with following rules or move down if they do not follow the rules. They will strive to earn 20 points for the week. Then in January, I will be using an online program called Class Dojo. This is an app where students will have their own individual ‘monster’. Their monster can gain and lose points depending on their actions. For example, I may see a student working very hard on an assignment or helping a friend who needs it and give them a ‘point’. Or, I may see a student not following directions, or off task and they will lose a ‘point’. When students get to 20 points, they will get to pick from the treasure box which is full of toys, candy, and goodies! The quicker they earn points and get to 20 points, the quicker they get a prize.
Birthdays
For children’s birthdays I will have a special surprise for them, and we will sing happy birthday. Treats may be sent in with your child to be distributed at snack time, or you may come to pass them out. Student favorites are donuts or mini cupcakes but any treat is welcome as long it is store bought with ingredients on it. I ask that you please include any plates/napkins/forks etc. that may be needed with the treat. Birthday invitations are not to be distributed at school. Please use our school directory for parent's emails.
Breakfast
Breakfast will be of no charge for all students this year. If you wish for your child to receive a cafeteria breakfast, please send them in as close to 7:30 as possible so they have time to eat before class begins. They will go straight to the cafeteria and eat before coming to class. They will need their cafeteria number which will be given to them at Open House.
Communication
The best way to communicate with me is via email: carrieb.parkey@cms.k12.nc.us . I will respond as quickly as possible during Specials 1:05-1:50 or before or after school.
I would be happy to meet with you at any point throughout the year to discuss areas of concern. Please email me to schedule a conference. Each child will have a scheduled conference later this fall.
Dismissal
Dismissal for car riders will begin at 2:45. You will remain in your car in the carpool lane and tell the staff member working carpool who you need and what grade they are in. They will walkie the name to us and a staff member will walk your child out. It is helpful if your child knows which car will be picking them up so they know what to look for! Carpool typically wraps up around 3:05-3:15.
Bus riders are dismissed between 3:00 and 3:30. I recommend signing up for Ms. Phelan’s bus updates. She sends texts every afternoon when the bus is leaving campus, so you know when to expect your child. You can also sign up for the app (Here Comes the Bus App ) to see exactly where the bus is.
I am not able to send a child home a different way without written permission. If there is a transportation change, please send me the day before or morning of an email, text, or note. If you have a transportation change and the school day has already started, please fill out a transportation change form: Change of Transportation Form
If you decide to change your child to a bus rider and it has been more than 2 weeks since they last rode the bus, I will need a 24 hour notice to get them added back into the route.
Early Dismissal/ late arrival
If your child arrives after 8:00 AM, plan to walk them to the office to sign them in. A child arriving after 11:30 or leaving before 11:30 for the day will be considered absent. You will need to sign them out with a valid ID. If you inform me you will be checking your child out early with the time you plan to arrive, I will have them packed and ready for you when you arrive! Please wait in the office and the office will call down to the room for your child to meet you in the office.
Early Release Days
We will have several early release days that are on the calendar. On early release days, dismissal will begin at 11:45. I will send students home their normal transportation unless I hear from you otherwise. We will eat lunch on early release days, but not snack. Lunch will be in the classroom, so it is not a good day to eat with your child and it will be a bagged lunch instead of the normal hot lunch from the cafeteria. We will either have recess or specials on early release days but not both.
Extra Clothes
In your child’s blue folder, you will see a bag to be used for extra clothes. These are used in the event of a bathroom accident, falling in mud at recess, major spills at lunch etc. Please keep in mind that this set will stay in the classroom all year, so it should not be anything you are particularly attached too! It will also need to be their spare clothes in both hot and cold weather (you may want to include both shorts and pants). Please keep in mind that students may not need it until well after the school year has started, so please account for any growth spurts that may occur! I will always include a note with the dirty clothes explaining why your child had to change and requesting replacement items.
Folders
Each student will receive a blue Sharon School folder. This will be our communication folder. This folder will come back and forth to school each day. You will find papers completed in school. I ask that you please empty it and review the work completed with your child each afternoon. If you have any notes or documents that need to come to school, this is a great place to put them to ensure I receive them.
Homework
Your child will not have written homework this year. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you work on sight words as homework. A sight word list is attached with suggestions on how to work on them. It is imperative that your child knows each of these words. They are seen very often while reading and cannot be sounded out.
Your child will start receiving take home books in September. These books will come home daily. Your child will receive a "little book" in November that consists of words they can sound out. It will also contain a "big book" that you should read to them. After they read, ask them questions to ensure they are comprehending what they are reading.
Lunch
If you think your child will qualify for the free/reduced lunch program, you will need to sign them up for the program to be eligible on the CMS website. Once signed up, they are cleared to get lunch each day free of charge.
If you would like for your child to buy lunch, you may send in money with them (you can send in a lump sum, daily or weekly), or load their Pay Pam account online. Menus for breakfast and lunch may be found on the school website. Any food allergies please let me know. Thank you!
If you wish for your child to not buy lunch, you may send in a lunchbox with them. Please pack a nutritious lunch including all food groups. You can pack a drink, or they can bring their water bottles. Please do not send in sodas.
I ask that you please send in a full water bottle each morning to prevent having to fill them up. I also ask that this water bottle has a lid and straw rather than a top you have to completely take off to drink to prevent spills.
If your child forgets their lunch or water bottle or any other items at home, you may bring it to the school and place it on the cart outside of the door and ring the doorbell to let the office know.
We will eat in the cafeteria each day at designated tables. Please make sure your child can open all containers and packages in their lunch.
Parents may come in to eat lunch with their child. When coming in, please start your visit in the office to get a visitor pass. You can sit with your child at the parent table with 1 friend, or outside with just your child. You may bring them lunch from an outside vendor if you wish. You are also welcome to purchase lunch from our school cafeteria. I ask that you let me know via text/email if you are coming in to eat so I know to expect you and can let you know if we have any changes!
Newsletters
Newsletters will be emailed out weekly as well as posted to our class website. These will contain details about what we are learning and upcoming important dates and events. Please set aside time to read these so you are aware of what is going on in the classroom. Expect to receive it sometime between Friday and Sunday each week.
Personal Belongings
I ask that all toys (this includes pop its, Pokémon cards, squishes, etc.), games, stuffed animals, books from your personal library etc. stay at home. There will be special times when they may get to bring these things in but unless specified, these should stay at home to avoid getting lost. All other belongings coming to school (jackets, water bottles, lunchboxes, backpacks etc.) should be labeled with your child’s name. If it is lost but has their name in it, it will find its way back to them! We have a lost and found.
PTA
Our PTA is always looking for volunteers! Make sure you sign up for Mrs. Phelan’s text reminders, and the PTA Eagle Eye newsletter to stay up to date!
Self Help Skills
Please make sure your child is able to do the following tasks independently: buttoning pants, put on a jacket and fixing the sleeves if they are inside out, changing their clothes if they have an accident, coughing and sneezing in their elbow, blowing their nose, open up backpacks, lunchboxes and lunch containers etc. Please also work on tying shoes!! I know it’s a tough task for little fingers, but as you tie their shoes, I encourage you to show them the steps and try on their own.
Snack
We will enjoy a snack in our classroom each afternoon, plan to send in a snack for your child. I ask that it is separated from their lunch in a separate pocket of their backpack, so they don’t eat it with their lunch. Even if your child is receiving lunch from the cafeteria, they will still need a snack sent in from home. I ask that this is something that does not need silverware and nothing sugary! Good ideas may be a piece of fruit, package of crackers, granola bar, bag of popcorn, goldfish, applesauce squeeze packet etc. We eat lunch very early (10:15) so your child will likely be very hungry at snack time (1:50) and I’m sure would appreciate a nutritious snack!
Specials
We will have special area classes each day from 1:05-1:50. Students will go to the special area classroom with that class's designated teacher. We are on an 6-day rotation for Specials. Students should wear tennis shoes on days we have PE. I do recommend tennis shoes daily as we go on the playground each day. Special area schedule is on my website and in the back of your child's blue folder.
Staff Members
I wanted to let you know of some other teachers and staff members your child will come in contact with at school in case you hear their name come up! Mrs. Phelan is our Principal, Dr. Parsons is our assistant principal. Nurse Pam Barkley is our school Nurse, Ms. Stewart is the Math Talent Development teacher (students are not identified for talent development until second grade.) Our special area team is Mr. Hood (Theater), Ms. E (Music), Ms. Cuevas (Art), Ms. Mazzotta (Media), Mr. Jennings (Technology), and Ms. Boettcher (PE). Our classroom assistant is Mrs. Korot (we share her with 2 other classes but she will spend time with our class and pull small groups) Ms. Allen is our grade level school counselor. There are many more, but these are some common names you may hear.
Volunteering
Chaperones and volunteers will be requested in newsletters when the need arises. If you would like to volunteer with our class or chaperone one of our field trips, you will need to be a CMS registered volunteer. I recommend doing this sooner rather than later as it can take up to 72 hours to go through. It will be good for this entire school year! https://www.cmsvolunteers.com/volunteer.php?newflag=1
You will need to bring a photo ID to sign in whenever coming into the school.
If you would like to volunteer to send in items to our classroom, anything on our Amazon Wish List would be greatly appreciated!
The list is also found on our website. Thank you so much!!
Mrs. Parkey