General Information for Kindergarten
As your child enters the new and exciting world of Kindergarten, we want you to know that his/her success and happiness is important to all of us at Council Rock. By working together, we can make this first educational step a positive experience for your child. Your encouragement and assistance at home is crucial to this endeavor. Please take a moment and review the important information listed below.
Schedule:
School starts at 9:10am and dismiss at 3:35pm. Please do not send your child to school before 8:50am.
Early Dismissal Days:
School hours on early dismissal days are 9:10am-12:15pm
Changes in Dismissal/Transportation:
If travel arrangements change on a certain day, please send me an email. Should there be a change during the school day or I do not respond to your email, please call the office and they will alert us of the change. If your child will be picked up by another parent, we need a note (handwritten or email) from both parties. We cannot allow any changes in your child's regular routine without permission.
Absences:
We are encouraging all absences to be reported online. Please send an email to me at jennifer.trotter@crsd.org and the office (hceattendance@crsd.org) noting your child’s name, parent’s name, date(s) of absence, and reason for absence.
Take Home Folder:
These folders should live in your child’s backpack to travel back-and-forth every day. All classroom work and papers to be signed will be sent home in this folder.
Snack:
Please send your child with a small, easy to open snack and a drink each day. In order to keep all children safe, please pack a dairy free snack. It is a good idea to pack their snack separate from their lunch. The PTO offers pretzel Wednesdays (see PTO website).
Communication:
Please be sure you have the most up-to-date email in HAC for communicating home. I will also ask you to confirm email addresses during Kindergarten Orientation.
Weekly emails will be sent to provide families with important information.
Special event information for early dismissal days, class rewards, school spirit days, etc. will be sent as needed.
Please feel free to email me with any questions or concerns you may have. We can set a time for a phone call to chat or in person meeting. 😊
Library Books:
Children learn to use the services provided by the library and gain an appreciation of the purpose of a library. They will learn to listen and respond to selections from quality children’s literature. Your child will have an opportunity to check out a book from the library once a week. Please have this book ready to be returned to school on your child’s assigned library day.
Parent-Teacher Conferences:
Conferences will be held in November prior to Thanksgiving break. Children enter kindergarten with a wide variety of experiences and different rates of developmental growth. We have developed assessment tools to identify each child’s strengths and needs. This information is shared with parents at the November conference.
Report Cards:
The purpose of a report card is to communicate your child's growth and achievement in reaching the expectations of the Council Rock School District curriculum and the PA Core Standards. Additionally, it addresses your child's growth in demonstrating proficiency in the areas of a successful learner. This standards-based report card seeks to convey whether students meet, exceed or are approaching proficiency in skill and conceptual development of grade level standards. It indicates skills and knowledge your child has learned along with areas that need further development. It ensures that all students are exposed to the same curriculum and learning appropriate for their grade level. The report card allows parents and students to understand more clearly what is expected at each grade level. It measures how well a student is doing in relation to the grade level standards, not the work of other students. Report cards will be available in February, April, and June via the Home Access Center (HAC).
ROAR Tickets:
We will be rewarding positive behavior at Hillcrest with ROAR tickets! Students who follow the ROAR rules will have a chance to win a ROAR ticket. If they receive a ROAR ticket for positive behavior, they will be added to the Principal’s 100 Club and have a chance to win a prize! Always encourage your child to follow Tigger’s ROAR rules at school.
Ordering Lunch/Packing Lunch:
Please make sure your child knows if they are ordering lunch or if they packed their lunch when arriving at school. It is also helpful if you have checked the school lunch menu and decided together what they will be ordering. The easiest way for your child to order their lunch is for you to put money in their lunch account. From there, they will enter their Student ID number into the pinpad and the amount will be deducted from their account. Please visit Hillcrest’s website and click on School Lunch Info for more information.
Birthday Celebrations:
We love to celebrate and your child will feel special all day! We will either sing ‘Happy Birthday’ or do the Hip Hop Happy Birthday Dance! In lieu of edible birthday treats, if you decide to send something in, please only non-edible treats (pencils, stickers, etc. are some ideas).
Important note regarding birthday party invitations: Invitations can only be handed out in school if the ENTIRE class is invited. If only inviting a few students, please send all invitations through the mail. Unfortunately, I cannot provide the phone numbers/addresses/email addresses of students.