Mrs. Trekell

Sage Canyon Elementary

Welcome to Kindergarten! I am very excited to be teaching your child this year. Kindergarten is an important step for both you and your child, and I am confident that this year will be a great experience! 

Parent/ teacher communication is very important. You are welcome to contact me with any questions or concerns throughout the school year. I can be reached through email at btrekell@dcsdk12.org or by calling the school office at 720-433-0110. You can also send a note in your child’s folder and I will respond as soon as possible.

Thank you in advance for all that you will do this year! 

Arrival and Dismissal

Students who ride the bus will be released from their bus at 9:00 in the back of the school, all kindergartners will then be walked to their classroom door by an EA. Students that are dropped off or walk will wait outside of the front doors on the K until 8:55am. THERE WILL BE NO SUPERVISION BEFORE 8:55.  Please do not drop your child off prior to this time. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD IS WAITING ON THE SIDEWALK, PLEASE NO CLIMBING OR WALKING ON ROCKS IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL.

For the first two weeks I will meet the kids inside of the doors and we will walk to class together. After this, I am sure the kids will be able to find there way to class.

After 9:10 students will need to come to the front door to be let in.

Students will be dismissed from the front of our school at 3:50 pm. Only those authorized to pick your child up will be able to leave with your child.  Please call the office or send an email to me before 1:00 pm if someone else will be picking your child up, or a change to their typical form of pickup is changing.  Students riding the bus will be picked up from my classroom at 3:45 and walked to the bus by an EA.

 Classroom Expectations

1. Be Respectful and Kind

2.   Follow Directions

3.   Always Try Your Best

4.   Have Fun!!

Weather

Our normal school day can be affected by the weather.  School closures and delays are made with student safety foremost in mind.  There are five types of weather related events:

-School Cancellation 

In the event of inclement weather or other circumstances, school may be canceled for the day.  This decision is made by the central administration of the school district, not by the school principal.  A decision is made to close the entire district or just the specific geographic areas that are affected.  Announcements are made on television, radio stations, social media, the district website, and the district weather hotline (303-387-7669).  Families are responsible for learning of a snow day through these sources.

-Delayed Start

This type of delay means that school will start 1 or 1.5 hours later than usual.  The school buses run later and all students should arrive at school one hour later than usual.  For Sage Canyon, this means school starts at 10:10 or 10:40 am.  The decision for a delayed start is also made by the school district, not by the principal, and announcements are made on television, radio, social media, the district website and the district weather hotline.  Once again, families are responsible for learning of a delayed start and sending children one hour later than usual.

-Early Dismissal 

On occasion, it is necessary to dismiss school early.  The decision to dismiss early is made by the District using the same procedures as a snow day or delayed start.  In this event, students and staff follow the Emergency School Closure Form instructions that each parent has filled out and turned in to the classroom teacher.  Please keep this information updated.  Parents go directly to the classroom to sign out students.

-Delayed Dismissal 

In the event of unsafe weather conditions at Sage Canyon Elementary, the principal or designee will decide to delay dismissal.  This is not something we can plan in advance-often the decision is made 5-10 minutes before school ends.  If it appears that the storm will be brief, we just keep the students inside the school and then proceed as normal as the storm dies down.  Parents are welcome to wait in their cars or come into the building to get their children.

-Lightning Dismissal 

Lightning is a dangerous occurrence that happens frequently in Colorado and it is something that we take very seriously.  When lightning occurs at dismissal time, students will be required to remain in the building until a parent or guardian picks their student up and signs them out.  During these events, the following procedure will be followed:

1.  Bus riders will remain in class until an adult is available to walk them to their assigned bus.

2.  Parents of walkers or car riders may park and walk up to the main entrance and wait until a staff member can assist you. 

3.  In the event that the storm and lightning passes and students have not yet been picked up, they will be released to walk home as normal.

Classroom Management

Our classroom is a fun, safe and caring environment.  Students will be expected to follow our classroom expectations, the Wrangler Code, and treat each other with respect and kindness.  This is necessary for many reasons, but mostly to ensure that learning is not disrupted for any student. 

We will be using whole class rewards systems and have individual warnings. If you child is struggling with behavior in the classroom you will receive a note from me. If it continues we will work together to figure out the best plan for your child to help motivate them to make positive choices. 

Homework

Homework is a great way to develop good study habits and responsibility. The daily homework that your child will have is reading with you each night and bringing a daily folder to school and home each night. They will be responsible for filling out a reading log and keeping it in their folder so that I can check it each week/month. 

They will be getting on their iready accounts and doing some of their lessons that are tailored just for them as well. This is a great way to get your child comfortable with using this amazing program. It is used school wide. We will start this in October and you will see a tracking log in your child’s daily folder.

We will also have weekly homework that will come home in green folders on Monday and will be due that Friday. Homework can consist of literacy activities and math activities. We will start weekly homework in September.

Volunteers

I would love to have you as a volunteer in our classroom. I will be asking for volunteer help in different ways this year for parents who are comfortable with in person volunteering and for those that would prefer to volunteer from home. This might look like helping at class parties, helping during various times throughout the day, cutting, assembling craft supplies, and other odds and ends.  Even if you work, there are many ways that you can be involved with our classroom.  I will begin having parent volunteers soon so keep an eye out for a volunteer calendar/sign-up genius to come in your email. I am also needing a volunteer to be our room parent. Please let me know if you are interested in this position.

Birthday Celebrations

When it is your child’s birthday, we will celebrate in class by singing to him/her and I will have something special for him/her.  If you would like to bring a birthday treat for your child’s special day, please let me know a few days in advance. Please check with me to find out the number of students in our class. NO TREE NUTS, PEANUTS, OR COLORED DRINKS. Some suggestions for easy birthday treats are:  store-bought cupcakes, rice crispy treats, fruit snacks or cookies. Please keep it simple!

 If your child has a summer birthday, we will celebrate it towards the end of the school year.  I will send more information at that time.

**Invitations to private parties are not to be distributed at school, unless all members of the class are invited. By law and District policy, we are unable to provide parents with names, addresses, or phone numbers without prior permission. ** 

Snack

We will have 1 snack time in the afternoon. I ask that you please send a healthy, appropriate snack with your child. This year we are asking for prepackaged snacks that can easily be thrown away. Please pack snacks in the front pocket of your child’s backpack, this helps with them not eating food that was meant for lunch. Once again, no colored drinks. Some suggestions are: an apple or other fruit, a granola bar, crackers, or string cheese. Please remember to label your child’s snack every day! Please pack a water bottle daily for your child. This can be a disposable water bottle or a water bottle that your child takes back and forth to school. They can fill up water bottles if they need more water during the day.  Your child can bring a small, labeled water bottle to school (water only please).

Recess

Students will go outside for recess, weather permitting, so please apply sunscreen before sending your child to school on sunny days and also be sure he/she is dressed appropriately for the changing Colorado weather. We will go outside if “the feels like” temperature is 28 degrees. The school uses the WeatherBug app to decide on recess.

The Sage Canyon Elementary

Wrangler Code

 As a student at Sage Canyon, I will be a Wrangler Star:

  Safe

  Thoughtful

 Accountable

        Respectful