Ocean Air Kindergarten

August 8, 2025

Mark your calendar for Friday, August 8th from 11-12PM for the Kindergarten Meet and Greet!  This is an opportunity for you and your child to come to meet their Kindergarten teacher and get to see their classroom.  Coming to the Kindergarten Meet and Greet will help your child feel more comfortable on the first day of school.  There might be a few tears on the first day for both students and parents.  This is normal.

Also, mark your calendar for Back to School Night on Thursday, August 14th from 4:30-5:30PM in your child’s classroom.  This is a parent only event.

On the first day of school when the bell rings, Kindergarten teachers will meet your child at the classroom door.  We ask that you quickly say good-bye so we can begin our wonderful journey together.  Later in the morning we will help to hang backpacks and get lunches and snacks in the proper bins and show the students the morning routine. 

On the second day of school, and for the remainder of the year, your child’s morning routine is:

1)   Independently hang their backpack

2)   Put lunches, snacks, water bottles in the bins

3)   Play on the K playground until the bell rings

4) Line up with the class on the playground

This important skill will set the tone for the rest of the school year. Please help your child by allowing them to unpack their backpack and praising them for their independence.   Your child’s confidence doing these simple tasks will grow as they learn to do this on their own.  For safety reasons, we ask that all parents say good-bye at the gate.  We will not have parents on the playground.  Once your child is inside the gate, they are safe and supervised and you are free to start your day.

Morning Drop Off:

From the beginning, we encourage the children to be independent in walking to class, hanging their backpacks and putting lunches and snacks in the proper bin and heading out to the playground.  A duty supervisor is present on the playground at 7:45 every morning.  If your child is planning to eat breakfast at school, please have them to school by 7:30 so that they have time to eat and unpack their belongings and get the playground before 8:00.  Please plan accordingly.  If your child is late to school, they must check in at the office before coming to class.  The gates close at 8:00, so the office will be the only access to the school after that time.  If your child will be absent, please call the office at 858 481-4040 and email your teacher.

Snack Time:

Each morning your child will have a nutrition break with playtime after.  Your child will be responsible for bringing a healthy snack to school each day (i.e. cut fruit, crackers, cheese etc.) and a reuseable water bottle each day.  It is very important that your child can independently open and eat their snack quickly so there is plenty of time to play and run around at recess. PLEASE label all lunch boxes and water bottles with your child’s first and last name and pack snack separately from their lunch. 

Lunch:

Please let your child know if they will be eating school provided lunch or home lunch before the start of the school day.  If your child will be bringing a lunch, please pack healthy options for your child in a different lunch box than their snack is in and label it with first and last name.  If your child will be eating lunch at school, please do not send a lunch box.  This will help to avoid any confusion.  Information regarding our wonderful, free, lunch program is available on the district website www.dmusd.org.  It is not necessary to preorder.  Please check the menu and discuss options with your child so they know what will be offered.  This is a very important meal for your child.  

School Attire:

Please send your child to school in clothes and shoes that are appropriate for running, climbing, painting and other kindergarten activities.  Our weather changes throughout the day so be sure that your child is dressed in layers so that they can take off or add a light jacket or sweater as needed.  PLEASE label all your child’s belonging if you would like to see them again.  All unlabeled and lost clothing will be put in the lost and found at the front of the school.

Wednesday folder:

Every Wednesday your child will bring home a large manila folder containing papers and class work.  Please note that the folders contain many informative papers, and it is very important that you look through them.  Please return the emptied folder every Thursday so that we can begin the process of filing papers for the next week.

After School Procedures:

Please wait outside the school gate by the office for your child to be dismissed to you.  Your child will stay with their teacher until the teacher makes eye contact with you.  Once your child is at the front of the line the teacher will look for you and when eye contact is made your child will be sent to you.  If no eye contact is made your child will be sent to the end of the line.  This will help ensure that all children are safe and accounted for.  Please note the following dismissal times.

·  August 11th through September 19th - dismissal will be at 12:40, except for your child’s Day to Stay as described below.

·  September 22nd and onward - dismissal will be at 2:30 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

·  Every Wednesday - dismissal will be at 12:30 with the entire school getting out at the same time.

**We will bring the K students out a few minutes before so that you to connect with your child before the rest of the school gets out.  This will start the first day.  Please plan to arrive early, as our parking lot gets full by 2:10ish.  You will need to park your car and walk to the gate for most of the K year.  Later in the year, an older sibling can meet your kindergartner, and they can walk out to you.  If you are late, your child will be waiting for you in the office.  Children that are enrolled in ASP will be picked up from the classroom by the ASP staff and walked to aftercare.

The First Six Weeks of School & Day to Stay:

From August 13th through September 20th all K students will be dismissed at 12:40, except for one day a week when they stay until 1:45PM for their Day to Stay with a small group for assessments, community building, bonding with classmates and their teacher and tons of fun. This will be your child’s favorite day of the week. Your child will be put in a small group of 5-6 children.  For these groups to be productive your child’s teacher will determine the groups and the day your child will stay. This will start on August 18th-September 15th.  On your child’s day they will stay until 1:45PM. You will get information on your child’s Day to Stay on Friday, August 15th.  It is very important for the success of the school year that your child does not miss their day each week for the four weeks.  More information about this exciting time coming soon.

PTA:

Be sure to log on to www.oceanairpta.org for all the important school information.  You will want to stay informed and up to date all year. Please purchase your PTA membership, sync the PTA calendar with your mobile device, and much, much more. 

All About Me Bag:

Please remember to bring the All About Me Bag handed out at the Kindergarten Meet and Greet back to school any day of the first week of school.  We look forward to learning about your child!

Thank you for your support

We look forward to a wonderful year together!

The Kindergarten Team

Mrs. Balfour, Ms. Sullivan, Mrs. Zaiser