Please visit the tab on this website called Communication (HERE) for a detailed description of all the methods available for home-school communication.

In order to make sure that children receive the full benefit of the program, FCPS implements the following attendance policy: Missing more than 10 days of school may result in your child being withdrawn from the full day program so that we can offer a space to another family. If your child is absent, we request that you submit a note so that the absence can be considered excused. Excused absences include illnesses, doctor’s appointments, and vacation time (up to 5 days). Please email both myself (kyler.leiter@fcps.org) AND CMES' front office (cmes.attendance@fcps.org) anytime your child is absent. This attendance policy has been developed for many reasons including limited opportunities for full day programming, wait lists for children who wish to enter the program, and most importantly, the fact that your child cannot benefit from the program if he/she is not here each day. Prior to the school year starting, you will be asked to sign an acknowledgement of this policy.

We will have approximately 45 minutes of rest time each day. Students are not required to sleep, but it is a quiet time, where students will lay on their cots, listen to peaceful music, and rest their brains for our afternoon. I will supply you with a blue bag with your child's name on it.  Parents are responsible for sending in a small blanket, small pillow, and/or a small stuffed animal that all fits in that bag for students to use during naptime. Please put your child's name on all naptime items. I will send them home at the end of the week to be washed. Please return the items on Monday.

Water Bottles:

Please send in a reusable water bottle with your child. These water bottles will stay at school for the week and will return home on Fridays to be washed. We have found that if we send water bottles home each day, they rarely return every day. Please make sure your child's name is written on the water bottle. We will fill up the water bottle each morning to ensure your child stays hydrated. Please ONLY send in water in these bottles, no juice or sugary drinks.

Slippers:

We wear slippers in the classroom. This helps to keep our classroom clean and helps us stay healthy (especially in the winter months). It also limits the amount of time Mrs. K. and I have to tie shoelaces. Please send in slippers with your child on the first day of school. When students arrive, they will unpack and I will greet them. They will then change into their slippers. They will put their shoes on when we leave the classroom for specials, lunch, and recess. Please practice taking off and putting on shoes at home. This will help out a lot when it is time to transition out of the classroom.

I do take photos of the students throughout the year. I occasionally text/email photos of students to parents, Tweet photos of activities that we do in the classroom, and put photos on our website (HERE) for parents to view. I also use those photos to create an end of the year video highlighting all the fun we had. However, in order to take photos of students, parent permission is required. I will ask for permission in the beginning of the year. Please note: If permission is not obtained, I will not take any photos of your child and they will not be included in our end of the year video.

Once a week, we will have a specific letter we will focus on. Although we will be learning about tons of letters simultaneously, we will spend a little more time on our assigned letter. Students will be encouraged to find an item from home that starts with that sound and place it in the Mystery Box. On Friday, we will complete a "Show and Tell" with those items, connecting it to our assigned sound. This will start towards the end of quarter 1.

Please visit the tab on this website called Class Schedule (HERE) for a detailed description of our school day.

Please visit the tab on this website called Parent Involvement (HERE) for a detailed description of all the opportunities available to you to get involved in our classroom and our school.

Please Note:  You MUST register on the new FCPS volunteer portal, complete the short online training, and submit the paperwork to the office in order to volunteer (please see the Parent Involvement tab HERE). The front office will not let you into the school building without completing this training.  Please Note: It takes a few days to process, so please plan accordingly. It also has to be done each year.

Potty Training:

We understand that not all students that enter pre-kindergarten will be independent in the rest room. If your child is in pull ups or diapers, it will be the parents' responsibility to supply those pull ups or diapers, as well as wipes and gloves. Additionally, we require a form to be signed allowing our staff to change your child.  Otherwise, you will be called to come to school to change your child each time an accident occurs (if they cannot do it independently). If you are currently potty training, we will do our best to support you while your child is in school.  We will have a conversation in the beginning of the year about bathroom needs. 

Accidents:

We know that all four/five-year-olds may have the occasional accident. We will ask all parents to send in a change of clothes (pants, shirts, socks, and underwear) in the beginning of the year. If your child has an accident they will change and bring home their dirty clothes in a bag. I will also send you a message letting you know about the accident, so you can wash the dirty clothes and send in a new change of clothes. If your child does not have a change of clothes, we will borrow some from the nurse's office. If your child borrows clothes, it is your responsibility to wash and return the borrowed clothes as soon as possible. Once the seasons change, we will send home all change of clothes to be switched out with more appropriate clothes.

We will be going on one field trip this school year.  Our field trips will be later in the school year and the location has not been decided yet. Parents are more than welcome to join us!  All parents that join us will need to complete the volunteer training prior to our trip. Once the field trip is decided, information will be sent to parents.

Each quarter students will be given a report card. Grades will be given for: reading comprehension, foundational skills, math, mathematical problem solving, writing, science, social studies, physical education, music, and art. The grades are:

E.E. - Exceeding Expectations

M.E. - Meeting Expectations

A.E. - Approaching Expectations

D.E. - Developing Expectations

I grade based on the end of the year expectations. This allows parents to see growth throughout the year. It also means that students are typically not going to meet expectations for the first few quarters. Do not be alarmed! These grades are more of a formality. In addition to the report cards, I write each student a page of comments that give parents more of an insight into their child's learning. These comments should have more weight than the actual report cards.

Birthdays are a fun experience for our children! However, FCPS does not allow edible treats to be sent in due to various allergies. However, I have had parents in the past who sent out special non-edible treats for our students, such as pencils, erasers, stickers, crafts, etc. These are welcomed AND optional. If you plan on sending anything in, please let me know ahead of time.

For your child’s birthday, they will receive a special pencil and sticky from the school’s office. We will sing happy birthday as a class and they will have a special birthday hat. I will also allow them to pick various special things throughout the day (IE:  Our brain break videos, etc.). If you have any requests, or questions about birthdays, please reach out to me via email.

Please Note:  I kindly request that if your child is having a birthday party, please do not send in invitations for friends in the class unless every student is invited. If you are planning to invite all your child's peers, than please let me know ahead of time. If you are only inviting a select few, I can connect you with other families, but would like to avoid any hurt feelings with formal invitations to only some classmates. Thank you for your understanding.

Breakfast:

Students will have the opportunity to eat breakfast and/or lunch each day. Breakfast is optional and requires parental permission. In the beginning of the year, I will ask each parent if they want their child to have breakfast. If so, every morning they will walk to the cafeteria upon arrival and return once they are done eating. Breakfast cost $1.60 unless you qualify for free or reduced meals.

Lunch:

Everyday, we will go to the cafeteria as a class for lunch. This is also my lunch break, but Mrs. K. will remain with the students. If they packed a lunch, they can sit and start eating. If they are getting a school lunch, they will go through the cafeteria line with Mrs. K. All students will have a lunch tag with their lunch number, which is used to purchase food at school. Lunch costs $2.65 unless you qualify for free and reduced meals. If a child typically packs a lunch, but does not have a lunchbox on a specific day, they will get a school lunch (charged on their account).  Parents are expected to pay for any charged lunches due to not having a packed lunch.

To view our cafeteria menus (breakfast and lunch) or to add money to your child's account, see the Quick Links tab (HERE).

Please let me know if your child has any allergies, so we can ensure everyone stays safe during breakfast and lunch time.

We will have a snack time each day in the afternoons. I am asking for parent donations of healthy snacks to keep this consistent. Please visit the Donations tab (HERE) to see what snack donations are acceptable. Thank you for any donations!

Please let me know if your child has any allergies, so we can ensure everyone stays safe during lunch and snack time.