Kindergarten Procedures and Routines

Welcome to Kindergarten…..…..

Where You'll Watch Your Child Grow!

Congratulations! You are the parent of a Kindergarten student at Hahira Elementary School! You will be amazed at just how much your child will grow this year. Most likely, your child has had some of the seeds of shapes, letters, and numbers planted. During Kindergarten, those seeds will grow and blossom, making your child a blooming reader and writer! The change will be dramatic -- just compare a tiny seed with a full-grown sunflower! That's the kind of growth you'll see this year!

Ways to Help Your Child Bloom

The loveliest flowers usually have the best gardener......and that's you! Staying involved in your child's education is the key to a successful year. Engage your child in conversation about his/her day, but know that children won't always give out much information. When Friday Folders and newsletters come home, you can use them as a springboard for discussion. Instead of saying "What did you do at school today?" (The answer is often "nothing!"), you can say, "Oh, I see you're learning about....what did you find out?" Some parents save these newsletters as a special remembrance of their child's Kindergarten year!

To help keep things growing "weed-free", it helps to remember general Kindergarten procedures!

FRIDAY FOLDERS…..the Home-School Connection

The best way to stay involved is to check your child's progress folder EVERY FRIDAY. You'll usually find it filled with schoolwork, letters from school, flyers, notices from the office, as well as notes from me. The papers will be sorted for you in two pockets……one labeled “Sign and Return” and the other labeled “Keep at Home”. Please take a few moments to review your child’s work, asking them about what they have done. This will keep you well-informed about what we are learning, as well as how your child is progressing. Your child should come to school on Monday with a fairly empty folder -- just notes to me or lunch money! Also, please make sure your child has his/her HES bag at school EACH day, in case of an important mid-week note.

GENERAL PROCEDURES

Morning: Beginning at 7:30 use the rear (not the main) driveway for unloading. Students cannot exit your vehicle until you are in the unloading zone and signaled to unload by duty personnel. Parents cannot park or leave their car unattended at any time. All visitors must report to the office for a visitor’s badge before entering the school building.

Breakfast: Begins at 7:30. Students eating breakfast must arrive before 8:00. (Pre-K and kindergarten students will be escorted by school personnel from the car line to their classrooms and/or breakfast. Older students will be supervised by staff members as they make their way to the lunchroom or classroom.)

Daily Schedule: 8:00 AM - Tardy Bell

2:45 PM Dismissal Bell

Afternoon Dismissal: For safety reasons, the car pick-up line cannot enter the campus until 2:30. Please enter campus at the rear driveway entrance (same as the morning drop-off line) . We continue to require all parents to remain in their cars at all times to make the afternoon pick-up process faster. Car riders will be dismissed beginning at 2:45 PM from the gym. You should have clearly visible your child's name tag (provided by the school) in your windshield. Your child will then be called by name and escorted by an adult from the gym. No one will be able to pick up your child unless they have a school-issued name tag. We do realize that changes in plans may arise, so we ask that you please PROVIDE A NOTE IN WRITING TO YOUR CHILD'S TEACHER OR CALL THE OFFICE AT 794-2626. All students must be off campus by 3:15. At no time can a car be parked or left unattended on the back campus.

Parent Visitors: For the safety of your child, all visitors must report to the office in the front of the school for a visitor’s badge before entering the school building at any time. Always enter through the main front doors of the school.

Bus Riders: If your child will be riding a bus, please stop by or call the front office to get the bus number. It is VERY IMPORTANT that your child be able to recognize the actual number on the VERY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! The children, as well as the teachers, will feel more secure on the first day of school by knowing how they will get home!

Tardy/Early Dismissals. During the school day, you may use the main entrance to bring your child to school late or pick-up your child early for a doctor’s appointment. You must park in a regular parking space or visitor’s space and enter the front door of the school. Please do not park on the curb. Again, all visitors must report to the office for a visitor’s badge before entering the school building

Student ID Number: After the first few days of school, I will let you know your child's unique 5 digit school ID number that will follow them through 12th grade! This is one of the things that we ask you to please help your child memorize right away. Students will need to know their number for things like:

q Passing through the lunch line each day

q Checking out books in the Media Center

q Logging on computers at school

PE Days: Please be sure your child wears tennis shoes on these days. Please see the Exploratory Rotation schedule that will remain in your child’s Friday Folder.

Lunch: Please see check the Lowndes County Schools' website for prices. For your convenience, you may pay for breakfast and lunch online via the HES website or our classroom website by following the link on the navigation bar.

Students may choose to bring their lunch from home. Please put your child’s name on their lunchbox in a visible area. NO canned drinks are allowed at any time. You may send a juice box or water that your child can open independently or send 50¢ each day if your child would like to purchase milk, juice, or water to drink with their lunch from home.Please do not send any money to school for lunch or breakfast unless it is in an envelope marked with your child's name, my name, and your child's child's lunch number. If at any time you should have a question about your child’s lunch account, please contact the lunchroom directly at 794-1566. Teachers DO NOT open lunch envelopes nor keep a record of lunch money that is sent in. These envelopes are sent to the lunchroom cashier unopened.

Eating Lunch With Your Child: Parents are always welcome at HES. Please read the Lowndes County Schools Handbook in regards to bringing in lunch from a restaurant. No canned drinks please. We have a special Visitor's Table in the lunchroom so that you may enjoy lunch with your child.

Toys at School: Please do not allow your child to bring ANY toys to school. If your child has earned the privilege of bringing an item for "show and tell", you will be notified via a note or email.

Birthdays: You may send a small snack to celebrate your child's birthday at school to be enjoyed at recess. If you wish to send invitations to school for a birthday party, you must send an invitation for every child in the class as to avoid hurt feelings. Teachers may not give classmates' addresses and phone numbers to parents.

Contacting Mrs. Bennett: Please never hesitate to let me know if you have questions or concerns. I consider us partners in your child’s educational success. I will keep you updated via your child’s weekly Friday Folder. If I have a concern, I will contact you via email or phone. Generally speaking, no news is good news! The easiest and most efficient means of communication is email.

mollybennett@lowndes.k12.ga.us