All About Kindergarten

THE ABC’s of KINDERGARTEN

Alphabet: This year we will designate a letter for each week for handwriting practice and homework, but we will discuss and review ALL letters all year. You will find which letter is being studied during the next week in the classroom newsletter.

Bottles of Water: Your child can bring in a bottle of water every day. Please make sure to have your name on your water. Water fountains are not available but water refill stations.

Church: The class will be attending the all-school Mass on Wednesdays as well as on Holy Days in our church. We will sit as a class and pray together with our schoolmates. This year we will be attending mass at a social distance every other Wednesday. On the Wednesdays, our class is not scheduled to attend we will have a virtual Mass.

*Captain: Every week we will have a captain who will have a few jobs to do each day such as calendar time, being the leader of the week,etc.

Drop off/Pick up: Children arriving between 7:45-8:00 should come directly to our room. If your child arrives before 7:45, he/she will still report to the classroom, where an adult who is on duty that morning will watch them. Please remind students to enter school by door #2 if arriving by car. Adults are not to enter the school building. If your child has older siblings, they are more than welcome to walk them to the classroom. . ½ day classes are from 8:00-12:00. Please pick up at door #1. Students staying all day will be dismissed at 2:40 for bus riders and 2:45 for those going by car. Dismissal is at door #2 for those students. Please see the Parent Handbook for afternoon car dismissal procedures.

*Discovery Time: Every afternoon we have what we call “Discovery” in which students work for a while in individual centers to review skills we have learned in the morning, complete an art project, use the classroom computers/iPads, or to get a chance to “play” with manipulatives, or other hands-on materials. It is a good time for building imaginative play that is vital to a young child’s development. I also use this time to meet one-on-one with students who need some extra attention.

Envelopes: Anytime you send money to school for lunch, milk/juice, book orders, etc., please put it in a sealed envelope clearly marked with name and purpose. Sometimes even the most reliable students forget what they have and why.

*Email: I have found that email is a very handy way to keep kindergarten parents informed of things that come up during the course of the year. If you are a person that uses email fairly regularly, I would love to add you to my address book so that I can send information and reminders without using reams of paper! Since I have a busy schedule, it is also a good way to get questions to me while the ideas are on your mind and I can answer you when I have a minute to think. I check my school email daily, but sometimes not until after the students leave so always call with time-sensitive issues like dismissal changes, etc.

Faith Families: Each child in September, will be a part of a Faith Family at our school. A Faith Family is one teacher in the building, has kids from each grade and we get together at least once a quarter to practice our VBRD circles. It is another way to build community and make connections in our school.

Gerald the Giraffe: Gerald is our class pet, this year Gerald is now FLAT (laminated) Gerald. (Easy to clean). I will be sending home a paper, where the child can write their weekend adventure with Gerald to share with the class!

Homework: There will be weekly homework assignments for your child to complete. Your child has a homework folder that will be sent home each evening, and should be returned each morning. The homework may be paper/pencil tasks, online work, or something to bring in, or something to read or discuss at home. Please check the book bag each night to be sure there is nothing you need to do or read. I will try to send home phonics and handwriting homework with the “letter of the week” on Monday night to be turned in on Friday (or before). They also will have a book online on Seesaw to read and respond to each week, that corresponds with our letter and sight words for the week.

Invitations: Party invitations may be distributed at school as long as all of the students in the class or at least all of one particular gender are being included. If your party is going to be smaller than that, please find another way to distribute your invitations so as not to hurt anyone’s feelings.

Journals: We have journals we will be working in throughout the year to show how much we have improved on our handwriting and vocabulary.

Kindergarten: It is going to be an exciting year for all of us in Kindergarten!

Lap Reading: Beginning next week, I will send home a Lap Reading sheet each month. At the end of the month, those who bring them back completed will earn a special reward for reading at home. This is one example of “Homework”.

*Lunch Money: Monday mornings are the best time to send in lunch money for the week. Please have the money in an envelope with your child’s name and grade and the words “lunch money” so that we know what it’s for. You will NOT receive change back, but your child’s account will be credited. You can pay a large sum at one time and then add more when that runs out, if you’d rather do it that way. The office will send home a notice when the account gets below $10.

Milk/Snacks: Please send $45.00 as soon as possible for morning milk/juice for the first semester, if you have not already done so. This discounted price allows a few days off for absences and “not thirsty” days. I will send a reminder home in January to send in $45.00 for the second semester. Snacks will consist of the occasional treat for someone’s birthday or something to go along with a theme or holiday. I do not plan to have a daily snack, so breakfast is important. Our lunch is at 12:30.

Newsletters: I will send our Kindergarten newsletter home weekly to keep you informed of what we are doing at school and important dates to remember. Watch for one each Friday.

Our Aides:

Physical Education (gym): We will have gym class every week on Wednesday/Thursday morning, so please be sure your child has on tennis shoes. Dresses are not recommended on gym days.

Quarters: Our school year is divided into four quarters. At the end of each quarter, your child will bring home a report card indicating his/her progress on the standards being taught during that quarter. Midterm Reports will be sent home at the midway point of each grading period.

Reading: Please encourage your child to read. There are three types of reading:

1. Reading by telling stories with the pictures

2. Pretend reading

3. Reading by decoding all of the words (“real” reading)

Star Words: These are words that we have encountered in our writing/reading that your child should be able to read on his own. We review these words daily and have them posted in the room. Your child will also have a copy of each word on a laminated slip of paper and all of them will be attached to a ring. This “Star Word ring” should be in your child’s book bag every day so that we can add new words when we get them but still go home each day for practice with you in the evening.

*Smith, Mrs. Jenny: Mrs. Smith is the other kindergarten teacher. The students will see her and the other kindergartners at recess and lunch. We have a weekly story time together also.

Tags: If your child rides a bus home from school, please keep the tag that I put on his/her bookbag visible. This will help any adult know where your child needs to go to be sure that your child is comfortable with the bus routine in the afternoon. It is also a good idea to have your child’s name on the outside of the bag where it is easy to see.

Upon returning to school following an absence of any kind, please send a note for me to keep on file for my records. This is school policy.

VBRD—Virtue Based Restorative Discipline—St. Mary’s School began using this discipline/behavior program last school year. It is based on the virtues named in the Bible in Colossians 3:12-15. I will send home more information concerning this program in the next few weeks.

Workbooks: We have multiple subject workbooks that the students will work in each day!

X: When we study the letter X, we will not stress it as a beginning sound since it acts differently than most letters. We will focus on the sound it makes at the end or in the middle of words.

Young children: They respond best to a variety of approaches. Please do not be alarmed if you do not see a lot of papers coming home, especially if your child has to miss a day or two of school. We will use various methods to practice and learn concepts, including hands-on materials, manipulative, and games.

Zoo field trip: In the past, kindergarten has gone to the zoo in the spring. We will likely go there again. We will send home information well in advance of this trip.

This may seem an overwhelming amount of information to absorb at once. That is why I suggest you keep it handy so that when you have a question as the year goes on you can refer to this and hopefully have your question answered. A copy of this document will be on my web page all year so you can refer to it there as well. Of course, you can always call me to ask any question that comes up at any time this year. I look forward to talking with you!