KindergartenABC

Parents:

We know you are as excited as we are about your child’s first year of school! Listed below are the procedures in our classroom to help your child have a successful year. Refer to as needed.

Mrs. B and Mrs. Zapata

A
ABSENCES
Please call the school to let us know your child will be absent. Upon their return, send a signed, dated note explaining the reason for absence. Make-up work will be sent home when your child returns unless you make other arrangements.

ACTIVITY CALENDAR
An activity calendar will be stapled to the right side of the daily folder. The calendar will serve as a form of communication for discipline and monthly activities.

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES
Students are escorted to the classrooms by adult staff and safety patrol 8:00 - 8:30 AM and should not arrive earlier. Students begin dismissal at 3:00 PM. Arriving on time is important because our day begins promptly at the 8:30 bell. Arriving at 8:15 AM gives your child ample time to do morning routines and settle in. Have your student walk down to the classroom by him/herself.

B
BOOK ORDERS
Book order forms will be sent home for you and your child to look over. These clubs offer wonderful books at reduced prices – what a great way to build your home library and encourage your child to read! You can even order online at www.scholastic.com/clubsordering by using our class username: lbubenik password: abc123 You can also send book order and check/money order made out to Scholastic Book Club in your child's folder. Our class receives FREE books for our classroom library when you order.

C
CHANGE IN TRANSPORTATION
Your child will not be allowed to leave school with someone else or another form of transportation without written permission from you. It will benefit your child to complete each school day. If it is absolutely necessary for you to pick your child up early, you must report to the office. Teachers cannot release your child without permission from the office. This is the law for your child's safety.

CLOTHING
Students need to wear appropriate, comfortable clothing to school. Please put names on coats, sweaters, lunch bags, and book bags—anything that could possibly get lost! Flip flops are NOT worn at school. They are dangerous on the playground.

COMMUNICATION
Weekly newsletters will be sent in the daily folder to inform you of events taking place in our classrooms. PLEASE CHECK YOUR CHILD’S FOLDER DAILY. It is the BEST form of communication between the parent and the teacher since we both view it DAILY. If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to write me a note. You may contact the school at 919-662-2486 during school hours. After school hours, you may call my home teacher line at 919-553-2974.

D
DISCIPLINE
Our classroom uses Conscious Discipline methods as a form of discipline. Please check out website - www.consciousdiscipline.com - for great parent tips. Should your child receive a discipline note, the words "See Note" will be written on the date of the activity calendar in the daily folder. The note will be included in the folder for you to view and return signed the next day. We want to stress the importance of paying attention. We will be doing a lot of new things and we don’t want your child to miss out because they are playing, talking, or distracting others from learning. Please encourage your child to listen and follow directions. Our school wide rule is: Respect self, others, and property.

E
EXTRA CLOTHES Please send a pair of play clothes including socks and underwear to school. This will be great for accidents such as mud puddles or any other kind of puddles!!!

F
FIELD TRIPS
We have educational field trips during the year. If you are interested, please sign up on the permission slip forms during the year. Chaperones must provide their own transportation. School policy prevents siblings from attending field trips. You MUST be signed up for a background check on the Wake County Volunteer List two weeks prior to any class function.

FOLDERS
This is the most important line of communication you have with the teacher! The folder is to go home and come back EVERY day. We record discipline communication and send class work, homework, and notes in them. You will use the folder to send us notes, money, questions, permission slips, homework, etc. The folder is to be returned completely empty, except for homework and possible notes that must be signed or returned. Gentle reminder: Your CHILD is responsible for returning their folder – not you.

G
Grading - Standard Based Grading

Level 4 Extends targeted grade level standards “Since I can do/get this, I can figure out new things!”

Level 3 Demonstrates proficiency of targeted grade level standards.
“I get it! I can do it well!”

Level 2 Needs support to meet targeted grade level standards.
“I almost get it, but I need help.”
Level 1 Insufficient performance of targeted grade level standards.
“I don’t get it yet. I need help.”

H
HOMEWORK
Your child will receive a homework packet on Friday to be returned the following Friday. The homework will be a concept we are covering in class. Homework is given for the purpose of showing parents what students are learning or what they need extra help accomplishing. The homework assigned is not BUSY work. Homework is to be done by your child with your instructional help, if needed. Try to help your child come up with the answer without giving it away. Please NEVER do your child’s homework for them since this would keep them from the practice they need.

Circumstances arise occasionally where you cannot turn homework in on time…emergencies, etc. Just write me a note and let me know the reason. It is a good idea to set a precedent for future school years. Have your child do their homework the same time of day in the same area without distractions. Example: After his afternoon snack, have your child do his homework at a desk or table with no television or radio. If you start this habit early, your child will know this is expected behavior and you’re less likely to hear complaints or excuses.

Your child will have 15 – 20 minutes of homework Monday through Thursday. As a parent of a kindergartner, the most beneficial way to help your child this year is to spend time each night in a book! The only homework required of your child will be 15 minutes of reading and/or a paper. For most children “reading” at this point will be you reading to him. As the year progresses, you will begin to see your child start to read to you! As the year progresses, the amount of time for homework will increase to approximately 30 minutes.

I
INVITATIONS AND BIRTHDAY PARTIES

Should your child have a party away from school, you may send invitations to school as long as EVERY child receives one. We are not allowed to celebrate birthdays at school, but cupcakes and boxed drinks may be brought as snack.

J
JOURNAL WRITING
During Writer’s Workshop our class writes together (interactive writing) and independently (journals). Students are involved in explicit demonstrations of the connection between reading and writing. They learn concepts of how written language works while engaged in the writing process. Students will use Thinking Maps to organize their pre-writing for stories.

K
KID WRITING
As kindergartners begin to write, they will write the sounds they hear in the order they hear them for making words. Example: "elfunt" for elephant This is developmentally appropriate. Students will learn to spell words correctly as they learn language rules throughout their education.

L
LIBRARY
We visit the library once a week. Students will be able to check out a NEW book only if they bring back the previous book they checked out the week before. Library day is posted on our class calendar.

M
MEALS - LUNCH
Our lunch is 10:55 - 11:25. A debit card system will be used for your child to purchase lunch at school. This will eliminate bringing lunch money each day. It can be replenished online as a convenience at www.mylunchmoney.com. A fee is charged each time you log on and it takes 24-48 hours for money to post to your account. Lunch is $2.25 per day/$11.25 per week. View the monthly menu at http://www.wcpss.net/childnutrition/school_menus.html.

We invite you to join your child for lunch. Stop by the office and get a visitor's badge. You may eat lunch with your child at the outside picnic tables. Students are to stay seated at all times. If you choose to eat with your child and his classmates, you will need to remain in the cafeteria. Gentle reminder: Students are to follow all cafeteria rules even when accompanied by parents.

MEALS-BREAKFAST
Breakfast is available 8:00 - 8:20 AM for $1.25. Students go directly to cafeteria before coming to the classroom. Teal breakfast tickets are located in a blue pocket chart outside the cafeteria to present to the cashier.

MEAL MONEY
Each child is responsible for bringing lunch money unless approved for free or reduced lunch programs. Please send your child’s lunch money by the week or month with the correct amount of change in the attached Ziploc bag in your child’s folder. Checks may be written to Vandora Springs Elementary School. Please check weekly menus. If your child does not prefer an item, please send a bag lunch. If your child does not have lunch money, he will only be served fruits and vegetables per Wake County policy. PLEASE DO NOT GIVE YOUR CHILD LOOSE MONEY OR POCKET CHANGE.

MATH
Our math program teaches children to show and explain the steps of how they figured out an answer, not to just get the correct answer. This is what they must be able to do in the upper grades on End of Grade performance based achievement tests. Students will use manipulatives for hands-on learning. When ready, students will move to symbolic methods using paper and pencil.

MEDICATIONS:
Medicine will not be administered unless a parent brings it to the office and fills out the proper forms. NO EXCEPTIONS!

N
NEWSLETTER
Your child will be given a weekly newsletter to inform you of the curriculum and activities. Please place the newsletter on your refrigerator or someplace handy where you can monitor your child’s progress. It is a great way for family members to view your child's classroom activities.

O
OPPORTUNITIES
Please let me know if you have an educational opportunity to share with our class. This could be a skill you possess such as woodworking or a donation from a company where you work.

P
PTA
The Parent-Teacher Association is one of the most beneficial clubs to your child’s education. The PTA contributes many learning resources to our classrooms and provides many family activities with your VSE school family. Please join and be an active participant in the PTA. Membership is $5.00 and you receive FREE coupons when joining! The class with the most participating paying members receives a class party and money for their classroom projects.

Q
QUALITY WORK
Your child will be asked to do quality work to the best of their ability without rushing. Please encourage your child when viewing their daily work to meet this standard.

R
Reading
You can assist your child in the following ways:
1. Help your child select which book he would like to share.
2. After having read to your child or having him read to you, let your child retell the story to you. (beginning, middle, end)
3. Have your child tell you the name of the book, author, main characters, the problem in the story and the solution.
4. Have your child make a personal connection to the story – relate the story to something that has happened to him in his life

REPORT CARDS AND CONFERENCES
Kindergartners receive report cards in January and June, with parent conferences in the fall and spring. Conferences are extremely beneficial to provide parents with information on their child's progress and to give helpful hints on ways to achieve more. Teachers can be reached from 7:50 – 8:00 AM and 3:00 – 3:30 PM. Because we want to give ALL students the benefit of a full learning day, we will NOT be able to stop and conference during your child’s instructional time. Additional conferences are available upon request.

S
SNACK
The class will rotate snack on a daily basis. Your child will be given the opportunity to provide a fun, nutritious snack for his classmates one to two times per month. You can be creative with this! Watch the monthly snack calendar for the date your child will be providing snack. Please provide individually wrapped snacks and boxed drinks/Capri Suns. You may bring snack ahead of time if it will keep.

T
TARDIES
Students arriving after 8:30 will be counted tardy on their official school records. If your child is late for school, please sign them in at the office before sending them to the classroom. Your child will be issued a tardy slip for school attendance records. Please make every effort to arrive on time. Each minute your child misses is a concept he is missing or a distraction for other students who are on task when he arrives tardy.

TOYS
Students should not bring toys to school, as they can become lost or serve as a distraction.

U
UNITS OF INQUIRY
Our units of inquiry will incorporate social studies (regions, government, and economics) and science concepts (animals, weather, & investigating properties) while also integrating language arts and math.

V
VISITORS
You are encouraged to volunteer and observe in our classrooms. Please come and eat lunch with your child when possible. We would love for you to read to our class, adopt a drama center, adopt a snack for our cooking center, work with a small group, cut items, or donate birdseed for our feeders. We love for relatives and neighbors to visit, too!!! ALL GUESTS (including familiar faces) are required to check in at the school office. Remember, to sign up on the Wake County Volunteer List!

W
WEBSITE
I have created a website to serve as a home-school connection. The website will include pictures, newsletters, homework, games, and various links. Please try to visit the website frequently as I will update it on a regular basis. The website is www.mrsbkclass.wix.com/1234

X
EXTRA SUPPLIES
Your family may contribute items to our classroom throughout the year. A list will be placed on newsletters as well as the Fishbowl in our classroom.

Y
YOU
The only thing missing is YOU! Please join our school family and let this kindergarten year be the start to igniting a fire for learning in your child!

Z
Zzzz!
Make sure that your child gets plenty of rest. Setting and keeping a bedtime is a wonderful gift you can give to your child. It will help them to be their best at school.