ABC’s of Kindergarten
Parent Orientation 2012-2013
Attendance- Please send a note within 3 days of your child’s absence. The note needs to have a phone number, reason for being absent, date, child’s name and your signature. This is for the attendance officer. You can also email me and I will print it.
Activity Fee- Your activity fee covers all field trips and special days, etc.
Activity Schedule- On your child’s daily take home sheet, we will have all the special activities for each day. It is on the website and posted here in the classroom. Specials include P.E., Music, Library, Computer Lab and Science/Art.
Art Day-More information to come!
Balanced Literacy- The way we teach reading is that we start off by reading aloud to students, then we have shared reading which are books with predictable text, we then move to guided reading in which your child will be tested (DRA) to see which level of reading they are on and we will start reading in small groups with leveled readers, then we move to independent reading. We use the Common Core National Standards.
Birthdays- You may bring cupcakes, cookies, etc…. You may send them in the morning and we will save them for lunch or snack. You are welcomed to come eat lunch with your child that day. Please just write me a note as to when you will be doing this so that I will know. We do not have parties.
Book Orders- They are a good way to increase your library at home at a cheap price. It also gives us points every time you order so that we are able to buy things for our classroom. So, if you are able, please order books so that we can get lots of points!!! They will be sent home in your child’s daily folder. We love to order from scholastic. Fliers will be coming home soon. You can also order online. GLH3R
Questions???
Center Rotation- We will have literacy centers and math centers. This is when your child will have activities they will need to complete individually and in small groups. These activities center around our unit of study and the objectives we are working on according to common core. As the year progresses these centers become more and more involved and more is required of the student in order to meet objectives. Our curriculum follows the Common Core standards.
Conferences- I will be contacting all of you sometime after the first report card goes home in order to meet with you to go over the progress of your child. I will do this through a note that will be placed in your child’s folder. I will be scheduling to meet with you after school. If you know what day of the week and time is best for you please write it down and I will try hard to accommodate you. Please know that I can conference with you other times as well, we are just mandated by the state to at least conference with each parent once during the first semester of school. I may conference with you more than that but I will write you a note or call if that is necessary. I am really big on keeping the lines of communication open so please let me know when you have concerns and I will do the same.
Clothing-Make sure that you have sent a change of clothing for the fall and winter. Make sure the change of clothes is in a ziplock bag and labeled with your child’s name. Accidents do happen!!! Girls-please wear shorts under dresses.
Common Core- Madison County schools have implemented the national standards into our curriculum. If you have any questions about the standards you can visit www.commoncore.org
Community Helper Day- Special Day! More information to come!
Discipline-You will receive a letter telling about how we discipline in our classroom. The chart hangs in the classroom and each student moves their clip when they are not following the rules. Please check your child’s folder daily so that you can help us in making sure we continue to have a great year. Let’s work together to make sure that your child has a great year of learning.
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Eat B-Fast- Please make sure that your children are eating a healthy b-fast at home or at school. If your child is eating at school, please send a note.
Exercise- We will be attending PE once a week and everyone needs to wear their tennis shoes. Please see the activity schedule on your communication sheet.
Field Trips: parents attend the last field trip. (ZOO)
Folders- Your child will bring their folder home daily with their daily behavior sheet and other important papers. Please, please make sure you look in their folders daily. They must bring them back daily. Please sign your child’s folders daily so that I know that you are working with me to make sure your child’s behavior is in check. Please make sure that you send the communication sheet back on Mondays to be put in your child‘s file.
Grades-Your child will bring a report card home every 9 weeks, 4x a year. On the report card are M’s for mastery and L’s for learning. If you see an L circled it means the skill should be mastered and your child is still working on it.
Guided reading- Based on their skill level we guide the student through skills to learn to read such as tracking print left to right, return sweep, letter/sound knowledge, picture cues, and prediction.
Homework – Kindergarten will be sending home a monthly homework calendar. This is optional.
Handbook- You all received a copy of the student handbook. Please sign the statement explaining that you received it. Remember that your child must follow the dress code even though they are in kindergarten.
Identify letters and sounds- We work on this all year long and your child must know these before going to 1st grade.
Invitations- These are not allowed and this is in the student handbook. No address will be given out. If the phone number or address is not in the address book completed by the PTO, I am not able to give it out. You may write a note for me to give to another child’s parent asking for this info. If you are planning on giving invitations to all the students in the class I will be glad to put them in the folders.
Jackets and Sweaters- Please make sure that when the weather starts getting cooler that you send a jacket, coat, sweater etc… whichever is appropriate. Please label all. Also the cafeteria is very chilly and some will want a small jacket to wear during lunch.
Kindergarten rules- We have discussed these as a class.
Labels- Make sure your child’s name is in all things that belong to your child. Jacket, sweater, lunchbox, backpack etc…
Lunch Money- Checks are best for us with your child’s lunch number on it. It is easier for us and the cafeteria to keep up with. If your child is only buying milk then put it in their lunch box because it has to be taken to the cafeteria when we go to lunch. If you do have to send cash please put it in an envelope or a plastic baggy with your child’s name, my name and their lunch number on it. Please have your child learn his/her lunch number; it is very helpful when we are going through the lunch line. Snacks are provided by the cafeteria if your child eats a lunch tray. If your child brings a lunch, please make sure they also bring a snack for the afternoon.
Library Books- Your child will check out a book and be able to take it home to read with you. It is you and your child’s responsibility to bring the book back so that they can check out another book. If you lose the book or any damage is done to the book you are responsible for paying to replace that book. Our library day is on Friday.
Mannsdale Mania: Celebration on Fridays in the hall.
Questions???
Medicine- All medicine is to be taken to the nurse by you. Your child is not allowed to bring any type of medicine to school. If your child has to take medicine then you have to bring it in to the nurse. This includes cough drops and bug spray, etc. Thanks ahead of time for your cooperation with this.
Newsletter- This will be in your child’s folder and on the website bi-weekly. If you have any questions about it, please let me know.
Nursery Rhymes- We use a lot of nursery rhymes in our teaching. Studies have shown that when children are able to recognize rhymes and rhyming words they become better readers. We will be letting you know which ones we are doing each week.
Names- In order for your child to master writing their name, they must use upper and lower case letters where appropriate. This includes last names.
One Hundredth Day of School- This is great fun! We will let you know more when it gets closer!
PTO- We would like to encourage you to join our PTO. Your support is what helps make this school the best! Please volunteer in any area that you are able to.
Parent Involvement-You are what is going to make this be a great year. Please be involved where you can. We cannot do it without you. We need you to do all the special activities so that we can make sure your child is getting a well rounded education.
Peanut Products- Please do not send any products to school with peanuts, peanut oil, ect… for special days or cooking projects. If you are planning on sending treats to school please let me know ahead of time so I can contact the parents.
Pumpkin Patch- Field Trip. More information to come!
Rest Time- We have rest time each day for 30 minutes. The children are expected to lay quietly on their mats and rest. If they go to sleep, that is great. If not, that is okay too. They just need to rest quietly. Rest music is played during this time. We go to the bathroom before we lay down as a class so it is encouraged for the children to not get up unless it is an emergency. Your child may bring a small blanket or beach towel. Make sure the towel or blanket fits easily in their backpack.
Restroom- The students are allowed to go to the bathroom in the classroom at any time unless we are on the carpet or lying down during rest time. At these times, they must ask permission before they get up. We also have several bathroom breaks in our daily schedule when we go as a class. Please encourage your child to go to the restroom during these times, even if they don’t think they need to go.
Readers- We really encourage parents and relatives to come and read to the students. You can bring books from home or you can check books out of the library or read one of the classroom books. Please see the Volunteer form if you would like to come and read.
Share- We teach the students as you do to share with all their friends in school. However, we do not share lunches or snacks because we have some friends that cannot have certain foods.
Share Day- Students are allowed to bring in something to share on their helper day. Please NO TOYS!!!!
Monday: Jennifer, Sarah, Ella A. Bill
Tuesday: Joseph C., Jackson, Cooper, Branden, Emily
Wednesday: Joseph J., Chrestman, Ella Grace, Cambre, Avery Rae
Thursday: Brayden, Summer, Caty, Gavin
Friday: Justin, Mary Kate, Connor, Wilkes
Special Days-You will get a list of special days. We will be asking parents to volunteer to help with these days.
Splash Day- End of the year celebration.
T-shirts- We encourage parents to buy the school t-shirts because we might need to wear them on our field trips and special days.
Take Home Readers- This will start when your child is ready to read independently. Your child will bring a book home in a folder to read to you every night.
Transportation-If there is a change in your child’s transportation, you must write me a note and put it in his/her folder. If the change takes place during the day, please make a call to the office no later than 1:00. If we do not receive a note, we will assume to send them home as normal.
Units of Study- We have units that we study bi-weekly. The unit is always on the newsletter and on your child’s behavior sheet. If you have books or other items that would add to what we are studying please feel free to send them with your child’s name on it. Please do not send things that are of great value as it is going to a kindergarten class!
Volunteers- There are plenty of opportunities for you to participate in the education of your child. Please look over the list in your packet and sign up for things you might be interested in. We need your help so please sign up for as much as you can. We can’t do all the fun things we want to do without you. PTO is always looking for volunteers for things they are doing for the students. Please volunteer your time when you can. If you have questions about anything on the form let me know and if I do not know the answer I will write down your question and get back to you.
Writing- Writing plays a big part in kindergarten. We have already started the formation of letters and shared writing. You will probably hear your child talking about it. If your child does not spell a word correctly, do not get discouraged. This is called inventive spelling, which means that they are using the sounds that they hear.
Water Bottles- Students can bring them and drink out of them throughout the day.
Wish List- I will put in on the website. And if you are able please take a card with you. If you are able, we would love for you to think about us while you are at Wal-Mart, Target, Kroger, etc..!! :)
Excited- Mrs. Smith and I are so excited about working with you and your child this year! It is going to be a great year!!!
You- You are such an important factor in your child’s education. You know your child the best so let’s keep the lines of communication open. It is best to communicate with me through notes and e-mails. It is very hard for me to get to the phone. I check your child’s folder every morning when they come in. Notes in folders are the best. My e-mail address is eljackson@madison-schools.com and Mrs. Smith’s email is csmith@madison-schools.com .
Zero the Hero- This is every tenth day we are in school. You can buy any item that is in the shape of a zero or just an inexpensive treat. It is a surprise though because the students really think that Zero the Hero really comes and leaves things in our classroom!! The students really get excited about this!! You can sign up on the volunteer sheet. This is also a part of the 100th day celebration!!!
Zoo Field Trip- We would love for you to join us.
Questions???
