All
About
Kindergarten
2013-2014
I am very excited to be your child’s
Kindergarten teacher! There are a lot of great things planned to make this a
wonderful year together. I have prepared
“All About Kindergarten 2013-2014” to serve you as a guideline and resource
throughout the school year.
Understanding the procedures and knowing what is expected will help your
child feel comfortable and be successful. I want to let you know that I am here
for you and your child. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to
email me at any time.
Thanks,
Jeannette
Farrer
Arrival:
All Kindergarten students must be
dropped off directly in the back by the portable classrooms. No parents are allowed to walk
up the ramp and into the classroom without signing into the front office first
to receive a visitor’s badge. In order to keep your child safe, we ask that
you respect this rule. Also, for the safety of your child, please do not
allow your child to get out of your car on their own. During arrival time
(7:30-8:00) teachers will be outside to assist your child out of the car and to
their classrooms. We ask that you stay in the car so that traffic can keep
moving. If there are no teachers present outside that means: it is after 8:05,
school has started, and your child is tardy. You must take your child to the
front office and sign them in so they can receive a tardy pass and get walked
to class.
Dismissal:
Kindergarten students will be outside in
the back waiting for their parents to pick them up at 3:00 P.M. You must have your child’s car green
nameplate in the front windshield of your car in order for us to release them
to you. No car nameplate = no child.
You will be asked to park, go inside to the front office, receive another car
nameplate, and drive back around in order to get your child. This rule is going
to be enforced year round. If a child is not picked up by 3:15, they will be
taken to our late pick-up room. An adult must come inside and sign their child
out at the front office before the child will be released. Students will only
be released to the people you have designated.
Attendance:
It is very important for your child to
be in attendance every day possible. We
learn new things every day, so it may be difficult for your child to catch up
if they are frequently absent. However,
if your child has a fever, vomiting, or is contagious please do not send them
to school. They must be fever free for
24 hours (without the help of medication) before returning to school. If you
must keep him/her out of school for the day for any reason, send a note or
email prior to the absence if possible.
If you do not know in advance, you may call the school office the day of
the absence to report it. When the
student returns to school he/she must bring a note from a doctor or
parent.
ä
Lunch:
The children will eat their lunches in
the cafeteria at 11:30 A.M. All students
will sit at designated tables with their grade level and must stay in their
seats.
Your child may choose to purchase his/her lunch or bring one from
home. Students are not allowed to
bring anything that needs to be heated up. Please remember to send your
child with a healthy lunch to help their mind grow! You may pay for your
child’s lunch at the office or online only. You are not to send the lunch money
in his/her take home folder. A monthly
menu of lunches will be available online.
You are welcome
to visit your child during lunch once a month, but don’t forget to sign in at
the office!
Snack:
Each day, it will be a different
child’s turn to bring a snack to share with the class. This means you will be asked to send snack
about once a month. I will send home at the beginning of each month a schedule
of what day students are to bring snack. Due to allergies I ask that you do not
send in anything containing nuts. Please read the labels carefully to see if
the item contains nuts or was made in a factory near nuts. You must send in only healthy snacks. Some things that
make great snacks are: Goldfish, crackers, dry cereal, animal crackers, granola
bars, veggies (pre-cut), fruit (pre-cut), anything that is individually wrapped,
or any other healthy snack your child enjoys. Some things that ARE NOT good
snack choices are: cookies, chips, candy, gummies, etc.
Home/School
Communication:
Email: jfarrer@harmonytx.org
The most effective way to contact me is
by email. I check my email throughout
the day, but please allow at least 24 hours for a response.
Daily
Folders:
Your child will take his/her “Take Home
Folder” to and from school every day. In
it you will find notes from school, homework, completed work, and a daily behavior
calendar. If you would like to send a
note from home, doctor’s excuse, completed forms, box tops for education, money
(other than for lunches), or anything else it must be placed in your child’s folder. Please
check these folders daily. Read,
complete, and return appropriate papers in this folder.
Money should be in a sealed envelope or
Ziploc bag that is clearly labeled with students name, amount, and reason for
payment.
Ex: Sally Smith $9 field
trip
Wednesday
Mail:
Wednesday mail will be sent out every
Wednesday. It may include school
newsletters, notes from the principals, and various other pieces of school wide
information. Please make sure you are keeping updated on school events.
Wednesday mail is also available on our school website www.hsacarrollton.org
¨
Homework:
Beginning in
September, students will receive monthly homework calendars. These calendars
(along with the corresponding work packet) are secured in the middle of their “Take
Home Folders.” Each day
(Monday-Thursday) will have one or two assignments for the students to
complete. Some assignments are written while others are activities for your
child to do orally or with materials at home. All written assignments have a
page in the packet where your child will complete the work. Please help your
child complete the work each night and return the folder every day.
Additionally,
students should read or listen to an adult read at least one book every day.
Please write down the books that you read with your child on the monthly book
list and return these on the last school day of every month.
Please plan to spend 15-20 minutes each
night doing homework with your child. In
order to complete the homework, your child will need these materials at home:
glue, scissors, pencils, crayons, books, and paper (any kind).
Accelerated
Reader:
Kindergarteners WILL NOT be considered
for Accelerated Reader until after the first semester. Students need time to
build up accuracy and comprehension. After first semester, parents and teachers
will decided if the students are ready to start Accelerated Reader.
—Conferences:
Conferences will be scheduled two times
during the year. On these days, the
students will be dismissed at 12:40 and ten minute conferences will be
scheduled between 1:30 and 4:30 for any parent who wishes to discuss their
child’s progress. Appointments will be
scheduled prior to parent/teacher conference days, and you will be notified
when it is time to do so. If you wish to
schedule a conference at any other time during the year, please send me an
email or a note describing the reason you would like to meet with me, and I
will be happy to arrange a time to meet with you.
ž
Class
Website:
We have a class blog that I will share
what we are doing in class, photos, important information about upcoming
events, and links to helpful information. Please check the blog regularly so
you can stay updated on what is happening in your child’s classroom. There are
also great websites for you to use at home with your child, along with
recommended books. The link to my blog is:
Discipline:
I feel that it is very important for
parents to be involved in the discipline procedure. Your child needs to know that you and I work
together as a team to help them make good choices. In addition to the campus discipline plan,
found in your student handbook, our class has its own rules and consequences
that the students have helped me create.
The five basic rules are: Follow
directions quickly. Raise your hand to speak. Raise your hand to get up. Make
smart choices. Keep your dear teacher happy.
Our behavior system reflects both
positive and negative choices. Every day students start on green. Students are
able to move up and down the chart depending on their behavior (up=positive
choices, down=negative choices).
For every day the student has an
outstanding day, they will receive a sticker on their clip. For every five
stickers the student will get to change their clip color. Colors will go in
ROYGBIV order and end with a glitter clip. The glitter clip is the ultimate
goal for students to receive by the end of the year.
|
Amazing Day
(purple)
|
|
Great Day
(blue)
|
|
Good Day
(green)
|
|
Warning
Think About It
(yellow)
|
|
Think Time
Teacher’s Choice
(orange)
|
|
Parent Contact
(red)
|
Your child’s behavior calendar located
in their home folders will be updated daily to reflect his/her behavior.
Toys:
Students are not allowed to bring toys,
silly bands, Chap Stick, extra jewelry, hair accessories that are not being
worn, or any other item that may cause a distraction to your child’s learning.
If these things do find their way to school it will be at the owner’s
risk.
Other Important Information
Dressing
for School:
As you know, at Harmony schools,
students are required to wear a uniform.
For Kindergarteners this means the red uniform shirt with khaki or navy
blue pants or shorts only. Shorts must be no shorter than three inches
above the knee. Please, use your
discretion when selecting clothes for your child. No DRESSES, SKORTS, or SKIRTS are allowed.
Students are to wear school uniform shirts only and are not allowed to replace
the shirt with a plain red shirt. Kindergarteners do not need to wear a belt.
Make sure your child can button the pants they are wearing on their own.
In cold weather, please dress your
child accordingly. We will go outside to
play on days that the temperature is at least 40 degrees. The children will need to be wearing winter coats.
Students must wear socks and his/her shoes
must have a closed toe and heal. Shoes
with rubber soles are preferable.
Fridays are not free dress days.
On Fridays, they may wear a Harmony
Spirit shirt and plain blue jeans.
Students who
are not dressed according to the HSI dress code will call home to ask someone
to bring clothes that meet the dress code requirements.
Free dress
days are awarded for special circumstances such as a parent’s attendance at a
school event, good behavior, or good grades at the end of the six weeks. Parents and students will be made aware of
opportunities to earn free dress days. On these days students are to wear a
school appropriate free shirt and uniform pants.
We find it
important for children to become responsible for themselves. Teachers WILL NOT
button or zipper pants, tie shoes, or put a belt on. Please teach your child
these skills at home and have them dress accordingly until they are able to do
so. (Elastic pants and Velcro shoes are a great option until they are capable!)
Medications:
The school nurse will administer all
medications. Please contact
the nurse if your child is to be given any medicine during school hours. If your child has asthma, you may want to
consider leaving a spare inhaler with the nurse. Do not
send medicine to school in your child’s backpack. It goes directly to the nurse. This includes cough
drops.
Allergies:
Please, notify me if your child has any
food or other allergies. We will share
snacks and use food for activities. If I
am aware of your child’s allergies, I will be able to keep allergens out of the
classroom.
Emergencies:
Please, be sure I have a working phone
number where you can be reached at all times.
If any of your contact information changes, let me know immediately. If you plan to be away for a day or a week,
please give me the phone number of someone I can call in case of an
emergency.
Visitors:
Though we
want you to feel welcome, an atmosphere that is conducive to learning must be
maintained. If you need to visit our
classroom for any reason, please let me know when to expect you and the reason
you will be visiting. A form must be
completed 24 hours in advance notifying the school (more information can be
found in the student handbook). When
parents arrive unexpectedly, the visit becomes a disruption to the entire class
and, in some cases, violates the privacy of other students.
Please
remember all visitors are required to check in at the office upon arrival. If you have notified me in advance, I will let
the office know I am expecting you.
Otherwise, you will be asked to wait.
If you are bringing an item that your child has forgotten, you may leave
it at the front office to avoid taking your child out of class. If I do not see
you wearing a visitor’s badge, I will not open the classroom door for you for
any reason.
e
Birthdays:
Children may celebrate their birthdays
in school. Your child will be designated
to bring snack for the class on their birthday. A special treat may be sent to
be shared at the end of our day. It is important to remember that you will
still be asked to bring in a healthy snack for our morning snack time. If you
choose to do a sweet (aka cupcakes) you may either send it with your child or
leave it in the office and I will pick it up. Please send in the normal morning
snack with your child in the A.M. Parents will not be allowed to come back to
the classroom to celebrate since this causes a disruption to the class routine.
Please, do not send cake that needs to be sliced.
*Example: Johnny needs to bring in
pretzels in the morning, and if he wants to, cupcakes in the afternoon.
Birthday party invitations may be
passed out only if: the entire class is invited, all the girls are invited, or
all the boys are invited.
Classroom
Parties:
We will have “parties” to celebrate Fall,
Winter Holidays, and Valentine’s Day.
These will last less than an hour and will consist of an activity, a
snack and, free time to visit with friends.
Field
Trips:
All parents are welcome to join us on
field trips. However, if there are more than 14 chaperones, you may be asked to
follow the bus in your own vehicle.
Students must ride the bus to and from all field trips.
Notes
are required for the following reasons:
Absences/illness
Early
dismissal for doctor appointments
Different
person picking student up from school
No comments:
Post a Comment