Welcome to Kindergarten!

Transcription

1 Welcome to Kindergarten! I am very excited to welcome you to the world of Kindergarten! Kindergarten is designed to provide an educational environment to actively test and extend your child s knowledge. My goal is to create meaningful experiences that will help your child to develop intellectually, socially, emotionally and physically. I desire for the Kindergarten children to become life long learners who are also confident readers, writers, and problem solvers. This is my third year teaching Kindergarten at Waterford Elementary. Prior to teaching at Waterford, I taught first and second grades for fifteen years in Solana Beach, California and Fairfax County, Virginia. I earned my Bachelor s Degree in Elementary Education from the University of San Diego. I also hold a Master s Degree in Education, with an emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction, from the University of San Diego. My husband and I are Waterford residents and both of our children are Waterford Elementary students. We are extremely fortunate to have a full-time assistant, Mrs. Andrea Bendo, working with the children. This is Mrs. Bendo s eleventh year assisting both teachers and students at Waterford Elementary. In Kindergarten, children are taught through a variety of activities that include music, poetry, games, art, literature and hands-on experiences. Students will be working in a variety of ways. Sometimes we will be working together. At other times, students will be working in small groups, with a partner, or on their own. The goal for all children at Waterford Elementary is for each teacher to choose the best path of instruction to meet the needs of every individual student. It is my objective that all students will be offered challenging learning experiences that keep them actively involved in their learning.

2 In order to create a nurturing and motivating classroom environment for your child, I have established classroom expectations for work and behavior. I believe that you will find the classroom standards to be fair and consistent. As a parent, it is important that you become familiar with these classroom procedures and take a few minutes to review them with your child. Your support will assist in making this a thoroughly productive year. Our Class Rules I can listen and work quietly. I can be kind and respect others. I can walk at school. I can raise my hand. I can do my best! Rising Star Behavior Chart Every child will have a star on our Will Your Star Rise Today? chart. The children will begin each day with their star on the Up I Go level. When your child is caught being good throughout the day, his/her star will rise to the You Are a Super Star level. For every child on this Super Star Level level by the end of the day, he/she will be given a sticker on their personal daily behavior calendar (which will come home every Friday). If a class rule is broken, there will be a first warning and the star will go down a level. However, if a child has broken a rule and shows much improvement during the day, he/she will have an opportunity for his/her star to rise again. If there is a second warning, the child will not receive a sticker on his/her daily behavior calendar and a think sheet will be completed. The child will either write or draw pictures to show what went wrong and to think about what he/she can do to improve this behavior in the future. On the daily behavior calendar, the nature of the problem will be indicated in order to keep the parent informed. *If adverse behavior continues on a habitual level, parents will be contacted by phone and/or be asked for a conference. At that time, an individual behavior plan will be made for the child. Any negative behaviors that occur after these steps are in place will then involve a conference with the principal.

3 Class Behavior Incentive Our class works together as a team, as well as individually. When our entire class has a Super Star day or some other behavior that demonstrates a positive group effort, we will fill up a jar with Bonus Bones (our class mascot is Clifford the Dog). When we fill the jar, the children will receive special recognition for their teamwork! Homework Homework will take on various forms during the year. Reading daily with your child is the single most important homework assignment in Kindergarten. Weekly, your child will bring home his/her I Can Read notebook which will contain songs and poems that have been learned in school. In addition, please read daily with your child and record the books read in the B.E.A.R. (Be Eager and Read) reading log which will need to be turned in at the end of each month. We will occasionally have special projects during the year. For those parents wanting for their child to participate in daily, developmentally appropriate homework assignments, there will be a weekly calendar with daily activities available for you to download monthly from the WES Kindergarten website (listed as Enrichment Homework. ) This homework assignment is optional. Child of the Week Every child will have the opportunity to become the Star of the Week. A special poster for your child to decorate will be sent home during the week prior to your child s assigned week. This is a very special week for your child to shine as the Star of the Week. Attendance Whenever a child is absent from school, documentation is required to verify the reason for the absence. Parents must notify the school office as to the reason for the absence. This may be done through the school s absentee phone-in line (540) Upon your child s arrival back to school, the reason for your child s absence is required in order for the absence to be labeled excused.

4 Tardiness Please make every possible attempt to have your child arrive to school on time. Students are considered tardy if they are not in the classroom by the start of instruction at 7:50am. If a child arrives tardy, parents must escort their child to the office and obtain a tardy pass to enter class. This is required to ensure the safety and well-being of the student. Allergies Please make sure that our staff, especially our health clinic assistant, is made aware of any medical problems that require special consideration. These medical problems may include severe food allergies, asthma, diabetes, or any other serious condition that might require a special health care plan or medication. Telephone Students are not to use the office phone to make personal arrangements (such as requesting permission to go to another student s home after school). Please assist us by sending notes in this regard. Shoes & Jackets Sneakers/tennis shoes are best for the playground area. For your child s safety, please do not send him/her to school in open-toed shoes, sandals or Crocs. As the weather becomes cooler and children begin to wear jackets, please label with your child s name to avoid the loss of an item. Birthdays In an effort to keep all children safe and healthy, Loudoun County Public Schools guidelines do not allow any food to be brought in for a child's birthday. Therefore, we will not accept cake, cupcakes, cookies, and other sweets as birthday treats. We also ask that party invitations for celebrations outside of school not be distributed unless ALL the students in the class are invited.

5 Classroom Volunteers Classroom volunteers are welcomed and appreciated in Kindergarten! There will be a sign up sheet at Back to School Night listing the time choices available. If you are interested in being our classroom room parent, please let me know as soon as possible. After School Play Dates Due to our half day program, Kindergarten is a wonderful time for children to have scheduled play dates after school. If your child will be going home with another student in our class after school, please fill out the appropriate Waterford blue form located inside the school-home daily folder. The blue form needs to be filled out and placed in the small pocket (located on the inside the folder) so that it can be easily seen by the teachers upon your child s arrival to school. Parent Portal The parent portal will be available for parents again during the school year. Parents must submit a request to receive access information to the portal. Forms will be sent electronically to parents and posted on the school s website. The parent portal is scheduled to open on October 2 nd. Home & School Communication Good communication between the home and school are essential for a successful year in Kindergarten. Please plan to attend Back to School Night on September 12 th at 6:30pm. We will also have formal parent / teacher conferences at the end of the first quarter. Sign up sheets for conference times will be available at Back to School Night. The school year is divided into four, nine-week marking periods. I will be ing a newsletter every quarter to let you know which skills we will be working on in the classroom. These nine-week plans will also be available on our WES Kindergarten website. Please check the website frequently for updates. I can be reached by michele.chmielewski@lcps.org or at Waterford Elementary (540) I look forward to a great year with your Kindergarten child! Michele Chmielewski

6 Kindergarten Class Rules Please read and discuss these rules with your child at home. Please have your child return this form and he/she will receive a sticker for returning our first homework assignment! Our Class Rules I can listen and work quietly. I can be kind and respect others. I can walk at school. I can raise my hand. I can do my best! Child s Signature Parent s Signature