Welcome to Pecan Valley! The ABC s of Kindergarten Policies and Routines A Attendance - A successful school experience is the responsibility of the child, the parents, and the school. Your child's progress, both academically and socially, is influenced to a great extent by daily participation. Regular attendance without tardiness is critical. If your child is sick and must be absent, please notify the school s attendance secretary at (210) 333-1230 and send a note in your child s folder when he/she returns. The note should explain the absence, the date it took place and include a parent signature. Allergies - If your child has any allergies please make sure that we are aware of them. Specifically, I need to know about food allergies and insect bite reactions. B Birthdays School policy does permit special treats to be brought to school and shared at the end of the school day as long as they are store bought, but we will not be allowed to give up instructional time for a party. Don t worry, we have classroom and school traditions to help your child celebrate his/her special day! C Clothing - Please dress your child in comfortable clothing that they can manage independently; be sure to be thoughtful about footwear, as we do go out for recess everyday. Sandals and flip flops are cute, but they may not be the best choice for children who like to climb on the playground equipment. Spaghetti strap clothing is not allowed, and shorts must be worn under all dresses since we will be sitting crisscross on the carpet frequently. D Discipline Every student at Pecan Valley will have expectations for discipline. Your child will learn about and be expected to show the following character traits respect, responsibility and safety. These expectations are set in place to help the students make better choices that will strengthen his/her character. Dismissal The school day ends at 3:30 pm. Each day, I will walk my class outside to our designated area and release students to parents as I see them. Parents must stand behind the cone to keep dismissal organized. I expect each student to give me a high-five before they leave. Please do not
be offended if I inquire about your relationship to the child or ask for identification. It is important that your child goes home safely, and until I recognize all parents, I will be cautious about who I send students home with. If you are picking up your child in the drive-thru lane, you must pull up all the way to the front of the line with your green tag hanging from your mirror. Please remain in your vehicle. The teacher will then send the child to the the car. Per district policy: Phone calls to the office to change a child s departure plans are no longer permitted. If there is a change in how your child is getting home, please notify me ahead of time by writing it in your child s folder or by faxing a note to the office with a copy of your driver s license and signature. ** If your child is a bus rider, please return the transportation/name tag back. Without this tag, the bus drivers will not know where to drop your child off. ** E Email My e-mail address is mariah.martinez@ecisd.net. I check my e-mail several times throughout the day and I will get back to you quickly. If you have to get an urgent message to your child, please call the office at 210-333-1230 and they will notify me directly. F Field Trips - Throughout the year, the kindergarten team will schedule field trips to enhance our curriculum. Permission slips and requests for fees will be sent home prior to each trip. All parents are welcome to volunteer, but they must be V.I.P. trained and clear a background check prior to these activities. Unfortunately, no siblings may accompany us on our trips. Folders - Student work, monthly newsletters, homework, upcoming events, student progress and behavior will be sent home in your child s folder. Please look over everything each night, take out all papers, and initial the daily calendar. Students will be learning about responsibility and will be expected to return these folders every day. Please help us reinforce personal responsibility by making it your child s job to put the folder back in his/her backpack once checked by you. If this folder is consistently not returned or signed, I will contact you in an effort to find a reasonable solution so that our daily communication is not interrupted.. G Good Behavior - We are a classroom family where teamwork and good relationships are expected. We will spend time learning class procedures and practicing them throughout the year so everyone can be successful at learning. Good behavior will be encouraged and rewarded throughout each day. Grades - Your child will be assessed on their performance and mastery of skills in all subject areas. They will also receive a grade for behavior. Report cards are issued at the end of every 9wks. H Homework A weekly homework sheet will be placed in your child s folder. There will be daily activities that must be completed by the end of week to meet classroom standards. Homework assignments do not have to be completed on the night they are assigned, but I expect them to be completed by the end of the week. Although some assignments will not be documented on paper, I trust these will be taken seriously as the purpose of homework is to reinforce your child s learning and keep you informed of what we are working on in class. Homework in Kindergarten is a good habit that when started early and supported by you, will last throughout your child s academic career.
Your child will also have 15 minutes of reading homework every night, Monday through Thursday. In the beginning of the year, this time will be filled with you reading to him/her. As the year progresses, he/she will begin reading to you. The titles of the books read should be filled in on the reading log with your initials. I Independence - Independence is a goal for students because it builds self-esteem and self-confidence. Kindergarteners are very capable of doing many things on their own and I encourage them to do as much as they can for themselves in the classroom. Please continue work on zipping and tying skills. Students carry their own backpacks, practice how to hang them up on the hook and how to hang their coats or sweaters over them. These are skills that must be taught and practiced. Thanks for your support. J Joyful Learning - Children learn best when they are feeling loved and encouraged to try new things. My classroom builds a feeling of mutual respect, being risk-takers, and supporting each other even when we make mistakes. K Kindness Students in my classroom are encouraged and expected to treat all members of our class, as well as others in society, with kindness and respect. Bothering others, bullying, and interrupting learning will not be permitted. L Labeling Please label all personal items that your child brings to school, especially his/her lunch box, backpack, and outerwear. M Meetings If you would like to meet with me, please send me an email or write a note in your child s folder so I can schedule a time during my conference or after school. N Nightly Reading Nightly reading is essential for future success. All students at Pecan Valley are expected to read nightly. Just 15 minutes a day reading aloud with your child strengthens relationships, encourages his/her listening and language skills, promotes attention and curiosity, and establishes a strong reading foundation. In class, I will work on many reading comprehension strategies and I will share those with you to practice at home as well. The paper books I send home should be practiced over and over. Please log in paper books and other books read on reading logs sent home. I collect reading logs at the end of each month.
O Open Lines of Communication - Please let me know if you have ANY concerns or questions regarding your child throughout the year. I feel that it is our job to work together as partners to help your child have a successful kindergarten year. The best way to contact me is by email (mariah.martinez@ecisd.net). You can also call me during my conference period (9:50-10:40). P Parent Involvement - I love Parent Involvement! Please be involved in your child s Kindergarten year as much as you can. Your support of school activities makes your child feel important and sends the message that you value school! I am always happy to have your help in preparing materials for student projects, or for special events.. I will try to let you know at least one week ahead of time if I need help. Requests for help will be published in the newsletters, as well as notes that I send home about special events. Just a reminder, you must be VIP trained to volunteer within the school. Q Questions - Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child s education. I will make every effort to meet with you and discuss your concerns. Quick goodbyes leave dry eyes! R Report Cards - We are on a quarterly reporting system and report cards will be sent home at the end of each nine weeks. Our hope is to be in continual conversations with you regarding your child s learning. S Snacks - We will take a quick snack break every day, at about 2:00pm. Students are expected to bring their own, healthy snacks to eat. No candy, please! We will need certain food items for multiple hands-on activities throughout the year. A note will be going home periodically of the items we will need. T Tardies - Students late to school (after 7:45 a.m.) are considered tardy. The school keeps a record of all tardies, and they will be documented on your child s report card. Excessive tardies are disruptive to the class as well as your child s learning. Many times this is out of a child s control, so it is your job as a parent to ensure they arrive on time. In cases when a tardy is unavoidable, please walk your child into the office and sign them in. They will need to receive a tardy slip before coming to the classroom. Toys - Please keep all toys at home. Also, try to limit jewelry as it often breaks or is misplaced. These items are better left at home because they quickly become too large a distraction at school. If they do appear, the items will be put away until they can be returned to an adult.
U Undies - Unfortunately, accidents will happen and we will make sure that your child is sent to the clinic for a change of clothes. Keeping an extra set of clothing in your child s backpack for accidents, spills in the cafeteria, and sickness will save you from having to make an extra trip to the school. V Visitors Pecan Valley has a policy that ALL GUESTS (including familiar faces) are required to check in at the school office and wear a visitor s sticker. It is important to remember that while this may seem inconvenient to frequent visitors, it is the goal and responsibility of the school to create a safe learning environment. Volunteers - All volunteers will be required to do a background check and a VIP training. Information on the training will be sent home soon. We appreciate your time and dedication. W Wiggles- Your young ones have tons of energy to exert! Please allow them time to run, play, jump and get all those wiggles out! Students have many opportunities to be active during school, however they are expected to be calm and attentive during learning time. Wisdom- Students will learn a lot of the basics during kindergarten, but it is also important for them to become wise. We can create this knowledge by talking with our children about various topics, researching interest and watching educational programs. Your children are interested...give them a chance! X X-tra Special and exciting - Kindergarten is such an exciting, magical year! Each child is extra special to me and I will guide them gently and consistently all year long. Thank you for sharing them! Y You! - Please remember that YOU are your child's first and most important teacher. No one can influence your child's life in the way that you can! You can help to make your child feel successful this year by discussing your child s school day with them. Ask questions like, What did you learn today?, What did you work the hardest on?, What was the best part of your day? or What are you getting better at? These questions cause children to reflect on their learning which in turn helps them remember new information. Don t let them tell you nothing. Ask your child about writing, story time, reading, or math work. The way your child perceives your feelings about his/her school and teachers will have a direct effect on how he/she feels about them. Show an enthusiasm for learning. It is contagious! Z Zzzz s Most kindergarten students require 10-12 hours of sleep per day. Setting and keeping a bedtime is a wonderful gift you can give to your child. It will help them to be attentive and prepared to learn each day! Don't forget to read a book before bedtime.