Welcome to Kindergarten Back to School Night

Welcome to Kindergarten Back to School Night

Please hold questions Please jot down questions that you may have on the Notes/questions paper We want to leave some time for you to see your child s room

School and Classroom Expectations Each class writes their own rules which will be included in their data binders for you to see

Communication with Parents Monthly newsletter Notes home Phone calls Data binders Report cards (Jan. and June) Green home folders Weekly progress reports Homework Policy and feedback policy Discipline Policy

Items Not to Bring to School Guns (play or real) Knives Medication Walkmen/Ipods Pokemon cards Any trading cards Toys cell phones Sports equipment

Key messages This is important You can do it I won t give up on you Effective effort leads to achievement

Ways you can help your child Help with homework Read to and with them every night Do Books and Beyond (PTA) Discuss their day Teach them how to write their names (upper and lowercase) Review high frequency words Be supportive Make sure they have a good night sleep Teach them to tie their shoes Eat breakfast every day Discuss and return the data binders Help them to learn and recognize their numbers Join the PTA

Reminders We are asking for donated snack for your child s classroom. Please do not bring in individual snacks or juice boxes for your child. Please bring in a water bottle for your child everyday. It should be filled with water.

Morning Classroom Routines Unpack backpack in cubby Sign in Lunch count Hand in Home Folder

Our Day Begins It s exciting to see our friends!

And to the Republic We all stand to recite the Pledge of Allegiance

Daily plan We begin our morning by gathering on the rug to read our plans for the day.

Writer s Workshop Meets daily Mini lessons that focus on a specific skill Independent writing time Teacher conferencing Sharing with peers and peer review

Language arts During Language Arts, we explore the world of reading and writing. We learn about letters, sounds, concepts about print, and phonemic awareness. We meet in our reading groups and love going to our Literacy Centers where we practice our reading and writing skills.

Foundational Reading Skills Oral Language Phonemic Awareness Alphabetic Principles Concepts about Print High frequency words

Guided Reading Groups Students are grouped by skill levels Groups are flexible Meets daily

Parent Night We will have a parent child literacy night on October 14, 2010 at 4:15-5:00. Our focus will be on reading and writing. Please mark your calendars!

Calendar Here we are talking about the weather and our daily calendar. We learn about numbers, patterns, and sequencing when we do our daily calendar work. We also keep track of how many days we have been in school!

Learning Math We meet for math 30 minutes each morning. We have lots of hands-on activities to practice our skills.

Math continues. In the afternoon, we work in math centers, explore math concepts with other students and meet with our teacher in small groups. The small groups are flexible.

Science We study about: Weather Water cycle Seasonal changes Plants and Animals Adaptations Life cycle of plants Animal: basic needs and life cycle

Social Studies Classroom rules, rights and responsibilities, and roles in the school Symbols and practices associated with USA Social skills People important to the American Political system Meeting needs Unique family customs and traditions Situations where people make choices Chronological order: today, yesterday, long ago Types of markets Maps and globes Physical features: landforms and bodies of water Physical and human-made features

Field Trips and Guest Speakers The field trips that are planned are the zoo in May and the museum in June. We need one chaperone per two children If you have a specialty that you would like to share with all kindergarteners then let your child s teacher know.

Classroom Parties Please sign up to volunteer for the classroom parties If your child does not celebrate Halloween or Valentine s Day then let your child s teacher know Remember that food has to be store brought

Our Specials Art, Music, and P.E. Make us Well-Rounded!

Thanks for coming! Please visit your child s homeroom to sign up for November conferences, parent volunteers, and classroom parties If you have a question then write it down and send it back in the green folder Don t forget to sign up for the PTA! Have a great night and thank you for coming!