Important Kindergarten Information

COMMUNICATION

    Parent/teacher communication in Kindergarten is very important.  In order to ensure good communication, each child will have his/her own Communication Folder.  This folder will come home in the child’s book bag everyday for the parents to check.  This folder will contain the child’s reading record and behavior log along with any other correspondence from the teacher.  The reading record, behavior log and notes from parents should be returned to school in the Communication Folder daily as well.  Please take the time to review this folder with your child each day, allowing your child to show and explain his/her work to you.

    Parents will receive a monthly newsletter from me with an overview of the month’s activities and studies as well as a weekly update.  Look for these in the Communication Folder.

If you need to get in touch with me, you may e-mail me at sbmiller@olaschool.net, call the office and leave a message, or write me a note.  Please put all correspondence in your child’s communication folder, as we don’t go through your child’s back pack.

    Our first scheduled parent/teacher conferences will be held November 12-13.  Otherwise, conferences may be scheduled any time the need arises. 

    The Thursday Envelope is another method of communication from the school.  All school-wide communication, including news from Miss Leva, comes to you in the Thursday Envelope.  These envelopes should be signed and returned with any school correspondence on Friday mornings.

HOMEWORK – MONDAY MATH

    Each Monday your child will bring home a folder with Math homework.  There will be more information about this on Monday.  Monday Math is to be returned to school in the Monday Math folder the following Monday, so you and your child have a week to complete the activities.

HOMEWORK - LITERACY

    Your child will have a short, fun, KinderWork assignment a couple times a week.  Please see that your child completes the assignment and returns it to school the next day.

DISCIPLINE

    We discipline with love and consistency.  All our children are good and know they are loved, even when problems arise.

    Every child begins his/her day “on green”.  If a child needs 3 warnings to correct a behavior, the child is then “on yellow” and, depending on the infraction, may be asked to leave the group for a few minutes.  If the child needs three warnings again, during that same day, he/she will be “on red”.  If the unacceptable behavior continues, the child must report to the office to call his/her parents. This would be a rare, but necessary occurrence.  Children can’t learn with constant ‘out-of-bounds’ behavior. 

A child will not receive a warning in extreme circumstances such as for physically hurting someone on purpose.  He/she will immediately be removed from the center or group and be ‘on’ the next color.

    The children are praised throughout the day,   for positive behaviors like helping another child, sharing, cleaning up, comforting another child, working quietly, following directions, etc.

BEHAVIOR LOG

    Your child’s behavior log will come home daily in the Communication Folder.  When you open it, you will see an ink stamp on a daily grid.  The stamp will be green, yellow or red, to show where your child was at the end of the day.  Comments will be attached as necessary.  This is meant to be a positive communication, which will help parent and teacher present a united front to the child regarding his/her behavior.  

READING RECORD

    Each child will be bringing home a daily reading log or record.  It is a requirement of our Kindergarten that your child be read to every night and that you fill out the Reading Log and return it  to school daily in the communication folder.  Beginning in October, the children will earn ‘BOOK IT’ coupons for their reading. The AR (Accelerated Reader) section will be explained when AR begins.  Just leave it blank for now.

LUNCH

    Children may bring their lunch from home or purchase lunch.  The lunch order form will be sent home on Monday of each week.  Parents are to fill out the form for the entire next week and send it back in by Wednesday morning with the total amount of money.

***(Please send exact change or a check for each child.  Checks cannot be shared between classrooms.)

SNACK

    Kindergarten children have a morning snack.  Our day is long and begins early so nourishment breaks are important for learning.  Please send in a nutritious snack and bottled water for your child; absolutely no candy or juice.

WATER BOTTLES

    Please send in a water bottle for your child to keep at school.  I will send it home every Friday to be washed. Children don’t drink enough water.  Dehydration leads to poor learning performance, listlessness, trouble concentrating and headaches.  I would like the children to be able to drink whenever they are thirsty, not just at bathroom breaks.

FIELD TRIPS

    Kindergarten goes on several field trips during the year.  We will be in need of parent chaperones.  Parents must have had “Protecting God’s Children” and all required volunteer paperwork must be filled out prior to the trip.  Parents will be asked to send money to pay for these trips.  There is usually a charge for the program itself and a charge per child for the bus.

UNIFORMS

    Your child must be in proper uniform each day.  We attend Mass every Thursday beginning after Labor Day.  Boys are required to wear long pants and girls to wear the OLA jumpers on Mass days.

P.E. uniforms may be worn only on the days your child has P.E.  This year Kindergarten will have PE on Mondays and Fridays. 

Please purchase a “field trip t-shirt” for your child to wear on field trips.

 IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP

    Please see that your child gets enough sleep each night.  In our busy lives we seem to have forgotten that 5 year olds need 10 good hours of sleep each night to be healthy, happy and to be able to do their best work at school.  I realize this may be hard but try to make it a priority. 

 CARPOOL LINE

    Beginning Friday, August 25, all Kindergarten children are to be dropped off in the carpool line.  Your child will also be dismissed to your car in the carpool line at the end of each day.  Please do not come into the school to pick up your child.

 Hooray for Kindergarten!

Last updated on 06/20/2008