Health Concerns

1. Welcome Kindergarten Knights!Please fill out a lime green card and place it on the table in the basket.

2. Health Concerns • Please notify the school nurse at Back To The Castle night (Monday) if you have any special health concerns (food allergies, asthma, seizures, etc.) or dietary restrictions. • AISD policy states that children must be fever free and diarrhea free for 24 hours (without medication) prior to returning to school. • It is helpful to notify the school by phone or email if your child will be absent. The school is required to call and verify each absence if notice has not been received. Each absence requires a signed note from parent/ guardian, doctor upon return. If the absence is excused, a signed parent note or doctor note must be returned to school within 3 days.

3. Responsibility • It is very important that children learn to be responsible. They will be learning and practicing new procedures starting with taking care of their belongings at school. It is critical that we allow children to have age appropriate responsibilities to learn independence. This will help us in teaching your child responsibility and will help their self-confidence! • Age appropriate skills we will be working on include the following: opening lunch items, packing and unpacking their belongings, zipping, buttoning, shoe tying, bathroom procedures, completing an academic task independently, time management and responsibility for own actions/choices.

4. Independence • Independence builds self-esteem and self-confidence. It also helps children with problem solving and initiative. • Kindergarteners are very capable of doing many things on their own and we encourage them to do as much as they can for themselves in the classroom and at home.

5. Personal Hygiene • Students should be able to take care of all bathroom needs on their own. • Keep a change of clothes in their backpacks at all times. Be sure to keep seasonally appropriate clothing in backpacks. • Please discuss with your child the importance of asking to use the restroom and taking advantage of all restroom opportunities to avoid accidents. • All toilets at Norton are automatic flushing. It would be helpful to practice using an automatic toilet at Back To The Castle Night. • Practice how to properly use tissues to blow their nose.

6. Backpacks and Personal Items • Please be sure your child has a backpack large enough to accommodate a jacket, change of clothes, lunch bag, etc. • Please do not send toys, play make-up, stuffed animals, blankets, money, “treasures”,etc. to school

7. Shoes and Clothing • We recommend choosing comfortable clothing that is appropriate for physical activities, art and the weather. • We ask that all students wear shoes they can put on and fasten by themselves. If your child cannot tie their own shoes, please continue to work with them at home on this skill. • It is recommended that girls wearing dresses or skirts wear a pair of shorts underneath. • Spaghetti strap shirts are not allowed. • With the weather constantly changing, please send a jacket each day during cooler weather. We will be having two recesses this year, so there could be a big difference in temperature between the morning recess and the afternoon recess. • Jackets will be helpful for use in the classroom as well due to the changing temperatures in the building.

8. School Supplies • If you ordered school supplies through the school, then your child’s supplies have been delivered to the classroom. The packs will be labeled with your child’s name. • If you did not preorder supplies, please plan to bring them on Back to the Castle Night (Monday). PLEASE do not write your child’s name on these supplies as they are shared among the class.

9. Folders • Each child will be issued a Norton Knight EVERYDAY FOLDER. This will for communication between parent and teacher and to bring home treasured work. Please check it everyday by cleaning out the contents and responding to notes if needed. PLEASE RETURN EACH DAY! • A white homework folder will also come home with your child daily (beginning in October). Please check this for any homework that your child needs to complete. The white folder needs to be at school EVERYDAY!! • A special Wednesday folder will be sent home weekly. It will contain Norton updates and PTA correspondence. Please place any required information and paperwork back in the DAILY NORTON folder to be returned on Thursday.We don’t look in Wednesday folders upon return.

10. Our Kindergarten Day(sample schedule) 7:45-8:00 Arrive and unpack 8:00-8:15 Announcements 8:15-8:45 Morning Meeting 8:45-9:35 Reader’s Workshop 9:35-10:30 Writer’s Workshop 10:30-10:45 Recess 10:55-11:30 Lunch 11:30-12:35 Math Workshop 12:35-1:20 Specials 1:25-1:45 Science/ Social Studies 1:45-2:05 Snack/Pack 2:05-2:35 CASTLE 2:35-2:55 Recess 3:00 Dismissal

11. Arrival Procedures • School begins at 7:50 a.m. every morning. Your child needs to be in the classroom at this time or they will be counted tardy. • Students may arrive as early as 7:30, but must report to the cafeteria. A teacher will escort all kindergartners from the cafeteria to the kindergarten hallway at 7:45. • A teacher will be on duty in the cafeteria to supervise those arriving early. • Students arriving after 7:45 may come directly to their classrooms. • ***Parents will not be permitted to walk their children to the classroom after the first week of school!

12. Lunch • Kindergarten classes go to lunch at 10:55 a.m. • Your child’s school identification number is also now their lunch code. This can be found when you complete your back to school forms on Family Access. Please contact the cafeteria manager Darlene Allen if you have any questions at Darlene.Allen@allenisd.org. • Your child must memorize their code before making their initial lunch purchase. • Lunches must be prepaid into the students’ lunch account (no cash accepted during lunch). • If you want to meet your child for lunch, please be prompt. Remember that it takes time to sign in at the office. Parents will need to remain on the stage to eat lunch with their child. We ask that you DO NOT meet your child for lunch during the first 2 weeks of school. Learning the routine and practicing lunch room procedures is important during this time.

13. Specials Schedule • Your child will be grouped in an A, B, C or D group. You will know your child’s group when they bring home their folder next week. • Please have your child wear tennis shoes for the first three days.

14. Snacks10 minute afternoon snack • Please send a SIMPLE, NON-PERISHABLE snack with your child each day. Please pack separately from lunch. • Please make sure the snack is labeled with your child’s name and does not require utensils or refrigeration. • We encourage each child to bring a water bottle labeled with their name. This is for classroom use and should be separate from their drink for lunch. Water fountains are available in each classroom.

15. CARPOOLThis is for parents that will be remaining in their car • You will be provided with sign with your child’s name to be used for carpool dismissal. Please have this in your car everyday. • Please stay in your car and someone will assist your child into the car. Children will only be loaded on the passenger side of the car. • The carpool lane is located in the back of the building off of Seaport Drive.

17. Walkers/Park and Walk • You will be able to park and walk up to pick up your child. • We will dismiss from the side office door (closest to kindergarten rooms) via Newport Dr. To ensure the safety of your child, please carry your dismissal sign to help us identify faces.

18. KIDS CLUB • Students will be escorted to the gym by Kids Club staff. BUS RIDERS/DAYCARE • Students will be supervised by staff members in the cafeteria while waiting to load the bus. • If someone else is picking up your child you MUST notify your teacher via a written note. ***PLEASE LET US KNOW IN WRITING IF THERE ARE ANY CHANGES IN DISMISSAL!***

19. Norton ExpectationsKindergarten Knights must follow the Norton Code of Honor. • Keeps hands, feet and objects to self. • Never disrupts learning. • Interacts positively with others. • Gets attention appropriately. • Hears and follows direction. • Takes responsibility for actions and learning. • Strives to make good choices.

21. Million Acts of MORE • Norton is excited about starting a new program this year. • Norton teachers and staff will serve as coaches with student-leaders to inspire the Norton community to live out our motto of “doing more than we have to, to be the best that we can be.” • Each day, students will be encouraged to #unleashMORE to positively impact their peers and community with a goal of completing one million acts of "more" by the year's end. We can all use a little more kindness (perhaps ensuring that classmates aren’t left out at recess), put forth a greater effort (doing our homework to the best of our ability), or practice more thoughtfulness (walking down the hallway without disrupting other classes). • The goal for staff and students is to foster a strong sense of community and reinforce positive habits that will contribute to making Norton a great place to learn and grow. • You will hear much more about the Million Acts of More initiative throughout the year, but for now, get ready to #unleashMORE!

22. Student Recognitions King/Queen of the Week-Eachkindergarten teacher will pick a student to celebrate each week. The appointed child will come home with a letter announcing their upcoming week. Some of the special activities your child will participate in for the week include: bringing an All About Me poster, taking home the class mascot for the weekend, being line leader, calendar helper, office messenger, etc. #unleashMORE

23. Kindergarten Birthdays Birthdays are always an exciting time for our students. If your child is planning to pass out party invitations at school, please make sure to include an invitation for all of the girls, all of the boys, or everyone in the class. We don’t want anyone to feel excluded. Otherwise, please handle invitations outside of school. If your child would like to celebrate their special day at school, you may send in a treat for every child in the class. Make sure they are individually wrapped so they can be passed out at the end of the day and taken home for kids to enjoy. Summer birthdays will be celebrated in May.

24. Conferences • We will have a formal parent conference day on Monday, October 22nd. An opportunity to sign up for a conference time will be sent home at a later date. • Parents are more than welcome to request a conference at any time. Please contact your child’s teacher by email to set up a time that is good for both parties.

25. Volunteers • If you plan on participating in classroom parties, going on field trips, or volunteering at Norton…. *YOU MUST COMPLETE A CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK ON-LINE at www.allenisd.org on the home page! This must be completed yearly and can take up to two weeks for clearance.

26. Contact Information Front Office Phone Number: 972-396-6918 Teacher Contact Number: 972-236-0600 Nicole Cole: ext. 8602 Nicole.Cole@allenisd.org Maggie Esposito: ext. 8664 Margaret.Esposito@allenisd.org Tracy Savitch: ext. 8682 Tracy.Savitch@allenisd.org

27. Kindergarten Questions ????????????????