Welcome to Kindergarten Open House

1. Welcome to Kindergarten Open House It’s time for Back to school-ito Mrs.Christy Fisher Contact Info: email: cfisher@ldsd.org or 469-2686 (voicemail)

2. Who is Mrs. Fisher? I’ve been here at East Hanover for 14 years now. I started in 5th grade and then moved to 3rd grade until this year. I’m very excited to be with kindergarteners. I’ve always enjoyed this age group. I love their excitement and energy. Plus they are just so darn adorable! I have 3 boys of my own ranging from first grade to seventh grade. Just finishing a year as a kindergarten parent has really helped me as I’ve been diving into the curriculum with a new perspective.

3. Letter of recommendation In case you’re still concerned that your child has the “new” kindergarten teacher, read this letter of recommendation from one of my third graders in December of last year. It should alleviate any concerns….  And yes I did move up in rank by the end of the year…. Take that Mrs. Reichert! 

4. Schedule AM kindergarten * PM kindergarten 9:00 am-11:45 am *12:45 pm – 3:30pm Because of recess, it’s not a bad idea to wear sneakers everyday because of climbing on the equipment.

5. What supplies do we need for school? All your kindergartner needs for school is a backpack that’s large enough to fit a folder (we will provide) and library books. Some library books can be tall and may not fit in super small backpacks. (Please let me know if supplying a backpack will be a problem for your family.) Please do NOT send toys or extra supplies in your child’s back pack. You may want to send a sweatshirt whenever it is warm enough for the AC to turn on – gets a bit chilly.

6. What will we find in the backpack each day? It’s important to check your child’s back pack each day for the work they’ve completed, homework, or other important information. Please remove any work completed at school to make room for the next day. They will keep all their papers in the folder—this is also a great place for you to send notes to me or to the office. We will check folders at the beginning of each day and fill them at the end of each day.

7. Homework? Reading – after a week or so your child will begin bringing home small books (from those green bins) to read to you each night. Please do your best to read them each night to be exchanged the next day. They are short, so feel free to read it a few times or ask questions about the story. Sight Words – again in a few weeks you’ll notice a rainbow book of words joining the daily reading books. These are sets of sight words that all kindergartners must be able to read automatically and write correctly by theendof the year. (47 total) Please practice those words each night as well. Kindergarten may have a small homework assignment on Monday-Thursday to connect to what we’ve learned in math. Homework should take approximately 10 minutes each night. Please let me know if it is taking longer for your child.

8. Report Cards & Conferences Report Cards will be sent home in November, January, April, & June. One thing to be aware of is that many of the categories are goals for your child to reach at the end of kindergarten. Conferences will be in November and February. If you know your schedule, sign up for a conference in the hallway or I can check back with you in October.

9. Pete The Cat and His Groovy Buttons • Our Classroom Behavior Plan • For individual behavior we have Pete’s Groovy buttons – children will move their clip up or down based on class- room behavior. Whoever is at “Ready to Learn” or higher will earn a sticker. After 10 stickers they get to choose fun prizes/rewards. • If a child moves their stick down they lose their sticker for the day and … • One time = oops – no consequence, everyone makes mistakes • Twice = Oh No! – may have a time out or owe a few minutes of recess, talk with the teacher, maybe a note home • Three Times = Oh My Goodness! - time out/owe recess, note home, possible other logical consequences * This is a great way to help students be responsible for their own behavior and has both positive reinforcement and consequences built in.

10. 4 “Be” s and Buckets East Hanover’s 4 Be’s Be Honest Be Respectful Be Responsible Be Safe As a district we are developing character by helping students to THINK (see below) and to think about how they can fill someone else’s bucket or make them feel good (see above) Both of these character piece fit nicely with our building rules or 4 Be’s. The 4 Be’s will be the basic rules of our classroom. We will try to fill a classroom bucket to earn prizes. We will fill the bucket when someone in our class is caught following a 4 Be or filling someone else’s bucket.

11. Now the Important Topic: SNACK Each day our class will have about 20 minutes to play at recess and this is also our snack time. You are welcome to send a small snack with your child each day. It should be something quick and easy for them to eat, because really they’ll want to go play. (It may need to be nut free.) A water bottle can also be sent in. Birthday treats are permitted, just remember that we may have students with allergies and the treat would be shared at recess.