Swim into Kindergarten!

Swim into Kindergarten! Miss Lehky’s Class 2011-2012

Arrival • Students may start arriving at 9:05 am and expected to be in our classroom ready to start by 9:15 • If you are driving your child to school, please let them exit the car and enter the school independently. I know this may be difficult for the parents, but walking them into the school makes it harder for the student to say goodbye. I promise, we’ll take good care of your child! • Attendance and punctuality are important, so please make sure that your child arrives to school on time. If your child arrives to school late, he/she will need to report to the office. • If your child will be absent, please call the attendance line at 330-273-8130

Dismissal • School is dismissed at 3:25pm. Fifth grade helpers will come to our classroom to help students to their bus or waiting area. Please put a tag on your child’s bookbagindicating full name, address to be dropped off at, and phone number where caretaker can be reached at. • If you have an older child, please don’t ask them to come to the room for the first few weeks. I need to know exactly where each student is until they are comfortable with the routine. • Please send a note in if you will be picking up your child or if someone different will be picking up your child. For the safety of all students, no exceptions to this requirement will be made, so please don’t have your child “Tell Miss Lehky you will be a car-rider today”. • If you need to pick up your child early, please go to the office. The office will call to send your child down to you. We appreciate your cooperation with this to avoid any disruptions to our classroom. • If you are picking up your child in a car, please do not pull your car up to the building until you are directed to do so. You will need to leave room for the buses, as bus riders are dismissed first, then cars are directed to pull up.

Lunch • Lunch is new to our Kindergarten program this year, so please be patientas we join in on this new adventure. • Students have the opportunity to purchase the daily meal, peanut butter & jelly, toasted cheese or a cheese pizza for $2.50, or just milk for $.50 • Each child has benn given a lunch money bag to keep your child’s lunch menu and lunch selection sheet. This bag is in the folder you are given at Open House. Please keep this in your child’s bookbag throughout the year. • The lunch menu will be sent home on Fridays in your child’s lunch money bag for the following week. Please circle your child’s lunch choices for the week and keep it in their lunch money bag. • You also have the opportunity to pack a lunch for your child, but please remember that refrigeration or microwaves are not available for students.

Specials • Our specials schedule is as follows: • Tuesdays: Music • Wednesday: Library and Computer • Thursday: Gym (Please be sure to send your child in tennis shoes on Thursdays) • Friday: Art

Read Write Rest • In the afternoon, we will be having a 20 minute period called “Read Write Rest”. During this time, the students will have the option to sit quietly to read, write quietly, or put their head down on their desk. This time is to help the students regain energy to be successful in our afternoon activities.

Snack • In the afternoon, we will also have a short snack time. If you would like your child to have a snack during this time, please send a snack in with them (no peanut products please). I will be providing snack during the first week of school.

Discipline • We use a card system to help students monitor their behavior. • Students start their day with a green card. • If a child fails to follow classroom rules, their card will be flipped to blue as a reminder. • Second offense, the card will be flipped to yellow and the child will have to sit out 5 minutes of recess. • Third offense, the card will be flipped to red and the child will miss all of recess. • If the behavior is extreme, it may result in flipping cards straight to red. • We want to reward good behavior!!! If a students stays on green for the day, they will receive a stick. 5 sticks = picking out of the prize box • If your child’s card has been flipped to yellow or red, you will be notified by a note sent home with the reasoning. Please sign the form and return it to school the following day so I can ensure you have been notified. • For any repeated behaviors, I will contact you to discuss it further.

What to wear • Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately according to our school handbook. • Please do not allow your child to wear flip flops or clogs without a back strap. Our playground has woodchips which may give your child a splinter through their flip flop or shoes have been known to fly off on the playground. Also backless shoes may create a safety concern during emergency evacuation drills. • Please be sure that your child is dressed for the weather. We will be going outside as much as possible for recess.

Supplies • Students are asked to bring in supplies on the supply list. • Also, within the weeks of school, please have your child bring in a paint shirt (Dad’s old T-shirts work best). Please label it with your child’s name. • If any additional supplies are needed throughout the year, it will be posted on the weekly news of the classroom website for volunteers to send in.

Communication • I am always wanting to communicate with parents, so please feel free to contact me at any time! I may also contact you to share good news as well discuss any issues that may arise in the classroom. • If you need to contact me, the best way to contact me is via email. This is the best way for me to get back to you promptly. If you need to speak to me, please email me with a phone number that you would like to be reached at and I will contact you at my earliest convenience. You can always send a note in your child’s bookbag, but please understand that I may not have time to reply to you on the same day. • Please be sure to fill out a contact information sheet and return it to school so that I can have the proper information to contact you.

Homework • Homework is not just busy work; its an opportunity for you to help your child reinforce and practice the skills we are working on in the classroom. Please be sure to help your child with his/her homework so that you can ensure your child is not practicing the incorrect skills. • For the first 5 weeks of school, homework will be simple homework twice a week. • After the 5th week, your child will have homework at least 3 times a week. • Every Wednesday your child will bring home a “Math Links” assignment. Please be sure to completed the two-sided page and return it to school by Mondays. • All homework will be sent home in your child’s homee folder so please be sure to check it on a daily basis. • Homework accounts for 10% of your child’s grade

Classroom Website • Our classroom website is a great place for you to find updated information. • To access our webpage, go to www.bcoh.org, then click on Crestview, Staff, Kindergarten and finally Miss Lehky • Instead of sending home a weekly newsletter, there is a section of our webpage titled “Weekly News” in which weekly information and updates will be posted. If you are unable to access our weekly news via the website, please notify me and I will send a paper copy home.

Progress Book • At fall conferences, you will get a username and password to login to Progress Book. • You will be able to login anytime to access your child’s grades and progress

Report Cards • Report Cards will be sent home 4 times a year. • Your child’s grades will be based on: • 70% Test Grades • 20% Classwork • 10% Homework • Report Cards tell you what your child is doing in each expected skill. • The grading marks are: • E Exceeds Expectations • M Meets Expectations • P Making Progress • I Insufficient Progress

Conferences • Conferences are held twice a year • Fall Conferences are open to all parents. Please sign up for a time during our Open House • Spring Conferences will be on an as-needed basis. I will contact you if I would like to schedule a conference • You may always request a conference at any time you feel you need one.

Star Student • After the first few weeks of school, we will begin “star students”. If you child is the star student of the week, a paper will be sent home on Friday to be returned on Monday. Please help your child to complete the paper to explain their favorite foods, colors, toys or other information they would like to share with the class. During that week, your child will share their favorites with the class.

Birthdays • We love to celebrate Birthdays in Kindergarten!!! • For your child’s birthday, he/she will get to wear a birthday crown and get a special birthday treat from Mr. Haft. • We would welcome any birthday treat you would like to send in for the class during snack time. Please notify me ahead of time if you plan on sending in a birthday treat. Cupcakes can be very messy, so please consider an alternate snack such as cookies, a healthy snack or other treat.

Parties • We will have 3 holiday parties throughout the year: Halloween, Christmas and Valentine’s Day. These are parent organized and run. Parties will occur on the actual day, or if the holiday falls on a weekend our party will be held on the Friday before. • We will also have various other special days in Kindergarten, such a fall and spring field trip, 100th day of school, pajama party, AlphaFriend Day. Information on these events will be sent home prior to the event.

Parent Volunteers • We welcome parent volunteers in our classroom! • We have various different ways that you could volunteer in our class, such as helping with parties, assistance with daily centers, etc. There are also opportunities to help even if you are not able to come into the classroom. Please be sure to fill out and return your volunteer sheet as well as sign up for class parties during Open House.

Things we work on • We will be working on MANY different skills throughout the year. • Reading • Recognize all uppercase and lower case letters and produce proper letter sounds • Recognize color words and sight words • Reads word families • Reads words fluently in context • Retell stories • Identifies characters and setting in a story • Writing • Writes first and last name • Prints letters and numbers correctly • Math • Reads numbers 0-30 • Rote counts to 100 • Skip counts by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s to 100 • Names and gives values of coins • Tells time to the hour • A complete list of skills is listed on our classroom webpage.

Swim into Kindergarten!