Welcome to Kindergarten!

1. Welcome to Kindergarten!

2. Why are we called “Cleek’s Critters” ? I love animals and we will have a pet in our classroom! We will read a lot of books about animals! We will learn about nature through nature walks, special guests, and our pets. We are a classroom family where everyone belongs.

3. Ways to be a Part of Our Classroom • Volunteering From home • Cutting, stapling materials At school • Working in groups with students • organizing celebrations • taking a “lunch bunch” • reading to/with students • Special Events/Activities • Donating • Items for treasure box • Supply Fee • Box Tops • Wish List items • Party materials

4. Daily Procedures Meals-Breakast: 90 cents Lunch: $1.60 Every child will be charged for food until he/she qualifies for Free/Reduced lunch. Once qualified, you still have to pay back charges accrued during the application process. Snacks- No “allergy” foods. No nuts or nut products. Everyone must bring their own snack. Water only to drink, in a bottle that doesn’t spill easily. Ice Cream- 50 cents per week, $18.00 per year. We will have ice cream on Mondays as our snack. Transportation- A note in the folder is best way to change your child’s transportation. Emails sent before noon are good too. No verbal changes by studentsor by phone. I must have something in writing.

5. Daily Procedures Arrival- 8:10 tardy bell rings and work begins. Sickness- Fever free for 24 hours without medication. Tummy bugs, ring worms, lice, spread easily in Kindergarten. Please be certain your child is ready to return. Handwashingis essential, including at home. Absences- Please send in a note after every absence. Medication- Only school nurse can distribute, must be walked in by adult. No meds on bus or in backpacks.

6. We believe in a classroom community, where students learn to work cooperatively and solve problems independently. • We believe in natural consequences for actions and that every mistake is an opportunity to learn. • We believe in modeling and practicing the behaviors we want to see, and learning why negative behaviors don’t belong at school. • We use the school wide Trojan G.O.L.D. system Classroom Behavior

7. Class Rules 1. Be nice. Be nice to yourself, your teachers, other children, our materials, our restrooms, our pets, everything! Use nice words and nice actions. Wait your turn. Wait your turn to talk (raise your hand, no blurting), wait your turn in line (no cutting), wait your turn for materials (no snatching). In Kindergarten, we have to be very patient. 3. When you mess up, fix it. This rule is so important! Everyone messes up. Even the teachers! When you mess up, be it a spill or a harsh word, or bad attitude, your job is to fix it. An apology helps, but it usually takes more work to fix things than just saying “I’m sorry”. You may have to wipe up a spill, or say some kind words to fix that sad heart your words hurt, but fixing your own mistakes is what us big kids do at school!

8. Trojan Gold • G-Giving Respect • O-Owning your behavior • L-Listening and Learning • D-Doing your Best • Praise and appreciations, treasure box, classroom rewards monthly, special celebrations every 9 weeks

9. Transportation Bus Behavior is expected at all times. An adult must be visible at the bus drop off. Car riders must have a CAR RIDER TAG. Pick it up tonight. Car riders with older siblings : Older siblings at CES will walk to the Kindergarten dismissal area and sit with his/her little brother or sister. Changes to transportation must be sent in writing. No child may bring medication of any kind to school. It must be walked in by an adult.

10. Car Rider Information Parent/Guardians: Your child’s safety is a top priority for us at CES. Please assist us by doing the following: Remain in your vehicle when dropping students off and/or picking up. You must have the identification distributed by your child’s teacher. Identification cards should be displayed prominently. Those without identification cards will be asked wait until an administrator is available to assist. For any transportation changes, please notify your child’s teacher in writing. Thank you in advance for doing your part to ensure our students’ safety.

11. One of the most important things we learn in Kindergarten is independence. You can help your child gain independence by helping him/her learn to do the following: • Tie shoes • Snap pants • Wash and dry hands • Blow his/her nose with no help • Cut his/her food with a fork (no knives in the lunch room) • Sit and look at books for 10 minutes without getting up • Write his/her name • State his/her name, address, and phone number • Improve table manners Ways to help my child:

12. Homework guidelines • Share any concerns you may have regarding the amount or type homework assigned with me. Homework should be fun, not daunting. • Every night, your child’s homework will be to read “a book a night”. At the beginning of the year an adult will need to read to your child, but during the year your child will begin to read to you! Talk about the book as you are reading it. Write the name of the book/s every night in your child's agenda. • Practice the sight words! There are different levels of “knowing” sight words. The easiest level is for you to put 5-10 words in front of your child, you say a word, and your child points to the right word. A little more challenging is for your child to read the words to you. The most challenging way to practice is to have your child write a sentence with the sight word, and use the word correctly, and spell it correctly, without looking at the word. • Praise your child's efforts. We will be sending home ways to help your child when they are stuck on a word, ways to help them practice sight words, and good questions to ask when reading together.