Things to Know About Kindergarten

1. Things to Know About Kindergarten Central Elementary

2. Be on time…School begins at 7:50 and ends at 3:15 Once your child is enrolled in Kindergarten, attendance is mandatory. What you learned in First Grade is now being taught in Kindergarten. If your child is absent, it is a state requirement that you send a note explaining the reason for his/her absence.

3. Communication is a must… Please check the calendar that is sent home every month. It contains important information. Sometimes your child feels left out if he/she did not bring something for that specific day. The calendar lets you know what is being taught every week. Changes of address, phone numbers, or emergency phone numbers need to be given to the office as soon as possible. This is so we can find you in case of an emergency.

4. Transportation Changes? If you need to change the transportation plans for your child, please send the teacher a note informing her. Sometimes children get confused about what to do when time to go home, and the teacher does not have time to check. You may call the office early in the event plans change once your child is at school. They will inform the teacher.

5. Help from Home… Please make sure your child’s name is on their backpacks, sweaters, and jackets so that if they get left somewhere at school the item can be found. Please do not allow your child to bring toys from home unless we send a note for some special reason that these items be sent. Teachers will not be responsible for lost, stolen, or broken toys that are sent without permission.

6. Appointments and Medications • If your child needs to go to the Doctor or the Dentist during school hours, please bring your child to school until he/she needs to leave in time for the appointment. Every minute your child is in school, he/she is learning. Your child is counted present, even if he/she is there for only 15 minutes. • All medications your child may need to take during school hours, must be administered by the school nurse. So, please give her the information about directions and dosages.

7. Backpacks and Tennis Shoes Check your child’s backpack every day. Important notes may have been sent home. Papers dealing with what is being taught in class can be reinforced at home. Please empty your child’s backpack. A heavy backpack can put undo strain on a small child’s back. Velcro tennis shoes are wonderful. But, the noise of velcro during lessons can be very distracting. Also, untied tennis shoes is a health risk. If your child does not know how to tie his shoes, please teach him, or tie his shoes in double knots

8. Healthy Snacks Sometimes the children get hungry before it is time to go home. If you would like to send snack items such as cheese crackers, animal crackers, pretzels, or other nutritious snack type food for the whole class to share, that would be fine.

9. Birthdays At School We love to celebrate the children’s birthdays at school. It makes them feel extra special. If you want to send a special treat for your child’s birthday, we ask that you send cookies or cupcakes. Please inform your child’s teacher first of your intentions. If you wish to send drinks also, we ask that you send drink boxes or Capri Sun drinks.

10. Book orders Various book companies provide opportunities for our children to buy paperback books that are appropriate for the kindergarten level. Please return cash or checks in an envelope with the book form inside and your child’s name on the outside and “Book Order.” Checks are fine, but make them payable to the book company and not our school or the teacher. We encourage parents to take advantage of these reasonable prices and for every book purchased the teacher receives points in which she can redeem for additional books, videos, and computer software for our classroom. These are sent out on a monthly basis, so be on the lookout for an order form in your child’s folder. These books take about two weeks to be delivered.

11. Volunteers, Sending Money, andHot Weather We love our volunteers! Please make sure you have filled out the volunteer form for the school and returned it to your child’s teacher or to the office. All work for the volunteers will be placed on a desk outside the classroom with instructions. We really could not survive without you! Any Money sent to school, please place in an envelope with your child’s name indicating its purpose. Ex. T-shirt, book order, etc. With the weather being so hot, especially in the afternoons, we may not be going out to recess. It is a health hazard to some children. School policy states that we can not go outside if the temperature is 95 degrees or over.

12. We Need Your Help… • Read to your child daily • Help your child learn to tie shoe laces when they are developmentally ready • Teach your child their: phone number address birthday

13. Most Importantly… A conference can be scheduled with the teacher any time you have concerns about your child. Simply send a note to request a convenient time to meet. We want this to be a memorable year for your Kindergartener!