Mill Creek 2012-2013

1. Welcome to Kindergarten Parent’s Night! Mill Creek2012-2013

2. Kindergarten Teachers • Kimberly Kolasa • Shemeaka King • Emily Ortiz • Melissa Miller • Jessica Latham • Tosha Swearingen

3. What is Kindergarten? *Kindergarten is social! • Make new friends • Build language skills • Learn to follow directions • Share with others *Kindergarten is academic! • Language Arts/Pre-Reading • Mathematics • Social Science

4. Language Arts/Pre-Reading • Harcourt “Story Town” Reading Series • Comprehension • Phonemic Awareness • Phonics • Fluency • Vocabulary • Oral Language • Whole Group Instruction • Small Group Instruction • Literacy Stations/Centers • Buddy Reading • D.E.A.R. Time • Education City/Successmaker

5. Renaissance Place • Purpose • Provides data to monitor and personalize reading practice • Makes reading fun by providing successful encounters with text. • AR Quizzes • Student must log into the computer and enter book title • Most emerging reader quizzes will have 5 questions • The quizzes test reading comprehension • Our Goals for your children • Have students test each week on a book(s) in his/her Zone of Proximal Development • Maintain a 90% average • Home Connect • You can view your child’s progress online.

6. Reading Assessments • Harcourt Phonemic Awareness Inventory- 3 times a year • Score out of 100. Hearing and identifying sounds in words. Beginning, middle • and ending. • Star Early Literacy – five times a year • Emergent: 300-674 Transitional: 675-774 Probable: 775-900 • D.I.B.E.L.S. - Dynamic Indication of Basic Early Literacy Skills -3 times a year. • (August, December, May) • ISF – Intial Sound Fluency - Fall BM (8) Winter BM (25) Spring BM (not Given) • LNF – Letter Naming Fluency - Fall BM (8) Winter BM (27) Spring BM (40) • PSF – Phoneme Segmentation - Fall BM (not given) Winter BM (18) Spring BM (35) • NWF – Nonsense Words Fluency - Fall BM (not given) Winter BM (13) Spring BM (25) • Fry Words – twice a year (Dec. and May) 3= 32-50 2= 28-31 1= 0-27 • Please Practice at home throughout the school year, Fry Words are available on our website and are placed • in your child’s binder for weekly practice.

7. Mathematics & Science • We have adopted Envision Common Core Math. • Math Objectives: counting, sorting, patterns, number recognition, number sense, geometry • In math, we use many different hand-on activities and manipulatives to help the children gain a concrete foundation for math concepts. • AMSTI Science modules include Trees, Weather, Living Things, and Balls and Ramps

8. Curriculum Guide • Concepts taught are listed in the Alabama Course of Study, as well as the Madison City Schools Curriculum Guide. These concepts may be found on the Madison City Schools website under Instruction. • www.madisoncity.k12.al.us

9. Kindergarten Report Card Things you should know and what you can expect!

10. Kindergarten Report Card • A Six Week Progress Report will be sent home in September. Then Progress Reports will come home every four weeks. • Report Cards will be sent home every nine weeks. • Please keep all Progress Reports and Report Cards at home. • Not all curriculum objectives and skills will appear on the Report Card. Specific objectives and skills, which have been shown to be indicators of success in first grade, will appear on the Report Card. • A separate letter/sound assessment form will be sent home with Report Card starting the 2nd 9 weeks.

11. What will be included on the Reports? • The Nine Week Report will include: • The focus skills studied during that nine weeks as well as the skills from the previous nine weeks. • All Skills will appear on the final report card.

12. Understanding Reports • Kindergarten Report Cards do not reflect letter grades given on assignments. Instead, the letters 3, 2, and 1 show student progress made on skills to be mastered by the end of the Kindergarten year. • 3= Consistently meets expectations • 2= Progressing towards expectations • 1= Does not meet expectations

13. What to Expect from Reports • Not much will change between Nine Week Reports and Three Week reports. Look for gradual change over the year. • Remember that Kindergarten Report Cards DO NOT reflect grades given on assignments, so an 3 is not equivalent to an A+. • 2 will be the most common, because it indicates that your child is making appropriate progress. An 3 will not appear until your child is consistently showing mastery of a skill. Details of progress will be communicated through parent/teacher conferences.

14. Conferences Conferences are typically held twice a year; however, teachers and parents may see the need for additional conferences throughout the year. • Fall • Spring * If you want to schedule a conference at any times please contact your child’s teacher, and we will be happy to meet with you!

15. Your child needs to know… • how to change their shoes for P.E. and tie their shoes! • how to open milk/juice bottles. • how to open chip/snack bags. • how to button/unbutton jackets and pants. • how to zip/unzip jackets and pants. • Please practice these skills with your child at home!

16. Other Important Information • Classroom Behavior - discipline plan • Library – class time every week for 6 weeks then as needed; students are currently being taught how to use library and to take care of books • Snack – one drink (water only) and one snack • Lunch – Guest lunch and ice cream on Fridays only • Daily Binders – please check daily and initial; all students will need a planner $7) • Clothes/Shoes – wear tennis shoes and socks daily & girls need shorts underneath skirts • Field Trip –Oct. 30th to Tate Farms. More info to come.

17. Mill Creek Shirts – wear on field trips and Fridays! • Birthdays – You can buy ice cream for the class at lunch • Rest Mats – wash & return on Monday • Lunch Money- Paypams or send a check/ cash in envelope with name and amount on outside

18. Office Notes Visiting Mill Creek. • Always park in a marked space, not along the curbs. • You will need your driver’s license to check in. • You will only be able to sign in by the cafeteria for special events. Checking your student In/Out. • Please try to check your student out before 2:15pm • If you have to check out students later, please notify us before 2:15pm.

19. Absences • 10 Parents notes a school year. • All absences require a parent or Dr. Note or they will be unexcused. • Teachers aren’t always able to forward emails to the office. You can cc Cheryl Davies (cydavies@madisoncity.k12.al.us) on emails that refer to absences. Phonecalls • If a teacher allows your student to make a phone call they should always leave a message. • The office is unable to transfer calls to classrooms during instruction time.

20. Important Announcement: The first week of school we will be on an AB schedule: A – Girls – Monday, Wednesday, Friday B- Boys – Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

21. Open House Procedure Please stay seated until you are dismissed to your teacher’s classroom. At the classroom, make sure you: 1. Sign-in. * 2. Indicate how your child will get home the first day of school and thereafter. 3. Take an information packet to return on the first day of school. 4. Put school supplies in child’s locker. 5. Briefly meet and greet teacher.