Welcome to the 2012 Kindergarten Orientation Night!

1. Welcome to the 2012 Kindergarten Orientation Night! Kindergarten school hours are as follows: 9:02 am – 3:50 pm

2. Tentative All Day Kindergarten Schedule: *this schedule may change as the year progresses • Arrival/Dismissal – 30 minutes • Literacy Block – 45 minutes • Writing – 30 minutes • Math – 30 minutes • Science/Social Studies – 30 minutes • Math/Literacy Centers – 30 minutes • Purposeful/Dramatic Play (social skill development & oral language) – 30 minutes • Calendar – 15-30 minutes • Snack/Read-a-loud – 15 minutes • Rest/quiet choice time – 15 minutes • Recess (may be split between 2-15 min.) – 30 minutes • Specials – 1 hour • Lunch – ½ hour

3. Backpacks • Check and clean out backpacks daily • Child should be able to zip and unzip their own backpack. • Must be big enough to fit a binder!

4. Snacks • Please send in 2 nutritious dry snacks each day with your child. • No drinks, please! • Children should be able to open their own snacks. • Your child should be able to know the difference between their snacks and lunch. • Helpful Hint: Label the snacks AM and PM Lunch • Lunch is half an hour (eating and recess) • Hot lunch will not be offered to kindergarten students for the first month of school. • No microwavable food. • Please have your child practice opening and closing containers.

5. Birthdays • Please notify your child’s teacher of their special day. Summer birthdays may be celebrated on their ½ birthdays or at the end of the school year. • Birthdays are celebrated with a birthday crown, a special gift from Mr. Zotos & Mrs. Werenka, and song. • Treats are optional. If sending treats, please make it pre-packaged. No cupcakes or homemade items are acceptable, due to allergies. • Please do not have your child pass out birthday invitations in the classroom.

6. Specials • Your child will attend an hour special everyday • Monday-Thursday: Art, Music, Gym, Science • Friday- rotation day • Library and computer lab will also be attended once a week

7. Notes • Take home BEE Binders will be provided • Notes that go home and come back to school should be put into these binders • Parents & children check these binders daily

8. Homework • Weekly letter/sound activities • Practice identifying and writing upper and lower case letters • Letter sounds • High-frequency words • Guided Reading books • Writing Activities • Math Activities

9. Newsletter • Weekly Newsletter: Outlines upcoming skills and events for the following week, sent home with students at the end of the week • School Newsletterwill be available online via our school website or sent via the Mail-Out system to those registered

10. Supplies • Supply list is provided in your packet  • Project money-$20.00 (cash or check made out to Sequoyah) • *Please place in envelope labeled with your child’s name. • Scholastic News-$6.00 • Holiday Party Fund-$6.00 • Holiday Project Supplies • End of the year portfolios • *Please bring supplies to our “Meet the Teacher” on Wed., August 29th!

11. Arrival and Dismissal • Teachers will meet students in the MPR each morning. Safeties will bring bus riders to the gym. Teachers will walk their class to the room each morning. • At 3:35pm, Latchkey will come to the classroom to pick up any children attending the after-school childcare program • At 3:40pm, teachers will escort all children to the M.P.R.. The walkers/parent-pickups will be dismissed at this point. Safeties will escort the bus riders to their buses. *Any dismissal change MUST be in writing • *Please phone the office if there is a last minute • change in your child’s dismissal! • *DO NOT PHONE THE CLASSROOM!

12. Positive Behavior Support:Thunderbird Three • Thunderbird Three: Safety, Respect, & Responsibility. • Students earn Thunderbird Tickets for soaring to great heights with positive behavior. The class visits the Thunderbird Store once a month to redeem tickets for prizes. • Behavior violations are handled with a parent communication note.

13. Field Trips/Special Days • Fire Station • Polar Express Day • 50th & 100th Day • Farm • Field Day • Kindergarten Completion • Spirit Days • Holiday Parties * Due to the full day schedule, more options for field trips will be explored to support our curriculum!

14. Assessment • Parent-Teacher Conferences - Fall and Spring • Report Cards & Progress Reports approximately every 6-7 weeks • District Assessment - Spring Your child will be evaluated in their: • Social Development • Work Habits • Motor Development • Reading and Writing Development • Mathematical Development http://www.cvs.k12.mi.us/sequoyah/Curriculum.htm

15. Kindergarten Curriculum Modeled after the Common Core Standards

16. School Improvement Goals • Reading: All students will improve their ability to read and comprehend text across the curriculum. • Writing: All students will improve their writing skills across the curriculum. • Math: All students will improve their math skills across the curriculum.

17. Reading Readiness • Recognize upper and lower case letters • Sounds of each letter • 40 high-frequency words • Concepts of print (left to right, one-to-one correspondence) • Rhyming • All activities lead up to Guided Reading where reading strategies will be taught. • Reading Paraprofessional support is provided • B.L.A.S.T. (Beginning Literacy and Student Tutoring) 5th Grade Buddies • DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment)

18. Language Development Children will learn to express themselves through: • Songs • Stories • Poetry • Finger plays • Purposeful Play/Games • Show and tell • Class discussions • Math/Literacy Centers

19. Writing • Handwriting without Tears handwriting method • Upper and lowercase letter formation • Students are expected to write their first and last name using upper and lowercase letters. (www.hwtears.com) • Being a Writer program • At the end of Kindergarten students are expected to write at least 4 complete sentences using sight words and as many sounds as they can hear in their words. *See stages of writing

20. Handwriting without Tears website • Educators • Online Tools • A+ worksheet maker • Get started • Register – create an account • Go to First Grade • Sequence graphic organizer • Type child’s first and last name • print

21. Math Readiness • Our new Common Core Standards focus on the deeper understanding of numbers, rather than rote/memorized information. • Recognize, write and understand numerals 0-20 • Count to 100 by 1’s and 10’s • Count forward beginning from a given number • Recognize geometric shapes (2-D & 3-D) • Classify and sort • Graph: More, less, and equal • Developing number sense • Estimation • Patterns (AB and ABC) • Understanding basic addition and subtraction up to 10 • Fluently add and subtract to 5 • Problem solving • Place value and Ten Frames • IXL Math

22. Social Studies/Science • Hands-on opportunities • Self-concept (All About Me) • Community helpers • Holidays • Weather & Seasons • Force & Motion • Organization of Living Things • Solid Earth • Five senses

23. Technology • Access to classroom computers • Computer lab • SmartBoards • Websites/Programs: starfall.com abcya.com pbskids.com ixlmath.com lexia

24. Summer Checklist Your child should be able to: • Recognize and write his/her first name. (Handwriting Without Tears) • Recognize basic colors and shapes. • Recognize all uppercase letters. • Use scissors and hold a pencil correctly. • Count to 10. • Recognize numbers 0-10. • Take care of his/her own bathroom needs and dressing themselves (zipping, tying, buttoning). • Your child will be tested within the first three weeks of school on letter recognition and sounds and will be placed into ability groups according to those results.