Welcome to Kindergarten

1. Welcome to Kindergarten North Jackson Elementary 2011-2012

2. All about Mrs. Taylor • This is my 8th year as a teacher! Four of those were at Red Cross Elementary as a fourth grade teacher. I then began teaching Kindergarten at Eastern Elementary prior to moving to North Jackson. • I have degrees in Psychology, Exercise Science, Elementary Education, and Administration.

3. All About Mrs. Brown • This is my 3rd year of teaching at North Jackson Elementary. I earned my Bachelor of Education from Western Kentucky University. I am currently working on my Master’s Degree in Special Education at Campbellsville University. • You may remember me as Miss Mindy, but, I just married my sweetheart, Chan Brown on July 9th. I am having so much fun being married!

4. All About Mrs. Clemmons • This is my 8th year teaching in Barren County. I taught first grade for six years at Hiseville before moving to North Jackson. • I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Western Kentucky University.

5. Briggs Clemmons • My husband Jon Michael and I were very blessed this summer with a healthy baby boy, Briggs Hayward Clemmons. He and his brother and sister are the light of our lives. Consequently, I will be on maternity leave until September 7th. Mrs. Rita Berry will be my substitute. Mrs. Berry taught Physical Education and was principal of Red Cross Elementary. Your children will be in excellent hands.

6. All About Mrs. Sponhouse • This is my 6th year of teaching. I began teaching at Hiseville Elementary, where I taught kindergarten and first grade, before moving to North Jackson. • I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Western Kentucky. I will be completing my Master’s Degree in Library Media in the spring.

7. Our Kindergarten assistants are Mrs. Sherri Perkins. • Assistants are in our room throughout the day and help out with reading groups, whole group activities and also work with the kids one on one.

8. General NJE Info

9. School Hours • The doors open at 6:30 a.m. • All students arriving before 7:20 need to report to the cafeteria for breakfast or to the gym for morning meeting.

10. Visiting North Jackson • As a safety precaution, anytime you visit NJE, please check in at the front desk and wear your visitor’s badge at all times. • Remember, we use Level 0 voices in our hallways at all times!

11. Attendance • Tardy bell rings at 7:30. Your child needs to be in our classroom by this time. This is different from last year!  • If your child misses a day, please send a note for office records. • An absence without a note is considered an unexcused absence.

12. Illness/Medication • If your child gets sick at school, we will call the contact number from our records. • All medication needs to be kept in the office and a medication form needs to be filled out for their records. • Nurse Brittany will be here each day!! We are so excited to have her here!

13. Breakfast/Lunch • Breakfast = $1.45/.30 (reduced) • Lunch = $1.80/.40 (reduced) • You can send money to the lunchroom manager for your child’s account. Bills come home at the end of every month.

14. Lunch with your child • You are welcome to come and eat lunch with your child any day! If you bring outside food items, they must be in a generic container (no McDonald’s bags, etc.) • Your child may select one (1) friend to eat with him/her in the booth. There is ice cream available that can only be purchased if you are visiting.

15. Snack • We have a snack in the afternoon, which is optional. • Water = $0.50 • Juice = $1.00 • Ice cream/snack = $0.50 • Please put snack money in zipper pouch of child’s folder. • Your child can bring snack from home if he/she chooses.

16. Food  • If you plan to send food items to school for the class to share, we ask that you please send something store bought or prepackaged! (birthdays, holiday parties, etc.)

17. Money • Anytime you send money to school for any reason, PLEASE put it in a Ziploc bag or an envelope labeled with your child’s name and what the money will be used for. Put this envelope or bag in the zipper pouch of the child’s folder. Please make sure your child knows it is there. 

18. Your child’s belongings • PLEASE label your child’s belongings (jackets, lunch boxes, backpacks, etc.) with his/her first and last name. We encourage responsibility, but sometimes things get lost!

19. Family Resource Center • In the event of a bathroom accident, we use our Family Resource Center’s supply of clothing. • Please wash/return clothing items (not undergarments) from the Family Resource Center.

20. Folders • Every day, your child will bring home a home/school folder. • PLEASE check and empty this folder each night.  • Be sure to check the folders carefully the first few days of school. We will be sending LOTS of papers that need to come back!

21. Newsletter • In an effort to keep “going green” we will be sending our weekly newsletters home electronically. In your child’s folder, you will receive a paper asking for an email address that you check regularly. We will send the newsletter via email every Monday. If you do not have an active email account, note this on the paper and we will send you a paper copy! 

22. Behavior Management • We use a green/yellow/red system. Every morning, everyone goes back to green for a fresh start to a new day.  • The chart inside your child’s folder details his/her behavior for the day. Please initial each night and leave it in the page protector for the next day.

24. Morning routine • Put up folder, get out snack $$, deliver notes, begin morning work. Some students arrive at 7:20. Some arrive at 7:30. Morning work is a simple student-directed activity that can be completed independently. • Kindergarteners respond well to routines! Completing tasks independently helps to build self-confidence. 

25. Dismissal • If your child’s after school routine changes, notify us ASAP via a note in the folder/email/call to the office! We cannot take your child’s “word of mouth” that his/her routine will be changed.

26. Daily Schedule • 7:20 – 7:40 Morning Meeting in gym • 7:40 – 8:00 – Unpack, snack $$, attendance, morning work • 8:00 Calendar/Morning Message • 8:30 Reading • 9:30 Math • 10:35 Lunch • 11:05 Recess • 11:20-2:25 Literacy activities/Literacy centers, science, social studies, snack, story time, pack up and dismissal

27. Essentials • During the week, your child will be visiting PE, Library, and Art and/or Music. • This schedule will be located in your child’s folder. • Please make sure that your child wears tennis shoes on PE days.

28. Student Leaders • Each day, we select a child alphabetically to be our “student leader.” He/she is responsible for doing all important jobs throughout the day. • On his/her first opportunity to be the student leader, your child may bring in 5 items from home to share with their friends so that we get to know them. 

29. Me Bag Put 5 items that tell about YOU in a bag. For example: If you always wear a bow in your hair, put a bow in your bag. If you like baseball, put a baseball card in your bag. If you collect seashells, put a shell in your bag. Be ready to tell us all about each item and why it is special to you!

30. Recess • If the temperature is above 55 degrees, we will be playing outside! Please make sure you send a jacket and accessories with your child. If you do not want your child going out at any time, please let us know. There is a teacher who stays in on these days for those who want to play inside!

31. Classroom friends  • Each classroom has a stuffed friend or friends who will visit your home on various weekends during the year.

32. Scholastic Book Orders • Each month a Scholastic book order will be coming home with your child. These are completely OPTIONAL! • These are a great place to get awesome books cheap! • If you choose to purchase books, please make checks payable to NJE. • You can also purchase books online. Each time you choose this method, our classroom will receive one free book. This really helps build our classroom library!

33. After School Childcare • NJE offers after school childcare from dismissal time until 5:30 p.m. More information and sign ups will be available at the back to school bash on August 6th!

34. School Supplies • NJE provides all necessary school supplies for your child………the only thing your child needs is a backpack.  Please no wheels!

35. Celebrations • Throughout the year, Kindergarten will be celebrating various holidays (Christmas, Valentine’s Day, etc.) • We will be sending home sign up sheets the first week of school if you are interested in helping. 

36. Mystery Readers We would like to invite any parents, older siblings, grandparents, relatives, or other special people to surprise your child by being a “Mystery Reader” this year in our classroom. Students LOVE having their family, friends, and relatives visit our classroom to share in our learning by reading a favorite story aloud to our class. Mystery Readers will visit us on the last Thursday or Friday of the month at 1 or 1:30 (depending on your child’s classroom). If there is another date that has particular significance to your child (such as a birthday), please add it to the list. Readers are asked to bring a book to read or read a teacher-chosen book from our classroom library.

37. Snack of the Week • Each week, we focus on one letter of the alphabet. We learn how to form it correctly, learn the sound it makes, brainstorm words that start with that and make a class book. • We try to eat a snack that starts with this letter on Friday. • We will be sending home sign up sheets if you would like to volunteer to provide a letter snack. Ideally we would like to have two choices for each snack. For example: popcorn and pretzels for the letter P. This will allow us to incorporate math and science content into the lessons. We will remind you by email, weekly newsletter and class website!

38. Important Information • Please make sure you have all of your child’s essential papers (immunization, physical, etc.) turned in prior to the first day of school. • YOUR CHILD WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO STAY IF THESE ITEMS ARE MISSING.

39. Monthly Projects • Each month your child will complete a “Family Project” at home. These projects are designed to be completed by your child, but with your assistance. The students will present their projects each month to practice our listening and speaking skills.

40. Kindergarten Handbook • We know this is a lot of information to receive at one time.  Don’t worry, we will be sending home a Kindergarten handbook the first day of school. 

41. What is your child learning at NJE?

43. Reading • We use SRA Reading Mastery and flexibly group students. • SRA is a phonics based program. Level 1 teaches kids one of the most IMPORTANT skills they will need to be successful readers……..blending. • Students complete an oral section which practices sounds and blending of these sounds. • Students then complete written practice of sounds/blending to reinforce the oral portion of our lesson.

44. SRA Level 1 vs. Fast Cycle • Fast Cycle is a part of SRA Reading Mastery. • Fast Cycle teaches the same skills….however, fast cycle skips lessons. • We have chosen to “double up” and teach two lessons per day to those students who are developmentally ready for that rather than skip very valuable and important information, skills, and reinforcement of skills. If appropriate for your child, he/she is being accelerated in a manner that does not skip lessons or skills.

45. How do we determine where to place your child? • SRA provides us with a placement test that assesses student skills and recommends a starting point. • SRA groups are FLEXIBLE. Students are moved throughout the year as necessary to meet their individual needs. Movement is determined by assessments occurring every five lessons.

46. Reading in a Kindergarten classroom • SRA will teach kids letter sounds and how to blend those together to read words. • High frequency words are introduced. • Spelling rules are taught throughout the year. (CVC, silent E, two vowels walking, etc.). By learning how to blend and practicing spelling words in context, your child will become a successful reader and speller. • Phonological awareness, phonemic awareness involving phoneme isolation, phoneme identity, phoneme substitution, oral segmenting, oral blending, sound deletion, onset-rime manipulation are all skills taught at various times throughout the day.

47. Literacy • Literacy doesn’t just occur during reading. Literacy happens ALL DAY in a kindergarten classroom.  Here are a few examples of literacy throughout our day: *handwriting/penmanship * Popcorn words *morning message *literacy centers *journals *story time Literacy also occurs in other content areas such as science, social studies and math. 

48. Kindergarten Writers • What does beginning writing look like? • Pictures, scribbles, backwards letters, beginning sounds, ending sounds, recognizable words, no spaces, invented spelling, no punctuation, copying favorite words. • Writing is developmental. Each child progresses at his/her own pace.

49. Math • We use Saxon Math and flexibly group students for that as well. • A placement test was given to determine starting level. These groups are FLEXIBLE and students can move based upon individual student needs. • Saxon is supplemented/enriched with a center based program which reinforces and enriches our Saxon content.

50. Math does not only occur during math time! Math occurs throughout our day. • Kindergarten students will be learning: counting with one-to-one correspondence, creating a graph, reading and interpreting a graph, patterning (AB, ABB, ABC, AABB, etc.), extending a pattern, telling time, counting money, addition, subtraction, reading a thermometer, measurement with both standard and non standard units, counting by ones, twos, fives and tens, beginning fractions, symmetry, geometry, positional words, ordinal words, place value, counting backwards, sorting, directionality, etc.