Welcome to Mrs. Godwin’s and Mrs. Rosser’s Kindergarten Class

1. Welcome to Mrs. Godwin’s and Mrs. Rosser’s Kindergarten Class We are looking forward to working with your child this year and helping them to achieve their full potential!

2. We believe that a good parent/teacher relationship is very important to help your child have a successful year! Throughout the year, we will communicate with you through: • Notes • Telephone calls (Not all bad news!) • Weekly newsletters – These will be in your child’s folder each Friday. Very important!!!! • Daily Kindergarten Reports – A new sheet will be in your child’s folder each Monday. Read and sign each night. Please do not remove it from your child’s folder. • Mid-term progress reports • Quarterly report cards • Parent/Teacher conferences

3. I encourage you to contact me any time if you have questions or concerns. I am available to take phone calls during these planning times: 7:30 am – 8:00 am 9:05 am – 9:45 am 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm Please feel free to leave a message on our voicemail and I will return your call as quickly as we can! Mrs. Rosser can also answers many of your questions, so she may sometimes return your call.

4. Staggered Entry Days Your child will only come 1 day during the first three official days on the school calendar. Please refer to your letter to make sure which day they are supposed to come. The first day for your child will only be ahalf-day. The buses will not runin the afternoons of the half day, so if your child is normally a bus rider you must arrange for someone to pick-up your child on this day. Students will be dismissed at 12:30 on the staggered entry days. Parents will pick-up the students at the front of the school. Wednesday, August 30th will be the first full day for the entire class. Afternoon buses will run from this point on.

5. Question? What supplies does my child need for Kindergarten? • (2) 2 pocket folders – No fasteners! • Regular sized book bag – NO WHEELS! • Regular sized pencil box – Large ones do not fit in the seat sacks! • Spiral Notebook – To be used as a writing journal • 2 inch/3 ring binder – To be used as your child’s Kindergarten Memory Book • 1 pack of plastic page protectors – To use in Memory Book • Soft Pencil Bag – To be used as a money pouch • Sleep Mat – Padded Plastic/Tri –fold • (1) White T-shirt – For Art project Answer!

6. Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork!!!!! • Please make sure you have filled out all paperwork required. Check both sides of the paper. • If you have not brought in the following items, please do so as soon as possible • Copy of birth certificate (Not the one meant for a photo frame) • Copy of Social Security Card • Proof of residence • Immunization card - Students must be up to date on all shots in order to attend Kindergarten! • Blue Health Assessment – Must be filled out completely and signed by the doctor.

7. Daily Folder • This is the link between school and home! Everything goes in the folder except for AR books. • If you have a note for me or a paper for the school please place it inside the folder pocket. • Any money being transported to and from school should be placed in the money pouch and placed inside the folder pocket. (ie. Lunch money, ice cream money, picture money, field trip money) • Transportation changes, changes in home address or phone, employment phone, or notes for an absence should also go in the folder. • We do not check book bags, so don’t put anything inside of the book bag or in one of it’s pockets.

8. Oh, I remember Kindergarten! I colored pictures, learned to cut with scissors , played, and took a nap! It really wasn’t school.

9. Kindergarten is definitely not what it used to be!!!!! Kindergarten students are expected to be reading, writing 4 sentences to a topic, doing addition and subtraction by the end of the year. They also must master 100 sight words, classify objects, create and duplicate patterns, understand spatial concepts, and learn numbers up to 30, as well as, ordinal numbers up to 10th. There is a full “Kindergarten at a Glance” list in your classroom packet.

10. In order for your child to reach the academic goals that are required in Kindergarten it will take the teacher and parents working as a team to help them. Your child will have homework Monday – Thursday.It is very important that you set aside 20 to 30 minutes each afternoon or evening to help/encourage your child to complete their work. It must be turned in the next day in your child’s folder. We need your help!

11. What will the homework be? • First nine weeks – Basic Skills FolderWe will assess your child on their first day of school. We will highlight everything they already know. You are to concentrate on helping your child learn the items that are not highlighted and review the items that they already know. They are also required to learn 8 sight words each week and will be tested on these words each Friday. We will provide a study guide for these words, but a complete list of all 100 sight words is on the Daily Folder if you would like to jump ahead. • 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters – Your child will have 2 days of Language Arts (Phonics/Writing/Picture Dictionary) and 2 days of Math.

12. I take Kindergarten very seriously, because our results are compared to other schools in the county and state. We have academic standards that every child must meet. Yes, we will have time to play, but for the most part, your child is here to learn. I hope you will take Kindergarten seriously too! Help your child review skills they are having trouble with each night and make sure they do their homework. Please take a look at my “Parent Help” table before you leave to help you get some ideas of things you might want to have at home to help your child with their homework.

13. CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT I expect the students to help me create a classroom environment, which is safe and is conducive to learning. I want each child to know that they are respected, loved, and valued in my classroom. That is why I must teach them to have the correct behaviors. Each child will be expected to follow our school and classroom rules. During the first days of school, we will go over our class rules, how to use the choice wheel, and explain the Terrific Kid voting station. We will talk about where the students will have their “Think Time” and when they may go to the “Comfort Zone” if they are having a hard day and just need to pull it together! We will really be stressing the rules and expectations, so don’t be surprised to get some sad faces sent home in the beginning, but hopefully these will taper off as they get into the routine.

14. Some of the major discipline issues we deal with during the year are: • Excessive talking • Interrupting the teacher during rug time • Touching/Hitting/Kicking Others • Inappropriate Language (Disrespect to teacher and classmates) • Not doing their work in a timely manner • Not paying attention to the teacher • Not playing in centers correctly • Many of you may not view excessive talking or excessive noise bad behavior, but when are trying to present a lesson or when we are in Independent stations it is a sign of disrespect. • We also have students in our class who may require a quiet classroom due to special conditions or learning difficulties. • The actions of one effects all the others learning and that is not fair.

15. The Daily Kindergarten Report will show you what kind of day your child had in class. You may see: Good Day! Moved 1 clothespin Multiple clothespins

16. A lot of parents are unsure of how to handle a child’s behavior at school once they get home. Each one of you will be given a copy of the What, Why, How Approach We encourage you to read it and use it at home when your child comes home with a not so happy face or sad face. We will always let you know why your child moved a clothespin, so you can know how to guide the conversation. We know they are only 5 and 6 year olds, but remember it is our job to help mold them into responsible and caring individuals.

17. Classroom Activities to Build Character Project Dream Big Community Leaders and Business Owners will come in and speak to the children about achieving their personal goals. We will have a classroom bake sale in February. The students will help make the items we will be selling and they will actually run the store on the day of the sale. All proceeds will go towards the Hands of Hope, Relay for Life Team. Hands of Hope Bake Sale

18. Attendance Your child’s regular and prompt attendance is crucial to their success. We do lots of group oriented activities and sometimes it is hard for your child to make up the work. We realize that there are times when there are going to be times when your child cannot attend. We do require a note to be sent in upon their return to explain their absence. Please, please keep your child at home if they are running a temperature or if they have been sick during the night! Let me say that again… Please, please keep your child at home if they are running a temperature or if they have been sick during the night! Although we stress attendance, we would rather your child miss one day and avoid spreading the germ to the other children (and teachers!) in the classroom!!!!!

19. Changes in Transportation Any changes in your child’s way home must be sent to us in the form of a written note! We cannot rely on your child’s word because they sometimes get confused or rely information incorrectly. If we do not receive a note then your child will go home by his/her usual method of transportation. In case of emergencies, you may call the school, butDO NOT LEAVE THE MESSAGE ON THE VOICEMAIL!Please ask to be put straight through to the room or tell the secretary the change.

20. Accelerated Readers (AR) and Take-home Readers • We will be sending home AR books and Take-home readers each week. They will come home in the brightly colored Kiwi bags. • Students will take a test on the AR book each Thursday. • Read the books with your child every night! Send the books back to school each day. We have a Peer Reader Program with 4th grade, so the kids get extra help with their books during the school day. • We also read a classroom AR book each week and they will be tested on that each Friday. • Awards and prizes are given out quarterly for students who meet their individual reading goals. • I also like to give out small rewards to students who make 100 on the tests. If you would like to send in bags of individually wrapped candy (no hard candy) such as smarties, little suckers, kisses, etc. I would appreciate it!

21. Tidbits of Information • SCHOOL BEGINS at 8:00. Early drop-off begins at 7:30. Children arriving early will first go to the cafeteria and then at 7:40 they go to the K-pod area to watch a video until the bell rings. Tardy bell is at 8:10. • SCHOOL ENDS at 2:30 • RECESS – We will have a 30 minute recess time every day unless it is raining. Please dress your child appropriately through the seasons. Tennis shoes are the best for your child. Flip-flops are cute, but can be dangerous for them when playing outside. • WALKING TRACK- We will also go on the walking track. Once again, tennis shoes are best!!!

22. SCHOOL LUNCH – I go into detail about the lunch procedure in the packet, so please read through that carefully. We will go to lunch at 11:00 each day. BOOK ORDERS – We sometimes send home a book order. We offer this as a resource to you, but you are not required to order. There is a section in your packet which goes into more detail. DAILY SNACK – Your child can bring a snack from home each day. We do not provide snack for them. Snack time will be around 1:30 every day. Healthy snacks are best. Juice boxes, grapes, apple slices/orange slices, raisins, granola bars or oatmeal bars, etc. ICE CREAM – Friday is ice cream day. You may send in money for your child to buy ice cream. They eat it during their regular snack time.

23. Accidents Happen!!!! I am giving each parent a Large Ziplock Bag for you to send in an extra set of clothes for your child. This set of clothes will be kept here at school in case of an emergency situation. We expect all students to be potty trained by this point in their lives, but every once in a while, an accident does occur.Having their own clothes at school helps us handle the situation in a respectful and efficient way. Depending on the type of “accident” that occurs, we may need your assistance. It is not proper for us to assist your child in the rest rooms with personal hygiene, other than monitoring the washing of hands or helping them with buttons. We do not help them wipe their privates. Please make sure your child understands this and can be independent in taking care of themselves. This is for their safety, as well, as the safety of the teachers. Thanks for your understanding!

24. Classroom Visits I have an open classroom, however, it is best to put a time limit on the visit. Keeping a consistent routine is important and sometimes adding a parent into the equation is hard on the children. Which brings up the first day of school… You are encouraged to walk your child into school on that first morning and take pictures or video tape, but don’t linger too long. There are going to be some children who cry and may not want to stay. They are going to beg you to stay. They are going to say, “Please don’t leave me!” And your heart is going to break.But here is what you must do… Give them a big hug and kiss, tell them you love them, tell them that you will see them at 12:00, and then…leave.

25. Party Parents and Volunteers • Before you leave today, please take a moment to sign up to be a Party Parent or Volunteer. • Party Parents help coordinate classroom parties and send in items for the party. • Volunteers would most likely help out with AR tests or one-on-one games with children.

26. Questions