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Welcome to Nativity School!
It’s time to begin the wonderful world of Kindergarten! This packet will be valuable to you throughout the school year. If you have any questions regarding this packet or anything else about the Kindergarten program, please don’t hesitate to ask
THE ALPHABET
Each week during the school year we study a different letter. During the week, the children will have an opportunity to learn the letter, its sound and how to write the letter. We will be doing many alphabet activities through out the year as we work on our reading skills. Check the newsletter for the next letter to be studied.
STAR OF THE WEEK
Every Kindergarten student will have the opportunity to be the "Star of the Week". When it is your child’s turn to be star, please send in a poster with labeled pictures and a few special items of your child’s choosing. Your child will have time to share these with the class. You’ll receive a note about your star date and the Friday newsletter will announce the next Star each week as well.
SURPRISE BOX
Surprise box is a favorite Kindergarten activity. Each week, your child will have the opportunity to guess what is in the Surprise Box. Each child will have a turn to win what is in the box. When your child brings home the Surprise box, please make sure to return it within the week with some small, inexpensive surprise along with 3 written hints.
POEM OF THE MONTH
Each month your child will have the opportunity to memorize a different poem. When they have memorized the poem an d can recite it aloud, they will earn a ribbon on the poetry board displayed in the classroom.
SNACK
Every day, we have a morning snack. A snack calendar will be sent home for each month. Please check the calendar for your child’s name. You will need to send in a nutritious snack for the class that day. This year Kindergarten will be a NO CUPCAKE ZONE. A cookie (with no icing) or a special treat on birthdays is fine. If your child’s snack requires more than just a napkin, please send in plates, forks, spoons or whatever is necessary. We ask that each snack be individually bagged to make passing out easier for the children.
Kindergartners also enjoy taking an extra snack to Mr. Herring and Mrs. Ciarniello. Please send in a few extra snacks so they can travel with their treat! The children have milk with their snack every day. The fee of $45.00 is for snack milk and can be sent into your child’s teacher on the first week of school. This fee covers the cost of milk for the entire school year.
RECESS
Recess takes place daily from 11:45 – 12:15. Parents and other family members are always welcome to come spend recess with us. Please check in with Mrs. Ciarniello if you come to visit.
SPECIAL CLASS SCHEDULE
The children go to Art, Music, Gym, Computer, and Library every week. Please check the classroom webpage for your child’s special class schedule. Please note: on gym days Kindergarten students may come out of uniform. This saves the child time changing and loosing clothes. (Gym shoes area MUST!)
CLASSROOM VOLUNTEERS AND GUEST READERS
We love it when parents come to help in the classroom! We can always use an extra pair of hands and the kids love when their parents come! Please indicate if you are interested in volunteering on the form found at the end of this packet. A calendar will be sent indicating when you’ve been scheduled to volunteer.
LUNCH TIME
The lunch period is approximately 20 minutes long, beginning at 12:45. It is important to pack a nutritious lunch that your child likes to eat. We will send home whatever is not eaten so that adjustments can be made accordingly. Your child should be able to open whatever they bring in for lunch. Your child may bring a drink from home or purchase a drink from school for 25 cents. Snacks can also be purchased from the “Snack Shack”.
Lunch can also be purchased. Cash is accepted but lunch tickets are much easier for Kindergarten students to handle. Lunch tickets can be purchased by the week or for several weeks at a time. A calendar of daily menus will be sent home each month.
Kindergarten parents may join their child for lunch on Fridays. If you are planning to meet your child, please come to the cafeteria by 12:45. We hope to see you then!
We are so glad that you have chosen the Kindergarten Program at Nativity! We are really looking forward to working with you and your child this year. Please don’t hesitate to share your questions or concerns with us throughout the year.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Mary Gene Kling and Miss Bonnie Valerius
SPECIALS SCHEDULE
• Monday GYM from 9:00am-9:45am (Please send your child to school in Gym clothes, they are allowed to wear them all day!)
• Tuesday LIBRARY from 9:00am-9:45am and ART from 10:30am-11:15am
• Wednesday MUSIC from 9:00am-9:45am
• Thursday GYM from 8:15am-9:00am (Please send your child to school in Gym clothes and shoes, they are allowed to wear them all day!)
• Friday MUSIC from 9:00am-9:45am and COMPUTER LAB from 10:15-11:15.
Mass Kindergarten will only attend All School Masses throughout the year.
REMINDER: Tuesday, August 26th at 7:00pm is the Opening Prayer Service. Students are asked to come with their families to celebrate the beginning of the school year!
PARENT / TEACHER COMMUNICATION
• Home Folder (checked daily by the teacher in the morning and by parents after school)
• Behavior Report (sent home daily by the teacher and checked daily by parents after school)
• “Did Your Hear” Weekly Newsletter
• Weekly Student Work Packet
• Calls/notes home (Phone Number: [513] 307-6536)
• Emails (Email: MissValeriusK@aim.com)
• Conferences
• Classroom website: www.scholastic.com
Username: Nativity
Password: Valerius
CLASSROOM AIDES
We are welcoming back Mrs. Peggy Lamb for her second year in Kindergarten! We are also blessed to work with the returning Mrs. Mary Beth Donelan. Both aides will work in Kindergarten during the week to help provide more individual attention for students, monitor recess, and to work with the students on the Home Reading Program, computer lab, activities and projects.
TEXTBOOKS
• Houghton Mifflin Reading
• Houghton Mifflin Math
• Benziger’s Jesus Christ the Way
ARRIVAL / WEATHER
Students are expected to arrive by 8am to enter the building with our class. Students arriving before 8am are expected to wait in the Courtyard until the 8:00 bell rings. As of 7:45am a teacher will be on duty in the morning to monitor the playground; you are still more than welcome to wait with your child! Students should only enter the building before 8am if a staff member directs them into the cafeteria/gym because of inclement weather conditions.
Tardiness/Absence
If your child arrives after attendance is taken, I will send him/her to the office for a tardy slip. If you arrive after 8:15 please be sure to walk your child to the office to pick up a tardy slip before sending him/her to the classroom. Any student arriving after 8:15 will be marked at least 1/4 day absent. Any seatwork missed on a day when your child is absent or tardy will be sent home when he/she returns to school. Please help your child complete the work by reading the directions and explaining the concept to the best of your understanding. Make-up work will be due by the Monday after the absence.
HOMEWORK
Every Monday the students will have a homework worksheet. The homework will be due on Friday. If homework is not turned in on Friday, a copy of the missing work will be sent home to complete over the weekend. The missing work is due on Monday.
Home Reading Program
Although we will learn skills and strategies in class that will help your child learn to read, we also rely on our aides and strong parent involvement to give our students the one-on-one attention that really gets them off to a great start with reading!
I will check each student’s readiness during the first two months of school. By November conferences everyone will have received their first phonetic reader to20practice.
I consider the phonetic readers an important part of your child’s homework and when your child brings home the first reader, you will get more information regarding the program.
GRADES
In Kindergarten students are introduced to many new skills and concepts. It is my belief that in Kindergarten there are 3 main focuses of student learning:
• The most important part is that each child is exposed to the curriculum; this will be the foundation they build on as concepts are reviewed and developed in years to follow.
• I also want to teach my students the importance of working carefully and checking work versus being careless and sloppy. I encourage this by letting students fix work in class when time allows and by using marks that reflect effort and have meaning to the child.
• Finally I believe that parents need clear feedback, so I will communicate any concerns or weaknesses through notations on work, conferences and quarterly progress reports.
The Kindergarten Report Card is a reflection of each student’s strengths and weaknesses in many areas covered throughout the Kindergarten year. My grading system and marks on work will reflect students’ strengths and weaknesses as well.
• Stamp/Sticker = Strength and/or Good Effort
• Circled Number = Weakness (the number indicates how many mistakes)
• H = Help (help from a teacher, beyond initial directions, was necessary to successfully complete work)
At the end of the week I will send home a packet of work for each student. Please take a few moments each week to look over the papers with your child. I encourage you to give praise for what your child did well and to go over your child’s mistakes (whether it was a case of sloppy writing, skipped questions, careless mistakes, or weakness with a particular concept). Going over mistakes will help your child practice the skill and learn good work habits.
BEHAVIOR PLAN
I’ ve developed a classroom discipline plan that allows the students to learn in a constructive and nurturing environment. Your child deserves the most positive educational climate possible for his/her growth.
Children need boundaries; boundaries are set by rules and upheld by consequences. I believe a balance between positive and negative reinforcement not only teaches children to follow rules but also encourages them to work toward personal goals. I also believe children in Kindergarten need many opportunities to learn from their mistakes and turn their day around if necessary.
Finally it is important that children learn that parents and teachers work together and expect good behavior, so it will be my duty to keep you informed daily of your child’s behavior. This way you will be aware of how your child is doing at school each day.
The plan below shows our classroom rules, the consequences for inappropriate behavior, and the rewards system for good behavior:
RULES:
• Look and Listen
• Walk
• Keep your hands, feet, and body to yourself
• Cooperate
When a student breaks a rule, the following steps will be taken:
• I will identify the behavior that was not appropriate.
• I will remind the student of the rule and ask the student to correct behavior.
• If inappropriate behavior continues I will use my “Stop Light System”
LOOK AT ME GO! (STOP LIGHT):
I will have a chart for GREEN, YELLOW, and RED lights. Each child’s name will be in the chart. Everyone will start the day on a GREEN light. If a rule is broken, that student’s name will move to YELLOW. If a rule is broken again, that student’s name will move to RED and he/she will be removed from the group. Our day has 9 main parts. Each time we start a new part of the day, all children will begin at the GREEN light again, so a child on red can start over and try again with a new activity.
REMOVAL FROM GROUP – a student reaching a red light will be asked to sit:
-in “The Quiet Chair”
-in their own chair with their head d own
-to the side away from the activity
(This separates inappropriate behavior from the group and gives the student a chance to settle down and start over. A student may raise a hand when he/she would like to be invited to return to the group.)
If a student breaks the same rule repeatedly or behaves in a way that deliberately disobeys a teacher, physically harms another person, or damages property, I will select a reasonable consequence (instead of OR in addition to the Stop Light System).
FURTHER CONSEQUENCES:
Practicing the rule or behavior at play time t o help the child understand the expectation. A form of apology and reconciliation with a person wronged. If a student’s behavior reaches a point where it is disrupting the lesson and/or upsetting the class, I will then send the student to the office for further disciplinary action to be taken.
SCHOOL TO HOME COMMUNICATION:
Everyday students will bring home a behavior report titled “Look at me Go! The report will indicate what color your child had for all 9 parts of our day. If YELLOW or RED lights appear on the form the rule broken should be i ndicated, and the form will need to be signed and returned the next day.
STAR STORE:
A student receiving 8 out of 9 GREEN lights and NO RED lights will get a STAR for the day! Every Friday we will have STAR STORE where students can pick a small reward, provided by Miss Valerius, based on how many stars they collected. Rewards will range from 1 star to 10 stars. Children can save their stars up for a bigger reward, or pick small things. This will also get the children started informally adding and subtracting! A student saving stars or receiving no stars will not be able to participate in STAR STORE that particular week.
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