ABC's of Kindergarten

Here you will find many answers to questions you may have about our Kindergarten class. Some of this information is specific to our class while other parts may apply to all Kindergarten students at New Haven.

	Absences If your child is going to absent from school please call the school office before 9am. The phone number is 859-384-5325.  When your child returns to school he/she must bring a note stating the dates of absence and reason.
	Attendance A successful school experience is the responsibility of the children, the parent and the school.  Your child's progress, both academically and socially, is influenced to a great extent by daily participation.  Regular attendance without tardiness is a key.
	Arrival Pupils should plan to arrive between 8:30 and 8:55 AM. Students should not arrive prior to 8:00 AM since supervision is not available.  Students should report directly to the cafeteria between 8:00 and 8:30.  School begins promptly at 8:55 AM Kindergarten dismissal is at 12:03 PM. PM Kindergarten hours are 12:33 - 3:40
	Art Our class will have Art on a rotating schedule once a week with Mrs. Alexander as part of our Arts and Humanities classes. Please have your child wear clothes that you do not mind getting paint, chalk, crayon ect. on Tuesdays.
	Backpacks To help your child carry messages and information to and from school, you are asked to provide a backpack for this purpose. We ask that the backpack not have wheels. Also, make sure that it is large enough to hold a folder.  Please have your child share the contents of the backpack with you daily.
	Birthdays Birthdays are special occasions for young children. If your child wishes, he/she may bring may bring a treat to share with classmates. The beautifully decorated and colorful cupcakes from the grocery delies are really messy. The icing stains everything - clothes, hands, faces! I know it's convenient but please try to find an alternative treat. Thank you!
	Book Orders Every month or so I may be sending home book order forms for you and your child to look over. These clubs offer wonderful books at reduced prices. This is a great way to build your home library! Please do not send cash and make checks payable to Scholastic Book Club.      Breakfast AM kindergartners have the opportunity to eat breakfast at school. Breakfast is served from 8:25 - 8:40. Prices are as follows: Free - $0.00, Reduced - $0.30, Paid - $0.85.
	Computer Lab We will be going to the computer lab once a week for 30 minutes We will be working  on math and reading skills using the Compass odyssey program. This program allows me to assign each student specific learning paths according to his/her needs. You may also access this website from home at http://compass.boone.kyschools.us/childu/index.html The user name is your child's first.last name. The password is your child's last 4 digits of their social security number twice and the school is New Haven. Check out the educational links on our website for more recommended sites.
	Clothes Please send your child to school in clothes appropriate for learning. Do not send your child to school so "dressed up" that you might be concerned about her or him "getting dirty." Becoming involved in kindergarten activities often means that the students will get a little "messy."  Please refer to the dress code on page 4 in the agenda for further information. You may send extra clothes in your child's backpack incase of an accident but it is not necessary.
	Conferences Parent/Teacher conferences are a time to discuss your child's accomplishments, strengths and overall progress. We will have 1 scheduled conference around the end of the 1st grading period. This will take the place of a report card for kindergartners. Please feel free to schedule conferences at any time throughout the year if the need arises.
	Curriculum Night We will have a curriculum night toward the beginning of September to go over Kindergarten curriculum, expectations, our daily schedule, fields trips and to answer questions. Please plan on attending.
	Differentiation Because all children are unique and special, they may be at many different instructional levels. Since it is my responsibility to take each child from where he or she is to a higher level, students may be learning concepts different from his/her peers.  With this type of teaching in the classroom, you can be sure that your child's individual needs will be met.
	Discipline I will be using a "stop light" visual system to help your child know how he/she is doing. Everyone will start the day on green. If more than one reminder is needed then your child's clip will be moved to yellow to warn that his/her behavior needs to improve. If behavior does not improve then your child's clip will be moved to red and a time out will be given. If your child's clip does not get moved to red for the week then your child will receive a treat from the treasure box on Friday. You may not always receive a note or phone call if your child's clip is moved to red. We handle a lot of discipline problems in the room. If the behavior is serious or does not improve then I will contact you.
	Dismissal Early dismissals are counted as tardies. If you need to pick your child up early you must do so before 3:20 for the PM students. If you have any changes in how your child will be dismissed for the day please send in a note with your child. Drama We will be going to Drama class once a week on Fridays as part of our Arts and Humanities schedule. Mrs. DeHenriquez is the Drama teacher.
	Email Emailing me is a great way to stay in touch. You may contact me at susan.anderson@boone.kyschools.us If you need to inform me of timely matters then send a note or call the school.
	Emergency Cards Please keep the information on these cards current and up-to-date. If you have a phone number change or any other information that is changed, please let me know immediately.
	Field Trips We plan at least four field trips that are fun and educational. Please sign and return both sides of the permission slip and return it along with money promptly. Chaperones are always needed and appreciated. chaperones must have approved background checks.
	Footwear Please have your child wear shoes that are appropriate for running and active movement. Cowboy boots, dress shoes, or flip flops for example, are not good for school activities because they are slippery and inappropriate for the gym or the playground.
	Guidance Our guidance counselor is Keli Mason. She will conduct guidance lessons periodically in our class. She always brings her "buddies" with her and the children look forward to her visits. Gym We will be going to gym once a week as part of our Arts and Humanities classes. Mrs Grant is the P.E. teacher. Please make sure your child is dressed to run and play on Thursdays for gym class.
	Health Please let me know of special circumstances which may affect your child. These could include medication your child is taking, not getting enough sleep, a death in the family, etc. Also please let me know of any allergies your child may have.
	Help at Home By the end of the year your child will be expected to know and print his/her name, address, telephone number, basic color words, number words, count to 100, count by 2s, 5s, 10s, identify letters and sounds, and many more skills. With all of that you can see why help at home really makes a difference in your child's learning.
	Illness The question of when to keep your child home from school is often a difficult one, especially when decisions must be made first thing in the morning. It is important, however, to keep your child home if he/she is ill. This helps to make them more comfortable and prevents others from becoming ill. Children function more effectively in the classroom when they are healthy. Children must be FEVER FREE for 24 HOURS before returning to school.
	Journals We will begin writing in our journals on the first day of school. Your child will be given a prompt and then he/she will answer the prompt in their journal. When your child brings home his/her journal at the end of the year you will see how in the beginning usually only pictures were used. Soon you'll see letters for words, then labels for pictures and by the end of the year a sentence or two.
	Join our PTA Our PTA is fantastic!!! They do so many wonderful things for the students, faculty and staff at New Haven. Without their support our school would not be as great as it is. Please consider joining the PTA and becoming an active member with all of the numerous projects they are involved in.
	Kindness Students in our classroom are encouraged and expected to treat all members of our class as well as others with kindness and respect. Hitting, fighting, name-calling, and making fun of others will not be permitted.
	Library We will go to the library on Fridays. Our librarian, Mrs. Gunn, will read to the students and teach them basic library skills. Your child will be allowed to check out books during this visit only if he/she has returned the previously checked out book. If your child forgets the book on Friday, return it as soon as possible then he/she will be able to check out books the next time. If you damage or misplace the book and can not find it, the cost for replacing the book is $5.00.
	Lost and found We have a Lost and Found area located by the teacher mailboxes near the office. We ask that you label clothing items worn to school by your child. This will help us return lost clothing to its owner.
	Love I love children and I will love your child as if my own! I am very dedicated to teaching and I become very attached to each and every child. I will do everything possible to make sure that your child is successful academically as well as socially
	Math We will be following the Everyday Math program and the Math in Focus approach during our center time. Students will be working on the same skill but they may be learning it a different way depending on their needs. Be sure to check out or link to everyday Math on the home page. I have ideas for you to do at home that correlate with what we're doing in the class. Money When sending in money, please put the money in ziplock bag, envelope or something with your child's name on it and what the money is for. Tell your child to leave it in his/her folder and Mrs. Hutchinson or myself will get it out.
	Music We will be attending music as part of our Arts and Humanities schedule every Wednesday. Ms. Blaker is our music teacher.
	Nurse We are very fortunate to have a nurse, Carla Williamson, at New Haven. Unfortunately she is not at school all the time so our clinician, Sally Abshire, will be available to take care of us incase of emergencies or illnesses. Newsletter I will be sending home weekly newsletters to help you stay informed of what we're learning and doing in the classroom. I will offer homework suggestions, reminders of upcoming dates and events and general information. I will also be linking the newsletters to the website incase your newsletter is misplaced. I keep newsletters available for the month, but when a new month begins, I remove the ones from the past.
	Outside Play The children will be going outside for about a 15 minute recess every day. Please keep this in mind when helping your child to select clothing for the day.
	Para-Educator We are very fortunate to have Ms. Hutchinson as our para-educator in our class. Ms. Hutchinson has over 20 years of experience at New Haven and most of that in Kindergarten. She is an asset to our class.
	Parties and Celebrations We will have class parties from time to time for occasions such as Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day and End of the Year. Room parents usually organize these events and coordinate volunteers as well as donations. You'll be contacted if you've volunteered to help. Questions If questions occur after school hours and need immediate attention I don't mind phone calls at home. My phone number is 859-485-2648.
	Report Cards Report cards are issued three times a year, in January, March and May. Remember, parent-teacher conferences take the place of report cards for kindergartners for the 1st semester. These reports reflect the progress your child has made toward various kindergarten objectives and use a grading system that reflects the developmental nature of kindergarten learning. Please review, sign and return the report card in a timely manner.
	Room Parents/Volunteers The room parents'/volunteers need to be available for any number of things: to help coordinate parties and activities; to lead a center in our rotations; to copy papers, to chaperone field trips and events;to be a sounding board about new ideas, etc.. Being a room parent/volunteer is a great way to be involved in your child's school life. If you are interested, please contact me with days and times available.
	Snack Children will have an opportunity to eat a snack during our activity time (recess) daily. Remember this is not lunch, so try to keep the snack to one item and/or a drink. If you would like to send in a snack that can be shared with students that might not have anything and are hungry it would be greatly appreciated.  Supplies Fee money will be used to buy supplies that your child will need throughout the year. All your child will need is a backpack. You will need items such as crayons, pencils, glue and paper for work completed at home.  Show and tell Kindergarten students love to bring items to show and tell about to school. unfortunately this can take up a lot of time which we don't have in our 3 hour day. I will send home a schedule with a special day assigned to your child to bring in one item to share. Please help me stick with this schedule by only allowing your child to bring in an item on his/her day.
	Social Studies The kindergarten social studies curriculum focuses on the students and how they relate to others in their families, classroom, school, and community. Activities will help the children focus their natural curiosity for the world around them.
	Toys Bringing toys to school is not permitted for a number of reasons. If a toy is accidentally lost or broken, feelings will be hurt. Please do not allow your child to bring toys to school.
	Treasure Box Your child will receive a reward from our treasure box on Fridays if behavior has been good during the week. However, I need help filling this treasure box. If you having any McDonald's toys, or "gently used" small toys that you would like to donate I would greatly appreciate it. Other places to find these treasures are the Dollar stores and Target's sale bins.
	Unique Kindergartners learn that they are special and unique. Kindergartners have opportunities to describe how they are alike as well as different from others. They share their culture and learn about different cultures within the class.
	Visitors New Haven has a policy that ALL VISITORS (including familiar faces) are required to check in at the office through the main office door and wear a visitor sticker. New Haven welcomes and encourages family involvement and the presence of a visitor sticker will help identify visitors to all faculty and staff. It is important to remember that while this may seem inconvenient to frequent visitors, it is the goal and responsibility of the school to create a safe learning environment.
	Websites Boone County has a website which can be accessed at www.boone.k12.ky.us . Check it regularly to find information about curriculum, special events and district news. New Haven Elementary also has a website which can be accessed at www.newhaven.boone.kyschools.us . Here you will find information specific to our school. There is a link to our class website on New Haven's website but you can also go to www.sandersonnewhaven.com . Be sure to visit regularly!
	Wish List Throughout the year we sometimes need supplies above and beyond our classroom materials (film, napkins spoons etc&) These needs are posted on the supply list link. Extra items that you think we might be able to use are always welcome!
	Writing It is very important when your child is learning to write letters that he/she uses proper letter formations. That means starting the letter at the top and pulling down. Once incorrect formation is started it is very difficult to change these habits. Correct letter formation now will also help your child when learning to write cursive letters in second grade. Starfall.com has wonderful printouts for extra practice at home. Use the block print and make sure your child starts at the dot and pulls down. www.starfall.com/n/N-info/abcprint.htm?n=abc
	XXIV and XXII We have 24 children in our AM class and 22 in our PM. Please keep this in mind when sending in things to be distributed to the whole class. Please check with me just in case those numbers have changed. (I'm sure they will.)
	Younger Siblings It is in your child's and the class's best interest to have our parent volunteers and chaperones available without younger children. This not only allows your full attention to be focused on the class, but also allows for some special time between you and your kindergartner. Thank you for making childcare arrangements for younger siblings.
	ZZZZZ's Make sure that your child gets plenty of rest. Setting and keeping a bedtime is a wonderful gift you can give to your child. It will help them to be alert and ready to learn each day!   Credit for a lot of the information and ideas used on this webpage must be given to Mrs. Justice at R.E. Good Elem.

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