Welcome to Meadowlark Elementary School Kindergarten 2012-2013 Mr. Hoffman, Mrs.

Roberts, and Miss Soto

We would like to take the opportunity to welcome each of you to Meadowlark Elementary. We excited to start a new year and are looking forward to getting to know you and your child throughout the school year.

Orientation Schedule
9:00/10:309:15/10:45 9:30/11:00 9:50/11:20 Welcome Paperwork Orientation Packet Questions and Answers Sorting of school supplies Put together binders and fill in first word of the day Take a picture of each student on the way out the door

Contact Information The beginning of the school year is an exciting time in the lives of kindergarten students and their parents. We have prepared this packet of information that we hope will answer many of your questions. Please keep this and refer to it when you need to. Please do not hesitate to contact us at any time if you have questions or concerns. The school number is 682-4740. Mr. Hoffmans extension is 204, Mrs. Roberts extension is 223, and Ms. Sotos is 226. You may leave a private message for us at these extensions. We do not always answer our phones during the day when we are teaching, as this is very disruptive. We can also be reached via email- Mr. Hoffman: rhoffman@ccsd.k12.wy.us, Mrs. Roberts: froberts@ccsd.k12.wy.us, and Miss Soto: jsoto@ccsd.k12.wy.us. Academics

Kindergarten is a time of new beginnings, of making friends, and of learning lots of new things each and every day. Our days and weeks will be filled with many wonderful experiences and opportunities for learning and growing. It is important to remember that the skills you see on the kindergarten report card are skills that are intended to be mastered by the end of kindergarten. Please do not panic if it looks like your child has a lot to master after the first one or two report cards. We will remain in contact with you via phone calls, meetings, report cards, and midterm letters if we have academic concerns with your child. Throughout the school year we will provide different intervention programs that are in place to help students get on grade level. These interventions do not replace core instruction in the classroom. This is an additional pull-out during non-critical teaching instruction. Kindergarten students are expected to read to at least level three by the end of the school year. A level three book usually has multiple sentences on a page, they usually cannot be memorized, and the pictures will not completely give away what the words say. The district reading rubric for kindergarten looks like this: 4 Advanced = DRA (Developmental Reading Assesment) Level 4 and above 3 Proficient = DRA Level 3 2 Basic = DRA Level 2 1 Below Basic = DRA Levels A, B, and 1 Kindergarten student learn 31 sight words throughout the year and are supposed to be able to read all of them from memory by the end of the year. Here is the list:

can we

like a

see go

to

have is

here was

play are for you this do has with look me my

and what said

little he she

the where

Campbell County has adopted the Common Core Standards. These standards are implemented nationally throughout the grade levels. If you go to the link below on the Internet and scroll to the bottom and click on more under kindergarten, you will find a Parents Guide to the Common Core Standards. http://www.pta.org/4446.htm More information on the kindergarten curriculum will be shared on Thursday, September 27th at our Kindergarten Curriculum Parent Night.
Volunteering

We hope you will be able to visit our classrooms from time to time. If your schedule permits, we would love to have you work in our classrooms on a regular basis. The best time to volunteer is during our literacy center/ guided reading block. This is a time when the students are expected to work on their own while the teacher(s) work with small groups. During special classroom activities and celebrations we encourage all of you to attend when possible. Your support of school activities makes your child feel special and sends an important message that you value their education.
Birthdays

We know how special birthdays are for you and your child. We will recognize birthdays at school. Please let us know a week ahead of time if you are interested in sending treats for your childs birthday. We can make time for birthday treats in the afternoon, before specials. However, if you do not let us know, it may be a little more difficult to make time. You can send the treats to school with your child if they are not too big, drop them off at the office at your earliest convenience, or bring them in at a previously scheduled time. Please try to avoid cakes, as we do not always have plates and utensils readily available. Cupcakes or other treats are fine. As part of the healthy school policy, we encourage you to try to bring a treat that is healthy, if at all possible. Also, if at all possible, please try to avoid sending flowers and balloons to school, as they are a huge distraction for everybody. We will celebrate all summer birthdays throughout the school year.
Homework/Communication

Each day your child will bring home a homework folder. Inside that folder will be all the communication from the school and the teachers. Please check it EACH day and send it back to us every day! Homework in kindergarten takes about 1520 minutes and is designed to keep you informed about what we are learning so that you may support that learning at home. If you find that certain homework is too difficult or too easy for your child, please let us know so we can make adjustments. Each time your child brings back a completed homework page they will be given a sticker,

and after 10 stickers they will be rewarded with a prize from the prize box. Please keep the papers at home after we correct the homework to prevent confusion and clutter.
Behavior

Good behavior and learning go hand and hand. Simple class rules will be established to ensure your child experiences a positive and safe learning environment. The students will help establish those rules at the start of the school year. Even at 5, children need to learn the importance of accepting responsibility for their own actions. If you have any good tricks that work to help eliminate or lessen any specific behaviors that your child may have, please feel free to let us know because consistency is a key to positive behavior.
Money

Sometimes your child will need to bring money to school for lunch, or book orders, etc. When sending money to school, be sure to use an envelope or ziplock bag clearly marked with your childs name, what the money is for, and the amount enclosed. The children can purchase juice, sports drinks, and water at lunch, but we have found that they are usually more than the children can drink and they have to dispose of them at the end of lunchtime. We do not allow these items in the classroom to avoid spills.
Transportation

Please remember that you must notify us in writing, with a phone call, or in person if there is a change in the way your child will be going home from school. We must also have a note if they are riding a different bus. Please call before 3:00 because the office delivers all messages shortly after 3:00. Please do not leave a voice mail about a change in plans after the school day has begun because we may not check them until after school. At times children will tell us they are going home with a friend or that you are picking them up when they are actually supposed to ride the bus, therefore we will not make any changes without a note or a phone call from you in order to avoid a missed bus, etc. It is very stressful for everyone involved when a kindergarten student thinks they are going home one way, when actually they are supposed to do something different. If you send a note, please put it in the homework folder because the students often forget to give it to us if it is in their backpack or pocket.
After School

For safety, please do not line up in the parking lot before and after school. You may either park in a parking space, or park along the alley, or Seventh

Street (by the front of the school) or Eighth Street (out back by the playground). If your child will be picked up it is a good idea to make a plan with your childs teacher on where you will meet everyday after school. The teachers walk the students to their parents; therefore, it is not necessary to come to the classroom. Two easy places to meet are out front, near the flagpole, or out back near the playground. Mrs. Roberts and Miss Sotos classes will go out the back door and wait for parents out back, then move to the front to wait for the remainder of the parents, which means it may take us longer to get to the front. Mr. Hoffmans class will only go out front, as their classroom is not near the back. A classroom aide will bring the bus students to the bus. The afterschool clubs that Meadowlark offers are for first through sixth grade students, kindergarten students will need to go home right after school each day. On occasion, you may have a meeting after school with your childs teacher, if this happens please let us know if you want us to keep your child here for the meeting or send them home on the bus as usual.
Physical Education

Every third day we will have gym class. This is why ask that you send an extra pair of shoes to keep in the classroom. These shoes are also kept here for when the weather requires your child to wear snow boots. Then they do not have to bring another pair of shoes in their backpacks on those days. If you do not have an extra pair of tennis shoes, please be sure to send a pair on gym days and snowy days. Please remember socks too if your child has on sandals.
Absences/Attendance

If your child is ill, please call the office and inform us of your childs absence and the reason for it. This is for your childs safety. If a student must leave early for a doctors appointment, go to the office to sign him/her out and the secretary will call him/her to the office. Never send another person to pick up your child without informing the teacher or the secretary. A successful school experience is the responsibility of the child, 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. If your child misses school, there may not be much makeup work to send home as we do a great deal of learning orally in whole group and small group settings. Please remember that even though there isnt much makeup work, your child still misses out on learning key concepts when they are absent.
Breakfast

We offer a free breakfast everyday in the classroom. Breakfast begins at 8:35 and ends at 8:55. We encourage you to have your child at school by 8:35 and ready to begin the day, even if they are not eating breakfast.

Medications

ALL medications, including cough drops, must be checked in at the school nurses office. The medications may not be brought to the classrooms.
Dress for Weather

Please make certain that your child is dressed appropriately for the weather. We will have outside recess daily, even in cold weather and it is important that students are prepared! It is helpful to have all articles labeled with the childs name. We go outside unless the temperature or wind chill factor is below zero. Sometimes the weather surprises us, so it is a good idea to keep the winter weather items in the backpack at all times. We look forward to establishing the best possible learning environment for your child. Thank you in advance for your support and concern throughout the year. With teamwork and cooperation among teachers, parents, and students, we will all have a TERRIFIC year!