All you need to know about Room 6 Kindergarten
I am delighted that your child
will be in our class! With your encouragement, your child will be a
part of many exciting and rewarding experiences this year. On the first
day of school, your child will complete one of the most important
milestones in her/his life! I understand that you and your child may
meet this day with excitement or apprehension (or a little of both) and
hope that this letter will help you to know what to expect in
kindergarten and answer any questions you may have.
A Positive Start:
The Kinder Gate opens at 8:15 am. The children come in and play at the Kindergarten playground. When the bell rings at 8:45, I will pick them up from the shape line and we will walk to our room, Room 6. They will hang their backpacks on the hooks and put their clipboards in their cubby before entering class.
8:45am Kindergarten Starts
Since your child is forming habits
that last throughout his or her school years, please help your
kindergartener learn the good habit of being on time. Students, with
parents, who are late, must go to the office for a tardy slip. Do not
ask someone to open the gate for you.
Dismissal:
Please arrive on time to pick up your
child. Dismissal is 3:10pm. If you are late
(after 3:20) picking up your child, s/he will be waiting in the school
office. PLEASE LET US KNOW IF PICK UP CHANGES. If possible, please
email the day before. If it’s the same day, or a last minute change, please send me a text on the Remind app or you may call the office staff and have them relay the message. I will not be checking my voice mail during school hours.
School Attendance:
An excuse is required when your child
is absent. Please call the school, (760) 290-2900, whenever your
child will be out. If it is necessary to take your child out of class
early, go to the office first and sign them out. The office will then
call the teacher. Attendance and being ON TIME are very important.
Please note: if your child is tardy 5 or more times and have many
absences you will be receiving a letter from the district.
Clothing:
Please come prepared to get stained! Kindergarten can be a very messy place!! When you dress your child
keep in mind that your child will be playing outside and may be getting
dirty during the school day. Shoes with straps on the back help avoid
foot injuries on the playground. Flip-flops or any slip on shoes are not allowed.
Please make sure that your child wears
clothes that allow him or her to use the restroom quickly and
independently. This avoids bathroom accidents. If your child cannot
yet tie his or her shoes, please double knot the laces before school.
Please write your child’s first and last name in permanent marker on
all clothing that will be taken off at school. The number of coats,
jackets, and sweatshirts that end up lost each year is staggering!!
Carrillo donates all unclaimed clothing to the needy. If missing any
clothing, please check our Lost and Found, the school’s Lost and Found near the multi-purpose room and KOC, if they attend.
Snacks, Lunch, Backpacks, and Clipboards:
A clipboard is needed to help keep
notes and papers from getting lost. Your child also needs a backpack
clearly labeled with his or her first and last name. NO rolling
backpacks. Please send a nutritious snack and lunch each day. (No
candy, sugar filled snacks, gum or soda are allowed) The brain needs
food to grow!
Medicine:
If your child needs to take medicine
for any reason you must check the medicine in with the school health-aide.
Your child will then be sent to the nurse at the appropriate time to
take his or her medication.
Money:
On occasion it will be necessary for
your child to bring money to school. Always send money in a sealed
envelope with the following information written on it:
*Your child’s name *Amount of money *The purpose for the money (events, book order, etc.) *Teacher’s Name
With many children to keep track of and
several reasons to collect money, this helps us out tremendously and
reduces the likelihood of errors.
Birthdays:
Birthdays are special occasions for all
of us, especially young children. If your child wishes, s/he may bring
a small token for the class. You may bring pencils, notebooks, etc. NO
FOOD ALLOWED. We will celebrate in class with a song, cheer and a gift from the class.
Parent Participation:
When the public health and safety guidance from the district allows it, we warmly welcome and drastically
depend on parent volunteers in the classroom. If you would like to work
with a small group of children, make materials, be a room parent, etc.,
great! Also, throughout the
school year there will be a variety of special classroom activities. Stay tuned for an email with sign ups.
Wish List:
Throughout the year, we will send home
wish lists requesting donations for special supplies to be used in the classroom.
Your donations help facilitate a healthy, safe and excellent education for your child and the class. These supplies are always needed:
Kleenex tissues
Baby Wipes
Disinfectant wipes
Hand sanitizing wipes
Hand sanitizer
Band-aids
Small toys for the student store
Parent /Teacher/School Communication:
Informing you of your child’s progress
is very important to us. You will receive progress reports and report cards 2 times a year. We will be having
our annual parent conferences prior to the end of the October.
Please make sure you read and talk
about work that comes home on the clipboard (this is a great indicator
on how your child is doing.) Open communication between school and home
has a positive effect on your child’s education. WE ARE PAPERLESS or
try to be. We will be keeping you informed of class activities through
e-mail &/or Remind app. Please get in the habit of checking your
email/Remind app daily and our school website for school wide activities.
Discipline Plan:
In our classroom, we believe that the
most effective assertive discipline contains fairness, consistency, and
follow through. We strive to catch children meeting and or exceeding
the classroom’s behavior expectations. The classroom expectations are:
1. Listen carefully and follow instructions from all school adults.
2. Keep hands, feet, objects and unkind words to yourself.
3. Always walk and use a soft voice in the classroom.
4. Raise your hand and wait for the teacher to call on you if you have a question or comment.
5. Always treat each other with kindness.
During the first few weeks of school,
we will daily review the classroom’s expectations and standards. Please
take the time to read over and discuss the importance of class rules
with your child.
Reward System:
We have a special reward system.
Children will earn Play money for following directions well and quickly.
They will be given $ for working hard and completing work. Once a week
(on average) we will then let them shop for rewards. Please feel free to
send in gently used or new prizes/rewards for our Student Store! They
can save their $ for bigger rewards. They can also have $ taken away for
not following classroom standards. If they lose a couple of dollars, it is no big deal. If we have to redirect your child often, we will
send home a notice (Classroom Standards Notice).Please review sign and
return.
We also have a system to act as a
whole class motivator. When the children as a class are behaving well
or if they receive a compliment from another teacher, we fill the fuzzy jar with fuzzies. When it is
filled, the children get a “surprise” reward, such as extra recess,
P.J. day or more free choice activities. I will notify you when reward days are.
Children are also rewarded for practice
work at home. Please make sure that you stay on top of these wonderful activities.
Homework:
Homework is not required. However, we
will provide practice work for your child to do every day. It will be
up to you how much you want to support your child in school. We find
the more parents are involved in their child's education, the more
successful the child can be. We suggest you make the time to routinely
sit with your child. Find a quiet place without distractions at the same
time of the day. Below are some of suggested activities:
READING: Always READ every night.
PHONICS CLUB- sheets of phonic words are sent home
every week. Please make sure your child can sound them out and read within 3 seconds. (SAVE THEM in a binder)
SIGHT WORDS CLUB – These are words that appear frequently in kindergarten level books. Children need to read
words to you in 3 seconds or less without sounding them out. Very
important for reading fluency! (SAVE THEM in a binder)
MATH CLUB- Numbers are sent home
every week. Please make sure they can recognize, write and count objects within that number. Addition and subtraction follow once numbers are mastered.
iReady Reading - Children can login to this educational reading web-site with their school username and password.
iReady Math - Children can login to this educational math web-site with their school username and password.
We might also send home EXTRA practice
work for: Areas that your child needs to work on, if they didn’t finish
in class or enrichment. Every child is different and at their level. We
are grateful for support you give at home!!!!!
In closing, I look forward to talking
with you at Back to School Night. Dates can be found on the
Carrillo website. I will also keep you informed via email/Remind app.
Please make sure you read all emails, on-line pages and paperwork sent home before attending. Also, please bring the packet given to you at Meet & Greet. I will be happy to address any questions or
concerns you have.
I look forward to a wonderful
year working with you and your child. Together, we will help him/her
achieve their full potential.