Welcome to Kindergarten!  Here is some important information to help both you and your Kindergartner be successful in school.  Please refer to this page for information about our daily schedule, absences and late arrivals, as well as other helpful Kindergarten tips!

Our Schedule:

      9:15 – School Begins (Everyday except Wednesday; 9:00am on Wednesdays)

    11:35 - Recess/Lunch

    1:10 - Afternoon Recess

    3:38 - Dismissal (Wednesday dismissal is 1:15)

Because we have a full-day Kindergarten program, your child will be extremely busy at school.  You can help your child have a successful day by making sure they come to school well-rested and well nourished.  Finally, the one thing I cannot stress enough is how important it is for the children to consistently arrive at school on time.  School starts promptly!  Children often miss important instruction even coming just 5 to 10 minutes late and end up feeling detached and unclear about what is going on.  It also takes away instruction time for the rest of the class when I need to stop to transition the late child in.  I really appreciate that extra effort; more importantly your child will start his/her day in the most beneficial way possible.

Goals:
It is my goal that each child will enjoy school and will love learning.  I am looking to develop life-long learners.  Kindergarten lays the foundation for the years to come.  It is my goal to make this year wonderful and prepare each child for the future.

It is my goal that each child will be an active participant in our classroom; not a passive learner.  My classroom is like a community where everyone is valued and needed.  When a child is absent, the classroom just isn’t the same.  Along these lines, I use hands-on learning techniques that relate to real-life situations.

It is my goal, and promise to you, that everything I do in my classroom has a reason.  I strongly believe in intentional teaching – teaching with a purpose.  Every activity I do has a strong rationale behind it and everything that happens in this classroom is necessary.

Finally, I will foster a positive attitude towards learning.  I will present each lesson in an exciting manner, with enthusiasm.  This will help to nurture a positive attitude in your child.  (You can do the same at home!)

What Does Kindergarten Look Like?
The kindergarten day will be filled with experiences to encourage a positive attitude towards school and enrich learning.  We will take advantage of “real-world” opportunities to count, write, solve problems, use language, and think critically as part of our kindergarten curriculum.  We do many things hands-on and children take an active role in their learning.   More information on our curriculum will be provided at Curriculum Night.  Please keep in mind that much of our day is spent "learning through doing."  This may mean that some days, you don't see a lot of "stuff" coming home.  Just remember, we are still hard at work and busy learning!

Appropriate Dress:
Kindergarten is your child’s job!  Please make sure they are dressed appropriately for that job.  We will be doing a lot of hands on activities including painting, glittering, and gluing…not to mention recess!  We don’t want the students to be worried about getting dirty.  Everyone will need to wear pants or shorts and non-skid shoes for the gym on PE days.  For rules regarding appropriate clothing, please refer to the Newcastle Parent Handbook.

Also, please make sure that all of your child’s clothes are labeled with their name.  As students take off sweatshirts and coats, we need to know who these belong to.  It wastes too much time during the day to spend precious moments figuring these things out.  Remember, we are teaching responsibility in Kindergarten, so these things will be your child's responsibility.  Also, please make sure your child has a change of clothing in his/her backpack, just in case of an accident.  These will need to be kept in their backpack, as we do not have storage room at school.

Lunch:
For lunch, your child can either bring a lunch from home (in a lunch box clearly marked with their first and last name) or your child can purchase a lunch from school.  If your child chooses to buy a lunch at school, you can access the current lunch menu from the Newcastle Elementary website.  Here, you can also add money to your child's lunch account.  Lunch money can also be added to your child's account by sending a check to school (please clearly mark the memo line with your child's name and lunch number).  Lunch money will be sent directly to the cafeteria (not the office).  Children purchasing lunch will make their lunch choices in the morning, and this is the choice they must stick with.  There are always two different lunch options, as well as the salad bar/baked potato lunch and yogurt/cheese lunch which are offered daily.  Please look over the menu with your child nightly to decide what lunch choice is best for him or her.  Please also spend some time before school starts practicing your child's lunch number (even if your child isn't purchasing a lunch on the first day of school).  Regardless if your child brings a lunch from home or purchases a school lunch, all students will eat together in the "Dining Den."

Snack:
Please send a small snack to school daily with your child that can be eaten in the afternoon.  Snack should be packed in an area separate from lunch, so that snack is not accidentally eaten at lunch time!  I cannot supply forgotten snacks.  This snack should be nutritious and be something that they can eat in about 5 minutes.  Please do not send anything that requires silverware or drinks.  It should be something that can be eaten easily and independently, such as sliced fruit or crackers.  ABSOLUTELY NO NUTS OF ANY KIND!!!  THANK YOU!!!

Classroom Rules:
These are my classroom rules and we will discuss these throughout the year:

1.  Listen and do your job the very best
2.  Always do what is right
3.  Don’t hurt anyone on the inside or out

The students and I talk about the golden rule in Kindergarten (and life) – Treat others as you would want to be treated.  This is a general motto in our classroom.

Classroom Management:
I try to give the students very clear, understandable, and obtainable expectations and consequences.  I also keep the rules to a minimum.  There are some behaviors I find necessary in order to have a successful learning environment for all students.  Therefore, I do not allow students to blurt, they must raise their hand.  Also, we walk down the hall in an appropriate manner.  In my classroom, students also do “body checks” to make sure they are sitting in a way that allows them to listen.  As the students and I say, “There is a time to be silly and a time to learn.”  I keep this boundary clear.  I try to be more proactive in my classroom management style than reactive.  I also value intrinsic rewards, such as feeling good when something is accomplished or done well, rather than an excess of extrinsic rewards. 

Please also refer to the additional information regarding our Kindergarten behavior system (passed out at Kindergarten Orientation at the beginning of the year).

Sending Papers/Information Home:
Please check your child’s take home folder and backpack daily.  Your child’s folder is our main source of communication.  Please make sure it comes to school daily!  They may contain work your child has completed, important notices, newsletters, and notes home.  Please go over your child’s mail with him/her every night.  They can tell you about the projects they completed, and you can share important information from notes and newsletters.  I usually do not send anything home without reading or discussing it with the students first.  I will be sending home newsletters weekly on Mondays.  Please take time to read all mail carefully and mark your calendars right away.  Children are disappointed when they arrive at school unprepared for a particular day’s event. 

Report Cards:
Formal assessments are sent home three times throughout the year (November, March, and June).  Report cards are a tool for communication, showing the progress a student has made so far, as well as the next steps.  Scoring guides are available online through the district website.  Report cards will be sent home in brown report card envelopes.  Please keep all of the contents for your records and sign and return the brown envelopes to school (to be used for future communication).

Can’t Make It to School:
A successful school experience is influenced to a great extent by daily participation.  Please remember that Kindergarten is your child’s job.  To be successful at their job, they need to have regular attendance without tardies.  In Kindergarten…one tardy means they are missing out on necessary academic time in the classroom!  If your child is ill, please keep them home from school.  This will help to minimize germs in the classroom…an ongoing battle in Kindergarten!

Late Arrival/Tardy:
If your child arrives late to school, they must first check in at the office.  Attendance will already have been taken and they must receive a tardy slip, letting me know they have checked in with the school office.  When your child arrives, please quietly slip him/her in without disturbing the class in progress. 

Picking Your Child Up:
Please note that it is a school and district policy that if someone is going to pick your child up from school, other than you, it must be in writing.  Please send a note to school in the morning with your child that I will send on to the office.  Without a note, the child will be sent home in their regular fashion (like on the bus).  We are unable to release your child to anyone without your written permission.  This is for your child’s safety.

Parent Volunteers:
A Kindergarten classroom cannot be successful without parent volunteers.  There will be many opportunities to volunteer this year.  Some of these may include coming on field trips, volunteering in the classroom, prepping materials, helping with clay and art projects, and one-on-one student work or small group work.  Please let me know if you would like to volunteer in any special ways.  An Art Docent and Auction Volunteer are also needed.  A Room Parent will also be needed to help me coordinate various activities and celebrations.  This parent will help to organize functions throughout the year.  Please let me know if you are interested in helping in this way!

Homework:
Your child has a very full and balanced day at Newcastle Elementary.  It is my belief that children should be read with every night at home.  As your child’s reading skills progress, they can read to you as well.  Throughout the year we will be making many “I Can Read” books and little books that will be appropriate reading material as well.  Please help to foster a positive attitude towards learning and reading, by making this an enjoyable time, rather than a chore.  Please make it part of your nightly routine.  Sight words should also be practiced at home on a routine basis.

Additional homework that relates to our math curriculum will be sent home in coordination with our studies in class.  This will be an opportunity for your child to review concepts, and the homework should not be anything “new” to your child.  You are free to help them with their homework, but remember only to serve as a “guide” and do not complete the homework for them.  Many of these assignments will be fun activities that can include the entire family.  Please help them to develop good homework habits now that will be needed in the future by creating a quiet homework area that is free from distractions.  Work that is missed due to late arrivals or absences will also be sent home as homework.

Birthdays:
Birthdays are special days! Each teacher at Newcastle Elementary has a chair cover, banners and a pencil to hand out to the Birthday child. They will also wear the special crown that was created for them at orientation. As a whole staff, we agreed that treats are not to be brought to school for birthday celebrations.  It is my policy that I cannot distribute birthday invitations.  Invitations should not be passed out at school unless all children are being invited, since there are hurt feelings when some students are excluded.  Thank you for your understanding.

"All About Me" Posters:
This is our way of celebrating someone special each week.  They are the VIP of the week.  As your child is chosen (all students will be given a special week sometime during the school year), a poster will come home for your child to tell more about themselves.  This poster will come home on Friday and should be returned completed on Monday or Tuesday.  Please use pictures and photographs to add details.  The VIP posters will be laminated and shared on our classroom wall.  They will also be returned at the end of the school year.

Personal Items:
We will have a very full day in the classroom, so personal items and toys should be left at home.  They will have plenty to do in the classroom, so please don’t send anything along those lines to school.

Things We Can Always Use:
If you are ever doing some household cleaning, please keep in mind that there are always things in the classroom that we can use.  We are always in need of: books, games, art supplies, Ziploc bags, and extra hands and support!

Making Kindergarten a Success:
The best way to help your child succeed in Kindergarten is to show enthusiasm for the learning we are doing.  Please make it a point to ask your child about their day every evening.  Encourage them to tell you 3 fun/important/interesting things about our day.  This will help you stay connected to our classroom even when you cannot be here!

Newcastle Procedures:

• Volunteers must sign in upon arrival at the office.  This includes “friendly faces” as well.  Please make sure you proceed directly to the office when you arrive to help at the school.
• Please call the attendance line (837-5800) when your child is going to be absent.
• When your child returns from an absence, please send a note including the reason for the absence.
• If your child is late, remember to stop by the office for a tardy slip before coming to the classroom.
• If you plan to pick up your child early, please send a note in the morning (in their folder), then go to the office to pick them up.  The office will call and your child will be sent up to the office to meet you.
• If your child is going home in a different way than usual, a note is needed with the change in bus numbers, or the person picking up the child, the date, and a signature.   Without this, your child will go home in their usual way.