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.

Appropriate Clothing
Kindergarten is your child’s job! Please make sure that he/she is 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.

Folder
Please be sure to check your child’s folder daily... this is our link!! In it, you will find your child’s projects, notes and reminders from me, book orders, field trip permission forms, etc. I will be sending home a monthly newsletter; this will remind you of upcoming events and at-home activities, and keep you informed of what’s going on in kindergarten! Each day, the folder will come home with your child, and it needs to be returned to school each day. Thanks!!

Homework
Daily homework is to read with your child and have your child read to you (over the year, we will be creating many “I Can Read” books to select from as well as the weekly literacy “little” books)! I will be sending home homework on Wednesdays starting in October. This will either be related to our literacy program or Math Trailblazers. Please assist your child in forming good study habits of finding a quiet table or desk to work. Your child will probably need your assistance to follow the directions, but remember your role is a guide!

Leo the Lion
Each day, our class Lion will be sent home with a new student “host”. In his overnight bag, you’ll find a journal, a story to read with Leo and your child, and a toothbrush! While hosting Leo, please have your child record his adventures in the journal. Kindergartners will independently use a lot of pictures and their “kindergarten spelling” (some letter-like forms, letters, and beginning words). Adults are welcome to translate kindergarten writing into “grown-up writing,” but it is the child’s job to write first. The next day, your child will tell us about the journal page and about what Leo experienced while he stayed with you! If there is a special occasion that your child would like to host Leo for, we can try to arrange a trade with another child… let us know!

Lunch and Snacks
Newcastle has a lunch program that is run on a prepaid or cash basis. Each student has a lunch number that needs to be used when making a purchase in the lunchroom. I recommend that students deposit money into their “account” for future lunch purchases (every week, month… whatever is convenient) or as a backup in the case of a forgotten lunch. Checks are recommended for lunch money; please write your child’s lunch number on the memo line of the check and make the check out to ISD Food Service. If cash is being sent, please send it in an envelope or Ziploc bag labeled with your child’s name and lunch number. If your child is bringing a lunch from home, please clearly label the container on the outside with first and last name! Thanks!

It is very important that your child has a well-balanced breakfast each day, before coming to school. We will have a snack time before we go out for recess in the afternoon. This will be a snack that your child brings in their backpack each day. Please be sure that it is a “small snack” that could be eaten while they are still working (fruit snacks, crackers, sliced apple, etc.) Please do not send a whole apple, Lunchables, juice boxes or candy. It is your child’s responsibility to bring their own snack. They will not be allowed to share their snack with another child, because of food allergies.

Parent Involvement
The first step of parent involvement is to check your child's folder daily and talk to them about what happened at school that day. Questions to ask if they reply “nothing”: What sounds did you talk about today? What did you do at center time today? Did you go to PE/Music or Library? What was something new that you learned? Tell me about the story Mrs. Andrews read today! What was shared during “What’s in the Bag?” Did you have any special jobs today? What did you measure/count today? Can you share any songs you learned? What were you proud of today?...

Another way to be involved is through volunteering. Volunteers are a very important part of my classroom! Some of you may be interested in helping with small group or one-on-one reading and writing work, leading an art or science lesson, or just lending extra hands during the day. For those of you who are unable to come in during the day, I will also have opportunities for you to volunteer your time at home or after-school... just let me know! There are also volunteer opportunities around the school and with our specialist teachers! When you do volunteer, it is district policy that you sign in at the office. Thanks!

Things we can always use:
• Objects for our “Creation Container”(little boxes, foil, paper rolls, wrapping paper)
• Art supplies
• Books
• Ziploc bags of all sizes
• Your hands and support!!

Personal Items
It is Newcastle policy that students do not bring personal items (such as balls, gameboys, trading cards, etc.) to school. Personal items are best left at home to avoid the hurt feelings and conflicts that they sometimes cause. We have PLENTY to do in the classroom, so personal toys shouldn’t be needed.

School Procedures
• Volunteers need to sign in at the office upon arrival on campus.
• Please call the attendance line (425.837.5800, then press 2) when your student will be absent.
• When your student returns from an absence, please send a note including the reason for the absence.
• If your child is late, stop by the office for a tardy slip before coming to the classroom.
• If you plan to pick your child up early, please send a note in the morning. When you arrive, go to the office to check your child out and the office will call for your student to meet you there.
• IMPORTANT: If your child is going home differently, a note is needed including the change in bus, or person picking your child up, date, and signature. If your child will be picked up by anyone other than you (including other relatives) it is district policy that I be informed by a note from you. We are unable to dismiss the child to anyone else without your written permission. Please put these and other important notes in the folder (and make sure your child knows it’s there). This is for your child’s safety, and we appreciate your cooperation. If you have any concerns, please contact me ASAP.

VIP Week
The “Friend of the Week” is a special event for your child this year. It is a time for us to celebrate him/her. Your child will bring home the VIP Suitcase on a Friday sometime throughout the school year. Please fill out the poster and return it to school with your child on the following Monday. Your child may also bring “things” that are special to them and would like to show to the class. They will be sent home that day in a bag. Please fill the VIP poster with drawings, photos, and favorites to be shared during your child’s VIP week. After your child’s VIP week, the poster will be laminated and added to our VIP book. The posters will be sent home at the end of the year.

What's in the Bag?
“What’s in the Bag?” is an assignment that the kids really enjoy and is a chance to build many wonderful language and social skills for your child. Each week, your child will be responsible for finding a small object to put in a paper bag. The object will need to start with the item noted on the previous Friday’s note in their folders. Once your child has found an object, work together to write three clues on the bag for the object inside… your child should be thinking of the clues!! Practice the clues together so that he/she will be able to tell them to the class. On your child’s day he/she will give the clues to the class, and the class will guess what’s in the bag! I’ll be modeling “What’s in the Bag?” during the first week of school, so your child will have a pretty good idea of how it works! Watch for the note each Friday in your child’s folder.