Kindergarten Parent

Information

This is the beginning of one of the most important milestones of your child’s life—the first day of Kindergarten! I understand that you and your child may have met this day with excitement or apprehension (or a little of both!) and I hope that this information packet will help you to know what to expect in Kindergarten this year and answer any questions you may have.

We are looking forward to working with your child this year and helping them achieve his/her full potential.

Welcome

I believe that a good parent-teacher relationship is necessary for maximum school success. Throughout the year, I will

communicate with you through notes, telephones calls, class newsletters, progress reports, quarterly report cards. I encourage you to contact me at any time if you have any

questions or concerns. Listed below is the school phone number where I can be reached from 2:30-3:30 pm. I also have

voicemail, which we usually check after school, so please leave me a message during the school hours (8:00-2:30 pm) and I will

call you back!

Please do not leave messages on the voicemail about changes in transportation for your child.

You may also contact me by school email.

Lmclean.tway@lee.k12.nc.us

School 718-0170 ext. 4104

Parent/Teacher Relationship

Parent Portal is a great way to keep up

with your child’s grades throughout their time in Lee County Schools. In

order to gain access to this online tool you must complete the Parent Portal

application, return it to the office with a valid picture ID, and receive a user ID

and password.

Powerschool

1st Quarter Goals

Please see the list of 1st quarter skills and our 1st

quarter pacing guide.

Letterland Letterland is a child-friendly phonics program used to teach reading, writing and spelling. Children are taught shapes and sounds of letters by assigning them imaginary names and shapes and presenting them as living in the fictional land of Letterland.

This Includes: • Fast track of letters A-Z • Consonant Sounds (A-Z)

• Word building using a, e, i, o, u, ch, ck, sh, th, th, ng • Onset and Rimes

• Word Families with short a, e, i, o, u • Consonant Blends

• Long vowels and Silent Magic • Vowel Men Out Walking

• r-controlled vowels

Sight Words • Kindergarten is using a set of sight words this year involving a systematic sight word approach to instruction. Your child will learn at least 120 sight words this year with the potential of learning 200+ words. Our goal is to differentiate and challenge each child without getting to their frustration level.

• We will introduce a new list each week starting the week of August 1st. Recognition of these words will help your child with reading and writing. Grades will be taken throughout the year on their sight word recognition. • Each Monday, I will send home flashcards to be cut out and used at home for practice. Due to the importance of learning these words, you are given a list of activities you can do at home with the flashcards given.

Thank you for your help with this at home!!

Assessments and Grades

• Numeric Grades will be given for Math and Reading – these grades will alternate between grades taken in the classroom and parent reports. No grade lower than a 60 will be given. All other subjects will receive a grade of S=Satisfactory, N=Needs Improvement, or U=Unsatisfactory.

• Every week your child will be assessed on kindergarten skills. These skills will vary from week to week. The parent report will come home every Friday in the homework folder. Please go over the results with your child and practice skills not mastered. Grades for our report card will be taken from these assessments. It is imperative that quarterly skills are practiced at home to ensure your child is mastering them. We will work daily at school on skills but your help at home builds confidence and shows your child that school work is important. The parent reports should always be signed and returned the following Monday in the homework folder! These will be kept on file in a portfolio of your child’s work throughout the year.

Parent Participation • Throughout the year, there will be a variety of special

classroom activities, field trips, and celebrations. I encourage you to attend these functions when possible. You are always welcome in our classroom. Please remember to always use the front entrance of the school and sign in at the office before coming to the classroom. You will be given the opportunity to send in needed supplies and/or treats for these occasions. We will appreciate any help you can give! Your support of these school activities makes your child feel important and sends a positive message about their time at school!

• We also welcome any parent who would like to volunteer to help children with their academic progress. We have several games and activities that you can use to work with a child who may need one-on-one help, or that you can use to work with groups of children who may need extra help on a certain skill.

Daily Folder Your child’s Daily Folder is the communication link from school to home. Please make sure you check your child’s daily folder each night (even on Fridays). Inside the folder you will find any notes, information, newsletters, etc. about what is going on in our classroom and the school. Notes from the principal, PTO, and the teacher will be sent in this folder as well as your child’s daily behavior form, progress reports, and report cards.

There will also be a Daily Kindergarten Report (Parent/Teacher Communication/Homework sheet) inside your child’s folder, which will give you an idea of what kind of day your child had at school. It might have a written comment or it could just be a smiley face. Please make sure you discuss with your child their day and sign the Daily Kindergarten Report each night. Please return any homework in the folder. Please do not remove the report from the folder. We like to keep these on file.

If you have any notes for us about sickness, changes in transportation, appointments, and money for prepaid lunch, field trips or book orders please put it inside the folder in a labeled envelope. We will check these folders each morning. Once again we do not check book bags!!

Newsletters A classroom newsletter will come home every month in your child’s homework folder! Please read the newsletter because the newsletter will keep you updated on what your child will be learning in class in the upcoming week as well as importation school dates and information. I will also keep you informed through our weekly behavior form of important upcoming dates and information.

ClassPager If you are interested in signing up for the classpager (alerts and classroom reminders). Text @superlea to (623)552-5277.

Information about the ClassPager was sent home in your child’s folder on their staggered entry day. This is a great easy and quick way for us to communicate information.

Code of Conduct You and your child will be given a sheet that contains the rules

for our classroom. We feel strongly that it is important to have a classroom environment that is safe and is conducive to

learning for all children. We feel it is vital that all parties (parents, students, and teachers) agree and understand the

importance of good behavior in school. I want all of the children to feel they are loved, respected, and valued in our class. There will be many rewards and incentives for good

behavior, but there will also be consequences for unacceptable behaviors.

Code of Conduct

• As a reward we will have Treasure Box throughout each month. Students will get the opportunity to choose something from the box. We would ask that parents donate prizes for this. Take your child shopping with you and let them pick things they would like. A good place for this is Dollar Tree, Wal-Mart, Family Dollar, etc. We would also appreciate individually wrapped candy for our candy jar.

Leader in Me • Data notebooks are a vital part of our

students' learning. Every child, kindergarten through fifth grade, has a data notebook. These are tools used by students to set and help to achieve academic and personal goals.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC3SuQeQ84o

You know your child better than anyone else and we trust that you will make decisions about your child’s health, which will be best for all involved. We do encourage you to keep your child at home if they are running a fever of if they have been up during the night with a stomach virus. A good rule of thumb is 24 hours free of fever or virus symptoms. Kindergarten is a particularly rough year for children and sickness. Although we stress attendance, we would rather have your child miss one day and avoid spreading the germ to the other children and teachers in the classroom.

Illnesses

Changes in Transportation If you plan to pick up a child that normally rides the

bus or if there is any change whatsoever to their normal mode of transportation – YOU MUST SEND A WRITTEN NOTE! Do not rely on your child to tell us the information because children often become confused or relay messages incorrectly. If no written note is received, then your child will be sent home by his/her usual method of transportation. You may call the school if there is an emergency transportation change. Do NOT leave a voicemail message about transportation. Make sure you speak directly to one of the teachers or the secretary directly.

Bus Stop Changes

A bus transportation form needs to be filled out if there is a change

Please allow three days for this change to be processed

You will be notified when the change has been approved

Morning Drop-Offs No child should be left on campus before 7:30 am!! School begins at

8:00 am and the tardy bell rings at 8:05 am. If your child is late, please make sure he/she goes by the office to get a tardy slip. Your child must arrive before 8:00 am to purchase breakfast in the cafeteria.

Car riders are let off at the back and will go directly to the gym to wait for their teachers or report to the cafeteria to eat breakfast if needed. The children are grouped according to grade level so your child will not be with older children. Teachers on duty will monitor your child until we pick them up from the gym around 7:55 am. Our principal, Mrs. Sloan, has asked if you walk your child into the school, please say goodbye in the lobby.

Car Riders • Please put your child’s name in the window of your car on a

white sheet of paper as you pick up your child at the back of the school building. This helps speed up the process for the name caller. Seven cones are positioned along the curb to allow seven cars to be loaded at one time. A teacher will man each cone to open the car doors and help the children into the car. Your child will go to the numbered cone the caller designates. Please stay in the line and drive to that cone and wait for your child to be loaded.

• Car riders will not be taken to the front of the school. If you are picking up your child for an appointment, please try to sign them out in the front office before 2:00. Parents are not allowed to pick up children in the breezeway. All parents must drive around in the car line.

YMCA YMCA students are walked to their designated spots

after the school day ends.

Signing In and Out Children will be counted present if they are signed in

before 11:30 am and if they are signed out because of sickness or appointments after 11:30 am. Children may

not be signed out from school after 2:00 pm.

School Lunch We will send home a lunch menu monthly. Two meat choices, vegetables and fruit are offered each day. You may want to help your child decide in advance what he/she wants to order. We will take their lunch order each morning as part of our morning procedures. Your child may also choose to bring a lunch box with a drink or they can purchase milk.

You may alternate buying lunch or bringing a lunch box depending on the menu choices and your child’s eating habits.

Prepaid lunch dates are listed in the school handbook. This is truly the easiest way to handle paying for your child’s lunch. The money is put into an account for your child to draw upon. They will receive a lunch number that they will use to ―withdraw‖ their money. If you are interested in receiving free and reduced lunch, fill out the Free/Reduced Lunch Form and return it to us as soon as possible. Please let us know if you already have a child here at Tramway that is receiving free or reduced prices.

Activities in the Classroom Outdoor Recess

The children will be going out for recess everyday unless it is raining or extremely hot or cold outside. Please keep this in mind when helping your child select their clothing and shoes for the day. It is very helpful if the children wear tennis shoes each day to school. No open toe or open heel shoes are allowed. No flip-flops or Crocs are allowed to be worn to school.

Daily Snack

We eat lunch at 10:55 am each day. Since it is early in the school day, we know that the children need a snack in the afternoon. Please send one snack with your child. This can be fruit, crackers, chips, etc. You may also send a juice box or water bottle. We do not allow candy or sodas for snack. We do not provide snacks for children who do not bring one.

Money for School

On occasion, it will be necessary for your child to bring money to school. Please always send the money in a sealed envelope or baggie labeled with your child’s name and what the money is for. Place the envelope or baggie in your child’s Folder.

Please Remember we do not check book bags!

Birthdays Birthdays are special occasions for young children. We allow a birthday snack during normal snack-time, which is around 1:30pm. Please let us know by note if you plan to celebrate your child’s birthday with a snack for the whole class. We suggest a cupcake and a juice box. All food must be purchased from the store or bakery – school policy does not allow homemade snacks. Also we can not send birthday invitations at school unless the entire class is invited to the party.

Activities in the Classroom • During your child’s Kindergarten year we will be doing many

special projects and activities. We have listed some below.

• Memory Album – We will be keeping a memory album of your child’s first year of school. In order for us to do this we ask that you send in:

• *Decorative/Seasonal 8 ½ by 11 paper

• *Colored copy paper and cardstock

• *$15 for the cost of film developing and the memory books

If you do not want a memory album please let

please let us know.

PTO Fund - Raisers Working at the PTO Thrift shop is an excellent way to help our school raise money. Each classroom is responsible for 9 hours worked at the store. If you or a grandparent can volunteer at least one hour during the school year to work it would help our school earn money. For every hour worked by Tramway parents/grandparents our school earns money that goes directly to the classroom to buy needed supplies.

Fundraiser – Several items are sold during this fund-raiser such as gift-wrap, candy, etc. This fundraiser will begin on July 29th and run through August 15th. An information packet will be sent home on July 29th.

Throughout the year there will be other fundraisers—information will be sent home regarding these events.

In Closing

I would like to say that I am looking forward to a great year with your child. I realize this is a lot of information to take in at one time. I would also like to suggest that you save this packet for future reference. I am sure we are going to have a wonderful year and I would like to thank you in advance for your help and support throughout the coming year!