Mrs. Parker
Room 8
The ABC’s of Kindergarten
A
Attendance is so important. In Kindergarten, much of the work we do is oral or hands‐on, so it is impossible to make up everything that your child will miss. However, if your child is absent, please call the school (508-429-0647) to let me know. A note stating the reason for the absence must be brought to school as soon as possible to avoid an unexcused absence.
Art class meets twice a week for 50 minutes on Thursday & Friday @ 10:05. Our Kindergarten Art teacher is Mrs. Meridith Buono.
B
Birthdays are recognized in our classroom throughout the school year. However, we are no longer permitting food to be part of our school celebration. Please do not send birthday party invitations to be distributed at school.
Book order forms will be sent home for you and your child to look over from time to time. Book clubs offer books at reduced prices. It's a great way to build your child's home library, and our class receives free books from points earned by student orders!
C
Communication is important. Feel free to contact me whenever you have a question, comment, or concern. You can reach me by phone (508-429-0647 X 2008), in person, by email (parkerd@holliston.k12.ma) or by note. Please put all notes in your child’s Communication Folder. We check this every morning when your child arrives to school.
Conference sign-ups will be available at our Kindergarten “Back to School” Night. Parent and Teacher conferences for the Kindergarten children will be on January 26th & 27th this year. There will be no Kindergarten classes held on these dates.
We will visit our Computer Lab every other Thursday @ 1:40. Mrs. Winnie Carey will assist our class in learning how to be safe & have fun on the computer.
It is a good idea to leave a change of clothing in your child’s backpack in case of an accident. The nurse’s office also has some spare clothing available in case of emergency.
Classroom Management is handled in a variety of ways. We have Open Circle activities, use positive reinforcement (I like the way….), and use visual, auditory, and nonverbal cues. This year our classroom will be using a “positive Behavior” system where the students help to monitor their behavior.
C.A.R.E. – (Cooperation, Acceptance, Responsibility, Effort) is based on PBIS, a positive school wide systems approach that is research-based and data driven. It is designed to:
· Establish clearly defined expectations within the school setting and define consistent responses to those positive and negative behaviors
· Explicitly teach and reinforce appropriate behaviors across all areas of the school
· Provide a common school-wide language
· Pro-actively utilize data to guide decision-making with the goal of increasing positive student behaviors in all areas of the school
D
Dismissal for full day children is at 3:15. Children, who are taking the bus at the end of the day, exit through the foyer of our building. Those who are being picked up should be met in the Cafetorium. Early pick-ups should be done prior to 3:00 and through the front office.
E
If your emergency numbers or contact persons change, please inform me, and the office in writing.
If you need to reach me quickly or in case of an emergency during the school day, please call the Placentino office (508-429-0647) and have them page my room directly!
F
Fun Friday’s are special afternoons in our classroom. Ask your child! We love to put out fun crafts. If you would like to donate something for these afternoons, we would appreciate it.
We will be taking a Field trip to the Southwick Zoo at the end of the school year. All volunteers for this trip must have a CORI on file with the office.
G
Our School is going Green! This means most notes will be posted on the “Backpack Express” on the Holliston school site. However, PLEASE LET ME KNOW if you are unable to access this and may need a hard copy of notes. Weekly classroom information will be posted on the class website.
H
What to do at Home…
· Read, read, read
· Zip, button, snap, tie
· Practice learning your address, phone number, birth date & 911
· Responsibility skills (small chores)
· Letters
· Sounds
· Name printing (first & last using upper & lower case)
· Appropriate clothing
Our goal is to maintain a Healthy classroom. We will be doing a lot of hand washing! Please help to keep our classroom healthy by keeping a sick child home.
Homework for Kindergarten:
Parents are encouraged to read aloud to their child. Provide daily reading experiences such as asking questions about the pictures in the story, play rhyming games, play with magnetic letters and talk about the sounds they make.
I
Independence is a goal for students because it builds self‐esteem and self‐confidence. Kindergarteners are very capable of doing many things on their own and I encourage them to do as much as they can for themselves in the classroom. Please work on the following self‐help skills at home with your child: zipping, tying shoes, dressing, etc.
Internet access? Please let me know if you are unable to access the Internet at home. I will make sure you get a hard copy of necessary information.
J
Writing will soon take place almost every day in Kindergarten. One way we accomplish this is through writing stories in our journals or on separate journal pages. Encourage your child to write at home for a variety of purposes. Keep in mind, “pretend writing” is practice for the real thing!
K
Keep updated by reading our classroom website and checking the “Backpack Express” on the Placentino homepage for other notes and information.
L
Lunch Money – You may prepay for your child’s lunch. It will now be available online on the Town of Holliston website. Individual milk purchases cannot be prepaid. If you prefer to pay daily, please send your child with the exact amount if possible. The cost of lunch this year is $2.75, which includes milk. Milk by itself costs 50 cents. Kindergarten children may purchase ice cream on Thursday for 60 cents. Please discuss menu choices with your child ahead of time.
Our class goes to Library on Monday afternoon from 2:00-2:30. Mrs. Ellen Ahearn, our Librarian, is working between Placentino & Miller schools this year. This means we will see her every other week. On the weeks she is at the other school, we will meet with her Assistant, Mrs. Doris Berard. In Kindergarten, children are permitted to check out 1 book each week. They must return this book the following week in order to take out a new selection. If they forget, it’s okay! They will just be a “browser” at library that day.
M
Music & Movement class with Mrs. Lori Ostapovicz (Mrs. “O”) is one of our favorite things to do. Our class sees Mrs. “O” on Monday @ 10:05.
Our children are participating in the Envision mathematics program. Mathematics in Kindergarten offers hands on experiences designed to meet the developmental need of young children. This includes opportunities to sort, categorize, recognize and create patterns, learn 1-1 correspondence, count, explore conservation of numbers and form numerals. Ongoing diagnosis & intervention and data-driven differentiation ensure that every student has the opportunity to succeed.
N
We are a NUT FREE classroom!
Have your child practice writing his/her first and last name using appropriate upper & lowercase letter.
O
Open House or “Back to School” night in September is for parents only. However, the whole family can look forward to coming to our End of year Sing-a-long & Art Show!
P
Our classroom Paraprofessional is Mrs. Sali Diamond.
Did you know that our school has a mascot? We are officially the Placentino Penguins and our mascot; “Peppy” makes appearances during the year.
Q
Questions????? Please feel free to call, stop in, email or send me a note.
· parkerd@holliston.k12.ma.us
· 508-429-0647 X 2008
R
Reporting progress –
· Assessments – (Baseline, Midline & End of Year)
· Two Report Cards
· Mid-year Conference – January
· Papers – check marks/smiles & projects (hands-on)
· WebPage – updated classroom information
Reading Street – Reading Street is a pre-k through 6th grade “BALANCED LITERACY” basal reading program. Reading Street offers differentiated instruction for students of varying ability levels, reading selections, and progress monitoring. Reading Street is alighted with the MA Frameworks and will prepare your students for grade 1. Holliston was selected to participate in this research study for 2 years.
Kindergarteners have at least 30 minutes of Recess each day, barring inclement weather. If weather prevents us from going outside, the children will have a free‐choice play period in the classroom. Please send appropriate outdoor wear for your child to be comfortable.
Room Parents –Our Room Parents are Julie Burgess & Kellie Karpouzis.
S
Snack
All classrooms at Placentino are now nut free and we are allowing children to bring their own “nut free” snack daily. Please make sure that your child’s snack is in a labeled separate bag or container.
Children have their own supply boxes in our classroom.
T
Towels should be sent to school on Monday for rest & read. This rest period lasts approximately 15 minutes each day. We will return these with your children on Friday so that they can be washed or exchanged for a fresh one.
Traditional Classrooms are language and literacy based offering a variety of opportunities for cooperative learning strategies to be incorporated throughout the day. This model uses flexible grouping strategies, print-rich literature-based environment, and an integrated approach to the Holliston standards based curriculum. The philosophy of this model recognizes content areas are naturally interrelated and emphasizes learning as a process rather than a collection of facts.
If your child has any transportation changes, please let me know in writing.
U & V
I would love to have volunteers, especially to help with clerical duties. Our Room parents will be organizing this. If you are interested, please contact a room parent or me. However, you must have a CORI on file with the office prior to volunteering. Volunteers and visitors must register in the office and pick up a sticker.
W
Writing is something that we will practice a lot this year as we learn the letters, their sounds, and how to decode words. We will write “grown-up” writing under some key words. However, children in Kindergarten are encouraged to write what they hear or “inventive” spelling.
This year we will have a class website. You can locate this by going to the Placentino home page www.holliston.k12.ma.us and clicking on the class WebPages list on the side bar.
Did you know that Kindergarten has a WIKI? Here you will find our grade level High Frequency words (Word Wall) by unit. We will be adding to this site throughout the school year.
X
Parents and family members may eXit and enter via the main school entry. Please sign in at the office to get a visitor’s pass.
Y
Your ideas...and suggestions are welcome!
Z
Have you heard about “Zero the Hero”? We receive a visit when there is a zero in the number of days we have been in school. He especially loves the 100th day of school!
Zzzzzzz… Make sure that your child gets plenty of rest. Setting and keeping a bedtime is a wonderful gift you can give your child.