Welcome to our kindergarten web page!
We hope you find this web page useful throughout this exciting year for your child. We will update the web page monthly to let you know what is taking place in our classroom. This is going to be a wonderful adventure for you and your child. As your child's teacher, we are here to support you as parents, and to love, nurture, and teach your child. Our desire for your child's first year in school is to make it a very memorable one. We will do this by providing a foundation based on a positive, loving, fun, and academic geared environment.
Please read below to learn about kindergarten at Cornatzer:
Cornatzer Elementary School
Kindergarten
Welcome to our school! We look forward to working with your child. This is going to be an exciting year for everyone. We have listed some important school information below that may begin to answer some of your questions. If you have additional questions, please feel free to reach us before or after school hours.
1. School Needs:
· Book bag (No rolling book bags allowed.)
· Change of clothes (labeled)
· Towel or small blanket
We ask that each child carry a book bag to school every day large
enough to carry papers, art projects, and notes home. No rolling book bags are allowed. In addition, you will see a purple folder, which will also be used to send important information home. Some of this information may require a parent’s signature so please check carefully. This folder must be returned to school each day.
Please send a change of clothes (shirt, pants, socks, underwear, and shoes) for your child in case of emergencies. Please do not forget to label each item with your child’s name and to replace them when they are used and at the change of each season. We would like you to send them in a Ziploc bag with their name on the outside of the bag.
Your child will also need to bring a towel or small blanket to use for rest time each day. Please wash and return your child’s towel to school as it is sent home. Please send ONLY one towel or blanket, no pillows or stuffed animals are allowed.
2. Money: We would prefer that you pay for your child’s lunch on a weekly basis. We do not keep money in the classroom. Please send the correct change; this is much easier on the children and the teachers as well.
**Please place any money in a marked envelope or Ziploc bag and place it in the small manila envelope labeled “Notes and Money”, which needs to be kept in your child’s Take-Home folder. Please be sure that ALL money is labeled with your child’s name and what the money is for.
Lunch - $2.05 per day $10.25 per week
3. Lunch: Mrs. Jennings goes to lunch at 11:45; and Mrs. Mannino and Ms. Snow go at 11:50 each day, with the exception of Early Release Days. All lunch schedules are altered on these days.
4. Breakfast: Breakfast is available for the children in the cafeteria from 7:50-8:05 am for the cost of $1.00. Those who qualify for free or reduced lunch can receive breakfast also. Please remember that students need to be in their classrooms by 8:05.
5. Snack: It is a long day and we will provide a small snack for the children each morning. We really need your help with this and we will periodically send home a note or mention it in our newsletter when we need more.
Anything you send in must be a healthy snack. No cookies, cake, or candy. Also, please do not send in any drinks or foods that need to be prepared or cut up. Remember to send in enough for the whole class. Below are some suggestions for appropriate snacks. If there is something else that you want to send in just let us know.
Suggestions:
Graham crackers, pretzels, cheese, peanut butter crackers, fruit, Ritz crackers, trail mix party mix, fruit chews, dried fruit, and goldfish.
6. School Day: Your child may come to the classroom each morning after 7:50 a.m. No children are permitted in the school building prior to this time. School starts at 8:05. The tardy bell rings at 8:10 a.m. If your child is tardy, he/she must get a note from the office before coming to class.
7. Absences: f your child is absent from school, he or she must bring in a note from home that includes:
1. Child’s name
2. Date(s) absent
3. Reason for the absence
4. Signature of the parent/guardian
Please also include a doctor’s note if a physician has seen the child. This must be done within 2 days.
8. Medication: All medication is kept in the nurse’s office. Bottles must have the child’s name, directions for dispensing the medication, and a signature on a green school form, giving parental permission for the school to give the medication. An adult must bring medication to school. Please do not send cough drops to school; these are considered a type of “medication” and also may cause a choking hazard.
9.Changes in Transportation: To pick up a child early, please send a dated and signed note in the morning. Parents must report to the office and sign out the child. The office will call for the child. As a safety precaution we may not release your child to you unless notified by the office.
10. School Visits: To help with your child’s adjustment, we ask that you wait until the week of September 19th before visiting the classroom. After this period of adjustment, please feel free to join us for lunch. In addition, when visiting the school at any time during the instructional day you must go by the office and receive a visitor’s tag.
11. Gym Shoes: We have PE every day and go outside every day, weather permitting. Tennis shoes, soft-soled, or rubber-bottomed shoes are required for the gym floor. Please have your child wear these shoes to school. Flip-flops are not allowed on the playground or in the gym.
12. Curriculum Enhancement: The children will be going to Art, Music, Computer Lab, Spanish, and Media each week. They will work in the Waterford/ Successmaker labs weekly as well.
- Media: Please remember that library books need to be returned every week. If the book is not returned, your child will not be able to check out another book. The Media Center will provide a bag for your child's book. Please return the book in that bag. The replacement cost is fifty cents if the bag is lost or damaged.
- Guidance: We will also have time with our Guidance Counselor, Mrs. Lankford. She will visit our classroom on a regular basis.
13. Special Recognitions:
Cougar Pride: The students receive special Cougar paws for exhibiting good behavior. Each week children’s names are drawn from each grade level for a special lunch with a friend.
Cougar of the Week: Every other week or so we will pick a child who has demonstrated good behavior and work, to be our Cougar of the Week. The school will also recognize Cougars of the Week by having monthly luncheons. Young children are typically very excited about the things that are happening in their lives. Your child will be encouraged to share these things regularly; however there will be a special time set-aside for this. Each of them will have the opportunity to bring home the Cougar of the Week bag to be filled with some of their most valuable items to share with the class. Please remember to keep toy guns and interactive games/TV toys at home. These types of toys can disrupt our class-learning environment. Thank you for your cooperation.
14. Weekly Newsletters: These will be sent home each Friday to inform you of things happening in your child’s classroom and school. Any changes in classroom procedures, special events, or special requests will be included in this newsletter. Please read them, as this is our way of communicating with you.
15. Rules and Behavior Management: Our class has rules to provide a safe environment for our students as well as to promote manners and good social skills. In addition to our rules, we will be highlighting good character traits monthly as assigned by the Davie County School System.
Class Rules
1. Use your manners at ALL times.
2. Be responsible for yourself and your things.
3. Listen to teachers’ directions.
4. Be kind and respectful.
5. Keep hands to yourself.
ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST!
We will use “Bubbly Good Behavior” theme in our classroom to reinforce positive behavior. Each student will have a gumball machine with 5 gumballs on it. Everyone will begin the day with all 5 gumballs. If a student breaks a class rule, there is a consequence. Depending on severity of the problem, teachers’ will use their discretion as how severe the consequence will be, whether it be a phone call to the parent, note home, or a visit to the principal’s office. Students make mistakes, as we all do. Each student will be allowed to lose 2 gumballs per week in order to be rewarded on Friday. They will be allowed to go to the prize box, if they have been able to keep up good, positive behavior at school.
As stated earlier, some behavior issues are more extreme than others. Then, it is up to the teacher if the student receives his/her reward.
Please assume that your child had a great day in school if they receive a “Smiley/Check” on their sticker chart placed in their Take Home Folder. If there is a number of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, this will let you know how many gumballs your child dropped for the day.
We cannot take a child’s recess time as a form of punishment. As stated in the Physical Education law, students must be engaged in some form of physical activity. When a student loses free time such as playground time, he/she will walk for the allotted time shown below. Otherwise, they will lose center time.
1 Gumball – 5 minutes off free time
2 Gumballs- 10 minutes off free time
3 Gumballs-15 minutes off free time
4 Gumballs-Note home/Phone call to parent(s)
5 Gumballs- Principal’s Office
In general, we encourage the children to do what is right and to always do their best. Since kindergarten is a time to learn about appropriate behavior and develop positive social skills, we use inappropriate behavior as a learning opportunity. Therefore, there is a lot of one on one talking with teachers.
We are very positive and constantly reinforce good behavior. We focus on children who are doing the right thing and praise them, and others usually perk up and try to act like them too. We try to make it easy for them to act correctly - fun, engaging activities, etc. We often get involved in movement activities and believe it or not, that usually calms some children down. If a student is being a distraction to him/herself or others, we will give him/her a warning – it may be verbal, a serious look, silently motioning them to come sit closer to us, or maybe just moving closer to them. This is usually enough to help them remember what to do.
If a child continues to have difficulty focusing, he/she may be quietly asked to go to their seat until they are ready to come back. Kindergarteners really do not like to be removed from the group, and will recompose themselves and readily come back.
16. Weekly Progress Reports: You will receive one each week to keep you informed of your child’s progress both academically and socially.
17. Bus Riders: If your child will be a regular bus rider, we encourage you to allow them to ride on the first day of school. This will help the bus drivers to become familiar with their routes. Please remember that any change in transportation requires a signed and dated note.
18. School Bells: The school building opens daily at 7:45. Students cannot go to classes until 7:50: The first bell will ring at 8:05 with a tardy bell that will follow at 8:10. At the end of the day, car riders will be dismissed at 2:45, and bus riders will be dismissed at 2:50.
19. Wish List: During the year we will be asking for your help in donating materials for classroom use and art projects. Anything that you think that we could use would be appreciated. Here is a wish list of items that we always need. Thank you in advance for your help.
Wish List
Baggies!! (gallon, quart, sandwich, and snack size)
**Low-temperature (or Multi-temp) glue gun sticks
Colored craft sticks
Stickers
Buttons Paper Towels
Napkins Paper cups
Coffee Filters
Paper plates Clorox wipes Small prizes for our prize box Large wiggly eyes
Glue sticks (for the children) Brown Craft foam
Baby wipes White felt
Sticky notes Velcro
Anything you think we can use!
20. Field Trips: The kindergarten classes will be taking two field trips this year. These will be announced at a later date. Parents will be invited to the one at the end of the year.
Many of you will want to walk your child to the classroom for the first few days of school. You know your child best. As soon as you feel comfortable, please drop your child off in the front of the school or the lobby. Please be assured that we have adults in the lobby and hallways as well as safety patrols to maintain a safe and secure environment. We want your child to learn independence. After the first few days, if you still feel it is important to walk your child to the classroom, please drop your child off at the classroom door and say your good-byes there. We will begin our instructional day and want to start in a calm and soothing environment.
We know this list is a little overwhelming. Please remember that we are here to help you in any way. Please also read through your school handbook. We want to thank you in advance for the chance to share this special year in your child’s life. This transition can be somewhat difficult for both you and your child and we promise you that we will be sensitive to this. Many exciting things lie ahead this year for us and we look forward to sharing them with you. You are the most important part of your child’s life and working together is the key to making this a successful year for your child. Thank you for all your support. Know that we are here if you need us.
Sincerely,
The Kindergarten Team