The ABCs of Kindergarten
(Just About Everything You’ll Need to Know!)
A is for Arrival and Attendance
B is for Book bags, Birthdays, Breakfast and Book Orders
C is for Communication, Conferences and Change of Clothes
D is for Discipline and Dress Code
E is for Expectations
F is for Friday and Figit Spinners
H is for Homework
I is for Independence and Illness
J is for Jammin’!
K is for Kid-friendly
· Kid-friendly: Our lessons are designed to meet our Kindergartners’ unique developmental needs. Concepts are taught using a variety of methods, including the use of technology, manipulatives, movement, modeling, and small-group work. Every child can and will learn and grow this year!
L is for Lunch and Lunch Bunch
M is for Money and Medication
N is for Newsletters
O is for Outside Time
P is for PTA
Q is for Quiet Time
R is for Report Cards
S is for Snack, Specials and Staggered Entry
T is for Transportation
U is for Unique
V is for Volunteers
W is for our classroom Website
X is for excitement!
Y is for You
Z is for Zzzzzzzz
(Just About Everything You’ll Need to Know!)
A is for Arrival and Attendance
- Arrival/Dismissal: Students may start arriving at 8:45am, and the tardy bell rings at 9:15. Students arriving after 9:15 should be signed in at the office by the adult dropping him/her off. Our classroom is Room 201, in the Kindergarten hallway. Students are dismissed starting at 3:45. Please see the office if you haven’t received information regarding carpool numbers and bus routes.
- If your child is carpooling, please try to arrive closer to 8:45 (not at 9:15). The students have several routines that need to be completed every morning and giving them time to complete these routines helps them get their day off to a great start.
- Please send a note if your child will be leaving early so we may have his/her things packed and ready to go. Thanks!
- Attendance: As Kindergarten is a time of hands-on learning, it is truly important that your child comes to school ready to learn every day, on time. A note is required within 2 days of each absence. Per Wake County School policy, absences without a note are unexcused.
B is for Book bags, Birthdays, Breakfast and Book Orders
- Book bags: Your child will need to bring a backpack to school everyday. No rolling backpacks please- they don’t fit in our cubbies! A name tag on the backpack would be great! Please make sure the backpack fits a 9X12 folder so a full size backpack is preferred.
- Birthday treats: Birthdays are a special time, and are treated as such in our room! You may send in a store-bought treat for each child to eat at snack if you wish. If your child’s special day falls on a weekend we’ll pick a school day close by to celebrate on.
- Breakfast: Please, please make sure your child eats breakfast before arriving at school! Eating breakfast every morning will help your child’s brain and body be ready to learn. If your child plans on eating breakfast at school, please make sure he/she arrives early enough to go through the line and eat before the tardy bell rings at 9:15
C is for Communication, Conferences and Change of Clothes
- Communication: I strongly believe that educating your child is a team effort! I strive to communicate with parents through newsletters, emails, phone calls, notes home, and more. The best way to contact me is via email: [email protected]. I will make every effort to check emails during our lunch/recess time. If you ever have any questions or concerns, just let me know!
- Conferences: Conferences are scheduled in the fall. Specific dates and additional information will be sent home closer to conference time. If you wish to schedule a conference at an alternate time, please contact me with dates and times that you are available. I look forward to discussing your child’s amazing progress with you throughout the year!
- Change of clothes – Each child should have a full change of clothes (including socks and underwear) at school in case of accidents. These clothes should be in a large zip-lock bag labeled with your child’s name.
D is for Discipline and Dress Code
- Discipline: We consider our classroom to be a community of learners. Every effort is made to ensure that every child feels comfortable and confident in Kindergarten. We utilize the philosophies of the positive behavior approach to classroom discipline: we try to emphasize the things students are doing right, not what they’re doing wrong. You’ll hear things like, “Please use walking feet” instead of “Stop running!” You’ll see things like students being praised frequently for making good choices and following our clearly defined expectations. We’ve found this makes our students happier and ready to take risks in learning. If there ever comes a time where a student is still struggling to make good choices on his/her own, we will notify you and schedule a time to discuss how to meet your child’s needs in the classroom. A detailed explanation of our school wide behavior plan will come home soon.
- Dress Code: We will follow the WCPSS dress code which is included in the packet you are receiving today. Flip flops and sandals are discouraged for safety reasons on the playground. Tennis shoes are required on our assigned PE day.
E is for Expectations
- Expectations: All Kindergarten students in Wake County are held to the same expectations. If you have any questions regarding our curriculum goals, please feel free to look at the Common Core State Standards accessible via our Penny Road home page.
F is for Friday and Figit Spinners
- Friday Folders: Our Friday Folders are filled with your child’s work and are sent home each Friday. PTA and the office will also include important information. Please check your child’s folder and empty and return the Friday Folder each Monday.
- Figit spinners: Figit spinners from home are not allowed in our classroom. I have figits approved and recommended by occupational therapists available in our room if needed.
- Grading: Wake County uses a Standards-Based grading system. All students receive a grade of 1, 2, 3, or 4 in all core subjects. A 4 means the child exceeded our expectations, a 3 means they’ve met our expectations, a 2 means they need support to meet grade level expectations, and a 1 means they are not meeting expectations, even with support. These are used mainly for the report cards.
H is for Homework
- Homework: Your child’s homework in Kindergarten is to read to or with and adult for at least 10-15 minutes every night. Home readers for your child's reading level will be sent home beginning in October. Sight word baggies will be sent home later in October and these should be practiced as a part of your homework routine.
I is for Independence and Illness
- Independence - Our goal is to help your children become responsible for their choices, actions, belongings, and learning. As such, we will encourage and teach your children to unpack their own book bags, get out snacks, clean up materials, etc. You can assist us in this valuable endeavor by encouraging your child to walk to class independently after the first day of school. We begin our instruction once your child enters our classroom, and we want to begin on a positive note. Children often become more emotional when mom/dad is standing at the door. Staff members are on the lookout for our little friends and will offer a friendly hand to help guide them to our room if they need it. Thank you for helping us teach this valuable life skill!
- Illness – Children must be fever free, virus free, diarrhea free for 24 hours without medication before returning to school.
J is for Jammin’!
- Jump, Wiggle, Dance: Movement activities are built into the Kindergarten day. Not only does this help get the wiggles out, but also helps us learn basic concepts like the days of the week, months of the year, skip counting and more.
K is for Kid-friendly
· Kid-friendly: Our lessons are designed to meet our Kindergartners’ unique developmental needs. Concepts are taught using a variety of methods, including the use of technology, manipulatives, movement, modeling, and small-group work. Every child can and will learn and grow this year!
L is for Lunch and Lunch Bunch
- Lunch- Kindergarteners eat lunch this year from 10:30-11:00. Each child will have a lunch number. If your child is eating lunch at school, please help your child learn his/her lunch number. Lunch is $ 2.55. Milk is $.50. Breakfast is $1.25. Beginning October 1st, you are welcome to join your child for lunch. During the month of September, we ask that you not arrive at lunch time as we are still establishing routines.
- If your child is bringing lunch from home, please include ice packs.
M is for Money and Medication
- Money: If you send money to school for any reason, please place it in a sealed envelope labeled with your child’s name and its purpose.
- Medication – If your child needs to be given medication at school, you must have a form signed by you and the doctor allowing the school to dispense medicine. The medicine must come to school in the prescription bottle. These medication forms are in the office. Children who have serious medical conditions (severe allergies, diabetes, etc.) must have a health care plan at school. The school health nurse will work with the family and physician to ensure appropriate plans are in place.
N is for Newsletters
- Newsletters: Our class newsletter will be emailed monthly. Our newsletters contain important information like our current learning objectives, upcoming events, reminders, and more. If you do not receive email and require a hard copy of the newsletter, please let me know. Also we use SeeSaw
O is for Outside Time
- Outside play: Our Kindergarten outside time is 2:05-2:35 every day. We will go outside when it’s hot and cold but will take the weather into consideration when determining the length of our outside time. We WILL go outside this winter so please make sure you send warm coats, hats, gloves.
P is for PTA
- PTA: We have an amazing PTA! Please consider joining, they provide many useful and fun activities for our students, families and staff!
Q is for Quiet Time
- Quiet Time: Our Kindergartners will enjoy a relaxing Quiet Time each afternoon at the beginning of school. While this isn’t viewed as a nap time, our students are asked to bring a bath/beach towel to rest on. Please do not send huge beach towels as these don’t fit well in our cubbies. Towels will be sent home as needed for washing and should be returned on Mondays. After the first month or so, we will no longer have Quiet Time.
R is for Report Cards
- Report Cards: Kindergarteners receive report cards 4 times per year, at the end of each quarter. If I have any concerns regarding your child’s progress, I will contact you immediately and request a conference.
S is for Snack, Specials and Staggered Entry
- Snack: We will have a short snack time each day. Please send healthy snacks (labeled “snack” and packed separate from lunch). We encourage you to send healthy snacks. Please DO NOT send cookies, cakes, chips or other unhealthy foods for snacks. Make sure your child is able to independently open all packages and has the required utensils. The students will put their snacks in a basket as part of their morning routine. LABEL THE SNACK WITH YOUR CHILD’S NAME!
- Specials: Your child will attend a Specials class each day. Kindergartners enjoy Art, Music, PE, Computer Lab, and Media (Library). Remember to return library books to school on time and wear sneakers on PE day (Mrs. Martin requires sneakers!)
- Staggered Entry Program – The first week your child will only come to school one day. You should have received this date already. If you are uncertain of your child’s assigned staggered entry day, please let me know.
T is for Transportation
- It is very important that we know how your child will arrive at home every afternoon. You should have completed the Transportation sheet at our Kindergarten orientation. If you haven’t told us how your child is getting home each day, please do so ASAP.
- Transportation changes: All transportation changes must be in writing. If you find that you forgot to send a note, you may email but I need the emial by 9:00am to guarantee that I've had time to read and respond. We will not accept a student’s or sibling’s word in regards to changes. Please note: do not mention to your child a change in transportation days in advance (it just confuses them). Tell them the morning of and remind them to give me the note as soon as they arrive at school.
- If another child is going home in carpool with your child OR your child is riding home in carpool with someone else, both children need notes regarding this change. These notes are sent to the office in the morning and signed off on by the office staff. TAKING DIFFERENT BUS ROUTES WITH FRIENDS IS NOT ALLOWED PER WCPSS POLICY.
- All kindergarten students must be tagged the first 20 days of school (name, transportation home, address). This is mandated by WCPSS. We will make tags for each child to wear home. Please return these tags EVERY DAY.
U is for Unique
- Unique: Every child has a unique background and needs. While we try our best to meet each child’s needs, please inform us if anything comes up at home that may impact your child’s performance at school (loss of a pet or family member, irregular sleeping habits, an impending move/divorce/etc.)
V is for Volunteers
- Volunteers: WE LOVE VOLUNTEERS!!! We love to have parents come in for centers and special events. Please take the time to fill out our volunteer sheet to let me know what you are interested in volunteering for. If you are interested in volunteering you must also sign up in the Media Center to have your background check completed. I encourage everyone to do this at the beginning of school so that you will be ready when special events and field trips come around. (It takes our background system several weeks to complete the check.)
W is for our classroom Website
- Website: Our Kindergarten website is a valuable resource that includes information about our grade level, curriculum, special activities, and more. It can be accessed through our Penny Road sitepennyroades.wcpss.net
- Water bottle: Please send a water bottle, labeled with your child’s name, DAILY.
X is for excitement!
- eXcitement: Kindergarten is such an exciting time! I truly believe that every child is going to have a wonderful year! We have so much fun exploring and learning together! I cannot wait to see how much our students will grow and change this year.
Y is for You
- You: You were your child’s first teacher, showing them the ways of the world from the very beginning. You still play an important role in their education today! Your support, dedication, understanding, and flexibility will truly make this year one full of memories and accomplishments. Thanks for all you do and for allowing me to work with your child!
Z is for Zzzzzzzz
- Zzzzz: Please make sure your child gets plenty of rest every night. Setting a regular bedtime and waking up at the same time every day will help your child adjust to his/her new schedule. Children at the age of 5-6 are recommended to have approximately 10-12 hours of sleep per night.