Recent ActivityClass Announcements Mrs. Urban's ABC's of KindergartenThe ABC’s of Kindergarten
A Handbook for Mrs. Urban’s Class
September 2010
Aa
Arrival Time
Drop off time is between 8:40 & 9:00. During this time, there will be teachers outside to assist your children and watch the Kindergarten lines. The children will enter the building at 9:00 a.m. If you arrive after the lines have already entered the building, you must take your child to the main office through the front door.
If there is rain or snow, there will be an inside line-up. On those days, please drop off your child at the entrance to the Kindergarten hallway. You may also pick up your children outside our door in the Kindergarten hallway on inclement weather days.
Bb
Birthdays
We love to celebrate birthdays! On your child’s birthday, you are invited to come to school to read a literature book that you and your child have selected. I have found that it is special to gift wrap the book and let the child unwrap it at school. The book will then be donated to our classroom library. The kids love reading the birthday books at school! You may also bring a special snack for the class to enjoy at that time as well.
Book Orders
Several times throughout the year, I will send home Scholastic Book order forms. If you wish, you may order items by filling out the order form on the back of the packet and sending it back to school with a check written out to Scholastic Book Clubs. Scholastic offers a large variety of types and levels of reading materials for your child at a great price. What a great way to build your home library! Every dollar in merchandise bought through the catalog earns a point for free materials and books for the classroom.
Cc
Calendar
At the beginning of every month, I will send home a school calendar. This will include the calendar from the cafeteria as well. Please watch the calendar for any half-days or special events that may be occurring in our school.
Conferences
Our firstparent-teacher conferences will be held in November. If at any time throughout the year the need arises for an additional conference, please feel free to contact me so we can schedule one.
Circle Time
Circle time will occur every morning from 9:15 until approximately 9:45. During circle time, the students are expected to sit on the carpet squares and participate in calendar activities, shared writing, shared reading, choral reading, acting out stories, singing songs, and other fun activities.
Dd
Discipline
Our classroom is a small community where teamwork and good relationships are expected. We will spend time learning class procedures and practicing them. Each student is expected to act within our standards of behavior. To establish good order and help the children learn self-control, they will be guided to respect themselves and their companions through specific directions, positive reinforcement, suggested new activities and responsible actions.
Our classroom discipline is based around a traffic light. Our traffic light, however, has one additional color. This color is blue. Here is how it works:
Every child starts their day on green. It is widely understood that green means GO! This motivates children to get going with their day in a positive day. If your child earns a GREEN day, make a big deal out of it, because green days are happy, good days. This means your child had a great day, and we were so very proud of their performance that day.
If a child is moved to YELLOW, that merely means we had a couple of “bumps in the road”. Everyone has an off day. Remember this if your child comes home with a yellow day. We all know that we have good days and bad days. Even as adults, we cannot possibly have great days every day of our lives. Children go through the same thing. If your child comes home with a yellow day, TALK TO THEM. They know they had a little bit of a rough day, and they may just want to talk. They will talk to one of us, but who they really want is you. Yellow days give you a chance to talk to your child and try to bond regarding their feelings. Remember, no one is more important than you in their lives. Seize the moment!!!
Next, we come to RED. Red days are days you need to get on top of. If your child comes home with a red day, you will receive a “red notice”. This will tell you exactly what behaviors need to be addressed and worked on. Please sign the red sheet and return to me immediately. I will be keeping track of red days. These will alert me as to what behaviors I need to work on with your child, but I will need your support from home as well. This is the time to teach your child what is acceptable behavior and what is not. If we work together as a team, your child’s behavior will improve dramatically. Remember, children appreciate structure, and you will see an improvement in your child’s behavior if rules are enforced not only in school, but at home. They are tiny little people who learn through role modeling. We all need to emphasize the good things they do, not the bad. If you have any concerns regarding your child, please feel free to call me at any time. I am here to help!
Lastly, we come to the SUPERSTAR status. If your child does not have a superstar day, THAT’S OK!!!!. Superstars are not given out freely. I use the superstar status as a way to motivate my students. Superstar behavior for one child may be completely different for another child. I am rewarding progress, not perfection. Please do not be upset if your child does not come home with a superstar sticker, and please do not punish your child for not having a superstar day. Green days are what we are striving for. Superstars are just an extra added bonus.
Dismissal
I dismiss from my outside classroom door at 3:00. If anyone other than a parent, grandparent, or guardian that I have already met will be picking up your child at any point in the year, please let me know with a note in their folder. If your child usually rides the bus and you want to pick them up from school for any reason, please let me know so that your child doesn’t get placed on the bus.
Ee
E-Mail
My e-mail address is kurban@brigantine.atlnet.org. Please feel free to e-mail me any time with questions or concerns.
Environmental Print
Environmental print can be sent in all year as an ongoing project. Anytime your child is able to read familiar logos, signs, brands, etc., please help him/her cut it out and bring it into school to share. We will hang the words in our classroom and use them in various literacy activities.
Ff
Field Trips
We will be going on various field trips throughout the year. If you are interested in chaperoning, please let me know.
Fire Drills
Fire drills are held twice monthly throughout the year. All students will participate and are expected to walk quickly and quietly to our designated area.
Gg
Guided Reading
Guided reading takes place during literacy center time. This is when the teacher will work with small groups of readers to teach and practice sight words, concepts about print, reading strategies and comprehension skills.
Hh
Homework
Homework will begin shortly! The homework will reinforce skills and concepts taught at school relating to proper letter formation and letter-sound relationships. Homework should be done in your child’s best work. A quiet place without distractions, necessary materials available (pencil, crayons) and a consistent routine of parent supervision, will make homework an enjoyable routine.
Half Days
On half days, dismissal time is 1:00. Please be on time, as teachers only have limited time to have lunch and then get to their afternoon meetings. Even though your child has a half day, teachers do not. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.
Ii
Illness
The question of when to keep your child home from school is often a difficult one, especially when decisions must be made first thing in the morning. It is important however, to keep your child home if he/she is ill. This helps to make them more comfortable and prevents others from becoming ill. Children function more effectively in the classroom when they are healthy. If you do not want your child drinking out of the classroom water fountain, please feel free to send in a water bottle for them to drink out of instead.
Jj
Journals
One strategy that will be used every day to help convey the vital concept that print conveys meaning is the use of journal writing. In these journals, the kindergartners combine their emerging writing skills with their drawing skills. As the children are exposed to a variety of phonics and reading experiences, journal entries will move from drawings and inventive spellings towards more conventional writing.
Kk
Kindness
Students in our classroom are encouraged and expected to treat all members of our class, as well as others, with kindness and respect. Bothering others, bullying and interrupting learning will not be permitted.
Kid-Spelling
I lik skol.
When your child writes like this, be proud of him/her! They are using phonetic spelling and moving towards becoming great writers.
Ll
Literacy Centers
During literacy centers, children practice reading and writing skills in small groups, at designated areas and in specific groups, while the teacher works with individual children or small guided reading groups. The center activities are designed to strengthen letter/sound knowledge, listening skills, oral language expression, rhyme, letter formation, print concepts, sentence skills, sight word recognition, word family knowledge and cooperation.
Lunch
We eat lunch at 11:15 every day. Students are able to buy lunch or pack a lunch. School lunch is $2.25. If a student chooses to buy lunch, they have the option to buy what is on the menu or any alternate item. Please make sure you pack a snack for your child daily. We eat snack at 1:45 daily.
Mm
Math
Math is fun! In Kindergarten, we use a lot of manipulatives at math time. Manipulatives help make learning fun by providing a hands-on tool for counting, sorting, patterning, graphing, measuring and adding. You can work on these things with your child at home as well.
Nn
Nurse
Our school nurse will tend to minor scratches and scrapes, as well as sudden illnesses. For more serious injuries, she will contact you. Please be sure to send in any change of contact numbers in case she needs to get in touch with you.
Oo
Open the folder!!!!!
Make sure to check your child’s folder every night! Folders are given to every student at the beginning of the school year. These folders should always hold all homework, lunch money (in an envelope labeled with your child’s name) and important papers and communication between home and school. Folders should come to school every day in your child’s book bag.
Pp
Parent Involvement/PTO/Parties
Your support of school activities makes your child feel important and sends the message that you value school! There are three main parties each year; Halloween, Winter and Spring. Room parents usually organize the events and coordinate volunteers and donations for the parties.
Qq
Questions
If you have any questions or concerns throughout the year, there are three ways to contact me.
E-mail: kurban@brigantine. atlnet.org
Phone: 609-264-9501
Or you can send a note in your child’s folder.
Rr
Recess
We go outside for recess after lunch, as long as it is not rainy or snowy. Make sure your child is dressed appropriately to run (no flip-flops) and appropriately for the colder weather.
Restroom
We have a restroom in our classroom. Students are reminded to use the restroom before lunch and after recess/before their special. Students give a thumbs-up signal if they need to use the restroom during a seated activity. Students are discouraged from leaving circle time or other group activities to use the restroom, unless it is an emergency. Please remember to dress your child in clothes that he/she can handle independently – a tough button or snap can lead to an accident. If your child is prone to accidents, it is a good idea to keep an extra set of clothes in his/her book bag, just in case.
Report Cards
Report cards are distributed four times a year.
Ss
Snacks
Since our lunch is early, many students are hungry for a snack in the afternoon. We ask that all parents send in a snack with their child daily.
Specials
Monday – Music
Tuesday – Art
Wednesday – Library
Thursday – Gym
Friday – Spanish & Computers
Tt
Talk to your child about their day.
Kindergarten children are busy workers at school. As the year gets going, ask your child about what literacy center activities they did that day, what book they read in class, what game they played in gym, what kind of math manipulatives they used, what songs they learned in music or what they wrote about during writer’s workshop, etc.
Toys
Bringing toys to school is discouraged because they distract the children from learning. If a toy is accidentally lost or broken, feelings will be hurt. Students may bring books that are clearly marked with your child’s name.
Uu
Upcoming Events
You will be receiving updates periodically about upcoming events and supplies needed for those events. Right now, we are asking for apples and coffee cans. We also have a field trip scheduled in October to the Butterhoff”s Farm in Galloway. We will need signed permission slips for any and all field trips. Please look in your child’s folder for these permission slips and return them to me promptly.
Vv
Visitors
All visitors must sign in at the main office and get a visitor’s pass. This includes parents coming to read a birthday book, or room parents setting up for a party.
Ww
Writing
Writing is a major part of our day. Writing encourages children to engage in writing a variety of text. The process is guided by the teacher who provides instruction through mini-lessons and one-on-one conferences.
Xx
Our students are eXtra special to us!
There are 20 children in our class. Keep this in mind when bringing in anything for the class. I have sent home a class list for your use. If you have birthday invitations that need to be sent out, feel free to send them to us to distribute and send home in each child’s folder.
Yy
You will enjoy reading our class books!
We love making class books! When we make a book, it will be sent home in your child’s folder. Encourage your child to “read” it to you.
Zz
ZZZZZzzzzzzz’s
Make sure that your child gets plenty of rest. Setting and keeping a bedtime is a wonderful gift you can give to your child. It will help them to be alert and ready to learn each day!
Thank you for entrusting your children to us. Each one of your children is a blessing that we truly cherish. I know that we will have a wonderful year!!! And off we go…
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