Here are a few quick pieces of information you might find helpful to get the year started. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. This will be an exciting year together. I know you will be amazed and excited to see how your child learns and grows. I look forward to working with you throughout the year! Communication Good parent/teacher communication is essential for a successful year. I want to make sure that you always know what is going on in class. I will communicate with you through emails, notes, telephone calls, weekly newsletters, progress reports, and parent-teacher conferences. This is our class website that has basic information—a schedule, weekly newsletters, a calendar, and tips for helping your children learn at home. If you have any questions, you can email me at [email protected]. E-mail is always the best way to contact me. If you have an emergency, contact the office, and they will contact me immediately. Daily Folders I will send home a daily folder every day. Please check it for important information, homework, notes and information from school. It will also contain your child’s behavior calendar. Please check the calendar every night so you will know how your child is behaving in class (please see behavior section below for more information) and return it the next day. You may also use the folder to send any notes or information back to me the next day. Friday Folders Look for important notes and student work to come home in these every Friday. Please empty the contents, sign the signature page and return to school on Mondays or the first day of the school week. Be sure to check our school's website for additional information: https://spicewood.roundrockisd.org/. Money Please do not allow your children to bring money to school unless it is for a specific reason (book order, field trip, lunch money, etc). Please put the money (along with a note indicating the amount, what it is for, and child’s name) into a sealed envelope. Transportation For your child’s safety, please notify me in writing if there are any changes in the way your child will be going home from school. Without written instruction from you, your child will be sent home in the usual manner. If a last minute transportation change arises, please call the front office before 2:15 and they will notify me. Birthdays Birthdays are important at Spicewood, and your child's birthday will be recognized. You may donate a book to the library in honor of your child's birthday. Check the link for "Adopt a book" on the library section of Spicewood's website. Due to food restrictions and allergies we will not be having treats for birthdays. However, you can bring a special lunch and eat with your child on that day. They also get special privileges in class. We will recognize summer birthdays in the last few days of school. Behavior Plan As you know, good behavior and learning go hand in hand. Spicewood follows the Positive Behavior Support model—a school-wide system that focuses on positive, as opposed to negative reinforcement. As much as I try to focus on positive reinforcements, sometimes, it is necessary to give children a consequence for misbehavior. I try my best to make the consequences “logical.” Even as kindergarteners, children need to learn the importance of accepting responsibility for their actions. *Support from home is absolutely essential to make this behavior system work. A daily behavior calendar will be sent home in your child’s folder. Please check it everyday & initial it. Please make sure to praise your child when he/she is consistently behaving well in class and set up appropriate consequences when he/she is not. By working together, we can create a wonderful atmosphere in which all children can learn!* We have a colored behavior chart system that is used as explained: IB All-Star (silver)--student receives a choice of rewards Principled (purple)--student can Balanced (blue)--student can have their shoes off Ready to Learn (green)--we all start the day here Warning (yellow)--verbal warning Reflect (orange)--student reflects on actions Teacher's Choice (red) --Teacher will choose a consequence. A sticker or note will indicate student's behavior daily on the calendar. Stickers are for silver-green, notes are written for yellow-red. Toys Please do not send toys of any kind to school. Occasionally, children will be allowed to bring in items for “Show-and-Tell,” but you will be notified beforehand. Arrival Children arriving at school between 7:25-7:40 will wait inside the classroom. Class begins promptly at 7:45. Students arriving after 7:45 will need to report to the school office for a tardy slip before coming to the classroom. If arriving after 8:30, the student’s lunch choice will need to be turned in to the office. Dismissal Definitions Walker: You will WALK up to the school to pick them up in front of the school. If you are parking your car and walking up to the building, your child is a walker. Car Rider: You will drive up (at the front of the school), stay in your car & your child will get in your car. Bus Rider: Your child will get on a RRISD School Bus. Please let me know ahead of time which school bus your child will be riding. Daycare: Your child will meet a representative from a Daycare facility and will board Daycare Transportation at the school. YMCA: Students will go to cafeteria/gym corridor. Lunch & Snack There are 3-4 lunch choices everyday. There is a link to the lunch calendar on our school website. Please be sure your child knows what he/she is eating for lunch each day. The menu will be read to the class daily, but once your child selects a choice, that selection is served. Keep in mind that extra food is not prepared, which makes it difficult to allow students to change their mind once lunch time begins. In addition, lunch choices are submitted first thing in the morning so if your child is going to be late and needs to order a cafeteria lunch PLEASE let me know ahead of time. You may, of course, send a lunch from home, but please be sure to label lunch boxes clearly! Paying online is the BEST and safest way to pay for lunches! You can do this online at https://paypams.com/If you choose to send in a payment, please make sure it is in a sealed envelope in the daily folder and labeled lunch money with your child's name on it! Please try to pay for lunches ahead of time, and not daily. Our mornings are very hectic and there isn’t always time to check for lunch money before lunch. If you plan on eating at school lunch with your child and need a lunch for yourself, please send a note with your child or call the office and order your lunch by 8:00. Please wait in the lunchroom if you arrive early as we will be still having class. Please let me know if your child has any food allergies or diet restrictions! We have snack time every day. Snacks are collected early in the morning, so please have your child's name clearly labeled on the snack somewhere. Snacks are eaten in the classroom and should be items that do not need silverware, preparation, or anything that creates messy/sticky fingers if possible. Water Please make sure to send a water bottle (labeled with name) to school with your child everyday. It gets very hot during the day and proper hydration is essential for good learning. Juice or Gatorade type drinks are NOT allowed. Sleep Please make sure your child gets good, uninterrupted sleep every night. It is also essential for growing and learning. Kindergartners need between 9-10 hours of sleep per night. Illness If your child is sick, please keep them at home! Washing hands and hand sanitizers are great, but the best thing we can do to keep our classroom healthy is to keep the bad germs out to begin with! Your child must be fever-free (without medication) for 24 hours before they return to school! Snack Students will be allowed to eat a snack from home every day. Only healthy snacks are allowed at school. Suggestions include pretzels, popcorn, graham crackers, animal crackers, goldfish, fresh fruit or veggies. Please do not send any drinks other than water. As we will be eating snack in the classroom, please do not send anything sticky, messy, or that requires a spoon (i.e. yogurt). Homework Homework in kindergarten will consist of required reading at home and some additional activities. The best thing you can do at home to support your child’s learning is read with him/her every day! I will also send home other fun games and activities that support our learning in class. You can also check our class website for other activities to extend and enrich your child’s learning. In addition, please talk to your child everyday about school. This will help them internalize what they learn and develop their oral language skills. Examples of questions include: 1. What did you do in (science, math, reading, etc.) today? 2. What did you play today? 3. Who did you play/work with today? 4. What was your favorite thing about today? It’s important to ask them specific questions, because if you just ask “What did you do today?” they’re going to say “Nothing” or “Played.” We do much more than that! Volunteers If you would like to volunteer, please do! You are always welcome to come and help. I can always use helping with special art projects, making copies, preparing classroom materials, etc. I will have a sign-up at back-to-school orientation night in September. You can also e-mail me! Please remember to sign in at the office whenever you visit the school. Field Trips Throughout the year, we will schedule various field trips to enhance our learning. Permission slips and cost information will be sent home prior to each trip. We always need volunteer chaperons on field trips, so if you are interested, please make sure to complete a background check at the beginning of the school year. The office can give you more information on how to do this. Occasionally, space may limit the number of parents allowed to go. In that case, chaperons will be chosen on a first-come, first-go basis—although I like to make sure every parent who wants to can go on at least one field trip during the course of the year. Unfortunately, siblings are not allowed to accompany us on field trips. Scholastic Book Orders Your child will be bringing home a form to order Scholastic books about once a month. If you wish to order books, you may order online! These orders are provided as a convenient way for parents to buy quality books for their children at a low price. As an added bonus, for every dollar that is spent, bonus points are earned to purchase books for our classroom. Of course, you are never under any obligation to order! Here's how it works:
one time class activation code: MH895 Clothing Please make sure your child wears kindergarten-appropriate clothing everyday (remember—we like messy things—paint, play-doh, sand!) In addition, the district dress code must be followed at all times. Dressing in layers is always a good idea here in central Texas. It might be chilly in the mornings, but that doesn't mean it won’t be downright hot by recess). Tennis shoes are required for PE days, but are a good idea everyday. Please, please, please…label all of your child’s coats, jackets, gloves, hats—any article of clothing that can be removed. If something gets lost, please check the lost and found. In addition, please keep an extra set of clothes in your child's bag which should include underpants and pants/shorts in case of an accident. Finally… Encourage your child to discuss school activities with you. Talk positively about school. The way your child perceives your feelings about school and teachers will have a direct effect on how he/she feels about them. I am delighted to have your child in class and look forward to working with you to make sure your child has a super school year! |