Class information: We currently have 24 students in our class.

Lunch/Snack: The children will eat lunch in the cafeteria everyday. If your child is bringing lunch from home, please send in an ice pack, if it needs to be kept cold because refrigeration will not be available. The cost for a child to buy lunch is $2.00. Meal tickets are available from the cafeteria. I strongly recommend buying meal tickets, especially if your child plans on buying often. In order to keep track of who is buying at school and bringing from home, please help me with the following:

If your child is buying lunch at school and does not have a meal ticket, please put his or her lunch money in the black film container labeled with his or her name that I have sent home. Each morning, the “buyers” will be responsible for putting their lunch money containers in our class’ lunch money basket. Please tell your child each morning whether s/he is buying lunch at school or bringing from home, as this helps the children feel more secure and helps to make my life easier, especially during the first few hectic weeks.

Each child will need to bring a simple and nutritious snack and drink to school each day. Items such fresh fruit, vegetables, cheese and crackers, or half of a sandwich would be great choices. Please separate (ie:brown lunch bag for snack and lunch box for lunch) and designate your child's snack from his/her lunch is s/he is bringing lunch from home. (A helpful hint: plastic pencil boxes make great snack boxes. :)

Birthdays: Many children enjoy celebrating their birthdays with their class. I prepare a treasure hunt for the birthday child. If you plan to send in a birthday treat (cupcakes, etc.) for your child to share with the class, please send me a note a few days in advance, so that I can set aside a time for the celebration. At the present time, we have 21students in our class. (The children often like to have a few extra goodies to distribute throughout the school - to the office, etc.)

Notes to School: If your child is going to be picked up from school or is to go on a different bus, you must send in a note with your child on that day. If your child does not bring a note and you do not contact the school office prior to dismissal time, I must put your child on his or her normal bus. If your child, is absent from school, you must send in a note when s/he returns to school. Please place any notes to me or other school staff in your child’s “Daily Home/School Folder.” Your child will bring this folder home everyday. Please check it each day, as it will often contain important notices, as well as your child’s wonderful, hard work. Additionally, please help your child to remember to bring it to school everyday.

Odds-and-Ends: Please attach the star with your child’s name on it (that’s in his/her welcome bag) to his or her backpack for at least the first week of school. This will make it a little easier for the children (and me) to locate their backpacks.

Our school district has adopted a 6 day cycle, which means rather than having a Monday through Friday schedule, our specials (physical education, art, music, library) will rotate on a Day A through F basis. Our class special schedule is as follows:

The children have recess everyday. Please make sure that your child wears sneakers and dresses appropriately on physical education days. Also, students are not allowed to play on the equipment at recess time unless they are wearing sneakers or rubbed soled shoes that are strapped securely to their feet.

Please make sure that all your child’s personal belongings (coat, sneakers, boots, etc.) are clearly labeled with his or her name.

Book Orders

Book orders are a wonderful and inexpensive way to purchase quality literature for your child. In order to extend our school learning program and provide an opportunity for your child to discuss and share with you what s/he has been learning about, I encourage you to choose books that complement the themes that we have studied in our class. In addition, remember to consider books on topics that your child is already interested in, as this will lead to a natural opportunity for further learning. Browsing through the book order forms with your child will give you insight on topics and themes s/he is interested in.

Throughout the course of the year, various book order clubs will be used. They include: Scholastic (Firefly, SeeSaw, Honeybee, and Trumpet), and TrollCarnival. Payments may be made by onoe check made payable to Scholastic or in cash. You now may also pay by credit card, if you place your order online at Scholastic.com. Please be sure to send payment in a sealed envelope or Ziploc bag that has your child's name and "Book Orders" written on it. Thanks and happy reading!

Encourage your kindergartener to READ, READ, READ!

Reading Calendar

Children improve their reading ability by reading a lot. Reading achievement is directly related to the amount of reading that children do in school and outside of school. Clearly, reading at home can be a powerful supplement to classwork. Parents can encourage leisure reading by making books an important part of the home, by giving books as gifts, and by encouraging visits to the local library. The very best way for parents to help their children learn to read is to read to them. Children benefit most from reading aloud when they discuss stories, learn to identify letters, sounds and words, and talk about the meaning of words. The conversation that goes along with the reading aloud to children is as important as the reading itself. Reading regularly sets a healthy pattern. Reading before bedtime can be very relaxing and is a great way to spend some quality time with your child. There is a wide variety of reading material in the classroom that will eventually be available for the children to borrow overnight. The Book Clubs also enable the children to buy inexpensive, but quality books, that they enjoy. And, of course, there's our library at school.

Please try to read with your child every night for about 15 minutes. Use the monthly reading calendar to record the titles read or the amount of time spent reading. At the end of each month, please send in your child's reading calendar and s/he will receive a certificate for a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. Thanks, in advance, for your cooperation!