KindergartenParent Orientation

School begins each day at 7:30 am. Although buses start arriving at 6:45, parents are not allowed inside the building until 7:15. I will greet my students in the cafeteria at 7:15 and escort them to class each morning. After unpacking, the students will begin their daily jobs!!!! K dismissal begins at 2:20 (for car riders) and buses arrive about 2:30.

Phase InTonight, you will sign up for one full day for your child to come to school. I will greet you and your child in the front (near the cage)of the cafeteria at 7:15. At that time, I will ask you for any papers that are missing from your child’s file (immunization card or a dr. appt. are required for your child to be at school this day). After a photo of you and your child and a quick goodbye, I will begin your child’s orientation to school! We will be doing activities based on Pete the Cat. *Please send $2 for lunch in a labeled envelope! Please DO NOT send a sack lunch/lunchbox for this day. Dismissal- Please inform me if transportation will be different this week than the rest of the school year. If a car rider, make sure your car tag is showing!

Morning Drop-Off• Car Riders are to be

dropped off at the gym entrance each morning. Teachers are posted in the hallway in order to help your student make his/her way to the cafeteria. A K teacher will be on duty each day to stay with your child until his/her teacher lines up the class at 7:15.

• Those arriving at 7:30 must be accompanied and signed in by the parent through the office. They will be held in the foyer until after announcements.

• Bus Riders are dropped off in the front of the building and guided to the gym (1st-5th) or to the cafeteria (K) where teachers will stay with them until 7:15.

• Those eating breakfast will need to be in the cafeteria between 6:50 and 7:15; at 7:15, the breakfast line will close, and students will be escorted to class.

• Please discuss with your child whether or not to eat; the teacher will not know!

Morning Drop-Off (Continued)

• When the late bell rings at 7:30, all classroom doors will be closed . Children will not be permitted into the classroom without a tardy slip from the office.

• Keep in mind, if you plan to walk your child to the door of the classroom, that this is the time that he/she will find “kindergarten independence”. *Parents should not accompany students into the cubby room or help un-pack their school items.

Monday Morning Meeting

• Each Monday morning is a special time when all students are together in the gym for an assembly led by Mrs. Goostree.

• We will leave the classroom at 7:25 in order to be seated by 7:30. Please have your child at school in time to walk down and sit with the class.

Afternoon DismissalCar Riders will be dismissed from the K Wing at

2:20. Stay in your car, display the car tag on your dashboard, and pull forward to the spot where your child is standing with an adult.

Car Riders w/ Older Siblings will be dismissed with the sibling(s) at the gym entrance.

Bus Riders will stay in a K classroom until buses are called, at which time the supervising teacher(s) will escort the children to the correct bus.

Day Care students will be escorted to their van by a BCE teacher.

YMCA students will be escorted to the cafeteria and signed in with the Y teachers.

Transportation During the first few weeks of school, your child will

have a transportation tag attached to his/her backpack to help get him/her to the right place for dismissal. Please make sure your child has this tag on his/her backpack DAILY! BCE policy states you MUST send a note to change afternoon transportation. I cannot go solely with the word of your kindergartener. A “transportation change form” can be found on my web site. Please fill it out, and send it with your child. Phone calls nor emails will be acceptable. In order to pick up your child, the car tag must be visible on the dashboard. If you or the person designated to pick up your child does not have your child’s official tag, your child will be dismissed through the office.

Personal Information Changes

• If your address, home telephone number, work number, or any of your contact information changes, please send a note to me so that I can get the information updated in the office. This is very important in the case of an emergency.

Absences If it is necessary for your

child to be absent from school, please send a note addressed to me including your child’s full name, date of the absence, the reason for the absence, and your signature. I appreciate the verbal knowledge from you or an older sibling; however, this note will be referred to the attendance office to excuse the absence. You have only 5 days to get the absence excused. After 10 days of absence, a doctor’s note will be required.

RC policy states that your child must be fever free (without medication) for 24 hrs before returning to school!

Money When sending money to school for

any reason, please place it in an envelope and follow the format below:– Child’s name– Teacher’s name – Amount and purpose for money *On the purpose line of the check, add my name as

well as the reason for the check.

Separate checks for each item; however, more than one check may be in a single labeled envelope. If sending cash, exact change only.

Cafeteria Please send money in a sealed,

labeled envelope. Checks should be made out to Brown’s Chapel. Write your child’s name AND my name on the bottom of the check (the FOR blank is a great spot) and specify the amounts for breakfast and lunch for the cafeteria staff. A monthly menu will be sent home. You are welcome to eat lunch with your child any time, but please do not bring food from any other establishment.

Child’s Name Mrs. Allen Lunch Money ($10)

*Go to mealpayplus.com to check your child’s lunch account and make payments using a debit or credit card.

You must communicate to your child your wishes for his/her eating breakfast. Those on duty have no choice but to listen to the child!

**You may now go online to apply for the free/reduced meal plan. Go to the BCE Homepage or to the Rutherford County Homepage for more details. Be sure to include all income from all persons living in the household (even if not a guardian).

Child’s lunch: $2.00

Cafeteria (Continued)

Please tend to any lunch charge slips that are sent home. If your child’s account reaches over $7.75 in charges, then he/she will be given an alternative meal.

At this time, Kindergarten will not be purchasing extra water ($1)or ice cream from the lunch line.

**Our lunch time is from 10:50 until 11:15. Please remember that meals from local restaurants are not permitted.

Lunch Visitors & Volunteers • At BCE, those listed on the

emergency contact section of the registration card will be permitted to have lunch with your child. If the visitor is not on the card, please send in a handwritten note saying who and when someone is coming to eat lunch with your child.

• If you are planning to come to BCE, please inform me ahead of time. For security reasons, each teacher is now turning in a list of classroom volunteer names to the office.

*Please remember to bring your state issued ID.

School Supplies All children will

need to bring school supplies their day of Phase-In. There is no need to label every item, but please label the bag(s) in which they are brought to school. We still have crayon and scissor kits ($7.00) and mats ($22) available for purchase.

Clothing

Children need to wear clothing they can manage on their own when the need to use the restroom arises. Tennis shoes will be required for gym. We encourage children to wear tennis shoes each day for playground safety. Please send a complete seasonal change of clothes and a light jacket to keep at school.

While tennis shoes are encouraged, please be aware that tying shoes can be a very time consuming task for a teacher. Please help your child learn to manage their shoe laces on their own (double ties are great!!).

D.E.E.R. Folders“Daily Essentials and Easy Resources”

Daily, your child will bring home a folder. Please check this folder and return it to school EVERY DAY!

Please place notes, money envelopes, etc. in this folder. This is our “home/school” communication, and I will be sending information to you in here also.Anything placed in the “school” side of the folder should be read, completed, and returned to me.

Daily work will come home in the folder. Please review what your child has done each day. Thanks!

HomeworkBeginning Monday, the 18th, your child will bring home a sheet to reinforce the letter/sound we’ve studied each day. Please follow the directions, then use the sheet based on your child’s ability level. *You may collect these in a binder to use throughout the year as your child progresses. Periodically, there will be small projects; however, the most important thing you can do to reinforce skills is to read and discuss books together.

Rainbow Name TracingI will send home a name homework sheet . Each evening, a different color of crayon or marker should be used to trace each row. The colors begin from lightest to darkest: 1st day-yellow, 2nd day-orange, 3rd

day- pink, 4th day-red, 5th day green, 6th day blue, 7th day-purple. At the bottom of the page, the child should practice on his/her own with the same color used above. When the week is finished, the name looks like a rainbow! ** I will add a “go-dot” and an arrow to show the starting point of each letter in the

last name. After winter break, we will add the last name.

K a t h r y n K a t h r y n K a t h r y n Practice here:

Snack Your child’s name will be on the classroom calendar to

indicate which day he/she is responsible for providing snack for the class. Snacks should be nutritious and individually packaged for easy distribution. Due to OSHA regulations, please do not send homemade items. Please DO NOT send candy for snack time. Each child should bring a water bottle for daily use. We refrain from using the water fountains as much as possible in order to avoid sharing germs and sickness. Water bottles will be sent home daily for cleaning.

** I do have a Snack Bag; however, there aredays when we are busy, and I forget to put itin your child’s backpack. If it is your day onthe calendar, please send it! The grocerybag it came in is good enough.***If you forget to send snack, please sendit the next day to prepare for the nextperson who forgets! Thanks!

We are not allowed to have birthday parties; however, you are welcome to send a special snack for the class to celebrate your child’s birthday at school. Please do not send homemade items!

Happy Birthday

!

Related Arts Classes Children will participate in the following related arts classes: P.E., Art, Music, Library, and Computer. In order to participate, students MUST wear tennis shoes on P.E. days. For safety and comfort, I recommend wearing them each day!

A (angelfish) – PE B (buck) – LibraryC (camel) – Music D (dragonfly) – PEE (emu) – Art F (fox) - Computer

Discipline Exhibiting appropriate behavior in all settings is

expected. However, if a consequence is needed for inappropriate behavior, the following will occur:

1. Warning2. Removal from group3. Loss of privilege- recess, centers, special events, etc.4. Time out in another K classroom5. Contact parents6. Administration• Severe Clause – harm to self, others, or property will

be referred to administration immediately• Discipline will be logged in a binder and checked

periodically by administration.

BUCK NationOur school participates in “BUCK” Nation.

Students who exhibit good behavior for the week will be allowed to wear a cap/hat on Fridays. I have visors for this purpose. Teachers reserve the right to revoke the privilege at any time. *A “red card” from related arts or the cafeteria results in the loss of the Buck Nation privilege.

If your child earns BUCK Nation, they will also have the opportunity to buy or bring from home a special snack for Friday afternoon. *A labeled envelope with 50 cents (exact change) may be sent on Friday mornings. No change can be given, nor can I keep extras.Along with BUCK Nation, those earning BUCK Break will be indicated every Thursday in the newsletter. Teachers and administrators reserve the right to revoke this privilege.

Recess

We will have recess every day on our playground (weather permitting). Please make sure your child wears clothing and shoes appropriate for outside temperatures and play.

Field Trips

A field trip policy is included in your packet. Please read it carefully, sign, and return.

Keep this policy and others in your K folder for easy reference.

Parent Communication

• Report Cards (every 9 weeks)• Progress Reports (mid 9 weeks)• Parent Conferences (twice a

year/more)• Newsletters• Calendars• Folders (return each day)

Newsletter

A weekly newsletter will be sent home to keep you informed of happenings in the classroom and other “need to know” information. This newsletter will also be posted on my kindergarten webpage. Some newsletters will contain a Wish List for things we may need for upcoming activities or projects.

Emergency Drills

• Another important part of our year will be occasional emergency drills. When these happen, there is no time to stop and put on coats; therefore, please be sure to dress your child with the weather in mind.

Box Tops for Education We will collect Box

Tops for Education all school year. Box tops are found on General Mills products, i.e. Cheerios cereal, Betty Crocker cake mixes, and Pillsbury Grands cinnamon rolls just to name a few.

• Please make sure students turn in Box Tops in a plastic bag with the following info: Student’s name, teacher’s name, and number of Box Tops

• Each nine weeks there will be a different contest for students.

*We also collect Soda Can Pop Tops (no need to count; just label with my name)And Campbell’s Soup labels (please count and label).

There will probably be a Basket Auction in the spring.

Teacher Contact Please feel free to contact me by sending a note

in your child’s folder, calling the school at 904-6755 ext. 30970 and leave a message for me to contact you, or sending an email to allenj@rcschools.net. I will return your call as soon as possible. Email is a great way for me to contact you as well. Please be sure to fill in your email address (print carefully and clearly) on the information card provided. I will create a “blind distribution list” as a way to keep you informed, as well as to protect your privacy.

Thank you!