Welcome to

Robert Miller Kindergarten Mrs. Lacher 2019-2020

angela_lacher@bismarckschools.org School Number: 323-4170

2009-2010

Dear Parents, Welcome to Miller Kindergarten! It is sure to be one of the most incredible years your child will have in his/her school career! My name is Angela Lacher and I am your child’s teacher for this school year. The following information is beneficial for the upcoming school year. READING SKILLS

Good reading skills and speech development begin with phonemic awareness and phonics practice. Our Benchmark Reading Series along with the Zoo Phonics early reading program uses this fundamental idea to successfully teach children. Zoo Phonics uses an animal character in its own hand signal to represent each sound and symbol. These multi-modality programs unite phonemic awareness and phonics with vocabulary and text comprehension for proven results. At the end of kindergarten your child will have been introduced and will have mastered most of these skills:

• Names 26 upper case letters • Names 26 lower case letters • Produces sounds for letters • Reads High Frequency Words • Rhymes Words • Blends & Decodes CVC words • Demonstrates beginning reading behaviors

2019-2020 Kindergarten Handbook

Robert Miller Elementary Mrs. Lacher

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

We are using the Handwriting Without Tears program. This means that your child with be using a ball and stick form of writing. I have included the parent letter and example of this handwriting for you to keep in your child’s traveling folder to refer to it as needed. At the end of kindergarten your child should be able to:

• Print 26 upper case letters • Print 26 lower case letters • Print first name • Write from left to right • Use inventive spelling • Draw pictures to match inventive writing • Write a multi-word sentence

SPEAKING & LISTENING

A Kindergartner’s speaking and listening skills include: • Uses developmentally appropriate vocabulary • Communicates ideas clearly • Attends in listening situations • Follows directions and instructions • Waits turn to talk in all settings • Comments appropriately on discussion topics • Speaks in complete sentences

Math

We are using the TERC Math Investigations Kindergarten math curriculum. Mathematical concepts that we will cover throughout the year are as follows:

• Counts to 100 • Names numerals to 20 • Writes numbers to 30 • Arranges numbers in order 0-20 • Shows quantity to 20 • Measures length with nonstandard units • Names 3D and 2D shapes • Uses strategies to model combinations to 6

SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL Our expectations of Kindergartner’s social/emotional skills include:

• Has age appropriate attention span • Completes activities in a timely manner • Works independently • Exhibits self-control • Adjusts to new situations • Speaks in a voice appropriate to the situation

CITIZENSHIP Our expectations of Kindergartner’s citizenship skills include:

• Works with others • Respects peers • Follows classroom and school procedures • Cares for and puts away material

School Lunch Students will be having lunch at school each day. All kindergarteners will have the school’s Hot Lunch or Sandwich choice, unless you send them a sack lunch from home. Both options include a salad bar filled with fresh fruits or veggies. Lunch menus can be found on the Bismarck Public School’s website, our classroom website, and the Miller school website. You need to pay for lunch in the office. If you send lunch money with your child, make sure it is marked with your child’s name and lunch number and placed in the money and notes pouch in your child’s “Bee” folder. Beginning on the first day of school your child is responsible for typing in their own lunch number. Please practice this at home. I have included a practice keypad for your child to practice typing the number and hitting the enter button to finish. Snack Breaks We will have a daily snack break in the morning and afternoon. Parents are in-charge of sending their child’s snack each day. It is a proven fact that children learn better when their tummies are full. Please keep in mind that our school has a health plan that only allows children to bring healthy snacks.

Some suggested items are: fruit, vegetables, granola bars, crackers, pretzels, yogurt, or dry cereal. Please try your best to keep your daily snacks nutritious. Also remember we do not have utensils in the classroom for your child to use. Class Newsletter Each week you will receive a newsletter to inform you about classroom and school wide activities, upcoming events, information, and academic areas we are working on. This is my way of making sure parents are informed. I will be posting newsletters to my website. Please be sure to read it each week; it is for your benefit. You will be emailed district and Miller school newsletters. Other handouts will come home in your child’s traveling “Bee” Folder. Changes in Transportation If you plan to pick up a child that normally rides the bus or carpools with someone or you wish your child to ride home a different way than usual, you must send a written note. Do not rely on your child to tell me this information, because children often become confused and relay messages incorrectly after the long school day. If no written note is received, your child will be sent home by his/her usual method of transportation. If an emergency occurs, please call the school.

Show and Tell Show and Tell will be every Friday that we are in school for all students. Each child is responsible for what they bring for Show and Tell. Please be aware of this when selecting items to bring. Most weeks there will be a theme students must follow for Show and Tell. It will be written in our class newsletter. Make sure you check it out!

Helper of the Week Each week we will have a featured student of the week. This student will be titled: ‘Gartner of the Week. They will be our helper of the week and line leader. They will also bring an information card to share with the class and pictures to share on the Monday of their week as the ‘Gartner of the Week. The ‘Gartner of the Week will be announced in Friday’s newsletter. This is an exciting experience for your child, thank you for participating!

Change of Clothes Please send an extra set of clothes in a Ziploc bag with their name written on it. Be sure to include: socks, underwear, pants, and shirts. We will need these items to help eliminate a phone call to you when there are accidents or wet weather. Please be sure to replace them if wet clothes are sent home. Outdoor Recess The children will be going out for recess multiple times everyday unless it is raining or extremely cold. Please keep this in mind when helping your child to select clothing for the day. In addition, we are fortunate to have a variety of playground equipment, including several pieces for climbing. Please keep this in mind when selecting shoes.

Throughout the fall, winter and spring seasons please send winter coats, a hat, gloves, snow pants, and snow boots in a separate bag with your child daily. If your child is well enough to be at school, he/she is well enough to participate in outdoor recess, if properly dressed. In fact, the germs that cause colds thrive more readily in the heated indoor air and it is beneficial for them to go outside and get some fresh air. Many students in our school have the same or similar winter wear, please label your child’s clothing items with first and last names and we will do our best to make sure they return home with your child daily!

Money

On occasion, it will be necessary for your child to bring money to school. Always send money in a Ziploc baggie or sealed envelope with the following information written on it:

• Your child’s first, last name, and a K. (for Kindergarten) • The amount of money • The purpose for the money (book orders, picture orders, party

money, lunch money, etc.) • Child’s Lunch Number (only if it is Lunch money)

With so many children to keep track of and several reasons to collect money, this helps me out tremendously and reduces the likelihood of errors. In addition, if the envelope or baggie is left somewhere or dropped in the hallway, this information will help the money be returned to my classroom. I will take care of getting it to the appropriate place.

Book Orders Your child will be bringing home a form to order books about once a month. If you wish to order, simply fill out the form and enclose it with a check made out to, “Scholastic Book Company.” Please return them to the school by the date on the form. Another option is to place on online order with our class code. This code will be on the order form. These orders are provided as a convenient way for parents to buy quality books at a low price. As an added bonus, for every dollar that is spent on books, I earn bonus points, which are used to purchase books for our classroom to use. Of course, you are never under any obligation to order books from these forms! Birthdays Birthdays are special occasions for young children. If your child wishes, he/she may bring a non-edible treat for the class on his/her birthday. This is an effort to make the day special without breaking our district’s health policy. For more information on this or to print out a birthday menu you may check the district website. A special day will be assigned to children who celebrate their birthday during the summer months, so they may celebrate with the rest of the class as well. We begin celebrating summer birthdays in March. Look for birthday notes in our class newsletter. Please do not send birthday invitations to school. This must be taken care of outside the school setting. We are not allowed to give out addresses or phone numbers of other students in the classroom, so please do not ask. Parent Participation Throughout the school year, there will be a variety of special classroom activities and celebrations. I encourage you to attend these functions when possible and to support them. Your support of school activities makes your child feel important and sends the message that you value school. I believe that good parent-teacher relationships are necessary for maximum school success. Throughout the year, I will communicate with you through notes, telephone calls, newsletters, progress reports, parent-teacher conferences, and report cards. I encourage you to contact me if you have any questions or concerns at any time. You can call me at school (323-4170) or drop me a note and I will try my best to respond as soon as I possibly can. suggest that you save this handbook for future reference. Thank you in advance for your concern and support throughout the year!

Physical-Education/Music We will attend gym and music class several times a week. Our physical education teacher would like your assistance in reminding your child to wear tennis shoes. You do not need to purchase separate gym shoes for these days. It is much easier for your child to complete activities safely with tennis shoes. Library We will attend library once a week. Your child will be allowed to check out one book each week. If a book is lost or damaged, please notify the librarian. Remind your child to return his/her book on time each week. School Counselor The school counselor will present lessons to the class. If you feel that your child needs to meet with the counselor on a regular basis, please let me know, and I will arrange for them to do so. You may contact the school office to speak with our counselor in person as well. Things to Practice Please help your child practice:

• Letter recognition and number recognition • Tying shoes and zipping their jackets • Learning their birthday, address, and phone number

School Nurse Our school nurse is available during the day. If children need medical assistance, you will get a call from them. They also handle medication distribution. You will need to turn in your child’s medication at the office and they will call your child down at the appropriate time. The End In closing, I would just like to say that I am looking forward to a great year working with you and your child! I would also like to suggest that you check this handbook for future reference. Thank you in advance for your concern and support throughout the year! Sincerely, Mrs. Lacher