Welcome to Kindergarten
The following is a guide to our year long routines
Philosophy: I believe young children learn by exploring with their senses and by asking questions in a a safe, structured, nurturing environment. I believe parents and teachers are partners in education. It is my responsibility to create engaging learning opportunities where all children can investigate, manipulate materials, and communicate socially in a variety of ways.
Components of our Weekly Schedule:As your child is a part of your family, all the children together create what I call our classroom family. Together we will learn to be kind and caring to each other, celebrating each child's accomplishments and being helpful to each other. We will learn in a safe environment and talk about what that means and what that looks like. We will learn to be responsible for our behaviors and materials learning how to gain independence. These skills will be explicitly taught through our school wide behavior curriculum and supports.
PEACE CELEBRATION: Every day, our school family will meet in the gym to recognize special occasions, like birthdays, and sing the peace song to start our day of learning together.
HANG COATS/SIGN IN: Our children will enter the classroom each day and begin by making their lunch choice, hanging backpacks and coats, and then finding their seat to get their brains warmed up and ready to learn. We will begin this routine every day with a quick review of alphabet knowledge, phonics, or writing based on the time of year and our current learning.
GREETING: Once everyone has arrived we join at the carpet area to greet each with a song and go over our daily schedule. We will also review the concepts presented in their morning work.
A star student sheet will come home with your child on the first Friday of the school year. Please talk about the questions with your child, however, you can do the writing for this activity. Return it as soon as you are done. Your child's name will be put into a drawing for our Star Student of the Week. The Star of the week will be our line leader and we will learn about this friend through our interactive writing time at the end of each day.
CALENDAR MATH: Next, we will explore the calendar. Calendar activities introduce number concepts such as patterns, rote counting (by 1's, 2's, 5's, and 10's). We will work on counting on looking at odd/even numbers and explore graphing with the weather chart. These concepts are all a part of our math curriculum.
LITERACY BLOCK: Our core literacy program is Reading Street. During this time we will be developing our reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. We will begin with a shared reading text to teach skills, concepts of print, phonemic awareness, and sight word practice. This is a teacher directed activity where different concepts are taught within a text (either a poem, big book, songs, or other materials). Research shows that reading and writing compliment each other and are best comprehended when taught together. We will have a teacher guided writing lesson conducted with the children practicing these skills independently or with support, in their writing folders. We practice both teacher dictated phonics sentences which practice hearing and recording sounds as well as process writing where children formulate their own idea and write about it! During guided reading time, I will be working with small groups of children on specific pre-reading (phonemic awareness and letter ID) and reading objectives at each child's appropriate level. While I am working with small guided reading groups, the rest of the class will be working independently or in small groups at literacy centers. Guided reading groups will begin after literacy centers have been taught at an independent level, usually six weeks into the school year. During the literacy block, we will also practice phonemic awareness skills, which is oral practice.
SHARING CIRCLE: This is an exciting time when children come to the carpet area to share what they worked on during literacy center time. They may share a piece of work in progress, or one that is completed. The children will learn to give and receive peer feedback as well as celebrate each others accomplishments. Reflecting on our learning is very valuable. Work that is of "wow" quality (and that is on an individual basis) will be celebrated and placed on the Wall of Wow!
SNACK: We will have a snack period each day. Please remember to send a small, healthy snack with your child each day. Labeled water bottles are also welcome and will be kept at the back of the room and returned on Fridays for a thorough cleaning. We do have a member of our classroom family with a peanut, tree nut, and chick pea allergy. Thank you in advance for keeping our classroom safe for everyone by sending in nut free snacks.
RECESS: We will have recess every day from 2:10-2:25. Remember to send your child in appropriate outdoor clothing please. I encourage you to label everything with a permanent marker or some other label as many children have similar items and it can be hard to remember what belongs to whom. It's silly because even when lost items are held up, your child may not recognize them as their own. If they are labeled, I can help with this.
READERS WORKSHOP This is our time to talk about what readers do such as book handling, how to make good book choices, how to "talk" about the books we are reading, and to learn vocabulary and important comprehension skills. This will likely take place after lunch time as a quiet time and a way to transition back into our learning.
SHARED, GUIDED, AND INTERACTIVE WRITING TIME: This is an important time for kindergartners. It is when they begin to observe me as a writer and listen to what I am thinking about as I hear and record sounds and formulate my thoughts onto paper along with their ideas. It is a time when they begin to take a role in writing by helping me with the sounds they know (starting with beginning sounds, ending sounds, moving to middle sounds, blends, ending chunks and more as their learning progresses). With interactive writing, the children come up and assist with the writing. This builds knowledge in a supportive way by slowly releasing the control over to the student. For this we will use many different technology tools and produce some amazing pieces of writing that we can share with you and other classes in our building and beyond! We will practice writing personal narratives, how to stories, informational pieces about what we have learned, and some fun fiction stories as well.
WRITER'S WORKSHOP: For writers workshop time, the children work specifically on getting their thoughts and ideas onto paper and developing their stories. It is a time when we work on the process of writing from beginning to end for those special pieces of writing. The goal here is to increase their writing stamina or their ability to write for longer periods of time independently with what we have learned together as a class and in small groups as well. I will work with small writing groups at this time.
MATH: New math objectives will be taught whole group with support. Children will then have an opportunity to have independent practice with the new skill. Children will engage in independent math centers while I work with small guided math groups. We will also work in Math Journals. Your child will be given an opportunity to expand their critical thinking, problem solving, and listening skills during this period of our day. Our core program is Every Day Math.
THEMATIC UNITS: Behavior, Science, Social Studies, and Michigan Health Model lessons will be taught explicitly and integrated into our reading and writing as well. We cover these lessons in a whole group with extension activities to express our learning. We know that children learn best when we embed the content into themes that are meaningful. I will work hard to make sure that our learning is meaningful and developmentally appropriate.
HANDWRITING: At the beginning of the year, the children will practice their fine motor skills and develop hand strength with various activities created with the help of our occupational therapist. These fine motor activities will help create strength in our children's hands to help with writing stamina. It's important to remember that handwriting and the writing process are two different things. During writers workshop I am focusing on the complicated task of hearing and recording sounds and communicating ideas fluently. It is really challenging for many beginning (emergent) writers to think about handwriting while doing all of this, so you may not see perfect penmanship during writers workshop but we do focus on it during our handwriting time. Once children become strong (fluent) writers, their penmanship will transfer over to their daily writing.
RECESS: Our class will have recess everyday from 2:10-2:25.
MUSIC, PE, ART: Our class will have music everyday from 9:25-10:10.
LUNCH: Our class will have lunch everyday from 12:20-1:05.
LIBRARY: Thursday 1:30-2:00 (please return books Thursday morning. Thank you)
COMPUTER LAB: Tuesday 1:15-2:00
AUTHOR STUDY: A nice way to wind down at the end of the day. Children will be exposed to a variety of quality children's literature in a very purposeful way by becoming acquainted with different children's authors in a monthly study. We will work on comprehension skills, story re-telling, and important story components while enjoying a good book. Every Friday, beginning in March, will be a Mystery Reader day....a sign up sheet will be coming after January on the Volunteer Spot weblink. Maybe you or a grandparent would like to come in and read to the class! Last year we had a grandparent as a Mystery Reader visit us on Skype!
Other Important Items
Birthdays: I would love to help make your child's birthday special. On your child's birthday (or day following if it falls on a weekend) we will celebrate as a class. Each child will get a birthday crown and we will sing the birthday song. Your child will also have a turn to take home the birthday bag! The bag contains a variety of birthday books and a birthday journal to write about your child's special day! You may choose to send in a birthday treat. If so, you may choose to send in a snack for all children or some have brought in pencils, small trinkets, erasers, etc. A member of our classroom family does have a severe peanut, tree nut, and chick pea food allergy. We ask for your support in helping to make sure our classroom is safe for all children by reading labels carefully and not sending these items in for snack time. Thank you so much in advance for your kind support.
School Messages: Many messages will be sent home with your child. Please look in his/her school bag each day for letters from the school or myself. I do try to send most notes home on Fridays in your child's Friday Folder, but sometimes we do get information that needs to be sent home on other days. If you have a note for me or the office, please pin it to the outside of your child's backpack (place it in a plastic baggie to help protect it from tearing off and from the weather). This way I will be sure to receive it first thing upon arrival. Thank you so much for helping with this! If you have a note or field trip money that is coming back in your child's Friday Folder, I have included a plastic sleeve for you to place these items.
Communications: I will be writing weekly newsletters to keep you informed on what we are learning in the classroom. I hope to share with you in advance what we will be doing so you are able to support this learning or have discussions with your child about his/her day. If I have specific comments, questions, compliments, or concerns, I will contact you by phone or e-mail. I hope that you feel free to do the same ([email protected]). We are a team and our children will thrive by having us work together. Newsletters will be posted on my personal page by Sunday at the latest. If you do not have access to a computer, please let me know and I will make sure a paper copy is sent home with your child. E-mail is a great way to get ahold of me. My address is [email protected] . I am happy to meet with you in person or talk over the phone as well.
Dressing for School: Please make sure that your child wears appropriate outdoor clothing every day. In the winter, please make sure that your child wears mittens, boots, hat, and other appropriate clothing. Remember to label all of your child's outdoor clothing and sweatshirts. Check out Mabel's Labels on-line. This is a BIG help. I will be teaching the children to put their hats, mittens into their coat sleeves before hanging their coats so they are easy to find at recess time.
Home Activities: Throughout the year, your child will be bringing home take-home bag activities. These materials are in a labeled bag. Inside the bag are directions and the pieces needed for the activity. The activities should take approximately 10-30 minutes. It is helpful if the bag is returned the next day so that all children have a chance to do the activity when it coordinates with our classroom objectives. You will see this more at the beginning of the year as I am teaching some beginning skills. As we continue on through the year, homework will be with take home reading bags, sight words, and writing.
Friday Folders: Your child's Friday Folder will be sent home every Friday with important papers and some student work. Please take out all papers, read, and return the folder every Monday. If you have notes on Monday, or book orders, papers for the office, etc...just put them into the folder and return on Monday. If you have notes or money to turn in, please stick it inside the plastic sleeve in the middle of your child's folder, where it will be less likely to fall out.
Book Orders: You will receive a letter about Scholastic On-line Ordering at the beginning of the year. This information will also be posted on my personal page. Please see the Scholastic letter in your child's first Friday Folder for more information about on-line ordering.
Readiness: Here are some helpful things for your child to work on at the beginning of the school year:
**Tying, zipping, buttoning, snapping
**Counting 1-30 and naming numerals 1-20
**Recognizing the eight basic colors and the four basic shapes
**Recognizing his/her name in print and beginning to write it.
**Reciting the alphabet and identifying the letters
Your child does not need to know these to enter kindergarten. We will be working on them this year. Any additional help at home is beneficial. Please don't worry, just keep it fun and a positive experience for both you and your child.
Child Pick Up: If you have a change in pick up plans, please write me a note or send me an e-mail so that I can be prepared to help your child. If a grandparent or significant other is picking up your child, please send a note on that day. There is a parent pick up loop at Red Cedar. Red Cedar staff will be helping children while you drive through our pick up loop to meet your child.
Housekeeping Items:
*Send your child with a backpack every day.
*Label all items from home. Check out Mabel's Labels online.
*If your child rides the bus, make sure your child keeps his/her bus tag on their backpack for the first 2-3 weeks of school. Bus tags will be given out on the first day.
*Send all notes inside the plastic sleeve of your child's Friday Folder. If sending a note on another day, please place it in a ziplock baggie and pin it to your child's backpack.
*Friday Folders need to be returned to school on Monday.
*Library books are due on Thursday.
*Pack and Read bags need to be returned to school the following day or as soon as you are able to read at home. It's a good idea to have your child read, then just make a habit of keeping the bag in your child's backpack. I may or may not meet with your child the next day, but either way the book bag will be available to you for more reading practice or for me to change during small group reading instruction.
*Please send birthday invitations through the mail not at school so feelings are not hurt. Thank you.
*Volunteers are welcome and encouraged (Thank you). You will find a link on our school website for the volunteer background check. It is really a very quick form that once filled out, you will be able to attend when you are able. It is best to fill this out before school starts. This is a way that we can make sure all of our children are safe! Thank you so much in advance for filling out this form. If you cannot find it, please call the front office. Again, thank you! I really enjoy having your help and the children see how you value education by being a part of our classroom family.
Pictures: I will take pictures over the year and post them to our website. If you have pictures you would like me to post, send them to me as an e-mail file and I will add them to our classroom website. A permission form will be given at the beginning of the year for you to sign if you do not mind photos being taken of your child.
Volunteering: I always appreciate your help and support. I have projects that can be done at school or at home. At school, there will be materials that need preparation such as cutting, copying, assembling, organizing. There will also be opportunities to work with children in small groups or one on one. No matter your comfort level, I will have a job for you. Please see the district volunteer policy to make sure you have the required paper work filled out ahead of time.
I can't wait to get to know you and your child better as we spend this year together. I know this transition can be bitter-sweet for parents as well as children. I understand that it will take time to adjust to a full day of school. Together we will make it a fantastic year for all. Please share concerns, comments, and even compliments with me.
Warmly,
Melissa Swales
The following is a guide to our year long routines
Philosophy: I believe young children learn by exploring with their senses and by asking questions in a a safe, structured, nurturing environment. I believe parents and teachers are partners in education. It is my responsibility to create engaging learning opportunities where all children can investigate, manipulate materials, and communicate socially in a variety of ways.
Components of our Weekly Schedule:As your child is a part of your family, all the children together create what I call our classroom family. Together we will learn to be kind and caring to each other, celebrating each child's accomplishments and being helpful to each other. We will learn in a safe environment and talk about what that means and what that looks like. We will learn to be responsible for our behaviors and materials learning how to gain independence. These skills will be explicitly taught through our school wide behavior curriculum and supports.
PEACE CELEBRATION: Every day, our school family will meet in the gym to recognize special occasions, like birthdays, and sing the peace song to start our day of learning together.
HANG COATS/SIGN IN: Our children will enter the classroom each day and begin by making their lunch choice, hanging backpacks and coats, and then finding their seat to get their brains warmed up and ready to learn. We will begin this routine every day with a quick review of alphabet knowledge, phonics, or writing based on the time of year and our current learning.
GREETING: Once everyone has arrived we join at the carpet area to greet each with a song and go over our daily schedule. We will also review the concepts presented in their morning work.
A star student sheet will come home with your child on the first Friday of the school year. Please talk about the questions with your child, however, you can do the writing for this activity. Return it as soon as you are done. Your child's name will be put into a drawing for our Star Student of the Week. The Star of the week will be our line leader and we will learn about this friend through our interactive writing time at the end of each day.
CALENDAR MATH: Next, we will explore the calendar. Calendar activities introduce number concepts such as patterns, rote counting (by 1's, 2's, 5's, and 10's). We will work on counting on looking at odd/even numbers and explore graphing with the weather chart. These concepts are all a part of our math curriculum.
LITERACY BLOCK: Our core literacy program is Reading Street. During this time we will be developing our reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. We will begin with a shared reading text to teach skills, concepts of print, phonemic awareness, and sight word practice. This is a teacher directed activity where different concepts are taught within a text (either a poem, big book, songs, or other materials). Research shows that reading and writing compliment each other and are best comprehended when taught together. We will have a teacher guided writing lesson conducted with the children practicing these skills independently or with support, in their writing folders. We practice both teacher dictated phonics sentences which practice hearing and recording sounds as well as process writing where children formulate their own idea and write about it! During guided reading time, I will be working with small groups of children on specific pre-reading (phonemic awareness and letter ID) and reading objectives at each child's appropriate level. While I am working with small guided reading groups, the rest of the class will be working independently or in small groups at literacy centers. Guided reading groups will begin after literacy centers have been taught at an independent level, usually six weeks into the school year. During the literacy block, we will also practice phonemic awareness skills, which is oral practice.
SHARING CIRCLE: This is an exciting time when children come to the carpet area to share what they worked on during literacy center time. They may share a piece of work in progress, or one that is completed. The children will learn to give and receive peer feedback as well as celebrate each others accomplishments. Reflecting on our learning is very valuable. Work that is of "wow" quality (and that is on an individual basis) will be celebrated and placed on the Wall of Wow!
SNACK: We will have a snack period each day. Please remember to send a small, healthy snack with your child each day. Labeled water bottles are also welcome and will be kept at the back of the room and returned on Fridays for a thorough cleaning. We do have a member of our classroom family with a peanut, tree nut, and chick pea allergy. Thank you in advance for keeping our classroom safe for everyone by sending in nut free snacks.
RECESS: We will have recess every day from 2:10-2:25. Remember to send your child in appropriate outdoor clothing please. I encourage you to label everything with a permanent marker or some other label as many children have similar items and it can be hard to remember what belongs to whom. It's silly because even when lost items are held up, your child may not recognize them as their own. If they are labeled, I can help with this.
READERS WORKSHOP This is our time to talk about what readers do such as book handling, how to make good book choices, how to "talk" about the books we are reading, and to learn vocabulary and important comprehension skills. This will likely take place after lunch time as a quiet time and a way to transition back into our learning.
SHARED, GUIDED, AND INTERACTIVE WRITING TIME: This is an important time for kindergartners. It is when they begin to observe me as a writer and listen to what I am thinking about as I hear and record sounds and formulate my thoughts onto paper along with their ideas. It is a time when they begin to take a role in writing by helping me with the sounds they know (starting with beginning sounds, ending sounds, moving to middle sounds, blends, ending chunks and more as their learning progresses). With interactive writing, the children come up and assist with the writing. This builds knowledge in a supportive way by slowly releasing the control over to the student. For this we will use many different technology tools and produce some amazing pieces of writing that we can share with you and other classes in our building and beyond! We will practice writing personal narratives, how to stories, informational pieces about what we have learned, and some fun fiction stories as well.
WRITER'S WORKSHOP: For writers workshop time, the children work specifically on getting their thoughts and ideas onto paper and developing their stories. It is a time when we work on the process of writing from beginning to end for those special pieces of writing. The goal here is to increase their writing stamina or their ability to write for longer periods of time independently with what we have learned together as a class and in small groups as well. I will work with small writing groups at this time.
MATH: New math objectives will be taught whole group with support. Children will then have an opportunity to have independent practice with the new skill. Children will engage in independent math centers while I work with small guided math groups. We will also work in Math Journals. Your child will be given an opportunity to expand their critical thinking, problem solving, and listening skills during this period of our day. Our core program is Every Day Math.
THEMATIC UNITS: Behavior, Science, Social Studies, and Michigan Health Model lessons will be taught explicitly and integrated into our reading and writing as well. We cover these lessons in a whole group with extension activities to express our learning. We know that children learn best when we embed the content into themes that are meaningful. I will work hard to make sure that our learning is meaningful and developmentally appropriate.
HANDWRITING: At the beginning of the year, the children will practice their fine motor skills and develop hand strength with various activities created with the help of our occupational therapist. These fine motor activities will help create strength in our children's hands to help with writing stamina. It's important to remember that handwriting and the writing process are two different things. During writers workshop I am focusing on the complicated task of hearing and recording sounds and communicating ideas fluently. It is really challenging for many beginning (emergent) writers to think about handwriting while doing all of this, so you may not see perfect penmanship during writers workshop but we do focus on it during our handwriting time. Once children become strong (fluent) writers, their penmanship will transfer over to their daily writing.
RECESS: Our class will have recess everyday from 2:10-2:25.
MUSIC, PE, ART: Our class will have music everyday from 9:25-10:10.
LUNCH: Our class will have lunch everyday from 12:20-1:05.
LIBRARY: Thursday 1:30-2:00 (please return books Thursday morning. Thank you)
COMPUTER LAB: Tuesday 1:15-2:00
AUTHOR STUDY: A nice way to wind down at the end of the day. Children will be exposed to a variety of quality children's literature in a very purposeful way by becoming acquainted with different children's authors in a monthly study. We will work on comprehension skills, story re-telling, and important story components while enjoying a good book. Every Friday, beginning in March, will be a Mystery Reader day....a sign up sheet will be coming after January on the Volunteer Spot weblink. Maybe you or a grandparent would like to come in and read to the class! Last year we had a grandparent as a Mystery Reader visit us on Skype!
Other Important Items
Birthdays: I would love to help make your child's birthday special. On your child's birthday (or day following if it falls on a weekend) we will celebrate as a class. Each child will get a birthday crown and we will sing the birthday song. Your child will also have a turn to take home the birthday bag! The bag contains a variety of birthday books and a birthday journal to write about your child's special day! You may choose to send in a birthday treat. If so, you may choose to send in a snack for all children or some have brought in pencils, small trinkets, erasers, etc. A member of our classroom family does have a severe peanut, tree nut, and chick pea food allergy. We ask for your support in helping to make sure our classroom is safe for all children by reading labels carefully and not sending these items in for snack time. Thank you so much in advance for your kind support.
School Messages: Many messages will be sent home with your child. Please look in his/her school bag each day for letters from the school or myself. I do try to send most notes home on Fridays in your child's Friday Folder, but sometimes we do get information that needs to be sent home on other days. If you have a note for me or the office, please pin it to the outside of your child's backpack (place it in a plastic baggie to help protect it from tearing off and from the weather). This way I will be sure to receive it first thing upon arrival. Thank you so much for helping with this! If you have a note or field trip money that is coming back in your child's Friday Folder, I have included a plastic sleeve for you to place these items.
Communications: I will be writing weekly newsletters to keep you informed on what we are learning in the classroom. I hope to share with you in advance what we will be doing so you are able to support this learning or have discussions with your child about his/her day. If I have specific comments, questions, compliments, or concerns, I will contact you by phone or e-mail. I hope that you feel free to do the same ([email protected]). We are a team and our children will thrive by having us work together. Newsletters will be posted on my personal page by Sunday at the latest. If you do not have access to a computer, please let me know and I will make sure a paper copy is sent home with your child. E-mail is a great way to get ahold of me. My address is [email protected] . I am happy to meet with you in person or talk over the phone as well.
Dressing for School: Please make sure that your child wears appropriate outdoor clothing every day. In the winter, please make sure that your child wears mittens, boots, hat, and other appropriate clothing. Remember to label all of your child's outdoor clothing and sweatshirts. Check out Mabel's Labels on-line. This is a BIG help. I will be teaching the children to put their hats, mittens into their coat sleeves before hanging their coats so they are easy to find at recess time.
Home Activities: Throughout the year, your child will be bringing home take-home bag activities. These materials are in a labeled bag. Inside the bag are directions and the pieces needed for the activity. The activities should take approximately 10-30 minutes. It is helpful if the bag is returned the next day so that all children have a chance to do the activity when it coordinates with our classroom objectives. You will see this more at the beginning of the year as I am teaching some beginning skills. As we continue on through the year, homework will be with take home reading bags, sight words, and writing.
Friday Folders: Your child's Friday Folder will be sent home every Friday with important papers and some student work. Please take out all papers, read, and return the folder every Monday. If you have notes on Monday, or book orders, papers for the office, etc...just put them into the folder and return on Monday. If you have notes or money to turn in, please stick it inside the plastic sleeve in the middle of your child's folder, where it will be less likely to fall out.
Book Orders: You will receive a letter about Scholastic On-line Ordering at the beginning of the year. This information will also be posted on my personal page. Please see the Scholastic letter in your child's first Friday Folder for more information about on-line ordering.
Readiness: Here are some helpful things for your child to work on at the beginning of the school year:
**Tying, zipping, buttoning, snapping
**Counting 1-30 and naming numerals 1-20
**Recognizing the eight basic colors and the four basic shapes
**Recognizing his/her name in print and beginning to write it.
**Reciting the alphabet and identifying the letters
Your child does not need to know these to enter kindergarten. We will be working on them this year. Any additional help at home is beneficial. Please don't worry, just keep it fun and a positive experience for both you and your child.
Child Pick Up: If you have a change in pick up plans, please write me a note or send me an e-mail so that I can be prepared to help your child. If a grandparent or significant other is picking up your child, please send a note on that day. There is a parent pick up loop at Red Cedar. Red Cedar staff will be helping children while you drive through our pick up loop to meet your child.
Housekeeping Items:
*Send your child with a backpack every day.
*Label all items from home. Check out Mabel's Labels online.
*If your child rides the bus, make sure your child keeps his/her bus tag on their backpack for the first 2-3 weeks of school. Bus tags will be given out on the first day.
*Send all notes inside the plastic sleeve of your child's Friday Folder. If sending a note on another day, please place it in a ziplock baggie and pin it to your child's backpack.
*Friday Folders need to be returned to school on Monday.
*Library books are due on Thursday.
*Pack and Read bags need to be returned to school the following day or as soon as you are able to read at home. It's a good idea to have your child read, then just make a habit of keeping the bag in your child's backpack. I may or may not meet with your child the next day, but either way the book bag will be available to you for more reading practice or for me to change during small group reading instruction.
*Please send birthday invitations through the mail not at school so feelings are not hurt. Thank you.
*Volunteers are welcome and encouraged (Thank you). You will find a link on our school website for the volunteer background check. It is really a very quick form that once filled out, you will be able to attend when you are able. It is best to fill this out before school starts. This is a way that we can make sure all of our children are safe! Thank you so much in advance for filling out this form. If you cannot find it, please call the front office. Again, thank you! I really enjoy having your help and the children see how you value education by being a part of our classroom family.
Pictures: I will take pictures over the year and post them to our website. If you have pictures you would like me to post, send them to me as an e-mail file and I will add them to our classroom website. A permission form will be given at the beginning of the year for you to sign if you do not mind photos being taken of your child.
Volunteering: I always appreciate your help and support. I have projects that can be done at school or at home. At school, there will be materials that need preparation such as cutting, copying, assembling, organizing. There will also be opportunities to work with children in small groups or one on one. No matter your comfort level, I will have a job for you. Please see the district volunteer policy to make sure you have the required paper work filled out ahead of time.
I can't wait to get to know you and your child better as we spend this year together. I know this transition can be bitter-sweet for parents as well as children. I understand that it will take time to adjust to a full day of school. Together we will make it a fantastic year for all. Please share concerns, comments, and even compliments with me.
Warmly,
Melissa Swales