A
Attendance
If your child happens to be absent, you may email . OR call 749-4244 x 3001 and leave a detailed message. This will save the attendance clerk from making phone calls to verify their absence. Your child’s attendance is essential in order to attain all of the skills necessary for a successful year in school. Please ensure that your child attends school regularly and on time. It is a disruption to the learning process when your child arrives late. Once the attendance is taken at 8:15, should your child arrive after this time you will need to walk them to the office to check them in.
B
Birthdays
Birthdays are so special to our Kindergarteners!! We love to celebrate this special event. You may send in a special snack on your child’s birthday, just let us know in advance. Please drop off the special snack upon arrival in the morning. However, please refrain from bringing party favors, and/or decorations. *Be sure to check with your teacher regarding possible food allergies.* We do not want to have any hurt feelings in our classroom, so we only allow birthday invitations to be passed out if all students in the class have been invited. You can sign up to be included in the Class Directory, this way you’ll have contact information of your child’s classmates.
½ Birthdays: Some children never get a chance to celebrate their birthday at school because it falls in the summer. We never want that to happen in our class! Kindergarteners can celebrate on his/her ½ birthday (6 months from a birthday)!
Backpacks
Please do not buy your child a rolling backpack. Due to space limitations, we do not have cubby space to accommodate backpacks of that size.
C
Contact Information
Email is by far the quickest way to contact the kindergarten teachers. Email is usually checked before and after school, and usually during lunchtime and/or planning period. We will try to reply as soon as possible. You can also write a message and place it in your child’s “Open Me” folder.
D
Drop Off
The Tanque Verde Elementary school campus is open for student arrival at 7:55 a.m. Before this time, there is no supervision provided for students. Please plan your student’s arrival for no earlier than 7:55 a.m. Your child may walk directly to the kindergarten playground where there will be adult supervision beginning at 7:55 a.m. When the bell rings, students’ are to line up by their classroom door and wait for their teacher to greet them.
Dismissal
Dismissal is at 2:35 p.m. except Wednesdays when it is at 1:15 p.m. If you plan to pick up your child, please be here by 2:30 p.m. and 1:10 p.m. on Wednesdays. Kindergarten will be dismissed first. Safety of your precious children is our number one concern during dismissal. Kindergarten dismisses our students prior to the rest of the other grades to help avoid confusion for our students.
Student parent pick up procedures: ALL kindergarten students will be dismissed from the MPR (Multi-Purpose Room/Cafeteria). Please meet the class INSIDE the MPR and we will release your child once you (or your assigned pick up person) have made contact with your child’s teacher.
Please do not grab your child and leave without telling the teacher. We must keep track of all of our students. Once the busses are gone, all remaining students that have not been picked up will be escorted to the office to wait for pick up.
Bus: If your child rides the bus home they will be walked to the correct bus at dismissal time by their teacher or paraprofessional.
CC Club: If your child will be attending CC Club, a CC Club representative will come to the MPR and pick them up.
Change in Dismissal Schedule: If your child is going home a different way (not their usual dismissal routine), notification must be in writing to the teacher. If we do not receive a note, email or phone call, your child will be sent home their regular/usual way. We will not change a student’s way home if your child is the one telling us about the change. Please do not send last minute emails, we are not always able to check our emails in a timely manner. If we receive an email, we will always respond back to verify that we received your dismissal change.
E
Eating Lunch
Please stress to your child that lunch is a very important meal. They should always eat something during their time in the cafe. Lunches from home should include items that are accessible by the student. Cafeteria lunch cards will make it easier for all involved. It is similar to a debit card, you add money to your child’s account online at www.tanqueverdeschools.org or send in a check (you can place it in the Open Me folder), the amount is loaded onto the card, the card stays in the cafeteria. You may request a print out of your child’s purchases if you desire. For Kinders, ‘a la carte’ items may be purchased ONLY if a note is sent in by the parents.
Breakfast is also served each morning. Children are reminded to finish their breakfast quickly and walk directly to class.
You may check the school district website for the Tanque Verde Elementary Breakfast and Lunch Menu (or your teacher’s web page for the link) at www.tanqverdeschools.org. If you have any question about lunch or breakfast? Contact MaryAnn, our cafe manager at 749-4244.
Early Dismissal Interim Grading Days
There are a few Interim Grading Days in which school will be dismissed at 11:15 a.m. Please mark these on your calendar in order to make special arrangements for pick up of your child. You may visit the www.tanqueverdeschools.org for a list of all interim release dates.
F
Folders
Your child will have an “Open Me” folder that needs to be checked every day by you. It will contain information such as notes, reminders and/or information from the office. If you need to send a note to the teacher, the office, a check to the lunch room, and/or paperwork to the PTG, please put it in the folder. When sending money (cash or check) to school, please put it in a sealed envelope labeled with your child's name, what the money is for, and the teacher's name. This insures all the money gets to school and we know what to do with it. The “Open Me Folder” will be checked at school and sent home each day in your child’s backpack.
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Gym
We have Gym (or P.E.) once each week. Students need to wear tennis shoes to participate in activities. You will be notified of your child’s scheduled P.E. day. PLEASE send a water bottle on P.E. day.
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Homework
Weekly homework will be sent home via the Open Me Folder. These are ‘suggested’ activities to help reinforce our Reading Street Curriculum, Zoo-phonics, math and any other work we may be doing in class. Please send all completed homework back to school, via the Open Me Folder each Friday. Remember that homework is optional not mandatory in kindergarten. Please enjoy this special learning time with your child as homework should never be stressful.
I
Illness
The question of when to keep your child home from school is often a difficult one, especially when decisions must be made first thing in the morning. It is important, however, to keep your child home if he/she is ill. This helps to make them more comfortable and prevents others from becoming ill. Children function more effectively in the classroom when they are healthy. Rule of thumb: Children should be fever free for 24 hours without medication before returning to school.
Independence
Independence is a goal for students because it builds self-esteem and self-confidence. Kindergartners are very capable of doing many things on their own and we encourage them to do as much as they can for themselves in the classroom. Please work on the following skills at home with your child: zipping, tying, dressing, etc. This includes helping them be responsible for bringing their backpack and school folder each day, unpacking it and sharing practice work and school notes at home, making time to read together daily, and being sure they are well rested for school each day.
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Joy
Children learn best when they feel loved and are encouraged to try new things. Our classrooms build a feeling of mutual respect, being risk-takers, and supporting each other even when we make mistakes. Happy faces are so important!
K
Kindness
Students in our classroom are encouraged and expected to treat all members of our class as well as others with kindness and respect. Hitting, fighting, name-calling and making fun of others will not be permitted. We have a zero-tolerance policy.
L
Label
Please label all personal items! This is extremely important in kindergarten. We have a much better opportunity in getting personal belongings back should they become left behind or misplaced. Again, label all personal items, this includes (the INSIDE of) backpacks, lunchboxes, jackets, hats, etc.
Library
We will visit the library each week. Our librarian will read to the students and teach them basic library skills. Later on during the year, your child will have the opportunity to check out a library book each week. It is important that your child takes care not to write in or damage the book. Also make sure that the library book is brought back on his/her library day so that your child may check out a new one. If a book is lost or damaged, parents/guardians will be responsible for paying the book’s replacement cost.
M
Money
There will be a number of occasions (field trips, book orders, school store,
lunch, etc…) when it will be necessary for your child to bring money to school.
Always send money in a sealed envelope or baggy with the following
information written on it:
1. Your child’s first and last name.
2. The amount of money.
3. The purpose for the money (book order money, party money, etc).
4. Teacher’s name.
Again, labeling the envelope with money helps reduce the likelihood of errors. Also, if the envelope is left on the bus or dropped in the hallway, this information will help the money to be returned to our classroom.
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Nurse
Please be sure you stop in and talk to the nurse if your child needs to take medication during
the day. She will need specific information to be able to assist you.
O
Outside Recess
Please be sure your child is dressed appropriately each day. All jackets, caps, etc. should have your child’s name clearly written on them.
P
Parties
Our special parties include Halloween, Winter, Valentine's, Rodeo and End of the Year parties. The Room Parents will coordinate these events with help from the classroom parents. All parents are welcome to help and attend the parties.
Q
Quick Kiss at the Door
At the beginning of our first full day of school, we ask that you give a "quick kiss at the door" of the classroom, and let your child continue into the room to unpack their things, and get the feel of how the classroom works. It's important for your little one to gain the independence of walking into the classroom by themselves and establishing an independent routine.
Questions
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher. They may not be able to come to the phone right away but they will call you back at their soonest available moment. You may also contact them by e-mail, which is the quickest form of communication. You and your child are important to us and no question is ever too small.
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Realize
Please realize that we are here to do everything possible to ensure that Kindergarten is a wonderful experience for your child and your family. We understand what an important role Kindergarten plays in setting your child's expectations and feelings toward school. We will do our best to make sure that your child leaves each day feeling good about himself/herself and excited to be coming back the next day!
Rules
We make our classroom rules together during the first week of school. By having students make the rules, they feel a sense of ownership and will be more likely to follow them.
Responsibility
Upon entering school we strongly promote responsibility with not only our students but our parents as well. Your child is responsible for: bringing backpack and folders to school on a daily basis; returning library books on classroom library days; going to the cafeteria in the morning if they are to eat breakfast; and following all school rules. As a parent you are responsible for: communicating any important information to the teacher in writing, in person, or over the phone; reading the monthly newsletter; checking “Open Me” folders daily; and signing and returning any school forms.
S
Snack
Please send TWO (2) snacks each day (preferably nut free) to be eaten during the AM and PM recess. Please place in a separate container or bag labeled snacks so that children will know which is lunch and which is snack.
School Supplies
A supply list will be provided. Please do not label the supplies, as we use them as a community. Teachers may ask for additional items throughout the year to be used for classroom projects and/or as supplies dwindle.
T
Toys
Toys from home are not allowed unless they are requested for a specific classroom activity.
Transportation
If your child will be going home a different way than what you have set up with your child's teacher, you MUST send a note, email or call the school. We will NOT allow your child to go with another adult or a different way unless you have notified the school/teacher. **Please use caution if you send an email. Teachers/Substitutes are not always able to check emails throughout the day. If you send an email and you do not get a response back from the teacher, please notify the office ASAP for any last minute changes. Please try to avoid any last minute transportation changes.