B. E. Usher/Collier

KindergartenSyllabus

2013-2014

Grade: Kindergarten Subject:ELA/Reading Math Social Studies Science
Teacher’s Name: Ms. Bishop, Mrs. Giles, Mrs. Wheeler, and Ms. Weems
Teacher’s Assistant(s): Mrs. Pearson, Mrs. Summerlin, and Mrs. Long
Rooms/Locations:
#2106 –Bishop
#2105-Mrs. Giles
#2103-Mrs. Wheeler-2103
Welcome Letter
Welcome to Kindergarten!!!!
“Tell me and I willforget. Teach me and I willremember. Involve me and I willunderstand.”
Dear Parents,
Hello and welcome to kindergarten. We are looking forward to a fun-filled learning experience and hope you and your child are as well.
Webelieve education is a very critical part of success. Along with that, we believe that all children can learn and succeed.Our educational philosophy is that failure is NOT an OPTION when SUCCESS is the ONLY OPTION! With the right support and tools, we plan to help our students not only master this year’s content, but be prepared for next year as well. In order for this to happen, I encourage you to be as involved as you would like to be this year. Parents are a child’s first educator and I believe if we work together it will help your child to strive for success. You can expect open communication and understanding from us. We will also be willing to assist you and your child with any education concerns or conflicts you may have.
Again, we are very excited and are looking forward to a great school year.
Yours in Education,
The Kindergarten Team
Supplies/Materials/Snacks / Contact Information
Supplies-The Kindergarten school supply list is attached. You can also find it on our school’s website and it is available in the front office. Sometimes we run out of items and we may ask you to replace those during the school year.
1 package of sharpened pencils
5 large glue sticks
2 boxes of Crayola Crayons, 24 count
1 box of erasable colored pencils
1 pair of Fiskar scissors (child-sized)
1 binder (2”, 3-ringed) with a plastic cover
1 pack of sheet protectors
2 RED bottom-pocket folder, durable for home-school communications
2 boxes of tissues
1 container/package of wipes
1 box of Ziploc gallon-sized bags and 1 box of Ziploc quart-sized bags
1 smock
Backpack (labeled with name)
Lunch box (labeled with name) if they are bringing their lunch to school
Snacks-We will have a short snack time at the end of each day. Your child will need a small, healthy snack and water or juice. Please DO NOT send candy or foods that we will need to prepare (i.e. popcorn, cereal, etc….). If you send a pudding or yogurt, please provide a spoon (preferably disposable). We also ask that you not send anything in a glass container. We like to keep extra snacks on hand just in case. If you would like to send snacks for the entire class, we greatly appreciate it. Contact us and we will be happy to give you some examples. / We can be contacted in several ways throughout the year. We can be reached via email at . If you would like to contact us by phone, you can call the school at 404-802-5700 and leave a message for us; as soon as we get a chance we will return your call. Please allow 24hrs to return all calls.
What Will We Learn (Summary of the Curriculum)
  • Major Themes, Projects, and Writing Assignments
  • Themes
-We Are Special
-Family-Friends
-Transportation
-Whats on the Menu?
-Animals
All About Me Project-August 2013
Family Tree Project –September 2013
Labor Day Writing/Drawing Assignment –September 2013
Fall Tree Project (How Many Leaves)-October 2013
Transportation Writing Assignment-October 2013
My Favorite Book Project-November 2013
Community Helper Project-December 2013
What I want to be when I grow up (Writing Assignment)-December 2013
Standards/Scope and Sequence
Reading / ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS KINDERGARTEN CURRICULUM MAP
First Nine Weeks / Second Nine Weeks / Third Nine Weeks / Fourth Nine Weeks
Reading / Reading / Reading / Reading
Literay
ELACCKRL1-10 / Informational
ELACCKRI1-10 / Literary ELACCKRL1-10 / Informational
ELACCKRI1-10 / Literary ELACCKRL1-10 / Informational
ELACCKRI1-10 / Literary ELACCKRL1-10 / Informational
ELACCKRI1-10
Writing / Writing / Writing / Writing
Narrative
ELACCKW3 / Informative/Explanatory
ELACCKW2 / Opinion
ELACCKW1 / Narrative
ELACCKW3 / Info.
ELACCKW2 / Opinion
ELACCKW1
1-2 short research connections (may be shared research on a topic or theme connected to the unit) ELACCKW7 / 1-2 short research connections (may be shared research on a topic or theme connected to the unit) ELACCKW7 / 1-2 short research connections (may be shared research on a topic or theme connected to the unit) ELACCKW7 / 1-2 short research connections (may be shared research on a topic or theme connected to the unit) ELACCKW7
Routine writing (summaries, writing-to-learn tasks, response to a short text or an open-ended question) / Routine writing (summaries, writing-to-learn tasks, response to a short text or an open-ended question) / Routine writing (summaries, writing-to-learn tasks, response to a short text or an open-ended question) / Routine writing (summaries, writing-to-learn tasks, response to a short text or an open-ended question)
Math / Unit 1 / Unit 2 / Unit 3 / Unit 4 / Unit 5 / Unit 6 / Unit 7
Sophisticated Shapes / Counting With Friends / Comparing Numbers / Measuring and Analyzing Data / Investigating Addition and Subtraction / Further Investigation of Addition and Subtraction / Show What We Know
MCCK.G.1
MCCK.G.2
MCCK.G.3
MCCK.G.4
MCCK.G.5
MCCK.G.6
MCCK.MD.3 / MCCK.CC.1
MCCK.CC.2
MCCK.CC.3
MCCK.CC.4
MCCK.MD.3 / MCCK.NBT.1
MCCK.CC.3
MCCK.CC.4a
MCCK.CC.5
MCCK.CC.6
MCCK.CC.7
MCCK.MD.3 / MCCK.MD.1
MCCK.MD.2
MCCK.MD.3 / MCCK.OA.1
MCCK.OA.2
MCCK.OA.3
MCCK.OA.4
MCCK.OA.5 / MCCK..OA.2
MCCK.OA.3
MCCK.OA.4
MCCK.OA.5 / ALL
Science / Unit 1:Properties of Matter / Unit 2: Gravity and Motion / Unit 3: Day and Night Sky / Unit 4: Living and Non-Living Things
5 weeks / 4 weeks / 4 weeks / 6 weeks
Focus: / Focus: / Focus: / Focus:
Observe and describe common materials and their physical properties. Sort and classify objects through color, size, shape, weight, buoyancy, and flexibility. / Observe and compare objects and the affect gravity has on each. Observe, sort, and explain the difference in objects according to their motion. / Observe, describe, and classify objects in the day and night sky according to a 24 hour cycle. / Observe, classify and arrange organisms or materials by attributes into groups of living and non-living.
Social Studies
Unit 1-2 / Standards: H1a; H2g,h; H3c,d,e,f; CG1a,b; CG2E1; E2; E3a,b; E4 Map Skills: none; Info Skills: 1,3
Standards: H1b; H3a,b,g; G2a,b,c; G3 Map Skills: 1 Info Skills: 2
Culture, Labor Day, Star Spangled Banner, Location, Scarcity
Conference Times / Grading Scale/Weights/Progress Reports
Report Card Dates/Deficiency Notices
We will give you the opportunity to schedule conferences throughout the school year. Conferences are highly suggested as a positive way to discuss your child’s progress and educational needs. If you feel at any time that you would like to schedule a conference, please contact your child’s teacher at the school to make arrangements. We are available after school on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month afterschool from 3:00 pm-4:00 pm. We are also open to scheduling a conference on a different day that works for both of our schedules. / Grading Scale
GRADING WEIGHTS
GRADING SCALE AND QUALITY POINTS
EX = Exceeding Standards
S = Satisfactory
NI= Needs Improvement
U= Unsatisfactory
NE = Not Evaluated
Absence Procedures
Regular school attendance is essential for your child to make the most of his/her education. Please make every effort to have your child at school on time, every day.
If your child is absent, you must call the school. School guidelines require that you notify us on the very same day that your child is absent or send a note to the school when he/she returns. Include your child’s name, my name, date(s) of absence and the reason. / Calendar/Key Dates
August 7, 2013-First Day of School
September 2, 2013- Labor Day
October 10, 2013-Midpoint Semester 1
October 11-14, 2013-Fall Break
November 25-29, 2013: Thanksgiving Break
December 20, 2013-First Semester Ends
December 23-January 6-Semester Break
January 7, 2014-Semester 2 Begins
January 20, 2014-MLK Holiday
February 14-17,2014-Winter Break
March 14, 2014-Semester 2 Midpoint
April 7-11, 2014- Spring Break
May 23, 2014- Last Day of School
Early Release - There are some days in the school year when students will be dismissed early. On these days dismissal time is 11:45 p.m.
Field Trips – Field Trips provide wonderful opportunities to explore the world outside our school campus and apply concepts that we have learned in the classroom. If a field trip is planned during the school year you will receive advanced notice and a permission slip will be required for your child to attend.
•Text, Readings, Instructional Resources, and Valuable Web resources:



Dr. Seuss
Eric Carle

Behavior Plan/Classroom Rules
A very important part of Kindergarten is learning how to behave appropriately in a school setting. Our behavior management system involves simple Traffic Light Rules.
Red-Needs Improvement 
Yellow-Okay type of Day
Green-Excellent Day  / Tutorial
Wednesday afterschool until 3:45 P.M. to provide extra help for those students in need of extra assistance.
Academic Integrity
Cheating and plagiarism are very serious academic offenses. Any student who cheats or plagiarizes must be referred to an administrator along with the evidence. If determined that an offense has occurred, the student will face disciplinary action and will not get credit for the assignment.
Assessments
We use several instruments to assess our students’ progress in Kindergarten throughout the year. These include the Dibels and GKIDS (Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills).
Due Dates and Deadlines
It is important that students learn to honor and meet due dates and deadlines for class assignments. Students must adhere to due dates and deadlines published in the syllabus or otherwise assigned by the teacher. If a student misses a published due date as a result of an unexcused absence, her grade for that assignment can be reduced at the teacher’s discretion. A student who misses a due date that was previously assigned because of an approved excused absence must submit the assignment the next time she reports to class. Teachers cannot refuse to accept students’ work that is late because of an excused absence.
Homework
Homework provides a great opportunity for you to reinforce the skills that we are working on in the classroom. We will assign simple, developmentally appropriate homework on a weekly basis. We will send a homework packet home on Monday and ask that it be returned on Friday of the same week.