School of the Blessed Sacrament
Pre-K 4-2
2017 - 2018
Ms Claire & Ms Melinda
Learn to Explore; Explore to Learn
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome to the new school year and to Pre-K – 4-2, at Blessed Sacrament. We are here to provide a safe, fun and stimulating environment for your children. In ELA this school year we will focus on letter recognition, sounds, letter formations and phonics. In Math we will be exploring number recognition, understanding quantity, shape & space, patterns and sequencing. Religion is taught everyday. Art and Music are incorporated within all the units taught in class.
Specials schedule is as follows:
Monday – Library
Tuesday – Music
Wednesday – Gym
Thursday – Sensory Play
Friday - Gym
We are also teaching the children to develop self-confidence, independent identity and a level of maturity to help enable them to develop socially and emotionally.
The following are some important details about our school year:
Classroom Supplies
This year we are asking that you bring in the following supplies;
1. 2 containers of Clorox/ Lysol wipes
2. 2 rolls of papers towels
3. 2 boxes of tissues
4. 2 packs of baby wipes
5. 2 packs of flushable wipes
6. 2 bottles of hand sanitizer
7. 1 bottle of Lysol Spray
8. 1 backpack large enough to fit a lunchbox, school folder and other school materials.
9. 1 rest mat
10. $100 class fee for crayons, pencils, glue, art supplies and other class materials
Arrival
The door will open at 8:20am. All are welcomed to come into the classroom. Students are to put their Lunch/Snack and Water on the lunch shelves, folders in the proper tray and belongings on their proper hooks, and begin their morning routine. We will ring the bell at 8.45am to begin our morning meeting. This will give your child the opportunity to participate in the morning circle time, which includes, the pledge of alliance, morning prayer, register, daily timetable, calendar and weather.
Dismissal
The door will open at 2:20pm. If parents/sitters can line up along the wall facing the classroom the teacher will call the children out from the line order. Please, as soon as your child is picked up exit the school building immediately along the staircase closest to the classroom so there will be less traffic in the hallway.
You will enter the school building using the East staircase (the stairs directly in front of the school’s entrance and Ms Gabriella’s classroom) and exit down the hall using the West staircase (next to our classroom).
Early Dismissal
When school has an early dismissal (half day), drop off will remain the same time, unless you are told differently and the doors will open at 11:20am for dismissal. Your child will need snack only on these days.
If you or someone else will be picking up your child earlier than 2:20pm please inform us by calling the office, emailing or letting us know at morning drop off. When that person comes to pick up your child they must go to the Main Office where Ms. Ware will phone the classroom and one of the teachers will bring your child down to the office.
Absent Notes
If your child is absent, please send a note with him/her the next day explaining why he/she was absent.
If you know ahead of time that your child will be missing a number of days of school due to vacation, last minute change of plans etc., please provide a note explaining how long the child will be away and the reason why.
After Care
After care is available for Pre K 4 children. Please notify the office if you would like your child to attend. Aftercare runs from 2.30pm – 5.30pm. Class teachers will chaperone the children to Miss Sandy’s classroom (Pre K 3) where they will meet Miss Karen, the aftercare teacher. Please provide a snack for your child to eat during aftercare.
Attire
Girls: Jumper and white cotton blouse or white Polo shirt with school logo. Black-knee high socks or tights, black low-heeled leather shoe. No sneakers, high tops, or boots are permitted
Boys: Navy blue trousers (no corduroys, Dockers, or baggie pants), white polo with school logo (long or short sleeves). Black leather shoes, No sneakers or boots are permitted.
Gym: Navy blue SBS gym uniform shorts and t-shirts with logo
Please bring in an extra change of clothes of the following: underwear, a pair of socks, a pair of pants, a shirt and an extra plastic bag in case your child has an accident. Write your child’s name on the bag containing all of these items.
*Label All Clothing* (sweatshirts, sweaters) anything that your child can take off should be labeled with his or her name. Please label everything so we know what belongs to each child.
Folders
Your child will be given a blue folder for the year. This folder is where you will find all the important notifications that are sent from the office and/or myself. At the beginning of each month you will receive the class monthly newsletter, list of important dates, homework calendar and show and tell schedule.
Homework
Starting in the Fall, the children will start receiving homework 3 days per week. Homework will be made up of an ELA & Math worksheet in a booklet with a cover page explaining what is being taught each week. The children will also take home their penmanship workbook to practice tracing the letters of the week. Booklets & penmanship books will be sent home on Tuesdays and to be returned by Friday into the tray labeled “folders”.
An additional homework calendar will be sent home at the beginning of each month with many practical and engaging activities to help assist and boost home
learning. Please note that the homework calendar is optional and work completed from it does not need to be returned to school.
Show and Tell
Beginning in October we will be starting our Show and Tell Schedule. This is when each child gets their turn to bring in a toy/item from home that they wish to show and share with their class friends. Please do not send in any expensive items or objects that cannot fit into backpacks. Children will bring the item home with them on the same day.
Backpacks and lunch boxes/bags
Please have a large enough backpack that will hold your child’s folder, books, folders and lunch box/bag. Please label the backpack.
Snack and Lunch Times
Everyday the children will have snack and lunch. Please send your child with a healthy, nutritional snack and lunch plus a water bottle, no juice please. On early dismissal days, the children will only have snack.
Birthdays
If you would like to celebrate your child’s birthday in the classroom, we are happy to do so! We plan parties in the afternoon at 1.50pm. This allows time for cupcakes and party games before dismissal at 2.20pm. It also allows time for parents to read a short story before dismissal if you choose to do so, totally optional! We will speak about it and schedule a day and time.
Rest Time
Students will have “Quiet Time” after lunch and bathroom. Some students will sleep, others will not. You are to provide a mat for your child. Please no blankets or stuffed animals. They become a big distraction. “Quiet Time” will be approximately forty-five (45) minutes long.
You can purchase your child’s mat at www.matindustries.com. You can purchase the Kid-Napper rest mat for $32.95. This form of a rest mat will be easy to layout and put away for the children. At the end of every two weeks, the children will take the mats home to be wash and return again the following week.
Central Park
When weather permits, in the Fall and Spring, Pre-K-4 classes will be heading to the Central Park playground, the one across Traven on the Green on Fridays
between 9:45 -11am. We will need at least twelve (8) chaperones for our class, but the more the merrier. Please remember, there are three (3) Pre-K4 classes going to the park at the same time plus those children that are already in the public park. A sign up sheet will be available outside the classroom for those who can chaperone on a park day to sign up. If we do not have enough chaperones for the class, we will have to cancel the park.
Class Trips
For all trips, the students will need a permission slip to be signed. Please read all the class trip notices that will be sent home in a good amount of time before the day of the trip. Some class trips may require payment, so we ask that the payments and consent forms be return promptly on its due date.
· October – Pumpkin Picking at the Farmers market, Lincoln Centre
· November – Fire House visit, 66th & Amsterdam
· December – Christmas Pageant, Church hall
· February – Trader Joes, 72nd & Broadway
· April – Puppet show, Marionette theatre, Swedish cottage, Central park
· June – Farm visit, Green Meadows Farm, Queens
We will also need chaperones for the class trips. On the permission slips, it will always ask if someone can chaperone on the trip. Parents that do become chaperones for the trip/park are responsible for the children assigned to them. There will be some trips that a chaperone is MANDORTORY for each student. No siblings are allowed on the class trips unless otherwise informed ( with exception of the park trips) For some trips, the class will have lunch at that location. Please bag the lunch in a paper bag/plastic bag, so when he/she is done, all can be thrown away.
Family Participation
Families are a big part of our community. If you would like to come in and share a holiday project or a project that relates to the current unit of the month with the class please come and talk to us. Our classroom door is always open!
Mystery Readers
At the end of the school day the children and I share a story, but what the children enjoy even more is when they hear there will be a “mystery reader” coming in to read the story. So we invite you to come and become a “mystery reader.” All family members are welcome.
Communication
In PreK 4 communication is a crucial element of our programme. As class teachers we will be constantly striving to communicate all relevant class and school information to you on a weekly and monthly basis. This will be in the form of weekly and monthly reminders, class newsletters, show and tell schedules, school newsletters and emails. We will send out paper copies of all of the above in addition to posting on the class webpage.
To subscribe to the Class Webpage please follow the below steps;
Go to School of the Blessed Sacrament website:http://www.sblsnyc.org
Click ACADEMICS
Click EARLY CHILDHOOD
Click CLASSES
You will see all Pre-K teachers - find my name and click PRE-K 4-2
ClickSUBSCRIBEon the right side of this page. This will allow you to see and receive notifications when I post.
Meetings
If you would like to meet with me for any reason, I am available in the mornings at 7:45 am. Please feel free to approach me if you have any concerns and please note that we will have Parent/Teacher conferences during the school year. This is where you and I sit down and talk about the progress of your child.
Ms. Melinda and I are looking forward to a great educational ride with you and your children. We are also looking forward to working together as a community/family to making this year a fabulous success.
Here’s to a Great Year!!!
Ms. Claire and Ms. Melinda
Pre-K – 4-2 Teachers
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