Welcome to St. John the Evangelist School
WELCOME TO ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST SCHOOL
AN OVERVIEW
Kindergarten is the beginning experience in a program of
formal education. St. John the Evangelist School Kindergarten program is one that balances formal and
in-formal activities and builds upon a child’s natural curiosity
and eagerness. While socialization and play are key
elements, work periods introduce the child to more “formal
learning” and offer opportunities to develop independence,
responsibility, and cooperation. Kindergarten provides a
foundation on which the rest of a child’s learning will be based. We strive to make our Kindergarteners discover that
learning is fun and meaningful as they develop self-confidence, self-discipline and self-expression.
The Kindergarten teacher works together with parents, keeping communications open, to achieve common goals in the best interest of each child.
“We can think of ourselves not as teachers, but as gardeners. A gardener does not grow flowers; he tries to give them what he thinks will help them grow, and they grow by themselves. A child’s mind, like a flower, is a living thing. We can’t make it grow by sticking things onto it anymore than we can make a flower grow by gluing on leaves and petals. All we can do is surround the growing mind with what it needs for growing and have faith that it will take what it needs and grow.”
John Holt
BASIC INFORMATION
St. John the Evangelist offers a full day kindergarten program: (All children must be 5 years old by September 1st)
ALL DAY
All Day children attend from 8:00 – 2:45 p.m.
SNACK TIME
There is a 10 minute snack time every day in the morning. Each child supplies his/her own snack. Nutritional snacks only, please. We are a nut free classroom. Please send only water for our in classroom snack time.
WEDNESDAY NOTES
Please check your child’s folder every day. Every Wednesday, important school notes are sent home. Please return the Wednesday folder to school the next day. You can also go on the school website to see more information.
LUNCH PROGRAM
Children bring their own cold lunches. NO FAST FOOD LUNCHES ALLOWED. Lunches should be kept simple. There is no microwave available to heat lunches. Hot Lunches may also be ordered on our website.
PIZZA and SPECIAL LUNCH DAYS
One day each month we have Pizza and Special Lunch Days at school. All orders are purchased on line on our website.
BIRTHDAYS
We celebrate birthdays in Kindergarten. Parents can either send treats with the student or drop them off at the office. If your child’s birthday falls during the summer months, we will celebrate it on his/her half birthday. No cakes are allowed, only cupcakes, mini-sized or other small treats. All birthday treats need to be peanut free and store bought so that we can see the ingredient list to keep our students with allergies safe.
CURRICULUM
RELIGION
The religion program, We Believe, helps children develop a positive attitude about themselves and learn that everyone is someone special. Some objectives include helping children learn about God and His gift of Creation; that Jesus is a special Friend; and that Jesus wants us to love, share, and care about others. We also introduce children to the Mass and help them get ready for the religious celebrations of Christmas and Easter. We attend the weekly All School Mass. We pray every day and use Bible stories to teach the children the Word of God.
READING/LANGUAGE ARTS
Our reading program, The Superkids incorporates the five major areas if instruction that are critical to teaching children how to read, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The Superkids Reading Program also integrates Handwriting, Spelling, Simple Grammar and Mechanics, Oral and Written Expression.
MATHEMATICS
Our math series is My Math. Students will be exploring concepts such as numeracy, composing/decomposing numbers, adding/subtracting, measuring, classifying and exploring two and three dimensional shapes. There will be activities such as hands-on which includes a variety of manipulatives. Patterns, sorting, one-to-one correspondence, graphing, time and money, etc.
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES
These two subjects deal with our environment and the world around us. Our Science curriculum allows us to explore living and nonliving things, how plants grow, health and nutrition, seasons and the weather. We use our 5 senses and fun experiments to introduce our students to the scientific method.
In Social Studies we explore families, being a good friend and a good citizen, rules, communities and holidays.
Both subjects are supplemented with other topics to allow children to experience and explore the world around them.
FREE CHOICE Time
Since we have a full day of Kindergarten, we are able to
provide free choice time with the academic subject areas. This is important because we believe children grow through play. Children can choose from several activities that they can do alone at their own pace or work with others. Free choice teaches taking turns, following directions, sharing, fair play, and good sportsmanship.
MUSIC
Music class strives to teach the children the form of group singing. We try to get all the voices sounding as one, and all the gestures looking the same. The age group is delightful in their enthusiasm for all kinds of music.
ART
In art class, students learn about famous artists and use a variety of mediums to create their own masterpieces.
SPANISH
Students will receive 30 minutes per week of Spanish.
P.E.
Develop listening skills, so they learn to follow directions, internalize the order, and direct it to the particular motor skill they need to use to accomplish the task.
Create a supportive, safe place where they are not afraid to try new tasks, learn to use encouragement to benefit themselves and classmates.
Develop large muscle groups to improve gross motor skills.
Work on Balance and Flexibility.
Develop good eye, hand, foot coordination through group games and individual skill tasks.
COMPUTER
Students will first become comfortable with the computer. They will learn all parts of the computer and how to log on to a network. (Parents should be aware that students will know how to start a home computer.) Students will begin to learn the location of keys and how to use a mouse. They will access learning and keyboarding applications.
Kindergarten Is a Special Place
Kindergarten is a special place,
See the big smile on my face!
Games to play and songs to sing,
We learn about everything!
Pencils, papers, books we read
So much to learn, so much to do,
We must listen to you-know-who!
Our class is a busy bunch,
Look-it's almost time for lunch!
We know all the ABC's
Right down to the XYZ's.
Reading, writing, spelling too,
We even know two plus two!
We learn together all year,
First grade will soon be here!
There's time for work, time for play,
Learning new things every day!
Kindergarten is a special place,
See the big smile on my face!
-Barbara Gruber and Sue Gruber
Check the school handbook for other
pertinent information.
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