Kindergarten is going to be out of this world!

1. Kindergarten is going to be out of this world! Open House 2013-2014 Created by Ms. Marten

2. Take a trip through our day! The following activities take place each day in Kindergarten. • Morning Meeting: Includes attendance, lunch count, calendar, weather, and a morning message • Fundations: Our Phonics and handwriting program • Specials • Snack: please send in a healthy snack every day • Literacy block: Poetry, Reader’s Workshop, Writer’s Workshop, Guided Reading, Literacy Centers • Math: number sense, counting, adding and subtracting • Lunch and Recess • Science or Social Studies: Scholastic Let’s Find Out • Centers: Dramatic play, play doh, math tools… In addition to all of these activities, we will be visiting the computer room 3x a week and we will meet our Reading Buddies in Mrs. Mattia’s 3rd grade class soon!

3. Important Information • Arrival time for the children is 7:50 and your child is marked late if they arrive after 8:05 • Absence Notes are required for all absences • Homework packet will be sent home Mondays. Please do only the homework assigned for each night – please also read every night • Healthy snacks each day- NO NUTS! • Please look for notes regarding replacement of supplies for your child • Please check and empty your child's folder EVERY NIGHT • Please label all of your child's belongings as well as any envelopes that you send in with his or her name and mine • The best way to reach me is by sending a note in your child’s folder.

4. Birthdays and Other Celebrations • If you wish to celebrate your child's birthday in school, please notify me at least a week in advance and if possible, let me know the snack you have chosen. Please send in birthday party snacks in the afternoon so we can celebrate after recess. Since parents can not attend, if you would like you can send in a disposable camera (nothing expensive please) and I will take pictures of the event. If you send in party invitations for an outside party, they must either be for the whole class or for just the boys or just the girls. Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter. • We will celebrate Thanksgiving in the Fall and have a publishing party in the Spring! All parents are welcome and encouraged to attend these two celebrations. I will let you know well in advance the date and time of these events. • In addition, there will be other projects we will embark on during the year that will require volunteers. Mr. Huth or Mrs. Fernandes will contact parents if volunteers are needed. Thanks for your support!

5. Mystery Reader We will have our Mystery Readers join us once a week in the afternoon. Mr. Huth or Mrs. Fernandes will contact you if you are interested. I urge you to participate as it is a memorable experience for the children. Please fill out the enclosed slip and return it to me tomorrow so that our class parents can start scheduling our special readers as soon as possible. If at all possible, please choose a book that ties in with the letter/curriculum of the week and let me know ahead of time, if you can, what your selections are. Please feel free to also read your child's favorite books to our class.

6. Monthly Happenings • Each month, I will send home a Scholastic Book Club order form. Participation is completely optional. The September order form is in your folder. This month's orders are due back Monday, September 30th. Please return book orders in an envelope with your child's name and a check made out to Scholastic Book Clubs. Please do not send cash. Also, please be sure to write your child's name on the order slip to make it easier for the books to be handed out when the order arrives.

7. Field Trips • We will be taking two trips this year. Please sign the permission slips as soon as you get them and return them to school with any necessary money as quickly as you can.

8. The Fun Stuff! In our classroom, students may earn a prize from the “treasure box” by acquiring 10 beads for good behavior. To get the student’s attention, I either flash the lights one time or use my chime. 5 STAR LISTENING • Sit criss-cross • Eyes on the person who is speaking • Ears listening • Hands in lap • Mouths quiet when someone is speaking Compliment Jar • When our class receives a compliment from another teacher or adult, we earn a star in our “compliment jar.” When we reach 12 stars, we will have a class celebration.

9. Star Student • Starting in October, a Star Student of the Week will be chosen. The week before your child is scheduled to be our Star Student, a poster will be sent home for you to complete. Please return the poster on Monday. Feel free to complete it however you wish. You can draw pictures, use real ones or cut out pictures from a magazine. Your child will wear a special crown on Monday and will be given time to share his or her poster with the class. The poster will be hung on a bulletin board in our classroom for the remainder of the week!

10. Last but not least... **Please remember to send your child to school on our gym days (Monday and Tuesday) in gym clothes and sneakers so that he or she can participate. **Please return your child's library book to school in his or her backpack each Friday. **Please remember to sign up for the November Parent/Teacher Conferences and see Mr. Huth or Mrs. Fernandes to verify the Master Contact Sheet.

11. Thank you again for all of your support! Remember… Kindergarten is going to be out of this WORLD! Writing, send everything in writing Open and look through your child’s Home to School folder every night Read with your child every day to practice our new skills Let me know of any changes in dismissal arrangements Don’t ever hesitate to contact me for anything