Here is a bushel of info. for you!

Kindergarten

Mrs. Weyher

Parent Information

As your child begins this exciting year, I want you to know how much I am looking forward to all of the amazing learning that will take place! This is a fundamental year in your child's education. As many of you know, Broken Arrow implemented full day kindergarten two years ago with amazing success! For some students this change may be kind of overwhelming. The jump from half day to full day is very significant and your child will probably need some transition time to fully adjust to his/her new schedule. This transition time may last a few days or several weeks depending on the individual child. Many kindergarten students will feel the day is very long. I assure you this is very common even in first grade. Each kindergarten classroom is a group of students with a wide range of abilities, ages, and backgrounds. I believe in creating an environment for my students that is homelike, positive, safe, creative and fun. I believe children learn best in an atmosphere of comfort and where they feel successful. Children learn in a variety of ways so I provide a wide range of opportunities to ensure all students are learning! I feel that parents are an important and essential part of the educational process and I value your communication and support. Please send me a note in your child’s daily folder, email me...kmweyher@ba.k12.ok.us or call me at school @ 259-4460, should you have any questions or concerns! I am looking forward to an exciting year!

Our Classroom

Our room number is 100. Each child has his/her own table space and cubbie for personal supplies. The classroom is set up to provide interest centers, a group instructional area and individual work spaces (tables). I believe this set up is best because it provides flexibility in teaching and learning.

Our Day

We go to lunch around 11:10am. Our class eats together in the cafeteria and children go to recess when they finish lunch. I pick the students up from the playground at 11:50pm. Children have “specials” everyday. Our special time is 1:00 to 1:40 each day. We will visit the library each week as well as attend P.E., Art and Music. The school day ends at 3:40pm. (Please see coming and going section for information.)

Parent Involvement

Parent Involvement in your child's education is essential!

By expressing an interest in your child's education, you are encouraging success in school! All notes will be sent home in your child’s daily take home folder, please check that folder EVERYDAY and return it. If you have a question or concern, please send me a note in the folder or email me at school. I often write comments on students’ papers so please be sure to look at their work so you will know how they are doing! I will be sending a note home regarding Homeroom Mom, volunteers, etc., if you can’t participate during the school day because of work but still want to be involved, please feel free to volunteer. Most of our classroom activities require preparation...most of which can be done at home. I like to plan fun and thematic projects for my students. If you are willing to help with cutting and/or stapling at home, I would be OVERJOYED! I enjoy and welcome those of you that can and want to participate in classroom parties, cooking experiences, or just want to help out at school so please let me know when you are available. If you are interested in being a Homeroom Mom, please read the information and let me know. The Homeroom Mom is responsible for planning and coordinating each party but not for buying and bringing everything so I hope many of you are interested in participating! Parents are always welcome at parties! Please let me know if you are interested!

Coming and Going

*Please read carefully. School begins at 8:55am. Students are not allowed in the classrooms until 8:40am. Students arriving early for breakfast will go to the cafeteria to eat. Students not eating will go to the designated spot in the hallway and wait for the bell. School ends at 3:40pm. Students who riding buses are dismissed at this time as well as students being picked up by parents and daycares or who go to Extended Day. If your child needs to leave early for any reason, you must go to the main office and sign him/her out. If, for any reason, your child is being picked up by someone else…even if that person’s name is on your child’s enrollment card, you must call the school or send me a signed note. The school cannot release your child to anyone without your permission. If your child rides the bus but you are picking him/her up…please call or send a note. Children are often confused and think parents are picking them up when they are not and the student misses their bus.

Breakfast

Please make sure your child is eating breakfast daily. Research shows children who eat breakfast learn better than those who don’t eat. Park Lane offers a breakfast program each day. Breakfast costs $.85 unless your child qualifies for a reduced rate.

Lunch

Children have the option of bringing their lunch or buying it. School lunches are $1.60. Free or reduced lunches are offered to those who qualify. We go to lunch around 11:10am. Children return from recess at 11:50pm.

Snacks

I will be sending home a snack notes each week. Because our lunch time is 11:10am, I feel the students will need an afternoon snack. To make it easier on each of you, especially those of you who are planning to pack a lunch for your child, I will assign a student each day to provide a snack for the class instead of asking you to send an individual snack for your child each day. Every week, I will send home snack notes in folders. Your child will only be responsible for sending snack items once a month so you should only receive a snack note once a month. These items will also be used for cooking projects as well as math activities. Cooking will be once or twice a month. Please be sure to let me know if your child has food allergies.

Extra Clothes

I am requesting that all parents put a Ziploc bag with clothes inside your child's backpack in case of an accident. Accidents are common in kindergarten and full day kindergarten doubles the chance of an accident. Extra clothes will help make the situation easier for all involved. In the event of an accident, I will put your child's soiled or wet clothes in a plastic bag and send them home in his/her backpack. Children without extra clothes are sent to the nurse. The nurse will call the parents if spare clothes are unavailable.

Recess

We will have at least one recess each day. We go outside, weather permitting, if the temperature is above 40 degrees (or a heat index below 105). On some days, we will also have an afternoon recess in addition to the recess after luch. Please be sure your child is dressed appropriately for outside play.

Book Orders and Reading

I will be sending home book orders monthly in your child’s folder. Sometimes there will be two different book orders for you to choose from. Please send a check made out to: Scholastic. Book orders are an excellent way to purchase quality books for your child and promote learning at home. Book orders are totally optional but I feel they provide you with a great resource for continuing your child’s learning at home. Exposure to books and print is vital to children learning to read…the more your child sees print and exposed to reading the sooner he/she will be reading. Please read with your child daily!! I am planning to send home reading folders with my students after Christmas if not before. (See Homework for more info.)

Homework

From time to time, I will be sending home projects for you and your child to complete together. Kindergartners LOVE homework! It makes them feel so smart and grown-up. The projects I send home will usually be designed to involve you and your child in some type of hands on project that will reinforce a skill or topic we are working on in class. After Christmas, I am planning on sending reading folders home a few nights a week. This activity reinforces pre-reading skills and helps students develop good reading strategies for the future. This activity is also designed to involve you and your child. Look for more information on reading folders in December.

In addition, I want to encourage you to reinforce all of the skills, especially letter sounds, with your child at home. Once we have made some progress in our phonics curriculum, I will be sending home some "word lists" for your child to read with you. The more reinforcement that is done at home the more successful your child will feel at school.

Misc. items

Please encourage your child to leave personal items at home, such as toys, make-up, jewelry, etc. These items create distractions in the classroom and are not needed at school. Broken Arrow Public Schools is not responsible for lost or damaged items.

Drinks

As I mentioned earlier, I believe children learn best in a comfortable environment. I am going to try a special privilege. Your child may bring a CLEAR, plastic water bottle to school. I have also found that the "pop tops/sports bottles" prevent spills so please send that type of bottle. I will allow students to have a water bottle at their table as long as this privilege is respected and not abused. I will be sending the bottle home occasionally to be washed. I really think the children will find this privilege to be beneficial.

Discipline

I believe students thrive on positive recognition and praise. I work hard to create an environment of friendship and respect in my classroom. I teach students that life is about choices and I expect them to make appropriate choices. Students often test boundaries at the beginning of the school year. I strive for consistency and start each school year with clear expectations. If your child has difficulty making good choices or if problems occur at school, I will let you know. I use logical consequences whenever possible because it has been my experience that children learn from their mistakes when the consequences are logical and fair. Every year is different but discipline is rarely a significant problem in my classroom. Starting in September, you will notice an apple stapled into your child's green folder. There are three stars on the apple and each represents a special reward that a child receives when he/she lands on a star. Every month has a different shape. (Sept. =apple, Oct.=pumpkin, etc.) I have had great success with this in the past. It is simple to do in the classroom and keeps parents informed about their child's daily behavior.

Supplies

When kindergarten changed from half day to full day, a few supplies were added to the supply list. I have also decided to add a few necessary supplies to the list to meet the needs of our particular class and the full day setting. A copy of the supply list is located at the back of this packet. Thank you for sending supplies for your child! About half of the supplies we share and the other half your child will keep at his/her desk for seatwork and individual activities. It is important that each child brings all of the required supplies. If you have not sent all of your student's supplies, please do so in the next few weeks. I am provided with a minimal supply budget which supplies construction paper, paint, staples, etc. The extras are up to me such as glitter, pipe cleaners, all arts and craft supplies (paper plates, sacks, felt, etc.) and extra classroom activities like games, puzzles, puppets, books, etc. From time to time, I will be requesting misc. items that our classroom needs. A lot of these items are recycling type items that have no cost and other items will be inexpensive around $2-$3 or less. If you can send these items, I would greatly appreciate it. If you are getting rid of household items, toys, etc. and think we could use them, please send to school and we will utilize them for learning activities in our classroom. Thank you!!

Final Note

I am thrilled to have your child in class this year!! I can’t wait to get to know each of you. Together, we will celebrate learning and facilitate continuing growth in your child! I am so excited about getting this year started…I am always so ready to jump back into school! When parents and teachers work together as a team, success is a reality!