SMITH ABC Book for Parents for Curr. Nite 2012

7/29/2019 SMITH ABC Book for Parents for Curr. Nite 2012

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Absences If your child will be out please call the office at 248203 3888 and let us know.

ALLERGIES WE HAVE PEANUT, TREE NUT, SHELLFISH, DAIRY

ALLERGIES IN OUR CLASS. PLEASE PLANBIRTHDAY SNACKS AND NUTRITION BREAKACCORDINGLY.

Art We will have Art on D day. Please dress your childappropriately for these activities.

Attendance A successful school experience is the responsibility of the children, the parent and the school. Your child's

progress, both academically and socially, is influenced toa great extent by daily participation. Regularattendance without tardiness is a key.

Arrival Students should plan to arrive between 8:50 and 8:55.Students should not arrive prior to this time sincesupervision is not available by the school staff. Kidsclub is available before and after school, if needed.

Backpacks To help your child carry messages and information to andfrom school, you are asked to provide a school-sizedbackpack for this purpose. Please have your child sharethe contents of the backpack with you daily.

Birthdays Birthdays are special occasions for young children. If your child wishes, he/she may bring treats for the class.In order to avoid hurt feelings, please send birthdayparty invites from your house unless you either plan on

inviting the whole class or all of the boys or all of thegirls. We will be celebrating half-year birthdays forchildren whose birthdays are in the summer. Thenutrition break calendar will reflect these days.

Book Orders Every month or so I will be sending home book orderforms for you and your child to look over. These clubsoffer wonderful books at reduced prices – what a greatway to build your home library! (You are under NO



obligation to buy anything.) All book orders will be doneonline. Simple directions will be sent home with the firstbook order form explaining how to make on linepurchases.

Clothes Please send your child to school in clothes appropriatefor learning. Becoming involved in kindergarten activitiesoften means that the students will get a little "messy."Also make sure to wear gym shoes on the days we go toPE or send in an extra pair to keep in the backpack.Please check the Unified Arts schedule for your child’sPE days.

Conferences Parent/Teacher conferences are held throughout theyear. At these conferences, we will be discussing yourchild's accomplishments, strengths and overall progress.The first set of scheduled conferences is in November.

Computers We are fortunate enough to have three computers in ourclassroom. We use a variety of age-appropriateprograms that reinforce math and prereading/readingskills. We also have a computer lab that we will be

using throughout the year.

Differentiation Because all children are unique and special, they may beat many different instructional levels. Since it is myresponsibility to take each child from where he or she iscurrently to a higher level, students may be learningconcepts different from his/her peers. With this typeof teaching in the classroom, you can be sure that yourchild's individual needs will be met.

Discipline My philosophy of discipline is based on the belief that

children need affectionate care and firm guidelineswithin a flexible structure. To establish good order andhelp the children learn self-control, the children will beguided to respect themselves and their classmatesthrough specific directions, positive reinforcement,suggested new activities and responsible actions. The



children will learn from the start of school that my firstjob is to keep them safe. We focus on good/poorchoices and the consequences/rewards that accompanythem. We also follow the school wide plan.

Dismissal Please send any changes to dismissal (i.e whose coming,bus verses pick up, etc.) Please send a not!!! If nowritten note is received, your child will be sent home byhis/her usual method of transportation. This is forhis/her own safety.

Email Feel free to contact me via email. My preferred email ismy home email is [email protected]. In and effort

to minimize paper usage, Birmingham Public Schools sendscorrespondence via eNews. Please refer to the web page(www.birmingham.k12.mi.us) for further information.

EnvironmentalPrint One of the most important things about kindergarten is

learning the beginning concepts of reading. To helpstudents with those first attempts, we collect“Environmental Print”. That is wrappers and packages

from things in our environment that your child can read.For example...McDonald’s, Pepsi, Coke, Fruit Loops, etc.Please continue to reinforce your child’s attempts andsuccess with reading.

Field Trips We work to plan field trips that are both fun andeducational for the children. Please return permissionslips as soon as possible after they are sent home.

Fire Drills Fire drills are held periodically throughout the year. Allstudents will participate and are expected to walkquickly and quietly to their designated exit. We willpractice and become familiar with procedures before ourfirst scheduled drill.

Guided Reading The definition of guided reading encompasses a widevariety of behaviors. For example, some children may be



working on alphabet recognition, some may requireteacher support to read stories with predictable text,while others may read simple texts independently.Guided reading provides an opportunity to teach children

the variety of reading strategies they need in order tobecome fluent, independent readers. During guidedreading, the teacher monitors and evaluates each child'sprogress.

Hands-on Learning The best way to help children learn is to make learningfun. Doing meaningful, hands-on activities facilitateslearning. There are times when seatwork is required andnecessary, but for the most part, our classroom will be

an active learning environment.

Homework Homework will be sent in the LION folder. Homeworkwill usually be a reinforcement of what we have workedon in the classroom.

Independent Reading Because children learn to read by reading, they needplenty of opportunities to read independently. Sufficienttime and appropriate materials are necessary to develop

and strengthen reading abilities. By giving the childrentime to read both at school and at home, we can worktogether to provide a literature-rich environment and alife-long love of reading.

Join the fun! There are many of opportunities to help out in theclassroom, and throughout the building. Ms. Green, themedia specialist, is always looking for volunteers. Thereis a signup genius on the blog that will allow you to signup directly to work on the media center. The PTA isanother great way to get involved. Whether you are aworking parent or not, there are plenty of ways to beparticipate.

Kindness Students in our classroom are encouraged and expectedto treat all members of our class as well as others withkindness and respect.



Labeling Please label everything. If it is labeled it will bereturned!! It is amazing but most kindergarten childrendo not know if a shirt belongs to them or notJ

LION folder (Learning Independent Organization Now) This is thefolder the children will take back and forth from schoolto home (and back) each day. The folder has places fornotes from home and school. The homework calendar andthe Nutrition Break calendar will be sent home in thisfolder each month.

Lost & Found Please, so we do not need lost and found, labeleverything. I promise if it is labeled, it will be returned

to you.

Math The kindergarten mathematics curriculum providesstudents with mathematical experiences that help themdevelop number sense and a positive attitude towardsmathematics that will continue through their schoolcareer and their lives. We will use the MathExpressions program, which utilizes a hands-on, problemsolving approach. As discussed earlier, the program has

an awesome home component.

Media Center Our media specialist, Ms. Green, will take the children onB day to learn how to navigate the Pembroke Libraryand Media Center. Children may take books out duringmedia center, and then return them the following B day.

Music Mr. Z, one of our excellent music teachers, will beteaching the children the basics of music education and

will be sharing many wonderful songs on C day !

Mystery Reader This year, “Mystery Reader” will take place each Friday.A secret sign will appear via the blog using signupgenius.You may choose the day you can come in to read to thestudents. The mystery is that the children will not knowwho is coming in to read. Please DO NOT tell your childwhat day you’re planning to come. They love the



surprise! Other classes have had parents bring in a“literacy souvenirs” to go along with the book. Forexample, if you read Brown Bear you might bring aconstruction paper bookmark of an animal in the book.

The idea of a “souvenirs” is to encourage furthercomprehension so children will have a spark to rememberthe book for a future retelling.

Newsletter A newsletter will be not be sent, but a blog will beupdated almost daily giving you information in almostreal time to keep you up to date on what is going in ourclassroom. The blog is a “closed – invitation only blog.”Please email me if you have not signed up.

Nutrition Break Each month a calendar for nutrition break will be senthome. I have had much more success getting children topick healthy snacks for the class when we call itnutrition break. Fruit and vegetables are encouraged.We are a gluten free, nut free, seafood free andvegan classroom.

Outside Time We will try to go outside daily for recess (as weather

permits.) Please keep this in mind when helping yourchild to select clothing for the day.

Parent Your support of school activities makes your child feelimportant and sends the message that you value school!There will be a variety of special classroom activitiesand celebrations throughout the school year. I hopethat you can come and join in the fun!

Parties We will have class parties from time to time foroccasions such as Halloween, winter holidays, Valentine'sDay and the 100th Day of School. The room parentsusually organize these events and coordinate volunteersand donations. All are welcome to participate in thefestivities!



Physical Education We are very fortunate this year to have 2 scheduled PEtimes. The students will have structured, physicaleducation classes on A and C days . Please rememberto send in an extra pair of gym shoes if possible.

Questions? Since so many of you are new to Pembroke Elementarythis year, I’m sure that you may still have someunanswered questions. Please feel free to call, text oremail with any questions. My cell number is (248) 342-6133.

Reader’s Workshop Reader’s workshop is an instructional model, whichcombines the teaching of specific reading strategies with

a variety of ways to practice these them. The studentsengage in independent reading, partner reading, andpractice within small groups. This block of time includesa read aloud, shared reading, a mini lesson, guided andindependent reading. This allows for differentiatedinstruction, giving each student practice with thesestrategies at their own level.

Report Cards Report Cards are given out twice a year in January and

June. These reports reflect the progress your child usingcommon core state standards (CCSS).

Rest The children will have a period of rest each afternoonfor approximately 15 minutes. Although they do nothave to sleep during this time, they will be asked toquietly rest. Please send in a labeled towel for yourchild to use during this time.

Restrooms The children are free to go to the bathroom as the needarises, through out the day.

Room Parents The room parents' job is to be available for any numberof things: to help coordinate parties and activities; toseek volunteers for field trips and events; and to be asounding board about new ideas. Being a room parent is



a great way to be involved in your child’s school life. If you are interested, please let me know.

Science The focus of the kindergarten science curriculum is on

developing an awareness of the world in which we live.Through scientific inquiry, concepts will be presented inphysical, life and earth sciences. The units are asfollows: Unit 1- Physical Science, Unit 2- Organization of Living, Unit 3-Earth Science and Unit 4- Force andMotion. These areas will be explored utilizing a literacybased, hands-on approach.

Shared Reading Shared reading is an interactive process used with the

whole class. As the teacher reads a story, children joinin on phrases or words that they know. Duringsubsequent re-readings, children read more and more of the text, until they are able to read the storyindependently. Shared reading is an opportunity for theteacher to model conventions of print and the use of reading strategies.

Social Studies The social studies curriculum is interactive and

participatory. Activities will help the children focus theirnatural curiosity for the world around them. We willhave one shortened unit of study on Early Man. BPSschools use a time line approach to Social Studies. Thecurriculum continues in first grade children learn aboutAncient Egypt and then in second grade learning aboutMedieval times etc.

Star of the Week In keeping with the timeline theme for Kindergarten,each child can present a timeline of his/her life. Thesign up is will be another signupgenius document thatwill be added to the blog. A “Timeline” packet will beadded to the blog as a PDF for you to download at yourleisure J. Please sign your child up to be the “Star”when it will be convenient for your family. Refer to the“Star of the Week” packet for further instructions.



Toys Bringing toys to school is discouraged. If a toy isaccidentally lost or broken, feelings will be hurt.Anything that is brought to school will be expected toremain in your child’s backpack.

Unique All students enter my classroom with different skills,personalities, experiences, backgrounds and learningstyles. It is my aspiration to foster their individualstrengths and help each child develop to his/her fullestpotential; academically and socially. My goal is to teachthem to fall in love with learning!

Visitors

& Volunteers Pembroke Elementary has a policy that ALL GUESTS(including familiar faces) are required to check in at theoffice and wear a guest badge. Pembroke Elementarywelcomes and encourages family involvement and thepresence of a guest badge will help identify visitors toall faculty and staff. It is important to remember thatwhile this may seem inconvenient to frequent visitors, itis the goal and responsibility of the school to create a

safe learning environment.

Writing Writer’s Workshop builds on what each child alreadyknows. Writing begins with scribbles and proceeds tolines and circles, random strings of letters, words andspaces and eventually sentences. One strategy that willbe used to help convey the vital concept that “print

conveys meaning” is the frequent use of writing.Kindergartners will combine their emerging writing skillswith their drawing skills. As the children are exposed toa variety of phonics and reading experiences, they willmove from drawings and “inventive” spellings towardsmore conventional writing. Your children will beencouraged and praised for all attempts andaccomplishments in writing. Providing a risk-free



environment is paramount to your child's progress inwriting. If possible, please provide your child withwriting tools, such as pencils, crayons, markers and paperat home.

XXI We currently have 21 kindergartners in our class thisyear. Please keep this in mind if you are sendingsomething to school that needs to be distributed to theentire class.

You! Thank you for all you do, each day, to help make my jobeasier. Children who are well taken care of are readyto learn. And always remember you are a teacher too!

There is no one who is more influential in your child’s lifethan you!

ZZZ ’s Kindergarten is hard, fun work! Make sure that yourchild gets plenty of rest. Setting and keeping a bedtimeis a wonderful gift you can give to your child. It willhelp them to be alert and ready to learn each day!

SMITH ABC Book for Parents for Curr. Nite 2012

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