Mrs. Cannon
Kindergarten Room A110
Dear Parents,
Welcome to Kindergarten! My name is Kelly Cannon and I am delighted that your child is in my class this year! With your encouragement, your child will be a part of many rewarding experiences this academic year. Kindergarten is a very exciting but challenging year. The students will be taking 3 tests this year to determine their academic benchmark. They will take a Math AIMSweb test, a Literacy AIMSweb, and DRA (reading assessment). Information regarding the results of these tests will be discussed during parent teacher conferences which will take place in mid-September. I will send more information about that home when the time gets closer.
I have compiled this class handbook to provide information of the policies, procedures and expectations for the new school year. Please review the handbook with your child and sign the contract at the end of the handbook so that I know that you have read and understood the information contained here.
School Day Procedures
The building will open at 7:00; breakfast will be served in the cafeteria until 7:30. All students will report to the gym until released to walk with their class to their classroom at 7:30. Students arriving after 7:30 will walk directly to the classroom upon entrance of the building. A student is considered tardy if they are not in the classroom by 7:40 and they will be sent to the office to receive a tardy pass. Two tardies in a week result in lunch detention for your child. Please be on time because our lessons start promptly at 7:40 and students arriving after this time disrupt the learning of others. Your child’s lunch period is 11:15-11:45. The school day will end at 3:05, please follow all pick up procedures.
Classroom Discipline Plan
As I firmly believe that lifelong success depends on self-discipline, I have developed a Classroom Discipline Plan that gives every student the opportunity to manage his or her own behavior. I will discuss this plan with the students, but I would appreciate it if you would review the plan with your child as well. Working together, all of us can ensure that your child will receive the most positive educational climate possible.
Classroom Rules:
- We will be safe.
- We will be respectful.
- We will be responsible.
If a student chooses to break a rule, these are the consequences:
First- Warning
Second- Move clip to Yellow (walking 5 minutes of recess)
Third- Move clip to Orange (walking 10 minutes of recess)
Fourth- Move clip to Red (note or call home to parents)
Every day, the students clip starts out on Green. Their clip is able to move up and down throughout the day depending on their behavior. The color they end the day with will be documented in their behavior folder. Students are able to earn a Blue (Super Star Behavior). In order to earn a Blue, students must go above and beyond every day expected behavior. The students will have an opportunity to earn a reward at the end of each week based off of their behavior for the week.
Communication and School Policies
Communication with your child’s teacher is important but we ask that you follow the school policies when communicating in person and via technology. You must check into the school through the front office. You may only visit the area specified on your Visitor Tag when you check in. For safety purposes you are not allowed to come down to your child’s classroom unless permitted by front office at check-in. Parents will not be allowed to conference with the teacher prior to the school day, you will need to schedule a conference at a confirmed time. Email is the fastest form of communication with your child’s teacher. If your child has a transportation change, you MUST NOTIFY THE OFFICE! It is important that we have your most up to date contact information because there will be weekly information sent out via email. Teachers will also communicate through REMIND 101. Please make sure to subscribe to your teacher’s REMIND 101 messaging account.
Homework & Guided Reading Policy
Homework (red) folders will be sent home on Monday with activities to complete to practice math concepts, handwriting, and sight words to be returned on Friday for a completion grade. In the Homework folder, there will be a hundred chart, alphabet chart, and handwriting for all capital, lowercase, and numbers with the common language used in our classroom, please leave these sheets in their plastic sleeves for reference throughout the year. Please read with your child every night and return the folder every morning. A grade will taken weekly on homework. Your child is expected to read at a DRA level 6 or higher independently by the end of Kindergarten. Nightly practice will help your child achieve this goal. There will be a recording sheet that you will need to sign to document that your child has read each night.
Snack
In Kindergarten, we use the community snack system. The students will bring in packaged snacks that are enough to supply the class. I will store them in the classroom until we use the snack. Therefore, please send snacks that will not go bad. Goldfish, animal crackers, fruit snacks, etc. are ideal. As our stash of snacks starts to deplete, I will send home a note asking for parents to replenish our supplies. It is strongly suggested that students bring a water bottle to school each day, no other beverages will be allowed in the classroom.
Absences
If your child is absent from school, please send in a note of explanation. The note needs to be placed in the Daily Behavior (blue) Folder so that the teacher is sure to see it. It is important that your child have very limited absences. We do a lot of activities in class that are difficult to make up. State law also limits that amount of absences children can have from school.
If you know that your child will be absent from school due to a lengthy illness or unforeseen circumstances, please let me know as soon as possible. I will try to gather all of the upcoming work together, so your child can work on it while he/she is sick or absent from school.
Parent Teacher Conferences
Our school holds Parent Teacher Conferences at the beginning of the school year. They will start near the mid to end of September after beginning of the year testing has been completed. If you would like to meet with me at other times, please call me at school and leave a voicemail, email me or send a note to class with your child in the blue folder. I will confirm with you our conference time through phone call, email, or a written letter home to ensure there are no confusions. The best times to meet with me are after school (3:30-4:00), or we can have a scheduled phone conference (conference period7:55-8:40), if that is more convenient for you! All phone calls to the teacher during instructional time will be deferred to voicemail and will be returned within 24 hours. For the quickest response, email is ideal.
Class Parties & Birthdays
We will have 3 classroom parties throughout the year. There will be a Christmas Party, Valentine’s Day Party, and an End of the Year Celebration. I will send home announcements before the parties take place to inform you what your child will need to bring for the party. I do encourage parents to attend the parties with their child, but please leave little brothers and sisters at home. If you plan on bringing in a special snack for your child’s birthday, please let me know a few days in advance!
Field Trips
We will be taking a field trip or two, sometime during the school year. I will provide more information about that when we have determined where and when it will be. Most often I will need parent volunteers to assist on the field trip. Once field trips have been established and I have given you the information, please let me know if you would like to join. I will be asking the first 6 people that get back to me to join on the trip(s). Please leave little brothers and sisters at home, they will not be allowed on the field trip.
I look forward to a great year working along with you and your child. If you have questions, then please contact me at school and leave a voicemail 512-746-2170 ext. 2110, or email
Please sign and return the last page of this handbook so that I know that you have read its contents. (If you’re unable to print, please let me know). It’s very important the handbook is read over. Please keep the handbook so that you may refer to it throughout the year. Thank you for your time and cooperation!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Kelly Cannon
(Please return this page to Mrs. Cannon)
I have read the handbook concerning the classroom rules and procedures. I understand the classroom discipline plan and have discussed it with my child.
Parent’s email address: ______
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Parent or Guardian SignatureDate
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Child’s Name
Comments or Questions:
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