Welcome
To
With
Mrs. Williams
2017-2018
I dreamed I stood in a studioand watched two sculptors there
The clay they used was a young child’s mind
and they fashioned it with care
One was a teacher, the tools she used
Were books, and music and art
One, a parent, with a guiding hand
And a gentle, loving heart.
Day after day, the teacher toiled
With touch that was deft and sure.
While the parent labored by her side
And polished and smoothed it over.
When at last their task was done they were proud
Of what they had wrought.
For the things they had molded into the child
Could neither be sold nor bought.
And each agreed they would have failed
If they had worked alone
For behind the parent stood the school
And behind the teacher, the home
Field Trips
- Riley’s Apple Farm
- Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch
- Crab Lab Dana Point
- Wise Guys Pizza
- OC Zoo/Picnic
I am so excited that you and your family are part of our kindergarten class this year. God has so many wonderful things planned for us and I can't wait to get started!
This is my third year teaching at Hephatha Lutheran School. I grew up in the Hephatha church and attended the school from Preschool through eighth grade. God certainly had a plan for me. He blessed me with the opportunity to come back to Hephatha to teach at the Kindergarten level. I am so honored and excited to be back and a part of the Hephatha family!
I was born and raised in a Lutheran family. My family includes my parents and 3 siblings, 2 sisters and 1 brother. I am the second oldest and can happily say I am close with all my siblings. My family means the world to me. I was given the opportunity to extend my family June of 2014 when my now husband asked for my hand in marriage. We met through mutual friends and have been together since June of 2008. We married June 20th here at Hephatha and it was a night we will forever cherish.
God has given me a wonderful life and I thank Him for it every day. It is His love that is able to sustain and encourage me each day. 1 John 4:9 tells us, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”
My mission for our class is that the students will learn to use their experiences this year to help them grow academically, socially, and spiritually. I am here to help them establish a relationship with Jesus where they can continue to learn and grow with Him. While I want to see our class work together to help one another achieve their greatest potentials, I am also anxious to see my students grow individually. I believe that parents are a very important factor in a child’s life and it is important that through the school year we work together to help your child succeed.
In His amazing name,
Mrs. Williams
Absenteeism
Attendanceat school is a key component to a student’s success at school. Kindergartenbegins at 8:30A.M. Students are dismissed at2:45 P.M. Students who arrive after the school day has begun, must report to the school officeto obtainan admission slip before being admitted to class.When your student is absent from school, a parent is required to call the school to explain thecause ofthe absence and send a note to the teacher when the student returns.After the first 5 unexcused tardies, I will send a note home with all the tardy dates for you to review.After 10 tardies, parents will meet with me for an action plan. After 10, the student loses the morning recess.After 15, parents need to meet with the principal for a discussion.
Conferences
Hephatha Lutheran School has scheduled conferences at the end of the first trimester. A sign-up sheet will be posted prior to the date where parents can fill in a day and time according to their convenience. If I or a parent feels they need to add additional conferences throughout the year, then those can be scheduled. Please communicate with me on a time and day via email, phone call, or note. Please do not “drop in” for unscheduled conferences as I may be unable to give you my complete attention.
Snack
We will have a snack time at our first recess. Your child is welcome to bring their own healthy snack. Water fountains are available at the school during this time. Please do not send soda or candy for a snack.
Homework
Homework packetswill comehome at the beginning of each weekin yourchild's folder with a weekly newsletter on top.On the newsletter you will find important dates and events, homework for the week, memory verses, and other valuable information. It is very important that you read over the letter. Extra copies are available each week on our classroom website. Each homework packet consists of Math and Language Arts worksheets. I will list the pages I would like completed, however, I will also have pages in there as extra work. Your child is only required to complete the pages assigned by me. Homeworkis dueat the end of each week.The folders are to come back to school daily and placed into the tub located on the lunch cart. Please check folders daily, removing graded papers and other important forms.
Monthly Projects
Once a month I will be sending home a special project for you and your child to complete. The family projects are special because your child gets to complete a fun activity with you and other family members. Projects should be completed by the due dates on the sheets and brought to school to share with the class. Extra copies can be found on our classroom website.
God’s Superstars
This year, I encourage your child to memorize or learn
• his/her full name
• his/her birthday
• his/her home address
• important phone numbers
• how to tie their shoes.
You can help your child practice this information orally in addition to writing it down. Please write the information for your child on an index card or other sheet of paper to copy. Writing it down for your child helps ensure correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, spacing, and information. Once your child has mastered the concept, please fill out the specific area on the worksheet and send it back in their daily folder. Once assessed, their name will be added to our “God’s Superstars” bulletin board.
Take Home Sight Word Lists
Our sight word assessments will begin after Christmas break. Your child will receive a list of sight words in their daily folder. They are to practice these words at home and come back and read the words to me. When your child is ready, please send the list back in their folder. I will check folders daily for the lists. When they have correctly read their list, I will send home a new list to study. Word lists that have been completed are to stay at home. I encourage you to continue to read over them with your child.
PVP hours
Parents are required to complete 50 service hours per year. In the beginning of the year I need help organizing our curriculum. Throughout the year, parents are welcome to volunteer and teach a PE lesson. Please review our classroom schedule for the day and time of P.E. I have activities and some supplies but am open to letting parents bring in their own ideas. A sign up sheet will be posted outside our classroom. Parents are also welcome to drive on field trips, donate party or supply items, and help with PTL functions.
Fun Friday
Our Fun Friday time occurs Friday afternoons after our third recess. Your child will have the opportunity for free play if they completed all their work for the week. If missing work, they will be making it up at their table. If they have clipped down below “Ready to learn” earlier in the day then they will have to sit out for a specific time.
Classroom Grading Scale
= Outstanding Work
= Needs Improvement
(too messy or missed the concept)
Check mark = Average work
(could be neater or apply more time)
Daily 5
The Daily Five is a way of structuring the reading block so every student is independently engaged in meaningful literacy tasks. These research based tasks are ones that will have the biggest impact on student reading and writing achievement, as well as help foster children who love to read and write. Students receive explicit whole group instruction and then are given independent practice time to read and write independently while I provide focused, intense instruction to individuals and small groups of students.When it is up and running smoothly, students will be engaged in the Daily Five, which are comprised of:
- Read to Self
- Work on Writing
- Read to Someone
- Listen to Reading
- Word Work
We will make time to celebrate birthdays on or around a student’s birthday date. Parents may provide treats for students during school hours. If bringing in a treat, please provide cups, plates, napkins, etc. and beware of food allergies. If passing out any school or holiday party invitations during school hours, please provide one for each student to avoid hurt feelings.
Chapel
Chapel will be held every Wednesday. Kindergarten will host chapel twice throughout the year. Students are required to dress in their formal wear. Boys must wear Dennis uniform pants with a white collared shirt, a tie and the black sweater if cold. Girls may wear the gray jumper, white blouse, and a red sweater.
Cuddle Buddies
Our cuddle buddies in Kindergarten areDr. Seuss characters. At the beginning of the week, a student will bring home a Dr. Seuss character of their choice along with a journal sheet to fill in. The Cuddle Buddy is welcome to join you in any extracurricular activities. During your week together, please feel free to take pictures or draw them on your sheet followed by a couple sentences telling us about your fun times. Students will then have the opportunity to share their story with the rest of the class.
Singing in Church
Kindergarten students will be singing in church services throughout the year. Please look for specific dates and times on weekly newsletter.
Share Day
We have scheduled share days throughout the year where students will have the opportunity to bring specific colored toys from home. These days will be listed on the weekly newsletter. On the share day, please have your child bring their item in a bag so that it cannot be seen. A brown paper bag would be perfect. A clue form will be sent home earlier in the week, which can be placed in the bag once it is filled out. Have your child write three clues about their share item. These clues can be one word clues. Your child will present these clues to the rest of the class. The class will then attempt to guess the share item in the bag. Please make sure their name is on the outside of the bag.
All About Me
Your child will have the opportunity to create an “All About Me” poster with information about them. I will be providing the paper and assigning them their week. During their week, they are able to bring a toy each day of their choice that they would like to share with the rest of the class. Please do not forget to bring back the poster to display in the classroom.
Portfolios
Most of the work is kept at school and is organized into a portfolio binder according to the month it is completed. Some class work will come home in your child's folder. The binders will come home at the end of the year. This is a great keepsake for them to cherish. If at any time you would like to view their binder, please contact me.
Classroom Management
Clip Chart:
The clip chart is an individual behavior plan. The students will start each day off on the section labeled, “ready to learn”. They are able to move up and down the chart throughout the day, depending on their behavior and actions. There are 3 sections to move down and three to move up.
Going up:
- “Good Choices”: Clip up once.
- “Great Choices”: Clip up twice.
- “Outstanding”: Clip up 3 times.
- "Warning": Clip down once.
- "Consequences": Clip down twice. (Lose free play time)
- "Parent Contact": Clip down 3 times. (Parents are contacted)
Marble Jar
The marble jar provides students with the opportunity to work together as a group and will get filled depending on the group effort of my students. Once filled, we discuss a prize.
Assessments
Kindergarten students are formally assessed three times throughout the year; fall, winter and spring. Some assessment results are saved in their portfolio, while some results are sent home for parents to review. Report cards are completed after each trimester and are then sent home to parents. Parents are required to review the report card, sign the envelope, and then return it to me.
Scholastic Book Orders
Scholastic book catalogs will come home throughout the year in your child’s folder. The books are available to order online through scholastic.com. You may purchase the books online by using our Kindergarten activation code: NKFNM All books will be sent to the classroom and then placed in your child’s backpack once delivered.
Kindergarten Classroom Standards
At Hephatha, sharing the love of Jesus is very important. We are given many opportunities to show the love of Jesus back to others. I encourage my students every day to share the love of Jesus in these 4 ways:
L
look on the bright side
O
offer to assist others
V
value friendships and relationships
E
energize everyone with positivity
School Age Care
After school care is available for your child through SAC. Please let your child know if they are going to SAC after school. If possible, please let me know if someone new is picking up your child. They need to be on your child’s emergency form and bring their ID when they arrive.
Spelling Tests
Spelling tests will start once we come back from Christmas break. Your child will receive a list of five word family words as well as a sight word at the beginning of the week. Please review the words each night with your child as they will be tested at the end of the week. I will provide a worksheet weekly in the homework packet with numerous strategies to help your child study. Please choose a way that benefits your child.There will also be a sentence I would like your child to practice writing. They will be tested on this as well, focusing oncapitalization at the beginning, finger spaces, correct spelling of words and punctuation at the end.
Please be assured that I will do my best to make this school year an enjoyable time for your child, but also a time filled with real learning.The skills we practice daily in kindergarten are the building blocks for your child's future success in school and in life.I know if we all work together, we can make this a wonderful year for our students and help them reach each goal that is set for them.
Love,
Mrs. Williams