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KindergartenRay Public School

Mrs. CvancaraKindergarten Teacher

Absence

If your child is ill, please call the office (701-568-3301) and inform us of your child’s absence and the reason for it. This is for your child’s safety. If a student must leave early for a doctor’s appointment, please let me or the office know, so your child will be ready to go.

Attendance

A successful school experience is the responsibility of the child, the parent and the school.  Your child's progress, both academically and socially, is influenced to a great extent by daily participation.  Regular attendance without tardiness is a key.

Arrival and Dismissal

Students should arrive between 8:00 and 8:30 AM. Students should not arrive prior to 8:00 AM since supervision by the school staff is not available.  School begins promptly at 8:30 AM and afternoon dismissal is at 3:15 PM. Please pick up your child promptly.

B.E.E. Binders

Your child will have a B.E.E. (Bring Everything Everyday) Binder for me to send notes and information to you and for you to send notes to me. Finished papers and homework will also be sent home in the B.E.E. Binder. Please remove papers each day and return papers that need to come back to school.

Birthdays

Birthdays are special occasions for young children. If your child wishes, he/she may bring a treat for the class. We will celebrate summer birthdays during the last few weeks of school or on half birthdays. The birthday list will be located in the B.E.E. Binder.

Book Orders

Every month I will send home a Scholastic Book Club Catalog for you and your child to look over. These clubs offer wonderful books at reduced prices---what a great way to build your home library! If you choose to order, please make the check payable to Scholastic Books or use the website to order online.

Breakfast

School breakfast is served every morning from 8:00-8:25 AM. The breakfast menu can be found on the weekly bulletinthat is sent home every Friday or on the school website.

Calendar

A calendar of school events and the breakfast/lunch menus are available in our weekly bulletin. A calendar can also be located on our school website: www.ray.k12.nd.usWe also have a calendar located in our B.E.E. Binders. This calendar is used to see how your child’s day was. If there is stamp on the day, it was a good frog day! If there is an X, there will be a note explaining what happened.

Computer

We have computer time once a week. We use a variety of age-appropriate programs that reinforce math, readiness and reading skills. 

Conferences

Parent/Teacher conferences are held twice a year, usually in October and March. You will receive your child’s report card and we will discuss your child's accomplishments, strengths and overall progress. 

Discipline

Our classroom is a small community where teamwork and good relationships are expected. We will spend time learning class procedures and practicing them. Each student is expected to act within our standards of behavior. To establish good order and help the children learn self-control, they will be guided to respect themselves and their companions through specific directions, positive reinforcement, suggested new activities and responsible actions.

Our classroom discipline system is called “Jumping for Good Behavior”. Every child has a frog with his/her name on it. The first time a child breaks a rule, he/she will be given a verbal reminder. Nothing further will happen as they reflect on whether that behavior was a good choice.

Every child will begin the day with their frog in the pond on our Behavior Chart. If the child chooses to break a rule after a verbal reminder, his/her frog will be moved down to the next level. Continued misbehavior will result in the frog being moved to the lowest level on the behavior chart. The rules and consequences are listed below.

Rules: 1. Listen when the teacher is talking. 2. Follow directions quickly. 3. Raise your hand if you want to talk. 4. Raise your hand if you want to leave your seat. 5. Respect yourself, respect others, respect your school.

Consequences: Excellent Behavior:  Frog stays in the pond. First Offense: A verbal reminder as a warning. Second Offense:  Frog will be moved out of the pond. Miss five minutes of playtime or recess. Third Offense: Frog will be moved to the lowest level of the behavior chart and miss all of playtime or recess. A note will also be sent home explaining the child’s behavior and consequence.  

E-mail

You can contact me via my email address: katy.cvancara@sendit.nodak.eduI try to check my email on a daily basis.  If you need to discuss something urgently, please call me at school instead.

Emergency Closings

If schools are closed for a snow day or any emergency, radio station 660 or the local TV station KXMC will make an announcement. The secretary will also send an Alert Now message out to all school households.

Field Trips

If we go on any field trips, permission slips will be sent home first. Please return permission slips as soon as possible after they are sent home.

Fire Drills

Fire drills are held at random times throughout the year.  All students will participate and are expected to walk quickly and quietly to their designated exit.  We usually have a fire drill during Fire Safety month in October.

Gym

Our class will have a 30 minute gym class 3 times a week with Ms. Bolstad. Students must have gym shoes, they don’t need to be new, but have to have nonmarking soles. These shoes will be kept in school.

Health

Please let me know of special circumstances which may affect your child. These could include medication that may make him/her sleepy, a death in the family, etc. Also, please let me know of any allergies your child may have, especially food allergies. We sometimes cook or do food activities to complement lessons in kindergarten and it would be helpful to know when I plan our recipes.

Help at Home

When time permits, please work on these skills:

Basic colors Shape names Counting to 10 and Identifying numbers to 10 Reciting the alphabet Identifying letter names Birthday (month and date) Tying shoes Printing first name

Your extra help at home really makes a difference!

Homework

We generally don’t have homework in Kindergarten, but I may occasionally send home papers for students to do and then bring back to school. One thing I ask you to look for in your child’s papers isthe reproduced books. We practice these in school and I encourage you to ask your child to read them to you at home. They go along with our Reading Series and help with sight word recognition. Please write down these stories on the Kindergarten Reading Log page. When your child returns the page, he or she will get a stamp next to the stories you read at home.

Illness

The question of when to keep your child home from school is often a difficult one, especially when decisions must be made first thing in the morning.  It is important, however, to keep your child home if he/she is ill. This helps to make them more comfortable and prevents others from becoming ill.  Children function more effectively in the classroom when they are healthy.

Independent Reading

Because children learn to read by reading, they need plenty of opportunities to read independently.  Sufficient time and appropriate materials are necessary to develop and strengthen reading abilities.  By giving the children time to read both at school and at home, we can work together to provide a literature-rich environment and a life-long love of reading.

Journals

One strategy that will be used to help the students remember that print conveys meaning is the frequent use of journal writing.  In these journals the kindergartners combine their emerging writing skills with their drawing skills.  As the children are exposed to a variety of phonics and reading experiences, journal entries will move from drawings and inventive spellings towards more conventional writing.

Kindness

Students in our classroom are encouraged and expected to treat all members of our class as well as others with kindness and respect. Bothering others, bullying and interrupting learning will not be permitted.

Library

Kindergarten will go to the library once a week for 30 minutes. In the library Mrs. Torkelson will entertain them with a story or a video. Later in the year the children will have a chance to select a book to borrow for a week. Students must return their books before they are allowed to check out a new one.

Literacy Centers

During literacy centers, children practice reading and writing skills while the teacher works with individual children or small guided reading groups.  The center activities are designed to strengthen letter/sound knowledge, listening skills, oral language expression, rhyme, letter formation and cooperation.

Lunch

We will eat lunch at 11:10 each day. Children may bring a packed lunch from home or eat a school lunch. The lunch menu is published weekly in the school bulletin. You can also find the menu on our school website: www.ray.k12.nd.us

Math

The kindergarten mathematics curriculum provides students with mathematical experiences that help them develop number sense and a positive attitude towards mathematics that will continue through their school career and their lives.  We employ a hands-on, problem solving approach.

Music

Our music teacher, Ms. Drege, will be teaching the children the basics of music education and will be sharing many wonderful songs!  We are scheduled to have music for 30 minutes 3 times a week. Of course, I will be singing and enjoying music with the children daily.

Newsletter

You can find our weekly newsletter on the school website under Kinder News. It tells what we will be learning for the upcoming week of school. You can also find this information in the Reading, Math and Science newsletters that are sent home with each new chapter.

Outside Recess

The children will play outdoors for 15 minutes at 10:00 and 2:00. After lunch they will get 30 minutes of recess. (unless it is raining or the weather is too cold). Please keep this in mind when helping your child to select clothing for the day. During the long winter months please send proper outdoor clothing: snow pants, warm jacket, hat and gloves.

Parties & Celebrations

There are three main parties each year---Halloween, Christmas and Valentine’s Day. We will have some other smaller celebrations that I will organize such as Thanksgiving, the 100th Day of School, Easter, and our End of the Year Celebration. Letters will be sent home prior to each party and will include the list of students scheduled to bring treats!

Playground Procedures

Please review these playground rules and safety procedures with your child:1. Always follow the directions of the adult on duty2. Follow all school rules.3. Walk to recess and lunch in an orderly manner.4. Do not jump off any playground equipment.5. Always make sure you can see the adult on duty.7. There will be no football or any games involving tackling.8. No food or drinks outside.9. Only one person per swing and do not twist it.10. You may only come down the slide on your bottom facing forward.

Questions

Please feel free to call me at school: 568-3301 with any questions or concerns you have. You can always write a note and put it in the B.E.E. Binder or email me at: katy.cvancara@sendit.nodak.edu

Report Cards

Report cards are issued every nine weeks.  These reports reflect the progress your child has made toward various kindergarten objectives and uses a grading system that reflects the developmental nature of kindergarten learning.

Restrooms

We are fortunate to have a bathroom in our classroom, so students do not have to leave the room to use the bathroom. Please make me aware of any medical problem that might require more frequent restroom trips.

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 in the life and earth sciences, including the study of animals and plants, the five senses, general health and the four seasons. These areas will be explored utilizing a literacy based, hands-on approach.

Show and Tell

Show and tell will be on Fridays. This is the only day your child should bring a special toy, book, etc. If you are afraid a toy will get broken and you do not want your child to play with it during playtime, let me know and I will keep it at my desk. Some things that cannot be brought to school are toy or real knives, guns or other weapons and also live pets.

Snack

We will have snack time every day. Each student is responsible for bringing his/her own snack. Milk will be provided. If you would like to send snacks for the whole week, I can keep them here at school for your child. Students may bring a small cooler if the snack needs to be refrigerated.

Social Studies

The kindergarten social studies curriculum focuses on the students and how they relate to others in their families, classroom, school, and community. Holiday celebrations will also be highlighted. Activities will help the children engage their natural curiosity for the world around them.

Supplies

The children will need the following supplies for kindergarten. LABEL THE *ITEMS WITH YOUR CHILD’S NAME. School bag

1 box of crayons (no more than 24) 1 box of markers (10 count)

10 small glue sticks 1 bottle of white glue

Scissors (child’s Fiskars works well) 1 Box of Pencils

1- 1” 3 Ring Binder with pockets in front and back 1- 3 ring pencil bag

*Old oversized shirt for painting* 1 box of Kleenex

*Shoes for gym class (these will stay in school) *An extra set of clothes (in case of an accident)*

Snack for snack time each day (each child will bring their own)

Toys

Bringing toys to school (other than Show and Tell days) is discouraged because they distract the children from learning. If a toy is accidentally lost or broken, feelings will be hurt.

Unique

"There are millions of people all over the place, but no one else with exactly my face." Each child will bring to school their special qualities and strengths. We will build on them during the school year.

Visitors

If you come to pick up your child early and the class is out of the room, check in at the school office. The secretary will help you locate the class. If someone new is going to pick up your child, please let me know ahead of time.

Website

Our school has a website which can be accessed at www.ray.k12.nd.usCheck in regularly to find information about curriculum, special events and school news. In the Kindergarten section you can find our Star Words, Supply List, Book It Forms and Kinder News.

Wish List

Here is a list of supplies we could use in our classroom! If you are willing to donate, please send an item to school with your child.

Pack of Baby wipes Pack of Clorox Disinfecting Wipes

Snack size Ziplock bags Sandwich size Ziplock bags

Gallon size Ziplock bags Extra box of Kleenex Jumbo cotton balls White lunch bags Box of Dixie Cups

Writing

The writing program we use is Handwriting Without Tears. We use wood pieces to make the capital letters. Your child will become familiar with the names for the wood pieces: Big Line, Little Line, Big Curve and Little Curve. We also have many sayings to remember how to make the letters. Their fine motor skills are still developing and we will see much improvement as the year progresses. If your child does not write with a dominant hand yet, most likely they will establish one during Kindergarten.

eXtra Special

Kindergartners learn that they are eXtra special and unique.Kindergartners have opportunities to describe how they are alike as well as different from others. They share their culture and learn about different cultures within the class.

Zzzzs

Make sure that your child gets plenty of rest. Setting and keeping a bedtime is a wonderful gift you can give to your child.   It will help them to be alert and ready to learn each day!

*Thanks to http://www.littlegiraffes.com for ideas for our handbook!