A-Attendance
Please take special note of Jackson’s attendance policy in the student handbook (p. 14). If your child happens to be absent, please call the school office to notify us of the reason for your child’s absence. If your child happens to be tardy, please walk your child into the school office that day and notify us of the reason for your child’s tardy attendance.
B- Buses and Birthdays
(Buses)
I encourage bus riders to begin riding the bus on the first few days of school, even if mom, dad, or guardian follows behind in the car! This helps the children learn the routine and it helps the bus driver get to know the children and the routine.
When the bell rings to begin school in the morning, the students should walk right into our classroom. I will be waiting there to greet them.
For the first few weeks of school, please attach the bus tag provided at open house on your child’s backpack that includes the following information.
- First and last name
- Address
- Bus Stop
- Bus Number (if known)
Please call Durham School Bus Company at 723-7667 if you have questions on where and when your child is to be picked up or dropped off. If your child’s bus transportation changes for any reason please arrange it with Durham Bus Company and let me know in writing. If I do not receive a written note, your child will be sent on the bus as usual.
(Birthdays)
We do celebrate birthdays in our classroom. Please contact me at open house or at the beginning of the school year if you have any concerns about the celebrations in our classroom. On your child’s birthday, he/she is allowed to bring in a birthday treat for snack time. He/she will receive a birthday crown to wear for the day and a birthday certificate. He/she will also get to be a special helper for the day. If your child has a summer birthday (June, July, or August) we will celebrate the last two weeks of school. Each friend with a summer birthday will be notified of a day when it gets closer to the end of the year.
C- Car Riders (a.k.a. Parent Drop-Off/Pick-Up)
Students who are dropped off by car will not be allowed into the building until 8:20 A.M. If you need to drop your child off before that time, contact Lakeland Little Learners (723-8391) to enroll your child in their before and after school “Wrap Around” program.
Students who are picked up by car will be waiting for their adult on the benches in the front lobby of Jackson or out in the front of the main school doors (by the drive-around driveway). Adults are not allowed into the school building until 3:20 P.M. Please do not come before then to pick up your child. We are very busy and working hard until 3:20 P.M.
D- Daily 5
Daily 5 is the literacy program used in all of the kindergarten classrooms and most of the other grade levels at Jackson. We will be kicking off the year right away with Daily 5. Daily 5 is a literacy structure that teaches independence and gives children skills needed to create a lifetime love of reading and writing. Since Daily 5 is more hands-on and interactive, you may see less paperwork coming home as your child will be spending more time engaged in this hands-on approach. More information will come home as we begin to introduce this structure!
E- E-mail
A great way to keep in touch with me is through e-mail. My e-mail address at school is [email protected]. You can also contact me by phone. My phone number is 723-1200 x1245. The best time to contact me by phone is before school, lunch time (11:15-11:55), or after school. Using the monthly communication log in your child’s take home folder is another great way to reach me. I check the communication logs daily and will respond to your notes right away.
F-Folders and Field Trips
(Folders)
Each child will have a take-home folder labeled with their name. I will insert a monthly communication log. Be sure to open your child’s folder each night and check the communication log for notes from me and the front and back pockets for daily work along with VERY IMPORTANT kindergarten and Jackson notes. It is essential that you get into the routine of checking your child’s folder every day. Be sure to return the empty folder each morning so it can be refilled.
(Field Trips)
Be sure to fill out the walking permission slip you received at open house and return it to school as soon as possible. We take multiple small walking trips throughout the year to the library, fair grounds, and high school. We also take a larger trip in spring that we will ride buses to. More information will come home in April or May about these trips. Information about chaperones will be included with that information. There are a limited number of chaperone spots available per classroom for each trip. Chaperones will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis once they have paid the extra money and passed a background check. There will be no exceptions made to this rule. Unfortunately, we do not have enough room on our buses or at the venues we visit to allow every child to bring along an adult chaperone.
G-Grading
At the end of every quarter, after state and district assessments, your child will receive a report card (November, February, April, and June). There will also be a kindergarten-specific assessment sheet included in the report card that simplifies the data on the official report card.
H-Homework
Each month your child will come home with a homework packet. These packets are not mandatory but are highly recommended. The children need extended practice on the skills they are learning and working on at school each day- practice makes perfect! The packets will be collected at the end of each month and checked by me before being returned in your child’s take-home folder. Kiddos who bring the packet back to show me will receive a special certificate!
Also, your child will be bringing home a “Read At Home” book each night in their R.A.H. book bag. Your child will read a new R.A.H. book each day at school and then bring it home to read to you one more time. Be sure to send it back to school each day so it can be swapped out for a new book! More information will come home about R.A.H. reading as the year progresses.
Lastly, your child will be introduced to Odyssey on the computer. You will receive your child’s log-in for this program at first quarter conferences. Please help your child log on at least 2 or 3 times a week. The games and skills on this computer program are directly linked with your child’s MAP test scores and will help him/her increase their MAP scores. More information will come home about Odyssey and MAP as the year progresses.
I-Illness
The question of when to keep your child home from school is often a difficult one, especially when the decision must be made early in the morning. It is important to keep your child home if he/she is truly sick. If your child has a fever (higher than 101º), is throwing up, or sick with a contagious illness please keep him/her home to rest. Children function most effectively in the classroom when they are healthy.
J-Join PTA
Jackson Elementary does have a Parent Teacher Association. Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of every month at 6:30 P.M. and everyone is welcome. Daycare is provided free of charge. The PTA helps Jackson provide a high-quality education and experience for every student. Get involved and have fun!
K-Kindness
Students in our classroom are expected to treat all members of our class as well as other students and adults in our building with kindness and respect. Our kindergarten classroom has four rules: Just Be Respectful, Only Act Responsibly, Be Resourceful, and Safety First.
There is a color-coded behavior chart set up in the classroom and will be used daily throughout the year. All students start on green every day and can move up (yellow, orange, or red) for working hard and being a great friend and helper or move down (blue, purple or pink) for being disrespectful, unsafe or irresponsible.
L-Lunch
The school provides hot lunch daily for students. Each morning, students will make a lunch choice in our classroom (hot or cold lunch). Kindergarten eats lunch from 11:35 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. each day. Lunch costs $1.95. Please keep your child’s lunch account at a positive balance throughout the year. Take a look at the food service’s web site for more information, which can be found on our Jackson home page online. Milk is available for students who take cold lunch. Milk costs $0.35.
Family members are allowed to join their child for lunch. Please notify me if you are coming to join your child. As a kindergarten team, we prefer if you do not come for lunch until October to allow time for all kindergartners to adjust to the daily schedule and routine.
M-Music (Art, P.E., Computers, Library, and Guidance too!)
Your child will have at least one “special” class each day. Check your child’s communication log in his/her take home folder to find out what special we have each day. For your child’s safety, please be sure your child wears tennis shoes on P.E. days. You can always send a pair of gym shoes to school with your child to keep in his/her locker all year long.
- Mrs. Priesgen teaches music
- Mrs. Storlie teaches art *art smock*
- Ms. Brellenthin (Ms. B.) teaches P.E. *tennis shoes*
- Mrs. K teaches computers *headphones- no ear buds please*
- Mrs. Lange is the librarian
- Mrs. Upite teaches guidance
N-Nutrition Break
We have a very successful breakfast program at Jackson. More information about the details of nutrition break comes home with your registration materials. We go to the cafeteria each morning from 9:15 A.M.-9:30 A.M. for nutrition break. The students who do not order it will have milk and a small snack (from home). Nutrition break costs $1.05. Milk costs $0.35.
O-Ordering Books from Scholastic Book Orders
Each month, two book order forms will be sent home with your child. SeeSaw and Firefly. These book orders are filled with just-right, affordable books that your child will LOVE reading with you!
To order books, you can go to scholastic.com/bookclub, log on as a parent, enter our class activation code, and place your order. If you do not have internet access you can fill out the paper ordering form on the back of the book order, write a check to Scholastic Book Club, and return it to me by the last Friday of every month. I will then mail in the orders for the class.
The best part about book orders is that when you order books for your family, our classroom earns points to use towards FREE books! If you order online with your class activation code, you will receive coupons to use with your next online order and earn a FREE book for our classroom! I hope your family enjoys this wonderful resource as much as I do!
· Website: www.scholastic.com/bookclub
· Class Activation Code: J6VRD
· Make checks payable to: Scholastic Book Club
P-Parties-
We will have three big parties throughout the year in our classroom. The first will be a Fall Festival at the end of October. The second will be a Holiday Party in December. The third will be a Valentine’s Day Party in February. I will be contacting volunteers who signed up at open house to help me coordinate these parties.
Q-Questions
If you at any time have questions or concerns please feel free to contact me via e-mail or phone. I may not be able to respond to you immediately during the day but I will get back to you before or after school for sure. You and your child are important to me and I think of us as a team!
R-Recess
Kindergarten has two recesses a day. Lunch recess if from 11:15 A.M.-11:35 A.M. and afternoon recess if from 2:00 P.M.-2:15 P.M. Please dress your child appropriately according to the weather each day. Children will go out in all types of weather unless the wind-chill is below zero or it is raining hard. All students must go out for recess unless they have a note from the doctor excusing them from outdoor play.
S-Snacks
Each afternoon we will have a small snack. I will not be sending a snack schedule home every month. Everyone is asked to send in a class set (24) of any snack you wish at your earliest convenience EACH month if possible. Feel free to use some of the ideas off of the list below. There will be times that I will ask for donations of specific items if we are doing a special food project.
Pretzels
Puff Popcorn
Quaker Rice Snacks
Cheez-Its or Cheese Nips or Goldfish
Crackers
Fruit Snacks
Granola or Cereal Bars
Cookies
Pudding
Apple Sauce
Cereal
T-Toys & Technology
(Toys)
Children are asked NOT to bring toys from home. They are very distracting. I cannot be responsible for broken or lost toys or hurt feelings caused by them. Toys are permitted for show and tell when your child is star students. (See the Star Student note in your open house folder for more information.)
(Technology)
Our classroom has a Weebly website! http://[email protected] You can find a link to our class website on the EASD-Jackson homepage under my name in the staff directory.
Also, “like” Jackson Elementary School on Facebook. Mr. Kitslaar regularly updates our school page with important information and daily learning updates! You can even follow Jackson Elementary School on Twitter! Follow us at #JacksonJrElks.
Each child will be utilizing an individual computing device (i.e.: Chromebook, desktop computer, or iPad) this year. Your child will learn how to log onto these devices independently this year to utilize educational apps and programs such as Odyssey, RazKids, and Type2Learn. Please ensure that your child has a working pair of headphones at school each day. If your child does not have his/her own pair of headphones, he/she will not be able to use a device. Due to health and sanitary concerns, children are unable to share headphones.
U-“U”
“U” are important to your child’s education. I would love to have you visit. However, if you stop in, I may put you to work. It will be fun! Please give me the first month or two of school to get to know the children and get hem acquainted with our schedule and routine before coming to visit. Jackson has a policy that all guests are required to check in with the office and wear a guest badge.
V-Volunteering
After children have become adjusted to kindergarten, I will be looking for regular parent/guardian volunteers to help in our classroom. More information will come home about volunteering in our classroom in October. If you choose to volunteer in the classroom or for field trips, please be aware that you will be required to pass a background check. Please be sure to fill out the volunteer form and background check form (available at Open House, online on our EASD webpage, or in the Jackson school office) and return it as soon as possible.
W-Working on Self-Help Skills
Due to the increased academic content that will be taught this year in kindergarten, we will not have quite as much time as in years past to work on self-help skills such as tying shoes, dressing one’s self, zipping jackets, learning your phone number and address, etc. Please work on these skills at home so your child is equipped with the necessary skills to be a safe and productive individual at home, school, and out in the world!
X-Extra Clothes
Accidents do happen in kindergarten! It is helpful to send an extra set of clothes (labeled with your child’s first and last name) in a gallon Ziploc bag to keep in his/her locker in case of emergency. The nurse does have extra clothes but often times she doesn’t have items that fit the children’s little bodies and feet. Accidents can often times be traumatic and being able to change into their own clothes helps the children feel less embarrassed and/or stressed.
Y-Younger Siblings
It is in our children’s best interest to have our parent/guardian volunteers available without younger siblings as much as possible. That not only allows for your full attention to be focused on the children, but also allows for some special time between you and your kindergartner. Thank you for making childcare arrangements for younger siblings.
Z-Zzzzzz’s
Make sure your child gets plenty of rest. A kindergarten room is a very busy and hard-working environment. You will probably find that your child is exhausted at the end of each day. Setting and keeping a bedtime is a wonderful gift you can give your child. Young children are recommended to get 10 hours of sleep for their little bodies to be fully rested. This will help him/her to be alert and ready to learn each day.
I am looking forward to a wonderful year working with you and your child! Kindergarten is a very important year of school. Many attitudes and values about school are developed during this time. I want to help make your child’s first year of school a positive and successful experience. If at any time throughout the year you have a question or concern, please feel free to contact me.
Hopefully, this wasn’t an overload of information but a resource filled with answers to many of your questions! Thank you for sharing your children with me! It is going to be a fun filled and exciting year!
Mrs. Koronkiewicz (Mrs. K)