Dear Parents,

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to kindergarten!  I am extremely excited about this school year.  We will have a lot of fun learning together.  Your child will be the most successful this year with us all working together!  Listed below are some of our "Classroom Procedures" we will follow throughout the school year.

NEWSLETTERS   

Every Friday, I will keep you informed by sending home a newsletter with the following week’s schedule on green paper.  (I also plan to post these to this website each week.)  Please look for these newsletters and schedules that will include the “Special Person” for each day of that week.

“SPECIAL PERSON” OF THE DAY  

When your child is the “Special Person" for the day, please send 1 or 2 "show and tell" items in our “Special Person” bag.  (Pictures of the family and items that start with the letter of the week or day are great items to share the first time.)  Also, during the year, please read any books in the “Special Person” bag with your child.

TAKE HOME FOLDER 

Your child’s blue folder will be used as a “Take Home Folder” to bring papers back and forth from school and home.  The left pocket will be labeled the “Things to Bring Back to School” pocket and the right pocket will be labeled the “Things to Take Home” pocket.                    

BREAKFAST & LUNCH      

(Breakfast is served from 7:55-8:05.)   

If your child is eating the school’s breakfast, hot lunch, or needs milk for a cold lunch, please send your child’s lunch money in an envelope with his/her name, your name (the parent), the amount enclosed, and KM (Kindergarten McCoy) on the front.  The office would prefer this money to be sent weekly or monthly on Mondays (or the first day of the school week).  Make checks payable to McLean County Unit 5 Food Service.  Place this envelope in your child’s “Take Home Folder” in the pocket labeled “Things to Bring to School.”  The regular priced student breakfast is $1.00, lunch is $1.60, and milk for a cold lunch is $0.40.  The office keeps track of how much money is in your "food service account."  You may also view this information online at www.unit5.org/sugar under “Parents-Family Access.”  You will need a “login” and a “password” that you may get from the office.

BEFORE SCHOOL 

School begins at 8:15 A.M.  Your child may arrive anytime after 7:55 A.M.  The students enter the building by the office and sit in the gym with their class over by the farthest wall until they are dismissed to the classroom at 8:10 A.M.  (I would suggest having your child begin entering the building by himself/herself, as soon as possible.  You may escort your child to the class line in the gym if you wish to, but I highly recommend that you say good-bye to him/her before he/she is dismissed to the classroom at 8:10.  This just makes the separation and the beginning of the school day go a lot smoother.)  If your child arrives after the 8:15 tardy bell rings, he/she will need to check in at the office. 

AFTER SCHOOL   

School ends at 3:00 P.M.  I will keep the students in my room until a parent or authorized person picks your child up from the outside classroom door by the sidewalk.  Please park your car in the parking lot, use the designated crosswalk, and wait on the sidewalk outside our classroom to pick up your child after school.  If your child goes to the after school program, I will send him/her down the hallway to the gym for this program.  Please make sure you sign the paper the first day of school that informs me of who will usually be picking up your child or of any other after school arrangements: after school program, daycare van, babysitter, walking with older siblings, etc. (Throughout the school year, if these usual after school arrangements need to be altered, please send a note to school.)

HEALTHY SNACK VOLUNTEERS      

NO NUT OR PEANUT ITEMS PLEASE!

If you are interested, I also have a sign-up sheet for parents willing to provide healthy snacks for the class one day during the week that correspond with the letter we are working on that particular week. (For example, apples for letter A, bananas for letter B, etc.)  I would really appreciate your help with this!  You may also e-mail me (mccoydn@unit5.org) if you are interested in providing snacks.

PARENT CLASSROOM VOLUNTEERS   

If you are interested in helping out in the classroom during our school day, please let me know by signing the form in the classroom or e-mailing me (mccoydn@unit5.org).

CLASSROOM PARTIES    

We have three classroom parties each school year in the afternoon: Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day.  At each of the parties parents plan and provide a snack, craft, and game(s).  For our Halloween party, the children may wear their costume to school.  In the afternoon, we have a whole school parade, and then we have our classroom party.  For our Christmas party, we usually have a book exchange and then we have our classroom party in the afternoon.  For our Valentine's party, the children will make and decorate a Valentine's Day container at home, exchange Valentines with their all their kindergarten friends, and then we have our party in the afternoon.  If you are interested in being a room parent, attending, or providing supplies for any of these parties, please indicate this on the classroom volunteer form I will have the first day of school or e-mail me (mccoydn@unit5.org).

BIRTHDAY TREATS  

NO NUT OR PEANUT ITEMS PLEASE! Birthday treats are always welcome!  Individual, small items usually work the best such as little cupcakes, cookies, etc.  (Napkins are also very helpful!)  I would appreciate it if you brought the treats in the morning, and then we will have them sometime in the afternoon after lunch and rest time.  (I prefer not to have drinks since many times these get spilled.  We will get drinks from the water fountain.  Thanks!)

BOOK ORDERS       
Once a month I will send home book order forms attached to the Friday newsletter.  If you are interested in ordering, please fill out the forms completely and make a check payable to Scholastic.  (Please do not send cash.)                                        

STOPLIGHT SHEET (See "Behavior Plan" for more information) 

                         
  • This "Stoplight Sheet" will be sent home daily in the “Things to Bring Back to School” pocket of the “Take Home Folder.”

  • Please leave this “Stoplight Sheet” in the “Things to Bring Back to School” pocket of the “Take Home Folder” until the end of the week after all the stoplights have been colored in by your child throughout the week.

  • The first school day of each week your child will get a new “Stoplight Sheet.”

  • At the end of each day your child will color the stoplight he/she is on for his/her behavior that day.

  • A green or yellow light will receive a stamp or sticker at the top of the sheet above the stoplight for that day.

  • A green light will also receive a play penny to use toward a prize from the “Treasure Box.

COMPLETED CLASS WORK      

  • This will be sent home daily in the “Take Home Folder” in the “Things to Take Home” pocket.

  • Please look at all completed work and remove it daily from the “Take Home Folder.”

  • A star at the top of the page indicates the work was completed independently and successfully with little or no help.

  • An OK at the top of the page indicates the work was completed with some corrections necessary. (Usually the incorrect items are originally underlined and then corrected by the students before an OK is placed at the top of the page.)

  • DT at the top of the page indicates the work was “Done Together” orally, and I may not look at your child’s paper individually.

INCOMPLETE CLASS WORK  

  • Any work not completed during our school day will be placed in the “Things to Bring Back to School” pocket of the “Take Home Folder.”  Each paper not completed will have a “Homework” stamp at the top of the page and be sent home the day it was not completed or the next school day.  (If your child uses his/her class time wisely each day, he/she should rarely have incomplete class work to bring home for homework.)

  • Please have your child complete this work and return it the following school day. (Your child should complete all work as independently as possible.  However, please do look over the work and help them fix any problems he/she may have.)

  • Please return all papers the following day even if the work has not been completed.  Your child may have time to work on it during class the following day.

HOMEWORK  

  • If your child has not yet mastered learning his/her phone number, address, birthday, or tying shoes, please practice these daily!

  • Every other week a “Word Works” homework booklet will be sent home on Friday attached to the Friday newsletter. These homework booklets will be due 12 days later on a Wednesday.  Your child will need some assistance in order to complete these homework booklets every other week.  (Please have your child answer every question that is asked on each page.)

  • Throughout the school year, please have your child read the “little books” that will come home.  You may keep these books in the “Book Box” (the plastic shoe box) that your child will decorate to take home the first day of school.

  • Periodically letters, sounds, numbers, and sight words will be sent home to practice for homework.  You may want to keep these in a special container at home.  At school, we keep our words and numbers in the “Word & Number Muncher!”

  • Each month starting in October we will have a parent/child reading goal to earn pizza rewards.  This is considered homework.

  • Occasionally other “homework” projects will be assigned. 

  • I will always inform and remind you each week of any homework on the Friday newsletter.

WISHING TREE 

I have a “Wishing Tree” which is located behind my classroom door in the hallway.  During the school year, I will place “apples” on the tree that state some supplies that we could use in our kindergarten classroom.  (I also plan to post the "Wishing Tree" on this website for your convenience.)  Most of the supplies will be used for different projects related to the letters of the alphabet or art projects.  If you would like to help our class by supplying any of these items, just take down an apple and send the supplies to the classroom.  Please don’t feel obligated to do this. However, any and all help would be greatly appreciated!

          

Throughout the year if you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me here at school (452-0935), by cell phone (242-0995) or by e-mail (mccoydn@unit5.org).  I periodically check for messages throughout the school day and will try to get back to you as soon as possible.  However, please be aware that some days are a little "too busy" in the kindergarten classroom, and I am unable to even check my e-mail until the end of the day!  So if you have an urgent message, please contact the office.  You are also welcome to contact me at home (862-3890.)  However, if you call me at home, it is best to reach me between 8:45 P.M. – 9:30 P.M. after I put my three daughters to bed. 

 

Again, welcome to kindergarten.  I truly look forward to an awesome school year working with you and your precious child.

                                      Sincerely,                                  

Mrs. Dara Deppert McCoy

                                        

P.S. With full day kindergarten, we have found it helpful to keep an extra set of clothing for your child in his or her book bag in case of unexpected “bathroom,” lunchroom, or recess emergencies/accidents that may arise.  The clothes may not be necessary, but it might be better to be safe than sorry later.  I will leave this decision up to you --although I highly recommend it!