Introduction
The Kindergarten Handbook has been created to acquaint you with the major components of our program as well as to provide activities which will help your child be successful in kindergarten. Please keep this as a reference guide for the entire year.
Mission of the Kindergarten Program
We want to welcome you and your child to our kindergarten program at St. Michael School. We are looking forward to an exciting year of new experiences and lots of fun!
It is during the first years of life that children form attitudes about themselves, others, learning, and the environment. These attitudes last a lifetime, so we work very hard to find ways to help children develop positive attitudes.
Educating a child is the most successful when family members and school personnel work together in the best interest of the child. We welcome your input and assistance in educating your child. After all, you are your child’s first teacher! Valuing education and the opportunities it provides are important first steps. We are hopeful that you will find time to participate in some of our school activities. We are always in need of parents or grandparents to help in the lunch room and at the greeter table.
The goal of our program is to meet your child’s need not only academically, but also physically, socially, and emotionally. Going to school is one of the most important experiences in a child’s life. School can be an exciting place where children meet new and different people and participate in many new and different experiences. We promise to work diligently to provide the children with wonderful experiences that help them to feel good about themselves and their school.
The following pages are to provide you with some valuable information regarding your child’s kindergarten school year. Please feel free to contact me at any time with questions, comments, concerns, and requests.
Communications
Contacting the School Office
School phone number: (419) 423-2738
Website: www.findlaystmichaelschool.org
Mrs. Kreinbrink: hkreinbrink@findlaystmichael.org
Mrs. Bihn: vbihn@findlaystmichael.org
Contacting Mrs. Small
Email Address: asmall@findlaystmichael.org
Website: http://mrssmall.weebly.com
Contacting the School about an Absence
You have a few options for this. By 8:00 am, you can call the school office (419-423-2738) or you can send an email. Since my email is not available for a substitute teacher to access, please always email both me and Mrs. Kreinbrink concerning absences.
Overview of the Curriculum
Reading and Language Arts
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following communication arts areas:
Pre-reading and reading activities
Writing Activities
Speaking and listening activities
Mathematics
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following mathematics areas:
Science
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following science areas:
Social Studies
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following social studies areas.
· Identifying and locating places and regions (firehouse, store, Findlay, Ohio, United States of America)
· Identifying landforms and bodies of water
· Identifying people in places
· Recognizing the United States flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance
· Discussing sources of conflict and possible solutions
· Identifying reasons for rules and laws and positions of authority
Health, Physical Education, Safety
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following health, physical education, and safety areas
· Large muscle activity through outdoor play including running, sliding, skipping, and other games
· Basic rhythms of walking, running, marching, skipping, and jumping
· Fire drills and other safety drills (tornado drills, Stop, Drop, and Roll)
Music
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following music areas:
· Singing alone and in groups
· Movement to music
Religion
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following religion areas:
Helpful Reminders for School
School Bell Schedule
7:45 -First Bell: Students enter the classroom & get ready for the day
8:00 -Tardy Bell: Students are in their seats ready to start the day
2:25 –Dismissal: KR & Kindergarten are the first to dismiss
Before your child comes to school, please make sure he/she has had a good breakfast and also plenty of rest (ten to twelve hours is recommended for this age).
Behavior Management
Great behavior is expected at all times! We work hard as a class to make the classroom a positive and safe place for all. “Class Dojo” is used to document the wonderful choices that your child makes each day! We certainly don’t expect our students to behave perfectly, but we do expect a willingness to learn, grow, and respond to our prompts and attempts at re-direction. If your child has difficulty following a particular rule, this will be documented on Class Dojo as well.
We have a school-wide system to improve behaviors. Be Responsible - Be Respectful - Be Safe There are rubrics that we refer to when re-directing student choices. We encourage students to behave in the "Defender Way". Students earn one Defender Dollar for every five Class Dojo points earned in my class. Defender Dollars can be earned anytime, anywhere in the school, and by any staff member for good choices. With COVID, we will be tweaking how the students can spend their Defender Dollars on merchandise in our Saint Shop and also privileges in our classroom.
Children need to hear meaningful, relevant feedback so that they learn what they should keep doing and also learn which behaviors should be replaced by more appropriate behaviors. If there is a more serious issue, I will email or call you.
Please have established consequences at home for both positive and negative choices. Remember that each day is brand new!
Snack Guidelines
Students are encouraged to bring a water bottle (PLAIN WATER ONLY) with a "coolie" to absorb condensation. The coolie is necessary to keep the desks and papers dry. To maintain a healthier classroom, I prefer water bottles that open and close where the children do not put their mouths. A DRY, SINGLE-SERVING snack is also permitted (Cheerios, plain small pretzels, plain small crackers, plain goldfish crackers, nuts). Junk food (chips, candy, cookies, desserts), cheese, fruit, and food with dips are not permitted.
Dress Code
The children need to follow the dress code. Pay attention to belts, socks, hair accessories, and nail polish. Little ones like fake tattoos so please make sure that all fake tattoos are not visible at school. Please be aware of the daily weather conditions when you send your child to school. We will be going outside for recess every day that is not raining, too cold, or too icy. Please dress your child appropriately. For safety reasons tennis shoes are best. Please refer to the SMS parent handbook for more details. I encourage students to keep a uniform sweatshirt or fleece in their cubbies because it gets chilly; these will be sent home on Fridays to be washed. Shorts are not allowed to be worn on Mass days! All students need to have two face masks with them each day (wear one and have a spare in the back pack.
Birthdays
We love to celebrate birthdays! It is not necessary to send in a special treat, but if you wish to do so, please send in a non-food treat (fancy pencils, stickers, erasers, etc.-no tattoos or things the children put in their mouths). There are 16 students in our class. Invitations are not to be delivered at school unless the ENTIRE class is invited. Feelings often get hurt when students are aware that another child is receiving something that they are not.
Communication
Communication between home and school is very important. Please do not hesitate to email/send me a note if you have any questions or concerns. In addition, each child has a Take Home Binder that will come home daily. Notes, a weekly class update, general information, and weekly homework will be in this folder. The home page on my website will be updated monthly. I will send emails to the distribution list that I will create for our class. I also use "Remind" which I hope you sign up to use. With "Remind" you choose to receive emails or texts, and I send reminders about various activities. "Remind" is used with more frequency at the start of the year until we all get settled into new routines.
Conferences
Parent/Teacher conferences are scheduled for Thursday, November 5th and Wednesday, November 11th. If you wish to discuss your child’s progress or behavior at another time, please contact me to schedule an appointment. I will contact you if I would like to address any concerns I have or if there are things (both positive and of concern) I would like to discuss.
Going Home Changes
I must have a note located in the Take Home Binder or an email (cc Mrs. Kreinbrink) if your child is going home differently than his/her normal routine. If plans change during the day, please call the school office and they will let me know. If there is a change, please try to let the school office know before 1:00. Once my aide leaves at 12:30, I do not often have time to check emails until after dismissal time.
Take Home Binders
Your child’s Take Home Binder will come home daily. Please check your child’s Take Home Binder EVERY night. I send a weekly classroom update, notes about behavior (when necessary) and other important information that you need to be aware of (forms requiring your signature, permission slips, etc.) The weekly homework packet, bag books, and AR slips are also kept in the Take Home Binder. Once you have checked your child’s Take Home Binder, please return it to your child’s backpack. The children are responsible for turning in their Take Home Binders EVERY morning.
Any notes (change in dismissal, reason for absence, etc.), checks (class fees, lunch and milk tickets), and money (paid out-of-uniform days, Mission money, etc.) should be sent to school in the Take Home Binder. Please remind your child that either myself or my aide will check the Take Home Binders each morning.
Homework
I will start sending home weekly homework packets beginning in September. The packets are a good review of content the students should know. Please expect your child to to their best work. The packets should be completed using a regular pencil (crayons should only be used when it's directed). The packets will be sent home at the start of each week and are due at the end of each week.
There are a few special homework projects that the students will do in place of the weekly homework packet. In December, there will be a Flat Gingy project. The students will be designing and making their own Leprechaun Traps in March. In April the students will be creating Animal Research Project Boards (using a rubric I provide). All special projects will be sent home at the end of the week so that the children also have the weekends to work on the projects.
There is a heavy emphasis on learning sight words, reading bag books, and participating in AR (Accelerated Reader). The first sight word lists will be send home the first week of September. Sight words are checked at least six times each quarter; we do not have a regular schedule. We will start sending Bag Books home once we feel comfortable in our routines with the children. When we start sending Bag Books home, the Bag Books will go home on a Friday and be due on the following Wednesday. Your child will stop with Bag Books and start AR when all 90 sight words are known.
Label, Label, Label
Please label your child’s coats, sweaters, fleeces, school supplies, backpacks, lunch boxes, water bottles, shoes etc. Anything and everything!
Reading with Your Child
Research tells us that reading support at home is critical to the reading success of students. Therefore I encourage you to read with your child every day. Whether you read to them or they read to you; a little bit goes a long way.
Weekend with Flat Hootie (Star of the Week)
Flat Hootie loves to visit with all of the children! He has his journal for your child to commemorate the weekend as well as two trade books to enjoy! Flat Hootie and his bag of goodies need to be returned on Monday morning; this is when there is time scheduled to share the weekend's events. If your child is sick on the Friday Flat Hootie is supposed to visit, Flat Hootie can visit when there is time in the schedule. Beginning in September, the child taking home Flat Hootie will be our Star of the Week after taking Flat Hootie home. There is an additional page for the Star of the Week to complete. Flat Hootie will be sent home on a Friday and should be returned on the following Monday.
When Your Child is Ill
When your child is ill, please email me and Mrs. Kreinbrink by 7:45 a.m. Upon returning to school it is a state law that you must send a note following any absence. If your child becomes ill at school, he/she will be sent to the nurse and you or one of the names listed on the emergency card will be contacted. Please notify us immediately if any of the contact numbers change.
The Kindergarten Handbook has been created to acquaint you with the major components of our program as well as to provide activities which will help your child be successful in kindergarten. Please keep this as a reference guide for the entire year.
Mission of the Kindergarten Program
We want to welcome you and your child to our kindergarten program at St. Michael School. We are looking forward to an exciting year of new experiences and lots of fun!
It is during the first years of life that children form attitudes about themselves, others, learning, and the environment. These attitudes last a lifetime, so we work very hard to find ways to help children develop positive attitudes.
Educating a child is the most successful when family members and school personnel work together in the best interest of the child. We welcome your input and assistance in educating your child. After all, you are your child’s first teacher! Valuing education and the opportunities it provides are important first steps. We are hopeful that you will find time to participate in some of our school activities. We are always in need of parents or grandparents to help in the lunch room and at the greeter table.
The goal of our program is to meet your child’s need not only academically, but also physically, socially, and emotionally. Going to school is one of the most important experiences in a child’s life. School can be an exciting place where children meet new and different people and participate in many new and different experiences. We promise to work diligently to provide the children with wonderful experiences that help them to feel good about themselves and their school.
The following pages are to provide you with some valuable information regarding your child’s kindergarten school year. Please feel free to contact me at any time with questions, comments, concerns, and requests.
Communications
Contacting the School Office
School phone number: (419) 423-2738
Website: www.findlaystmichaelschool.org
Mrs. Kreinbrink: hkreinbrink@findlaystmichael.org
Mrs. Bihn: vbihn@findlaystmichael.org
Contacting Mrs. Small
Email Address: asmall@findlaystmichael.org
Website: http://mrssmall.weebly.com
Contacting the School about an Absence
You have a few options for this. By 8:00 am, you can call the school office (419-423-2738) or you can send an email. Since my email is not available for a substitute teacher to access, please always email both me and Mrs. Kreinbrink concerning absences.
Overview of the Curriculum
Reading and Language Arts
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following communication arts areas:
Pre-reading and reading activities
- Letter identification
- Letter-sound relationship
- Letter formation (printing upper and lower case letters)
- One-to-one correspondence
- Determining real and make-believe
Writing Activities
- Drawing a picture to convey meaning
- Holding a pencil correctly
- Copying words
- Identifying and writing sight words
- Writing words and sentences
- Revising writing in a group setting
Speaking and listening activities
- Telling stories
- Dictating lists, stories, and descriptions
- Listening to others
- Listening to stories
- Story retelling
- Reciting poems
- Participating in class discussion
- Show & Tell
- Knowing and using terms: author, title, illustrator, title page
- Identifying parts of a book (spine, cover)
- Making predictions and drawing conclusions
- Selecting appropriate reading materials
- Demonstrating respect for others using library materials
- Participating in author studies
- Using visual structure to communicate ideas
- Developing organizational skills in association with art activities
Mathematics
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following mathematics areas:
- Counting forward 0 to 100
- Color recognition
- Recognizing and writing numbers 0 to 100
- Skip counting by 2, 5, and 10
- Counting backwards from 20 to 0
- Reading numerals to 100
- Estimating time on an analog clock
- Naming the value of a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter
- Performing simple data collection and graphing
- Patterning
- Naming geometric shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle, cone, sphere, and cube)
- Showing addition and subtraction facts to 10
Science
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following science areas:
- Five Senses
- Weather elements
- Production processes involving plants and animals
- Defining and understanding extinction, identifying animals that are extinct
Social Studies
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following social studies areas.
· Identifying and locating places and regions (firehouse, store, Findlay, Ohio, United States of America)
· Identifying landforms and bodies of water
· Identifying people in places
· Recognizing the United States flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance
· Discussing sources of conflict and possible solutions
· Identifying reasons for rules and laws and positions of authority
Health, Physical Education, Safety
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following health, physical education, and safety areas
· Large muscle activity through outdoor play including running, sliding, skipping, and other games
· Basic rhythms of walking, running, marching, skipping, and jumping
· Fire drills and other safety drills (tornado drills, Stop, Drop, and Roll)
Music
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following music areas:
· Singing alone and in groups
· Movement to music
Religion
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following religion areas:
- Discuss that they are a child of God and that all creation is a sign of God’s love.
- Express their love of God by loving, caring, sharing, and helping others and by being honest and telling the truth.
- Recite the Sign of the Cross, Hail Mary, Our Father, Glory Be, and Grace before meals.
- Describe what Baptism is to others.
- Participate at Mass, be reverent, and listen to the readings from the Bible.
Helpful Reminders for School
School Bell Schedule
7:45 -First Bell: Students enter the classroom & get ready for the day
8:00 -Tardy Bell: Students are in their seats ready to start the day
2:25 –Dismissal: KR & Kindergarten are the first to dismiss
Before your child comes to school, please make sure he/she has had a good breakfast and also plenty of rest (ten to twelve hours is recommended for this age).
Behavior Management
Great behavior is expected at all times! We work hard as a class to make the classroom a positive and safe place for all. “Class Dojo” is used to document the wonderful choices that your child makes each day! We certainly don’t expect our students to behave perfectly, but we do expect a willingness to learn, grow, and respond to our prompts and attempts at re-direction. If your child has difficulty following a particular rule, this will be documented on Class Dojo as well.
We have a school-wide system to improve behaviors. Be Responsible - Be Respectful - Be Safe There are rubrics that we refer to when re-directing student choices. We encourage students to behave in the "Defender Way". Students earn one Defender Dollar for every five Class Dojo points earned in my class. Defender Dollars can be earned anytime, anywhere in the school, and by any staff member for good choices. With COVID, we will be tweaking how the students can spend their Defender Dollars on merchandise in our Saint Shop and also privileges in our classroom.
Children need to hear meaningful, relevant feedback so that they learn what they should keep doing and also learn which behaviors should be replaced by more appropriate behaviors. If there is a more serious issue, I will email or call you.
Please have established consequences at home for both positive and negative choices. Remember that each day is brand new!
Snack Guidelines
Students are encouraged to bring a water bottle (PLAIN WATER ONLY) with a "coolie" to absorb condensation. The coolie is necessary to keep the desks and papers dry. To maintain a healthier classroom, I prefer water bottles that open and close where the children do not put their mouths. A DRY, SINGLE-SERVING snack is also permitted (Cheerios, plain small pretzels, plain small crackers, plain goldfish crackers, nuts). Junk food (chips, candy, cookies, desserts), cheese, fruit, and food with dips are not permitted.
Dress Code
The children need to follow the dress code. Pay attention to belts, socks, hair accessories, and nail polish. Little ones like fake tattoos so please make sure that all fake tattoos are not visible at school. Please be aware of the daily weather conditions when you send your child to school. We will be going outside for recess every day that is not raining, too cold, or too icy. Please dress your child appropriately. For safety reasons tennis shoes are best. Please refer to the SMS parent handbook for more details. I encourage students to keep a uniform sweatshirt or fleece in their cubbies because it gets chilly; these will be sent home on Fridays to be washed. Shorts are not allowed to be worn on Mass days! All students need to have two face masks with them each day (wear one and have a spare in the back pack.
Birthdays
We love to celebrate birthdays! It is not necessary to send in a special treat, but if you wish to do so, please send in a non-food treat (fancy pencils, stickers, erasers, etc.-no tattoos or things the children put in their mouths). There are 16 students in our class. Invitations are not to be delivered at school unless the ENTIRE class is invited. Feelings often get hurt when students are aware that another child is receiving something that they are not.
Communication
Communication between home and school is very important. Please do not hesitate to email/send me a note if you have any questions or concerns. In addition, each child has a Take Home Binder that will come home daily. Notes, a weekly class update, general information, and weekly homework will be in this folder. The home page on my website will be updated monthly. I will send emails to the distribution list that I will create for our class. I also use "Remind" which I hope you sign up to use. With "Remind" you choose to receive emails or texts, and I send reminders about various activities. "Remind" is used with more frequency at the start of the year until we all get settled into new routines.
Conferences
Parent/Teacher conferences are scheduled for Thursday, November 5th and Wednesday, November 11th. If you wish to discuss your child’s progress or behavior at another time, please contact me to schedule an appointment. I will contact you if I would like to address any concerns I have or if there are things (both positive and of concern) I would like to discuss.
Going Home Changes
I must have a note located in the Take Home Binder or an email (cc Mrs. Kreinbrink) if your child is going home differently than his/her normal routine. If plans change during the day, please call the school office and they will let me know. If there is a change, please try to let the school office know before 1:00. Once my aide leaves at 12:30, I do not often have time to check emails until after dismissal time.
Take Home Binders
Your child’s Take Home Binder will come home daily. Please check your child’s Take Home Binder EVERY night. I send a weekly classroom update, notes about behavior (when necessary) and other important information that you need to be aware of (forms requiring your signature, permission slips, etc.) The weekly homework packet, bag books, and AR slips are also kept in the Take Home Binder. Once you have checked your child’s Take Home Binder, please return it to your child’s backpack. The children are responsible for turning in their Take Home Binders EVERY morning.
Any notes (change in dismissal, reason for absence, etc.), checks (class fees, lunch and milk tickets), and money (paid out-of-uniform days, Mission money, etc.) should be sent to school in the Take Home Binder. Please remind your child that either myself or my aide will check the Take Home Binders each morning.
Homework
I will start sending home weekly homework packets beginning in September. The packets are a good review of content the students should know. Please expect your child to to their best work. The packets should be completed using a regular pencil (crayons should only be used when it's directed). The packets will be sent home at the start of each week and are due at the end of each week.
There are a few special homework projects that the students will do in place of the weekly homework packet. In December, there will be a Flat Gingy project. The students will be designing and making their own Leprechaun Traps in March. In April the students will be creating Animal Research Project Boards (using a rubric I provide). All special projects will be sent home at the end of the week so that the children also have the weekends to work on the projects.
There is a heavy emphasis on learning sight words, reading bag books, and participating in AR (Accelerated Reader). The first sight word lists will be send home the first week of September. Sight words are checked at least six times each quarter; we do not have a regular schedule. We will start sending Bag Books home once we feel comfortable in our routines with the children. When we start sending Bag Books home, the Bag Books will go home on a Friday and be due on the following Wednesday. Your child will stop with Bag Books and start AR when all 90 sight words are known.
Label, Label, Label
Please label your child’s coats, sweaters, fleeces, school supplies, backpacks, lunch boxes, water bottles, shoes etc. Anything and everything!
Reading with Your Child
Research tells us that reading support at home is critical to the reading success of students. Therefore I encourage you to read with your child every day. Whether you read to them or they read to you; a little bit goes a long way.
Weekend with Flat Hootie (Star of the Week)
Flat Hootie loves to visit with all of the children! He has his journal for your child to commemorate the weekend as well as two trade books to enjoy! Flat Hootie and his bag of goodies need to be returned on Monday morning; this is when there is time scheduled to share the weekend's events. If your child is sick on the Friday Flat Hootie is supposed to visit, Flat Hootie can visit when there is time in the schedule. Beginning in September, the child taking home Flat Hootie will be our Star of the Week after taking Flat Hootie home. There is an additional page for the Star of the Week to complete. Flat Hootie will be sent home on a Friday and should be returned on the following Monday.
When Your Child is Ill
When your child is ill, please email me and Mrs. Kreinbrink by 7:45 a.m. Upon returning to school it is a state law that you must send a note following any absence. If your child becomes ill at school, he/she will be sent to the nurse and you or one of the names listed on the emergency card will be contacted. Please notify us immediately if any of the contact numbers change.
