Welcome to kindergarten at Our Shepherd Lutheran School! I look forward to working with you and your child. I believe that communication is very important in a child's education so I will try to keep you informed through the use of this website, newsletters, notes, and phone calls as needed. Please check your child's backpack everyday for messages and also keep me informed about things that are happening at home that may affect your child at school. Your child will need to bring a backpack to school each day that contains a double-pocket folder. I have found that the use of a folder helps keep papers from being torn and mangled. On Fridays your child will bring home a special folder that I will provide called a Friday Folder. This folder is one that I want returned each Monday. In the right pocket I will put the weekly newsletter for you to keep and read. On the left side will be items that must be returned back to me on Monday. One item on the left return side will be a church and Sunday school attendance sheet. We give awards at the end of the year for faithful worship attendance and this helps us keep track of your child's attendance at his or her church. Also on the left side may be book order forms, field trip permission slips, etc. Any money that is sent to me on the left side of the folder should be in a sealed envelope and well marked. You may also put questions that you have for me on the left side and I will try to respond as soon as possible. The newsletter each week will also inform you if you are responsible for sending snacks for the next week. Please make sure that they are nutritious. It is also fun and meaningful for the students if the snack starts with a letter that we are focusing on with our theme. If your child will be picked up by someone other than those people listed on the dismissal form it is necessary to inform me in person or in writing. If your child has a birthday or loses a tooth, a special bag will be sent home. It will look like a gift bag and have directions on the side. Inside will be a book to read and a paper to complete. The bag, book, and paper to complete must be returned to school the next day. Your child then tells us about their event and we compile the page into a class book. If you would like to send in treats for your child's birthday please let me know a week ahead so I can put it in the newsletter. In kindergarten we are involved in a variety of learning activities. Please make sure your child is appropriately dressed for creative (sometimes "messy") activities inside and also for going outside for recess. Scholastic book orders will be sent home on a regular basis. Ordering is optional. They have good literary selections and are reasonably priced. Our classroom receives bonus points towards books for our classroom library. If you wish to order, please send a check made out to Scholastic Book Clubs with your order. The check should not be made out to Mrs. Cronauer or the school. Watch the due dates on the order forms. We will celebrate our 100th day of kindergarten during the winter. Each day in kindergarten we count towards the 100th day. On that day your child will be bringing a collection of 100 things. We will have fun using these "100" collections to do a variety of learning activities. It is a fun celebration and the kids look forward to it. You may start your collections when school begins to join in the fun. Each day when your child comes home put one item in the container. You can then count these collections on a regular basis. (It is fun to group the items and count by ones, twos, fives, and tens.) In addition to the collection of 100 items, each student also wears an article of clothing that is decorated with exactly 100 things on it. Most of the time students wear a t-shirt or sweatshirt that has been painted with 100 things, sewn with 100 things, or glued with 100 things. I will be providing more information about this special event as we get closer to the 100th day. Kindergarten meets from 8:30 - 3:30 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays Kindergarten meets from 8:30 - 11:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays God's blessings, Mrs. Shirley Cronauer