|
Dear Parents,
Welcome to Kindergarten! This year is an exciting year as your child
embarks upon a new school adventure in the world of learning. I am
looking forward to a wonderful year filled with many exciting
opportunities and enjoyable moments with your child. I hope to instill a
love of learning that will last throughout your child’s years of
schooling. Sharing your child’s education will be a rewarding and
enriching experience. I look forward to working with you to help your
child to reach their highest potential.
Enclosed you will find helpful information about your child’s
kindergarten year. The school handbook that is available online,
http://boxfordschools.org/school_handbook.pdf , will include the
policies that convey more specifics regarding school rules and
regulations. Additional information regarding curriculum will be
explained the night of the Kindergarten Open House. This is a parent
night only.
Thank you for being such an active participant in your child’s
education. I look forward to working with you as a team this year!
Our School Day
School begins promptly at 8:45 a.m. If your child is driven to school by
car, please do not drop them off at the front door prior to 8:40 a.m. as
they are not allowed into the classrooms until that time. Children
arriving after 8:45 are marked as being tardy. Our school day ends at 3:10
p.m. Students are dismissed to their bus lines or the school cafeteria
when being picked up.
Late Arrivals and Absences
If your child is arriving after the start of the school day, please be sure
to have him/ her check in at the office, as well as the kitchen if he/ she
will be ordering the school lunch.
If your child will be absent, please call the school office prior to the start
of the school day to inform them. If your child was sick, it is helpful to
send a note with a reason for the absence upon your child’s return or
make a phone call to the school nurse if your child’s sickness is
contagious (e.g. strep throat…)
Transportation
Each student has been assigned a bus route. If you would like to pick-
up your child or send them home on a different bus, please send me a
note in your child’s backpack. If you want to make your child a pick-up
on a daily basis, you may send in one note stating this rather than a
note each time. If you do not notify us of any changes, your child must
take their assigned bus home. Cole School staff members provide
supervision of all children whether your child rides the school bus or is
dropped off/picked up.
If you are dropping off your child in the morning, please enter the
driveway closest to the Superintendent’s office. Once you have entered
the drop-off line please keep moving, as there are more parents waiting
to drop-off after you. If you need to walk your child into school please
make sure that you park in the parking lot.
Please make sure that your child knows of any changes that will be
occurring in their daily schedule. This will alleviate any stress or anxiety
that your child may feel during dismissal time.
When picking up by car, please remember to park in the parking lot in
the front of the school and come to the kindergarten pick-up area (to the
right of the lobby on the way up to the art room) to pick up your
kindergartener. (1st and 2nd graders are picked up in the cafeteria).
If it is necessary to pick-up your child from school earlier than the end
of the school day, please make sure to write a note and put it in your
child’s backpack. Please discuss this change with your child so that
he/she will not become anxious or worried throughout the day. Make
sure to remind your child to give the note to me first thing in the
morning. When it is time for your child’s early dismissal please come
into the office. Your child will be dismissed to the office where you will
be waiting.
Lunch
Your child may choose to bring a lunch from home or buy lunch at
school. Milk may also be purchased separately. Please make sure that
your child knows whether or not they will be buying lunch or eating
lunch from home each day. I will make sure that I ask all of the children
each morning what they are having for lunch. The price of lunch this
year will be $ 2.00, which includes milk.
Lunch tickets may be purchased on Mondays as preferred by the
cafeteria. To purchase lunch tickets, please enclose cash or check
(made payable to the Town of Boxford) in a sealed envelope with the
following information: your child’s name, teacher’s name, amount of
money enclosed, and the number of tickets purchased. It is usually
more convenient to order lunch tickets in bulk rather than buying them
weekly. Tickets will be sent back home and will not be kept at school in
the classroom.
Again, please label each ticket with your child’s name, as they cannot
be replaced if they are lost. If your child does not have a lunch ticket or
money, lunch may be “charged” and repaid the next day.
If you wish to order milk separately the price will be $.60. Ala Carte
Desserts are also available, prices range from $.50- $.75.
The school lunch menu is available online,
http://boxfordschools.org/cafeteria_menu.pdf . Each month a new one is
posted.
Snack
Please send two healthy snacks to school with your child each day.
The children will have the opportunity to eat snack in the morning and
then again in the afternoon. We have a bubbler in the room as an option
for a drink. I will be looking for donations of individually wrapped
snacks, goldfish or pretzels, (preferably nut free) for those children who
have forgotten a snack. Please do not send any snacks in glass
containers.
Birthday Celebrations
Your child is welcome to celebrate his/her birthday in the classroom by
sharing a "non-food" item with his/her classmates. If you are planning
to bring something to school to share with the class, kindly let me know
a few days in advance so that I am able to ensure that we will not have
multiple treats on the same day. If your child's birthday occurs during
the summer months when school is not in session, his/her birthday may
be celebrated as a "half birthday" or on a designated day in June.
If your child will be having a birthday party outside of school, please
plan to mail your invitations through the U.S. postal system. The only
exceptions that will be made will be for invitations that are extended to
the entire class to keep from unintentionally hurting the feelings of your
child's classmates.
Labels
Please label all coats, backpacks, boots, lunch boxes, etc. with your
child’s name to ensure that they do not become lost. Should they
become lost, however, there is a lost and found in the school cafeteria
where you or your child may look to locate missing items. Again, please
label all personal belongings! This will be important to locate missing
items and prevent upsetting or confusing children. This is especially
helpful during the winter months when children have more layers and all
clothing looks alike to the children.
Backpack
Please send your child to school with one daily. It should be large
enough to hold 9” x 12” paper and a lunch box, as well as close securely.
This way papers, treasures, and notices will be brought home safely and
not scattered on the bus. A bus tag will be attached to each child’s
backpack. Please make sure that this tag remains on your child’s
backpack throughout the year. This will help dismissal run more
smoothly. It will also be helpful for you to put a spare set of clothes
(shirt, pants/shorts, socks, and underwear) in your child’s backpack in
case of an emergency.
Medication
The school nurses are Mrs. Nechtem and Mrs. Mudgett. They must
know of any health/ medical needs your child may have. Please see the
student handbook, http://boxfordschools.org/school_handbook.pdf
regarding medication policies.
Volunteers
I will be looking for volunteers to assist in several capacities in the
classroom. In our kindergarten classroom volunteers are utilized to
assist us throughout the week with literacy workstations, lessons in the
computer lab, the library and special crafts and activities. Volunteers are
also utilized from home to assist with a variety of activities.
At the open house, there will be a chance to sign up for a variety of
opportunities. Please make sure that you fill out a CORI (Criminal
Offense Record Investigation) form in the office if you would like to
come into the classroom at any point during the school year. CORI
forms need to be filled out and approved in order to chaperone a field
trip. Volunteers must abide by the Cole School Confidentiality Policy.
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Parent/Teacher conferences will be held in December and March. Of
course you should also feel free to contact me at any time should you
have a question or concern about your child.
In closing, I look forward to a fun and exciting year with your children. I
hope you find all this information helpful. You can reach me at
school (978) 887-2856 ext. 101, or email me lfrost@boxfordschools.org
with any questions or concerns you may have. If you leave me a
message, I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Laura Frost
| |
