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September 2, 2008
Dear Parents,
Welcome to Kindergarten! I am very excited to begin a new year filled with
many enjoyable moments with your kindergartener. I hope that this year will
be very memorable for both you and your child. My goal for your child
throughout the school year is to learn the basic skills needed to move onto
higher level learning as well as having FUN!!!! I look forward to working
with you to help your child reach their highest potential.
Enclosed you will find helpful information about your child’s kindergarten
year. You will be receiving a school handbook that will contain more details
about the school rules and policies. Details regarding curriculum will be
addressed at the Kindergarten Open House. 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!
School Day
School begins each day promptly at 8:40 a.m. Children arriving after
8:40 a.m. are marked tardy. If your child arrives late please remind them to
check into the office, as well as the kitchen if they are buying lunch at school.
The school day ends at 3:10 p.m. Children will be sent to their appropriate
bus lines, or to the kindergarten pick-up line for parent pick-up.
If your child will be absent for any reason, please call the office (978)
887-2856 prior to the start of the school day and leave a message explaining
why your child will be absent. Upon your child’s return to school please send
a note stating the reason for your child’s absence.
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 for A session kindergarten and Tuesdays
for B session kindergarten 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. Ice cream can
also be purchased on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for $.50.
Please remember to label your child’s lunch ticket with their name and the
teacher’s name in case of lost tickets. It is also helpful if you talk with
your child about what they want to order for lunch and write it on the back of
the ticket as well.
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. I will be looking for donations of individual snack bags of
goldfish or pretzels for those children who forget their snack. Please do not
send any snacks in glass containers.
Birthday Celebrations
In honor of your child’s birthday, you may bring in a non-edible treat to
share with the class if you wish. As a school, we are no longer going to
allow food to be shared on birthdays. If you would like to celebrate your
child’s birthday in this way please let me know a few days before so that we
can plan on having a special celebration in our schedule. If your child has a
summer birthday, I will be in touch with you to pick a day in June to
celebrate his/her birthday.
Backpacks
Please make sure that your child carries a backpack to school each day. This
allows for personal belongings to be kept together and for your child’s work
to get home safely. The backpack should be big enough to hold a 9”x12” folder
and a lunch box. Please keep a spare set of clothes (shirt, pants/shorts,
socks, and underwear) in your child’s backpack at all times in case of an
emergency. 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.
Labels
Please make sure that all of your child’s belongings are labeled with their
name. This will help prevent items from being lost. If your child does lose
something at school, it may have been placed in the lost and found, which is
located in the cafeteria.
Specialist Schedules
Each week your child will participate in art, music, gym, library, computers,
and Spanish classes. Our class schedule is as follows.
A Session
Monday – Computer Lab 1:30 – 2:00
Music 2:30 – 3:00
Wednesday – Library 1:30- 2:00
Spanish 2:30 – 3:00
Thursday – Gym 1:00 – 1:30
Art 2:30 – 3:00
B Session
Tuesday – Spanish 1:00 – 1:30
Library 1:30 – 2:00
Wednesday – Computer Lab 12:30 – 1:00
Art 1:30 - 2:00
Friday – Music 9:35 – 10:05
Gym 1:30 – 2:00
Please make sure that your child wears appropriate clothing on gym day.
Sneakers must be worn, and girls may not wear skirts or dresses.
Please make sure to return borrowed library books by the next library
session. Each week your child will be allowed to borrow a book from the
library. They will not be allowed to get another book until the previous book
has been returned. If your child does forget their library book, they may
bring it back the next school day. If time allows they will be able to go
return their book and borrow a new one.
Forms
Throughout the first couple weeks of school, you will be receiving many forms
that need to be read, signed, and returned to school. Please make sure that
these forms are taken care of as quickly as possible, particularly the
Emergency Card. The insurance forms need to be signed and returned to school
even if you are not planning to participate in the program. We truly
appreciate your help with this matter.
Volunteer Opportunities in the Classroom
I will be looking for volunteers to work in the classroom, as well as other
opportunities outside the classroom. 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 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.
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Parent/Teacher conferences will be held in December and March. I will have
sign-up sheets available at the Open House for you to choose a time that is
convenient for you.
In closing, I look forward to a fun and exciting year with your
children. Feel free to call me at school (978) 887-2856 ext. 101, or email me
(tstone@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. You can
also get information on my classroom webpage
http://teacherweb.com/MA/ColeSchool/tiffanystone/t.stm . I look forward to
working with you this year! I hope to see you all at the Open House Night in
a few weeks!
Sincerely,
Tiffany Stone
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