Important Dates to remember:
Monday, Sept. 7th Labor Day- No school
August and September Specials:
Monday- P.E.
Tuesday-Library
Wednesday-Music
Thursday-Art
Friday-Technology
September 28-Oct. 2 Specials:
Monday-Library
Tuesday-Music
Wednesday-Art
Thursday-Technology
Friday-P.E.
Contact Information: mmckone@wcpss.net
WELCOME!!
Welcome to Kindergarten!! We are very excited to have your child in our
class this year. We are looking forward to a happy and productive school
year. I hope throughout the year, we will be able to work together to help
your kindergartner do his/her best! I have included information in the
following pages that may answer some of your questions. If you have any
other questions or concerns, please let us know.
As the school year begins, Ms. Deats and I help the students unpack
their backpacks, and then they work quietly at their tables, using some type
of manipulatives or completing morning work. The morning announcements (as
well as dismissal), given by Mrs. Hughes, highlight general information,
schedule changes, or a special student or occasion. Dismissal is done
according to bus color, daycare van, carpool, or walkers. We must be
notified either by written note or by a phone call to the office if there is
a change in your student’s normal transportation routine. Each student also
has a card on file in the office (this needs to be filled out at the
beginning of the year). The backs of the cards must be signed by any
possible persons (grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.) who may pick up your
student during the day. Additionally, please include cell phone numbers and
pager numbers in case of emergency. If these #s change during the year,
please send us updates.
Highcroft Drive Elementary School begins the day at 9:05am, but we
strongly urge students to be in the classrooms by 8:55am in order to unpack
and prepare to begin the day. The school day promptly ends at 3:45pm. The
day ends at 2:45 on Wednesdays.
CLOTHING!!!
Please have your child wear practical play clothes and sneakers to
school on a daily basis. We tend to get messy sometimes in kindergarten!
Also, please put sunscreen on your child before school. Please label any
clothing that can be removed. If clothes are misplaced, Highcroft Drive has
a “Lost and Found” located by the cafeteria. Children will not be able to
participate in p.e. or play on the playground equipment if they are not
wearing appropriate shoes.
SNACK AND LUNCH!!!
Kindergartners have snack every day. Please send nutritious items, such
as raw veggies, cheese, crackers, fruit , or yogurt. Children can bring
water or juice boxes for snack or use the water fountain in our classroom.
We have an early lunch, so we will eat snack towards the end of the day.
Please put the snack in a separate bag, etc from your child’s lunch otherwise
kindergartens may eat their snack at lunch time.
You may eat lunch with your child once a month
and on his/her birthday. HDE has this policy to help with over-crowding in
the cafeteria. Thank you for your cooperation.
**If your child is buying lunch, you may set up a direct account with a
prepaid amount of lunches. You may also set aside money for milk, ice cream,
or other extras. Each child is assigned a lunch number at the beginning of
the year, but it is your responsibility to set up the account. Please see
the cafeteria manager for further details! Each child at HDE will have a
lunch number. Please work with your child to learn his/her number.
Children will need to use their numbers even if paying with cash.
HOMEWORK!!!
I will include a section in my weekly newsletter with suggestions of
activities to do with your child at home. In lieu of show and tell, I send
home “take home bags” with one to two students per night. Children will
complete an academic activity at home and return the bag the next day to
share with the class.
FOLDERS!!!
A daily folder will be sent home Monday through Friday. Please use this
folder for all written correspondence, and please check it each day. It does
NOT have to be signed. Information from the office, newsletters, etc. will
be sent home on Wednesday. PLEASE CHECK THE FOLDER FOR IMPORTANT
INFORMATION! Children’s work will be sent home on Friday in a larger folder.
Please return the folder on Monday.
BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT!!!
I believe in positive behavior management and positive reinforcement.
At the beginning of the year, the children and I will brainstorm a list of
class rules. We will write a statement promising to follow these rules, and
we will all sign it. Each day, we will state our class promises. If
children keep their promises, they will earn a sticker or stamp at the end of
the day. Once a child earns 10 stickers, he/she may go to the prize box. If
a child does not earn a sticker or stamp, a brief note will be in his/her
daily folder.
CONFERENCES!!!
I am required to hold two conferences with you each year, but I am more
than happy to schedule additional conferences if needed. The first takes
place at the end of the quarter. The second conference takes place at the
end of the third quarter. A report card will be sent home at the end of the
second and fourth nine quarters. If you would like to schedule conferences
in addition to these two, I am available before and after school. You can
contact me with a written note in the daily folder, by email, or by leaving a
message in the office. I will get back to you as soon as possible.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS! THANKS!
