Welcome to Kindergarten!!! My name is Erika Helms and I will be your child’s teacher this year. Portia Alford is our Teacher Assistant. We are excited to have your child in our classroom! We look forward to working with you and your child this school year. Below are listed several tips that will help the beginning of school run smoothly. Transportation: Bus students: Dismissal time begins at 3:45 p.m. Children may ride on their assigned bus only. Help your child learn his/her bus number. We suggest you pin a 3x5 card or piece of paper on your child for the first week of school. Please include the following information: Child’s name, address, bus route number, and the teacher’s name. Car Riders: Weatherstone uses a number system for carpool dismissal. If you currently have a carpool number from last year it will remain the same. If you need a carpool number we will issue you one at today’s Meet and Greet. Carpool students will be taken to the carpool holding area until their car is in the carpool loading area. Your child’s number will be called and staff members will load your child into their car. Extra Kindergarten staff will specifically help Kindergarten students with their numbers the first 2 weeks of school. Walkers: will be dismissed through the front doors of the school. Students whose parents give them permission to walk from the school grounds to their home alone will be dismissed out the front doors of the school. They will continue down the sidewalk to the crossing guard. Parents who would like to meet their child and walk home with them should wait behind the line on the sidewalk directly behind the flag pole that is in front of the school. Parents should be waiting in the area between the painted line and the curb. A school staff member will meet the students in the lobby and will walk the students out to their parents. Early Dismissal: If a child must leave school before 3:45, the child must be signed out in the office by the parent. If someone other than a parent picks up a child before regular dismissal the parent needs to notify the teacher by note that morning or by a phone call to the office. Please tell them not to be offended if office staff asks for an ID. This is only for the protection of your child. Once the child has been signed out, the office will notify the classroom teacher and one of us will escort the child to the office. We must have a note or a phone call if your child changes from his normal method of going home!!!!!!!!!!! Personal Belongings: Kindergarten children will need a large towel for rest time. Please no plastic mats. We have no space to store them. Please allow your child to wear comfortable shoes and clothing that permits full participation in the total school program. Tennis shoes should be worn in the gym during our Physical Education period. Children who are overdressed are often reluctant to participate in painting and physical activities. We are also asking you to send in extra clothing to be stored in your child’s cubby. The items should include a shirt, shorts, socks, and underwear. A change of shoes is great if that is available. Please place these items in a gallon zip lock bag and write your child’s name on the bag. As the weather changes we will send them home to be replaced with warmer clothes. Please write your child’s name on his/her mat, lunchbox, and all clothing. We encourage each child to bring a book bag/backpack daily to school. Please do not permit your child to bring small pencils, erasers, candy, or toys from home. Supplies are provided for the classroom and small toys tend to disappear. Medication: School officials may administer medication to students if one of the following conditions is met: 1.The Parent Request and Physicians Order for Medication is completed and in the hands of school officials. 2.The parent sends a note requesting the school administer antibiotics to be taken during the last days of an acute illness. In this case the pharmacist or physician’s label, which must be on the bottle, serves as the physician’s order. Lunch: Lunch will cost $1.75. A reduced or free lunch price is available to those families that qualify. Forms were sent to families during the summer. Please call the school office if you did not receive a form and need one. The cost of milk is $.50. A weekly or monthly lunch ticket may be purchased. We encourage you to consider pre-paying lunches for at least the first month of school if your child plans to purchase a Weatherstone cafeteria lunch. Lunch money is often difficult for even the most mature Kindergartener to keep up with those first days. Checks should be made payable to Weatherstone Cafeteria. If you send money with your child, please send it in a coin purse, sealed envelope, or zip lock bag. A monthly schedule of lunch menus will be sent home with your child. Please help your child be aware of the lunch choice for the day. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are offered daily along with the choices indicated on the menu. Our lunch is tentatively scheduled for 10:45-11:20. Parents are welcome and encouraged to eat lunch with their child in the cafeteria after the first 4 weeks of school. Snack We will have an afternoon snack time. Your child is encouraged to bring a daily snack. Raw vegetables, fruit, crackers, or pretzels are good examples of snacks we encourage you to consider. Grade parents and Volunteer Room Helpers Parents who assist as volunteers in the classroom or as grade parents add greatly to the Kindergarten program. A grade parent sign-up sheet will be in the classroom during the Meet and Greet and at the PTA Open House. Volunteers will have the opportunity to sign up in early September and will begin working in the classroom the last week in September. Absentees When your child is absent from school for any reason, it is important to send a note to the teacher on the day your child returns. Another option is to use the Safe Kids Line…….Call 380-6982 by 10:00. When calling the safe kids line please state your name, your child’s name, the grade and teacher and the reason for the absence. Absences not followed by a note or phone call must be coded unexcused. Show and Tell: Friday will be our day for show and tell. Students may bring items to share with the class or tell of an interesting experience at this time. Show and tell themes will be posted in the newsletter and on our website!! Visitors: Every person who enters the building MUST check in at the office and receive a visitor’s pass. Please do not be offended if a staff member asks to see your pass or sends you to the office to get one if you forgot. This is for the safety of your child!!!!! Thank you for your cooperation. The first year of school is an adjustment year. Communication is important between teachers and parents. We will make every effort to keep you well informed. If a problem arises please contact me at school (380-6988) or by e- mail at ehelms@wcpss.net. I check my e-mail 2-3 times daily. I will contact you as soon as possible. We are looking forward to sharing the kindergarten experience with your child. Together we can make it a wonderful beginning. Web Page Our class will have its own web page this year!! You can access it by using the following: http://teacherweb.com/NC/WeatherstoneElementarySchool/MrsHelms/ Check it weekly for newsletters, updates, classroom photos, announcements, schedules and more!!!