Hello! Please be sure to read your "News You Can Use" packet carefully for
general information about Kindergarten at CRE.
This page contains the answers to the most common questions of students and
parents.
- What does my child need to bring to school?
- What do I do if my child is absent?
- Who do I call to change how my child goes home?
- Where do I meet my child for lunch?
- Does my child need to wear tennis shoes every day?
- Does my child need a rest mat?
- Can I send a water bottle?
- My child's birthday is coming up. Can we celebrate it at school?
- What homework will my child have?
What does my child need to bring to school?
Your child needs a labeled water bottle, a change of clothing in a labeled
baggie, a regular-sized bath towel, and a full-sized backpack every day.
Our Daily Folder (containing classroom notes, homework, etc.) doesn't fit
inside of a small backpack. We will keep the bath towel here at school and
only have room for a regular-size towel. Please do not send pillows, stuffed
animals or toys to school.
What do I do if my child is absent?
Please be sure to call the school office at 424-8000 to report an
absence as soon as possible. When your child returns to school,
please be sure to send a note in your child's Daily Folder
explaining the absence. I will turn that note in to the office
for you. To determine if the absence is excused, please refer to
the Student Handbook you received at the beginning of the year.
Your child and I will work on completing any work missed in
class. In the event your child misses a lot of school work, it
is possible that your child will be assigned extra homework to
catch up. Any work will be sent home following your child's
return to school.
Who do I call to change how my child goes home?
Please be sure to send a note in your child's Daily Folder if you
change how your child goes home. If you are unable to do so, you
must call the office at 424-8000 to notify me of the change.
Please do not call the classroom with this information because I
may not get it in time for the dismissal change. If you come to
pick up your child early, you must go to the school office to
sign your child out, and we will send your child to the office
for pick up. You are not allowed to pick your child up from the
classroom directly.
Where do I meet my child for lunch?
You will meet us in the cafeteria after signing in at the Office
as a visitor. Please do not come to our classroom! Our lunch
begins promptly at 10:41am. If you would like to buy a lunch,
you must call the school cafeteria (424-8088) by 8:00am to place
an order. Please note that I am unable to order a lunch for you
and that you MUST pre-order a lunch if you wish to have one.
This policy ensures that all of our older students have the lunch
of their choice.
If you would like to bring a lunch for your child, please note
that our lunch begins at precisely 10:41am. Please know that
only certain restaurants in town serve lunch before this, and
that it can be very upsetting to your child if you do not arrive
on time. Please plan accordingly.
Does my child need to wear tennis shoes every day?
It is highly recommended; however, your child is required to wear
tennis shoes on all Wellness days. Our schedule for Wellness
will be sent home as soon as possible and explained at Back to
School Night. It is highly recommended that your child wear
tennis shoes or other closed-toe shoes every day to allow for
safe play. Please, no flip flops at school.
Does my child need a rest mat?
No, your child does not need a rest mat. Due to storage issues,
we can only accomodate a regular sized bath towel for rest time.
Please do not send pillows, stuffed animals or blankets as we are
not able to accomodate these bulky items. Towels will be sent
home each Friday for washing and should be returned the following
Monday.
Can I send a water bottle?
Yes, please send a labeled water bottle every day for your
child. As you well know, it is HOT outside and we will take our
water bottles with us outside to recess. Children are not
permitted to re-enter the building during recess for water, so
this is extremely important! Your child can refill water bottles
at school but they will be returned regularly for washing.
My child's birthday is coming up. Can we celebrate it at school?
Yes, please contact me as your child's birthday nears to arrange
a date and time for this. You may send store-bought cupcakes (or
an alternative) which will be served during our snack/centers
time at 2:00pm. You are invited to attend to take pictures, etc.
if you'd like. Due to food regulations, any and all food served
must be store bought, so please do not send home-made items.
Please keep any class food allergies in mind when selecting
items.
We request that you not send goodie bags to school. We are a
latex-free campus, so balloons are not permitted.
You may send out birthday party invitations so long as all
children in the class are invited. Please place whole-class
invitations in your child's Daily Folder, and I will be happy to
distribute them. It helps if you do not place individual
children's names on the outer envelope. If for some
reason you choose to only invite certain children (e.g. Girl-only
party), you will need to send those through the mail.
What homework will my child have?
In Kindergarten, there are four main types of homework:
1) GENERAL HOMEWORK: Homework will generally be sent home on Fridays with
directions in the Daily Folder. It will be due back the following Friday.
Please be sure your child completes all assigned homework. This is one step
families can take to help build strong study skills at home. Parents are
encouraged to support their child's efforts, however, please be sure your
child does the work!
2) READING LOGS: Kindergarten students are expected to read (or be read to)
for 15 minutes a day, in addition to our other homework. Each child will
receive a Monthly Reading Log to track this reading. Our children have the
opportunity to earn
up to 5 Dog Tags which will be presented at a Family Reading Night celebration
in February.
3) READING GROUP HOMEWORK: Beginning in late October, students will begin
meeting with me in small groups during our Guided Reading Time. We will focus
on learning reading and comprehension strategies. Your child will be given
Reading Group homework each time they meet with me or at least two times per
week. Please return the Reading Group folder daily and be sure to check for
this folder nightly.
4) MATH FLASHBACK HOMEWORK: Beginning in November, Math Flashback Homework
will be sent home each Monday. It will contain small daily assignments.
Please have your child complete
these assignments nightly, rather than all at once. These assignments are
part of a campus-wide initiative to improve the retention of math concepts
previously taught. They are designed to serve as a review. Please allow your
child to complete these assignments independently, although you may need to
read the directions. Math Flashback Homework will also be due on Friday.