Kindergarten Orientation 2017 Mrs. Priya · PDF file · 2016-08-10It is my pleasure to introduce myself as your child’s kindergarten teacher for the upcoming school year. My...

Kindergarten Orientation

2016 – 2017

Mrs. Priya Rupik

Dear Parents, It is my pleasure to introduce myself as your child’s kindergarten teacher for the upcoming school year. My name is Priya Rupik and I look forward to spending this year with you and your child. I would like to take this time to inform you of some events and procedures for this year. I believe it is extremely important to keep the lines of communication open between parents and teacher. Your child’s education and success is a joint effort between you and I. In order to keep you up to date on what is going on the classroom, I will email a weekly newsletter on Fridays to inform you of what we have accomplished during the week and what we look forward to completing for the following week. You can also find my newsletter on my district website. I will also send home all of your child’s work on Friday. This will allow me enough time to look over all of your child’s work and keep it organized for you. Even though I will not send your child’s work home with him or her daily, it is very important that your child bring his or her book bag to school every day just in case there is something which I need to send home immediately. The first few weeks of school is an orientation time for the children to get adjusted to their classmates, classroom, and teacher. Once the children have settled into the classroom, we will follow the same basic schedule. The following pages are a brief overview of our daily activities and an explanation of what you can expect during those times.

Daily Activities

Free play/Choice Centers

Opening Activities

Language Arts

Show-n-tell

Math

Learning Centers/Special Theme:

Reading/Writing Center Math Center Listening Center Art Center

Recess

Dismissal

We will also library and computer class once every five day cycle. I will let you know which days once I get the schedule.

Free Play/ Choice Center

This is a period of time when the children are able to socialize with one another and experiment with different tools in the classroom. The classroom is divided into several different learning centers including: math, reading, art, science, imagination, etc. This time allows each child to develop cooperation and problem solving skills. The following chart is information on the importance of play for children and the skills they develop through free play.

Opening Activities/Calendar During this time the children all join together in: 1) Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. 2) Singing a patriotic song. 3) Listening to and discussing the poem of the week. 4) Participating in calendar activities:

* Reviewing the days of the week * Reviewing the months of the year * Counting the days of the month while looking for patterns in the calendar * Determining odd and even numbers * Counting by 5’s and 10’s while tallying the days of the month * Practicing place value while counting the days of the school year * Graphing the weather each day of the month

5) Discussing the events of the day. As you can see, our calendar time focuses on several math skills. We practice counting, patterning, graphing and adding during this time. We also focus on different number concepts including the difference between even and odd numbers, the concept of more and less, and other math concepts.

Language Arts

Our language arts period entails several different areas of reading and writing. At the beginning of the year, we will focus on letter formation, letter sounds, phonics skills and comprehension strategies. In the following pages, you will find a copy of the “Peterson Company” alphabet and number chart which is used throughout the school district. When helping your child practice, please follow this example. As the year progresses, the children will experiment more with letters, their sounds, words and ultimately sentences and stories. Each child develops these skills at a different rate. In order to accommodate all of the different learners in the classroom, we incorporate invented spelling or as I say in the classroom “Guess-n-Go” spelling. Some children come to kindergarten with a strong base of knowledge in letters, sounds, and words. Using “Guess-n-Go” spelling allows each child to use that knowledge to strengthen emergent reading skills. For children who have more difficulty with these skills, using “Guess-n-Go” spelling allows them to experiment with letter sounds and develop these skills at their own rate. We will have writing workshops throughout the year to help the kids refine their writing skills. Enclosed is a sample of what you may see your child bring home throughout the school year. Your child will also learn several comprehension strategies which they will use while reading. These strategies will help your child think about what they are reading and have a greater understanding of the content which they are reading.

Throughout the year, we will incorporate small, guided reading groups. This will allow the children to read books at their own level and discuss them with their peers. Throughout the year, I will assess the children on their independent reading level and group with children at that level for reading groups. By grouping the children, in this manner, each child will develop their reading skills at their own rate and progress on their own as well. Other characteristics of our reading program include:

* learning basic phonetic rules * allowing time to write using a variety of different writing utensils * active listening * integration of all curricular areas by themes, subjects, books or author * exposure to different types of literature * allowing the children to make choices in their reading and writing through small guided reading groups

Special Theme or Project

Throughout the school year, the children will participate in several themes or units. These are usually seasonal themes throughout the year. Here is a tentative schedule of some of the themes/units which we will be focusing on this year. September October November * All about me * Safety * Nutrition * Butterflies * Pumpkins * Thanksgiving * Apples * Halloween December January February * Christmas * Winter *Dental Health * Holiday Traditions * The Lands of *Valentine’s Ice and Snow Day

*America

March April May * St. Patrick’s Day * Push, Pull and * Mother’s/Father’s * Weather/Spring Move Science Unit Day * Bears * The Farm * The Ocean * Kid’s Choice

Show-n-tell Time

We will have our show-n-tell time every day. This time allows the children to express themselves in front of a large group and it gives them the opportunity to show their unique personalities to their classmates. Each day a different group of students sitting at a particular table will have their show-n-tell time. On Monday’s the Hamburger table will have show-n-tell, on Tuesdays the Hotdog table, on Wednesdays the Ice-cream table, on Thursdays the Pizza Table and Fridays will be a make-up day for any children who forgot to bring something on their assigned day. Until the children are assigned to different tables, your child will share every week on their particular day. When the children switch tables, I will let you know in my weekly newsletter. I will let you know to which table your child is assigned during our orientation night.

Math

Our math times incorporate several different facets of math. As mentioned before, much of our calendar time focuses on practicing math skills. During our math period, the children will engage in active, hands-on math activities as well as traditional paper-pencil activities. Throughout the year, we will work on counting, patterning, sorting, graphing, adding, subtracting and practicing several other math skills. As the year progresses, these activities will become more difficult to challenge the children. Another important part of our math program is engaging the children in critical thinking activities. These activities include guessing games, riddles, solving math problems in various different ways, and so on. Through these “critical thinking” activities, the children will learn the importance of the process of thinking through problems.

Centers

There are four different learning centers which the children will visit throughout the course of the week. They are the Math/Science Center, Art Center, Reading/Writing Center, and the Listening Center. Since, we have four centers, the children will participate in a different center on Mondays through Thursdays. We will not have centers of Friday unless we miss another day during the week. I will note that in my weekly newsletter if I will need help for Friday centers. Our center activities usually focus on the unit or letter which we are learning that week. Center time allows the children to work in small groups and pick their level of difficulty on many of the project. This also gives me the opportunity to work one-on-one with the children because I usually work at only one center a week and I have parent volunteers come and work at the other centers. I try to have centers every week at the end of the school day, so I do need people who can dedicate a particular day every week to help with centers. If you are interested in being a center helper, please sign up for the day in which you will be able to help. Thank you in advance for your help!!

Recess

Weather and time permitting, we do go out on the playground for recess time. Depending on the schedule, this can happen during the school day.

Dismissal The children will be dismissed at approximately 11:15 and 3:15. They will be dismissed through carpool procedures.

Birthday Parties

Birthdays are a special time for kindergarten children. We do try to celebrate each child’s birthday throughout the school year. We normally have our birthday parties at the end of the day at around 11:00 and 3:00. If you would like to come and celebrate your child’s birthday with him or her, you are more than welcome to do so. Just send a note indicating the day and time which is most convenient for you (if 11:00 or 3:00 doesn’t work). If you are unable to come and celebrate, you can send a non-edible treat with your child to share with the class. Please note that the Seneca Valley School District does not permit food items for birthday celebrations. Your child is welcome to share a non-edible treat such as stickers, pencils, small toys, etc. If your child has a summer birthday or a birthday which falls on a holiday, you and your child can choose another day to celebrate at school if you wish. I would like to make one suggestion for summer birthdays so we do not have too many at the end of the school year. Your child can celebrate his or her birthday at the halfway point of the year. For example, your child can celebrate his or her 5 1/2 birthday during the school year if he or she turns six in the summer. Again, I am flexible with days and times for birthday celebrations, just let me know what works best for you.

Assessments

Your child will receive a report card four times during the school year; once in November during parent/teacher conferences, in January, in March and finally at the end of the school year. In addition to report cards, the children will be taking the NWEA test. This is a computerized test which gives me more information about where your child’s strengths and weakness are so I can individualize instruction for them. I will also be assessing their reading levels throughout the year. This will help me in choosing which books to use with your child during out guided reading groups.

Final Comments

Well, I think that’s enough for you to think about for now. Once again, it is a great pleasure for me to work with you this year. If I can do anything to make the transition into kindergarten easier for you or your child, let me know. If you need my assistance with anything, feel free to contact me at school, 724-452-8280 ext. 132435 or at home, 724-452-9797. Or you can email me at [email protected]. Thank you for your time and I look forward to seeing you throughout the year. Sincerely, Mrs. Priya Rupik

Volunteers

I have a made a list of areas with which I may need help throughout the year. Please complete this form and return it to me and I will contact you when I need your assistance. Thank You!!! Your name and phone number _____________________________ I can help with centers on the following day/days throughout the school year: Mondays ______________________ Tuesdays _____________________ Wednesdays __________________ Thursdays ____________________

I can proofread newsletters. ___________________________ I can take pictures of classroom events. ________________ I can come into the classroom to give a presentation on

_____________________________________________________________ I am available on short notice.________________________________

Wish List

This is a list of items which we will be using throughout the school year. If anyone is able to donate any of these items, it will be greatly appreciated. Old magazines Styrofoam Trays Plastic containers with lids (old yogurt or butter containers) Ziploc baggies - any size Liquid hand soap Large paper grocery bags Plastic grocery bags Stickers

Kleenex Craft supplies