Beginning Kindergarten can be one of the most exciting events in a young child’s experience. However, it could also be a daunting time, especially for parents. With so many different details surrounding the start of your child’s school career, it is possible that you may have some questions regarding our school policies, procedures, and our classroom routines. I have included some information about these topics below. I hope it will be informative and helpful to you, and make the beginning of your child’s school career a smooth one. I look forward to sharing a great year together with you and your child!
Sincerely,
Mrs. M. Lee
General School Policies
Bell Schedule
David Livingstone Elementary operates on a modified bell schedule. School begins at 9:00 am and ends at 3:00 pm. The warning bell rings at 8:55 am. Lunch will be from 12:10 pm to 12:50 pm. As a result of this modified schedule, schools will be closed for an additional 5 days during spring break. Please refer to the school calendar for specific information regarding these district closure days.
Drop-Off/ Pick Up Information
Students need to be in class by 9:00 am from Monday to Friday. Please ensure that your child is dropped off prior to 9:00 am. However, there will be no supervision available before 8:30 am, so please do not leave your child at school unattended before that time.
Dismissal time is an important time for the class to wrap up the day’s learning. Thus, please wait until the classroom door is opened before coming in to pick up your child. If you are unable to pick-up your child personally, and would like to have other family members or guardians pick up your child, please indicate that to the teacher beforehand so that the school is aware of this change. This is to avoid any confusion or concern about new guardians picking up your child. For latecomers, your child will either be waiting in the classroom or the office.
Absence Policy
If your child is unable to attend school, please inform the school as soon as possible. You may send a note with your child prior to the absence if it is a planned absence. Or you may call the school at 604-713-4985 and leave a message with our secretary or on the answering machine. If a note is not sent with your child prior to the absence, a note is required when he/she returns to school.
Tardy Policy
In Kindergarten, establishing a daily routine is very important. Therefore, it is very important for your child to attend school on time every day. Often, there is a lot of learning time structured around morning routines and circle time, which happens within the first hour of school. Also, young children need time to settle in and adapt to their surroundings before they become comfortable enough to learn. Our morning times are structured to meet those needs. Thus it is very important for you to bring your child to school on time.
If your child is late, please first go to the office and inform the secretary that your child has arrived and sign-in before going to the classroom.
About Our Classroom…
Show & Tell
It is important for children to have opportunities to talk and share about their experiences with others. Sharing in front of a group is an important part of oral-language development. Hence, each student will be assigned a day of the week where they will have an opportunity to “share”. Please note the day of the week that your child is sharing on when the schedule has been determined, and help your child prepare for their sharing the night before and be ready for their show & tell the next day. Sharing topics do not need to be complex. It is important for students to relate experiences which are real to them. For example students may wish to bring in objects from home to share about. Photographs, artwork, collections or seasonal objects (such as fall leaves, beach objects etc.) are good topics for sharing.
Naturally, children will want to bring in their toys to show their friends. However, students are discouraged to bring toys because they are easy to lose and can also become items of conflict and envy between students. Therefore, please encourage your children to keep their toys at home and choose sharing topics which are not related to toys or video-games.
Home Reading Program
An important program at our school is our Home Reading Program. This program is done everyday and is our main, ongoing “homework” activity for kindergarten. While there is no official homework for kindergarten, students and parents are encouraged to read together every night for our school Home Reading Program. Students will be asked to take home a special home reading book which is chosen to match their current reading level. They will be asked to read their book with their parents or older guardian. A copy of the calendar month will be included in the home reading bag. Each night that your child reads his/her home reading book to you, sign the calendar to indicate that he/she has done so. This will help us keep track of your child’s reading. At Livingstone, we celebrate students who have read 50, 100, and 150 nights of Home Reading at our assemblies each term with certificates. The program will start a few weeks after school begins and more detailed information will be provided at that time.
Daily Physical Activity
As you know, all children in British Columbia are expected by the Ministry of Education to participate in 30 minutes of daily physical activity. This includes physical activity at school and at home. We will be reporting every term on the children’s progress in this area. At school, we will be tracking their participation in physical activity during gym classes (usually 3 times a week) and their physical activity levels during recess and lunch. Children will also be asked to go for short jogs around the school to increase their daily physical activity levels. However, students are also encouraged to complete their 30 minutes of physical activity outside of school hours. The report card assessment will indicate whether your child meets or does not meet the expectation for completing 30 minutes of daily physical activity. For our class, this assessment will be made by taking a profile of the children’s physical activity. Random samples will be taken intermittently to create a profile of each student’s recess/lunch hour and out-of-school levels of physical activity. Our children will also be informed about the new expectations and encouraged to engage in 30 minutes of daily physical activity, beyond our regulated gym times.
Teacher’s Basket
The teacher’s basket is a small basket placed by the door where students can deposit returned forms, lunch envelopes etc. in the morning. This will be helpful as mornings are a busy time, and it may be difficult to collect everything from every child all at once. This basket also serves as a “mailbox” for me. Morning times are hectic, and may not always be the best time for parent/teacher conversations. If that is the case, please feel free to drop me a note in my basket and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Change of Clothes and Inside Shoes
Sometimes, children require a change of clothes because the ones they are wearing become soiled. It is recommended that each child bring an extra change of clothes (shirt, pants, underwear, socks etc.) to keep at school. Then, should your child need a change of clothes, they will be readily available, and the school would not need to call home. Children also should have a pair of “inside shoes” to wear inside the classroom. Ideally, inside shoes should be Velcro runners, as they are the safest kind for walking down the hall and running in the gym.
Allergies and Food Restrictions
In kindergarten, we do a fair amount of cooking. Please inform me if your child has any food allergies or restrictions. At our school we promote healthy eating habits, but understand that occasional treats are fine. On special occasions such as Halloween or birthdays we may have an occasional small treat in class. However, if you do not want your child to participate in that, please inform me so we can arrange for a healthy snack alternative for these occasions.
Snack Policy
At the beginning of the year, the children will be having snack inside the classroom just before recess and before they go out to play. Later on in the year, once they have adjusted to the routines, the children will be sent outside with their snack at the beginning of recess. To make it easier for your child to have his/her snack, make the portions small and easy to eat. We encourage our students to drink water at school. If your child would like to do so, you may send a plastic cup to school for your child to use. Alternately, you may wish to send a water bottle to school with your child.
We also want to encourage our students to develop healthy eating habits. Thus we encourage our students to bring healthy snack choices and save the special snacks such as cookies, pop, chips, candy and sugary snacks to eat as treats at home. Children who consistently bring unhealthy snacks will be asked to save their treats for after school hours. Thus, please keep the treats for home! Some good snack choices may be fruit and vegetable pieces, crackers, cheese, or yogurt tubes. Milk is generally not a good choice unless your child has a special cooler bag style lunch kit.
Due to possible food allergies and the differences in food choices for different families, we have a strict no-snack-sharing policy in the classroom. This will be explained to the children in class, but please also take a few minutes to discuss the dangers of food and nut allergies with your child, so they understand that they are not being unkind when they do not share their snack with their friends.
Birthday Celebrations
If your child has a birthday during the school year and you wish to celebrate his/her birthday with the class, please inform me a week prior to his/her birthday so that we can plan for it. For healthy eating purposes, we ask that parents only choose mini-sized treats such as the mini cupcakes for these celebrations Parents could also consider preparing fruit cups as a healthy treat alternative to cakes. As well, please consult with me first about the treats, as there may be food allergies that parents need to be aware of before preparing or buying the treats.
Further Questions
If you have any further questions about our classroom, I am available to talk to you after school or by appointment. We can arrange for a time to meet that is convenient for you. Thank you for your support in your child’s learning. I look forward to having a great year with you and your child!