Kindergarten Back to School Night AUGUST 31, 2016

Daily Schedule

Rights and Responsibilities STUDENTS HAVE THE RIGHT TO...STUDENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR a safe learning environment.... maintaining a safe learning environment.... gain new knowledge.... completing all assignments.... make choices.... the consequences of their choices.*... their own thoughts and ideas.... respecting others’ thoughts & ideas.... be treated fairly.... treating everyone fairly.... be themselves.... being cooperative.

Classroom Rules Morning Library Rules 1.Use whisper voices. 2.Only safe, school appropriate toys without wheels. 3.Listen and show respect to teachers and volunteers. 4.Be kind and respectful to schoolmates. 1.Listen and follow directions. 2.Raise your hand before speaking or leaving your seat. 3.Respect yourself, teachers, classmates, and classroom materials. 4.Keep bodies and objects to ourselves.

Conflict Resolution

Behavior System American Academy follows a green, yellow and red system. We also allow kids to move up to blue. Green: I am doing what is expected of me. If I get five green days in a row, I get treasure box! Yellow: I made a mistake but I will learn from it. I will sit in the Think Chair for 2 minutes to reflect on my actions. Red: I made one big mistake (hitting, lying, kicking, etc.) or lots of little mistakes without correcting my behavior throughout the day with many warnings. I will sit in the Think Chair for 5 minutes to reflect on my actions. Blue: I went above and beyond expectations. I get a treasure box! *If a child changes their color to yellow or red, they have an opportunity to move their color up with above and beyond behavior. *Please initial your child’s behavior calendar each night. This is our one of our main forms of communicating with you why your child came home on yellow, red, or blue.

Manners and Character

Curriculum 1. Core Knowledge - Core Knowledge is integrated into every subject at American Academy as the foundation of our curriculum. In kindergarten, it covers language arts, history and geography, visual arts, music, mathematics, and science. 2. Math – Saxon Math is taught incrementally, such that each lesson builds on previous lessons, resulting in a deep and lasting understanding. It starts very easy for the first few years to build foundational knowledge. 3. Literacy 1.The “Spalding Writing Road to Reading” integrates spelling, writing and reading. 2.“Step Up to Writing” is a systematic and structured approach to the process of writing.

Curriculum cont’d… 5. Leader in Me (full-day only) – This program teaches 21st century leadership and life skills to students and creates a culture of student empowerment based on the idea that every child can be a leader. 4. History - The Core Knowledge Curriculum thoroughly covers History, World Civilizations and Geography. 6. Science – The FOSS program covers “Materials in Our World,” “Trees and Weather,” and “Animals Two by Two.” Units on the “Plant Life Cycle” and “Forces and Motion” are also taught. We are moving to the Next Gen Standards. 7. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) - The idea of STEM is to expose them early to STEM opportunities and nurture the skills their future will demand, thereby preparing them for the competition of the global job market of their future.

Specials

Homework Overview At the start of ability groups, your child will have homework Monday through Thursday. Please help your child with their homework and initial in the top right corner that you have checked their work. Use pencil for writing and crayon for coloring. Incomplete or extremely messy work will be sent back home to be finished or redone. Math – One or two pages of math practice will come home each weeknight and will be due the following day. Reading – Homework will come home once a week in packet form with instructions of what to do each day. Your child’s teacher will inform you of the due date.

We Love our Volunteers! Each family is responsible for volunteering 40 hours per year. Once we each have a room mom in place, you will receive s from her about volunteer opportunities. In the meantime, we will contact you through or post requests for assistance on our webpage(s). Policy: Parents are not allowed to volunteer in their child’s room while that child is in the room. Young students act extremely young when Mom or Dad is in the room. (exception: parties) Several Volunteer Opportunities to look for: *Monthly Bulletin Boards *Special Projects at school *Take-home projects *Weekly Cleaning *Morning Library Supervisor *Library Read Aloud/Check Out *Recess/lunch duty

Great Parent Resources Discovery Education Online media with hundreds of videos, search by subject, grade level, etc. User Name: studentAA Password: american1 BrainPop Or BrainPopJr. Username: aapkr Password: 123 Starfall This is an amazing site that supports children in learning letters and sounds, as well as providing reading materials and games to support kids who are starting to read! Phonograms by Spalding Education International

Resources on the American Academy Webpage Great games to help kids develop skills controlling their mouse !