Mrs.Cordova’s Kindergarten Class Doral Academy Open House 2016-2017

Filled with fun and learning, Nothing to fear. Sit back and listen, Hello, hello! It’s a brand new year. Filled with fun and learning, Nothing to fear. Sit back and listen, Lend me an ear, I’m your teacher for the rest of this year!

Agenda: Introductions/Sign up Sheets About the Teacher Staff at Doral Behavior Policy Super Kid Friday Cafeteria Grading Scale Birthdays Volunteer Hours Parent Communication Introductions/Sign up Sheets About the Teacher Staff at Doral Attendance Policies Before & After Care Uniform Policy Medication/Allergies Home Learning Folder Morning Procedures Afternoon Dismissal Home Learning Policy Classroom Expectations

Meet the Teacher I have taught Kindergarten for 16 years and 2nd for two years. (Kindergarten has my heart!) I love teaching reading. * Bachelor’s in Early Childhood & Elementary Education * Master’s in Reading This will be my 17th year at Doral Academy. I have 12 year old twin boys! 

Doral Academy Staff Principal – Mrs. Cuesta Assistant Principal- Mrs. Simon Lead Teacher-Mrs. Perez Front Desk-Ms. Gomez Office – Mrs. Trino & Ms. Sotelo, Librarian – Ms. Ali

Attendance Policy If your child is absent, please send a written note within 48 hours of your child returning to school (An email is ok). An absence will be excused if it is one of the following: death in the family, illness, doctor’s appointment. Please note, a vacation or business trip is NOT an excused absence. Students will be referred to administration for excessive unexcused absences.

Attendance Policy Doral Academy and JAM awards Perfect Attendance to students with zero absences and zero tardies. Please note that the DAC/JAM policy is different from the standard MDCPS policy for awarding perfect attendance. To ensure students make their best effort to be present at school every day, referrals will be issued for the following: 10 tardies = 1 referral 5 unexcused absences = 1 referral 10 early releases = 1 referral

Before & After Care For information, please see Ms. Patty Zulueta in the Pre-Kindergarten Department Recommendation: Register kids today! If your child is not registered, they will have to wait in the office and it can get expensive! You will be charged $1 for every minute you are late.

Uniforms: All students must wear the Doral Academy uniform every day, unless we specify otherwise. (Jeans Day and/or Dress Down Day, Field Trip, etc.) Jean Day serves as a fundraiser for our school. For $1.00 students can wear jeans with their Doral Academy Friday T-Shirt (Shirt is $13.00 which can be purchased on-line). Jean Day can also be paid Aug. Dec. and then Jan.-May through our on-line store. Boys - Hair should be cut neatly and above the collar. Students must wear closed toe shoes, and they should ONLY be black.

Uniforms: Sweaters should be navy blue and have the Doral Academy logo. Please make sure you label your child’s clothing with his/her name. Also, please make sure to send a complete change of clothes (shirt, bottom, undergarment and socks) to school in a Zip-loc with your child’s name on it on the first day of school. It does not have to be a uniform. This is stored in the classroom for accidents. For additional information about uniforms, please contact the office staff.

Student UNIFORMS Tops: Polo shirts must be red, white or navy blue and embroidered with the school name and logo. All shirts must be tucked inside pants at all times. Bottoms: Pants/skorts may be navy blue or khaki. Belts must be worn at all times. They must be plain, black, and fastened securely at waist level. Shoes: Black closed toe shoes or sneakers must be worn. No sandals, crocs, boots, heels or platform shoes are allowed. Sweaters: Navy blue uniform sweatshirts and sweaters with embroidered school logo may be worn.

Medication: Teachers/Teacher Assistants are not allowed to administer medication. You must leave all medication along with dosing instructions in the office. Please make sure to inform the teacher of any allergies your child has and any medications being taken.

Field-trips: Students will usually participate in three fieldtrips per year. It is of utmost importance that you adhere to the assigned deadlines. We are required to submit all field trip paper work one week prior to the scheduled field trip. Chaperones will be selected through a lottery. You must register-reregister through the student/parent portal and receive Level 1 clearance. http://www.dadeschools.net/ Please see the receptionist for assistance.

DAC Folders Your child’s Doral Folder is their “Home Learning” folder. This folder must be checked EVERYDAY. Their daily behavior, important papers and communication from school are sent home in this folder. This folder will also be used to send their home-learning for the week. On Fridays all class work that was not collected will be sent home in the folder. Please remove the work and keep the work for your records/ memories.

School Online Store

Morning Procedures Parents are to drop off students in the lobby. Parents must park in the Carlos Albizu parking lot. Gates will open at 8:00am. Neither students nor parents are permitted to stand in the hallways. All students arriving before 8:00 am must be enrolled in morning care (see Ms. Patty in the Pre-K office). Classroom doors open at 8:10am Instruction begins promptly at 8:30am Tardy passes are given by the office staff in the lobby at 8:30am

Afternoon Dismissal Parents must park in the Carlos Albizu parking lot and walk to the front of the school to pick up their child(ren). If your child will be picked up by someone else, is going to aftercare or going home with a friend, you MUST SEND a note to school in your child’s folder. Your child notifying your teacher verbally will not suffice. You may send an e-mail or call the school and they will notify your child’s teacher in the event that it is a last minute thing.

Leaving Early No students shall be released within the final thirty minutes of the school day unless authorized by administration. Students who wish to be dismissed early are required to provide proof of a medical/dental appointment within 48 hours of such appointment. Notes submitted more than 48 hours after an early dismissal will not be accepted, and the early dismissal will be deemed unexcused. After 5 unexcused early dismissals, the students will be issued a referral form that will be placed in the student’s permanent record. Parents are to park in the Carlos Albizu Parking lot and walk to the front of the school by the main/office entrance to pick up their children.

Home Learning Policy Home Learning packets are uploaded every Monday with a detailed list of assignments each day. Please print home-learning packets on Mondays. *Packets are collected on Fridays. *The Reading Log is part of your child’s Home Learning. (This must be completed daily.) *Home Learning will be considered incomplete if the Reading Log is not completed. *This will result in your child receiving an incomplete for their Home Learning.

Classroom Expectations: Come to school prepared and on time. Complete class work and home learning assignments. Respect peers and teachers. Ask questions. Do your best.

Accelerated Reader Accelerated Reader is an independent reading program. It contains a computer based assessment. Students will read a book and take a computerized comprehension test.

Behavior policy Rules Rewards Consequences Behavior Chart Super Kid Friday Birthdays

Super-Kid Fridays! Every Friday we will have Super Kid. Snacks will be provided on a rotating basis by the parents. These treats are donations and will be noted as classroom participation. Movies must be approved by the teacher/administration/ Super Kid is used as a behavior incentive, if your child’s behavior does not warrant super kid, they will not participate.

Assessments: This year, your child will be taking i‐Ready. i-Ready is an engaging online assessment and instruction program. i‐Ready is web‐based it assesses skills in the following areas, known as domains: – Phonological Awareness – Phonics – High‐Frequency Words – Vocabulary – Comprehension: Literature – Comprehension: Informational Text Kindergarten SAT

Grading Scale: 1st- 4th grading period academic grades are given. What does each grade represent? E= Excellent Progress (100 – 90) G= Good Progress (89 – 80) S= Satisfactory Progress (79 - 70) M= Minimal Progress (69 – 60) U= Unsatisfactory Progress (59 & below) N/A= Not applicable All tests and/or assignments that receive a M or U, will be sent home for your review. Please make sure you look it over with your child, sign it and return it to your child’s teacher.

Grading Scale: “G” is a good grade both in academics and behavior. An “E” has to be earned. “E” means outstanding.

Lunch Teacher Assistants will be watching over our students during lunch time. Cafeteria Lunch: $3.25 You may pay your child’s lunch and/or apply for free or reduced lunch online. Classrooms will not be interrupted for forgotten lunchboxes. Lunchboxes will be delivered to a table in the cafeteria. Students who forget their lunchboxes have the option to eat ham and cheese sandwiches, cereal and milk or what is being served in the cafeteria. Behavior: All students sit at assigned tables. Inappropriate behavior in the cafeteria (getting up, yelling, throwing food) will affect their daily behavior chart. If misbehavior persists, a detention will be issued. **PLEASE DO NOT SEND FOOD IN GLASS CONTAINTERS OR FOOD THAT NEEDS TO BE HEATED, THERE IS NO MICROWAVE .

Birthdays The day of a child’s birthday, their birthday will be acknowledged in class with a treat and a song. As per school policy, celebrations may be held either in the cafeteria at lunch time or during the last half hour of the day. Please discuss this in advance with the teacher to make arrangements.

Volunteer Hours You may complete volunteer hours by participating in school activities (field trips, the book fair, Hispanic Heritage Festival, Field Day, etc.) Volunteer hours must be completed by early May. In order to volunteer, all parents must be screened and approved by Dade County Public Schools. You must obtain a security clearance and get your fingerprints done. Step-by-step instructions on how to become a cleared School Volunteer can be found on our School Website: How to Become a School Volunteer School wide volunteer opportunities can be found on our School Website via Volunteer Spot For other volunteer opportunities, please communicate with your child’s teacher.

Volunteer Hours

Fundraisers Used to enhance our educational program. Smart boards/tablets. Fundraisers kick off in September.

Programs available to our Students: Before/After School Care: Inquire with Ms. Patty Zulueta in the Pre-K office. After school sports/activities Recommended Websites: Starfall.com Readingeggs.com ABCya.com ABCmouse.com

Our school’s website: www.doralacademy.org

Our website features: The ability for each teacher to create and maintain their personal site within the main website. Ability to post weekly homework's and announcements. Links to: School grade book Parent Portal School Volunteer Sign Up

How to Communicate with Ms. Cordova Send an e-mail to: acordova@doralacademyes.org (preferred) Write a note. Place it in your child’s Doral Academy folder. Phone the school – 305-597-9999 -Calls will be returned within 24 hours.

How to help your child: Read daily! Discuss events, retell the story, talk about favorite part, talk about the pictures, ask how and why questions etc. Homework: Establish a routine Practice sight words Numbers to 100

Questions??? At this time if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to ask! You are your child’s first teacher, so I will look to you for help and insights that will help me understand your child and therefore help them reach their full potential!

Please make sure to: BY MONDAY, AUGUST 21st - Purchase your child’s home learning folder online for $2.50 - Purchase Friday school shirt online for $13.00 - Send all signed and completed paper work in your open house folder

Welcome to a great year in Kindergarten!

Concluding Thought An apple for the teacher Is really nothing new. Except, when you remember Parents are teachers too! You are your child’s first teacher, so I will look to you for help and insights that will help me understand your child and therefore help them reach their full potential!