Welcome to Kindergarten 2016-2017

General Information School Day 9:10 a.m. – 3:50 p.m. Dismissal- Patrols will escort students to cars, buses and KidsCO During the day parents should go directly to the office if needing to pick child up early. Birthdays- No edible treats We will acknowledge the birthdays in the classroom

Behavior System **New School Wide Positive Behavior System!! Students work towards DES Way D- Demonstrate Respect & Responsibility E – Engages in Learning S – Safety for myself and others Students earn “ROAR’s” for positive behavior both individually and as a class

Lunch Lunch Time - 12:05 – 12:35 pm Recess -12:35 – 1:15 pm Lunch Options: Bring from home Purchase in cafeteria for $2.55 (includes milk) Milk a la carte .60 Money may be deposited in student’s SNAP account for convenience www.myLunchMoney.com

Faxes and emails may not be checked in time. Change in Routine Please let us know as soon as possible with written note or phone call to the office. Faxes and emails may not be checked in time.

Communicating with Teachers Send a note in your child’s Take Home Folder Call the school at 301-253-7080 Email your child’s teacher Michela_A_Harrigan@mcpsmd.org Stacey_L_Morton@mcpsmd.org Pamela_E_Jones@mcpsmd.org

Communicating with Parents Take Home Folder (provided by DES PTA) Please check and return to school daily Parent/Teacher Conferences—November 9 & 10 Report Cards (NEW – 4 times/yr) Weekly ROAR tally mark on homework sheets Emails

Volunteers Room Parents are organized through the PTA ONE Sign up for ALL K Classes Parents will be contacted for special projects on an as needed basis ALL VOLUNTEERS MUST COMPLETE MCPS ONLINE TRAINING ON CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT

Reading/Writing Block Mini Lesson Strategy Work Guided Reading Groups focus on strategies Independent Work & Centers reinforce skills/strategies Writer’s Workshop

Reading and Writing Texts are varied and authentic. Informational text (which supports other content areas) Fiction Texts (story elements) Concepts of Prints Foundational Skills Work with recognizing upper and lower case letters Letter sounds Syllables High frequency words Writing Sentences beginning with a capital letter Space between words Correct punctuation

Writing Block Students will write for various purposes, in various forms and for various audiences during writers’ workshop in EACH quarter Purposes for Writing Informative/explanatory Opinion (persuade) Narratives (stories) Students will actively participate in two Inquiry Projects: Winter: Animal Research Spring: All About Me Museum

Math This year in math we will learn: Positional Words Patterns Sorting Counting 1 to 100 by 1’s and 10’s Basic Addition and Subtraction Measurement Base Ten

Academic Centers Fosters Independence through: Opportunities to have & make choices Practice & review of skills Social collaboration with peers The feeling of being competent & successful Accountability

Science Engineering Design and Process Weather Life Science Life Cycles (mealworms) Plants Animal Habitats and External Features

Social Studies Culture Families & Friends Economics Wants & Needs Geography Maps History Long Ago & Today

Assessments mCLASS Reading assessments September, January, and May MIRL (Monitoring Instructional Reading Levels) Quarterly EMAT (Elementary Mathematics Assessment Tasks) Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) September MAP-P October, January and May We are continually assessing through guided reading, directed math groups, writing, and observation

Report Cards Report Cards Quarterly (for all MCPS) Conference Dates: Friday, November 10 Friday, November 17

Conferences Sign ups will be at the following times: Back To School Night for Grades 1-5 Open House on October 9 Halloween THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING TONIGHT’S PRESENTATION

First Week All students have been assigned a Homeroom Class where they will begin each day for the First Week. Attendance and Lunch Count will be taken in Homeroom. Daily Schedule: Tuesday: Students will spend the day in their assigned homeroom. Wednesday: Students rotate classes after Lunch/Recess. Thursday: Students rotate classes after Morning Announcements. Friday: Students will spend the day in their assigned homeroom. Notification will go home of final placement. Monday, September11 - Officially begin set placement!!!!!!