Kindergarten Open House Henry M. Brader Elementary School

Our Goals To help your child grow in his/her reading, writing, math, social studies/science and social skills. To provide a supportive and challenging classroom environment. To help your child discover new interests and develop a love for learning.

Classroom Community/CRPBIS Our classroom is a community. In our community, we have rules to help us get along with each other. Community Circles: We have created the opportunity for our school to participate in morning and afternoon circles to open the possibility for connection, collaboration and mutual understanding while giving everyone a voice. Our class rules: Follow directions quickly Raise your hand for permission to speak Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat Make smart choices Keep your dear community happy Keep your Eye on the Target We pledge to practice ROAR each day everyday (hallways/cafeteria/classroom): R Respect O Outstanding Attitude A Achievement R Responsibility Chill Zone: Our classroom “Chill Zone” is a comfortable safe haven where we can go if we need some alone time to think, cool off, or just relax.

Classroom Community/CRPBIS Brader has been a culturally responsive school that uses PBS principles and interventions to support the whole child. We are in the process of being trained in restorative practices and on our way to becoming a restorative school. As a restorative school, we are taking on a relational approach to building school climate and addressing student behavior that fosters belonging over exclusion, social engagement over control, and meaningful accountability over punishment. We believe that a restorative approach will enable those responsible to acknowledge the impact and take steps to make it right while those harmed will convey the impact of the harm to those responsible. The goal of CRPBIS is to create a school-wide positive behavior support system that includes restorative discipline, social and emotional skills training, and positive behavior supports and interventions. All students will continue to be held accountable to the Christina School District’s Student Manual and responsible for meeting school-wide expectations based on ROAR: Respect, Outstanding Attitude, Achievement and Responsibility in all school environments. Students will continue to receive reinforcements for making good choices and will continue to receive “paws” for positive behavior. The students may have many opportunities to cash in for small prizes, school store items, monthly celebrations and other fun incentives.

Community Support Advisor (CSA), Ms. Tamika Fullen In lieu of a behavior interventionist, we have hired a Community Support Advisor (CSA) who will assist our school community by facilitating restorative practices and conversations with the students and adults in our school community. This person’s primary responsibility is to support us in strengthening relationships between individuals as well as social connections within our school community.

Behavior Policy: Community Continuum Students will manage their behavior by using our school wide universal behavior system. Each classroom has a Community Continuum that will allow the students to work together to reinforce the core values of relationships, responsibility, accountability, and community. The continuum will help to foster a sense of belonging for each student in order to strengthen the social engagement of the community. Classrooms move one level at a time from yellow, green, pink, and blue. One student’s positive choice can benefit the community, however, one student’s negative choice can harm the community but will not affect the class position on the continuum. The continuum will help to foster a sense of belonging for each students in order to strengthen the social engagement of the community. Stop and Think Ready to ROAR You’re doing Grrreat Earn your Stripes

The 2018-2019 Student Manual is now available online for all to access from any electronic device, directly from the CSD website and/or the mobile app. All Kindergarten Students and New students registered after the student manual presentation in school will be provided hard copies http://www.christinak12.org/StudentManual

Curriculum - English Language Arts (Journeys Curriculum) Phonological Awareness Abecedarian Reading Teacher Read Aloud: Fiction/Nonfiction Comprehension Fluency: Popcorn Words Vocabulary Guided Reading/Leveled readers Work Stations Writing Writing conventions Write 3 to 5 sentences Narrative, Opinion, Persuasive, Informative

Curriculum-Mathematics (BRIDGES) Number recognition and numeral writing 0 to 20 Shape recognition Two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes Number sense Identify sets of 0 to 20 using ten frames Decompose teen numbers into 10’s and 1’s Problem Solving Addition and subtraction up to 10 Graphing and measurement Dreambox Go to the Brader website: www.braderes.org Select the “STUDENTS” drop down and then click on “Dreambox”. We will send home a small card with your student’s login information.

Science and Social Studies Trees Push, Pull, Go Weather Social Studies Civics History Geography Economics

Fine and Gross Motor To practice fine motor development at home Make an area with a supply box including scissors, pencils, crayons, and glue. Have your child dress him/herself for school and put on and zip his/her coat. Manipulate small toys such as pegs, Legos and playdoh Practice tying shoes Gross motor development Movement, exercise, physical education, recess

Parent Communication Newsletter Daily Take-home folders Brader BEST newsletter (posted on Brader website) www.braderes.org Parent link (weekly email and phone message) Parent-Teacher conferences Email Phone

Report Cards and Conferences Report Cards will be sent home 4 times a year Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for: November 2nd and 5th March 22nd (as needed) Sign up for November conferences tonight!

Homework and take home folders Monthly homework calendar Homework Calendar Other homework as needed Family projects Please check your child’s take home folder on a daily basis and remove all papers. Please place any notes for the teacher or school inside the folder. All money must be placed in an envelope labeled with the child’s name and its purpose.

Field Trips/presenters Field trips and presenters will be scheduled throughout the year. Our first field trip will be to visit Milburn Orchards in October. Theatre trip Winterthur Museum Reminder: Activity fee of $45.00 is due on or before September 21st

Attendance Policy Our goal this year is to ensure that every student attends school regularly.  School success goes hand in hand with good attendance…every minute counts! Our instructional day begins promptly at 9:05 AM and ends at 3:35 PM. When your child is absent a note must be sent in to school within 5 days of the absence. If your child is absent for 5 consecutive days a doctor’s note is required to excuse the absence. If a child is absent for more than 18 days, his/her promotion to the next grade may be in danger. CSD’s attendance policy is further explained on pages 14 – 16 in the Student Manual. Showing up for school has a huge impact on a student’s academic success starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school. Even as children grow older and more independent, families play a key role in making sure students get to school safely every day and understand why attendance is so important for success in school and in life.   We realize some absences are unavoidable due to health problems or other circumstances. But, we also know that when students miss too much school— regardless of the reason – it can cause them to fall behind academically. Your child is less likely to succeed if he or she is chronically absent—which means missing 18 or more days over the course of an entire school year. Research shows: Children chronically absent in kindergarten and 1st grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade. By 6th grade, chronic absence is a proven early warning sign for students at risk for dropping out of school. By 9th grade good attendance can predict graduation rates even better than 8th grade test scores. Absences can add up quickly. A child is chronically absent if he or she misses just two days every month!! We don’t want your child to fall behind in school and get discouraged. Please ensure that your child attends school every day and arrives on time. Here are a few practical tips to help support regular attendance: Make sure your children keep a regular bedtime and establish a morning routine. Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before. Ensure your children go to school every day unless they are truly sick Avoid scheduling vacations or doctor’s appointments when school is in session. Talk to teachers and counselors for advice if your children feel anxious about going to school. Develop back up plans for getting to school if something comes up. Call on a family member, neighbor, or another parent to take your child to school. Let us know how we can best support you and your children so that they can show up for school on time every day. We want your child to be successful in school! If you have any questions or need more information please contact your child’s school.

HEALTHY CELEBRATIONS POLICY School Wide/ Grade Level Celebrations We are no longer allowed to accept food for birthday celebrations. Non food items can be sent in for the class if you wish to recognize your child’s birthday. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION!

Arrival and Dismissal Procedures Arrival to school begins at 8:45 & the instructional day begins promptly at 9:05 Car riders & Boys & Girls Club are dismissed at 3:35 Walkers/Boys at 3:37 K-1 bus riders at 3:39 Early dismissals must occur before 3:15. Written documentation is required for all early dismissals. If you are changing your child’s routine dismissal procedure, a note needs to be sent to the teacher via the Take-home folder.

Contact Information Mrs. Bale room 1 diane.bale@christina.k12.de.us or phone ext. 501 Mrs. Bondar room 2 cheryl.bondar@christina.k12.de.us or phone ext. 502 Ms. Baker room 3 meighan.baker@christina.k12.de.us or phone ext. 503 Mrs. McMeekin room 109 mary.mcmeekin@christina.k12.de.us or phone ext. 105