Mrs. Abraham Mrs. Cook Mrs. Coroneos Miss Gable We are very happy you are at Story Elementary for the school year!

Story Facts: We are the Story Falcons School Colors are Blue and Silver Our mascot’s name is Sammy On Friday’s we wear Allen or Story shirts for Spirit day. We are in our 28 th year

Kindergarten Chant Story Falcons Silver and Blue We love Kindergarten! How about you?

Kindergarten’s Daily Schedule 7:55 - 8:10Prepare for the day, Announcements 8:10 - 8:30Calendar (Math) 8:30 - 9:30Reading, Social Studies, Phonics, Daily 5 9: :15Writing 10: :40 Recess 10:40-10:50Bathroom Break- get ready for lunch 10: :25Lunch 11: :15Math 12:30 - 1:15Specials 1:15 - 1:45FOCUS 1:45-2:00 Snack 2:00 - 2:30 Science, Social Centers 2:30 - 2:45 Pack-up, Clean-up, End-of-Day Reflection

Kindergarten Behavior Expectations 1. Follow directions of all staff. 2. Listen when others are speaking. 3. Keep hands, feet and objects to your self. 4. Use school appropriate language. 5. Tell the truth.

Writing first and last name (with 1 st letter being upper case and the rest lower case) Birthday (month, day, year) Saying the alphabet (not singing the song) Identifying letters of the alphabet- both upper and lower case letters randomly Identifying numerals 0-20 Counting orally Identifying shapes Identifying colors Taking care of personal needs ( zipping, buttoning, tying shoes etc.) Begin Practicing

Kindergarten Reading Read To Why read aloud? To provide a reading role model For vocabulary and language development To build listening comprehension skills To identify story patterning and sequencing It’s fun! Click on the picture for an article about reading aloud!

Read With Shared reading – students are invited to read along with the teacher Big books, poems, posters Guided reading – small group instruction based on the student’s instructional level to apply reading strategies and skills Easy words Repetitive text

Read By Students read independently based on their independent and instructional levels. Reading buddies Book baggies (Book baggies will start coming home in November.) Book box (school)

Daily 5 (Literacy Centers) Read to Someone Read to Self Word Work Listen to Reading Work on Writing

High Frequency Words Sometimes called “sight words” or “hot words”. These are words your child should know by looking at them. We will include them in your newsletter each month. They are also listed on the Kindergarten website.

You can create flash cards with these words to use with your child. Please practice them at home. First Reporting Period: I, see, like, to, am, a, can, you, my, are, the, we, an, go, it, and, on, in, look Second Reporting Period: do, what, is, for, up, at, no, me, this, here, come, will, they, all, of, she Third Reporting Period: he, said, big, that, not, his, her, so, him, down, was, with, play, make, yes, too, some, have, one, two, little, out Fourth Reporting Period: there, be, but, did, get, from, them, find, who, where, more, how, when, then, many, why, saw

Kindergarten Writing Write to The teacher demonstrates the reasons for writing and the thought process behind it. The teacher models writing strategies that include spacing, handwriting, spelling, punctuation, and vocabulary choices.

Write With The students and teacher collaborate to create different types of writing. These may include morning message, class stories, class poetry, and a class research project. The students and teacher share the pen while the teacher guides, responds, and extends the students’ skills and ideas.

Write By Students will write in Draft Books Students select topics and are in charge of their own writing. Students will write every day. The teacher supports each student based on their individual writing level. All writing is collected and kept in a blue binder that students will bring home at the end of the school year.

Writing Continuum

Math Math To The teacher presents mini-lessons to explain new concepts and materials. Math With The teacher interacts with the students to apply the new skill. Math By The students independently practice and demonstrate the concepts taught.

Social Studies and Science We often embed social studies and science into our literature and across curriculum. We also set aside time during the regular school day to participate in a variety of activities such as labs, hands-on learning, watch videos, listen to speakers, etc.

Report Card/Testing Report cards will be sent home each 9 weeks in a manila envelope. You will need to sign envelope on the signature line for the correct nine weeks and return only the envelope to school with your child. The report card is yours to keep. ISIP ( Reading Readiness – 3 times a year) AMI ( Math – 3 times a year) CogAT (Cognitive Abilities - December)

Let’s Talk About Arrival 7:30-7:45 Please drop off students on the side of the building. K-2 students report to the cafeteria and sit in their assigned spots. 7:45-7:55 K-2 teachers walk students to their classrooms. Please have your child at school no later than 7:50. The tardy bell rings at 7:55 and we begin class promptly.

Let’s Talk About Dismissal Afternoon dismissal is at 2:50. Kindergarten will dismiss a few minutes early. Carpool Please place your kindergarten car line sign in the front passenger window when you drive through the car line. Daycare and Bus Riders Students will be picked up by a staff member and taken to a designated spot for day care pick-up. Bus riders are also picked up by a staff member and taken to a designated area to wait for their bus.

Dismissal Continued Walkers Walkers are students who will be walking home with other students but without an adult. Kindergarten walkers go to the gym and wait for the older student to pick them up before they may leave the building. If the student your child will be walking home with is absent please let us know how your child will be getting home that day. Walk-ups Walk-ups are students who will be picked up by a parent or designated adult. They will exit the gym door by the bike racks. If a parent is not picking up their child but has designated another adult to do so, the student’s teacher needs this in writing. We will ask that adult to present ID.

Snacks Each child may bring a snack for themselves daily. Due to state nutrition laws, students/teachers cannot provide a snack to others. Please put your child’s snack in a separate container from their lunch. Be sure to choose something healthy. Please do not send candy. A sports type water bottle is acceptable. Please be sure to only fill with water, and use a leak/spill proof container. Please do not send anything with peanuts or peanut products.

Kindergarten Communication We will send home a Daily folder each day with your child. Please check, empty and initial the folder each night. Most information will be coming home via , so please make sure to check it daily for important dates and events. A Kindergarten newsletter will be ed monthly. On Tuesday, a school folder will come home. Please check these folders, remove all papers, and return the folder the next day. The school will also send out an electronic newsletter each Tuesday.

We Tweet! Please follow us @storyfalcons

Teamwork An apple for a teacher is really nothing new, except when you remember, parents are teachers, too! We look forward to working with you this year as we, together, teach your child so many new things!

IMPORTANT If for any reason your child needs to go home a different way you must send a note or call the office notifying us of the change. Teachers cannot rely on the student’s word alone. Please do not rely on an sent the same day. If another adult is picking up your student, they will need to present identification and be on the list in skyward.

Thank you for watching our presentation! Please review the Kindergarten ABCs for further information! We look forward to an amazing year!

All I Ever Really Needed to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school. There are things I learned: Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work some every day. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup. The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup - they all die. So do we. And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation, ecology and politics and sane living. Think of what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and clean up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together. Robert Fulghum