1. Ridgeview Elementary Welcome to Kindergarten

2. Contacting Kindergarten Mrs. Nealy: jnealy@d49.org (719)495-1149 ext 6648jnealy@d49.org Mrs. Nelson: lnelson@d49.org (719)495-1149 ext 6602lnelson@d49.org Mrs. Reed: jreed@d49.org (719) 495-1149 ext 6613jreed@d49.org Mrs. Spurlock: mspurlock@d49.org (719)495-1149 ext 6601mspurlock@d49.org Mrs. White: kwhite@d49.org (719)495-1149 ext 6636kwhite@d49.org RVES Office: (719) 494-8700

3. Arrival Kindergarten will play in the front playground from 8:05- 8:15 a.m. Parents may opt to wait until line-up outside. No parking during this time. We line up at 8:15 & walk inside, parents say their goodbye’s outside. There is high student & vehicle traffic, please be aware of entrances and crosswalks. Allow room for students to enter safely & follow adult guidance for traffic lanes.

4. Fee & School Supplies The office will collect the $20 fees School Supplies: some supplies are shared, no labels needed Some supplies are NOT shared, labels needed Some supplies are STORED, labels needed - bins around the room for storage.

5. Home to School Communication Newsletters will be sent weekly/monthly depending on teacher Every Thursday- the red Thursday folder will contain communication from the class and school. District website and Facebook page are excellent resources Fall Parent/Teacher Conferences Mid-Quarter progress reports (Q1-Q3 as needed) Quarterly report cards

6. Fun Days and Parties We love to have dress-up & theme days in Kindergarten, for example: Scarecrow Day Q & U Wedding Dr. Seuss’ Read Across America Day 4 yearly parties that are exempt from the wellness policy: Fall/Halloween, Winter/Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and our End-of-the-year Celebration.

7. Birthday Celebrations and Snacks Only healthy snacks & water can be consumed during the school day, as we are under our Wellness Policy & Coordinated School Health Plan 2 recess and snack times daily -9:55 & 1:05 Party invitations need to be mailed, unless everyone is invited. Consider bringing a “birthday book” as we have a no food birthday policy in place (trinkets or other non-food items can be handed out in goody bags). We sing “Happy Birthday” Students receive a birthday pencil from the office.

8. Power Zone Calendar The PZ Calendar is different- please use the website and the 2015-2016 POWER Zone Calendar (7-9-15).pdf when scheduling trips & vacations. Some dates to be MINDFUL of: Testing/assessment days 8/12-8/13, 12/10-12/11, 5/5-5/6 Conferences 10/5-10/9 & 3/14-3/18 BREAKS 10/12-10/23 Fall, 11/23-11/27 Thanksgiving, 12/21- 1/5 Winter, 3/21-4/1 Spring

9. Enrichment Schedule Students will have 2 opportunities for enrichments daily at 9:25 and 1:25. The schedule varies so please have your child wear PE-appropriate shoes daily. Enrichments offered: Music, Art, P.E., 21st Century Learning (library), and iPads.

10. Daily Schedule 8:05-8:15Supervision on Playground 8:15-8:30Students enter building 8:30-8:45Brain Breakfast/warm-up 8:45-9:25Interventions and Reading Groups 9:25-9:50Enrichments 9:55-10:10Recess 10:15-11:20CKLA 11:20-11:40 Lunch Recess 11:40-12:05Lunch in Cafeteria 12:05-12:20Bathroom Break 12:20-12:35Calendar 12:35-1:05Math 1:05-1:20Recess 1:25-1:50Enrichments 1:50-2:50CKLA (Lexia Mon-2:20, Fri-2:50) 2:50-3:20Theme 3:20Stack and Pack 3:30Dismissal

11. Rules SAFE, KIND, RESPONSIBLE Follow directions quickly Raise your hand when you want to walk. Raise your hand when you want to talk.

12. Rewards Students earn “Husky-roos” for demonstrating safe, kind, and responsible behavior throughout the building. In class students can earn rewards for good choices and on task academics- rewards vary from class to class, so see the Kindergarten Handbook issued by your teacher for specific class procedures.

13. Consequences Students can be removed from activities or events for poor choices. The teacher choice may look like multiple verbal warnings, a hallway chat, refocus “yellow” sheets, time-out, walking the think track, or an office referral.

14. Volunteers We love help! You can volunteer for field trips, parties, Watch D.O.G.S and weekly classroom support after completing the background check. Please see the front office for details.

15. Curriculum We are using the Common Core State Standards in all areas. New this year we are using Core Knowledge Language Arts for all language arts (ELA), Writing, Science and Social Studies. Guiding Kinders Math Workshop is the program we use for our Math Standards. We use Project 64-Drawing Children Into Reading to enhance our fine motor skills.

16. Homework & Grading Monthly homework calendars have activities and skills to practice at home. Nightly reading for 20 minutes. Quarterly Home-to-School projects, reinforce learning, inspire creativity, and oral presentation skills. Standards-based grading: A/4= Advanced (beyond grade level), P/3= Proficient(right on target), PP/2=Partially Proficient (still needs support), NP/1= Not progressing. Sticker, smiley face or checkmark indicates looked at, but no grade given.

17. Dismissal Kindergarten will line up in the front playground from 3:25-3:40. Parents may opt to wait until line-up, outside. No parking during this time. We line up at 3:20 pm and walk outside, parents pick up by the teacher identified gate. There is high student & vehicle traffic, please be aware of exits and crosswalks. Allow room for students to exit safely and follow adult guidance for traffic lanes.

18. Have a great year! Ridgeview Kindergarten Team