Clothing ID: Please Label All Clothing (Jackets, Mittens, Hats, Snow

August 11, 2014
Dear Parents,

Welcome to transitional kindergarten and kindergarten!
Transitional kindergarten may be new to your vocabulary.
Transitional kindergarten is the same class more commonly known
as young fives.

I hope you all had a restful and fun filled summer! I had a
wonderful time with my family camping and have also been getting
ready to move my oldest daughter to college! I have also been
working hard here at school getting ready for our new school
year.

A fun and exciting year is being planned! I do realize that all day,
every day kindergarten is a big change for some families. I am
aware of the rewards and challenges that this schedule may
present. It is my goal to continue to work together as partners
to fulfill the needs of each child in my classroom and provide a
quality education. Following you will find some basic information
about our classroom.

Clothing ID: Please label all clothing (jackets, mittens, hats, snow
pants, shoes, etc.) with your childs name. There are a lot of blue
pants and white shirts! Be sure to label school bags and lunch
boxes also.

Shoes: The children will need to have a pair of outdoor recess
shoes and gym shoes in addition to their uniform school shoes.
This means the children will need three pair of shoes! The
students are provided with a shoe locker where they keep their
recess shoes. The gym shoes are kept in a basket in the
classroom. The shoe locker is nice because in the winter this is
where the wet boots are kept. Please let your child know what
shoes they are to wear home. Many children are confused at the
end of the school day as to what shoes their parents want them
to wear home, school shoes or outdoor recess shoes.

Snack Time: The students will have the opportunity to have a
snack each day right before recess (about 9:30). They are
responsible for bringing in their own snack! I encourage you to
send in a snack with them each day. I usually have some back up
snacks for children who forget their own, but when two or three
children forget, I run out quickly. Drinks are not necessary as we
have a drinking fountain in our hallway and students may also get
drinks from their water bottles. Also, please let your children
know where in their backpacks the snacks are kept so they know
right where to find them. In the past I have had many children
say they have no snack only to find it in their backpacks later. On
birthdays, your child may bring in a special treat to share with
the class.

Water Bottles: The students may bring a water bottle with
them to class. We have a sink in our classroom where they can be
filled, or they can fill them in the hallway at the drinking
fountain. These will be kept in the classroom and I will send them
home at the end of each week to be washed.

Lunch: The children will be eating lunch here at school. They
may either bring a lunch from home or purchase hot lunch here at
school. I will take them into the lunchroom each day for the first
couple of months and help them get set at lunch time. There is
also a lunchroom aide in there to help assist the children also.

Money: When sending in money, please put it in a sealed envelope
with your childs name and the purpose for the money (hot lunch,
book money, field trip, etc.). This helps me out and reduces the
likelihood of errors.

School Bags: Please send in a bag that zips or snaps with your
child each school day. Please stay away from rolling backpacks as
these do not fit in the lockers. I will be providing a two-pocket
folder that we will use exclusively for communication between
home and school. When you have any notes or lunch money, please
send it in the folder. Likewise, any notes or papers from school
will come home in the folder. This system helps to ensure that
any papers get to and from school without getting ruined.

Rest/Quiet time: The children will also have a rest/quiet time
after lunch. Having the children here all day, every day will be a
big change for most children. We start early and have a long
school day. They will be tired!! Our class will have a rest/quiet
time after lunch each day for about 20 minutes. The children
may bring in a small blanket to lie with after lunch. If you choose
to send in a small blanket with your child please also provide a bag
to store it in. I have a basket in our classroom that we can keep
the bags in. During quiet time, the students are not required to
lie down, but may look at books, color with a clipboard, write in
their journals, or just rest on their mats. We have mats here at
school for the children to have quiet time on that will be labeled
with their names. I will send the blankets home every at the
major break times (Thanksgiving break, Christmas break) to be
washed. If you would like them to be sent home more often,
please let me know.

School Newsletter: Every week the school sends home a
newsletter and other important information to each family. This
will be sent home via email. Please read through the information
as it contains important information regarding school wide
activities.

Homework: The children will be receiving homework about once a
week. Homework helps the children practice and show off what
they are learning at school. It also builds responsibility. The
homework the children receive in TK and kindergarten should only
take about 5-10 minutes to complete, and will usually require your
help. They will bring home a book to read to you each week.
These are books we have read in our guided reading groups during
the week and will be practicing rereading them with you. This
reading homework will most likely be sent home on Thursdays and
due on Monday. Please make sure you check your childs folder
nightly for any assigned homework.

Drop off procedures: When students arrive at school each
morning they can walk down the hallway to their lockers and put
away coats and backpacks. It is best to let the children attempt
to take care of their belongings themselves as this builds
independence. When their belongings are taken care of they will
need to go to the gym until the bell rings. There will be an adult
there to monitor them until they are dismissed to go to class.

Bus/Pick-up routines: At the end of the day all the children will
be in the cafeteria. There will be a teacher in there every day
and will dismiss them as the busses arrive. If you are picking up
your child, you must come in and have your child with you so the
person doing bus duty can see you sign them out. This is for the
safety of the children. If for some reason your childs end of the
day routine will be different, please call or send a note to school.
If your child is in after school care, the after school care leader
will pick up your child from the gym and escort them to the after
school care room.

Church Schedule: We will be going to mass once each week and
also on holy days. The TK and kindergarten children will have a
seventh or eighth grade big buddy that walks and sits with them
at church.

Teacher/Parent Communication: I will be sending home
newsletters each week and will communicate with you either over
the phone or with a personal note with any concerns or comments
(positive too!). Newsletters will be sent home electronically. If
this does not work out for you, please let me know. I have also a
classroom website that will highlight what is going on in our
classroom. This is another tool to help keep you updated as to
what is going on in our classroom! The web address is
www.mrsmuldersclass.blogspot.com . I hope you find this helpful
this year! It has been recently updated. I will also attach all
newsletters to the website on the page labeled TK/K news. This
newsletter has already been attached. Please feel free to send
me a note, email, or phone call. I can be reached by phone at
school 269-793-7204, and my email is [email protected]. If I
cannot answer your call, please leave a message and I will get back
with you as soon as possible.

We are going to have a wonderful year!

Sincerely,

Angie Mulder

Special Notes: I will be in my classroom on Wednesday, August
21 from 9:30-11:30. You may stop by and drop off any school
supplies that day and take a look at our classroom. I hope to see
you then!

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August 11, 2014

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