The school day begins at 8:30 and ends at 3:00. Students who are being picked up at the end of the day are sent to the side door of the school (just past our classroom) where parents are asked to wiat for their children. This helps to prevent confusion at the front entrance, where children who go home on the bus are exiting the school. Names of all children being picked up are on a list, and an adult at the door will verify that the parent/guardian is present before allowing the child to exit the building.
Morning Meeting
We always begin the day with a Morning Meeting, which includes several components (following our schoolwide Responsive Classroom model). The Morning Meeting provides opportunities for children to greet one another, and to practice their listening and responding. Students also learn about the day ahead, and we do a group activity. Overall, Morning Meeting helps children develop social skills and helps to promote class cohesion. Morning Meeting provides our young students with a familiar routine that eases them into their school days, so it's important that they arrive on time for it each morning.
Music, Art, Library and Physical Education
Kindergarten students attend Library, Music and Art once every week, and they attend PE twice weekly. Our normal weekly schedule is: Monday= PE, Tuesday= Music, Wednesday= PE, Thursday= Library, and Friday= Art. Children will need sneakers on PE days.
Volunteers
I love and need classroom volunteers! If you might be interested, please review the classroom volunteer form (which you can get at Open House) and return it to school at your convenience. We'll begin the volunteer schedule in October, after we've had time to establish classroom routines and expectations. If you're available in the morning, you might consider volunteering for the Emergent Reading Program. The success of this program depends on adult volunteers reading with individual children, and ideally there will be three or four volunteers in the classroom each Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. (If you are not available, perhaps your child has a grandparent or other special person in his/her life that might consider helping us!) In addition to "formal" volunteer opportunities, we can nearly always use extra hands in the classroom. You may wish to complete the district volunteer form and then just come in when you can from time to time.
Lunch
Your child has the option of bringing lunch from home or getting a hot lunch at school. Every Friday a form will be sent home (in your child's green folder) for you to complete for the following week, and you'll indicate which days your child will be getting hot lunch or snack drinks. Most parents review the menu with their child to help decided which days (if any) they want to order hot lunch. It is very important for us to receive the completed weekly forms on Mondays, since the children often don't know if they have cold or hot lunch on any given day. If your child plans to get a hot lunch at school, there must be funds in their school lunch account. You may send cash/check to school with a deposit form, or you may deposit money electronically online. Please visit the Colchester School District website at www.csdvt.org and click on the UMS link, then click on the Hot Lunch pencil. Children who bring a lunch from home may also purchase milk from school. Application forms for Free/Reduced Lunch for your child are available on the website and in the school office.
Snacks
Please provide your child with two healthy snacks to eat at school. Our class is scheduled to eat lunch at 11:30 each day, so we're planning to have a brief snack mid-morning, and another one in the afternoon. It may be a good idea to pack the two snacks in separate containers; many children have difficulty "saving" part of their morning snack for later. You can order white milk, chocolate milk, or orange juice for a snack drink if you wish-- use the weekly lunch form for this. We will serve the snack drink at the afternoon snack break.
Changes in After-School Departures
Parents provide us with information about how their child routinely gets home each day. Students will be sent home according to that information, unless we receive written instructions to do otherwise. Notes about changes should include your child's first and last name, the date, and how the child will be getting home-- and they MUST be signed by a parent or legal guardian. These notes are required if your child is being picked up at school, taking a different bus, or getting off the regular bus at a different location. Please be as specific as possible about locations. For example, avoid instructions such as "going to day care"-- tell us the name of the daycare, where it is, and the bus number. In this way we can keep all of our children safe. Thanks!!!
Backpack
Please have your child bring a backpack to school every day. It is helpful to have the child's name labeled on the backpack, and on other items of clothing that may be easily confused, like boots and snow pants. Your child will carry their snack in the backpack, and the Home/School folder. In addition, it's very helpful to include a change of clothing "just in case"!
Toys
From time to time children may be asked to share something with the class, such as an item from nature or a story about a family member. We discourage children from bringing toys to school for Sharing, since they may get lost or broken, or lead to arguments about who gets to use them. We've found that bringing a drawing or photo of the toy can be the perfect solution!
Birthdays
We love to celebrate birthdays at school! It's best if you can let me know a day or so in advance so that we can set aside some time to celebrate. Please do not send birthday party invitations to school for your child to pass out, unless the entire class will be invited. Also, please be sure to let me know if your family does not celebrate birthdays, and we will be sure to make comfortable arrangements for your child when we recognize others. Thanks!
Home/School Communication
Each child is provided with a green Home/School folder, which goes home each day and should be returned to school the following day. This folder will be used to send home important notices, letters, and school forms, and parents can use the folder to return the forms or send notes in to school. I will also send home samples of your child's school work from time to time so that you can see how he/she is progressing. Please check the Home/School folder each night. I can also be reach by email at school at barnesm@csdvt.org . I check this email daily, but it's often after school or in the evening; it's better to send a note if it's important for me to have the information that same day. If there's something you'd like to talk over, just send me a note asking me to call you and I will be happy to do so.
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