Kindergarten Teachers - Halloween 2008
Dear Kindergarten families:
Welcome to your first year at Crocker Highlands! We are looking forward to meeting everyone on Monday August 31st, 2009 at 8:40 a.m..
For those of you new to Crocker Highlands, the traffic flows in a clockwise direction around the school. It can be a challenge to drive around looking for a parking spot. Consider parking a block or two away and enjoy the walk up to campus!
The kindergarten teachers will be in the Multi-Purpose Room to welcome Kindergarten students and their parents to the First Day of School. (Don’t go to your child’s classroom – the teachers won’t be there!) Once everyone is assembled, the kindergarten teachers will take everyone to the classrooms and will show the parents and the students where coats are hung, backpacks kept, and lunchboxes stored. Parents will then help their child find his/her seat. After that, the teachers will give parents directions where to meet after school, and will tell everyone about the “magic gate”, and the “magic door.” We know it’s an exciting time of your child’s school career but in order to help the transition, we encourage parents to keep their time in the classroom supportive and brief. (Prolonged goodbyes raise anxiety for some children and make the separation difficult.) We want everyone, parents and students, to have a positive first day of school!
There will be a “Welcome Reception” back in the multi-purpose room at 8:50 for parents to attend. It will be an informal meeting with the principal and the PTA and a nice time to meet each other. In the multi-purpose room, we are asking families to fill out an important form that gives us details about your child: childcare arrangements, allergies, medical concerns, and your contact information. (I have also attached the form, in case you would like to complete it ahead of time.) It’s very important for us to have a number where we can reach you during the school day in the event your child has trouble settling into the school routine and might need extra support from families. Please complete and turn in the form before leaving campus!
Though it may be tempting, we are asking parent not to return to the classrooms after the reception. It can be upsetting for some children to see their parents again once they have said goodbye, and it makes things very challenging for the teachers to settle the children into classroom routines.
Please note: in order to help the adjustment to the full day of kindergarten, all kindergarten students will have minimum days for the first week of school. Minimum days end at 1:40; the teachers and students will look forward to seeing you at 1:35 p.m. in the usual kindergarten pick up and drop off place near the small structure on the playground. (Students in grades 1st – 5th have minimum days Monday through Wednesday; we will try to get the children out on the playground a little earlier than the other students so you can meet up with them.)
The kindergarten teachers request each child to bring a backpack to school every day that is big enough to hold your child’s jacket, lunch box, homework, library book and a change of clothes in a zip lock bag. Please send either lunch or lunch money for each school day.
Don’t forget, there is a New Family Picnic this upcoming weekend on August 30. Please check out the website for details. Hope to see you there!
Thank you and we look forward to meeting you.
Beth Rhine
Principal
