• 
  Welcome to our class page. Listed below is lots of useful information to help you and your child during their kindergarten journey.
  
  Please use the blue folder to send notes, money for class trips, etc. Be sure to check over the weekend "The Weekly Wire" on our school website. You don’t want to miss any important announcements especially the monthly lunch menu.
  
  Please send a dated note whenever your child is going home early or by car.
  The office can no longer accept phone calls changing afternoon transportation
  unless it is an emergency.
  
  Please send a small, healthy, convenient (does not require peeling, cutting,
  heating) snack such as vegetable sticks, crackers, small fruit, box of
  raisins, small yogurt, etc. Please do not send in soda, candy and other
  sugary items.
  
  Please, please, please, label all clothing, particularly sweaters, gym pants
  and sweatshirts with your child’s first and last name. We lose a lot of
  learning time figuring out whose clothing, such as gym sweatshirts and
  cardigans, belongs to whom.
  
  While it is impossible to prevent all hurt feelings, we do not distribute
  invitations of any kind unless the entire class is invited. Thank you for
  your cooperation and understanding.
  
  Everyone should have a smock in their backpack for art activities throughout
  the week. An adult-size teeshirt seems to be the best at covering the children’s shirtsleeves. Smocks remain in the student’s backpack for easy storage. Please launder your child’s art smock occasionally.
  
  Occasionally I will ask the children to bring toys, etc. from home.
  Otherwise, please do not allow your child to bring toys, electronic games,
  fancy pens, sticker books, etc. to school. For some, it is very hard for
  them to understand why they can’t play with these items when they should be
  concentrating on their school assignments. Thank you so much for your
  cooperation.
  
  Kindergarten students wear the St. Max school uniform. Please refer to the
  student handbook for further information and guidelines. If you are the
  parent of a young lady kindergartener, please remind her about sitting
  properly. You may want to consider having your daughter wear biker or soccer-
  type shorts under her uniform. If you are the parent of a young gentleman,
  you may want to practice with him, buckling and unbuckling his belt. Also,
  please take a few moments to help your kindergartener practice tying their
  shoe laces. Please have your children break in their school shoes, by
  wearing them a few times before school starts.
  
  Pretzels are on sale Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and cost 50c. Yummy!
  
  Please pay close attention to the days your child is having hot lunch. You
  will need to obtain a menu in each month.
  
  Now that we are a member of the National Hot Lunch Program, there are some
  regulations that we need to follow. Therefore, it is necessary for us to
  change the way we celebrate birthdays, both students and teachers. Donuts,
  cakes, cupcakes, munchkins, cookies, and candy will no longer be items to
  share with the class for a birthday. To support and encourage healthy eating
  habits, the teachers request that no sweets be given to them or the children
  when the Homeroom Moms plan for a teacher’s birthday. You are welcome to
  send a special treat on your child’s birthday. Please adhere to our
  celebration guidelines. We are no longer permitted to distribute sugary
  snacks. Elsewhere on our web page is a healthy celebrations page. Included
  are suggestions for celebrating special days. We will continue our usual
  holiday celebrations and continue to use the 3 to 1 rule; that if there are
  three snacks, then two are healthy and one may be sweet. Mrs. Connell loves
  to have fun! This year in kindergarten we will have Halloween, Christmas,
  Valentine’s Day parties, a Thanksgiving celebration, March Dadness and
  Mother's Day at the Spa. Thanks!
  
  Our school policy states that all medicine is administered by the school
  nurse. This includes cough drops. If you feel your child may need cough
  drop please put them in a plastic bag marked with their name and how often
  you want your child to have a cough drop. I will send them to the nurse for
  their cough drop.
  
  Kindergarteners love to spend money. They enjoy buying pretzels and milk at
  lunch time. However, some children have been bringing money to purchase milk
  when they have ordered a hot lunch meal. Consequently, they have two milks
  and often waste one of them. Also, when purchasing a pretzel, they put a
  dollar in the basket, buy one pretzel , but don’t bother to get change. At
  school, we will have a quick lesson about what 50c can buy, and what one dollar can
  buy. When giving your child pretzel and/or milk money, please give them a
  heads up as to what they can purchase and if they get change. Thanks!
  
  Listed below is some additional information about our curriculum and other
  suggestions to help your child have a successful year.
  
  Integrated Language Arts:
  
  •Our main emphasis this year is setting the foundations for your child to
  read. Our language arts series is integrated with reading, writing,
  listening, and speaking skill development. Daily lessons incorporate
  reading, writing, phonics, etc. We use materials such as big books, beginner
  reading books, literature, and poetry.
  •We use the reading series, Scott Foresman, Reading Street. At the beginning
  of each story, we will send home the Family Times newsletter. On this sheet,
  you can find the phonic skills, high frequency words and comprehension skills
  we will be focusing on for the unit.
  •We also use the Kid Writing program which is a systematic approach to
  phonics, journals and the writing workshop. We will begin writing the first
  full week of October.
  •Read with your child daily. You will develop a lifelong love of reading for
  your child.
  
  Religion Curriculum:
  
  •We follow the Archdiocesan guidelines for Religion. Lessons will center on
  creation, Bible stories, the Catholic Liturgical year, and saints. In addition lessons will focus on learning, sharing, celebrating and growing in God’s love. We will also participatein various school service projects. As a class we will participate in the Heifer International and Operation Rice Bowl programs during Christmas and Lent.
  
  Math Curriculum:
  
  •Math is taught using the Math in Progress program. The students will be
  introduced to a variety of mathematical concepts including: sorting,
  graphing, patterns, shapes, number sense, measurement, time, and money.
  Various hands on activities, cooperative learning activities, and group and
  oral exercises will be used. The children will further develop these skills
  as they progress to paper and pencil tasks later in the school year.
  
  Science & Social Studies Curriculum:
  
  •These subjects are integrated within the ILA curriculum.
  
  **Other important notes**
  •I teach with a hands on approach which means that the children learn by
  doing as much as possible. Many times they will be working with
  manipulatives (counters, magnetic letters) in the classroom to master
  concepts. They may not always have something on paper to show when they come
  home. It does not mean that your kindergartener was not busy discovering and
  doing during our kindergarten time. Please, be positive and value the work
  your child has done at school.
  •Homework – While formal homework is not assigned in kindergarten, please
  check our monthly newsletter for ideas and suggestions to help your
  kindergartener’s academic progress. The weekly Family Times newsletter also
  provides helpful hints.
  •Field trips – We will be visiting Highland Orchards on November 1st. More
  details about this event will be sent home shortly. All parents are invited
  to accompany us on this trip. We will also be going on an additional trip
  later in the year to see a play.
  
  We have a short rest period after lunch everyday. Please send a
  blanket or beach towel for your child to rest on if you haven't already done
  so. We will send their rest items periodically for laundering. Thanks!
  
  Please help your kindergartener remember to bring their library book on
  Tuesday. If a student forgets their book on library day and they are
  unable to check out a new book. It may help to put your child's book back in
  their backpack after reading it with them. Also, please have your child wear
  their gym uniform on Thursday.
  
  If you would like to make a recess donation, please bear in mind that
  playground materials must be of soft rubbery material. Don’t forget to send
  in your Campbell Soup Company labels and Boxtops of Education. They help us earn free playground equipment too. Thanks!
  
  As you all know there are 26 charming kindergarteners in our classroom this
  year. Periodically, we will have JAR (Just Act Right) activities. We work
  on ways to act just right when we are at the prayer table, lining up,
  respecting others and school property, if someone takes your seat, crayon,
  etc. You can help by reinforcing “using words” instead of resorting to
  physical reactions, using good manners, sharing, etc.