Kindergarten students line up east of the primary playground, which is on Wilmot Road, when the first bell rings at 8:33 a.m. Students enter the building at 8:35 a.m. when Mrs. Wolff or another staff member picks them up to walk to our room, so that classroom routines can start at 8:40 a.m. When weather is inclement, students enter the GMA from the primary playground and line up by 8:33 a.m.

Kindergartners will be dismissed according to the plans parents shared on the Kindergarten Information Form (see IMPORTANT below). Students who are being picked up will be dismissed through the main entrance of the school, facing Deerfield Road. Please inform Mrs. Wolff if you prefer to have your child walk to the carpool line on their own instead of being met by a caregiver at the door. If your child will be picked up by a sibling, siblings should be instructed to meet at the water fountains near the main entrance.

IMPORTANT: Anytime your child will leave school in a different way from usual, please send a written note to school with your child that morning. It will be added to the Dismissal Chart for the day. For occasional last-minute changes in how your child will leave school, please call the school office. Mrs. Wolff is busy working with children during the school day and may not get a last-minute email or voice message in time.

Kindergarteners attend special classes according to the table below. Please have them wear gym shoes on PE days. Please help them remember their library books on Book Exchange day. 

Mondays:  PE
Tuesdays:  Art and PE
Wednesdays: STEAM and Music
Thursdays:  LMC book check out, STEAM and PE
Fridays: Music and Art

Weather permitting, kindergartners go outside for recess every day. Please help them be ready by sending boots, snow pants, hats, and mittens when needed. Also practice zipping zippers and tying shoes at home; children who can do these things for themselves have more time to play.

Please stock your child's backpack every day with these items: 
1) a full bottle of fresh water (to be re-filled in the afternoon, if necessary),
2) a morning snack of fresh or dried fruits and/or vegetables only (NO canned fruits, applesauce, or pickles); this should be packed separately from the lunchbox for easy retrieval,
3) a healthful lunch that your child can manage as independently as possible (including a drink, since kindergartners' water bottles stay in their cubbies).

Each kindergartener should have a full change of clothes to store in their cubby. Please pack these items in a large, labeled ziploc bag, and send them to school during the first week of classes. Please make sure they are season appropriate.

Parent volunteers make a difference in Kindergarten! Watch your email for more information about these opportunities:
1) Guest Readers present a pre-selected book to the class. 
2) Choice Time Leaders may plan and lead a unique one-time experience for all kindergartners.
3) Field Trip Chaperones supervise small groups of students during field trips, and on the bus to and from. 
4) Classroom Volunteers may be invited from time to time to support other instructional activities.

Seesaw is an online journal service, designed for schools. Each kindergartener will have their own journal. Mrs. Wolff and your child will periodically add entries from school, such as photos, videos, drawings, and notes. Parents will be able to create an account for viewing their own child's journal entries from a personal electronic device. Mrs. Wolff also will use Seesaw to send out class-wide reminders, so please consider using this app.

Birthdays are special in Kindergarten and we enjoy celebrating them as follows.

1) The birthday child receives a crown and a special gift, as well as a birthday book from Dr. Brett. 
2) They sit in the comfy chair, so the whole class can sing "Happy Birthday" to them.
3) While parents are not able to visit on birthdays, we do take a photo of the child and post it on Seesaw.
4) If your child's birthday falls during summer vacation, we will celebrate on or near their half-birthday.

Practice makes progress! Homework in Kindergarten helps provide skill practice and contributes to learning success. 
1) Reading: Sight Words (a.k.a. High Frequency Words) are words that appear frequently in text and often defy decoding strategies. Memorizing them contributes greatly to reading fluency. Sight word baggies will be prepared in class periodically and sent home for flash card style practice. You also can help your child learn our Kindergarten sight words by using the ideas on our Sight Word Practice Games page. 
2) Math: Homework opportunities will be tailored to the learning needs of students in this year's class. More information to come!
3) Projects: Occasional projects will be assigned with adequate time to be completed at home and returned to school.

Each student will be assigned a week to be our special Star of the Week. We enjoy learning about each of our kindergarten friends! Ahead of time, your child will receive a "Get To Know Me" poster to prepare and present to the class. During this week, your child also may bring a Show and Tell item that will help us learn more about him or her. 

We participate in the Scholastic Reading Club to help families find compelling books to read with their kindergarteners at home. Scholastic also rewards our classroom with additional books when we make purchases. Participation is not required but if you are interested, please visit Scholastic Reading Club