Supplies

NO, this is not my third post in one day!! I wrote it on August 5, but just published it today! Scroll down for my other two posts - some helpful info about BUS TAGS!

Continuing with my posts that I hope you'll find helpful, today I'll touch on kindergarten supplies.

A link to the supply list can be found on my Contact Me/School Links page.

There is no need to label consumable supplies such as tissues, crayons, markers, hand sanitizer, etc, since these supplies will be used communally. We open the containers on things such as crayons and markers and put them into baskets that are shared at the tables.

However, PLEASE label things that will be used by your child only, such as his/her backpack, lunchbox, jackets/sweaters, etc. It's common for more than one child to have identical items and that makes it hard to be sure things are going home with the correct student.

Please send in the supplies when you can. We will be able to order the Let's Find Out magazines only after the $5 subscription fee has been received, so I'd like to ask for that to be sent in as soon as possible.

Where to Find What

Wow, two posts in one day, LOL!

Just wanted to remind you to see THIS POST if you are trying to figure out which page of my blog might have the info that you're looking for. (The pages of the blog are listed across the top of the page, right under the big yellow blog title.)

As I mentioned in my earlier post, there will be a LOT of info forthcoming in the next few days!

See you soon!

SEE YOU AT OPEN HOUSE TOMORROW!

Hope to see you at Open House tomorrow (room 14) anytime between 4 PM and 7 PM!

Today's topic is BUS TAGS. Oh my gosh, bus tags can cause a lot of confusion. I will try to explain the policy:

Newport News Public Schools (NNPS) REQUIRES any student who rides a bus HOME at dismissal to be wearing a bus tag on a lanyard around his/her neck. It is extremely common for the bus drivers to allow the child to ride TO school in the morning WITHOUT the bus tag, but they will not allow the child to ride the bus HOME from school at dismissal without it. This is a rule for the entire school year, not just the first few days.

In addition, the drivers will not allow a kindergartner to get off of the bus at the bus stop in the afternoon unless he/she is met by an ADULT who has a MATCHING BUS TAG. When you come to school tomorrow (Thursday), we will have a set of 3 bus tags for you to use when picking up your child at the bus stop. If you have more than one person who will be picking your child up, please make sure that each person has one of the matching tags. If you need more tags, put a note in your child's agenda and we will send more home.

As far as the bus tag he/she needs to wear around his/her neck, I will put those on the children at dismissal next Tuesday. PLEASE be sure he/she wears the bus tag to school each day. If you lose the bus tag and lanyard, a replacement can be purchased in the school office...if I'm not mistaken, it's $2 for a replacement bus tag.

I'll probably be posting important info fairly often during the next few days, so keep checking back...or, you can get updates automatically by "Following" my blog. If you'd like to do that, just click the Join This Site link, to the right.

See you tomorrow!!

Good Morning!!!

Hello to all and I hope everyone made it through Hurricane Irene safe and sound! We were without power from Saturday morning until this morning (Monday) at 3 AM. Thankfully, we have had no damage at all!!

I look forward to meeting everyone on Thursday (Sept. 1), between 4 PM and 7 PM. Hopefully, my classroom will be all pretty, LOL. School closed at noon last Friday (because of Irene) and is closed again today. Tomorrow, we teachers will be out of the building for meetings, so we are coming down to the wire on decorating.

However, decorations are...well...just decorations. Rest assured that lesson plans have already been written and I'm "good to go" as far as the actual teaching part goes!!

Agendas

I'll be doing a series of posts with information about different aspects of your child's kindergarten year. I will label these posts so that you will have an easier time finding the info - you can click the label (in the left-hand column), scroll down in the right-hand column and look at the titles of archived posts, or type the word into the Search My Blog box.

NNPS requires each student to have an agenda and to bring the agenda to school daily. Agendas cost $2.25 and will be available for purchase in the gym during Open House and at the school office thereafter.

In kindergarten, we use the agenda as a valuable tool to carry important info home to you, the families. You can use it for correspondence and be relatively sure that the note you write will not be lost in transit to school. Hopefully, this year the agendas will have a front pocket to hold papers and notes...it was missing last year.

Once written homework begins, we ask that your child use the agenda as the place to write the homework (by HIMSELF/HERSELF...see the Frequently Asked Questions page for more details about how you can help with homework). PLEASE do not send in the homework on separate pieces of paper...write it in the agenda itself.

I know that it is sometimes hard to fit it in the space for that day's date, so feel free to let him or her spill over onto the facing page, if needed. The agenda also has a page with a model of D'Nealian handwriting, so your child can practice the handwriting style he/she will use.

We will have a special place to store the agendas each day while your child is at school. Learning the routine of how to "unpack" and get ready for the school day is an important part of your child's adjustment to school.

As always, if you have questions, please email me (see the Contact Me page for my email addresses) or comment here. Thanks!

My Pages!

PLEASE NOTE THE TABS ABOVE, WHICH ARE WRITTEN IN BLUE. THESE TABS WILL TAKE YOU TO DIFFERENT PAGES ON MY BLOG!
I hope you have fun exploring my pages!
If you find a broken link, please let me know.

Here are the page titles and what type of info is on each page:

HOME PAGE-
*updates and happenings

RESOURCES/SCHEDULE PAGE-
*daily class schedule - this will give you a GENERAL idea of when things happen
*resource schedule - days and names of teachers for art, library, P.E., music

CONTACT ME/SCHOOL LINKS PAGE-
*my home and school email addresses
*Richneck website link
*NNPS 2011-2012 calendar link
*lunch menu link
*MealPayPlus link

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS PAGE-
*breakfast / lunch / milk prices
*how to help with homework
*snack
*lyrics to the Phonics Song
*birthday treat policy

IMPORTANT DATES PAGE-
*dates to note on your calendar, most recent on top

HOMEWORK PAGE-
*current homework assignments (first homework calendar will be sent home in October)

WELCOME, NEW FAMILIES!!

Hello, Families!! This year, I've decided to communicate with parents via a brand-new blog, rather than a website. Comments are welcomed and will be moderated to keep out spammers. I'll check often for comments and will respond via another comment. Plus, you can always email me at home. My home and school email addresses are listed on the CONTACT ME page.

I strive to keep my parents updated, so I will try to post at least weekly.

WELCOME!!!