St. John's Kindergarten

January 25th

2012-01-25T18:40:00.001-05:00

Dear Parents,
Wow… can you believe that January is almost done! Next week we will be celebrating Catholic School’s week. It is a fun week all around. Please try to attend Sunday’s Open House if you are available. Please check the information included in the Friday folder for all that is happening next week. Kindergarten will be busy. There are a few changes to remember: Wednesday : kindergarten does NOT have school since we have changed our conferences to be at the same time as grades 1-4. On some of the calendars for the older students it does indicate that we have school… Rose redid the ones for kindergarten, so please disregard any calendar that says we have school… we don’t.
Also electronics day does not really work so well with kindergarten. We will be having a movie day that day instead! And since it is Groundhog’s day of course we will celebrate that too. I told the kids that I have a great recipe for groundhog, and it is on sale at Giant Eagle next week!!! If anyone is interested in the recipe I am happy to share.
On Tuesday, with the spirit dress down if you could make sure that tennis shoes are part of the dress down that would be great for gym class. And the mini bolt cheerleaders may just wear their uniforms.
In reading we will be practicing sounding out words, especially short a and short o words. It is nice to stop and just practice and review the skills to make sure that they are doing well with them. Most of the kids are really consistent in tapping and clapping… so that is great.
Thanks so much for everything. I really appreciate it. We are now officially half way through the year. As fast as the first semester went, the second half always seems to go faster.
Have a great weekend.
Important dates:
Wednesday 2/1: NO school for kindergarten and grades 1-4
Friday 2/3: Early dismissal : 11:30 NO lunches please.
Sunday 3/18: Easter Bunny Brunch 12 noon
Marti Wiehagen

January 18th

2012-01-17T18:25:00.000-05:00

Dear Parents,
I can’t believe how January is flying along!
Sorry for the goof up on the Valentine’s sheet. Please throw the original one away that should have been in the Friday folder and only use the one that came home this week in the folders.
In Religion we will be talking about friends next week. We have finished our chapter on Mary.
In Reading we will be working on reviewing: not has on, also the words from the ap family and the op family. We will begin to work on the words from the ot family: pot hot not. Please make flashcards for those words. We will be finishing up Unit 4 and having a test on it next week.
We will be reviewing the letter both initial and ending sounds for: n, s, m, t, h, a and o
Please remind your child to tap out the short vowel words and clap for the word.
In Math we will continue to work on numbers from 0-100. We also will be working on counting by 5’s and 10’s.
I have included papers from Highlight magazine. They will once again provide some things for our classroom. Please just sign and return on Monday.
Thanks so much.
Important dates:
You will be getting more information about Catholic Schools Week. Please make sure that you check next Friday’s folder for the important events.
Sunday : 1-29: Open House… Opening Liturgy is at 11. Open House 12-2. There will also be a book fair at this time, which will continue the next week. You will get a flyer in your Friday folder. This is a listing of some of the books available. If you want you may either stop in during the Open House, or your child may shop at the library book fair on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday.
Wednesday 2/1: Conferences: NO School for Kindergarten-4th grade.
Friday: 2/3: Early dismissal at 11:30. NO Penn Hills buses
Saturday: 2/11: the next school dinner
Sunday 3/18: kindergarten’s brunch: 12-2 Easter Bunny Brunch
Monday: 6/4: Kindergarten’s last day and graduation at 7PM
Thanks so much for everything.
Marti Wiehagen

January 10

2012-01-10T18:58:00.001-05:00

Dear Parents,

Sunday 1-29 is the opening for Catholic Schools Week. It opens with a Mass at 11 am. Following the Mass is an open house in the school from 12-2. Please feel free to go to any room. There will be a book fair in the library and refreshments in the cafeteria. This is a great time to go and meet Mrs. DiLonardo the first grade teacher. It is also a great time to introduce our school to any friends or neighbors!
More detailed information will be coming home soon about all of the activities during Catholic Schools Week

In math we continue to practice those numbers up to 100. We will also continue to work on numbers before and after. You may practice this with your child by asking them to tell you the number that comes before a number or the number that comes after a number. Start with the easier numbers and work your way up. We are counting up to 80 every day; although with the 100 days of school … we are of course past 80.

In Religion we have just finished our chapter on friends. We are learning the Glory Be, so we have now know the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Grace before Meals, and our morning offering, and our closing prayer. We will be starting a chapter on God Chooses Mary.

In reading we will be h and t. We will be working on the word: has and also the ap family: map nap cap tap rap lap. Please make flashcards for those words.

All day K has stopped quiet time. We have been slowly decreasing it; we have been filling up the time with more academics. We have started doing several new activities: additional math; hooked on phonics on a regular schedule; writing stories, and phonemic awareness activities. This is in addition to the special classes; as well as Science, Social Studies, Handwriting and Health. The children seem like they have adjusted well to it.

Important dates to remember:
KINDERGARTEN does have conferences on Wednesday 2-1-Please let me know if you need a special time. Please do not take the day off. I can do a phone conference. Please let me know if you need a phone conference.. We have school all week except for the early dismissal on Friday 2-3. There will not be Penn Hills transportation home on that day. Dismissal will be at 11:30 and lunches will not be served. Please have your child be a lower lot car rider if a car rider if at all possible.
Don’t forget to support if at all possible the Tail Gate Dinner on Saturday. It is a shame that the Steelers won’t be playing, but enjoy the dinner anyway.
The list for Valentine’s Day is included. Please remember names and numbers must be written on all cards.
Thanks so much!

At this point of the year we are gearing up for recruitment for next year. If you have any friends with school age children, we are always available for tours, or Catholic Schools Sunday is a nice time to introduce them to our school. If you can think of any ways that we could attract more families… please let me know. We are always open to suggestions. I appreciate your help in this so much. The more students… the better chance of keeping tuition down.
Thanks for all of your help with everything. I really appreciate it. I can’t believe that we are finishing this first semester. Where has the year gone?

Important Dates:
Monday 1/16: NO SCHOOL
Sunday 1/29: Opening of Catholic School Week Wednesday Feb. 1: No School K-4 conference day Sunday March 18th: kindergarten brunch/Easter Bunny Brunch

Marti Wiehagen

decodable words

2012-01-08T19:29:00.002-05:00

Decodable Words: Please make flashcards for each word. Please keep at home. There will be additional short vowel words for each unit. Please check the newsletter and make those too. Thanks so much. Please keep the word list in the story bag.
1. Sam Sat: Sam sat mats on here

2. Hat: hat Pam Pat taps Pat’s has a

3. Sit, Lil: sit Lil pat my is

4. The Nap: stands Dan naps dad his has

5. A Bib: Bob Mom bib puts on a

6. Run Ron: Run Ron bus a big

7. Hug a Bug: grabs big bag bug hug Jan for a is

8. Ten Men: fit Fred fix ten men Fred fix down

9. Liz Wins: Liz zigs zags zips is win by

10. Quint and Kit: Kit Quint quit they

11. Vic in the Van yet yes Vic van to the

12. A Bump: sat yes Mugs bump had flat has can wag

13. A Ramp: lap big fix Viv steps must ramp then just up fast

14. The Quilt: will quilt with Kip Vic has his

15. Puff: Puff sad rip will fix yes just looks rest quick

January 5

2012-01-08T18:39:00.002-05:00

Dear Parents,
Happy New Year! I hope that everyone enjoyed their holidays. Thanks so much for all of the treats for the party. They were very much appreciated.
We have a lot of exciting activities in January. Next Thursday 1/12/2011 will be our annual Pajama party in kindergarten. The children should either bring their pajamas in; or wear them under their clothes, or… just wear them if they are heavy enough. The last two choices are the easiest. Changing into the pjs is a little harder for some children, and usually they will fit under clothes. The clothes DO NOT have to be uniforms; play clothes are just fine. They DO NOT need blankets, pillows or stuffed animals. Robes are fine, and slippers are great! We talk a lot about it, and usually they are really excited. To help to celebrate the day we have special p snacks: pretzels, popcorn and punch. The children do not need a snack or a drink.
½ day info: ½ day will need to stay later on Thursday due to scheduling and fitting the party in. If ½ day students could be picked up at 2:15, I would really appreciate it. You will need to come into the building to get them. They will need to bring a lunch… no drink, just a lunch. If there would be a delay; we will still have the party. If school would be cancelled, the party would be on the Friday 1/13.
The children will be getting report cards in January. I do not emphasize grades at this level, and usually keep it very low key, we will also have conferences in January. This was a date change from the original calendar. Conferences will be on Wed. February 1.The children will not have school on that day. They will only be daytime conferences. If you need a special time, please let me know as soon as possible. I am happy to do phone conferences for this conference, so please do not feel as though you have to take the day off.
Please remember the pizza hut program. If you have not sent in the December form, it is not too late.
In math we are counting to 80. We continue to work on pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. We are continuing to work on teens.
In Religion we have been saying the Grace before Meals. We will begin to work on families.
In reading we continue to practice phoneme blending which is saying words like this: b/i/g, and seeing if your child can recognize that you have said the word big.We reviewed the letters: t,n and o., this week, and we also have been working on the op family: top, mop, hop. Our new sight words for this week were: have like too, and not, Next week we will be working on the letters: p, s and m. These are both beginning and ending sounds. Our sight words will be on, our phonics we will review the am, at and ad family words.
I will be sending home the classroom lists for their valentine cards. It is really important to start this activity early. There are 23 students in the class. If you wait until the last minute, your child will be really frustrated. I would recommend a few/night. Each child should write the name and the number by the name. PLEASE have your child write their names and the names of the classmates. If you need to, make a line on the envelope; but please do not do it for them. We have started to practice reading the names, but many of the children know them quite well already.
The children may start to talk about Catholic Schools Week. This comes at the end of January. This year it will begin on Sunday 1/29. It starts with an opening Liturgy and then we have an open house immediately following. The whole school is open, and you are free to visit all of the classrooms. This is a great time to visit first grade and meet Mrs. DiLonardo. You are welcome to bring friends, especially if they may have an interest in the school. During the week, we do a lot of activities. Wednesday that week is our conference day, and the children do not have school on that day.
We will be talking about Martin Luther King next week. We do not have school on Monday January, 16th due to the holiday.
I have included Book orders; if you are interested please return by 1/14. The orders may be done on line or just turn them in. If you are not doing them on line, I would really appreciate a check made out to Scholastic, instead of cash if at all possible. Thanks so much. If doing it online, the activation code is: GT6HV.
The children will be getting new name tags. We will begin to work on last names; this is to be mastered by the end of the year.
Important date change: As many of you know each grade is responsible for a dinner. Our month was originally May. It has been changed to Sunday March 18th. Please mark your calendar. If at all possible we could use everyone’s help to make our event a success. Our new event will be a brunch with the Easter Bunny. It will include breakfast and activities similar to the Christmas Santa breakfast. Thanks so much ahead of time.
Thanks so much for all of your help.
Important dates:
Thursday 1/12: PJ party
Monday 1/16: No school… unless we have a makeup snow day
Sunday 1/29: Opening of Catholic School’s Week. Open House
Wednesday 2/1: conferences; no school for K-4
FYI: Graduation is on Monday June 4th . It is in the evening. Please mark your calendar.

Christmas reminders

2011-12-13T18:55:00.001-05:00

Dear Parents
Just a few last minute reminders: Wednesday 12/21 is the Christmas concert at 1:30. The children should wear dress clothes only. The concert will begin at 1:30. Kindergarten will be on the left side of the church if you are facing the altar. The children may leave with parents, but there will also be bus transportation home. No snack is needed.
Thursday 12/22 is a half day of school. It is an early dismissal day at 11:30. Penn Hills must be car riders. If there are no siblings please make them a lower lot car rider. No snack is needed. You should have been notified if you were to send in a snack/treat, but please feel free to send something in if you like. Cups and pencil cases will come home. Please return on Tuesday 1/03. Please refill pencil cases with glue sticks and crayons or twistables. Please make sure that names or initials are marked on both.
Have a very Merry Christmas!
Marti Wiehagen

December 7. 2011

2011-12-06T18:35:00.003-05:00

Dear Parents,
I can’t believe how fast this month has gone by. Please try to attend the Barnes and Noble book fair next week. It is between 11-3. I will be reading at 11:30. Encourage friends and friendly to come. We will get a percentage of any purchases made during this time, BUT you must mention St. John’s at the checkout, or it will not be credited to us!
This will be our last newsletter before Christmas. On Wednesday12/21, we will be having the Christmas concert. The children should wear nice dress clothes. We will wear paint shirts over the clothes in the cafeteria, but please be careful what you send for lunch. No snack is needed for anyone!
The concert will begin at 1:30 pm. Facing the altar, the kindergarten class will be on the left side of the altar. Buses will be provided for the children at dismissal, but you may take your child with you if you are attending, you will need to probably come back to the classroom, unless this changes. The children will not need a snack.
In reading we will be working on short a words for the next two weeks. Please make flash cards for the words: am ham Sam Pam
at hat bat mat cat pat rat sat ad mad sad dad had an pan fan . It is really important that they tap each of the words out and then clap and say the word. We have been practicing this, and they are doing very well with it. Only the am words: ham, Sam, Pam will be on the flashcard test next week. We will be having the book tests too, so next week will be a testing week/ and a short a week.
In math we will be reviewing the numbers 1-20. Please make flashcards for those numbers if you have not yet, and practice them often. The numbers from 11-20, are the hardest and many children are experiencing some difficulty with those numbers. We are counting to 70, and working on the ordinal numbers first to tenth.
In Religion we will be talking about Christmas. We will be doing pages from the Religion book, as well as reading some stories about the first Christmas.
We will be having our party on Thursday 12/22.I had the wrong day last week… sorry it is THURSDAY 12/22. The children will not need a snack. There will be an 11:30 dismissal on Thursday. You have been notified if you are to send in a snack etc for the party. Please feel free to send in something if you wish, just make sure if it is a cookie or something like that; that it is in a baggie. The children will be bringing home their pencil cases, please check and see if they need a new glue stick, crayons, or pencils. Thanks so much. Most of the children that have crayons need new ones for sure, and the children with twistables may need new ones. Please remember to put their name on the twistables, glue sticks and pencils. NO new paints will be needed. I will be sending home the cups too. Please remember to send those back in.
I always love being a kindergarten teacher. At this time of the year, with my children grown, I especially love it. Thank you so much for sharing your children with me. Their excitement and joy at this time of the year is so wonderful. As I have said before, they are a great class. At this time of the year, there isn’t a better place to be!! Thanks as usual, for all of your help and support! I appreciate so much. Have a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of new years.

Marti Wiehagen

Nov. 10

2011-11-09T19:42:00.001-05:00

Dear Parents,
I enjoyed meeting with everyone at the conferences. Thanks so much for your continued help and support. I really appreciate it. You are a wonderful group of parents. Your love for your children is reflected in all that you do. I can see why this is such a great class!
Our value for this month is Faithfulness. We talk a lot in Religion and have been doing many activities in class about thankfulness. In conjunction with the turkey drive and the food drive we emphasize how we are thankful for all of our gifts and ways that we can help others. Our chapter next week in Religion will be thanking God for our gift of senses.
In math we are continuing to work on numbers. We are also continuing to count to 60. A good and easy way to practice counting is in the car. We are also now counting by 2’s to 20. We have been doing the months of the year for a while now, ask your child if they can sing the song that goes along with the months of the year. As easy as it may seem to you, many of the children do not know the days of the week, and although we do them daily, this can be hard for some children. Ask your child if they know what day it is, as well as what yesterday was and tomorrow is.
In reading we will be working on the letters: Dd Pp and their sounds, both beginning and ending sounds of those letters. We will also start to work on the medial vowels. Say three words to your child two with the same middle vowel and see if they are able to recognize which words have the same sound. Our new words will be: are at. This chapter will start next Tuesday and continue to right before Thanksgiving.
In Social Studies we are learning about the tribes of Native Americans. We will be doing many activities that go along with this unit. The Thanksgiving unit will end on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving with our “feast”. This will include popcorn, corn muffins and homemade butter. The children will be making the butter.
If you have not loosened your child’s backpack for the heavier coats, it might be a good time to do it now. Please remember that the children will be going outside for recess unless really cold. Please remember to send hats and gloves/mittens. Please have your child practice putting these on. I am glad to zipper, but they must be able to put hats, and gloves on alone.

Just a heads up: 12/22nd is the Christmas concert: it is held in the afternoon. All day and ½ day will participate. All parents are invited to attend. The children may leave after the concert with their parents. Buses will be available as usual though.

We have been singing and saying a lot of Thanksgiving poems and songs……. Ask your child if they can share some with you.

I have included book orders. If you are interested they must be in by Friday 11-18. You may do them online and the code for kindergarten is:GT6HV.
Reminder: Wednesday 11-23 is a half day. Penn Hills must provide their own transportation as it is an early dismissal.
Thanks for all of your help and support with the pennies for pies and the turkey drive. We greatly appreciate it. Don’t forget this Saturday is the Market Day if you are able to help out, and next Saturday is the chicken parm. Dinner.
Thanks for everything that you do!!!
Marti Wiehagen

Nov. 2

2011-11-01T18:32:00.001-04:00

Dear Parents,
A few Grandparent’s Day reminders: The children must wear dress clothes. No tennis shoes or play clothes please. Facing the altar, kindergarten will be on the right side. Grandparents should go directly to the church. After the Mass/program kindergarten will come to our classroom for a small snack, grandparents should go to the cafeteria. Please let them know our room is upstairs, and the room number is 101 or just tell them right by the office. PLEASE do not send back packs. Please do not return Friday folders UNLESS you have a scrip order. Otherwise just return it on Wednesday. The children will be dismissed early with their grandparents. Monday is also conference day. I am looking forward to meeting with everyone. I have already told the kids that everyone has been so great, all conferences will be SUPER! Kindergarten children do not need to attend the conference. They are definitely welcome, as are younger siblings. Please do not get a sitter!
In reading we will be starting unit 3. We will be introducing the idea of ending sounds. Say a set of 3 words to your child. Two of the words having the same ending sound. See if they are able to tell you the two words. You could also say words, emphasize the ending sound, and ask them to tell you the sound and the correct letter that makes that sound.We will begin to work on the letters S and M, as beginning and ending sounds. Our new words for this week will be: can what you. Please make flash cards for the words and continue to practice all of the words.
In math we will be counting to 60. We continue to count by 2’s and 10’s and backwards from 15-0. We have started to work on pennies, nickels and dimes and are slowly introducing time on the hour. We will be working on numbers this week. This is an easier unit, but please review if your child is having any trouble with those numbers.
In Religion we will be finishing up the unit that we started last week. With two short weeks in a row, we split the unit up into two weeks.
We will begin to work on many Thanksgiving activities, most of which will not be coming home; they will go in the memory book. The beginning part of this unit will be done in social studies on Native Americans. We will be talking about many different tribes.
Market Day Help:
Saturday November 12th is a Market Day. Kindergarten is asked to help to provide volunteers in the am for the setup for this. If you are available, your help is really appreciated. More info will come home about this. It is not hard work, it is actually fun, and a great way to meet other parents, AND help the school. The times are 7:45ish to 10ish depending on much help there is.
Don’t forget the Nov. dinner on Sat. November 19th too.
Important Dates:

Tuesday 11/8: NO school
11/12: Market Day Pick up: Every grade has one pick up day to help with, this is kindergarten’s day. You may come anytime in the am between 7:30 -10(I believe are the hours) and help to sort etc. It is a nice way to meet other kindergarten parents, and is actually a fun morning.
11/16:Make up picture day
11/18: November Birthday dress down day
11/19: Chicken Parmesan fund raiser dinner
11/7-11/18: TURKEY DRIVE

November 2

2011-11-01T18:30:00.008-04:00

Oct. 13

2011-10-11T18:23:00.001-04:00

Dear Parents,
We have officially started our anti bullying program. This program is a national program and Highmark has funded our program with a grant. The four rules that we will be discussing the next few weeks will be: we will not bully others. We will try to help students who are being bullied. We will try to include students who are left out. If we know somebody is being bullied we will tell an adult at school and an adult at home. It is a great program. Many school districts and other Catholic Schools in the area have implemented it or are in the process of starting it. We have been very lucky to get the grant. If your child is involved either way with bullying, I will be in touch. I am not very concerned about this class at all.
Field trip information: Our field trip is Friday 10/21. Please keep your fingers crossed for nice weather! Please watch the weather to see how warmly your child should be dressed. If it is cold, I would suggest warm layers. They are moving almost all of the time, except for the hay ride, and it can be cold. If it is muddy, boots are not a bad idea. AND if it is muddy, you may want to send in an extra change of pants/ underwear/ socks.. just in case. All children must be packers. The cafeteria will be closed when we return. The children must have a lunch and a drink!
In reading our letters this week will be: Qq, Rr, Ss and Tt. The words of the week will be: he, and she. Please make flashcards for those words and add them to the words you practice with your child. Thanks so much.
In math we will be continue to work on patterns.
In science we are working on how plants and animals need water, and social studies how we show respect for one another.
We are excited to welcome a new student to the all day program: Steven Evanchec.
Thanks so very, very much for all that you do. I really appreciate it so much. This group is so great! I am loving every minute with them. Have a great weekend.

Marti Wiehagen

Oct 6

2011-10-03T17:21:00.000-04:00

Dear Parents,
I hope that this weekend will be a better Bonfire night. What a shame that it didn’t work out last weekend.

In math we are finishing up on graphs, and beginning to work on patterns.. We are doing a lot of them in different ways. We are also continuing to count to 50, count by tens and by 2’s and practicing the months of the year, and working on pennies, nickels and dimes.
In Reading we are starting unit 2. You should have received a letter concerning the small groups that will be starting next week. I like to keep the groups low key, and not competitive. We will be having small group time 4-5 times/ week. The letters for this week will be: Mm, Nn , Oo, Pp . We are also beginning to work more on initial sounds of words. You may want to practice this at home, by saying a word and asking your child what the word begins with. You can also say three words, with two of them having the same initial sound… i.e... boy, bat and dog, and asking which two begin the same.
SIGHT WORDS for this week: and we Please make flashcards for those words too.
In Science we will be working on taking care of our bodies.

In religion, we continue to emphasize kindness. We will be starting on a unit on “Ordinary Time” and are working on Saints. We are working on the prayer the Hail Mary.

The Halloween party is on 10/31.. The parents have been notified if they are to bring in a treat for this party. If you would like to send one in that is fine, just make sure that if it is a cookie or something that it is in a baggie so that it may go home. Thanks so much. The children should wear their costumes to school. If possible we do have a peanut allergy to remember. Please no swords, guns or weapons of any kind. This is only a half day of school, so there will not be a lunch served.
I will also be sending home this week the party schedule for the rest of the year. You will also be getting a reminder right before the party. Please check the party carefully!

The kindness charts are also working nicely. Many of the children have been making a real effort to be kind. The charts are only for school, but I encourage you to encourage kindness deeds at home too.
We will be starting the Pizza Hut program a little late this month. This is a nice program that we have done in the past. Each child should have 7 books read to them each month; unless they can read themselves and they should read 3 books/month. Because we are starting so late, the children only need to have 4 books read to them or read one book. Please return the slip on the paper that is included. They do not need to have the books listed. They will in turn get a personal size pizza from Pizza Hut.
We are missing a game from a book order: POPCORN SIGHT WORDS, if it came home to your house accidentally would you please send it in???
Important dates:
Monday 10/10 NO SCHOOL Wednesday 10/12: picture day: NOT A DRESS DOWN DAY! Friday 10/14: The bullying kickoff
MONDAY 11/7: GRANDPARENT’S DAY/CONFERENCES TUESDAY 11/8 no school

Thanks for all of your help and all that you do. It is really appreciated. This is a really wonderful class! Wow… I am having such a great time with them.
Marti Wiehagen

Oct 1

2011-10-02T18:12:00.001-04:00

Our value for the month of October is Kindness. We will begin talking next week about kindness to ourselves, treating ourselves with kindness and respect. Eating the right foods, and getting enough sleep. We will begin the next week with kindness to others. Next week, you will find a sticker chart in your child’s folder. PLEASE do not take this out. This should stay in the whole month of October. Each time a child does an act of kindness they will get a sticker. Several stickers mean a lollipop. The acts of kindness have to be random and noticed by an adult. They are not allowed to tell an adult that they did the act, an adult must notice it. We encourage acts of kindness all year long, and there are many children that are extremely kind all the time. This is a fun activity, but it does drive the children crazy that they can’t tell an adult, it must just be noticed. I really try to have ten pairs of eyes, even more than usual. You can talk about this at home this month too. I do emphasize that it is a not a competition. It is an activity to encourage random acts of kindness.
READING: We are working on a review week for this unit. We will be reviewing the words that we have had. We will also be reviewing the letters Aa to Ll. It is a good idea to review the words and the letters daily for just a few minutes. We will be having a test at the end of this week coming up on both the letters and the words.
We continue to work on story comprehension. Please ask your children questions after reading any stories to them.
We will be working on Christopher Columbus in Social Studies . We will also be working on many fall themes, especially those that will go with our farm trip.
In math we are working on…sorting by attributes, more and fewer and we will be beginning to work on graphing. We are counting now to 50. We are counting backwards from 15-0. We are counting by 10’s to 100, and by 2’s to 20. We are working on recognition of pennies.
In Religion, we will begin to learn the Hail Mary. We have been working the past few weeks on the Our Father. We talked about St. Theresa of Lisieux whose feast day was 10-1. We will also talk about St. Francis since his feast day is 10-4. We are have finished our chapter on thanking God for animals and will be starting to work on thanking God for land.

CLOTHES REMINDERS:
Shorts may not be worn any longer, long pants only or the black sweat pants until May 1st.
Please label all sweatshirts, ESPECIALLY the St. Johns sweatshirts. IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO PUT A SWEATSHIRT OR A SWEATER IN YOUR CHILD’S BACK PACK. While our room is usually warm, there are some days that it is chilly especially in the fall. So if possible put one in the back pack that can just stay there, and be used if needed.
If you have not loosened the back pack straps, please loosen those.
Please practice with your child putting on their coats, sweatshirts if they cannot do it. And also practice putting sleeves back in correctly if they get turned inside out.

IMPORTANT OCTOBER DATES
10/10:No school In-service day
10/12: PICTURE DAY The children do not wear uniforms… but of course they may if that is what you want your picture in….. They should wear dress clothes. NO tennis shoes or sweat clothes. IT IS A DRESS UP DAY PLEASE REMEMBER TO RETURN THE ENVELOPE WITH THE MONEY AND YOUR PICTURE ORDER ON Wed 10/12.
10/21: Kerbers Field trip: dress down day: All day please bring a lunch/drink to eat when we return to the school.
11/7: Grandparent’s Day:the children do leave with their grandparents. DRESS UP DAY ONLY AND NO LUNCH IS SERVED and conference day that afternoon
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September 21st

2011-09-20T19:14:00.001-04:00

Dear Parents,
The magazine sale is coming along very nicely. Thanks so much for your support. Monday will be the last turn in day.
I have included forms for Highlight magazine, and the Puzzle Magazine. I send them home only because I need just a signature on both. They have good rewards for the classroom, and so I would appreciate it if you could return both signed on Monday. Thanks so much.
Friday, Oct. 21st is our field trip to Kerber’s Farm. We will be going with first, second and third grades. We will be leaving at 8:45 and returning at 12:30. The children will wear play clothes. It is a fun field trip. We go on a hayride, get a small pumpkin, get a dish of ice-cream( kindergarten only gets dishes of ice-cream), and they get a play time in the Kerber playground. The cost including the bus is $11/ child. Please return the permission slip and the money by Oct. 12th. If making out a check, please make it to SJBS. Thanks so much. We are looking for 3 volunteers to help to chaperone kindergarten. The chaperone cost is 7.50/chaperone. Chaperones do not need to pay for the bus trip. If you are interested, please send me an email or a note by October 4th. I will pick the names out of a hat, to choose the three volunteers if there are more than 3.
Don’t forget the bonfire on Oct. 1st and returning your form if you are interested. It has always been a lot of fun. Unfortunately this year, I am unable to attend, but the children and their families have always had a great time.
Reading: in reading we will be introducing the letters Ii Jj Kk Ll. We will also be reviewing the letters A-H. If your child is not really strong on letter identification, this would be a great time to make flashcards for each letter both capital and lower case for the whole alphabet and practice them daily. We will continue to move quickly through the letters, and the children that are not really strong with identifying them will begin to struggle and often this causes stress, which I don’t like to see.
The new words for this week are: I see. Please make flashcards for those words and practice them with the other words. When the readers come home, please sign the bag each time. Often they books come home twice, and that is just to practice reading those words. But please sign the bags each time, and return them the next day. Thanks!
We are also counting words in sentences, which you can do at home Say a sentence to your child and see if they are able to count how many words are in that sentence.
In math we are counting up to 40, counting by 2’s to 20, by 10’s to 100, are saying the days of the week, and the months of the year. We are also talking about more, fewer and same, and we will begin to work on graphs.
All day: if you have not sent in the 4.50 for the science magazine, could you please do so by Friday?
Important dates:
Monday October 10th: no school (teacher in-service day)
Friday October 21st: Field trip to Kerber’s Farm
Monday : October 31st: 11:30 dismissal: no Penn Hills buses home
Monday : November 7th Grandparents day: children will leave with their grandparents or substitutes: more info will come home next week, and conferences that afternoon starting at 12.
Thanks so much for all of your help and support. What a great group of kids. I am loving the year!

September 14th

2011-09-13T18:56:00.001-04:00

Dear Parents,
The kids are doing so great. They are really moving along independently and are a joy to have in the classroom!

Magazine information:……. Please remember to turn your orders in. This sale is really important for the school, and it is very much appreciated.
If your child does not have a cold, then they are one of the lucky ones. We have been having a cold go quickly through the room. It seems like it is every fall; kindergarten gets one. When the children blow their nose… and they don’t need to bring their own tissues; we have plenty… they must use a hand sanitizer afterwards... which PTG has so nicely donated to all of the classrooms. The children are also encouraged to cough into their elbows, and so try to keep the germs down a little. If your child does not know how to properly blow their nose; could you practice this skill please?It is really hard in kindergarten, and we try to encourage blowing it when needed; especially as opposed to their sleeves… Thanks.
Also.. as it gets a little chillier, please make sure that your child’s name is on sweaters, sweatshirts, jackets etc. The children should be able to put their jackets.. etc on by themselves. I will help to zipper, but they should be able to put their coats on. If your child can’t yet, it might be a good time to practice getting the sleeves in the right place, especially if they are inside out.

I will be sending home a phone list/address list for kindergarten. Please hold on to these for the year. It is a great way to invite friends over, or if you are not inviting the whole class/or whole sex group to a birthday party, you must mail the invitations.

In religion, we have just finished working on light, and how it is a gift from God. Our next chapter is about water. We continue to work on PATIENCE. Most of the children seem to understand this value, so I can tell that it has been discussed at home also. Thanks! Thanks so much for the homework being done, signed and returned. The homework will come home again next Thursday. It will usually come home on Thursdays; but this could change if it is a short week.
In reading we will be working on the letters Ee Ff Gg and Hh. We will be reviewing the word the and introducing a few more sight words: here is a an. Please make flashcards and practice those at home. The flashcards may stay at home. I really appreciate all of your help.

In Math, we are continuing to work on position words. We have also been counting to 40, counting backwards from 15-0, and doing a lot of work on what day was yesterday, and tomorrow, etc. You could review these at home too. We are beginning to work on patterns too. We have introduced counting by tens, the days of the weeks, the months of the year, and we are beginning to work on money. This week we did the penny; and how much it is worth.

In handwriting, we will be working on the right way to write the numbers. We will continue to work on this the next few weeks. Always emphasize that all numbers and letters should be written going down.
Thanks so much for all of the tissue donations.
I really appreciate all that you do. I know how hectic your lives are, and so I know it is difficult to find time to practice flashcards, and all of the other requests that I make, so I really appreciate it. Have a great weekend.

All Day:
In Science we are working on living and nonliving things.
In Social studies we are continuing to work on our school rules and family rules.
In handwriting we are working on the number 2 and 3. If you see your child writing numbers or letters encourage them to make each stroke from top to bottom.
In health we are talking about making good choices.
\
IMPORTANT DATES:
Oct 10 NO School: Columbus day and teacher inservice
Oct. 21: Field trip to Kerber’s Farm for grades K, 1, 2 and 3….more information will come home later about this
Oct. 31: early dismissal at 11:30. Plum buses will provide transportation, but Penn Hills children must be car riders. If they are car riders; I would prefer the back lot if at all possible. Thanks ahead of time.

Marti Wiehagen

word lists

2011-09-06T19:43:00.001-04:00

Flashcard words: Please make flashcards for each word as they are introduced. There are two kinds of words high frequency words that will be memorized, and word families that will need to be sounded out. We will begin that later in Unit 3. Thanks!!!!

Unit 1 HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS
the a an here is I see

Unit 2: HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS
and we he she it no this

Unit 3 :HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS
can do what you are at have like too
WORD FAMILY WORDS: will need to be sounded out
am ham Pam Sam
at hat bat mat cat pat rat sat
ad mad sad dad had

Unit 4:HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS
not on has
WORD FAMILY WORDS:
ot pot hot not
ap cap map tap nap
op hop mop top

Sept. 7, 2011

2011-09-06T19:29:00.002-04:00

Dear Parents,
You have been so great in returning forms; money etc.. I can’t thank you enough. What a great group of kids, AND a great group of efficient parents.
If you have not sent in a paint shirt and or paints; please try to send them in the next week or so.
Thanks so much for helping me out and letting them know if they are a packer or buyer and if a buyer what they want. Please continue to remind your child daily if they are a buyer or packer.
FYI: we do have a peanut allergy in the classroom. If at all possible when you send in a birthday treat or if you are the cookie person for the Halloween,Christmas etc parties, could you please make sure it is peanut free if at all possible, and let me know if it is, so that I know it can be served to that child. THANKS
In reading we are moving along quickly through the alphabet. Please practice all capital and lower case letters with your children. We will start to have flashcard tests next week on the letter that we have covered so far. As this goes quickly, if your child is not familiar with the letters, they will begin to feel frustrated. I will send home the tests after we have them. I am at this time assessing all of the children on all the letters and sounds. This assessment will not come home. It provides information to me about each child’s abilities.

In reading we will be covering the letters AaBbCcDd.At this point we are only working on letter identification, not sounds. Please practice the 8 letters with your child. The best way is to make separate flashcards for each letter. We also will be working on rhyming words. You can practice this with your child too. Say two words, if they rhyme have your child clap or do something. Phonemic awareness is an important skill for beginning reading, so we will be doing this often in school. Our first word is a sight word; the word is the . Please make a flashcard for the word, and keep all flashcards at home! As we cover each letter, we do a song or two for each letter and also a story that goes along with that letter. Often we do an art project too for a letter. Many projects that we do; I keep for the hallway; and or I keep them for their Memory Books. In the spring; each child will get a memory book made of the projects that they have done during the year.
We will be starting little readers soon. When they come home, please have your child read the book to you. They will usually come home 2 times. Initial next to the story title, make flashcards for the words in the story, and keep those at home too. Often the story may initially be harder for your child to read, but will be fine with some practice in school and at home.

In math we will continue to work on position words: top, middle, bottom, inside, outside, over, under, behind, and left and right. We are also reviewing the shapes and colors. We are counting up to 40, and we have done the numbers from first to tenth. We will continue to work on the days of the week, their order and what day was yesterday and what day is tomorrow. We have started to work on the months of the year and their order. Each day we practice a patriotic song.

We have just finished up the chapter in Religion about the gifts from God. Each morning we begin our day with a morning offering, we say an easy grace before meals, although we eventually will do the Grace before meals, and we have been working on the Sign of the Cross. We end each day with a closing prayer. We will begin to work on the Our Father. Our value for this month is patience, and we will be talking a lot about this. We will be working on the gift of light next week.

Please support the magazine sale. As Mrs. Stonebraker said in her letter home, this is a very important part of the budget.

There is often some confusion about the uniforms. Just a reminder: tennis shoes may only be worn with the uniform shorts, or on gym day. When the children wear their uniform pants or their dresses they must wear their dress shoes. The shorts/tennis shoes may only be worn in September and May. Socks or tights must always be worn. Thanks so much.
You may also view the newsletter from each week on my blogger page. If you go to www.stjohnthebaptistschool.org and go to teacher’s blogs you will find the one for K you can check out the newsletter for the week in case you misplaced it.
If your child is the oldest, please make sure that you return the scrip envelopes,(they come home in the Friday folders) even if you are not ordering. This is really important. I am not sure if they have started this week yet or not.

VOLUNTEER NEWS: If this is your first child, and even if is not, there are many chances in the school for volunteering. As a volunteer you are able to help in so many ways, and being involved in your child’s school makes you even more of a partner. Please consider some of the chances for volunteering:
Kitchen help: We can always use help in the kitchen, you usually help serve, and this is such a help to the cafeteria team. Some parents from K have already started to volunteer in the kitchen… we really appreciate it so much.
Playground parents: we never can have too much help in that area. As long as it is not too cold we are outside, and if not it is indoor recess which needs a lot of help too. Although Kindergarten is covered by Beth Clites, the other grades really can use your help.
Market day: the PTG has asked for volunteers, but this is for those that can’t help during the week because of younger children or working. This takes place on a Saturday am, and it is a lot of fun. It is easy to do, the time passes quickly, and anyone can help with this! Please order from Market day if you can, family members can also order from Market Day. I can testify that the food is good!
Scrip is another area that can always use help. This is done on Monday am, and Thursdays, you help tally the orders that come in, and on Thursdays you help to put the orders together. Once again, it can be such a help to the school. Please consider ordering from scrip too, it really is a big help in keeping your tuition down.
Labels: We collect Campbell Soup labels and all of the products that go along with it. You can help by just sending in the UPC codes or the labels. More information about that will be coming home soon, and if you are able to help at home cutting etc, I can help you get in touch with Kathy Edmundson. This is a nice way to help if you have little ones at home.
Events coming up that can use your help: The fall bonfire, Grandparent’s day, and Kris Kringle shopping. If you are interested in any of these., please let me know, and I will pass your name along to the right party. If you can help in any way we appreciate it.
Even as a teacher/parent I found it so rewarding to volunteer in many ways when my kids came to St. Johns. It helps you to get to know other parents, and to see how great our school is!
The school often sends home emails about many different activities and schedule changes.. it is called the e-charger..if you would like to be getting the emails, please send me your email address with your name, and I will pass it along. I included a form for the oldest children in the family for this in last week’s Friday folder.
UNIFORM REMINDER: gym shirts should only be worn on Tuesdays which is our gym day and sneakers should be worn on that day with either shorts, pants or plain black sweat pants. Sweatshirts should always be worn with a uniform shirt under it!!! It gets warm in our room sometimes and they must be able to take it off.
Sneakers should only be worn any other day if your child has on shorts. If your child is wearing long pants they should have on their dress shoes.
Kindergarten does NOT Need to wear belts. They are too hard for many of the children.
I did say last week, that most newsletters are not as long as last weeks, I actually think that this weeks is longer. Sorry.
As usual, thank you for all of your help. It is greatly appreciated. Any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to call, write or email.

Marti Wiehagen

All day news:
In handwriting we will start to work on the numbers. Please remind your child that all letters and numbers must be made from the top to bottom. This is a skill that many children do not have, and it is an important skill. We emphasize this each time that we write.
In Social Studies, we worked primarily on America, and we read several books this week, on the flag, and on our country as part of our patriotic theme. We also did some patriotic songs.
We do a special National Geographic Magazine in ALL DAY K… each child will need to send money in to cover the cost. The cost is 4.50 I ordered these and put them on my charge, so please send in either cash or a check made out to Marti Wiehagen. Please send this in by Sept. 23rdth . Thanks so much.

September 2, 2011

2011-08-29T16:10:00.000-04:00

Dear Parents,
I try to send home a letter like this every Friday. At times, if the week is short, you may not get one. Look for one almost every week though. And this is a really long one. Sorry
Included is a name paper. This is how your child will be writing their name this year. We call it the kindergarten way. If your child is using all capitals, it may be hard to change. Just keep reinforcing at home that this is the way that they will be using in school. Please have your child complete both sides of the paper. They should use a pencil, and only write their name one time on each line. They will always use a pencil for homework. This paper will not need to be returned until Friday 9/16. This gives them a lot of time to practice a few times each night. This helps them to not get frustrated, and to be able to concentrate on the correct printing. Certain points need to be emphasized, and I would appreciate it if you could help me out. Boy are you going to hear those words often…….
1. Is your child making each letter by making the lines go down? Often the children start at the bottom of the letter and work up, we need to teach them that the letters need to start at the top and work down. Always remind your child when they are working.
2. Is the pencil being held correctly?
3. Please remember to sign all homework.
4. Please have your child use a pencil when doing any written work.
I have included some book orders. These are only to be used if you are interested. It is an easy way to purchase books and to encourage reading. Reading daily to your child is one of the best ways to develop a good reader. If interested, please return by Friday 9/8. PLEASE WRITE A CHECK. I cannot accept cash. Sorry.
In reading we are slowly beginning the reading series. We will be working on the different components of the series, and the different activities. Our first few letters will be introduced in the second week of school.
We are also doing some other activities in Math Class. We count daily to 40. We say the days of the week, and ask what day it is, and what day is tomorrow, and what day was yesterday. We will soon begin to count by 10’s and sing the months of the year.
I will be sending home a class list with names, addresses and phone numbers. If you DO NOT WANT your child’s address and phone number listed, please let me know by Friday 9/8. This is a great list for parties and or play dates.
Coming up in November is Grandparent’s day. This is Monday, November 7th.. Kindergarten through third grade will share their experience with their grandparents/substitute grandparents. The children will leave with their grandparent/substitute grandparent. More information will follow.
In your Friday folders, the oldest child in the family receives a scrip envelope (small brown envelope). Scrip is a really great way to lower your tuition. It must always be returned in the Friday folder, even if you are not ordering. At this time I am not sure if they will be included in this weeks Friday folders, if not they will be in next weeks for sure. It is easy to use, and is very convenient. Please try it out. If your child is the oldest and you did not get it this week or next, then please let me know.
Each month at St. Johns we emphasize a value. This month is PATIENCE. This can be carried over into your home situation easily. We will do several Religion classes on it, and we discuss it often.
In Religion we will be talking again next week about gifts from God. Our chapters in Religion should run from Monday to Thursday, making Thursday the day for homework. I may not be able every week to do it this way; it will depend on the schedule. You will need to sign the page and return it the next day. Any Religion homework projects that are completed at home do not come into school, they should stay at home.
Normally the newsletters home are not this lengthy. Sorry for so much information at one time.
Just a few reminders: All Day gym is on Tuesday. The children should wear their T-shirts that they were given at orientation. They should also wear tennis shoes/ and uniform pants or sweat pants black sweatshirt material only or the uniform shorts. Please only very small earrings, no hoops at all, and leave all other jewelry including watches at home on gym day. They should come dressed for gym, we do not change at school. (This is optional for half- day.)Sept. 6th will be our first day of gym.
If you have not sent in your pencil case money 2.00 please try to send it in soon.
If you have not sent in a paint shirt/ and paints, please do so soon.
I appreciate all of your help with everything. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to ask I am always open to email, notes or calls.
In the next few weeks you will be getting an order form for sweatshirts. If you are interested these are nice to have in the cooler months. Please think twice about the sizing. Unless your child is teeny, a small is probably going to be too small, especially as the year goes on.
Kindergarten has a web page. This will be another place for you to find any information that you perhaps lost in a weekly newsletter. To find the site, go to stjohnthebaptistschool.org, and click on teachers and then my name You will need to click on the blog page information.. It will be updated weekly or every other week.
Sometimes, right after the initial start of the year, there could be some criers in the am. This is normal, and to be expected. The initial start of school is over, and sometimes they can get a little homesick and sad, especially in the mornings. Just keep positive, remind them you love them, and about the story the Kissing Hand where a mom raccoon kisses her child’s hand so that her love is there in the palm all day long, even when washing the hand. You can also tape a picture to their folder, this sometimes helps too. Just remember that as hard as it is on you, almost every child stops when they get in the room and get going. I will let you know if this is not the case, so no news is good news.
The magazine sale starts next week. This is a very important sale to the school. More information will be coming home soon. Please try to support this sale.
If you are not saving Campbell Soup Labels please start to save those. More information will be coming home about that.
We often have a lot of things that need taped to the folders:
What seems to work best is to put some scotch tape on the inside of the folder on the pocket, in a rectangle shape, and then you are able to tape everything to that space, without ripping it to get it off.
Another suggestion: purchase a box of envelopes……. we use them a lot in kindergarten!
We are in need of two homeroom parents for kindergarten. Their jobs would include: decorating the front bulletin board by the office, it is a very small bulletin board, in case of an emergency calling parents to let them know , and a new addition would be: helping to co-ordinate a dinner for one month that is a new fundraiser for the school. You would work closely with Chickie our school cook! PLEASE consider helping out the kindergarten. I would really appreciate it.
Sometimes parents ask if they may donate something for the classroom: we can always use Kleenex, and sidewalk chalk. You would be amazed how quickly we go through both of these. Thanks so much.
So much information, again I apologize. It really does get easier.

ALL DAY INFO:
I have paired up most of the kindergarten students that have older siblings with their siblings as their patrols for the buses. I have other older students for those that do not have siblings. If your older sibling is absent and unable to be a “patrol”, it would make my life so much easier if you could let me know in the am with a note, so that I can find another patrol for your child. This eliminates trying to find a replacement frantically at the end of the day.
We will start handwriting next week. We will have handwriting once a week. We are working initially on writing numbers. Our main concern at this time is the correct formation. Many children do not even see the lines, or are able to hit the top and bottom. You may encourage them, but not push it too much. We want to encourage more the correct formation, especially the top to bottom formation.
We will be starting science next week. In science our first unit will be on the needs of plants and animals
We will be starting national geographic magazine next week. This is a great addition to our science program, and we are excited to be using it. We still do not have the bill from the company, so I
do not know what the charge is.
Just a reminder: ALL LUNCH MONEY MUST BE IN AN ENVELOPE MARKED WITH YOUR CHILD’S NAME AND THE AMOUNT.
Have a great weekend.
Marti Wiehagen

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BOOK ORDERS: USER NAME AND PASSWORD

2009-08-26T17:22:00.002-04:00

Book Orders
You may now order on-line and use a credit card to order books.
The user name for Kindergarten is: MrsWiehagen (this is one word)The password is: kindergarten

All Day Kindergarten Handbook 2010-11

2009-08-22T13:22:00.003-04:00

Dear Parents,

One of the biggest days in your child’s life has arrived. His/her experiences in kindergarten will affect his/her attitudes during the rest of his school years. Together, you and I will make this a successful year. A happy and secure child is eager to learn and he/she will have many learning experiences during this year.

The activities of the kindergarten class are many and varied. We plan to meet the needs and interests of each child.

We begin the year very slowly, with the exception of the alphabet introduction. Many parents are surprised that a lot of the work that comes home initially is review work for their child. We do this for many reasons. This gives me a chance to determine the academic strengths and weaknesses of the group as well as individual children. More importantly it gives the children a chance to feel comfortable and learn the ways of the classroom. It would be unfair to begin teaching at a level that they are not comfortable with at the start of the year. This beginning time gives us a chance to introduce classroom vocabulary, rules and the general sense of the class. Please do not be alarmed at the pace we are using at the start of the year. I know that most children are familiar with the work, but it is giving them a sense of everything before we begin harder and more challenging work.

READING

The reading series is McGraw Hill. This series introduces the alphabet from a-z and the recognition of each letter. This is done the first few weeks of school. If your child is not familiar with all of the letters, this would be a good time to either buy or make a set of flashcards of all the letters. Each letter should be on a separate flashcard. I do recommend flash cards as opposed to just memorizing the letters in order. We fly through the alphabet the first few weeks of school. This is a fast paced reading series initially. It does slow down after the letters are reviewed, but if your child is not sure of the letters, it would be a good idea to begin to practice them each evening. We will be doing both capital/ and lowercase and each day a new letter is introduced. There are several games that can be done with the flashcards. One to start the year would be concentration, only using a few of the capital and a few lower case letters. After the letters are introduced, we will begin to practice the sounds of each letter. This series begins initially with some sight words and then moves onto phonetic reading with sight words. There is often homework in reading. The page will come home circled, please make sure that you return the book the next day.

SMALL GROUPS FOR READING

In September I usually break the group into small groups for reading. I base these groups on ability level at that time. There is a wide range of ability levels in kindergarten. It can range from strong readers to the child that does not know letters. These are all acceptable ranges. I do not want to stress out the child that is learning letters, but I do not want to hold the child back that needs additional challenges. Thus we have groups in kindergarten. I change the groups often during the year. They are extremely flexible. I do not put any stress on these groups. I do not make a big deal of the groups either. Each child learns at different paces for different subjects. Please do not make a big deal about the groups with your child. This is not a competitive area. I will let you know what group your child is starting out in. There are usually three groups. I usually meet with each group 2-3 times a week depending on the week.

MATH
Our math series is McGraw-Hill. We will be using concrete materials frequently. The math program will cover counting to 100, counting by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s. We will learn the months of the year, and the days of the week. We also cover fractions, measurements, estimating, time, addition and subtraction and patterns.

The math papers will come home frequently. There are many suggestions on the papers for additional work at home. If you would like to do this work with your child that would be great and it is a great reinforcement of the skills that are being covered.

At the beginning of each unit, I will send home an introduction to that unit. This will come home in the Friday folders. The work that is suggested on this information sheet does not need to be done, or need to be returned. This is a communication paper to let you know what we will be working on. There may be times that you feel that your child could use some help in the skill that is being introduced, there may be times that you feel that your child does not need help. These pages DO NOT need to be returned. I appreciate any help that you do with them on these pages.

I will let you know through the newsletters what skills we are working on at that time, and also the math pages will indicate the skills that we are practicing.

RELIGION
The Religion series is Sadlier. Through the book, music and many other activities, the children’s sense of wonder is expanded. They will discover God’s goodness, their uniqueness and God’s presence all around them.

Most weeks there will be a short homework assignment in religion. It will come home in their folder. The homework is titled SHARING FAITH with my family. The pages will be circled. Please return this signed the next day. There will be other Religion pages coming home. These will be what we have done on that day. They do not need signed or returned. You may want to talk about what is covered with your child.

Kindergarten will attend liturgies primarily only on Holy Days of Obligation. The rest of the school attends Mass on a regular schedule. Kindergarten is not included in that schedule. This is a time that you as parents may begin to get your child ready for attending liturgies. This would be a good time to eliminate toys and food if they are still being used and also not being in the crying room unless there is a younger sibling that needs that room. Try to get your child to participate with standing and kneeling and sitting at appropriate times. We will be talking a lot about church and church behavior. We go often for classroom visits, and we talk about the correct way to enter and sit in the church. Next year in first grade they will be attending more than this year. There will be prayer services that we will attend during the year.

SOCIAL STUDIES
We will be using Macmillan/McGraw-Hill for our social studies series We cover a wide range of interests: citizenship and rules, families and where they live, wants and needs, seasons, and caring for our earth are just a few of our chapters. We will be using big books and literature experiences to explore the areas mentioned.

SCIENCE
Our Science series is Scott Foresman Science. In science we have 4 modules. The modules are: Human Body, Life Science, Physical Science, and Earth Science. Through literature, big books and hands on experiences we will be covering many different areas.

LUNCH

All day kindergarten will naturally be eating lunch. Our lunches will be at 11:10. We will be eating in the cafeteria. Your child may choose to have a hot lunch or bring a lunch with them. Milk will be available for those that are packing. The cost of milk and the cost of lunch is included in the cafeteria information in your orientation packet. The price of milk is included in the lunch cost. Because kindergarten tends to eat slowly, it is best not to pack too much for them in the beginning of the year. This is a new idea for many of them, and they may not eat as much as usual those first few days. They will have ½ hour to eat, so they will be able to finish, but many will be slower at the beginning. If your child is packing, this might be a good time to practice in the next day or so, how to use whatever you are sending in. There will of course be help available for any child that needs help in opening, but encourage this by packing things that your child will be able to easily open. This will eliminate any extra stress that they may be feeling. Many children naturally will want to eat their favorites first, you may want to encourage them to eat what you feel is the most important part of their meal first. I do not monitor this, as I feel that it is more important especially initially to give them a comfort level. This may be something that you may want to address at home.

SNACK
We will also have a snack time. This is a time for socializing and a way of learning health habits. Children should bring the plastic glass that is on the supply list with their name on it. This will stay in the lockers. Only water will be provided. If you would like another drink for your child: kool-aid, juice or milk etc. please feel free to send it in a drink box or a thermos. Each child should also bring in a small snack for himself/herself. Some good examples are vegetables, a few crackers, fruit snacks, a few cookies. The snack should be on the small side. Because our lunch time is early, we will have a short break at the end of the day. This will not be a lunch time. Please do not send in pop, especially pop in a thermos. Pop does not travel well.

SPECIAL CLASSES
Through the music, art and gym classes, each child will be able to express his personality and become more creative. All three are handled both in special classes as well as in our scheduled kindergarten day. Library and computer are also included in the full day kindergarten schedule. The class is divided in half twice a week. The children will go to computer class once a week and library once a week. Kindergarten will be allowed to sign out one library book per week. This will not begin our first week of school.

Gym class is also held once a week. On gym days, the children will dress in their gym clothes. You should have received a tee shirt at orientation. They should wear this tee shirt only on gym days. This should be worn with shorts (until October 1st) or the uniform pants. If they would like they may sweat pants (black only), they may only be of sweatshirt material. The children should always wear tennis shoes on gym day. They should come dressed in their gym clothes for the day. They will not change clothes. A schedule at the end of this information contains the schedule for all specials. Earrings may be worn on gym day, but they may only be very small ball ones. If your child is wearing a watch, please try to keep that at home on gym day, so that it does not get lost. It is very important that the sweat pants be of sweatshirt material, and that they be only the color black.

BIRTHDAYS
Many of the children’s birthdays will be celebrated during the school year. If you would like, you may send in a treat. Even those children whose birthdays occur in the summer may celebrate a special day (a half birthday is a suggestion) Please let me know before any birthday so that I can make sure that it is not a day that someone else is celebrating. You do not have to celebrate a birthday.

Invitations:
The school handbook lists how invitations are handled so that there are no hurt feelings in the class. We go along with this policy in kindergarten. If you are inviting all of the same sex, or all of the children in the class, I will gladly pass out the invitations. The best way to do this is for me to put them in the Friday folders that come home weekly. Unfortunately if you are not inviting in either of these ways, I will not be able to pass out the invitations. I would suggest that you mailed them so that there are not any hurt feelings. Even at this age, feelings can be really hurt, and I hate to see that happen.

HOMEWORK
Homework is given at times during the year. Usually it is a small assignment that should be able to be completed in ten minutes. If homework if assigned, it is usually to be returned the next day unless it is noted differently. If for some reason it is not completed, and it is in the Religion or Reading book, please send in the book and a note. Normally we use the books daily, and we would need it that day. ALL HOMEWORK MUST BE SIGNED BY AN ADULT. This is a policy for the primary department. It sometimes helps to go through a folder and book bag with your child daily. Let them tell you if there is any homework that day. Usually a blank page or a book taken home with a page circled indicates homework. It is often best to have your child complete the homework, you sign it and it goes right back into the book bag. This trains the children to be organized and also helps to eliminate forgetting it at home. As hard as this may be, this activity usually works well for everything, including Friday folders. Your child does not have to sit while you go through all that information though. If your child brings home a paper that says PLEASE FIX, please have your child fix it and return it the next day.

SICKNESS
If your child is sick at night, please keep him/her at home. When your child is absent you will need to call the school office 412-793-0555 by 8:30 am and leave a message. Please leave this with the office, not on my voice mail. I often don’t get the voice mail until the afternoon, and this is needed in the am. It is also necessary to send in an excuse the next day. Your child should always have an excuse when they are absent, even though you have called the office. Please let me know if possible what was wrong, fever, cold, stomach etc. This helps me the day they return to know if I need to be on the look out for anything.

While it is important to keep your child home if they are sick, it is equally important that they develop the habit of coming to school. Please send your child if they have the sniffles or a slight cough. Usually we are all experiencing the same symptoms. If there are any unusual health conditions or allergies that exist, please let me know. If any would come up during the year, just drop me a note.

We do have a school nurse. The children will see the nurse for vision and hearing tests, weight and height measurements. You will not hear from the nurse concerning these, unless there is a problem. They may also go to the nurse if they are not feeling well. While some children would rather walk across hot coals before they would go to the nurse, there are others that begin to develop the habit of always seeing the nurse for any and all ailments. If you feel that your child is becoming a frequent visitor, you may want to discuss it with them. Remind them that the nurse is for emergency visits only. I will usually contact you if I think that they are visiting too often. By too often, it would mean a weekly visit or more. This can really develop into a habit, and I don’t like to second guess a child that says they are sick, but when it happens frequently, I usually think that they are in love with the nurse, or just like to visit the office. If I have any doubt in my mind at all, I usually will send them. I always go on the side of caution.

If there are any changes happening in your life, I would appreciate it if you could just mention it. A child picks up so many signals at home and can often reflect these in school. I am better able to deal with these changes in your child if I have an idea what is happening in their life. It is not a matter of prying. All information would be confidential.

REPORT CARDS
In order that you may know how your child is doing, we will be having Parent-Teacher conferences in November. The first report cards will be issued in January. If there is a problem at any time, you will hear from me through a note or a phone call. I send home notes frequently for behavior problems, or if your child is experiencing a problem with any concept.

TRANSPORTATION
The nametag that the children received at orientation is extremely important. It must be worn the first ten days (approximately) of school. I will keep the nametags when the time frame is up and they will go in their memory books that they will get at the end of the year. You and your child should take time to discuss bus behavior and the importance of it. Riding a bus is a privilege and can be taken away. It is a good idea to check with the bus drivers often to see how your child is doing on the bus. Your child should also know what to do in an emergency, in case you would not be home after school. If there is a change in transportation home from school: another person picking your child up, or your child is a car rider and is usually a bus rider, I must have a note. If it comes up suddenly, please call the office and let them know to let me know. Please let me know if you know ahead of time, there have been situations where parents have just told their child that they would be a car rider, and arrived after dismissal and I am in a tough spot what to do. Please let me know by note if at all possible. This doesn’t mean that if you are coming by the school, you can’t get your child, it just means in most situations, please let me know. Please do not leave this information on my voice mail, I do not always get the voicemail in a timely fashion that coincides with dismissals. If this is a regular situation, for example every Wednesday your child will not ride a bus, you need to write only one note, and I would make a note of it.

ARRIVAL
Please have your child arrive to school on time. For all day kindergarten it would be an 8:30 arrival.. We have a playtime when the children arrive and we begin class at 8:40 .. This is a very important time for both playing and getting organized. When a child arrives late, it is very hard for them to begin their day, and it can really disrupt the schedule. This is really important not only for this year, but also for all years. It is very much appreciated.

AM Arrival
When the children come in, they are arriving with the older children and especially the first few days the older children will help them get to the room. Bus riders in the am will come in the side bottom door and walk up the starts to the room. Car riders will be dropped off in the parking lot. Cones will be set up where you should come through and drop your child off. Please do not drive up in the parking lot near the front doors. The buses are letting off children and they will not do this if there are any cars around. You must come through the cones at all times after 8 am. It is a danger to both your child and the children getting off the buses if you do not come through the cones. The children walk down the sidewalk and come in the front doors. If you would like to walk your child in the first day or two, please park in the lot by the preschool or in the back lower lot.
Children in the AM class may begin arriving at 8am. All of the early arrivals (8AM-8:20) go to the kindergarten room. There is day care before school and after school that is available for a fee. You will need to make arrangements for that through the school office

.

PM dismissal

Bus riders are taken to their buses by patrols that come to our classroom at the end of the day to help the children to find their buses. They will do this until January (approximately.) At that time, we start to teach them to go to their buses independently. There will still be patrols and teachers outside. I will notify you ahead of time when the children will start to go to their buses by themselves.

PM CAR RIDERS

PM car riders may be dismissed from either the front parking lot or the back parking lot behind the school. I would prefer the back parking lot unless you have a child in preschool that is being dismissed at the same time. I will need to know which lot you will be using, this should be written on the Teddy Bear name tag and also on the information sheet that was sent home a few weeks ago. Teachers walk children to both lots, I walk to the lower lot, which is why I prefer that lot. The children will be dismissed at approximately 3:00. They will walk down the sidewalk or down the hill to you. Please remind them that they are to stay with the teacher until they are told they may come to you. Especially in the upper lot this is important so that no child darts and runs to a parent.If you have a child in preschool, you must park in the parking lot by the preschool, and you must walk to your child to get them. They are not permitted to run to you. Please do not pull out of the lot until all children are in their cars. This is for the top and the bottom lots.

STUDENT HANDBOOKS
Each family will receive a student handbook describing the rules of the school. Please go over it with your child, and return the paper that is with it. Children including kindergarten will need to sign their name to show that the handbook was gone over. I would suggest that you talk to your child about the gun area. We do as all schools do, consider play guns and squirt guns to be “weapons”. Please let your child know that they are not permitted on the bus or in school for any reason. Also included in this would be knives (real or play) play axes, etc. This is an area that is not easily understood by kindergarten, so please discuss it with them.

FRIDAY FOLDERS

Every Friday, or the last school day of the week, a folder will come home with any and all material that you need to see from the school. School calendars, upcoming information and letters from me, etc., etc., etc. . Please look at the information, sign the sheet in the folder and please, please return it on Monday. I usually send letters home detailing the activities that we have done and what is coming up in the next week. I do not send this home every week.

COMMUNICATION

I try very hard to let all parents know how their child is doing, and what we as a group are doing. I think that this is very important, so that you as parents can be very involved in your child’s education. At any time a question comes up, or if you feel that your child is having a problem in any area, please contact me. You may do this in one of three ways. The first way is usually the way to get the fastest response, and that would be to send in a note via your child. Please just tell them to give it to me, or tape it to the front of their folder. The second way is to call me and leave a message on the voice mail. The number is 412-793-0555. My mailbox is 332. I try to get back to all parents on the same day, but this depends on the time of day the message is left and what day that it is. The third way is to email me. My email at school is wiehagen@stjohnthebaptistschool.org, I try to answer email every day too, but sometimes I just can’t get to it on the same day. If it is something urgent, please call the office and leave a message that you need called back on that day. I really emphasize that you should not hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns. If this is your first child, you may have questions or concerns, please remember that I do not mind and I am more than willing to discuss them with you. Please don’t think that it is silly or minor, we are partners with you and our concerns are also for your child.

These are some of the things that we will be doing this year. The program is planned with the knowledge that a five/six year old needs to be able to find his/her place in small groups, to be a contributing member, to be accepted by other children and to extend his/her interests beyond his/her home. As we work together, a happy growth is assured. important

1/2 Day kindergarten handbook 2011-12

2009-08-22T13:21:00.004-04:00

Dear Parents,

One of the biggest days in your child’s life has arrived. His/her experiences in kindergarten will affect his/her attitudes during the rest of his school years. Together, you and I will make this a successful year. A happy and secure child is eager to learn and he/she will have many learning experiences during this year.

The activities of the kindergarten class are many and varied. We plan to meet the needs and interests of each child.

We begin the year very slowly, with the exception of the alphabet introduction. Many parents are surprised that a lot of the work that comes home initially is review work for their child. We do this for many reasons. This gives me a chance to determine the academic strengths and weaknesses of the group as well as individual children. More importantly it gives the children a chance to feel comfortable and learn the ways of the classroom. It would be unfair to begin teaching at a level that they are not comfortable with at the start of the year. This beginning time gives us a chance to introduce classroom vocabulary, rules and the general sense of the class. Please do not be alarmed at the pace we are using at the start of the year. I know that most children are familiar with the work, but it is giving them a sense of everything before we begin harder and more challenging work.

READING
The reading series is McGraw Hill. This series introduces the alphabet from a-z and the recognition of each letter. This is done the first few weeks of school. If your child is not familiar with all of the letters, this would be a good time to either buy or make a set of flashcards of all the letters. Each letter should be on a separate flashcard. I do recommend flash cards as opposed to just memorizing the letters in order. We fly through the alphabet the first few weeks of school. This is a fast paced reading series initially. It does slow down after the letters are reviewed, but if your child is not sure of the letters, it would be a good idea to begin to practice them each evening. We will be doing both capital/ and lowercase and each day a new letter is introduced. There are several games that can be done with the flashcards. One to start the year would be concentration, only using a few of the capital and a few lower case letters. After the letters are introduced, we will begin to practice the sounds of each letter. This series begins initially with some sight words and then moves onto phonetic reading with sight words. There is often homework in reading. The page will come home circled, please make sure that you return the book the next day.
SMALL GROUPS FOR READING

In Septembr, I usually break the group into small groups for reading. I base these groups on ability level at that time. There is a wide range of ability levels in kindergarten. It can range from strong readers to the child that does not know letters. These are all acceptable ranges. I do not want to stress out the child that is learning letters, but I do not want to hold the child back that needs additional challenges. Thus we have groups in kindergarten. I change the groups often during the year. They are extremely flexible. I do not put any stress on these groups. I do not make a big deal of the groups either. Each child learns at different paces for different subjects. Please do not make a big deal about the groups with your child. This is not a competitive area. I will let you know what group your child is starting out in. There are usually three groups. I usually meet with each group 2-3 times a week depending on the week.

MATH
Our math series is McGraw-Hill. We will be using concrete materials frequently. The math program will cover counting to 100, counting by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s. We will learn the months of the year, and the days of the week. We also cover fractions, measurements, estimating, time, addition and subtraction and patterns.

The math papers will come home frequently. There are many suggestions on the papers for additional work at home. If you would like to do this work with your child that would be great and it is a great reinforcement of the skills that are being covered.

At the beginning of each unit, I will send home an introduction to that unit. This will come home in the Friday folders. The work that is suggested on this information sheet does not need to be done, or need to be returned. This is a communication paper to let you know what we will be working on. There may be times that you feel that your child could use some help in the skill that is being introduced, there may be times that you feel that your child does not need help. These pages DO NOT need to be returned. I appreciate any help that you do with them on these pages.

I will let you know through the newsletters what skills we are working on at that time, and also the math pages will indicate the skills that we are practicing.

RELIGION
The Religion series is Sadlier. Through the book, music and many other activities, the children’s sense of wonder is expanded. They will discover God’s goodness, their uniqueness and God’s presence all around them.

Most weeks there will be a short homework assignment in religion. It will come home in their folder. The homework is titled SHARING FAITH with my family. The pages will be circled. Please return this signed the next day. There will be other Religion pages coming home. These will be what we have done on that day. They do not need signed or returned. You may want to talk about what is covered with your child.

Kindergarten will attend liturgies primarily only on Holy Days of Obligation. The rest of the school attends Mass on a regular schedule. Kindergarten is not included in that schedule. This is a time that you as parents may begin to get your child ready for attending liturgies. This would be a good time to eliminate toys and food if they are still being used and also not being in the crying room unless there is a younger sibling that needs that room. Try to get your child to participate with standing and kneeling and sitting at appropriate times. We will be talking a lot about church and church behavior. We go often for classroom visits, and we talk about the correct way to enter and sit in the church. Next year in first grade they will be attending more than this year. There will be prayer services that we will attend during the year.

SOCIAL STUDIES /SCIENCE
Social studies and science will be introduced through our reading series and through mini units throughout the year. We will cover holidays, important people, dinosaurs, seasons and citizenship.

SPECIALS
Because of time issues with the whole day/half day, the half day class will not be having specials outside of the classroom. We have movement, music and story time in the room daily. This is a normal part of the kindergarten curriculum. After looking at some other districts that have both classes together, it is far better to emphasize the academics and not lose the time for the specials.
The children may dress in the gym uniform on gym day, but they do not have to do this.

SNACK
We do have a snack time daily. The children will eat their snack in the cafeteria, while the All day class is starting their lunch. This is a time for socializing and a way of learning healthy habits. Children should bring a plastic cup or glass (no lids please). They will keep this in their locker to use in case they do not want milk on any given day. Each ½ day child is eligible to receive free milk daily. Their choices are: chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, skim, 2% or whole. I will assume that you want 2% if your child requests white milk. If you do not want this for your child, and prefer either whole or skim, please let me know and I will arrange this for the year. If your child is allergic to milk, they must have a doctor’s note saying this, and they are then eligible for orange juice.
Each child should bring a small snack daily for himself/herself. Some good examples are: vegetables, a few crackers, fruit snacks, a small piece of fruit, or a few cookies. Please do not send in a whole lunch or a lunchable. This is a very short time, and there is not time to eat something this large. Please send the snack in a marked container or a lunch box is also fine! Please make sure their name is on it.

BIRTHDAYS
Many of the children’s birthdays will be celebrated during the school year. If you would like, you may send in a treat. Even those children whose birthdays occur in the summer may celebrate a special day (a half birthday is a suggestion) Please let me know before any birthday so that I can make sure that it is not a day that someone else is celebrating. You do not have to celebrate a birthday.

Invitations:
The school handbook lists how invitations are handled so that there are no hurt feelings in the class. We go along with this policy in kindergarten. If you are inviting all of the same sex, or all of the children in the class, I will gladly pass out the invitations. The best way to do this is for me to put them in the Friday folders that come home weekly. Unfortunately if you are not inviting in either of these ways, I will not be able to pass out the invitations. I would suggest that you mailed them so that there are not any hurt feelings. Even at this age, feelings can be really hurt, and I hate to see that happen.

HOMEWORK
Homework is given at times during the year. Usually it is a small assignment that should be able to be completed in ten minutes. If homework if assigned, it is usually to be returned the next day unless it is noted differently. If for some reason it is not completed, and it is in the Religion or Reading book, please send in the book and a note. Normally we use the books daily, and we would need it that day. ALL HOMEWORK MUST BE SIGNED BY AN ADULT. This is a policy for the primary department. It sometimes helps to go through a folder and book bag with your child daily. Let them tell you if there is any homework that day. Usually a blank page or a book taken home with a page circled indicates homework. It is often best to have your child complete the homework, you sign it and it goes right back into the book bag. This trains the children to be organized and also helps to eliminate forgetting it at home. As hard as this may be, this activity usually works well for everything, including Friday folders. Your child does not have to sit while you go through all that information though. If your child brings home a paper that says PLEASE FIX, please have your child fix it and return it the next day.

SICKNESS
If your child is sick at night, please keep him/her at home. When your child is absent you will need to call the school office 412-793-0555 by 8:30 am and leave a message. Please leave this with the office, not on my voice mail. I often don’t get the voice mail until the afternoon, and this is needed in the am. It is also necessary to send in an excuse the next day. Your child should always have an excuse when they are absent, even though you have called the office. Please let me know if possible what was wrong, fever, cold, stomach etc. This helps me the day they return to know if I need to be on the look out for anything.

While it is important to keep your child home if they are sick, it is equally important that they develop the habit of coming to school. Please send your child if they have the sniffles or a slight cough. Usually we are all experiencing the same symptoms. If there are any unusual health conditions or allergies that exist, please let me know. If any would come up during the year, just drop me a note.

We do have a school nurse. The children will see the nurse for vision and hearing tests, weight and height measurements. You will not hear from the nurse concerning these, unless there is a problem. They may also go to the nurse if they are not feeling well. While some children would rather walk across hot coals before they would go to the nurse, there are others that begin to develop the habit of always seeing the nurse for any and all ailments. If you feel that your child is becoming a frequent visitor, you may want to discuss it with them. Remind them that the nurse is for emergency visits only. I will usually contact you if I think that they are visiting too often. By too often, it would mean a weekly visit or more. This can really develop into a habit, and I don’t like to second guess a child that says they are sick, but when it happens frequently, I usually think that they are in love with the nurse, or just like to visit the office. If I have any doubt in my mind at all, I usually will send them. I always go on the side of caution.

If there are any changes happening in your life, I would appreciate it if you could just mention it. A child picks up so many signals at home and can often reflect these in school. I am better able to deal with these changes in your child if I have an idea what is happening in their life. It is not a matter of prying. All information would be confidential.

REPORT CARDS
In order that you may know how your child is doing, we will be having Parent-Teacher conferences in November. The first report cards will be issued in January. If there is a problem at any time, you will hear from me through a note or a phone call. I send home notes frequently for behavior problems, or if your child is experiencing a problem with any concept.

TRANSPORTATION
The nametag that the children received at orientation is extremely important. It must be worn the first ten days (approximately) of school. I will keep the nametags when the time frame is up and they will go in their memory books that they will get at the end of the year. You and your child should take time to discuss bus behavior and the importance of it. Riding a bus is a privilege and can be taken away. It is a good idea to check with the bus drivers often to see how your child is doing on the bus. If there is a change in transportation home from school: another person picking your child up, or your child is a car rider and is usually a bus rider, I must have a note. If it comes up suddenly, please call the office and let them know to let me know. Please let me know if you know ahead of time, there have been situations where parents have just told their child that they would be a car rider, and arrived after dismissal and I am in a tough spot what to do. Please let me know by note if at all possible. This doesn’t mean that if you are coming by the school, you can’t get your child, it just means in most situations, please let me know. Please do not leave this information on my voice mail; I do not always get the voicemail in a timely fashion that coincides with dismissals. If this is a regular situation, for example every Wednesday your child will not ride a bus, you need to write only one note, and I would make a note of it. Plum does not provide bus transportation home! All students living in Plum must be car riders.

ARRIVAL
Please have your child arrive to school on time. For all day kindergarten it would be an 8:30 arrival.. We have a playtime when the children arrive and we begin class at 8:40.. This is a very important time for both playing and getting organized. When a child arrives late, it is very hard for them to begin their day, and it can really disrupt the schedule. This is really important not only for this year, but also for all years. It is very much appreciated.

AM Arrival
When the children come in, they are arriving with the older children and especially the first few days the older children will help them get to the room. Bus riders in the am will come in the side bottom door and walk up the starts to the room. Car riders will be dropped off in the parking lot. Cones will be set up where you should come through and drop your child off. Please do not drive up in the parking lot near the front doors. The buses are letting off children and they will not do this if there are any cars around. You must come through the cones at all times after 8 am. It is a danger to both your child and the children getting off the buses if you do not come through the cones. The children walk down the sidewalk and come in the front doors. If you would like to walk your child in the first day or two, please park in the lot by the preschool or in the back lower lot.
The children may begin arriving at 8am. All of the early arrivals (8AM-8:20) go to the kindergarten room. There is day care before school and after school that is available for a fee. You will need to make arrangements for that through the school office.

½ DAY DISMISSAL
½ day dismissal will be at 11:25. There is a change where you should park if you have had half day students before this year. Please park in the preschool parking lot. The children will walk down the sidewalk and you should leave your car and meet your child by the rectory driveway. We are changing this due to the later dismissal and the older children will be coming out for recess. Please do not pull out of the parking lot until all of the children are in their cars. Either I or another teacher will be walking the children out daily. Please try to be on time.

STUDENT HANDBOOKS
Each family will receive a student handbook describing the rules of the school. Please go over it with your child, and return the paper that is with it. Children including kindergarten will need to sign their name to show that the handbook was gone over. I would suggest that you talk to your child about the gun area. We do as all schools do, consider play guns and squirt guns to be “weapons”. Please let your child know that they are not permitted on the bus or in school for any reason. Also included in this would be knives (real or play) play axes, etc. This is an area that is not easily understood by kindergarten, so please discuss it with them.

FRIDAY FOLDERS

Every Friday, or the last school day of the week, a folder will come home with any and all material that you need to see from the school. School calendars, upcoming information and letters from me, etc., etc., etc. . Please look at the information, sign the sheet in the folder and please, please return it on Monday. I usually send letters home detailing the activities that we have done and what is coming up in the next week. I do send home a newsletter weekly, unless it is a short week.
CHANGING FROM ½ DAY TO ALL-DAY
If at any time during the year you feel that you would like to change to the all day class that is fine. This change must be a permanent change. It is not possible during the year to choose days and request times that your child stay for the all day session. This would be really hard to schedule and arrange activities around this. Please feel free though if you would like to make a permanent change to just let me know, and we can easily arrange this.

COMMUNICATION

I try very hard to let all parents know how their child is doing, and what we as a group are doing. I think that this is very important, so that you as parents can be very involved in your child’s education. At any time a question comes up, or if you feel that your child is having a problem in any area, please contact me. You may do this in one of three ways. The first way is usually the way to get the fastest response, and that would be to send in a note via your child. Please just tell them to give it to me, or tape it to the front of their folder. The second way is to call me and leave a message on the voice mail. The number is 412-793-0555. My mailbox is 332. I try to get back to all parents on the same day, but this depends on the time of day the message is left and what day that it is. The third way is to email me. My email at school is wiehagen@stjohnthebaptistschool.org, I try to answer email every day too, but sometimes I just can’t get to it on the same day. If it is something urgent, please call the office and leave a message that you need called back on that day. I really emphasize that you should not hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns. If this is your first child, you may have questions or concerns, please remember that I do not mind and I am more than willing to discuss them with you. Please don’t think that it is silly or minor, we are partners with you and our concerns are also for your child.

These are some of the things that we will be doing this year. The program is planned with the knowledge that a five/six year old needs to be able to find his/her place in small groups, to be a contributing member, to be accepted by other children and to extend his/her interests beyond his/her home. As we work together, a happy growth is assured. important

SUPPLY LIST 2011-12

2005-08-25T20:55:00.004-04:00

PLEASE MARK EACH ITEM WITH YOUR CHILD'S NAME
BOOK BAG(NO ROLLING BOOK BAGS PLEASE)
SLEEP MAT ( NEEDS TO BE PURCHASED AT SCHOOL FOR $9.00 All day students only
PENCIL CASE: YOU WILL RECEIVE THIS AT ORIENTATION cost is 2.00
2 THICK PENCILS : THESE WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE AT ORIENTATION IF YOU CAN'T FIND THEM ELSEWHERE.
ONE BOX OF CRAYONS(NO LARGER THAN 24)
OR TWISTABLES(ONLY CRAYOLA): PLEASE MARK YOUR CHILD'S NAME ON EACH TWISTABLE NO ERASABLE TWISTABLES PLEASE
IF YOU HAVE CRAYONS: PLEASE KEEP IN A SOAP CONTAINER : THEY ARE AVAILABLE AT GIANT EAGLE, TARGET ... ETC
FOLDER
FISKAR SCISSORS (SHARP OR DULL POINT)... BUT SCISSORS MUST BE METAL.
GLUE STICK
WATER COLOR PAINT SET
PAINT SHIRT
PLASTIC CUP OR GLASS (FOR DRINKING PURPOSES) PLEASE NO LIDS ON THE CUPS
ALL SUPPLIES MUST BE MARKED WITH YOUR CHILD'S NAME

REST MATS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ORIENTATION FOR 9.00. EACH CHILD MUST HAVE ONE, AND THE REST MATS MUST BE FROM ST JOHNS.