Week of 8/18

Dear Parents,

I'd like to welcome you and your children to my kindergarten class, and I was happy to meet so many of you at the orientation.

My primary form of communication is via e-mail, so hopefully, you were able to provide an e-mail address to me at the orientation.  If not, please make sure to do so between now and Back-to-School Night by filling out this form. I will send a few test e-mails between now and then, too, so look for those in your inbox.

I love to have classroom helpers, and the school's enrichment programs depend on them! Please sign up to be a part of the Home & School Club and to volunteer in the classroom in either centers or the enrichment programs by completing this form.

The kindergarten daily schedule is:

• 8:05-11:25 AM Session

For tomorrow:

• Please arrive on time and have your child ready to enter the classroom at the start time.
• Please say goodbye to your children at the door, rather than following them into the classroom and prolonging the goodbyes. Both Mrs. Sheikh & I will be there to comfort any children who need an extra hug!
• Pack a healthy snack for your child that includes a drink.  If your child is attending day care either before or after kindergarten, it is a good idea to separate the snack items from the lunch items, as kindergartners often get confused and will eat all the food in one sitting!
• I do like your children to have a small backpack. Although it may often come home empty (except on Wednesdays!), I do have a project here and there that I send home during the week. Having a backpack gets the children in an early habit of taking responsibility for their things and putting them all in one place.
• All supplies are provided for your children, but I do appreciate donations of baby wipes, tissues, glue sticks, and Clorox/Sanitizing Wipes.
• The kindergarten parking lot will continue to be closed this year at 7:45 a.m.  This is due to traffic congestion problems.  Please plan on walking or parking on Westchester between the hours of 7:45 to 8:15 a.m. At pick-up time (11:25), you are permitted to park at the curb in front of the school on Blossom Valley.
• This week in class will of course be all about procedures and getting to know the children.  We will be reading the story "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" and enjoying some cookies of our own.  We will be reading many familiar stories as well as nursery rhymes to create that sense of familiarity for your children.

Please mark your calendars and arrange babysitters for Back-to-School Night on Wednesday, August 26th.   The schedule is as follows:

• 6:00-6:45 PM Class Presentation in K2
• 6:45-7:15 Home & School Club Presentation in the Cafeteria
• 7:15-8:00 AM Class Presentation in K2

I will go over classroom policies and procedures, discuss the curriculum, and answer any questions that you may have. Of course, if you have any questions prior to that, please feel free to ask! I am very responsive over e-mail.

At the orientation, I provided you with the Alta Vista handbook, the Union School District handout, a computer print-out of the information the office has on file, and a "pick-ups & drop-offs" form.  Please look over both handbooks with your child (as appropriate).  Please return the final page of these booklets as soon as possible.  If you were unable to return your "office info" updated sheet today, please return that as well. There are signature areas on both sides of that form.  Finally, I think many of you may have missed the "pick-ups & drop-offs" form, so I will have those available again tomorrow.  If you could just fill that out & give me a rough idea of who to expect each day at the door, particularly for pick-ups at the end of the day, I'd appreciate it.

I am looking forward to an exciting year!