Miss. Griffin's Kindergarten ABC's

St. Brigid’s School
797-7073

I hope you will find this handbook useful and always feel free to contact me with any questions!

 A

Absences: Please call if your child will be absent.  

Attendance: Regular attendance is so important for your child to receive the best education. 

Arrival: Your child should arrive at school no later than 8:00a.m. You may bring your child into the classroom if after 7:45a.m. Anytime before 7:45, they must go to before-school care. 

After-School Care: The hours are 3:00p.m. to 5:30p.m. Payment and other information will be sent home soon. After-school care directors are Miss Rideout (Pre-K) Mrs. Garrett (6^th Grade) and Miss Lappin (K). 

Alphabet Knowledge: Your child will learn how to write upper and lower case letters and the letter sounds. 

Assessment: Your child will be assessed each semester and will bring home a report card.

B

Birthdays: Birthdays are so important to children. You may bring in a special treat on your child’s birthday to be handed out at snack time.  

Book Orders: I will send home monthly book orders through Scholastics. I will send home more information on how to order books online. When you order books, I receive bonus points to update our library with wonderful books. 

Book-It: Once a month I will send a form home for Book-It. You must have your child read to you (creating stories from pictures is part of reading) or you read to them for 15 minutes to receive a coupon to use at Pizza Hut.

C

Church: We will go to church every Friday for the 8a.m. mass. Please have your child in the church by 7:55a.m. It is so important for children to attend mass weekly.  

Conferences: After the first semester, there is a scheduled conference for all parents. At anytime in the year you need a conference, please send me a note, e-mail me, or call the school and we will arrange a time.  

Classroom Website: You may access our classroom website at www.sbrigids.com and click on the Kindergarten link.

D

Dismissal: The dismissal time is 2:45p.m. Please pick your child up outside and not in the classroom unless you need to pick your child up early for an appointment. Please send me a note if your child will be picked up early. If your child will be going home with someone other than parents, please send a note or call the school. I will not be able to let the child leave with anyone other than a parent unless there has been a note. 

Dress: Please dress your child with appropriate clothes according to the weather. In the winter your child needs to wear snow pants and boots to go into the playground. No flip flops or Crocks will be allowed on the playground. Sneakers are the best footwear for the playground.

E

Early Dismissal: I will inform you of any early dismissals in my weekly memo and if there will be after-school care. 

Emergency Form: Please fill out the emergency forms for my use during the year. We will be doing cooking so please list any food allergies. 

F

Fundraisers: Our school participates in many fundraisers throughout the year for various items in the school and to provide community service. It is a great way to role model to the children on how to be active community members.

Friday Folder: Every week your child will bring home a folder that contains important school information and my weekly memo. Please read the information, sign the folder, and return to school on Monday or the next school day.

G

H

Homework: Every night I expect children to read for 15 minutes or to be read to for 15 minutes. It is essential for children to read at home. You may use the homework reading time to earn coupons for Book-It. There will be other home projects that will be explained later.  

Handwriting: We will be learning how to write in school using journals, a workbook, and various writing centers. I encourage you to provide writing materials at home.

I

Illness: Please do not send your child to school if he/she has a temperature or if he/she has not been on antibiotics for at least 24 hours. If your child becomes sick during the day you will be called and asked to pick up your child. We want to avoid spreading illnesses.

J

Journals: We will have journals that we will use to write stories that the students will be able to bring home at the end of the year.

K

L

Library: Students will go to the library weekly to be read to and to take out books. The books need to be returned the following week. 

Lunch: You may choose to have hot lunch or packed lunch. More information will be coming from the hot lunch coordinator.

M

Math: We use Math Advantage as well as manipulatives during math centers. Your child will need to count to 100, recognize numbers 0-20, create patterns, and be able to do simple addition and subtraction.

N

Notes: Any notes you will receive from me will need to be signed and returned so I know you received the note.

O

P

Prayers: We will pray every morning and afternoon with the whole school and throughout the day with our classmates. 

Parent Involvement: I love parent involvement! I will be sending another notice about ways to get involved. Please make sure to give me at least a week notice before volunteering so I can arrange my schedule. Another great way to get involved is through HSA (Home and School Association). 

Physical Education: I will be giving you a P.E. schedule. On those days your child needs to wear the gym uniform. Also, please bring an extra pair of sneakers for P.E. that will not be worn outside. You may keep the sneakers in the classroom.

Q

Quiet Time: The students will rest for 15-20 minutes in the afternoon following lunch and recess.

R

Room Parent: If you would like to be a room parent please sign-up. Room parents will be in charge of contacting parents for parties, field trips, and projects. 

Recess: There is a morning recess and an afternoon recess.

Reading: We will be using a phonics book, learning sight words, having small guided reading groups, and having silent reading time. It is important for you to read to your child and for your child to see you reading.

S

Snack Time: We will have snack time in the morning so please pack a healthy snack. I will explain to students that we cannot share snacks because of allergies, but please enforce this rule at home. 

School Supplies: I have sent a list of supplies needed for the beginning of the school year. Please maintain your child’s supplies. I will send home a list of other materials that may be needed if you would like to donate them. 

Show and Tell: Every week we will have show and tell. Your child may bring in anything that will fit in his/her backpack. Each child will show his/her item to the class and talk about what it is and why it is important to him/her. 

Stretching: The students and I will begin each day with routine stretches. We will go on walks during the year.

T

Tardiness: Students coming to school after 8:00a.m. are considered tardy and it will be recorded on the report cards.

U

Uniform: Please follow the St. Brigid’s guidelines for uniform. Please keep extra clothes in backpacks in case of an accident.

V

Volunteers: There are many ways to volunteer. Please ask me how or go to one of the HSA meetings.

Vacation: Please inform me if you will be going on vacation.

W

Water Bottles: Your child may keep a water bottle on his/her desk during the day. I find it very important for children to stay hydrated. 

Weekly Memo: Every week I will send home a memo to let you know what we did during the week and important dates for the following week.

X

Y

Yearbook: There will be a yearbook to buy during the spring. Pictures will be taken in the fall and in the spring and you will be able to purchase them.

Z

ZZZZZ’s: Your child needs plenty of sleep. He/She may be very tired during the first couple of weeks of school. Kindergarten students require 10-12 hours of sleep. If your child has not been sleeping well or you feel like they are having an “off day” please send me a note or give me a call at the school.