The ABC'S of OLPH Kindergarten

2016-2017

Dear Parents/ Guardians:

Welcome to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Kindergarten! The beginning of a new school
year always brings excitement for students, parents and teachers alike. This year will
bring many new and exciting experiences. Your child will make new friends, read
interesting stories, sing fun songs, learn new things, and learn all about the alphabet. To
help you learn about our Kindergarten class, I have put together the ABCs of our
Kindergarten classroom! I am looking forward to all the possibilities this school year
brings!

A
Attendance ~ Kindergarten is compulsory in the State of Tennessee and it is very
important to be present at school. We learn so much every day. If your child is absent,
please call the school absentee line (901) 753-1181 to report an absence.

Alphabet ~ Knowledge of the alphabet is the key to learning to read and write. We will
cover all the letters and their phonemic sounds this year. You can help your child by
beginning to work on this at home to give your child a good start. Begin by teaching the
letters in your childs name.

B
Book Bags ~ Children will need a back pack or school bag big enough to fit their FROG
Binder, Happi Nappi, and projects coming home. Please write your childs name on their
backpack.

Birthdays ~ Birthdays are a very big deal for all children. If you would like to celebrate
your childs birthday at school, you may bring in a treat for the class. Please let me know
at least a day in advance. I will be happy to distribute birthday invitations to the class via
FROG Books as long as all students / or all gender are invited to the party. If you are
planning a party that only includes close buddies or select friends please send invites
from home. We do not want any hurt feelings.

Book Orders ~ Scholastic book order forms will be sent home throughout the year.
Scholastic offers great deals on age appropriate books and our classroom earns free books
from your purchases. You will be able to order your books online if you wish; our class
Scholastic Online Code is N9YKB

Behavior ~ Good behavior is essential so that all students have the best learning
environment possible. The number one rule in our class, Treat others as you would like
to be treated. It is my belief that children learn better when they feel secure. I strive to
develop a classroom community where students work together and are surrounded with
structure and creativity. I redirect students and provide positive reinforcements for
appropriate behaviors.

Box Tops ~ Please save all Box Top Labels from items you have purchased at home.
These labels help earn money for the school. Please make sure you are sending the labels
cut around the actual label. For more information, please visit the website at:
www.boxtops4education.com

Bullies ~ There is zero tolerance for any kind of bullying behavior.

C
Car Pool Line~ Kindergarten will dismiss from the side portico of St. Therese Hall
starting at 3:00 pm. As you pull through the line a staff member will call your childs
name to let them know you are ready for pick up and then assist your child into the car. .
Please be patient as our little ones get accustomed to this routine. If you prefer to come in
and pick up your child please park in the assigned parking spots in front of St. Therese
Hall.

Centers ~ Students will participate in centers every week. During this time, I will meet
with a small group in order to target specific instructional needs. The center activities are
designed for individual and small group learning time.

Conferences ~ There will be a mandatory conferences scheduled scheduled at the end of

the first semester. I am also available for conferences by appointment as needed during
the school year. Please feel free to contact me to schedule an appointment at (901) 753-
1181 or msweatt@olphgermantown.org
D
Dress Code ~ Kindergarten wears the OLPH uniform and items can be purchased
through Dennis Uniforms - see school handbook for guidelines. Please dress your child
appropriately for the weather. You may want to send a sweater/jacket to keep at school
due to the air conditioning working hard during the hot months of the year. Remember
to put your childs name in their clothing. Children will wear their PE uniforms and
tennis shoes all day on Mondays and Fridays.

Discipline ~ I work on a system of colors which designate behavior choices. All students
will begin their day on a green. If at any time during the day your child chooses not
follow our classroom rules he/she will receive:

1st offense: Verbal Warning (now is the time to make appropriate choices)

2nd offense: Yellow: 5 minutes out of group activity or recess.

3rd offense: Orange: 10 minutes out of group activity or recess.

4th offense: Red: 15 Minutes out of group activity or recess and note home to parents.

5th offense: Referral and sent to the office for further consequences

Because students receive consequences for their actions in class, I do not report yellow
or orange offenses on the daily report, unless it becomes a pattern of behavior. These
are usually minor issues that we fix and turn around. If you receive a note on the
behavior chart from me, you will know that your student was not able to turn it around
that day and I am requesting your help in talking with the student at home to make sure
that the behavior is corrected.

*Your child may also earn Making Good Choices stars for outstanding behavior!

*Your childs behavior will be noted in the daily folder each day. Please sign your childs
behavior sheet each night.
E
E-mail ~ My e-mail is msweatt@olphgermantown.org . This is the best way to contact
me.

Early Dismissal ~ If you will be signing your child out from school early, please send a
note in your childs daily folder or email me. This helps me have your child packed up
and in the office at the time you wish. You will need to make sure that you sign your
child out in the attendance book. Regular dismissal begins at 3:00.

Extended Care ~ Students not picked up by 3:10 will be taken to extended care and
charged the scheduled fee for those services.

F
FROG Book~ Students will use a FROG Book to bring home daily work, behavior
charts, newsletters, and all communication from the school; there is a in the book place
for written communication from you to me. Please remove and review your childs work
with them nightly and sign the daily behavior sheet.

Foot Wear ~ Your child should be in the Uniform footwear as noted in the uniform
policy in the school handbook. Please make sure that your child only wears sneakers for
PE. On out of uniform days, please choose closed toe shoes, as we will still be
participating in recess/PE.

Field Trips ~ We will schedule a fall and a spring field trip. Volunteer drivers will be
need to be VIRTUS trained, as well as, complete the defensive driving class and
background check. All forms can be picked up at registration or in the school office.

G
Guardian Angel Day ~ Kindergarten celebrates Guardian Angel Day each year.
Students will learn special songs and prayers to share with the OLPH community. We
will be looking for volunteers to help bake Angel Cookies to share with the school.
Grades ~ Letter or number grades are not given on Kindergarten progress reports, as we
work a mastery scale.

Guest Readers ~ We invite you or a special family member to come in and be our guest
reader during the school year and as we celebrate our Stars of the Week . Please let me
know when you would like to come in and we will work to accommodate your schedule.

H
Homework ~ There will be occasional family projects assigned in Kindergarten. And I
will send out a homework packet on a weekly basis. The packet will go home on
Monday and be due by Friday. I assign homework to get your student in the habit of
doing a bit of review every day an invaluable habit to acquire now. And I encourage
every parent to read with or to your child every day. There are some websites linked on
our class web page TheSweattGazette@weebly.com that are wonderful tools for early
literacy.

High-Frequency Words ~ (Also called Sight Words) I will be sending home a list of the
pre-primer and primer sight words that we will be working on in Kindergarten. You can
use flashcards to help your child memorize them. But perhaps most beneficial will be in
helping your child recognize these words when you read together. The more fluently
(automatic) a child can read these words, the better reader s/ he will become.

Home and School ~ The OLPH Home and School Organization is a great group in which
to become involved. The Home and School helps with various aspects of OLPH School
from fundraisers to special campus activities. Many things would not be possible at our
school without the Home and School Organization. Become an involved parent!

I
Illnesses ~ Please do not send your child to school sick. If your child becomes ill at
school, he will be sent to the nurse. If the nurse feels the child needs to go home, she will
call the parents. A child must stay at home if he or she has a fever, diarrhea, or has
thrown up. Please make sure there are at least two contact numbers on file for your child.

J
Jackets ~ When the weather starts to cool off, please make sure your childs name is in
your childs jacket. You would be amazed at the number of jackets in the school lost and
found with no name on them.

Jobs ~ Every week students will be assigned a job in the classroom. These jobs range
from line leader, to teacher helper, to custodian. These jobs teach the students
responsibility.

K
Keep the Memories ~ Be sure to save all (or most ) of the wonderful projects and work
your Kindergartener brings home!

L
Labels ~ Please label all of your childs personal belongings (backpacks, lunch bags,
sweaters) with their first and last name. Additionally, please label any money that is sent
in with your childs name and the purpose of the money.

Lunch ~ Children may bring their lunch or purchase a hot lunch. Lunch orders are
placed online 2 months at a time. Additionally, the 8th grade class does a Chick-Fil-A
fundraiser on Wednesdays. A portion of the proceeds go to help fund the 8th grade class
trip to Washington D.C. These orders are also placed online, but payments are separate
from the regular lunch order. Any money sent to school needs to be sent in a sealed
envelope with your childs first and last name and teacher name. Help your child
learn to open all juice boxes, chip bags, and any other snacks that you may pack. Students
are not allowed to bring soda for lunch. If you would like to come and visit your child
during lunch, we eat at 11:30.

M
Money Matters ~ When sending in money with your child, please place it in a sealed
envelope labeled with your childs first and last name and what the money is for.
N
News ~ A newsletter will be sent home each week. The newsletter will inform you of
what skills will be covered in class, upcoming events, things to know and important
dates, words and letters for each week, and theme information. Please take time to read
the newsletter.

Names ~ Your child should know his first and last name. During the year we will work
on writing first and last names with capital first letters and the rest lowercase.

Naps ~ Kindergarten students will have a rest period every afternoon. OLPH provides
individual mats for each student. Please provide a Happi Nappi cover for your child.
Please leave all lovies at homewe are getting to be big boys and girls now!

O
Open House ~ We will have a parent open house scheduled during the first month of
school. We will discuss Kindergarten expectations and answer parent questions.

P
Phone Number ~ Our Lady of Perpetual Help telephone number is (901) 753-1181. The
school secretary will take any messages and I will return your call as soon as possible.
Any emergency would be handled immediately.

Playground ~ Kindergarteners will have the opportunity to play on the playground

during the school year. Our cold or wet weather option is the school gym.

Pictures ~ During the school year, I will take pictures of the children participating in
class. I will use these pictures for class activities and slide shows. Occasionally Owl
Watch photographers or other school staff may also come in for pictures. Please let me
know if you would not like your childs picture to be taken or used.
 Positive Reinforcement ~ Students will extra positive points clicks when they are
Caught Doing the Right Thing. They will receive these for making good choices,
following directions the first time, staying on task, and setting a good example. Once the
students have accrued 10 clicks, they will be allowed to go to the treasure box. Your child
will also receive daily behavior marks. Once your child has collected 10 clicks he or she
may be allowed to choose something from the treasure box. As a class, we have a marble
jar. Anytime the entire class is Caught Doing the Right Thing or they are given a
compliment by another teacher, they will receive a marble to add to our marble jar. Once
the jar is full, we will have a compliment part of the students choosing.

Q
Questions ~ Please feel free to contact me regarding any questions. If I do not know the
answer, I will find it out for you. The best ways to contact me are via e-mail
msweatt@olphgermantown.org or in the daily folder communication sheet.

R
Reading ~ It is so important to read every day! Read to your child, with your child and
listen to your child read. It is also important to let your child see you read for pleasure.
Dont just read the words, talk about the story and help your child understand the story.
Predict what will happen, summarize what has happened, discuss how you could change
the story, and ask reading comprehension questions.

Rules ~ Our classroom rules are:

1. Listen when your teacher is talking.

2. Follow directions quickly.

3. Raise your hand to speak.

4. Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself.

5. Be Safe and Always Tell the Truth.

During the first few weeks, we will be going over the rules and procedures every day. I
am stricter on the students in the beginning to ensure that they are clear as to what is
expected of them. All students will be held responsible for their own behavior.
Respectful Behavior ~ In class we talk about ways to be respectful to adults, teachers,
and our peers. Learning this helps us with the most important rule of all: Treat others as
you would want to be treated

Report Cards ~ Kindergarten will receive report cards three times in the academic year.
Our first reporting period is at the end of the first semester and then after each quarter in
the second semester.

S
Supplies ~ A supply pack may be ordered through Knowledge Tree or you may purchase
your own supplies. The Kindergarten supply list is published on the school website
www.olphowls.org

Snack ~ Please pack your student a healthy snack every day. If you include a drink,
please make sure it is clear or a natural fruit drink the red drinks in particular are
notorious for staining everything.

Schedule ~ The class schedule is included in your FROG Book. If your child must miss
part of the school day, please try to avoid missing academic portions of the day.

Star Student ~ Each student will spend a week as the STAR Student. We will celebrate
the uniqueness of your little one. S/he will take home our traveling class pet (our pet is
stuffed!) and journal. Additionally they will take home a poster to fill out about their
favorite things and will serve as our Chef of the Week and our Super Scientist.

T
Tardies ~ Our school day starts at 8:00am. Please try to have your child here on time.
Tardies are disruptive for the entire class and cheats your child out of valuable learning
time. Your cooperation on this issue is greatly appreciated.

Tying Shoes ~ If your child is unable to tie shoes, please double knot her shoes. This is a
skill that your child can start practicing now!

Toys ~ Please leave toys at home. These items often cause conflict in the classroom and
items can become damaged or lost.
U
Units & Themes ~ During the school year we will cover various units and themes. Units
include: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, The Human Body, Hibernation, Thanksgiving,
Christmas, Seasons, Dr. Seuss, 100th Day, and Earth Day. If you have valuable
information (books, pictures, guest speakers) relating to our themes, we would love for
you to share them with our class. I will list the theme of the week in the newsletter each
month for the upcoming week.

V
Volunteers ~ There will be many opportunities to volunteer over the school year. We
invite you to do so whenever you can. If you are unable to volunteer in the classroom, but
would still like to help, there are several ways to help from home.

W
Website ~ The school website Olphowls.org is full of useful information.

Water bottles ~ Students can keep a water bottle with water in their cubby to drink and
refill during the day. Please do not send them in frozen, they leak and make our papers
wet.

X
X-tra Special ~ The students in my class are X-tra special to me!
Y
You - You play an important part in your childs education. Please help reinforce school
and classroom rules at home. Help your child get excited about learning and being at
school!

Z
Zoom - You will be amazed at how fast this year will ZOOM by. I look forward to
this learning adventure with your little one!