ORIENTATION
Information about the start of school will be sent to you in August. Before kindergarten classes start in September, you and your child will be invited to an orientation day. On that day, your child will meet peers and teachers in his/her assigned classroom. You will have an opportunity to visit with the staff and discuss bus schedules, snacks, field trips or any concerns you have.

GENERAL INFORMATION
1. Your child will attend a 4 1/2 hour kindergarten program which includes lunch at school.
2. In order to begin school in September, your child must present proof of a recent physical examination and immunization record.
3. If your child has an allergy or any other health concern, please alert the school nurse. She will share the necessary information with your child's teacher.
4. Encourage your child to be self-sufficient in dressing: tying shoes, buttoning clothes, working zippers, managing boots and winter clothes.
5. PLEASE MARK YOUR CHILD'S FIRST AND LAST NAME ON ALL CLOTHING.
6. We recommend sneakers or rubber sole shoes for safety and comfort.
7. Your child will need a large, sturdy tote bag or back pack for carrying home school projects and books. It will be needed EVERY DAY and should be weatherproof. Put your child's name on it. Orientation - General Information

COMMUNICATION NOTES
Please send a note to school with your child when any of the following situations occur:
* Change in dismissal information
* Change in address or telephone number
* Change of emergency contact telephone number
* Absence
* Description of lost article Please remind your child to give the note to the teacher when they arrive at school. CHECK YOUR CHILD'S SCHOOL BAG OR BACK PACK DAILY.

FIELD TRIPS
Field trips are extensions of the instructional rogram. The purpose of afield tri is to provide educational opportunities which cannot be offered within the building. These trips reinforce specific classroom studies. Additional information will be provided by your child's teacher prior to each trip.

CONFERENCES
Parent conferences are a vital part of your child's education. Parent conferences are scheduled each year in the fall, the winter and spring. Additional conferences may be requested by the teacher or parent.

TRANSPORTATION
Kindergarten students ride to school on regular morning elementary buses. Parents are expected to have students at the assigned bus stop five minutes before the bus arrives. Homebound kindergartners return on kindergarten buses, and their routes are designed to bring children as close to home as possible. Bus routes and bus numbers are published in the local papers prior to school's opening in September.

It is helpful to remember the following:
1. Be sure you and your child know the arrival and dismissal bus numbers. Mark them on your child's bus tag, and attach it to his/her school bag or clothing during the first weeks of school. The first week of school, your child will be escorted to the kindergarten classroom by his/her teacher. Teachers will also accompany children on the homebound bus trip during the first days of school.

2. Be sure your child knows the safest route to the bus stop. You are responsible for your child until he/she boards the bus. Discuss safe and appropriate behavior while waiting, boarding and traveling on the bus.

3. You or your representative must meet your child at the bus stop when he/she returns from school. Teach your child not to accept rides from strangers. 4. A note is REQUIRED if there are any changes in your child's dismissal procedures, i.e. will be picked up by a parent, will be visiting a classmate after school.

PREPARING FOR KINDERGARTEN
What can a parent do?
1.Show a positive attitude about learning and school.
2.Read to your child every day.
3.Recite poetry and nursery rhymes with your child.
4.Make books a part of every celebration.
5.Visit the library and bookstore regularly.
6.Give your child the gift of time to play.
7.Provide a space for your child with a variety of materials for drawing and writing.
8.Support your child's interests in building collections (i.e. shells,bottle caps, buttons, rocks)
9.Take time to appreciate nature with your child.
10.Encourage your child to ask questions.
11.Carefully monitor the amount and type of television your child is watching.
12.Provide your child with opportunities to develop a sense of responsibility. Have her/him take care of belongings (clothing, toys, dishes, etc.) and do regular chores.

BOOKS
Classics/ Folk Tales
Bemelmans, Ludwig. Madeline.
Brett. Jan. The Mitten.
Brown, Marcia. Stone Soup.
Brown, Margaret Wise. Goodnight Moon.
Burton, Virginia. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.
Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Cater pillar.
Cauley, Lorinda Bryan. Puss in Boots.
Freeman, Don. Corduroy. Galdone, Paul. Henny Penny.
Galdone, Paul. Three Bears.
Galdone, Paul. Three Billy Goats Gruff.
Keats, Ezra Jack. The Snowy Day.
Lionni, Leo. Swimmy.
Marshall, James. Red Riding Hood.
Marshall, James. The Three Little Pigs.
Mayer, Mercer. There's A Nightmare In My Closet.
McCloskey, Robert. Make Way for Ducklings.
Parkinson, Kathy. The Enormous Turnip.
Piper, Watty. The Little Engine That Could.
Potter, Beatrix. Peter Rabbit.
Rey, H.A. Curious George.
Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are.
Taback, Simms. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.
Zelinsky, Paul. Rumpelstiltskin.

Contemporary Picture Books
Brett, Jan. Annie and the Wild Animals.
Crews, Donald. School Bus.
dePaola Tomie. Tom.
Dodds, Siobhan. Grandpa Bud.
Ehlert, Lois. Snowballs.
Fox, Mem. Time for Bed.
Henkes, Kevin. Owen.
Joosse, Barbara. Mama, Do You Love Me?
Lionni, Leo. An Extraordinary Egg.
Martin, Bill. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
McBratney, Sam. Guess How Much I Love You.
Munsch, Robert. Thomas' Snowsuit.
Numeroff, Laura. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.
Penn, Audrey. The Kissing Hand.
Rylant, Cynthia. Dog Heaven.
Wild, Margaret. Our Granny.
Young, Ed. Seveii Blind Mice.

Non-fiction Books
Animal Homes. Published by Dorling Kindersley.
Barton, Byron. Machines At Work.
Beall, Pamela Conn. Wee Sing Children's Songs and Fingerplays.
Castles. Published by Scholastic.
Kilpatrick, Cathy. Creepy Crawlies.
Murphy, Stuart. A Pair of Socks.
Rockwell, Anne. Fire Engines.
Zoo Animals, part of Eye Openers series. Published by Macmillan.

Poetry Books
dePaola Tomie. Mother Goose Rhymes.
Dyer, Jane. Animal Crackers.
Evans, Dilys (Ed.). Monster Soup and Other Spooky Poems.
Graham, Joan. Splish, Splash.
Hopkins, Lee Bennett (Ed.). To The Zoo.
Katz, Michael Jay (Ed.). Ten Potatoes in a Pot.
Opie, Iona. My Very First Mother Goose.
Prelutsky, Jack (Ed.). Read Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young.
Radley, Gail (Ed.). Rainy Day Rhymes.
Robinson, Fay (Ed.). A Frog Inside My Hat.

Number Books
Christelow, Eileen. Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.
Crews, Donald. Ten Black Dots.
Enderle Judith. Six Creepy Sheep.
Falwell, Cathryn. Feast for 10.
Fleming, Denise. Count.
Giganti, Paul HowMany Snails I s
McMillan, Bruce. Counting Wildflowers.
Peek, Merle. Roll Over.
Walsh, Ellen. Mouse Count.

Alphabet Books
Aylesworth, Jim. The Folks in the Valley.
Ehlert, Lois. Eating the Alphabet.
Hague, Kathleen. Alphabears.
Hoban, Tana. 26 Letters and 99 Cents.
Lobel, Anita. Alison's Zinnia.
Lobel, Arnold. On Market Street.
MacDonald, Suse. Alphabatics.
Martin, Bill. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.
Pallotta, Jerry. The Dinosaur Alphabet Book.
Pelletier, David. The Graphic Alphabet.
Van Allsburg, Chris. The Alphabet Theatre Proudly Presents the Z Was Zapped.
Wildsmith, Brian. A B C.