Mrs. Kim Delaney

Kindergarten Room 1054

Welcome to Kindergarten! I am very excited about the school year and look forward to learning with your child as we explore our special world together. Your child will have tremendous opportunities to mature socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually during this wonderful year in kindergarten. During the first few weeks of school, the children will be exploring our classroom and the school as they meet new teachers, make new friends and get acquainted with classmates and routines. This web page is intended to inform parents of classroom procedures and policies. A weekly newsletter will be sent home every Friday which recaps the activities the children participated in during the week and informs you of activities and upcoming events. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns that you may have. I value the home-school relationship and welcome your thoughts and ideas. I look forward to getting to know your child and your family as we share in their first school experiences.

Sincerely,

Kim Delaney

How To Reach Me:

The best way to contact me is through a note sent to school in your child’s daily folder. Please remind your child that a note is in the folder for the teacher. We check folders daily, but as the year progresses; this activity becomes the child’s responsibility. I check my Email and phone messages first thing and before I leave, so if you do not hear back from me within 24 hours, please assume that I did not get your message. If you call my extension during school hours, the phone will go automatically to voice mail. If you have an emergency, please tell the office so that they can assist you.

My Email- delaneyk@doversherborn.org

My Phone- 508-785-0480 ext. 1054

What Does My Child Need For School?

A BACKPACK: Your child’s backpack should be large enough to accommodate a lunchbox and a 9X12 folder. In the winter, snow pants may also need to be included inside. Backpacks with zippers are most helpful keeping work and notices intact during the travels. Don’t forget to label this too!

A BEACH TOWEL: Your child will need a beach towel to rest on during rest time on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please label.

Bus Information:

BUS TAGS: Your child will receive a name tag with bus information on visiting day for you to take home and tie onto his/her backpack. It should be securely attached to the front of the backpack and kept there for the first two weeks of school. It will alert bus drivers to recognize kindergarten students and help teachers on bus duty direct these young children when they get off the bus. Name tags on backpacks are also necessary at dismissal. These tags will ensure that your child gets on the correct bus and will be delivered safely to your home. Please ask for replacements as needed.

BUS AND PICK UP NOTES: As you are aware, the bus stops at each kindergartener’s home. It is assumed that all children will take their assigned bus home daily. It is school policy for kindergarteners to ride assigned buses on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Kindergarteners are allowed to go home on a friend’s COLOR bus (kindergarten buses only) on Mondays or Fridays. A daily note is required if your child will be picked up. If your child will be dismissed early, please check in with the office at dismissal time. If you are picking your child up at the end of the day on Tuesday, Wednesdays or Thursdays, please meet him/her in the dining hall. The front lobby will be the place to locate your child for a kindergarten pick-up on Mondays or Fridays only.

Absences, Tardy, Illness, Early Releases:

ABSENCE/TARDY: If your child will be absent or late to school, please notify the office at 508-785-0480 before 9:00am by leaving a message. It is helpful to include your child’s name, grade, teacher and reason for absence or delayed arrival. This procedure should be followed each time, unless you know how long the absence will be. It is not necessary to send a note into school upon your child’s return if this procedure is followed.

Your child should report to the main office if tardy to notify the secretary before joining class. This insures that your child’s presence is recorded, and your child may need to order lunch.

ILLNESS: Please do not send your child to school if he/she has a fever or has thrown up in the previous 24 hour period. Your child deserves recovery time and it helps to keep our school germ-free! Please call our school nurse at X1042 and X2332, with any questions or concerns you may have about your child’s health.

DEDA, GLOBAL CHILD, OR OTHER SPECIAL RELEASE: A daily note is required each day your child will attend DEDA or a special after school activity such as Global Child, Daisy’s or Cub Scouts.

What Should My Child Wear to School?

CLOTHING: Please have your child wear comfortable clothing. The children will be spending time on the rug or floor, in the gymnasium, exercising outdoors and working with messy projects. Please label your child’s outer clothing-sweaters, jackets, snow pants, boots etc so that I may identify where they belong. Often times there are duplicate items and the children get confused as well. For safety reasons, umbrellas are best left at home. Raincoats with a hood are much easier for children to manage. Due to numerous injuries, sandals, flip flops, and “crocks” are not allowed in school. Sneakers are required for physical education class and are recommended for everyday as well.

RECESS: Weather permitting, we will be going outside for recess everyday. It is important that your child be dressed appropriately for the weather- especially during the winter. You may leave an extra set of mittens or sneakers in your child’s cubby to help to reduce the backpack clutter. Boots will be needed whenever there is snow or mud on the playground.

Book Club Orders:

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUBS: Every month we have the opportunity to purchase books from Scholastic Book Clubs. An order form will come home with your child. If you should chose to purchase books, please fill out the order form and enclose the exact amount in check form made out to Scholastic Book Clubs. Place in a sealed envelope with your child’s name and send into school via your child’s backpack. The more books families order, the more points the teacher receives to purchase books for the classroom library. The books usually arrive within 10 days from ordering.

What About Lunch, Snack and Food Allergies?

DAILY SNACK: ALERT: Our classroom is a peanut/ nut free classroom and this means no peanut or nut products for snack time. Your child may bring peanut or nut products for lunch but they are not allowed in the classroom. Your child should bring a healthy snack and drink to school everyday. Candy is not allowed. Chips and high sugar foods are discouraged. Because of food allergies, children are not allowed to exchange or share food. Yogurt in cups is less messy that yogurt tubes! Should your child forget snack, I will have graham crackers or saltines as a back up. I encourage children to return unwanted food items home so that you may talk with them about their choices. Large water bottles tend to get wasted, smaller sizes are best.

FOOD ALLERGIES: Due to the increased awareness of food allergies, peanuts and other nut products are discouraged. If your child has sensitivity to any food items, please inform the School nurse.

LUNCH: Kindergarteners will eat lunch at school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On these days, they will eat lunch in the dining hall from 11:15-11:40. Until October 1st, each child must bring a bag lunch from home. Milk may be purchased right from the start. After October 1^st, kindergarten students may purchase the main meal or bag lunch.

Homework Assignments:

HOMEWORK: In Kindergarten, homework is assigned each Monday when we begin learning specific letters and also in math as we progress through our math program. Homework should be returned as soon as possible- no later than Friday so that your child can be included in sharing their work with their classmates. Homework should not be stressful- if it is please let me know ASAP! The purpose of assigning homework is to begin to introduce your child to routines that they will be expected to follow in the upper grades. It is also a great source of pride for your child when they share their work in class with their classmates. Returning homework assignments is expected and will be evaluated on report card.

Volunteer Opportunities:

PARENT INVOLVEMENT: I eagerly welcome you to share in your child’s school experience in many different ways. Once Room Parents have been determined I will have them contact you with the many volunteer activities available through out the year.

Parent Volunteer opportunities may include reading to the children, supervising an activity, working with small groups of children and copying materials for classroom projects.

Special Activities and Events:

SHARE NECKLACE: Each child will have several opportunities during the year to wear the “share necklace”. This necklace is a reminder to bring something into school the next day to share with their classmates. Items that hold the most interest are photographs of family, friends and vacations, trophies, old coins, small collections such as rocks, baseball cards, or interesting nature finds like a bird’s nest, seashells, leaves or something unusual such as an old bee’s nest. Toys and stuffed animals are not appropriate as children get distracted and items get damaged. Please do not send valuable or fragile items as they may not survive the bus ride or backpack trip.

STAR OF THE WEEK: Each child will be assigned a special week to be our “Star of the Week”. They will be given poster paper to create a special poster about themselves which they will share with the class on their special week. This activity encourages the children to speak up in front of a group and helps to build strong classroom relationships.

BIRTHDAYS: Celebrating birthdays is always fun! On your child’s special day, we will be decorating a white pillow case for your child (that you may provide) in lieu of food treats due to the numerous allergies this year. It is always helpful to me when parents notify me ahead of time. Finally, in order to avoid any disappointments or hurt feelings, party invitations cannot be delivered at school.

Back to Main Page

Last updated: 9/04/08