Welcome to Back to School Night

in Mrs. Berardino, Mrs. Loorya and

Mrs. Whitehead’s classes

Classroom websites and Teacher e-mails:

http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/CBerardino

E-mail: cberardino@rbusd.com

http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/JLoorya

E-mail: jloorya@rbusd.com

http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/MrsWhitehead

E-mail: mrs.whitehead@gmail.com

We realize that the following pages are a lot to read, but it is all of the information is in our presetation so that you can go back and review it at your lesiure.  In case you don’t want to read any further, because our lecture was sooooo wonderful and you don’t want to review anything, we are so very excited to have your student in our classes!  We love each and every one already and know that we are going to have a GREAT year!

Our teaching goal is to instill in our students a desire to become life-long learners, to promote a sense of responsibilitiy in their own learning, and to teach them to believe in themselves.  We will provide lessons that meet the state and district standards while working hard to keep them excited and interested in what they are learning.

Parent-Teacher Communication

One of our greatest resources as teachers are parents who are willing to get involved in their child’s learning and education.  Your support at home is essential in making this a highly successful year for your child.

We believe that keeping the lines of communication open is instrumental in having a good year.  Please feel free to contact us at anytime throughout the year, as we will be keeping in touch with you.  If you need to get a hold of us the office can put you through to our classroom before or after school, or you can e-mail us as we check our e-mails frequently.  Feel free to send us a note or stop by if you feel more comfortable with this type of communication.  Once a week there will be a parent newsletter that goes home in your Green Folders to let you know what is going on in our class.

Please note that if you choose to come to school during the school day, district policy is that you MUST check in at the office (even if it is only to drop in)!

Green Folders:

Each Friday your child will take home a green folder. This folder will contain our weekly newsletter, which informs parents of classroom news, birthdays, and needed donations, and notes from the office and classroom. Any forms that are sent home to be completed for the office or classroom should be returned as early as possible and homework should be returned in their homework folder on the last day of that week. The classroom newsletter is yours to keep and should not be returned to school.

 Homework:

This is a state, school, and classroom requirement.  They will be receiving a homework packet on Friday night in their green folder and it will be due the following Friday (if we have a Friday off it should come in the last day that we are in school that week.)  Please work hard to establish good study habits with your students now, have a quite, designated space for them to work, make sure that they do a little bit each night, they should use pencil, and should write their name on the top of each page. If these good habits are established early it will make everything so much easier in the future! If you feel that they are not receiving enough homework they can always read more and there are links on our websites that expand on topics that are being taught in class.

 Parent Volunteers:

We welcome and need parent help both inside and outside of the classroom. We do ask that every parent try to come in at least once during the year.  If you work during the day come on a field trip with us, or stop by before or after work (one of us is usually here by 6:30am and stay until at least 5:00).  We are certain that when students know that their parents come by to help in their classroom it gives them a sense of pride and an incentive to work hard.  It shows them that you are interested in and value their education, and are willing to help them succeed.  We will need volunteers to run a weekly Universal Access station, prepare materials needed for future activities, help with field trips and work in the classroom during parties.  With your help our class will be able to do more activities and fun things.  Please sign up on the sign up sheets J

Your jobs:

·         Reading

o        Please read with your child or have them read to you EVERY night!  They will be working really hard this year to learn how to read, and this nightly reading is instrumental in helping them become successful students.

·         Talk with them

o        Show them that you are interested in their “job” by asking them about what they are learning.  We can’t wait to get home to tell our husbands about our day and hear about theirs.  Your students have the same feelings.  Usually asking them what they are learning is all of a prompt they need for you to get an earful!  (If they say that they did “nothing” today we can guarantee that they aren’t telling the truth!)

·         Sleep

o        They need GOOD sleep and enough of it too.  It is a long enough day for them already without lack of sleep.  They need a good night sleep every night! We suggest bedtime no later than 8:00. 

·         Snacks

o        Please make sure that they have healthy snacks each day. We know that it can be hard to think of snack ideas so we have attached list of ideas for you. Please do not send too much food for their snack, remember our snack time is short.  If the snack is not something that is going to help their brains learn it will be coming back home. (Absolutely NO candy or soda).  On Wednesdays PM kinder students will need a little more food as our day goes straight through lunch. Perhaps send a sandwich, snack, and drink.

·         Milk

o        Milk is available for $10.00 per month (50 cents a day). If you choose to order milk, please send milk money in an envelope with your child’s name on it and which type of milk they would prefer (white or chocolate). You will be notified when you need to reorder your child’s milk.

·         Clothing and bags

o        Please put your child’s name on ALL articles and clothing.

·         Attendance

o        The learning that your child misses when they miss a day of school is irreplaceable. Please make sure that your child only misses school when they are sick!

Kindergarten Schedule

AM Kinder    (Gate will open every morning at 8:00 AM)

8:15-11:35

Monday-Friday

8:15-9:00 Opening and Language Arts

9:00-10:00 Universal Access Stations

10:00-10:20 Socialization and snack

10:20-10:30 Language Arts story

10:30-11:00 Social Studies and Science

11:00-11:30 P.E., Art, Music, Guided Writing, and Universal Access.

11:30-11:35 Clean up and Dismiss

            ** 10:45-11:35 on Wednesday will be Library and Computers

PM Kinder

(Door will open each day at 11:35 except Wednesday when they open at 10:00)

11:40-3:00

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday

11:40-12:30 Opening and Language Arts

12:30-1:30 Universal Access Stations

1:30-1:50 Socialization and snack

1:50-2:00 Language Arts story

2:00-2:20 Social Studies and Science (Fridays - Reading Buddies)

2:20-2:50 P.E., Art, Music, Guided Writing, and Universal Access

2:55-3:00 Clean up and Dismiss

10:00-1:20

Wednesday

10:00-10:45 Library and Computers

10:45-11:30 Opening and Language Arts

11:30-11:50 Socialization and snack

11:50-12:00 Language Arts Story

12:00-1:00 Universal Access Stations

1:00-1:20Clean up and Dismiss

 Classroom Rules:

1. Be a good listener.

2. Be a quiet worker.

3. Be a patient student.

4. Be a kind friend.

 Behavior management:

We as members of Redondo Beach Unified School District pride ourselves on our students displaying good character. The six pillars of character that we work to instill in all of our children are: Trust, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship. We will be using a three-color stoplight to help the students remember to make good choices.  Each day your child’s clip will start out on green (a fresh start no matter how yesterday ended.)  If he/she chooses to break a rule, we will discuss it and they will move their clip to yellow…this is a warning.  If there is another incident the clip will go to red and they will sit in the “thinking chair” 4, 5 or 6 minutes depending on their age and a call home will be made. They always have the opportunity to move their clips back if they make better choices. We also have an incentive to go above and beyond and move their clip to star student. You will be receiving a daily behavior slip to inform you of how your child’s day went.  This sheet comes home as a form of communication so that you can further reward your child for good choices or discuss bad choice made. 

 Rewards:

For good behavior, students may receive:

ü      A good note sent home

ü      A gold card

ü      A sticker at the end of the day

ü      Marbles for the marble jar

Book Orders:

Every week in he green we will send home book orders for students and parents to look through.  The book order selections are very popular with the students, as there are a wide variety of books for everyone to enjoy. There is a huge benefit to ordering through the book club.  You will find that the prices offered are significantly lower than bookstore prices.  The savings are often more than 50%!  WOW! Another benefit in ordering from book orders is that we, the teachers, receive bonus points for every dollar spent.  In turn, we use these bonus points to buy books and materials for the classroom. Of course you are not obligated to order from the book clubs.  However, if you do decide to take advantage of these terrific offers, please be sure you do the following:

• Return the completed order form to me by the following Friday
• Make sure your child's name is on the order form
• Double check the total amount of your order
• Include a CHECK for the total amount of your order made out to the name of the book club (not to me)
• If you chose to send in cash please make sure it is the exact amount as change will not be given.

Birthdays:

We are not big proponents of sugary snacks for birthday celebrations at school.  However, we do like to celebrate birthdays in a different way.  If you could please send in a wrapped book, game, puzzle, or toy for the whole class to enjoy your student will then be able to “give” this item to the class to celebrate his/her birthday.  It is often less expensive for you, it is better for them, and it is enjoyed just as much. If your child has a birthday over the summer we can celebrate on their half birthday.  Please let us know ahead of time if you choose to do this so we can prepare.

Shining STAR:

Each week a different student will be chosen to be our shining star...you will find this information in the weekly newsletter.  They will take home the Clifford backpack on Friday. In the backpack there are Clifford books and a stuffed Clifford to read and have fun with. They will also take home a piece of white poster board. On the following Monday please send in labeled pictures mounted horizontally on the poster board and items for the counter below the board. These two things will decorate your child's Star student area. (Please see the teacher’s samples to get an idea of how to do it.) Throughout the week they can read the Clifford books with you, to Clifford, with an older sibling, etc... On Friday they will bring the backpack and its contents back to school. They will then have an opportunity to share their bulletin board and items with the class. The poster board will come home that day.

Tooth Tote:

One of the exciting events that a student in kindergarten experiences is loosing their teeth, and we have a special way to celebrate this momentous occasion. On the day (or day after) your child looses their tooth they will tell us at calendar time and help us fill in the class tooth graph. The student will then take home the tooth tote, which contains an instruction sheet, teeth books, and a lost tooth travel log. Please read the books with your child and help them fill out one page in the journal about how they lost their tooth, what they did with it and what they think the tooth fairy did with it. (You can do the writing for them because the lines are very small, but if your child chooses to write, we would love it.). We will then share their entry at calendar time the next day. Please see the sample log to get an idea of what we are looking for.

Field trips:

       We have some fieldtrips planned and are still working on the others. On fieldtrip days PM students will need to come to school early. AM students will have the same schedule.  Look for more information to come.

Schedule Fieldtrips:

ü      Centennial Farms on Wednesday, October 4^th (ALL STUDENTS MUST BE HERE BY 7:40 as our bus leaves at 7:45)

ü      Henry and Mudge fieldtrip , Friday, April 18^th (ALL STUDENTS MUST BE HERE BY 8:40 as our bus leaves at 8:45)

Potential Fieldtrips:

ü      US Coast Guard

ü      Redondo Beach Fire Station

ü      Grocery Store

ü      Redondo Beach Pubic Library

ü      Perry Park

Most of our potential fieldtrips are walking fieldtrips, so we will need many parent volunteers to ensure that everyone stays safe.  If you have any great fieldtrip ideas please let us know. 

PTA membership:

            Some of you may already be members...THANK YOU! We have an amazing PTA and value them dearly; they truly help this school be the best place it can be. One way they help our school is through the membership drive. If you are not a member see us for an envelope. It is only $7.00 per member. As a member there is no future obligations or time commitments.... although you are more than welcome to donate as much time as you like, it is just a way to financially support our school.  Our school goal is to have 100% enrollment.  Please help make this possible.  Remember it is not required to attend the PTA meetings.

Curriculum:

ü      Language Arts:

o        Houghton Mifflin

ü      Math:

o        Harcourt Brace

o        Zero the Hero

§         We will need your help celebrating every tenth day leading up the 100^th day of school when Zero the Hero will actually come in for a visit. Please see the sign up sheet.

ü      Science:

o        Harcourt Brace

ü      Social Studies:

o        Harcourt Brace

ü      Physical education:

o        Sparks and Hooked on Health

o        Make sure that your child wears appropriate clothing to be running around on our playground every day.   Our PE will be on Thursday afternoons.

ü      Library/Computers:

o        Room 17 will have library and computer time on Wednesday s. and Room 11 will have library and computer time on Mondays.  . Please send in your child’s library books on their designated library day, so that they are able to check more books out.

ü      Art:

o        Students will have an art lesson at least once a week

o        Hands on Art will be once a month we will need both a docent and parents to help for each class.

ü      Music

o        Music is an integral part of our curriculum and is used in daily instruction.

Questions????

Wow!!!!  We hope that you made it through this letter before the end of the year. J It may have been a little long winded but we wanted to try to answer the questions that you might have had.  We want you all to know that we will strive to make this classroom a fun, safe, productive, and efficient learning environment.  We will keep every student challenged and help him or her learn to love learning.  We welcome any advice or suggestions that you may have that will further enable us to better guide your student.  We look forward to a wonderful collaborative year with you and your student.  Thank you for taking the time to come to Back to School Night with ideas and questions which shows your student that you are interested in their education and will allow us to continually better ourselves as teachers.

Sincerely,

Chris Berardino, Julee Loorya  and Sara Whitehead