Mrs.

Coffeys Kindergarten Indian Valley Elementary 2012-2013

August 21st, 2012 Dear Parents. It is my honor and privilege to be at Indian Valley as your childs Kindergarten teacher! My goal is for your childs year to be the best it can be and I look forward to working with you to make this happen. We have a fantastic group of kids and it truly is a joy to be here with them each day. I appreciate you coming to Back to School Night! Please let me know if you have questions or concerns about anything. I am always willing and available to talk with you about your child and will do whatever it takes to help him/her be successful. We are a team in your childs education and I am so glad to be a part of it. Heres to a great Kindergarten year! Go Thunderbirds! Sincerely, Megan Coffey (913) 239-6471 macoffey@bluevalleyk12.com

The Basics
School Day: Begins at 8:35, ends at 3:40 *Thank you for having your child here on time each day and picking them up promptly! Early Pick-Up: Please e-mail/call to let me know when you need to pick him/her up so that he/she will be ready. You will need to sign your child out in the office- your child will come down to meet you. *Please try to avoid scheduling appointments in the morning- this is our largest academic block of the day* Absences: Please call Indian Valley (239-6400) before 8:15 if your child will not be in school that day. I will be sure to catch him/her up upon their return and some things may be sent home depending on what was missed. Snacks: We have snack twice a day and with 21 little bodies, we go through them quickly! Please consider sending in a large snack for our class once a semester. *A suggested list is included in your packet!*

Lunch: You are welcome to join your child for lunch any day! We eat lunch from 11:30-12:00. Please meet your child by the cafeteria. There is no need to notify me- just check in at the office. Homework: Homework will begin after Labor Day. The homework is in a calendar format with assignments for each night. It will go home the first of the month and returned to school each Friday. I will check it every Friday and students will receive a sticker for responsibility for completion. Homework will be sent home in your childs Take Home Folder. Homework in Kindergarten is meant to reinforce skills learned in class through quick exercises and activities. It is also meant to build responsibility with bringing assignments to and from school, preparing them for first grade. Show-N-Tell: We have a class Show And Tell Bag that is sent home with a different student each night. Inside the bag will be a sheet (included in your packet) for you to fill out with your child. Please have your child bring the bag and the completed sheet to school the following day.

Writing & Poetry Notebooks: The focus of these notebooks is to encourage writing, practice handwriting, improve fine-motor skills, and to express ideas through writing. These are great keepsakes for parents and a wonderful way to see growth throughout the year. Birthdays!: Birthdays are very special! You are more than welcome to bring in a special treat for the class (please let me know in advance so I can plan for it). We usually have birthday treats at the very end of the day (around 3:20). Please refrain from distributing party invitations at school unless the whole class is invited. SPOTlight of the Week: This is an opportunity for your child to be our spotlight and to share about him/herself with our class! With your child, please make a poster or some type of visual with information/special things about he/she on it. When it is your assigned week, please send in the poster Monday and your child will get to present it to the class! It will be on display until Friday and then it will go home. *I will send home this schedule and send an e-mail reminder* Tooth Fairy Tracker: Please have your child let me know when he or she loses a tooth! They will receive a special certificate and their name will be added to our Tooth Fairy Tracker board. We will incorporate our lost teeth into various math activities (counting, graphing, etc.)

Shoe Sheriffs: At the beginning of the year, I will look for our Shoe Sheriffs. These are kids who know how to tie their shoes and can help others. When students learn how to tie their shoes on their own, they will get to put a shoe with their name on it on our shoe rack. I will have some fun shoes in class to practice this with during centers or free time but please continue to work with your son or daughter at home. This is a great accomplishment for kids! Conferences: Please sign up for a fall conference tonight. This is required for each child in the fall. Conferences in the spring are on an as-needed basis. You may request a conference or I may do the same. Conferences are the formal way of going over your childs progress but I feel that the whole year is an ongoing conference

through our communication. Always feel free to call me at school or e-mail me at any time. I am a HUGE communicator!

Parent Involvement: I love for parents to be involved in our classroom! Please sign up to be a volunteer and let me know more specifically what you would like to do. Help is always appreciated. ?? Mystery Readers ??: This is a super fun thing I like to do! What happens is a parent/grandparents/anyone who would like to pick a special book to read to our class sets up a time with me and the kids do not know who is coming. I will have the reader give me three clues about themselves to tell the kids and have them guess. Please sign up if you would like to be a Mystery Reader and I will contact you to set up a time that works with both our schedules. Wed love to have you! Holiday Parties: This is another great way for you to be involved in our class! Please see the sign up (@ Back to School Night) for these events.

Field Trips: We have quite a few fun field trips planned for this year! (dates to come) A tentative list of our trips includes: Pumpkin Patch Paul Mesners Puppet Show Kaleidoscope Theatre for Young America If you are interested in chaperoning, please sign up!

Book Orders: I will be sending home Scholastic book orders from time to time. This is a great way to get reasonably priced books, as well as help build our classroom library. If you are interested in helping with this, I would appreciate it! *Make all checks to Scholastic and send to school with your child or order online- online is super easy*

Classroom Management:

Class Rules:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

I Care Rules

We recite these each morning.

We listen to each other. Hands are for helping NOT for hurting We care about each others feelings. We use I-Care language. We are responsible for what we say and do.

Positive Reinforcement: o Individual: Sticker Charts: Students receive stickers at random for demonstrating responsibility, kindness, sharing, good listening, and any other type of positive behavior. Once their sticker chart is full, he/she gets to visit our treasure chest! The chart then starts over. This is an accountability system that promotes doing the right thing all the time even if no reward is given. How was my day? Chart: Your child has a daily behavior chart in their Take Home Folder that will be filled out daily and sent home. Please initial each night. o Whole Group: We have a class marble jar in which the kids work together as a team to fill up. Marbles are earned by class display of positive behavior and getting along. When the jar is full, the kids vote on a class Marble Party! Poor Behavior: I am a firm believer in reasonable, timely and logical consequences. I believe in helping students learn from their mistakes. I will be in contact with you about your childs behavior if I feel it is a problem and I always appreciate your support at home. Stoplight Behavior System: Students start their day on green and are always able to move back to green if they are moved to a different color. Green light: Way to go! Yellow light: Warning (2nd warning will move them to the Safe Seat until they are able to display green behavior) Red light: Yikes! Phone call home/principals office (depends on situation)

Important Information:

Mrs. Coffeys Contact Information: o Phone: (913) 239-6471

Always feel free to call me before 8:25 a.m. and after 4:00 p.m.

o E-Mail: macoffey@bluevalleyk12.org
This is how Im best able to communicate during the school day.

Our Classroom Blog: www.mrscoffeyskinders.blogspot.com

This will have all classroom documents (ex. Homework, newsletters, this packet), as well as links to kids games, curricular information, and much more.