Saint Francis Xavier School

Early Childhood East Campus

LaGrange, Illinois 60525 708-588-1472
21 North Catherine Avenue
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER KINDERGARTEN HANDBOOK
And Policies & Procedures
The St. Francis Xavier kindergarten program is a developmental and
academic program that meets the diverse needs of young children and
incorporates the following subjects into the total curriculum:
RELIGION
Our program teaches the children that God is interested in all they do
and that Jesus Christ came to bring the message of Gods love. The
program encourages the children to acquire a positive attitude toward
themselves and others. Our Responsive Classroom program inspires our
children to be self-directed individuals, and promotes competence in
social and emotional skills.
MORNING MEETING
Students gather at the beginning/end of each day to greet one another,
share, and participate in a brief group activity, and read/discuss the
announcements for the day. The sharing and activities are designed to
promote language skills and social-emotional learning in addition to
building a sense of community in the classroom.
LANGUAGE ARTS PROGRAM
Our program is rich in literature and integrates reading aloud and story
telling to help children express their ideas verbally. Our children develop
reading skills through opportunities in phonemic awareness, learning the
alphabet and its sounds (phonics), sight word recognition and inventive
spelling. Journeys Common Core Curriculum, Intensive Phonics and
Writing Workshop programs incorporate these skills and strategies that
support all levels of readers within the classroom.
MATH
The University of Chicago Everyday Mathematics Program introduces
the children to all major mathematical content domains: number sense,
algebra, measurement, geometry, data analysis, and probability beginning
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at our kindergarten level. The program moves beyond basic arithmetic

and nurtures higher order and critical thinking skills in students using
everyday, real-world problems and situations, while building and
maintaining basic skills, including automatic fact recall.
SCIENCE
Our Scott Foresman Science Program will guide the children through our
world of science in four areas: Life Science, Earth Science, Physical
Science, Space and Technology.
SOCIAL STUDIES
The My World Social Studies Program (by Pearson Education, Inc.) will
take the children on a virtual exploration around the globe and through
time within its exciting and digitally robust program. It is full of
innovative online print and activity based resources.
FINE MOTOR
Materials are provided to aid in the development of eye-hand coordination
and fine-motor control through the daily use of manipulatives, coloring,
tracing, cutting, punch-pin art, and clay modeling. Children are instructed
in the traditional manuscript printing of letters and numbers.
LARGE MOTOR / GYM
Children participate in weekly instructional gym classes* and classroom
activities that promote physical activity and coordination through
organized activities and games.
MUSIC
Children participate in weekly instructional music classes* and classroom
activities where they learn songs and an appreciation of music. They also
have an opportunity to share these songs in the Fall and Spring music
events.
LIBRARY
Children visit the East Campus library* on a weekly basis for story time
and an opportunity to select and check out books.
TECHNOLOGY
Children have access to iPads, iTouches and Interactive Whiteboards to
teach and reinforce skills. These technology tools are all located within
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the classroom. Children have access to Apple computers within a

Computer Lab* that they visit on a weekly basis to practice keyboarding
and learn to create digital works in writing, reading and art.
* iArt (pull-out) classes are scheduled in the afternoons; classroom
activities take place throughout the day.
ART
This program provides opportunities for creative expression through
drawing, painting and building using a variety of art media and techniques.
DRAMATIC PLAY
This is intended to promote oral language development while
strengthening social skills and stimulating imaginations.
General Information / Policies & Procedures
Half Day schedule change to Full Day
Families with a child enrolled in the Half Day kindergarten program
are able to make a switch to the Full Day schedule on November 2,
2015.
Monthly Calendars
A classroom kindergarten calendar will be sent home each month
and posted on-line in the Kindergarten classroom web pages.
Please keep and refer to these calendars for all information
regarding school and classroom changes, classroom events, letter
of the week, and monthly skills.
Skills for the Month
A list of skills that kindergarten children need to master each
month will be posted on-line.
Weekly Take Home Folders
Each childs work for the week, homework, and any
correspondence from the main office will be sent home in this
folder every Friday. Please review the contents and return it with
any responses or homework every Monday.
Snacks

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In order to provide a snack time where all children can participate

in a safe, allergen-free environment and have the opportunity to
have a healthy mid-morning snack, we observe the following
Classroom Snack Policy in kindergarten:
All students are encouraged to bring a daily mid-morning,
healthy snack that consists of: a piece of real fruit, a
piece of real cheese, OR a real vegetable.
Milk (if ordered) and water will also be provided during
snack time.
Classroom Paper Supplies
Parents will be notified when it is their turn to bring in supplies for
the classroom that include napkins, cups, wipes, etc.
Birthdays Please refer to the SFX school-wide policy on celebrating
students birthdays at school.
Travel Books
Throughout the year, the children create classroom books after a
unit of study and/or as a writing activity. Children will have a
chance to bring the book home and share it with their family. Please
return the book the next day, so that the next child can have a turn.
Classroom Mascots
Children are randomly chosen to take home a classroom character
and its bag. They are asked to write about their weekend visit (with
the help of mom/dad) in the journal and return it on Monday to
share with the classroom.
Field Trips and Forms
Children will have the opportunity to attend two field trips per year
(fall & spring). Permission forms with details will be sent home 2-3
weeks prior to the trip. These forms must be signed and returned
in an envelope with money, if applicable. Envelopes must be marked
with the childs name and indicate the purpose for the money (this
also applies to all special events and other forms). Parents are
welcomed and encouraged to volunteer as chaperones.
Classroom Holiday Parties
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The kindergarten classrooms will hold holiday parties for

Halloween, Christmas and Valentines Day. The parties will be held
from 2:00-3:00pm on the designated days (please refer to the
classroom monthly calendar for dates). Half-Day students are
welcome and encouraged to return in the afternoon to attend the
parties.
Service Program
Parent volunteers visit the classroom on a monthly basis to
coordinate materials, organize a collection and/or a speaker on a
monthly basis. The kindergarten theme for our grade level Service
Project is "Caring for Living Things -God's Creation". The goal is to
connect meaningful service opportunities with learning. There are
three components to the Service Program: education, taking action
(which may include organizing a collection, scheduling a speaker or
visiting a site), & reflection.
Art Smart Program
Parent volunteers in our classroom present this program each
month. The goal of this program is to expose the children to art
from diverse cultures and encourage critical thinking and
discussion about artists and art forms. Children also participate in
an art activity that relates to a monthly topic.
Scholastic Book Orders
Order forms will be sent home on a monthly basis. If you would like
to purchase items, complete the order form and return it with the
appropriate payment in an envelope marked Scholastic Book
Order. Checks should be made out to Scholastic. Orders take
approximately 2 weeks.
Homework
All homework will be labeled H. These pages may be for additional
necessary skill practice or work that a child may not have
completed in school. Parents are asked to work with their child to
complete and return these to school. We encourage you to use the
teacher recommended on-line resources for additional practice at
home.
Attendance
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Daily attendance is important. In order for the day to flow smoothly,

the children need to arrive on time.

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DAILY SCHEDULE AS OF August 2015

ARRIVAL
Full & Half Day Kindergarten
Doors open at 8:05 a.m.
Tardy bell rings at 8:20 a.m.
DISMISSAL
Morning Half-Day Kindergarten
M-F 11:20am
Full Day Kindergarten
M, T, Th, F: 3:10pm
Wed: 2:00pm
Lunch
Lunch for full day students is from 11:50am to 12:20pm. Students
are to bring their lunch in a lunch box/bag clearly labeled with each
childs name. Students may order 1% white, no fat white, or 1%
chocolate milk at the beginning of the year.
Recess
Full-day students participate in outdoor recess on good weather
days from 12:40pm to 1:00pm.
Parent-Teacher Conferences are held in November
Parents are encouraged to sign up for a conference time to
discuss their childs progress with the teacher.
Report Cards will be sent home three times per year. (November,
March and June)

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