The First Few Days and Weeks Part 1

What does our kindergarten

look like?

We have 4 different self contained kindergarten classes at Norris. Mrs. Poulin’s Class currently has 16 students but that number is expected to grow to possibly as many as 18 students.
Our classroom is the closest classroom to the office, not located in the early childhood wing. It’s Room #12 on the first floor.
Our room looks out onto the blacktop so we can see many students playing at recess.
The room is divided up into tables of six with a large space in the middle of the floor for circle time. This is where we will do most whole group instruction. There are separate areas for table crafts like drawing and beadwork, also tables and areas for blocks, legos, reading, drama, and still another for table games or work with Mrs. Piper. We occasionally pull out painting materials, playdoh, and other messy craft materials.
The open floor space is also used for floor games, puzzles, and many Work Board activities.

What restroom facilities will

the children be using?

We will be using the restrooms at the end of the hall and these are shared with 8 other classes in grades 1 and 2. We will teach the children about proper restroom protocol for privacy, taking turns, flushing, correct handwashing techniques, avoiding troublemakers, and what to do if they run into a problem or notice unacceptable behavior.
Students travel as a whole class to the restrooms several times a day (starting out with 7 or 8 trips!) until they can demonstrate to us that they can handle the trip independently. This varies from child to child as we assess their comfort level around older kids, their ability to find the appropriate restroom, open the heavy restroom doors, take care of their own needs, flush, wash their hands and dry them, and finally find their way back to our class. We supervise this learning experience and render support and instruction as needed until they demonstrate mastery. Individual trips use a bathroom pass system. Many children will use the restroom outside of our scheduled times and they will be accompanied by a teacher until they demonstrate mastery of the task.
It is critical information to share with us if your child has bathroom accidents. When this happens at school, the child is escorted, with their extra clothes, to the nurse where the medical personnel take over. The wet or soiled clothes are placed into a plastic bag and will go home with the child that day. It is very important that you replace the dry clothing the next day. Students who have accidents and do not have a change of clothes go to the nurse who will call the parent at home or work to take care of it immediately. We must have the dry clothes in a zip top bag, labeled with the child’s name as soon as school begins.
Accidents happen regularly in kindergarten, rarely is this during an instructional block. Rather, they occur during recess and play times when the child doesn’t want to miss out on any fun with friends. Accidents are treated with as much privacy as possible and it isn’t a big deal if the other kids find out. “It’s an accident.”

What About Lunch? Breakfast Too?

Keep In Mind

We Are a Nut-Safe School

As such, any and all food brought in from home will be checked, and nut-contaminated products will be confiscated. If your child has one of these products, a call will be made to your home, reminding you of the school policy. Your child will have something offered to them as a substitute. Please read all labels carefully. There are a number of websites addressing the risks and some acceptable snack alternatives.

Please check out this important information of the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. You will receive an application on the first day of school but this link allows you to access some of the information immediately.

Norris offers a nice breakfast and lunch program designed with healthy nutrition in mind. Your child may want to buy breakfast at school through the cafeteria. This takes place at 8:30 AM. If your child is on a school bus, they will be asked if they are getting off for breakfast. Share any school breakfast plan with the driver when he/she picks your child up. Drivers try to remember things like that whenever possible. Cafeteria staff will supervise the children and offer assistance as needed then send the students off to their classrooms with the minimum of delay.
Kindergarten lunch is at 11:30. Students may order the hot lunch, or a sandwich with or without soup; sometimes salads are offered as well. Fresh or canned fruits and vegetables are usually available as the side dishes for all meal choices. “Buying lunch” includes a beverage for no additional charge. Some children bring food from home and only need to buy a beverage. That’s fine. Other children will supply everything they need from home.
Beverage choices are reduced-fat white and chocolate milk and juice.
Ordering lunch accurately is very important. The cafeteria prepares the total number of requests for each item they received from each grade level that day. For this reason, a child should not order a turkey sandwich and then change his mind in the lunch line for a different lunch option instead. Please rehearse what your child should say when the staff ask what they are going to have.
These conversations will also take place in the classroom with Mrs. Piper, our classroom paraprofessional. She is recording, on a master sheet, everything your child plans to charge all week long, as well as that particular day. The daily order will be checked against the ALL IMPORTANT!! LUNCH ENVELOPE that goes home with your child the first week and every Friday after that. Remember, checking off “Lunch” or “Snack” means a beverage is included. Mark the box for “milk only” if your child wants to charge just that for either lunch or snack. Only mark the envelope for the days your child needs to purchase something. If the lunch envelope and the daily order don’t jive, Mrs. Piper checks in with the student for clarification. Changes in lunch plans do happen. We need to get it finalized first thing in the morning when the orders are submitted. If your child is absent or brought an unplanned lunch from home instead, the account will not be charged because the child is not ordering anything that morning.
The lunch envelopes are due each Monday morning when all orders are checked and recorded on the master sheet. Payments may be included in the envelopes as they will go the cafeteria manager. You will receive more information on payments to the cafeteria at the start of school. Many people, including myself send in a good sized check to cover a couple of months. When my monthly balance statement shows it’s getting low, I send in another check. You decide how best to cover your cafeteria expenses.
It is never acceptable to send in loose money. All payments sent into school should be in a sealed envelope, include the child’s full name, and state where the payment is to go (lunch program, library, field trip.)
All notes sent into school must include the child’s full name, the date, and the parent signature. Please consider that the office will need to read and record up to 100 notes each day from all classrooms. Many notes to me will need to be checked by the office as well.
Parents may wish to have lunch with their child. This is great! Please call the cafeteria before 10:00 if you want to purchase a lunch. Special lunch options are available to adults, like chef salad and wraps. All visitors to the school need to stop by the office first to get a Visitor badge.