School Hours: 7:45 - 2:15. Students may be admitted to the classroom no earlier than 7:15. They are marked tardy if they are not in the classroom when the 7:45am bell rings. If you bring your child to school after 7:45, you must check in through the office. The "student dismissal bell" rings at 2:15. If you pick up your child from school before the end of the school day, you must check them out through the office prior to 2:05.
Transportation:
Carpool: You may sign up in the office for a carpool tag if you plan to drive your child home. The children will be released from the front of the school to your car in the afternoons. You may also drive your child in the mornings. There is adult supervision to ensure the safety of your child at all times. Please do not get out of your car during carpool as it creates a break in the flow of traffic.
Bus: Our buses are coded by number. Help your child remember what bus they ride! Teachers will escort students to their buses every afternoon.
Walker: We have two different areas for parents to meet up with their child after school depending on where you live. You will be assigned Waiting Area #1 or Waiting Area #2 by Administration. Teachers will drop students off at each area in the afternoon. Please determine how your child will be going home on a regular basis and inform us of your decision. It is important to be consistent.
Change in Transportation: We must always know how your child is going home! If your child’s transportation changes on any day, we must have a note from you informing us of the change. Without a note, no change will be made. Please put all notes in your child’s daily folder as we check that each day. Notes left in the backpack will most likely not be seen. If a last minute change must be made please call the school, do not email me the change for I often do not check my email regularly during school hours.
Early Dismissals/Tardiness: Anytime your child is late (after 7:45am) or will be picked up early (before 2:15pm), you must check them in/out through the office. Children are considered tardy if they are not in the classroom ready to start the day when the 7:45am bell rings.
Absences: You may call the school to inform us of an absence; however, we will still need a written note or email from you within 2 days. Each absence is recorded as “unexcused” until we receive a written note or email. Examples of Excused absences are: doctor appointments and sickness. I cannot excuse absences for family vacations. If you wish to have an absence excused as an educational opportunity please contact the main office and request the form for submitting an upcoming absence as an educational opportunity. You must fill it out and submit it to Mr. Mack prior to the actual absence. He will make the decision as to whether it will be excused or unexcused.
Field Trips: We must have a signed permission form and field trip fee for each trip. More information will be given on exact dates, fees, and deadlines within weeks of a trip. Volunteers will not always be needed, we will let you know. We ask that you prepare for volunteering by registering now! If you are not registered and cleared you will not be able to chaperone.
Lunch: We recommend that you put lunch money in your child’s account either in person or online. This will decrease your child’s chance of losing any money. You may send a check written out to Davis Drive Elementary with your child’s lunch number. If you do send money, please put it in your child’s daily folder in an envelope or baggy clearly labeled with his or her name and lunch number. (Your child's lunch number is also their student id#. We have a record of that number if needed.)
We welcome you to join us for lunch; however, please wait to come for lunch until we give you the "all clear!" This is usually in early October and is necessary so your child can learn the lunchtime routines and rules independently and be comfortable with you coming and going. Our lunchtime isposted on our Daily Schedule. Please say your goodbyes in the lunchroom as this helps for a smoother transition back to class.
A teacher or teacher assistant will eat lunch with and monitor all of the students during lunch. Encourage your child to make healthy food choices during lunch; we cannot monitor this for them. Also, please work with them at home on being able to open their containers, milk/juice boxes, gogurt tubes, etc. It is important for the children to develop independence at lunch and snack.
Money: On occasion it will be necessary for your child to bring money to school. Always send money to school in your child’s daily folder in a separate envelope or baggy. Please include the following information with it: 1. Your child’s first and last name 2. The amount of money 3. The purpose of the money (book money, field trip money, etc)
Snack: Please send a healthy snack everyday. We will eat snack in the afternoon. Please do not send candy, gum, soft drinks, or glass bottles. Our snack time is limited so please send only one snack. Snacks will not be provided for those who don’t have a snack.
Parent Participation/Volunteers: Throughout the school year there will be a variety of special classroom activities and celebrations. Your support of school activities makes your child feel important and sends the message that you value school.
If you would like to volunteer, you will have many opportunities to sign up. You must get clearance so please sign up as soon as possible! (On school computers only.) We will use parent volunteers to assist with field trips and other class events. We also encourage you to join our PTA. *You are required to sign in and out through the office every time you come to the school!* *WCPSS requires all volunteers to register on-line* When you come to volunteer in the classroom, please be respectful of all the students in the room. Please be there to assist everyone in their learning.
Conferences: Parent-teacher conferences will be held in the fall and spring. Additional conferences may be needed and held at the request of the parents or teachers.
Medication: All medication must be kept and distributed through the office. Every type of medication requires a medical form (available in the office) signed by a physician. Students may not self-administer cough drops, vitamins, pain relief (i.e. Tylenol), sunscreen, etc. Please do not send any of these items in your child’s lunch box to take at lunchtime.
Birthdays: You may send in a special snack for the class that is store bought. It must also be individually wrapped/ready to serve. Snacks can be dropped off in the office. Please let me know ahead of time if you plan to send something to school.
**Students and teachers are not permitted to pass out birthday invitations at school even if everyone in the class is invited to the party.
Outdoor Recess: The children will be going out for recess everyday unless it is raining or extremely cold/hot. Please keep this in mind when helping your child select clothing for the day. Also, we are fortunate to have a variety of playground equipment, including several pieces for climbing. Please keep this in mind when selecting shoes. Cowboy boots, flip flops, and little girl’s dress shoes are less than ideal if your child chooses to play on this equipment. Also, these shoes tend to be slippery on days when the concrete is wet. For the most part, if your child is well enough to be at school, he/she is well enough to participate in outdoor recess, if properly dressed. In fact, the germs that cause colds thrive more readily in the heated indoor air and it is beneficial to go outside and get some fresh air.
PTA Directory: Our school PTA distributes a school directory, complete with names, addresses, and phone numbers. Every family who joins the PTA will receive one of these directories later in the year.
Book Orders: Periodically, your child will be bringing home a form to order books through Scholastic Book Clubs. If you wish to order, please submit your order and payment online at Scholastic Book Clubs. There is a minimum purchase required to receive free shipping. If that minimum is not met I will let you know because we will have to cancel the order for that month. Book orders are provided as a convenient way for parents to buy quality books for their child at a low price. As an added bonus, the book company will often let teachers select free books for the classroom. You are not obligated to purchase.
Daily Folders: Students will bring these folders to and from school each day. Inside are the essential materials needed to keep up with Parent Teacher Communication and homework. Please look at this folder nightly.
Pockets: The pockets of the folder will be checked daily. If you need to send information, notes, or money to teachers, this is the place to put them. We will also use the pockets to send things home to you.
Other: Your child will be reminded of the importance of their role in this communication between us. Children will take responsibility for their Daily Folders by taking them out in the morning and putting them in their backpacks each day; try to encourage them to do the same at home.
Homework: In Kindergarten we are trying to lay the foundation for good school habits. I will periodically send Math practice pages and family projects home. My ongoing nightly homework is simple, find a time each night (around the same time if possible) to sit down with your child and read. There are many things you can do before, during and after reading that will help your child be a successful reader, regardless of their ability. Make this an enjoyable time, not a chore. Before Reading Activities: point to the cover, point to the title, point to the author, point to the illustrator, point to the title page, take a picture walk, read the story by only using the pictures, make predictions, find a word that begins with the letter __, etc. During Reading Activities: Read a page then see if your child can “read” it the same way. Make predictions, talk about what is happening, point to the words when you read, model the return sweep (go to the end of the line then return back), echo read (you read a few words, they read the same thing), make up a new ending, talk about the problem, solution, major events, etc. After Reading Activities: discuss what you liked or didn’t like and why, retell the book(include characters, setting, events, problem & solution) Discuss author’s message, make a personal connection to something that happened in the story, make comparisons to other books, have your child “read” the book to you, draw a picture about the book, write about the book, etc.
Discipline: I use several ways to encourage positive behavior. Inappropriate behavior will be redirected. If the behavior continues and is interfering with anyone’s learning, I will let you know. I expect the best out of your child and will be rewarding him or her with my highest praise. Children can also earn tally marks for good behavior. Once 5 tally marks have been earned the child can choose a prize out of the treasure box.
Contact Information: If you need to contact me, you are welcome to email me at: [email protected] or call the school at 919-387-2130. I will not always be able to take phone calls or respond to email during instructional hours but I will get back with you as soon as I can.