Kindergarten Procedures |
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| Rules and Expectations |
Please refer to the Pot Spring Handbook for more detailed descriptions of behaviors and consequences.
- Show respect to all adults and students.
- Keep hands, feet and body to yourself;
no hitting, kicking, punching or
spitting. Physical violence of any kind
will not be tolerated.
- Treat others as you would like to be
treated.
- Be helpful.
- Be kind; use kind words
- Use your words to solve a problem.
Even though kindergarteners are still learning and mastering socially accepted behaviors, we do expect them to follow the rules and accept the consequences of their behaviors.
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| Absences and Lateness |
If your child is absent:
The school system requires that all student absences be documented and coded. If your child is absent from school, a note stating the reason for the absence is required upon his/her return. A lawful absence includes a death in the family, illness of the child (this includes a doctors appointment), religious holiday, state emergency or suspension. Any other reason is considered unlawful and is not excused on your child’s record. You may use the form included, a written note, or a doctor’s note to document your child’s absence. Please know that we must receive a note in a timely manner (1 to 2 days) upon your child’s return to school in order to code the absence as lawful, otherwise it will be marked as unlawful on your child’s record.
If your child arrives to school late or leaves school early, he/she must be signed in/out at the office. Because the attendance is tallied at the start of the school day, the change from “absent” to “late” on your child’s record must be done at the office.
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| Medical Issues |
If your child has a medical issue and/or needs medication, please contact the school nurse.
If your child is sick, please do not send him/her to school. A child must be fever, vomit and/or diarrhea free for 24 hours WITHOUT medication.
If your child has a persistent cough or green mucus, it could be an indication of an infection and you should consult your child’s pediatrician.
Due to the rise in childhood asthma, we ask in advance that you please do not put perfume or cologne on your child before coming to school as these strong scents can trigger a potentially harmful reaction in those children with asthma or allergies.
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| Dismissal |
A student may fall into one of several categories for dismissal.
A bus rider is a student who rides the Baltimore County Public School bus to a designated stop. Each bus is given a name and assigned a color to help the students remember which bus they ride.
A walker is a student who is picked up at the school by a parent or other designated person at dismissal time.
A student who attends Play Centers goes directly to the Play Center area (the cafeteria) at dismissal. Please know that arrangements for your child to attend Play Centers must be done in advance and space is limited.
A student who attends Kim’s Karate, Tiny Bubbles or any other after school program that picks up at the school will wait for the van with bus riders.
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| Changes in Dismissal |
If you need to make a change in dismissal for your child, either permanent or temporary, we must have written notification of the change. A change in dismissal includes, but is not limited to, a change in the person picking up, a change in bus assignment or a change in after school placement. If it is a sudden or emergency change, you may call the office at 410-887-7648.
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| Lockers and Backpacks |
Your child will be keeping his/her belongings in a locker just outside the classroom. Please make sure that your child’s backpack will fit inside the locker. The backpacks with the wheels on the bottom do not fit and are NOT recommended. Also, please make sure that your child’s backpack is large enough to hold a folder that measures approximately 9 x 13. A regular sized backpack is recommended. Your child will need a change of clothes that will remain in the locker. Please be sure to send a full change of clothes, especially underwear, with your child on the first day of school and a replacement change of clothes on the next day after (and if) your child has an accident. You may also want to replace the clothing as the seasons change and as your child experiences any growth spurts during the year. Food may NOT be kept in the lockers overnight due to the potential for attracting critters.
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| Lunch |
Lunch at school is something very new and exciting to your kindergartener. Often the children are so busy socializing that they don’t get time to eat all of their lunch. Please encourage your child to eat first and talk when they are finished.
The cafeteria has specific rules that we expect all students to follow in order to ensure that all students are served and eat lunch.
All students must stay in their seats unless they are in the cafeteria line and until their teacher comes to get them. We have cafeteria helpers who give children any condiments or utensils they may need and who collect the trash when the children finish eating.
Unless it is an absolute emergency, students are not allowed to leave the cafeteria during lunch. We take the children for a bathroom break before lunch and after lunch. Since lunch is only a half hour, it is unlikely someone will have to use the bathroom during lunch if they used it before lunch.
Good manners and quiet voices are expected in the cafeteria. This means that children should not be yelling or screaming. Crawling under the table, standing on the chairs and throwing food are not allowed.
We ask that children do not share their food due to food allergies.
If your child does not finish parts of his/her lunch, they will be allowed to save it for snack and eat it later in the day. We notice a tremendous amount of wasted food at lunch. Please pack only what you know your child is able to eat in approximately a half an hour. If your child brings a packed lunch, encourage your child to bring home any items he/she did not eat or did not like.
You may choose to send your child with lunch and a drink each day or your child may purchase lunch, a snack and/or a drink from the cafeteria. Please tell your child what his/her lunch routine is and let them know if it changes. You may put money into a lunch account for your child or you may send money for purchases on an as needed basis. If you send money, please put it in a sealed envelope labeled “Lunch Money” and place it in your child’s folder as it gets checked each day.
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| Snack |
We will have a snack time each day. You may choose to send in a small snack and/or a drink. Please know that we cannot refrigerate any food items. Snack time lasts about 15 minutes, so it should be something that your child can consume in that time. Some suggestions are:
*pretzels *crackers *fruit snacks *jello
*carrot sticks *pop tart *popcorn *pudding
*fruit roll-up *water *juice box
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| Birthday Treats |
If you wish to have your child’s birthday celebrated in school, you may send in or bring in a store bought treat (so the ingredients are known for food allergy purposes) the day of your child’s birthday or the day that falls closest to it, if a weekend or holiday occurs on the actual birth date. All birthday celebrations will take place during snack time at approximately 1:30 pm.
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| Clothing |
We go outside every day for Gross Motor Development unless it is raining or extremely cold. Please make sure your child is appropriately dressed for cold weather when the season arrives. He/she should have a heavy coat, a hat and mittens or gloves. Rubber-soled, closed-toed shoes are the best for the safety of your child. Sneakers or shoes of that type are great. Please no open toed shoes or shoes with heels; this includes sandals, flip-flops and “dressy shoes”. Please make sure that your child’s name is in his/her clothing and on his/her book bags and lunch boxes.
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| Class Celebrations |
Kindergarten will have the following class celebrations during the year:
Halloween
Winter Holidays
Valentine’s Day
Welcome Spring
End Of The Year
For each of these celebrations, the following items will be needed:
Themed plates and napkins
Juice Boxes
A themed snack, like decorated cupcakes or cookies
Fruit
Pretzels, popcorn or crackers
A themed craft, project and/or game or activity
Decorations and goodie bags are optional. The class parent will be the contact person for all class celebrations. Parents and siblings are always welcome to join us.
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| Homework |
Homework is not given in kindergarten as per Baltimore County policy. We do encourage that you work on skills each day with your child. Some suggestions are:
Read with your child every day
Talk with your child about their day and what is going on around them. Driving in the car or taking a walk is an excellent time to do this. Encourage them to use complete sentences when answering you and describing things.
Cook with your child.
Play board games like Connect Four, Checkers, Sorry, Trouble, Guess Who?, and others.
Play learning based computer games.
Draw, color, trace and cut. Art activities are excellent for fine motor skills.
Watch educational programs on television. Sesame Street, Arthur and other programs on PBS as well child appropriate programs on the Discovery Channel are all great options.
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| Field Trips |
You will be notified of any field trips planned by the kindergarten team well in advance. We ask that you sign and return the general permission form that allows the teachers to conduct outdoor lessons that may be off school property, but within walking distance of the school. You will be notified in advance of any such occurrences.
When field trips are planned that require payment, we ask that you submit payment within a week of receiving the field trip notification (this is for accounting purposes). All students are expected to attend any field trips as they are a part of the school day and pertain to the curriculum. If payment for field trips is a financial burden, please contact your child’s teacher immediately, as there is a solution for such a problem.
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| Volunteering |
There are many opportunities for volunteering in your child’s classroom and school. We will need two parents to act as “Class Parents” and coordinate the class celebrations. We need parents to help out in the cafeteria to make sure that rules are followed and good manners are practiced. We also need help in the classroom working with individual students, small groups and doing “secretarial” types of jobs. You can also help by volunteering to cut and/or assemble items at home. There will be sign up sheets for all of these during Back-to-School night and the first week of school. You may also contact your child’s teacher directly to set up volunteer times. There are also school-wide volunteer needs. You may contact the PTA to inquire about those opportunities. We in kindergarten do ask that you give the students until the beginning of October to adjust to the routine of school and listening to another adult before volunteering in the classroom.
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| Emergencies |
In case of emergencies, please refer to your Pot Spring Elementary Handbook. As most emergencies and emergency dismissals are weather related, we ask that if the potential for inclement weather exists, to please keep your radio, television or internet tuned to a station like WBAL that would announce any system wide closings. When dismissing your child in a weather related emergency, we will follow the instructions given to us by you on the Emergency Dismissal Form. You will not be called in this event.
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| Contacting Your Child’s Teachers |
You may contact any of your child’s teachers by phone, email or letter.
410-887-7648
tcibor@bcps.org; all email addresses are the teacher’s first initial and last name followed by @bcps.org
Trina Cibor
2410 Springlake Drive
Timonium, MD 21093
You may also send a note in your child’s folder |
