Dear Parents,

My name is Susan Meserve and I am excited to be your child's Kindergarten teacher this year. I thought it might be helpful to have talk about some of the important “things” before the year gets under way.

Scissors, glue, pencils, crayons, and markers are all provided at school. If your child has some of his/her own, they are welcome to bring them, but it is not necessary. (For some too many “things” prove to be a distraction.) What is necessary is some type of backpack or book bag. Most Kindergartners are just not organized enough to make it from the classroom to home with all their belongings intact. I will give each child a folder to bring papers, notes, and money back and forth in, so look each day for this. It will contain any papers we have done and any notices from me or the school. It is very important that the folder travel back and forth with your child, as I will check the folders every morning for any notes from home. The backpack should be large enough to handle shoes and a lunchbox along with the folder. Please put your child's name on anything you think might be confused with someone else's.

Mornings are often hectic at school. To help keep money straight, please send it in a labeled sealed envelope or baggie.

Please remember to send a note for any change in your child's routine – such as being picked up after school or being dropped off at someone else's house. The note needs to come to me first and then the bus driver (or send one note to me and one note to the bus driver). It is less confusing for your child if he/she knows of a change in their schedule before they get to school. No child will be allowed to go home with someone other than a parent (this includes grandparents and other relatives) without a note signed by the parent.

Also anytime a child is absent, school policy states that I must have a note explaining the absence.

There will be a snack time each morning before recess. I encourage you to send in snack or money for the snack cart (once it is up and running) each day as the children do get hungry by mid morning. Children may bring a drink(no glass or sodas please!) or buy milk or juice from the cart.

Breakfast (juice, milk, cereal,and toast) and lunch are served at school. The cost for regular lunch is $2.25. Forms for reduced and free lunches will be sent home the first week.

I will send home a weekly “Peek At the Week” newsletter on Friday. (I will also post the “Peek” on the website.) The “Peek” will tell you of any special plans, schedule changes, supplies needed for special projects, request for volunteers, when book orders are due, etc... I hope you will read this and keep it handy where you can refer to it. (I always found it helpful to tape mine to the refrigerator.) This is a major way I communicate with parents throughout the year.

Periodically your child will bring home a book we have made in class or a Pre-decodable/Decodable book, that goes along with our Reading series. These books use high-frequency words and the more exposure your child has to these words the sooner they will begin to read them independently. I encourage you to re-read these and other books regularly with your child.

I look forward to getting to know your child and you this year. I hope we will work together as partners to ensure your child has a successful year. As you are aware, Kindergarten is the first time many children are expected to follow set routines – for both the classroom and the school as a whole. It is also the first time many children are expected to interact with a large number of other children, essentially strangers to them. These new challenges will be both frightening and thrilling (for both of you). If you have any questions or concerns about your child's progress please feel free to contact me using the e-mail link on my homepage or call the school at 483-6681.

Sincerely,

Susan V. Meserve