WELCOME
Cloverly Elementary Kindergarten Procedures
2013-2014
On Thursday, August 22, there will be a Kindergarten Back to School Night (BTSN)
Meeting from 7:00-8:00 PM. This meeting is for parents only. Cloverly’s Open House will be
the next morning. We would like you and your child to come to your child’s kindergarten
classroom.
Arrival-Dismissal-Absence
1. All students enter school between 8:30 and 8:45 am and instruction begins promptly at 8:50. Students
will be considered tardy at 8:50 and will need to stop at the office for a late pass to enter class.
Promptness is essential as it is very difficult for young children to acclimate to classroom activity if
they arrive after their day has already begun.
2. Please call the school (301 989-5770) before 8:50 am to let the secretary know if your child is going
to be absent or arrive late. A written note is required by the principal when a child returns from an
absence.
3. Requests for pupils to leave school at a time other than regular dismissal are to be made in writing by
the pupil’s parent or guardian before the student leaves. To pick up your child early, go to the office and
sign your child out. Ask one of the secretaries to call the classroom. Your child will be sent to the office
ready to go home.
4. If your child is changing his daily routine for dismissal, please send written permission, in
his/her folder, for him/her to do this. Otherwise, your child will continue with the regular
transportation arrangements.
Dismissal-Buses/Day Care/Car Rider/Walker
***On your child’s FIRST DAY of school, a dismissal procedure will be established. ***
1. Have your child wear his/her name tag (given at BTSN) for the FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL. The tags
are helpful for staff and bus drivers and will contain personal dismissal directions. Please visit us on the
web http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/cloverlyes/ in August for our principal’s letter which
will include the bus routes. You will need to complete a “dismissal/arrival information” form during BTSN.
Together we will make sure that your child’s name tag contains the accurate procedure for dismissal.
Questions about the bus schedule or changes during the year should be referred to the Transportation
Office at 301 879-1062.
2. At Dismissal time, Bus Riders, Walkers and Day Care students will be picked up at the classroom and
escorted to their buses/day care vans by fifth grade student safety patrols. Colored paper loops
(designating bus color) will be attached to students’ backpacks. Please be sure your child is visually
familiar with his/her neighborhood bus stop. For your child’s safety, he/she should be met by an adult at
the bus stop. Make an agreement with a neighbor to take your child at the stop if you are not there.
Drivers do not check to see if each child has an escort home.
3. Car Riders/Walkers will also be escorted by patrols. The patrols and your child will exit the building
through the front (office hallway) doors and will proceed to an area near the flag pole. They will wait
there until your car has moved to the curbside OR until you walk to greet them. Please note: At 3:05
dismissal time, you may not enter the staff parking lots or park along Briggs Chaney Rd. You have only
two options when picking up your child by car: drive through the car loop OR park in the lower lot and
walk to meet your child just outside the building. Parking in the lower lot is encouraged by our dismissal
staff as this will prevent excessive car backups along Briggs Chaney Rd.
Cloverly Folders
We will provide a green Cloverly pocket folder for your child to use for daily home/school
communication. An identical folder will be used by grades 1-5 as a “Friday Only” folder, however it will be
a daily folder for the K students (please ignore the words on the pockets—it will not matter on which
side papers are placed). You need to check (and empty) the folder each day for letters from school,
class work, homework, etc. We will work together to encourage your child to be responsible for the care
of the folder. It should be his/her job to be sure the folder comes along to school each day in the
backpack.
Notes to School
1. Please send all notes in the Cloverly Folder. If your note should be read before the end of the day,
please label the note paper with the word URGENT.
2. Money should always be sent in an envelope with child’s name and purpose for money written on
outside.
Medications/Health Issues
Please contact the school nurse if your child needs to receive any medications during the school day.
Any medical information, such as injuries or illnesses should be brought to the attention of the
classroom teacher and office.
Phone/Address Changes
Remember to contact the school office with any phone, home or e-mail address changes.
Homework
Your child will be given homework assignments on Monday-Thursday evenings. This is in accordance with
MCPS policy. Homework begins on the first day of school.
Communication
1. Kindergarten Parent Conferences will be held on Monday and Tuesday, November 11 and 12. You may
sign up for a conference time when you come to our BTSN. On those two Parent Conference days
(November 11 and 12), all Cloverly students will be dismissed at 12:35.
2. Kindergarten Report Cards are sent home twice during the school year-early February and on the last
day of school in June.
3. In addition, if you have any questions or concerns, please call the office (301 989 5770) and leave a
message for the teacher, send a note or an e-mail message to the teacher.
Lunch
We are requesting that your child bring a lunch from home for the first week of school. During the week
we will take time to instruct students about the purchasing procedure and they may begin buying lunch
after the first week. (If your child receives free or reduced lunch and you wish to take advantage of
that, please let us know and we will accommodate your wishes during the first week.)
When packing your child’s lunch, select items that are easily opened. Use baggies rather than
commercially pre-packaged food items. Young children are often distracted in the busy cafeteria and
tend to eat very SLOWLY. Easy access to food will enable them to finish eating lunch in the 25-30
minute allotted time period. Write your child’s name on the OUTSIDE of the lunch box.
Lunch Price: $2.50
Milk only: $.60 Breakfast: $1.30
We use a system called SNAP for cafeteria purchases. Information about SNAP along with your child's
PIN number will be sent home asap. Meanwhile, you are strongly encouraged to set up a SNAP account
with a beginning balance of at least $10-20 during Open House on 8/23. Please see the cafeteria
manager in the cafeteria to do so. On-line deposits are accepted too.
Supply List for Kindergarten- Items can be dropped off at BTSN or Open House
Students are expected to bring the following:
A large backpack (No roller bags.)
Voluntary Parent Donations
The following items are welcomed for donations, to be used by everyone, but are not required:
The items are listed in order of importance.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
$15.00 in cash (suggested amount) to help with the cost of special supplies, craft activities, etc.
Glue Sticks (6)
9. Bottle of hand soap
Glue Bottle (1)
10. Hand sanitizer-pump style
Crayola crayons (box of 48)
11. White boards markers, EXPO, low odor
Crayola fine-line markers (2 packages of 8)
Facial tissues
Disinfectant wipes
Storage/ freezer bags (plastic; gallon-size, quart-size and sandwich-size)
These items are appreciated throughout the year. Keep this list handy in case of a good sale. This list
can also be found on Cloverly’s website.
Snacks
We will have snack daily for the first month of school. After that time, we will evaluate the need. Each
child will be asked to provide a snack for the class to enjoy one day. A schedule and snack ideas will be
sent home. Please let us know if your child has any food allergies. Since we know that some of our
current students have nut allergies, please DO NOT EVER SEND A SNACK WITH PEANUT BUTTER OR
ANY NUTS. All snacks must be store bought. If possible, please re-package the snacks in small individual
baggies. This makes it much easier to serve a large number of children. (Send the ingredients label along
so we can check for possible allergens.) Feel free to bring the snacks ahead of your scheduled date. K
teachers share a refrigerator, if needed.
Field Trips
Field trips to Sharp’s Farm (Oct), College Park Aviation Museum/Airport(Dec) and possibly the Smith
Outdoor Environmental Center are planned.
Parent Volunteers
Teachers will be sending home forms for this and will begin the volunteer program by the end of
September. The PTA volunteer committee schedules a training session for all new volunteers.
Class Parties
There will be two parties during the year planned by the Room Parents; Halloween and Valentine’s Day.
Birthdays
1. We ask that no birthday party invitations be sent to school.
2. Cloverly has a birthday policy. Birthdays will NOT be celebrated with food or goodie bags/trinkets in
school. Your child will receive a birthday pencil from Cloverly. K teachers will honor the birthday child
with special privileges for that day.
Toys
We do not allow children to routinely bring toys and trinkets to school. Please leave these items at home.
On special occasions, your child’s teacher may allow items from home to be shared, and you will be
informed of this in writing. Please do not allow your child to hang anything from their backpack.
Other Notes
The P.E. teacher requests that your child wear sneakers on the day he/she has Physical Education.
Actually, tennis shoes (sneakers) would be the best shoes for daily wear. No flip-flops, please. It will be
helpful to label your child’s jackets, backpack, and lunch box. A practical suggestion for home: Choose a
special place in your house that will be used for items going to school. All notes, library books,
backpacks, homework, etc. can be placed there. Make it a habit to go through your child’s backpack with
him/her every day or evening----look for that Cloverly folder! 
Thank you for your attention to these matters. Many reminders will be
sent along the way to provide additional information and helpful
hints.
Your K Team,
Ms. Burgess, Ms. Chalmers and Mrs. Garner