Orientation for Fours Needs for classroom Large bag to hold mail and child’s art work 1 Plastic pencil box Crayons (please label each crayon) 1 – Large glue stick (please label) 2 – Liquid white school glues (please label) 1 - Box tissues (last name begins with A –M) 1 – Box of baby wipes (last name begins with N-Z) 2 - Rolls of paper towels gym shoes (please label) A complete change of clothes – shirt, pants, underwear, and socks. Please place these items in a large zip-lock bag and put your child’s name on the bag. Please remind your child that the only thing that will return home with him that first day will be his school bag, all the other items will be stored at school. Milk and or Juice You are able to purchase a milk (chocolate milk) card or a juice (orange juice) card at the office for your child. The milk/chocolate milk card is $12.00 for 40 cartons and the juice is $8.25 for 20 cartons. If you prefer your child bring a beverage from home that is fine also. These are not actual cards the child brings home, but papers on which the teacher keeps a record of milk/juice consumed. When the 40 or 20 beverages are used, the teacher will send notification that a new “card” needs to be purchased. These “cards” can be purchased at the school office or you can send the money to school via your child in a marked envelop. If you are sending cash, be sure to include your student’s name. Drop off and Pick Up The children are dropped off at the north parking lot. A teacher will meet the children at the northeast door of the church building starting at 8:25. She will take each child from their vehicle and at this time the parent will sign the child in. The teacher will escort the child into the building where they will begin the Movement Maze and then choose an activity at a learning center. We will wait at the door from 8:25 to 8:45. If you arrive later than 8:45, you will have to stop in at the main office to be directed to the Preschool classroom and sign your child in with the Preschool teacher. For those children who have older siblings at Warsaw Christian School, a parent can arrive with their child as early as 8:15, walk the child into the Preschool classroom and sign them in with one of the teachers. These parents MUST park in the south parking lot and enter the building at the school office. Pick up takes place at 11:30 at the southwest entrance of the building. Parents need to park along the sidewalk forming a single line so we can put the child in the vehicle. The parent will have to sign the child out at time of pick-up. We will supervise the children until 11:45. Children not picked up by 11:45 will be taken to the school office where they will wait for the parent to come in and pick them up and sign them out. If for some reason you cannot pick up your child from school and you have asked someone else to pick up your child, PLEASE COMMUNICATE this information to us by note or a phone call to the school office. If someone other than a parent picks up a child, they will be required to show a PICTURE ID. This will not apply to someone other than a parent that constantly picks up the child, if parents have communicated this arrangement with us. We will not put your child in a “stranger’s” car, even if the child recognizes the individual. Dress Code The dress code for preschool differs from the dress code for the other students attending W.C.S. We spend a lot of time on the floor, so please dress accordingly. I know it is fun to dress your child up to attend school, but my advice is to dress them in comfortable clothing you do not mind if they get soiled or spotted with paint, etc. Do keep in mind that we do have P.E. on Thursday. Also, I wish to address a problem we have when the weather turns colder. The preschoolers will go out for recess unless it is raining or the weather is bitter cold. Please dress your child for outside play. This includes snow pants, coat, boots, hat, and mittens or gloves. Every year we have children come to school who are not dressed adequately for the cold. We do have a few extra hats and mittens in our supply but not enough for everyone. Thank you for attending to this!! Communication to Home The primary way that we communicate with you will be in the weekly newsletter, which will be e-mailed to you each Friday or the following Monday morning. The newsletter will have pertinent information you will need to know on a weekly basis in order for your child to have a successful year at Noah's Ark Preschool. You will also be receiving the Warsaw Christian School "News You Can Use" newsletter. Always refer to the Preschool newsletter for scheduling information. The school website, www.warsawchristian.org will be a great way to stay in touch. Visit the classroom page to see what your child is learning and see pictures of your child in action. In the event that your email changes from what you originally submitted, please notify me. My email address is pboren@warsawchristian.org. Snacks Every day in preschool we have a snack time. We ask that parents help to provide the food for that time. At the end of each week, I will send a basket home with the child who will be responsible for providing snacks the next week (Wednesday- Friday). We are requesting store bought food only. Please send the unopened box to school. Ideas for snacks include: cookies, muffins, crackers and cheese, fresh fruit, fruit roll-ups, veggies, etc., use your imagination! Please do not bring popcorn, nuts, or grapes. These foods are so easy to choke on! One of the weeks that your child will be responsible for snacks will be their Birthday week (or half birthday if your child has a summer birthday). We are requesting no cupcakes or cake this year because they are so messy! If your child has any known allergies, please communicate that to us. Accidents All teachers are certified in infant/child first aid. In the case of any accident, assessment and treatment of the injury will be given. If further treatment is deemed necessary, the parent, guardian, or emergency contact person will be called. All accidents are recorded on an accident report form and kept in the school office. Sickness In the event that your child is sick and cannot come to school, please call the office by 10:00 so that they can let us know. Remember, if a child displays any of the following symptoms, he/she must be kept home: Fever Diarrhea Nasal secretions that are thick, yellow or green, and accompanied by a fever Sore throat with fever or throat spots Cough accompanied by fever, chills, and coughing up of green or yellow mucous, vomiting, or nausea Eye drainage of any type should be checked by a doctor to rule out infection Unusual rashes should be checked by a doctor to rule out bacterial infection Child not feeling well, such as lethargic behavior and/or crying The child may return to preschool after illness when: Fever has been broken for 24 hours Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea has subsided for 24 hours At least 4 doses of antibiotic have been given over a 24-hour period for any type of strep or bacterial infection Child is feeling well again and normal behavior has returned Tornadoes In the event of a tornado warning, students will be escorted to a safe shelter in one of our inner rooms, and instructed in proper safety procedures. We do conduct tornado drills so that the children are prepared for an actual emergency. Fire Drills Fire drills are held on a monthly basis in order to familiarize the children with proper and safe procedures for emergency exit of the building. In the event of a fire, students will be evacuated according to the plan. The school is inspected on a regular basis by the fire marshal. The most recent inspection information is located in the school office. Snow Days When severe weather conditions exist, please listen to the radio for school closings. The radio stations that cover our school are listed in the News You Can Use. In the event of a delayed opening, please listen to the radio for specific information about preschool classes, if it is a two-hour delay, preschool will run from 10:30 to 12:30. We also may have fog delays. Sorry, but the weather is beyond our control! Scheduled Days that we DO NOT have school September 1, Labor Day October 16 & 17, ACSI Teacher Convention November 26 – 28, Thanksgiving Vacation December 22- January 2, Christmas Vacation February 16, President Day April 3 – 10, Good Friday and Spring Break Language Arts – Animal Alphabet I use a wonderful method of teaching the letters and sounds of the alphabet through the use of animal puppets. Even though there are only 26 letters in our alphabet, there are 36 sounds and we will be learning 33 of those sounds. Your child will be introduced to a new puppet every week. Each puppet teaches us a different sound through a catchy jingle that the children will learn. This is a fun way to learn letters and sounds, and has been very successful. Some of the children will even be able to sound out simple words by the end of the preschool year, even though it is not my goal to hurry the children into reading at this early age. You will receive a paper at the beginning of the school year that has the jingles listed. Please do not tell your child what the upcoming animal or jingle will be, but once they have been introduced to that animal you are encouraged to review the jingle with them at home. Bible As a teacher of young children, I have the privilege and awesome responsibility of sharing the joy of Jesus Christ and an understanding of the Bible with your children. In teaching children of this age, I am preparing their hearts and minds for future growth. The learning of Bible facts is not the ultimate goal; God is interested in seeing lives changed! My goal is to see the children understand and respond to the Word of God and come to trust and love the Lord Jesus. Our Bible time presents familiar Bible stories, especially those focused on children of the Bible. Everyday stories about children are a part of the curriculum and they help address the same fears, feelings, and problems a typical four-year-old child may experience. The stories provide opportunities for the children to share in solutions that really work. Weekly Bible verses are presented through the use of teacher-made visuals and reviewed daily. The children are given the opportunity to say the memory verse using the visuals as a help and add a sticker to their personal Memory Verse Incentive Chart. It is our desire that God’s Word be stored in their young hearts to provide light and direction when the child is tempted by Satan to disobey God’s principles for living. Math The Math center is loaded with teacher-made games and activities that involve the children in the problem-solving process. These include: measuring, patterning, sorting, estimating, and exploring with manipulatives. Science I love teaching science to young children because they are so inquisitive. Our room abounds with science activities from discovering about the world of insects to learning how magnets work. With the animal puppets, the children will be learning about vertebrate and invertebrate animals. They will learn about the characteristics of amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles. You’ll be amazed at all they learn! Show and Tell On the week that your child is the leader, he/she will have the opportunity to share something from home with the rest of the children. It may be helpful to rehearse with your child what they might say to their classmates. This is something the children usually enjoy doing, and if they come to school without their show and tell object, they are very disappointed, so please check the calendar to see when your child is scheduled to be the leader of the week. Book Clubs Some months parents will receive a book club letter and order form. These books are offered at exceptional prices and allow families to build their home libraries. When you purchase books through the book clubs, the teacher receives points with which she can order books, free of charge, for the classroom. We do ask that you choose your books carefully, as we cannot endorse all of the materials offered. If you have a question about a particular book or would like recommendations, ask us. When ordering books from a particular book club, please use a check as payment and make sure your check(s) are made out to Mrs. Patti Boren. Parent/Teacher Conferences There will be two scheduled parent/teacher conferences. The first will be on October 27th & 28th in the afternoon. At this time we will mutually decide on goals for your child. The second parent/teacher conference will be held in January. At this time I will give parents information about their child’s progress in the classroom. You will receive another assessment of your child’s progress at the end of the school year. At that time I will request a conference for any child who I feel is not developmentally ready to go on to Kindergarten. Please know that I am available throughout the year for individual conferences with parents at their request. Field Trips Field trips are an integral part of the learning experience. They enhance the learning experience by offering opportunities not available in the classroom. Remember, your child must have a “Parent Consent Form for Off Campus Activities” on file in the school office or he/she cannot be taken off the premises. I will also send a permission slip home to be signed and returned for each field trip taken. Here is the tentative Field Trip List: September 26 – Camping Adventure (this is an on-campus event) October 24 – Fire Station November 14 – Hospital (KCH) January 9 – Warsaw Public Library February 13 – Post Office March 13 – Bob Kline’s Train Display April 2 – Ritter’s for Vanilla Custard May 15 – End of the Year Party at Kelly Park Special Event Days Throughout the school year the staff plans special activity days to enhance the monthly classroom themes, or to celebrate special holidays. Parents are encouraged to participate by helping in the classroom or providing special snacks or activities. There is a sign-up sheet for the holiday parties that we have in our schedule this year. Please sign-up to help if you can – what a blessing this is to the teacher and aide! Parent Involvement I welcome parent involvement in the classroom, and I feel that it benefits not only the class, but the parent and child as well. Parents are encouraged to participate in the classroom as a helper on a regular basis. Parent participation enables me to offer a variety of creative activities for students. Other ways that parents can participate in the classroom experience would be chaperoning on field trips, special-day themed events and much more. If you have any concerns or questions, please feel free to call me at home at 5515881. I want to be in partnership with you to provide for your child the BEST early childhood school experience possible!