Welcome to
Prussing Elementary
Preschool For All
2014-2015
Mrs. Kristi Trejo
Preschool Teacher
Mrs. Lorena Amarillo
Teachers Assistant
Prussing Elementary Phone Number
773-534-3460
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CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS
ERNST PRUSSING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
4650 N. Menard Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60630
(773) 534-3460 - Fax (773) 534-3530
Lloyd M. Ehrenberg, Ed. D.
Principal
Ms. Hanna Kapica
Assistant Principal
Welcome to Preschool!
Dear Preschool Families,
I want to extend to you and your child my warmest welcome into our classroom! My name is Mrs.
Kristi Trejo and I am honored to be your child's preschool teacher. This will be my third year of
teaching preschool at Prussing Elementary and I am very excited for another great year. I
obtained my Early Childhood Education teaching degree from Northeastern Illinois University in
2010, and I completed an endorsement to teach English as a Second Language in 2013. In my
spare time I enjoy reading, traveling, gardening, and spending time with my three children, ages
14, 11, and 3.
Working jointly with me will be Mrs. Lorena Amarillo. She has an associate’s degree in Early
Childhood Education, and has been working at Prussing Elementary as an assistant in preschool
for ten years. She keeps herself busy with her four children, ages 23, 20, 16, and 10. Mrs.
Amarillo is fluent in Spanish/English, and is a great asset to our classroom. We are both looking
forward to interacting with you and your child this upcoming school year.
My philosophy for learning is that each child is unique, and each child learns in a different way.
One of my jobs as a teacher is to help your child discover his or her individuality and work
alongside with them to maximize it. I believe in hands-on experiences, learning creatively and
learning though play. I am really looking forward to a fun–filled and educational year!
I believe that communication is the key to a great parent-teacher relationship and I encourage
you to contact me if you have any questions or concerns at any time. I hope we can work
together to make this a memorable year for your child.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Kristi Trejo
Prussing Preschool For All (PFA)
773-534-3460
kmtrejo@cps.edu
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Preschool Handbook
Welcome to Preschool
Welcome to a new and exciting year of preschool! We are looking forward to working with you and your
child this year. Our days at preschool will be filled with many wonderful experiences and opportunities
for the children to learn, play, and grow. Preschool is a very exciting time when children learn about
themselves, as well as how to work and play with their peers.
School Schedule
Morning preschool will begin promptly at 8:15 a.m. and will dismiss at 10:45 a.m., Monday through Friday.
Afternoon preschool will begin at 12:45 p.m. and will dismiss at 3:15 p.m., Monday through Friday. We will
follow the CPS schedule for days out such as, holidays, teacher in-service, inclement weather,
winter/spring break, etc.
Arrival and Departure
Students should be dropped off at the bottom of the ramp at the mobile unit closest to the parking lot.
We will be waiting for the students there. Students should be picked up at the back door, on the other
side of the mobile unit. Children will only be released to their parents or a designated person on the
pick-up authorization form. In case of an emergency, please call the school to inform us of another
person picking up your child. All other persons picking up your child will be required to show
identification.
Attendance
Students who are enrolled in PFA are expected to be in school for the full session and are expected to
be punctual in their arrival or departure. Regular and prompt attendance at preschool creates important
routines for your child. However, if your child will be absent due to illness, such as vomiting, fever,
diarrhea, pink eyes with drainage, lice, or cough with congestion and excessive nasal discharge, please
call the main office at (773) 534-3460, or the preschool (773) 534-3884 and provide an excuse note
upon your child's return. Please provide a doctor’s note if your child is absent for three or more days
due to illness.
Dress Code
Students in preschool should dress appropriately for school each day. It is best if you send your child to
school in PLAY CLOTHES. Do not send your child to school in jeans, costumes/dress-up clothes, dress-up
shoes, or shorts that are too short. Appropriate footwear should be worn, such as gym shoes (no sandals
or flip-flops). Feet should be covered at all times. We do a lot of outdoor activities that include running,
jumping and stretching which can be inhibited by the child’s clothing. In addition to outdoor play, your
child will be working with materials like paint, markers, play dough and other “messy” items that could
end up on their clothes. Also, please dress your children appropriately for the weather.
Snacks
Due to allergies, no snack will be provided for your child during school hours. Please make sure your child
has eaten breakfast/lunch before they arrive for school. We will not be allowed to give them any food if
they are hungry, and it is hard to learn and concentrate on an empty stomach!
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Supplies
Each child needs a full-sized backpack labeled with his/her name to take to and from preschool every
day to transport papers, notes, and art work. We will supply each child with a two-pocket red folder to
send home papers and notes and receive important papers or notes from you. Please make sure the
backpack is large enough to fit the folders.
Each child should bring a complete set of appropriate weather clothing to be kept at school for any type
of situation where it would be necessary to change such as a potty accident or spill. This should include a
shirt, pants, shorts, socks, and underwear.
Additionally, please provide the following supplies:
1 Primary marble composition book (½ drawing and ½ lined)
1 1” binder
1 packages of glue sticks
2 Elmer’s liquid glue
3 reams of copy paper
1 box quartz sized storage bags
1 pack of white drawing paper
1 package 9 inch paper plates
1 package 6 inch paper plates
1 container disinfectant wipes (AM CLASS)
1 package of baby wipes (PM CLASS)
1 package 8 oz paper cups (AM CLASS)
1 package foam bowls (PM CLASS)
1 roll of paper towels
1 box of Kleenex tissue
1 bottle hand sanitizer
1 pack of colored tissue paper
1 (4) pack Play-Doh modeling compound
Please note: Some supplies may need to be replenished in January. A complete list of supplies is also
provided on the school website at prussingelementary.org.
Parent-Teacher Communication
Each child will be provided with a communication folder. Every day your child will take home his/her
folder. Please check this each day. It may contain important announcements, parent-child activities, or
completed work/projects. This will help to create a routine and continue the communication between
home and school. Also, use this as a way to communicate with me. This folder will be checked daily. I will
also communicate with you throughout the year through monthly newsletters, notes, and telephone calls.
In addition, our classroom has a page on the school website at prussingelementary.org. I will be updating
the page weekly with important announcements and information, weekly activities and events in
preschool, as well as pictures. You are required to provide your email address to receive updates.
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Preschool Curriculum
Our curriculum and classroom routine have been carefully designed to help facilitate your child’s growth
and development. The class presents a fun hands-on learning experience and supports each child in
building competency in social and learning skills. We will be using The Creative Curriculum for Preschool,
as well as thematic units. Presenting ideas and concepts thematically helps the brain to understand
complete concepts. We will be presenting themes through stories, songs, art activities, math, language
and literacy activities, fine and large motor activities, and games. The curriculum incorporates
opportunities for children to learn readiness skills necessary for their transition to kindergarten such as
letter identification, beginning letter sounds, counting, identifying colors and shapes, self-help skills, and
problem-solving skills. We will be practicing these skills through learning centers, and small and large
group activities.
Child Guidance and Discipline
In our classroom we use positive guidance, redirection, and planning environmental and instructional
supports to prevent problems. We encourage appropriate behavior through the use of consistent clear
rules and expectations, involving children in problem solving to foster the child’s own ability to become
self-disciplined, and the use of positive behavior support strategies. We will encourage the children to
respect other people, to be fair, respect property, and learn to be responsible for their actions. We will
use discipline that is consistent, clear, developmentally appropriate and understandable to the child.
They will learn to play cooperatively with others, use language to communicate needs, and learn turn
taking. We also provide a quiet individual place where children can be alone productively. Our concept of
a “calm down” area is to have the child “sit apart” from the group until inner control is reached and the
child is ready to rejoin the group.
Parent-child Activities
Home activities will require parental involvement at this level. Your cooperation is essential in developing
a positive homework habit. First and foremost, you can encourage your child by showing interest and
demonstrating helpful attitudes toward homework. Periodically, activities will be sent home for you to
complete with your child.
Parent Volunteers
Families are encouraged to take an active part in the educational process of the children. There are
many capacities for parent to volunteer in our classroom. Please fill out the volunteer form if you are
interested in being a volunteer and return it to me. For safety’s sake, if a volunteer will be working with
children, he/she will be expected to undergo a background check. No person with a substantiated report
of child abuse or neglect will come in contact with children in the program or have responsibility for
children.
Mystery Reader
Students love having their family, friends, and relatives visit our classroom to share in our learning by
reading a favorite story aloud to our class. I would like to invite any parents, grandparents, relatives, or
other special people to surprise your child by being a “Mystery Reader!” Readers are asked to bring a
favorite book to read or I can provide one from our classroom library. If you are interested please sign
up on orientation day, as well as Open House night, and I will contact you to set up a Mystery Reader
date. We will begin Mystery Readers on Fridays throughout the year starting in October. Remember, you
will be a mystery to the class, so try not to tell your child when you are coming!
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Student of the Week
Each child will have the opportunity to be the Student of the Week. The Friday before your child is
chosen you will receive a letter informing you about the project. Please return the project the following
Monday to ensure your child has his/her turn to be the special student for that week.
Sharing Bag
Sharing helps increase children’s socialization and language skills. It provides an opportunity for children
to share part of their world-what they like, what they know, what they found, and how they feel. As
they share something of themselves with one another, they gain confidence in becoming the focus of the
group’s attention, develop speaking skills, and find others are interested in them. Sharing is done with a
Sharing Bag. Children take the sharing bag home, on a rotating basis, and bring back something to share
the next class session to share with the entire class. With the help of their parents, children will select
an item from home, place it in the bag, and bring it to class for sharing. Please do not include valuable
items, food, or play weapons. Each child will have several opportunities to take the sharing bag home.
Birthdays
Birthdays are special days and your child's birthday will be celebrated at preschool. If your child has a
summer birthday, we will celebrate his/her birthday at the end of the year. Please note, due to allergies
you are not allowed to send in any cake, cupcakes, cookies, etc. for your child's birthday. You may send
in a goody bag that would be distributed at the end of class, but it cannot contain any food items. An
alternate idea for celebrating birthdays, in lieu of a treat, is to donate a book to our class library! The
birthday child may bring a book wrapped or unwrapped, and a book plate with your child's name will be
placed on the inside cover. The child's parent/caregiver may come in and read the book to the class on
his/her special day. You are not obligated to do this, but it is a meaningful way for your child to share
his/her birthday with the class. Please call me or send a note in advance if you would like to come in to
our class.
Also, in order not to hurt any child's feelings in our classroom, please do not distribute party invitations
in our classroom unless every child is invited to the party. Invitations can be distributed before or
after school. This ensures that children will not be placed in an uncomfortable situation. There are 20
children in our class.
First Week Transition
In order to ensure a smooth transition for all children in our preschool classroom, we will be phasing in
the children five at a time over four days. This will give your child the chance to meet the teachers and
explore our classroom in a smaller group setting. We will also be able to give more individual attention to
your child if they are upset and need it. We will phase the children in alphabetically. You will be notified
what day your child is to start on orientation day.
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Prussing Elementary Preschool Handbook Agreement Form
Parent/Guardian
I have received a current copy of the Prussing Elementary Preschool For All Handbook. In doing so, I
acknowledge and agree to the policies contained therein. I also realize during my child’s enrollment at
the school I will be informed from time to time, formally or informally, of various changes in school
policies. I understand the school reserves the right to change policies at any time with or without
advance notice. I further understand it is required for me to sign this form in order to continue my
child’s enrollment at the school.
Child:_____________________________________________
Parent signature:_____________________________________
Date:__________________________
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