ABC's

ABC's of Kinderfrogs!

Absences- Please call the office at 523-5400 if your child is going to be absent.

Arrival- There is no supervision in the APR until 8:20. Beginning at that time your child may come to school and they can eat breakfast and then wait in our class line until the first bell rings at 8:40. Children must be in the classroom by 8:50 or will be counted tardy.

Attendance- Attendance at school is very important. We strive for our students to be here"bell to bell." Attendance is an indicator of high school graduation. Please give your student a great start to success!

Birthdays- We enjoy birthdays but please do not send party invitations to school unless the entire class is invited. Each child will have a special day to celebrate and a special treat can be brought in (please let me know in advance).

Bathroom- We take several bathroom trips as a class throughout the day. Your child may also go individually as needed. Sometimes accidents happen and you may be called to bring an extra set of clothing. Please let me know if your child has bathroom problems.

Behavior- We use a “stoplight” system and the children begin each day on green, their first warning they will change their green frog to yellow and miss 5 minutes of centers/recess, their second warning they turn to red and miss 10 minutes of centers/recess. Any further problems will be dealt with by Ms. Johnson with a call home.

Conferences- We will have a parent/teacher conference in November but other conferences may be requested by you or me and needed throughout the year.

Communication- The best way to deal with any questions it to email me at krinkoski@spsmail.org or call me at 523-5443.

Dismissal- Kindergarten is dismissed at 3:30. Car riders will be in the APR (cafeteria) at that time, bus riders are in the hallway, and Prime Time will be taken down to the gym for later pick-up. Please be sure that your child knows how they are getting home every day and notify me of any changes in pick-up.

Donations- Donations to the classroom are always appreciated. I will have a wish-list at open house should you be able to help with items needed.

Everyday math- This is our math program with a very hands-on approach to learning. Students learn through discovery and real-life applications.

Fifth Grade Buddies- This year your child will have a buddy that is in Mrs. Popp's classroom. We will meet with them to read and do activities weekly.

Friday Folders- Blue folders will come home every Friday and will include important information/homework/notes from me and the school. Please review the information and return the folder every Monday.

Going outside- We try to go out to recess every day that the weather cooperates. It is important that the Kinderfrogs get fresh air and exercise. Therefore, it is very important that students are dressed for the weather. Please watch the weather and make sure that your child has cold weather gear when it is cold.

Homework- We will occasionally have homework in math (in Friday folders). Sometimes you will be asked to return it in Friday Folders and sometimes you will just discuss it at home. We also occasionally have family projects to work on throughout the year which will be discussed in the newsletter.

Id number- The 6 digit number used from K-12 that your child will use to buy lunch and needs to be practiced at home. They will use a keypad in the cafeteria. Please practice this with your child.

Independence- One of the things that we work on in kindergarten is independence and responsibility. It is very important that students be responsible for their belongings.

Jobs- We will begin having classroom jobs to teach responsibility in our classroom.

Kinderfrogs!- This is our class name. The students take pride in being a Kinderfrog and it brings our class together. Our mascot is of course Kermit the Frog and frogs are used throughout the year. When you come to the classroom you will see a wonderful frog collection that is added to each year by my wonderful students. Ribbet! Ribbet!

Loans- Milk money may be borrowed for 1 day from Ms. Rinkoski and needs to be paid back the following day. There will be a note sent home as a reminder.

Lunch- Money can be deposited in your child’s account before the school day begins in the lunchroom. If your child brings money or a check they need to pay in the lunchroom before school starts, and make sure your child's student number is in the memo line. You can also prepay for lunch on the SPS website. When your child’s account gets low a reminder will be sent out. Please be aware that students are able to buy additional snacks in the lunchroom if there is money on their account. If you do not want your child to be able to by a lunchtime snack please contact the food service department to change their account settings.

Medications- Any medication that your child needs to take during the day (prescribed or over the counter) needs to be taken by you to Nurse Pamela's office so that she can distribute them. I can't give any medications to students.

Milk Money- Snack milk is .40 and needs to be brought using change daily, it is optional . Exact change is preferred and use of a pill box or coin purse is needed. This is a wonderful way to practice money and responsibility.

Newsletter- Our newsletter is posted on our website and therefore to be “green” I do not send home a paper copy weekly. I try to update it every Friday by 4:00. Short weeks or other circumstances do come up and then it is updated by Monday. It is very important that you look at this weekly to know what it going on at Sequiota and in our room.

Open house- Open house is September 21 and I hope that every family is able to attend.

PTA- The PTA is a great way to get involved here at Sequiota. They will have a campaign to join and I encourage you to do so. They do so much for our school (including the beautiful new playground equipment). Meetings are monthly on Thursdays at 6:00.

Pasta Express- Pasta Express nights are every Tuesday night and Sequiota gets proceeds from the sales when you eat there. Remember to bring the Pasta Express form so that Sequiota will benefit (available on website).

Questions for Ms. Rinkoski- Email is the preferred contact- krinkoski@spsmail.org. Also feel free to call me at 523-5443 after school hours or leave a message during the day. Please feel free to ask any questions or discuss concerns with me, I like to deal with any issues as quickly as possible to ensure your child's happiness at school.

Quick Good-Byes- I know morning good-byes can sometimes be hard but the best way for your child is a quick one!

Reading- Reading with your child is very important in kindergarten and needs to be done daily! We have a STAR reading program school wide to encourage reading and I would like all students to participate.

Snack- I believe that it is important that students refuel during the day and therefore we have snack and milk daily. Your child will have a number in our class (from 1-21) and that is the day of the month that they will bring snack every month. So if I am number 15 I will bring snack on the 15th of every month all year long. Please bring at least 24 snacks on snack day (sometimes things are spilled).

Supplies- We will have to see how supplies work out this year. With the possibility of flu coming I will do everything I can to keep our class healthy. I appreciate all of the supplies but we might need extras during that difficult season.

Tardy- Your student is tardy if they come to school after the bell rings at 8:50. It is very important to be on time because milk money and lunch count is done first thing and students that are late miss that.

Units- We use thematic units in our classroom to incorporate science and social studies. They vary weekly or biweekly and I try to keep you informed in the newsletter of what they are. Some examples are: plants, apples, magnets, farm, birthdays etc.

Volunteer- A blue volunteer sheet is coming home and I would like every student to have one signed. That way if there is an opportunity when a volunteer comes in to work with your student on something they are struggling with or to enhance their learning they can work with a tutor. All volunteers at school have background checks prior to working with students.

Worksheets- Worksheets are used to practice skills but I believe in doing a variety of activities and hands-on to learn in the classroom. So while you may wonder why your child isn’t bringing home lots of papers please know that it is not because we aren’t learning every day.

Website- I am in charge of the Sequiota Homepage as well as our class webpage. If you think of anything that would be helpful to add on our webpage please let me know. I love suggestions on how to improve it! It is made for you and I want it to be useful.

eXpectations- I have high expectations of all of my students and so should you, however also remember that we all make mistakes and that we all learn at different times. Celebrate the growth in your child this year!

You!- You know your child better than anyone else. We must work together to make your child’s kindergarten year successful!

ZZZzzzz- Make sure that your child gets plenty of rest at night and eats a healthy breakfast before school starts each day!