Parent+Handbook

=4K Parent Handbook=



Class Days and Times
Monday-Friday AM- 8:40-11:25 PM- 12:40-3:25

Drop-off and Pick up Procedures
4K parents/Caregivers should park in the school’s parking lot. Students must be escorted into the building and enter through the main entrance. Parents should assist their child with hanging up their coat and backpack in their cubbie in the beginning of the year, but help them transition to doing it on their own shortly there after.
 * Drop-off:**

Parents/Caregivers must enter the school parking lot from HWY NN and may park on the west side of the school near the Early Childhood wing enter through the side door and come to the 4K classroom at 11:25/3:25 to pick up their child.
 * Pick-up:**

Changes in Dismissal Procedures
If at any time your child’s dismissal procedure changes the school/teacher MUST be notified. Please send a note to your child’s teacher or call the school office. If your child is in a car pool, please send the information/schedule to your child’s teacher to keep on file. The school must have written and/or verbal communication from a child’s parent for any person (other than a parent) picking up a child. Teachers may not release a child without this information. This is for the safety of your child.

Dress Your Child Appropriately
We have a very active, hands-on learning environment, and sometimes it can get a little messy. It is best to send your child to school in comfortable play clothes and shoes. We will go outside as much as possible during the mild temperature months. During the cold and snowy winter months we will only go out if we send a note in advance, in order to insure that all children have the appropriate snow gear. So it will not be necessary for you to send snow pants and boots to school every day. When your child does bring these extra items to school, please be sure to label all items.

Home and School Communications
Please check backpacks DAILY! There will be times that important messages from the office will be sent to you through your child, however, most classroom information will be communicated through the 4K website. Please take a little time to sit down with your child, go through their backpack, and discuss the day’s events. SFB Family mail goes out every week (Thursday) Please return envelopes promptly the following school day. Due to the size and amount of items that will be sent home with your child, please provide them with a standard size backpack.

Communications with Teacher
Please put all communications (transportation changes, concerns, etc.) to your child’s teacher in writing or email. Your correspondence will be responded to as soon as possible. Notes, etc. may be placed in the basket on top of the cabinet, outside the classroom door. You may also send an email (tenpennyc@sfbschool.org), or call and leave a message or a voice mail and Mrs. Tenpenny will respond as soon as her schedule allows. Please keep in mind that Mrs. Tenpenny is only in the building until 12:00 each day.

Handwriting Without Tears
We are very excited about the handwriting program we use for 4K. Handwriting Without Tears (HWT) is a simple, developmentally based curriculum for printing. The program uses fun, multisensory techniques to teach each letter formation and eliminate reversals of letters. For more information about the HWT program please visit the website: [].

4K “Star Student” Week
Each 4K student will be assigned a Tuesday-Thursday to be “Star Student”. On Tuesday, the child will bring to school the completed “All About Me” book to share with the class. On Wednesday, they will bring in the “star box” filled with their favorite things, which they will tell about/show the class. On Thursday, the final day of their star week, a parent, family member, or special friend, is invited to come to the classroom at 11:00 to read a few of the child’s favorite stories. It is fine if the child would like to bring in a special snack on that Thursday. A schedule of the Star Student weeks can be found on the Wiki website.

Snack
Nutritious snacks will be provided and snacks will be served during each class period. The children will be receiving white milk or water with their snack each day. If your child has any known allergies, please alert us immediately.

Field Trips/Special Activities
Throughout the year the 4K will be participating in a variety of field trips/special activities. These events will be funded through the student activity fee. Due to liability reasons, **siblings are unable to attend**. You will be notified in advance of upcoming events so that you are able to plan accordingly. The morning and afternoon 4K classes usually attend field trips together. We will alternate the times that we go in the morning OR the afternoon. **Please note that if your child attends morning 4K and we are scheduled to go on a field trip in the afternoon that day, your child will come ONLY in the afternoon that day for the trip, no regular morning class will be held.**

Book Orders
Scholastic Book Club orders can be placed throughout the year. These clubs offer a wide variety of wonderful books at discount prices, while allowing our classroom to receive free materials. If you would like to place an order, just visit the Scholastic Book Club website by using the link and teacher access code found on my Wiki website HOME page. Your order can be placed and payment made using your credit/debt card. The books will then be sent to school and we will deliver them to you.

Volunteering
Our classroom teachers will communicate any need for help in the classroom throughout the year, as well as prep help that can be done at home. The room mothers will communicate with you regarding party dates, items that need to be donated for parties or special days and necessary volunteers. **In order to be able to volunteer in the classroom or on a field trip, you must take the "Safe Guarding All God's Families" class through the parish. If you need to take class, please visit the St. Francis Borgia Parish website at: www.saintfrancisborgia.org, select the christian formation tab, and then the link for "Safeguarding All God's Families". Please call The Parish office (377-1070) if you have any questions.**

Supplies
The 4K children need to bring in an art smock on their first day of school. An old T-shirt of mom or dad works great for a smock. Additionally, we are requesting the following items:

2 boxes of 5 oz. Dixie cups, 2 containers of baby wipes, a roll of paper towel, a box of gallon size Ziploc baggies.