Welcome to Queen Anne Elementary and
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Beginning of the year infoParent/Family Communication:
STAY CONNECTED! We are embracing technology as a means of communication here at QAE. In order to get the most out of your student's kindergarten year, keep up with the new posts on our classroom website and follow our class on twitter! These two places will be where I post photos, videos and students comments regarding what we are up to in class as often as possible. So often students come home and parents ask, "what did you do at school today?" only to get a response of "nothing." If you want to keep up to date with the amazing learning going on in Room 210, stay connected through these online sites. www.wardqae.weebly.com Twitter: @mswardqae At Curriculum Night, I will walk you through our classroom website and the resources it contains. I will also introduce you to your student's e-folio and teach you how to edit it so you can help me capture your student's growth this year! Classroom Supplies Instead of having students bring school supplies, our school asks for a $50 supply donation from each child. Supply donations are used to buy all of the classroom supplies, art and project materials needed in bulk and with our education discounts. Using community supplies teaches students how to share with others and treat materials with respect so that they last longer. Checks will be collected the first week of school and can be made out to Queen Anne Elementary. Remember, this is a donation. If you are financially unable, just let me know. Pick up/ Drop off On the first day of school, you are welcome to walk your child into our classroom and greet other kindergarteners and family members. When the 9:30 bell rings, I will ask the students to wave goodbye to their family members and come sit with me on the teaching carpet. Please do your best to say goodbye! It is usually much harder for the parents than the students!! After the first day, you are welcome to drop your students off at the playground 15 minutes before the first bell rings. When the bell rings, your students will line up on our class spots (next to the silver stars) and I will come get them to start the day. At the end of the day, I will walk the students out as well. You are welcome to meet your student in the hall, out on the playground or in the designated pick up spot. Before taking your student, please make sure you make eye contact with me so we know they are safe. I will have an adult walk students riding a bus out to the bus lines as well. If your child is ever to go home in a different way than what is "typical" it is really important that you write an email to let me know. Often, kindergarteners will get mixed up! Birthdays At QAE we love birthdays. We love to celebrate them and realize this is an important part of elementary school. We also believe that we can celebrate them in a meaningful and fun way without filling our kids with sugar. Therefore, if you choose to celebrate your child’s birthday at school, you may do so by donating a book in their name to the classroom. We will sing happy birthday, read the book and celebrate without treats, snacks or gifts. Teacher birthdays will be celebrated the same way. Does your student have a summer birthday? don't fret, so do I! We will be celebrating all summer birthday's in class on his/her half birthday. Homework We will talk about this more in depth at curriculum night. However, the kindergarten team believes that kindergartners work very hard throughout the day and we don’t want them (or you) stressing about homework at home. Therefore, we will give families ideas of activities (both on-line and off-line) that can be done at home to help students’ learning - but it will be done on your own timeframe. Orange Folders Each child will have an orange folder that they will bring to and from home daily. They will bring home their daily work to show to you, as well as field trip forms, etc. Please get in the habit of checking this folder daily. If you have anything for me, please send it back to school in the orange folder as I check them daily. Volunteering at QAEVolunteering at Queen Anne Elementary
I hope that all of you find a way to help out at our school this year! It is a lot of fun for the kids and for the adult volunteers! If you are able to make the commitment to volunteer regularly in the classroom, fabulous. I love having the help! At Curriculum Night (Thurs, Sept. 27th) I will have a way to sign up for time slots. When you sign up for a spot, I will work with you to determine what classroom work you are most comfortable doing. Ways to help in the classroom include working directly with the students, helping prepare for upcoming projects (cutting or copying paper), scanning student work for e-folios, emptying/stuffing go-home folders, etc. To work in the classroom on a regular basis, you must take a volunteer training session. (See school website for schedule into) In the training you will learn about classroom expectations, adult boundaries, addressing discipline, and how to use equipment and find supplies. You will also need to fill out background check paperwork, now required by the Seattle Public Schools for all volunteers who have any contact with children. Carla Kirch, our Administrative Assistant in the main office, can help you fill out this paperwork. In addition to regularly scheduled classroom volunteers, there will be lots of opportunities for volunteers to help out. You can sign up for a single time slot, volunteer for one of the classroom parent jobs (see list below), chaperone a field trip, attend a literacy celebration or school assembly, teach us about a special talent or skill you want to share, etc. If you can't get to our campus, you can visit the work we are doing on our classroom website and your student's e-folios and make comments from your home. Parent Jobs The parent jobs currently up for grabs are: - auction liason - party planner - class photographer (take and collect class photos throughout the year to be used for the yearbook and website photo albums) ***technology coordinator ( download pictures, scan & post student, work to student e-folios, blog with kids) If you have any interest in taking any of these on, please let me know! Thank you in advance for all of the support you will provide your kindergartener this year. It is invaluable! |