MDCS Kindergarten wishes to welcome you to the 2009-2010 school year. It will be a wonderful and exciting experience for us all. We look forward to getting to know your child and your family and have a busy and productive year planned. We look forward to sharing a learning environment where your child will develop and grow through education, experiences, and discovery. In Kindergarten your child learns to live, work, and play with other children. It is a place that supports activity, talking, risk-taking, problem solving, exploration, movement, thinking and learning. It is a safe and happy place.
Thank you for helping us provide your child with the comfortable and trustworthy learning environment we strive for. And thank you for ALL the supplies and additional support!!! Your participation in school activities, and reading and working with your child daily will help your child have a successful year. We realize sending your little one off to Kindergarten is an emotional and celebrated transition for your family. Your child is experiencing a great beginning to a lifetime of learning. Thank you for joining the MDCS Family.
Volunteers
In Kindergarten, we ask that you provide teachers with the time we need in order to get to know your child and establish a productive and trustworthy relationship. This takes time and we realize this is a lot to ask. However, we ask that you please do not volunteer inside the classroom for the first three weeks of school. Thank you.
Every MDCS family is encouraged to volunteer at least 6 hours a Quarter (that's 24 hours a school year). There will be many opportunities for you to volunteer throughout the year. We feel that it is very important for your child to know that you support him/her in his/her education. Your support can be exhibited in a number of ways in and outside of the classrooms. Some include organizing outings, office work, grounds keeping, cleaning classrooms, preparing materials, etc. Please let us know if you have a special talent or would like to share your area of expertise with our class. In Please sign up to volunteer in advance, so we are prepared for you to help.
Field Expeditions
Kindergartners will take several field expeditions throughout the school year that directly relate to our curriculum. We will have a lot of fun on these outings but much of the focus will be on age appropriate Field Work. We encourage parents/guardians to attend as many field expeditions as possible with the expectation that they will participate in the activities. A letter will always be sent home in advance in your child's folder, containing date, details, and permission slip. Often we will take a bus but we may occasionally ask for volunteers to drive. Soliciting last minute permission from parents/guardians via phone the morning of an outing causes undue stress on a child and often directly effects prearranged departure/arrival times for the entire class. We endeavor to avoid this in 2007-2008 by expecting all permission slips to be turned in promptly. In addition, some field expeditions may have a reasonable travel or admission fee that we expect will be paid before the day of the outing. If there is ever a financial conflict, do not hesitate to contact us and we will work to make sure that all of our children go. Obviously, a child without a permission slip cannot attend the outing. Students are also required to wear an orange MDCS T-shirt on the day of an outing. T-shirts can be purchased in the office for $10.00.
Rest Time
All Kindergartners will rest for 30 minutes Monday-Thursday. Children do not have rest time on Friday half-days. They are not expected to sleep but must remain quiet. This is a great time for mischief and we encourage you to stress that relaxing and clearing your head is certainly not a punishment. Children are allowed to bring something small and soft to snuggle (please do not bring a most treasured item). A nap/tumbling mat is required for rest time. We ask that classroom traffic be held to a minimum during this time.