Dear Kindergarten Students and Parents,

Remember to pray, play, rest, and enjoy good books!

Mission Statement and Philosophy:

Our kindergarten program provides the opportunity to prepare children for success in future endeavors in school and life, as well as instilling in them a love for God, self, others, and learning.  Our program has a developmental philosophy of early childhood education.  This means the whole child - body, mind, heart, and spirit - arrives at school to meet the challenges of each new day.  Our program is based upon the individual and unique development of each child and an understanding that each child will progress through predictable stages of development at their own rate.  The program provides an orderly, sequential, and gradual introduction toward basic learning skills and curriculum.  The children must gain vocabulary for understanding directions, learn to listen carefully and critically, recognize what is expected of them, think for themselves, express themselves clearly, become secure in working with concrete objects, manipulatives and other planned activities and learn to observe, question, and appreciate the wonders of God's world.

We recognize parents as the primary educators of their children and view them as partners with teachers in the child's education.  We will try to use this web page and other resources as tools for communication and collaboration between parents and teachers in order to maximize the growth and development of each child.

We hope this information is helpful.  Welcome to Kindergarten 2008-2009!

Discipline

Our school motto is

“Act kindly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with God” Micah 6:8.  

We will say this motto often. With that I also use eight expectations as the standard in my classroom. This provides a predictable environment in which the children know what is expected of them. It is a pro-active way to teach procedures and establish expectations that build self-esteem and make the classroom a place where children are immersed in a "character" rich environment.

  The Eight Expectations are

1.      We will value and respect one another as unique and special individuals, children of God.

2.      We will not laugh at or make fun of a person's mistakes nor use sarcasm or putdowns.
 

3.      We will use good manners, saying "please," "thank you," and "excuse me" and allow others to go first.
 

4.      We will cheer each other to success.
 

5.      We will help one another whenever possible.
 

6.      We will recognize every effort and applaud it.
 

7.      We will encourage each other to do our best.
 

8.      We will practice virtuous living, using the Life Principles.

(The Life Principles are set as the Word of the Week for the entire school, and include concepts like respect, initiative, compassion, self-discipline, cooperation, perseverance, honesty, patience, and responsibility – you will find the Word of the Week on our class calendar.)

Three additional expectations I have for the children in my class are that we address each other by name, speak in complete sentences, and use the Magic Triad (smile, gentle touches, and kind words) in our treatment of each other. I will not tolerate hitting, inappropriate touching, and unkind words of any kind. I want every child to feel safe in our room without the fear of being hurt by someone else. If a behavior is persisting or interfering in the learning process I will call a conference with you and your child to discuss further options.