WELCOME TO KINDERGARTEN Grand Prairie Elementary School 2018

WELCOME TO KINDERGARTEN Grand Prairie Elementary School 2018 -2019

Kindergarten Specials Music Once a week for 35 minutes. Art Once a week for 30 minutes. Computers Once a week for 35 minutes. Physical Education Daily for 30 minutes. * Gym shoes needed to participate.

KINDERGARTEN CURRICULUM

Reader’s Workshop Daily Mini Lessons Independent Reading Partner Reading Guided Reading

Fluency Bags High frequency practice Independent books Eureka math games/activities Fluency bags will need to be in their backpacks each morning.

Writer’s Workshop • Daily (40 -45 minutes) • Writing will be stored in writing folders until the end of each unit. Genres include: Narrative, Informational, and Opinion. • Three parts: • Mini-lesson • Write, write • Share

Word Study - Words Their Way Phonemic awareness and phonics sorting activity Differentiated Instruction Letter-Sound Connections Routines include: sorting with the teacher and independent practice and application throughout the week

Word Study – Word Inquiry Focus on meaning Students explore words and relatives Students are introduced to prefixes and suffixes

word web rainy raincoat raining rains raindrop rainbow

High Frequency Words: Students are expected to recognize all 47 words. There will be 8 -13 words per quarter. Students are expected to read and write all high frequency words By the end of the year, students are expected to independently write these No-Excuse words: have like they was went with

Handwriting: Real Script Correct letter/number formation Capitalize first letter in name, lowercase letters to follow Spacing between letters and words Multi-sensory approach Lowercase taught first

EUREKA MATH What is Eureka? The Eureka Math resource was built around the core principle that students need to know more than just what works when solving a problem – they need to understand why it works. Why Eureka? Eureka has received high ratings from educators nationwide and school districts are seeing growth and impressive test scores after just one year of implementation. Eureka with Growth Mindset Students with a Growth Mindset aren’t afraid to make mistakes. Brain research shows that mistakes are good and help you to learn more. Kids with a Growth Mindset achieve more.

What will Eureka look like in the classroom? Typically, there are 6 components to each lesson Fluency – Daily math fact practice which is used to maintain skills, prepare for the current lesson, and/or anticipate skills used in future lessons Application Problem – Word problem which can lead into the concept development or review a concept from the previous day Concept Development – Majority of the lesson which teaches a particular skill. Can include a variety of activities (whiteboards, manipulatives, partner work) Problem Set – Independent practice to apply the skills taught from the concept development. Sometimes students will work on only a few problems Debrief – Reflection after problem set to review as a whole class a few areas Exit Ticket – Quick gauge of student understanding of the day’s skill

Eureka School/Home Connection Problem Sets can come home unfinished and that is okay. It is encouraged to review and complete the Problem Sets with your child at home. Exit Tickets will start coming home frequently during 4 th Quarter and it is encouraged to review the Exit Tickets with your child at home. Assessments/Rubrics Mid-Module Assessments and End of Module Assessments are administered 1: 1. A rubric will be used to grade and inform you of your child’s progress on the Mid Module and End of Module Assessments.

Eureka School/Home Connection Daily Extra Practice The purpose of daily practice at home is to reinforce skills taught at school and increase the home/school connection. The expectation is that your child will practice the games/activities that will come home in the fluency bag before each topic is taught. Zearn is an online program aligned to Eureka. Kindergarten Zearn focuses on numbers to 20 and games to support number sense. Your child’s teacher will provide you with a parent informational letter with your online account login.

Second Step New Social Emotional Learning curriculum Goal is to support emotional component of learning Skills learned in Second Step are reinforced through daily social centers

Where can I see what my kids will be learning? • • www. fsd 157 c. org District office tab Curriculum tab ALL curricular expectations are listed for parents

Assessments and Grading • For the 2017 -18 school year all three schools will report grades to parents on a quarterly basis. • Teachers will collect evidence of learning in a variety of ways: observations, informally, and formally. • Outcome Assessments will come home throughout each quarter.

MTSS: Multi-Tiered System of Support Formally known as RTI: Response to Intervention A Regular Education Initiative Tier 1: Flexible, small group, differentiated, research-based core curriculum. Assessments 3 x year for progress. Tier 2: Not making progress with curriculum, additional interventions in reading and math will be provided (support services). Closer monitoring of progress. Tier 3: Additional, targeted supports, increased and intensive instruction, one-on-one throughout school day. Parents: BIG PART of process. Please communicate with us throughout the school year!

Working together to keep our community safe. • • School District 157 -C partners with the Frankfort Police Department to provide a safe environment in our schools. Your children may see officers in school who are here to teach safety messages or sometimes just to say hi and visit. The Frankfort Police Department has also been working with our staff to prepare them for various situations. In the 2017 school year, the faculty learned a multi-response approach to responding to various dangerous situations. 20

• • • This year, your child will be empowered with information about what to do in a dangerous situation. This will be age appropriate and the skills learned will be revisited with their teachers throughout the year. Ask your children about what they will learn and encourage them to look to their teacher or staff members for direction in emergencies. 157 -C will be introducing a new volunteer based program called “Parents on Duty”. This is a volunteer program that will train and allow parents to serve as extra eyes and ears for the school during arrival and dismissal. 21

School Messenger • • • The District uses an alert system called SCHOOL MESSENGER Emergency messages will be emailed and phone calls will be made to the first two phone numbers listed on your registration Parents can opt into our free system to be notified of any important messages from the school and/or district by texting "Yes" to 67587 from one of your cell phones that you used at registration. 22

THANK YOU FOR COMING! Purple Kindergarten • Jessica Jackson • Brittany Campbell • Victoria Bramlette • Lindsay O’Gean Green Kindergarten • Amy Brandner • Lori Mensik • Megan Murray Gold Community • Karyn Hermes • Erin Johnson • Mary Hawking • Kristina Dziedzic