• General Information

     

    Parking, Drop off, and Pick up Procedures:

    Kindergarteners need to be dropped off and picked up by a parent/guardian daily. Please come to the classroom door for drop off and pick up. For safety reasons, teachers will not dismiss children if they do not physically see the parent outside the classroom. When picking up and dropping off your child it is VERY important that you do not park your car alongside the student drop-off/pickup curb. You must find a parking spot or park on the street. We have had a few situations where parents have parked alongside the curb and have been in the way of emergency vehicles that needed to tend to a child. Students may not be dropped off earlier than their start time. Please make accommodations to get your child to school and to be picked up from school on time. Thank you!

     

    Playground Procedures:

    From the hours of 7:45am-4:00pm Garden Gate is considered a school, not a park. As such, the playgrounds are off-limits unless attended to by a teacher or yard duty aide. Students are not allowed to play on any of the playgrounds before or after drop off or pick up times. After 4:00pm the playgrounds may be accessed by the public.

     

    Bathroom Procedures:

    Kindergarten classrooms have bathrooms within them. Students will use the bathrooms that are inside their classroom throughout the day. During recess and lunch, students will go inside their classroom to access the bathrooms.

     

    Birthdays:

    The State of California passed a law limiting how many classroom food treats students can have during the school year. As a result, we have a school policy stating that students may not bring food treats to celebrate their birthday. We celebrate birthdays by singing and giving a small (non food) treat from the teacher. Your child’s teacher will give you more information regarding birthday celebrations at Back to School Night.

     

    Snacks/Lunch:

    Students will have a 20 minutes recess time every morning from 10am-10:20am. They can eat a small snack during this time. They will have lunch from 11:35am-12:20pm. You should pack your child a lunch, or plan to have your child buy school provided hot lunch. Hot lunches can be purchased in the school Cafeteria. The hot lunch menu will be sent home at the beginning of each month.

     

    CDC:

    If your child goes to the on-site Child Development Center either before or after school, they will be picked up and/or dropped off at your child’s classroom daily by a CDC teacher. Please visit CDC for more information on their before and after school programs.

     

    School Supplies:

    The school supplies most things your child will need to use in the classroom. You will need to provide your child with a backpack to take things to and from school. At the beginning of the school year your child’s teacher may provide a “wish list” with items that he/she hope to have donated to their classroom. Donating items from your teacher’s wish list is optional, not required. 

     

    Volunteers:

    Each teacher will have different preferences and opportunities for parent volunteers in the classroom. This information will be discussed at Back to School Night. If you want to volunteer on the school campus you MUST have a current TB test on file at the school office and well as your fingerprints. You can pick information on fingerprinting and TB testing in the school office.

     

    First Day of School:

    We are very excited to see all of our new students and families on the first day of school on August 15! We have many activities planned as well as a lot of information to share with our new students. Please plan on coming in to help your child get settled, and then leaving. We do not have parents stay throughout the school day as it can be a disruption, and since it often makes it difficult for the children to transition into being independent Kindergarteners. Thank you for your cooperation!

     

    Class Lists/ Teacher Assignments:

    Class lists and teacher assignments will be available for parents to view on their ParentVue portal on Aug11th after 5PM.

     

    Kindergarten Curriculum:

    Please see below for information regarding the Kindergarten curriculum.

    We look forward to meeting you soon!

    Regards,

    Your Kindergarten Teachers

     

    Kindergarten Schedule

    Monday – Friday (Tuesday Excluded)

    All Students: 8:00am-2:05pm

     

    Tuesday (All Tuesdays are early release days)

    All Students: 8:00am-1:30pm

     

    Students have a 20-minute recess and a 45-minute lunch daily. Please pack food for your child. If you are interested in having your child receive a school provided hot lunch, please get a lunch envelope from the school office and send payment. The lunch menu will be sent home at the beginning of each month.

     

    Highlights of Kindergarten Academics

    Here at Garden Gate we follow the Common Core Standards which can be accessed online at:

    http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/cc/

     

    Math:

    We pull the best from a variety of math programs. We cover numbers and operations, geometry and measurement, patterns and relationships, problem solving, mathematical reasoning, and more.

     

    Language Arts:

    Reading is taught through a variety of materials and programs. We stress not only word recognition but comprehension as well. Students are taught phonics as one way to develop decoding skills. We have children enter at all different readiness and reading levels. By using a variety of programs we meet the needs of each child. Writing skills are also addressed in Kindergarten through the Units of Study Writer’s Workshop program.

     

    Science and Social Studies:

    The school district provides us with three science units to use throughout the year. In addition we use many science units that we have developed ourselves. We have an exciting Social Studies program by Scott-Foresman. We also take field trips to enrich our science and social studies programs.

     

    Art:

    We have an outstanding Spectra Art program funded by our PTA and supported by Parent Volunteers. All children in school take part in this program. In addition to Spectra Art we do a lot of age appropriate art projects in the classroom.

     

    Music:

    PTA funds our music program (thanks to donations) with a trained music teacher. Students have music class once a week. In the spring all Kindergarteners will participate in a music program for their parents.

     

    Computers:

    Children go to the computer lab approximately every other week throughout the school year. Children will work on a variety of beginning computer skills during their time in the lab.

     

    Library:

    Students go to the library once a week to checkout a book. The library incentives program (read-a-thon)

    rewards students for reading outside of school. You will receive more information about this from our school librarian at the beginning of the school year.

     

    Welcome to Garden Gate! We look forward to meeting you!

     Ways to Help Your Child at Home

    • Make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep and encourage them to eat a
    • healthy breakfast. Be sure you get your child to school on time each day.
    • Dress your child in practical school clothes. Soft-soled, athletic shoes are best for
    • physical activity. Don’t inadvertently limit your child’s growth and experience
    • with shoes and clothing that are too dressy for hard play.
    • Please send healthy foods for snacks and lunches. For example, sliced apples,
    • carrots, crackers and juice. Try to avoid snacks such as soft drinks and candy. It is
    • important to encourage your child to eat a balanced meal.
    • Show enthusiasm for your child’s school-work and find a place to display some
    • of it. Talk with and listen to your child Ask them questions about the work they
    • brought home and about their day. Try to avoid yes/no answers. For example,
    • “Tell me the best part of your day,” Tell me how you would have changed your
    • day,” and “What did you learn in Math?”
    • Read to or with your child, EVERYDAY!! Get a library card for your child and
    • use it often. Look for easy reading books, books for you to read aloud and books
    • on topics that interest your child. Take your child to a children’s bookstore for
    • author visits or an occasional book treat.
    • Furnish the following supplies to help your child master their fine motor skills:
    • paper, scissors, pencils, crayons/markers, alphabet/number chart and glue/paste.
    • Always review all school communications and stay in contact with the teacher.
    • Teach your child: full name, address including zip code, phone number including
    • area code, how to tie shoes, how to tell time, coins and their values, how to use a
    • Don’t be afraid of teaching your child the “wrong way”: you are already
    • your child’s most important teacher. I will be very happy to help you with
    • Provide a quiet place and time to study and do homework.
    • Give your child responsibilities that are age appropriate.

     

    Characteristics of the Kindergarten Child

     

    Children are growing and maturing continuously. Every child has his/her own pattern of growth,

    but some characteristics are common to children of kindergarten age. To know these, gives the

    teacher and parents a better understanding of the child, and better guidance is the result.

     

    The Kindergarten child will be:

    1. Four years and nine months or five years old
    2. Extremely active,
    3. Self-dependent in eating, dressing, toileting, and sleeping.
    4. Growing rapidly.
    5. Losing his/her first lower teeth.
    6. Well matured in motor control; will hop, jump, and skip with ease.
    7. Non-resistant to disease.
    8. Far-sighted, requiring large objects and close contact.
    9. Interested in other children, yet individualistic.

     

    The Kindergarten child will have:

    1. Good reasoning power.
    2. Ability to make judgment with adult guidance.
    3. Ability to plan carry out plans.
    4. Desire to speak plainly and to use new words.
    5. Ability to relate experiences and to retell stories.
    6. Changeable minds – gradually acquiring more defined ideas.

     

    The Kindergarten child needs:

    1. To feel secure and loved.
    2. To have group approval and acceptance.
    3. A few special friends.
    4. A happy environment.
    5. Opportunity for exercising large muscles.
    6. To share toys and take turns in play.
    7. To increase his/her vocabulary.
    8. Alternate periods of rest and activity.
    9. Tens or more hours of sleep each night.
    10. Good nutrition habits.

     

    Parent can help by:

    1. Being interested in the child’s activities.
    2. Providing good food and opportunity for plenty of sleep.
    3. Having a quiet time each day
    4. Inviting other children to the home, providing group play.
    5. Talking with the child about new experiences while on walks or rides.
    6. Taking him/her to the library.
    7. Reading to him/her, helping him/her to be aware of written words telling something.
    8. Helping him/her develop unselfish attitudes.