KINDERGARTEN

What to Expect

Kindergarten is a very exciting and fun year.  The children will learn many new things.  We will work on rhyming, recognizing letters and sounds and we will begin to learn to read and write in journals.  We will use the Good Habits, Great Readers series along with Words Their Way Phonics program.  They will also participate in the Reading A-Z Program at home and school.  

In Math, some of the things that we learn are numbers, shapes, sorting, patterns and counting.  We will also begin addition and subtraction.  We will celebrate the 100th Day in a special way.

We will learn about Jesus and the saints in Religion.  We will learn many prayers and attend Mass with the whole school on Fridays and Holy Days.   The children will be the angels in the school’s Christmas pageant.

The children will do hands on Science projects in the classroom and we will learn about the holidays and our country in Social Studies.

We celebrate the end of the year with Kindergarten Graduation.  The children will perform for their parents and families.

School Supplies

A list of school supplies required for kindergarten students is available online. For organizational purposes, please bring the items on the days indicated. All items should be labelled, including backpacks, coats, sweaters and sweatshirts.

Room Mothers

Please consider volunteering to be a room mother for your class. Each room mother will be in regular contact with each family regarding volunteering in and outside the classroom for special events and during Art, Computer, PE and Library and will coordinate with the PTO regarding school-wide activities. Room mothers must be Virtus-certified. To volunteer, please contact your classroom teacher as soon as possible.

Specials Schedule

School Policies and Procedures (Handbook)

Please refer to the current Elementary School Handbook for any questions re: school policy and procedures. It is available online. Each family must sign and return the handbook agreement form found at the end of the handbook.

Food

Please pack a lunch/sandwich and two healthy snacks for your child each day (except Monday when we have one snack).  If you pack an item like pudding, applesauce or peaches in a cup, please pack a plastic spoon.  Hot lunches begin September 9 and will be available Tuesday - Friday.   The menu is available online.  You will be notified if there are any allergies in your students' classroom that may require special attention to food brought during snacktime.

Take Home Folder

Please be sure to check your child's folder each night.  If you have something for your teacher or the front office, please send to school in this folder.

Communication

The best way to reach your child's teacher is through email or a note in your child's backpack.  Classrooom news and announcements will be posted on the individual teacher's TeacherWeb page. Please sign up for the NEWSFLASH email updates for notification of when the teacher make changes to the page.

The majority of school-wide communication occurs on the main school website: www.sainttimothyschool.org, including a regular letter from the school principal, Mrs. Kobyra. A school-wide monthly newsletter will be sent home in a Brown Envelope at the end of each month beginning in September which will include an updated calendar for the following month. Any items for the office can be placed in that envelope and returned. Please return the brown envelope each month to ensure that it is returned to you with a newsletter and important forms the following month. Emergency and last minute announcements may occur via our school messenging system which allows school-wide announcements from the principal via email and phone call. Please ensure that your contacts are up to date.

PE

The children will have PE two days per week.  Students that wear the preschool/kindergarten uniform do not have a separate PE uniform but must be certain to wear sneakers.  Those students that have opted to wear the 1st-6th grade uniform must wear the PE uniform (or preschool/kindergarten uniform) on PE days.

Uniforms

Please refer to the student handbook (available online) specific uniform requirements for the kindergarten.  Kindergarten students are permitted to wear the 1st-6th grade uniforms, except on PE days, but must comply with the requirements of wearing the new or old uniform in its entirety.  Michelle Lodge has used preschool/kindergarten available for a small fee which benefits the school.

Virtus Certification

Diocesan Policy for the protection of children requires all parents wishing to volunteer for their students' classes, activities and field trips must be Virtus certified. We ask that all parents obtain this one-time certification during their students' preschool or kindergarten year to prevent the loss of opportunity in future years. Information on the necessary documents and class attendance are available on our Virtus site.

Curriculum

St. Timothy School follows the curriculum of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington. Curriculum guidelines are available on the Office of Catholic Schools' website.