Welcome to our Kindergarten class! This year I am blessed to be able to team teach with Miss Audra.
My name is Allison Barnett and I am excited to have the opportunity to teach your child. This will be my 14th year at “Shining Stars”. I have been teaching Kindergarten for 12 years and the 2 previous years I taught Pre-K. I have been working in childcare for 19 years and over that time I have worked with children from ages three to afterschool. My favorite age to teach is definitely Kindergarten. I love watching the children learn to become more independent, watch their confidence level blossom, and to see them excel in all the areas of study. It is so great to see them at the beginning of the year and then at the end of the year. I'm looking forward to a fun-filled year!
My name is Audra Belardinelli and I am looking forward to a wonderful, productive year at Shining Stars as the new Assistant Kinder Teacher. I'm a recent graduate from Southwestern University in Georgetown with a Bachelor's in Communication Studies. While I was studying, I spent four years working with the Georgetown School District After School Care Program and have worked with all grades from Pre-K to 5th grade and since then have spent the past year working in a Junior Pre-K classroom. I am very excited to work with the kids as well as keeping an open line of communication between what's going on in the classroom and to you, the parents.
Please know that your child is welcome to bring his or her own breakfast to school if they arrive before 7:30 a.m. After 7:30 a.m. your child will be unable to eat their breakfast. We will have morning snack between 8:30 and 9:00 daily. We please ask that your child bring a healthy breakfast (yogurt, muffins, pancakes, toast, fruit, milk, orange juice, etc…)
Kindergarten will begin each day promptly at 8:15 a.m. After 8:15 a.m. your child will be counted tardy. We please ask that you have your child at school 10 minutes prior to 8:15 a.m. so that they are able to complete their morning jobs and are able to be a circle time by the time the bell rings. Their morning jobs will include: Hanging up their backpacks, putting away lunch items, putting their take home folder away, and getting color caddies out and pencils sharpened. We please need your help in this area, we know that as parents you like to do it for them but we ask that you let them do it by themselves. By doing these things they learn to be responsible for their goods and to become more independent.
During this school year we will cover a lot of material to adequately prepare the children for 1st Grade. Each day we will start our day off with Bible and prayer and learn what we need to do to be Christian Characters each day. Also, we will have Handwriting, Phonics, Language Arts, Math, Social Studies or Science. Every day in your child’s Take Home Folder will be a counter note stapled to all the work that we completed throughout the day. We will indicate on the counter note if your child has struggled with a certain subject that day and also if they lost counters so that way we keep the line of communication open. Our most important goal is to have each and every child leave Kindergarten feeling confident academically and socially.
In Kindergarten we have a special incentive program for great behavior. Each day your child will start off with 5 counters (popsicle sticks) and if they make great choices all day at the end of the day they will receive 5 pennies and a sticker on their incentive chart. If they lose a counter they do not get a sticker and they lose a penny for each counter lost. Counters can be lost for being tardy, not bringing their folder, not bringing their Reader, aggressive behavior, not listening, lack of self-control, not completing work, etc… At the end of each week we will have Store. Store is a big box filled with toys ranging from 3 cents to 25 cents. Each child will bring up their penny cup and will be able to buy toys with their money from the Store. The children love being able to buy bouncy balls, bracelets, sticky hands, bubbles, etc… We add new items to store every few months. Another incentive is sticker charts. At the end of each month if each child has a sticker on each date they will get to choose big prize. Big prize is extra special because they get to tell me what they would like from Wal-mart. Examples: Barbies, Play-dough, Hot-Wheels, Footballs, Balls, Bubbles, Hula Hoops, etc…
We look forward to another great year at “Shining Stars”, and hope that your child experiences many memorable academic, spiritual, and social events throughout the school year. If you ever need me for anything I am available Monday's 7:30-6:00 and Tuesday-Friday's 7:30-3:15. Also, feel free to contact me via e-mail. My e-mail address is barnetta3@verizon.net
Thank you so much and we look forward to a wonderful year!
Respectfully,
Allison Barnett
&
Audra Belardinelli