General Kindergarten Information

As your child enters the new and exciting world of Kindergarten, we want you to know that his/her success and happiness is important to all of us at Council Rock. By working together, we can make this first educational step a positive experience for your child. Your encouragement and assistance at home is crucial to this endeavor. Please take a moment and review the important information listed below. Should you need further information or assistance, please feel free to contact us. 
 

Schedule: AM Kindergarten will start at 9:10 AM and dismiss at 11:45 AM. PM Kindergarten will start at 1:10 PM and dismiss at 3:35 PM.  Please do not send your child to school before 8:50 AM and 12:55 PM.

Early Dismissal Days: On early dismissal days the kindergarten program changes. To accommodate a balanced approach to the program, the AM and PM sessions alternate attending school in the morning on early dismissal days. Please refer to the online school calendar to determine on which early dismissal days your child will attend school. School hours on early dismissal days are 9:10-12:15. On early dismissal days, your child will be transported home on his/her neighborhood bus--there is no "Kindergarten" bus on early dismissal days. This is different from regular school day transportation procedures.
 

Changes in Dismissal: Making sure your child is safe is of utmost importance to us. It is very important that we know your dismissal plan. If your plans change during the course of the year, please send your child’s teacher a note so the office can be notified of the change. On the note, please include:

- Your child’s name

- Day of week for the change

- Method of transportation

- Start date and end date (if any)

If you need to make a “one-time” change to your dismissal plans, please send a note in the morning with your child. Please include the following information on the note:

-Date of dismissal change

-Child’s first and last name

-Method your child should go home (ie: car, walk, bike, bus, Champions, etc.)

-If your child will be going home with a different parent, include that parent’s name

If you have a change in dismissal that arises during the day, please do not email the teacher. Instead, you should call the office directly and they will let the classroom teacher know of the change. We ask that you call the office and not email this information for a few reasons. Sometimes our internet is down and we may not be able to access email that day and therefore would miss your message. Similarly, we do not always get to check emails until after dismissal has occurred or we are absent and we would not have been aware of your message until after 4:00PM.

Absences: We are encouraging all absences to be reported online.  Please send an email to your child’s teacher and gesattendance@crsd.org noting the child's name, parent’s name, date(s) of absence, and reason for absence. 

Take Home Folder: Folders will go home every day. Please place any important notes or papers in this folder. All classroom work will be sent home in this folder. 

Snack: Please send your child with one small, easy to open snack and one drink each day. In order to keep all children safe, please pack a peanut and tree nut free snack.  

Communication between Home and School: Clear and consistent communication between home and school is one of our biggest priorities. Weekly e-newsletters will be sent home to keep families informed of important information. For individual questions or concerns, parents are encouraged to contact their child’s teacher. 

Birthday Celebrations: In lieu of edible birthday treats we will celebrate by reading the birthday child’s favorite book. This book can be: a favorite book from home or a book the child chooses from the classroom library. Books that are 5-10 minutes long are just right for our birthday celebrations. We will sing ‘Happy Birthday’ also! Please note that we are unable to distribute birthday party invitations at school. Please use our Kindergarten Directory and the PTO Directory to obtain contact information for birthday party invitations.  

Library Books: Children learn to use the services provided by the library and gain an appreciation of the purpose of a library. They will learn to listen and respond to selections from quality children’s literature. Your child will have an opportunity to check out a book from the library once a week. Please have this book ready to be returned to school on your child’s assigned library day. If you have any questions about library books, please contact Mrs. Garven, our library assistant, at mgarven@crsd.org
 

Parent-Teacher Conferences: Conferences will be held in November prior to Thanksgiving break. Children enter kindergarten with a wide variety of experiences and different rates of developmental growth. We have developed assessment tools to identify each child’s strengths and needs. This information is shared with parents at the November conference. Sometimes parents are asked to meet with the Instructional Support Team (IST) to discuss strategies to assist their child. Members of the Instructional Support Team are the parents, classroom teacher, and perhaps other staff members who can provide helpful suggestions. 

Report Cards: The purpose of a report card is to communicate your child's growth and achievement in reaching the expectations of the Council Rock School District curriculum and the PA Core Standards. Additionally, it addresses your child's growth in demonstrating proficiency in the areas of a successful learner. This standards-based report card seeks to convey whether students meet, exceed or are approaching proficiency in skill and conceptual development of grade level standards. It indicates skills and knowledge your child has learned along with areas that need further development. It ensures that all students are exposed to the same curriculum and learning appropriate for their grade level. The report card allows parents and students to understand more clearly what is expected at each grade level. It measures how well a student is doing in relation to the grade level standards, not the work of other students. Report cards will be available in February, April, and June via the Home Access Center (HAC). 
 

We are looking forward to a wonderful school year! 

Sincerely, 

The Kindergarten Teachers