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Pillow Academy
Administration
Headmaster – Mr.
Termie Land
Elementary
Principal – Mrs. Carla Sutphen
Elementary
Secretary – Mrs. Shelia Tolbert
Kindergarten
Staff
K4 Teachers Teacher
Assistant
Mrs. Melinda Allen Mrs.
Sheena Wooten
Mrs. Jan Locke
Mrs. Georgia Williams
K5 Teachers Teacher
Assistant
Mrs. Nancy Holliday Mrs.
Claire Bush
Mrs. Betty Gail Kalich Mrs.
Donna Archer
Mrs. Lisa Pannell
Mrs. Kim Turner
Mrs. Rima Williams
Art Teacher - Mr. David Taylor
Computer Teacher - Mrs. Lisa Land
Librarian - Mrs. Mary Jane Juchheim and Mrs. Beth Rowe
Music Teacher - Mrs. Connie Black
PE Coach - Mrs. Laura Oakes
Dear Parents,
The Pillow Academy
Kindergarten Staff welcomes you and your child to the 2009-2010 school
year. We are anticipating an exciting year ahead as we work together to
make each child feel happy and secure and to prepare our students for
their school experiences in the years to come. Please let us know if
there is anything we should be aware of concerning your child, such as
fears, allergies, etc.
The kindergarten
staff will be working closely with the elementary school teachers to be
sure that your child is ready for the next step in his or her education.
In the four-year
old program, we implement the Saxon Early Learning program which
provides a comprehensive curriculum of instructionally sound, yet highly
motivating activities. Saxon Early Learning offers children a reassuring
first experience in a school environment as well as an enjoyable
introduction to the basic concepts that affect their lives. The
components of this program build upon one another and fit together as an
integrated whole.
The Saxon Phonics
and Spelling curriculum is taught in the five-year old program. It is
designed to help kindergarteners to be able to recognize and know the
primary sounds of all the letters of the alphabet.
Our curriculum also
includes units of study that will help children learn about the world
around them. We will provide art, music, computer, library/media, P.E.
and field trips.
Thank you for entrusting us with your child.
Sincerely,
The Kindergarten Staff
Purposes of Pillow Academy Kindergarten
To introduce school
as a worthwhile and pleasant experience for the child.
To keep the child
ever aware of God’s love and His purpose for our lives.
To give the child a
sense of security in his/her learning experiences
To make the child
appreciate his/her own abilities and desire for learning.
To encourage the
child to respect other people and him/herself.
To help each child
learn to listen and to follow directions.
To teach the child
to use his/her time wisely, to make decisions, and to assume
responsibility for his/her actions.
To teach the social
values of courtesy, sharing and manners.
To help the child
learn to work independently and to work with others.
To introduce the
child to basic reading, math, writing, language, social studies and
science.
To offer creative
and artistic experiences.
To provide an
atmosphere that will inspire each child to look forward to future years
in school with happy anticipation and enthusiasm.
Arrival and Departure
The kindergarten
building is located on the west side of the elementary building.
Kindergarten hours
are from 8:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. There should be a teacher in the
kindergarten building by 7:30 each morning. However, please look for the
flag outside the kindergarten building. This indicates that a teacher is
there and is ready to supervise children.
Please instruct
anyone bringing your child to look for the flag before pulling in front
of the building.
Arrival
In bringing your
child each morning, please enter through the left fork of the road
unless you are also dropping off elementary students when you bring. For
safety purposes, your child should exit from the right side of the
vehicle. Please stop your vehicle at the roofed porch area directly in
front of the kindergarten front door. Do not get out of your vehicle.
A teacher will be
on duty in the morning and afternoon to assist your child from/into the
vehicle and in/out of the building.
For safety reasons,
please place your vehicle in the PARK position and DO NOT USE CELL
PHONES DURING CARPOOL TIME.
AFTER THE FIRST
DAY, PLEASE LET YOUR CHILD ENTER THE BUILDING WITHOUT YOUR ASSISTANCE.
This habit will encourage independence and also prevent traffic
problems. If parents need to enter the building during morning arrival
time, please park in the parking lot near the cafeteria. Please do not
park in the teachers’ parking spaces. Any time you are inside the
kindergarten building, please make sure your vehicle’s engine is turned
OFF and keys are removed from the ignition.
Dismissal Schedule
Kindergarten:
2:45 – 3:10 p.m.
Elementary:
3:10 p.m.
Jr. High and High
Schools: 3:15 p.m.
Departure
If your child is to
ride home with anyone other than the regular carpool or daycare van,
please send a note to your child’s teacher or call the elementary office
at 453-3600.
It is the parent’s
responsibility to inform anyone who may pick up their student(s) of
these guidelines.
Kindergarten
carpool begins at 2:45.
Kindergarten
Students ONLY:
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Departure
Times: 2:45 -3:10 p.m.
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Enter through
the left fork of the road and proceed to the Kindergarten Building.
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Parents picking
up student(s) only at the kindergarten building will need to pick up
before 3:10. Otherwise, you will have to wait in the elementary
line.
Kindergarten
Students and Elementary Students
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Kindergarten
students should be picked up prior to 3:10. You may park in the
elementary line and walk to the kindergarten building to get your
child OR you may pick up your child in the kindergarten carpool line
and drive back around the campus to enter the elementary line.
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Elementary
pick-up line enters through the right fork of the road.
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After 3:10 (NOT
before) double lines will form.
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Students not
picked up by 3:30 will be taken to Homework Express* and appropriate
fines will be assessed.
Kindergarten
Students and Jr. High Students
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Enter through
the left fork and proceed to the Kindergarten Building.
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After picking
up students, stay in the right lane and proceed to the Jr. High
carpool line.
*Homework Express is located in a classroom at the end of the junior
high hall and is supervised by teachers.
Field Trips
We schedule field
trips from time to time and are fortunate to have a bus available for
this purpose. Parents are asked to sign a permission form at the
beginning of the year for all field trips.
Snacks
Snacks and drinks
are provided daily for our kindergarten students. You do not need to
send any snack money. We provide a variety of good snacks and encourage
the children to try different foods. Please advise us of any food
allergies. If you and your child wish to bring snacks at any time of the
year for the entire class or grade, please feel free to do so.
Show and Tell
Every Friday is
Show and Tell Day. Your child may bring a special something to share
with the class. This may be a seashell, a turtle, a special toy, etc.
This serves as a great language development and learning activity. We do
ask that if your child’s Show and Tell is “alive” please let us know
ahead of time so we will be prepared. NO TOYS ARE ALLOWED AT SCHOOL
EXCEPT FOR “SHOW AND TELL” DAY.
Parties
We have several
parties during the year - Homecoming, Nursery Rhyme Day, Thanksgiving,
Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter and the End of the Year picnic.
Parents are asked to furnish refreshments for these parties. We do not
allow party favors. We feel that the snacks are sufficient. Please keep
things simple.
Birthday
Celebrations
Birthdays are
special occasions at kindergarten. Invitations may be given out at
school if you invite every child in the room or all of the boys or all
of the girls. We will not allow a child to give out “select”
invitations.
Therefore, the
following guidelines should be followed in exchanging social
invitations:
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All boys in a
particular class or grade receive invitations. (Boy Party)
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All girls in a
particular class or grade receive invitations. (Girl Party)
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All children in
a particular class or entire grade receive invitations. (Boy & Girl
Party)
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Invitations are
not to be passed out to a few children in another classroom. Please
mail these invitations.
Birthday parties
will not be held during school hours or on school property. On your
child’s birthday, you are invited to participate in the following ways:
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Supply special
refreshments, such as cupcakes, cookies, donuts or box drinks. This
will be given out at snack time. Please do not send cakes or
anything else that must be sliced before serving. Also remember that
we have students who are allergic to nuts, peanut butter, and other
peanut products. We encourage you to send a wrapped book that your
child will open during snack time. These books will be donated in
honor of your child to our kindergarten library or teacher.
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No gifts are
given or received. This includes flowers delivered to students.
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Summer birthday
children can adopt a day in May to celebrate.
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Please make
arrangements with the teacher in advance for your child’s birthday
snack.
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Please respond
to the RSVP on each child’s invitation. It is a disappointment to
the child when a friend does not show for his/her birthday. Call if
you have a last minute change of plans.
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Pillow Academy
is not responsible for carpool arrangements to/from birthday parties
during school hours.
Communication with
Parents
We welcome your
interest and involvement in our kindergarten. We are always eager to
discuss your child or answer questions. You may call the kindergarten
through the elementary office (453-3600) to schedule a conference.
Mandatory parent-teacher conferences will be held in the fall. Parents
will be contacted for a spring conference only if a teacher feels there
is a need for it. Parents are also encouraged to check the elementary
web page often for upcoming events and pictures (PillowAcademy.com).
Medical Agreement
Form
A medical agreement
form will be issued for each student. The parent should get the form
notarized and return to the child’s teacher as quickly as possible. The
form will be kept in the child’s cumulative folder. Each student must
have a notarized medical form in order to be given medicine. (This
includes prescription drugs from home.)
Dress Code
The approved
uniform of Pillow Academy will be worn in kindergarten.
Guidelines:
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Flip flops,
crocs, and sandals are not allowed. Cowboy boots, pointed-toe boots,
and rain boots are not allowed except on designated days.
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For playground
safety it is recommended that all kindergarteners wear tennis shoes
or other closed in shoes for playground safety. Socks must be worn
with shoes.
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Girls’ shoes
must not have a heel over two inches in height.
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Kindergarten
students do not have to tuck shirts in and do not have to wear
belts.
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Students are
not allowed to wear their personal jackets or coats to school. Only
uniform approved outerwear is allowed on the school campus or in
school buildings during school hours.
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Heelies (shoes
that “skate”) are not allowed at school.
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Girls must wear
modesty shorts with their jumpers.
Special note to
both sexes: The Administration at Pillow Academy reserves the right to
pass judgment on future modes of dress not outlined at this time.
After-School
Activities
Students will not
be allowed to change clothes at school for after-school activities.
There is not adequate time allowed for teachers to help with this.
Hot Lunch Orders
Teachers are
required to turn in daily hot lunch orders to the Valley Foods staff by
8:30 A.M. each morning. If your child must come to school after that
time for any reason, please be sure to send their lunch from home.
Health Guidelines
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Your child
should not be at school if any of the following signs of illness are
present: fever of 99 or greater, severe cold, vomiting, diarrhea,
impetigo, pink eye, earache, etc. This will help keep other children
from getting sick.
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Should your
child become sick at school, (fever, vomiting, diarrhea) you will be
notified to come for him/her immediately. In order to keep your
child from getting a secondary infection, please keep your child at
home for a 24 hour period or until he/she has completely recovered.
This will also keep the other children and teacher well.
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Medication
cannot be given to your child unless you have a notarized medical
agreement form which is given out at the beginning of school by the
teacher.
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If your child
has a communicable disease, notify the office immediately. He/She
must have a statement from a physician or the health department
stating that your child is no longer contagious before he/she can
return to school. (Chicken pox, etc.)
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Your child will
be expected to participate in outdoor activities. If they are too
sick to do so, please keep them at home.
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Pink Eye is
very contagious. Students must be treated with prescribed eye drops
24 hours before attending school.
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Occasionally
there will be an occurrence of head lice in kindergarten. Pillow
Academy has adopted a strict “No Nit” head lice policy. If a nit
(egg) is found, the student will immediately be sent home. Since
over the counter remedies have had poor results in recent years, the
student MUST be treated by a doctor. The child can be readmitted to
school ONLY with a note from the physician stating that the student
is NIT-FREE.
Toilet Habits
All children in our
program must be able to take care of their own bodily functions. After
your child goes to the bathroom, he/she must flush the toilet, clean
himself/herself, and wash his/her hands. We also expect the child to
leave the bathroom clean. Please see that your child can accomplish
these skills before he/she starts our program. If there is a major
accident, the teacher or assistant will call you at work/home to come
clean your child. Our teachers cannot leave their class to tend to these
needs on a regular basis. Children who have accidents on a regular basis
will be asked to take a few weeks off to work on training.
We realize that
accidents will occur and we will be very sensitive to these situations.
Attendance
Regular and
punctual attendance is expected of all students and is necessary for
successful achievement in school. It is very important for children to
learn at an early age the importance of being on time for school.
Discipline
Basic
Considerations
Consistent, fair
boundaries are expected to be followed by the child at school. Any
unacceptable behavior will be dealt with by the individual teacher in
regard to helping the child fulfill his or her potential. If necessary,
the teacher will request a parent-teacher conference to discuss the
situation.
There are five
basic “Good Citizen” rules of behavior we stress in the kindergarten
classroom:
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Follow
directions the first time.
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Raise your hand
and be recognized before speaking.
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Listen when
others speak.
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Stay in your
assigned seat or area.
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Keep your
hands, feet, and objects to yourself.
Consequences
If a child chooses
not to follow the rules, the consequences are as follows:
1st time:
Oral Warning
2nd time:
Time-Out Period
3rd time:
Loss of playtime/special privileges
4th correction:
Discipline form from teacher to the parent followed by a parent-
teacher conference
Biting
BITING IS NOT
PERMITTED.
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When the first
offense occurs, you will be called and the principal will handle the
situation.
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When the second
offense occurs, you will be called and asked to pick up your child
for the remainder of the day.
Severe Disruptions
If a student causes
a severe disruption (i.e. fighting), the student will be sent to the
principal. Corporal punishment is administered at Pillow Academy. Safety
is our #1 concern at Pillow Academy.
Discipline Forms
2nd Discipline
Notice: send to principal, parents called.
3rd Discipline
Notice: send to principal, parents contacted and called in for a
conference
Your support and
encouragement at home will be of great benefit to your child’s progress
in this area. Children listen to your conversation, good or bad, and
model your reaction to situations. By working together, we will be able
to help your child have a successful school year.
Child Custody
If you have a court
order that limits the rights of one parent in matters such as custody or
visitation, please bring a copy to the elementary office. Unless your
court order is on file with us, we must provide the rights that the law
allows to parents concerning records, visitation, and information about
the child.
Achievement Tests
Achievement tests
will be administered in the spring to K5 students. Parents will be
informed of the dates of these tests. Parents will receive a copy of the
test results when they arrive. Students in four and five year old
kindergarten may also be administered a developmental assessment to
determine readiness for promotion. The need for this test will be based
solely upon teacher recommendation.
Kindergarten
Playground Rules
(Please discuss
these with your child.)
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Don’t walk near
someone swinging. Don’t stand on, lie across, or twist in the
swings. Do not jump out of a swing.
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The benches are
for sitting only - no standing on top.
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Sit only on
benches or sandbox seats.
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Rocks and sand
are for walking on - not for throwing or putting in pockets!
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On the big
playground set, do not jump off, climb up the slide, sit on the side
of the bridge, or jump on top of the bridge area.
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Do NOT put any
rocks into your nose, mouth, ears, etc., or into anyone else’s.
Recommendations
Since this first
experience with school is so vital in developing a positive attitude
toward school for years to come, we suggest the following:
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Before your
child comes to kindergarten, always mention this experience with a
smile and positive words so that he/she will anticipate it with
eagerness and pleasure. We encourage you to be involved in your
child’s kindergarten life - discuss the day’s happenings, review any
papers or projects brought home, admire his/her art activities, etc.
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Please label
all of your child’s coats, gloves, hats, toys, etc. Talk with
him/her about responsibility for their belongings. Please remember
every student’s clothes are the same.
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Each child
needs to bring a backpack. This helps teach responsibility and
organization. LOOK THROUGH THE BAG EVERY DAY WITH YOUR CHILD. WE
OFTEN SEND NOTES HOME!
*ABSOLUTELY NO ROLLING BACKPACKS ARE ALLOWED IN KINDERGARTEN.
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PLEASE BE ON
TIME SO THAT YOUR CHILD WILL SEE THAT SCHOOL IS IMPORTANT AND THAT
PROMPTNESS IS A GOOD HABIT. This includes arrivals and departures.
Each morning from 7:30- 8:15 is their free play time when important
social skills are learned. Also, some of our extra activities, such
as art, music, computer, etc., may be scheduled at 8:05. We also do
lunch orders during this time. Academic lessons begin by 8:15.
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We feel
fortunate to be in such a nice building and we stress certain rules
about taking care of it. Please help us encourage respect for school
property and our responsibility for keeping things nice!
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Be aware of all
correspondence, reminders, etc. that are sent from school
personnel. All notes should be signed and promptly returned to your
child’s teacher.
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If at all
possible, please do not bring younger siblings to holiday parties or
field trips in which you are involved.
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We discourage
limousine pick-ups at the kindergarten.
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Please do not
send lunches from home that require “building” or “heating.”
Necessary utensils and napkins should always be included in their
lunch bag.
Parent and Student Signature Form
PLEASE SIGN THIS
PAGE AFTER YOU HAVE READ THE KINDERGARTEN HANDBOOK AND PROMPTLY RETURN
ONLY THIS PAGE TO YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER. KEEP YOUR HANDBOOK IN A
CONVENIENT PLACE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.
Student
Name _______________________________
Student
Grade/Teacher _______________________________
Parent’s
Signature _______________________________
Father’s
email _______________________________
Father’s
Cell _______________________________
Father’s home
phone _______________________________
Mother’s
email _______________________________
Mother’s
Cell _______________________________
Mother’s home
phone _______________________________
Date _______________________________ |