Welcome to Kindergarten Orientation! Wexford Elementary School Class of 2028

Kid President “A Letter To A Person On Their First Day Here”

Meet the Teachers

Mrs. Michelle Kendrew Received Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Geneva College. Worked in Penn Hills and Quaker Valley before coming to Pine-Richland. This will be my 11 th year teaching Kindergarten My husband and I have 2 awesome kids! Brandon just turned 10 and starts fourth grade this year. Rebecca is 6 and will be starting first grade!

Mrs. Rachel Zimmerman Received both my BA in Communications and MEd Elementary Education degrees from Duquesne University This is my 4 th year teaching Kindergarten at Wexford. I live in Pine-Richland with my husband. We are expecting our first baby this December.

Language Arts/Reading Readiness

Wilson Fundations Letters and sounds taught/reviewed: letter/sound/picture cards & actions Word building : “tapping out” words Letter formation/Handwriting: skyline, plane line, grass line, and worm line Sight words will be taught, a list of the 62 common sight words is in your orientation folders Word Families & Digraphs will be taught: sh, ch, th, wh, and ck

McGraw Hill Wonders & Guided Reading McGraw Hill Wonders – # Themes with strong focus on literacy skills – Phonemic awareness activities – Pre-decodable and decodable books Guided Reading – Centers: Word Work, Writing, Listen to Reading, Art, Computers, Math, Science/Social Studies – Groups received on level- Small group instruction – Book Room leveled books A-Z – RazKids (online resource with leveled materials) – Books in a Bag- Classroom Lending Library

Math and Counting Skills

Scott Foresman- Addison Wesley’s enVision Math Series Covers 16 topics including: – sorting, classifying, position and location, patterns, number recognition and writing, geometry, measurement, addition and subtraction, money, time, calendar, and graphing

Science & Social Studies FOSS – Trees and Fabrics kits that are inquiry based and hands-on Houghton Mifflin- “My World” – Seasonal/Holiday Activities – Understanding leaders – Recognizing symbols of USA – Civic virtues

Additional Curriculum Library: visited 1x per week(Mondays- Mrs. _______). – Books need to be returned each week before checking out new books. Computers: 1x per week (Wednesdays- Mr. Sargent)

First Day of School: August 26 th All students must be transported to & from school by car both ways on the first day. Start time: AM: 9:30-11:15 / PM: 1:00-2:45 Students should bring a backpack & green Home/School folder only (no supplies donations on this day, please) For the first week of school, we will meet AM students off of the bus and walk together to the classrooms.

Birthdays We love to celebrate birthdays, but there will be no food inside the classrooms for birthdays or for party celebrations. Alternate “treats” may be sent in (pencils, stickers, etc), but not necessary. Birthday invitations may only be passed out at school if there is one for each child.

Supplies Daily: – Backpack – Communication Folder *Mondays- Library book School Supplies Requests: – See website for Kindergarten Supplies List – “Nice Bucket Challenge”: If you are willing and able to pick 1 or more item from our buckets to donate to our class, you are more than welcome to do so. We greatly appreciate your kindness and generosity! You have until September 11th to complete the challenge… Good Luck!

AM Pick-up One way bus transportation is provided to school. Cars should not arrive to the pick-up line before 11:45 am At 11:55 am, Kindergarten is scheduled to exit the building Students will be dismissed by the curbside ONLY. Pull your vehicle AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE to the one in front of you to allow for more students to be dismissed. The teacher will read the sign that must be displayed in your vehicle’s window and dismiss your child to walk carefully into the car. Cars need to have student name tags placed visibly in car windows EVERY DAY! It is recommended (if possible), to have your kindergarten’s seat be in the back passenger side of the vehicle. In any case, your child MUST enter the car in the back passenger side. We also ask for safety purposes that drivers not be on their cell phones during the time of dismissal. All drivers need to be attentive to students exiting the building and getting into cars. Wait for the vehicle(s) in front of you to move before moving your own vehicle. We strongly encourage carpooling and having children practice buckling his/her own seatbelts. Once students are safely buckled, please move forward. If you need to help your child with buckling OR you need speak with a teacher or another parent, please pull over to the side/into a parking space. If you are late, your child will wait inside the school office for you.

Wexford Map BUS LOT Mrs. Zimmerman’s Pick-up Student Drop-Off Mrs. Kendrew’s Pick-up

In the event of rain or other inclement weather: *Mrs. Kendrew will begin dismissing students into their cars starting at the first pillar near the school’s entrance. 4-5 students will be dismissed along the curb near the awning. Once students are secure in their seats, please continue to exit the parking lot in the order you were parked. *Mrs. Zimmerman will dismiss 3-5 students into their cars nearest the school’s entrance in the bus parking lot. The first car in the line should park so that your passenger side doors are visible and your child’s name is visible to the awning. Once students are secure in their seats, please continue to exit the parking lot in the order you were parked.

PM Drop-Off PM students should arrive by car in the Student Drop-off Lot(between 12:55 and 1:05) Students should remain INSIDE their cars until a teacher comes outside. Remind students to WALK into the building at all times. If your child is late, please walk inside with him/her to receive a tardy slip. PM dismissal time for buses or for car riders is 3:45.

More Dismissal & School Visit Info. Early Dismissals – AM and PM: If a child needs to leave school early, please send in a note for the teacher. You will need to sign your child out at the office. Please inform your child’s teacher ASAP about how he/she will be going home from school. Daycare centers are not responsible for letting us know. AM and PM: For safety precautions, when entering the building and coming to the classroom for any reason, you must sign in at the office, turn in your keys, and get an ID badge.

Absences & Parent- Teacher Communication Requesting an Absence due to vacation/trip – A request form can be obtained on Wexford’s Website – It must be completed and submitted to school prior to your child’s absence – More than 10 absences/tardies will result in being contacted by the District Returning from an absence (not previously requested) – If your child is absent, please make sure your child has an excuse when he/she returns to school. If you need to contact your child’s teacher during the school day, please call the school. is only checked before and after instructional times.

Thank you for coming! Are there any questions? We are looking forward to a great school year!