Buck Lake Elementary School

Hello Pre-K Families,

My name is Patricia Ryan and I am very excited to be your child’s teacher this year. We are going to have a great school year full of fun learning activities! We will be using a combination of the Imagine It, Language for Learning, and DLM curriculums along with lots of imagination and creative play. You will find a copy of our class daily schedule in this welcome packet.

School begins at 8:25 and the dismissal is at 2:50. Pre-K students will come directly to Room 113 when dropped off in the morning. VPK Students will need to be signed in every morning and signed out every afternoon by a parent. Sign–in sheets are faxed to the Early Childhood office weekly to verify attendance in the program. We will walk the children out of the classroom around 2:40. If you are walking to pick up your child or driving and do not have any older children to pick up you can park in one of the open spots in the back or pull around to the curb and we will load your child in your car (in order to skip the car pick up line and be out of the parking lot before the rest of the school dismisses). If you do have an older student at the school you will need to go through the car pick up line as the older grades come out to car pick-up a little later. Please make sure to write Pre-K clearly on your car pick-up and drop-off tag in addition to your last name.

Safety and supervision of our students is our first priority. Please also make sure that any car seat is situated behind the passenger seat so we can load your child into the car safely. There is an afterschool program offered by the school that provides care until 6:00. Please see the front office for a registration packet. If there is a change in the way your child normally gets home one day, please send us an email or call the front office to let us know.

Please help us make the transition for your child the first few days of school easier by helping them sign in and put their backpack away and saying your good-byes quickly.  It makes it harder and more overwhelming when there are lots of extra adults in the classroom and when the noise level is even greater. We want to try and get into a classroom family routine as soon as possible.

Breakfast: Breakfast is offered for a fee in the cafeteria each morning. Please let us know if you plan on your student purchasing breakfast each morning (they need to be at school by 8:00 so we can take them to the cafeteria and bring their breakfast back to the room). Regular breakfast charges apply unless your child qualifies for Free/Reduced meals.

Lunch: Your child has the option to purchase lunch at school. Regular lunch charges apply unless your child qualifies for Free/Reduced Lunch.  Prepaying for a week or month is usually easier if your child eats hot lunch on most days. Please send any money/checks in a sealed and LABELED envelope with your child’s full name, teacher’s name, and lunch pin number on it. Please make sure that the check has a phone number and your child’s lunch pin number on it. You may also send in a lunch for your child. Please make sure all lunch boxes have a name on them. We will be eating lunch in our classroom. You can find more information about student lunches at the following website http://sharepoint.leon.k12.fl.us/food/default.aspx. You can set up a lunch account for your child online as well as apply for free and reduced lunch.

Snack: We like to do group snacks unless your child has a food allergy or dietary restrictions. This means that we will ask parents to send in a snack that can be shared with the class. For example, one student will send in a box of goldfish and we will share that box with the entire class. We will periodically ask for snack refills as needed throughout the year. If you do plan on sending a daily snack for your child please let us know.

Supplies: You will find a school supply list in this folder. Your child has also received a Buck Lake Bobcats folder. Please send the folder with your child every day. Please make sure to check your child’s folder for any important information. If you do not have internet access and need a paper copy of messages and weekly newsletters sent home please let me know.

Rest Time: We will have a rest time in the afternoon where your child will have a chance to relax on a rest mat with a blanket or towel. We will send whatever blankets were sent in home on Friday afternoon to be washed. Please remember to send them back to us on Monday morning.

Volunteering: If you wish to volunteer with the school and/or in our classroom please make sure to fill out a volunteer form. You will not be able to volunteer until your background check is complete. Please let me know if you are interested in volunteering. Make sure to sign in at the front office any time you are on campus.

 Student Progress: Pre-K students will not receive “report cards” like the older grades. There will be a fall and spring conference for during which your child’s progress will be discussed and you will be given a progress summary sheet. ESE students will receive progress notes relating to their IEP once every nine weeks. If problems or concerns arise on a given day I will place a note in your child’s folder or send you an email. Also, please check the weekly newsletter to see what we are working on. Parental support of all of the academic and social skills we are working on at school is beneficial to your child’s progress.

Classroom Rules: Our five main classroom rules are: looking eyes, listening ears, inside voices, helping hands, and walking feet. We appreciate your support in talking about these rules at home as well. We have a classroom board where each student has a clothespin with their name on it. Their clothespin will move up and down between green, yellow, and red according to their behavior throughout the day. Each child will have a “My Great Behavior Book” where they will earn a sticker at the end of each day that they finish on green. Once a row in their book is full of stickers (5 stickers) they will earn a special surprise. If your child ends the day on red, you will find a note in their folder indicating what happened that day.  

 I am very excited that Melissa Suchocki will be the classroom instructional aide this year.  We look forward to creating a warm, friendly, and encouraging learning environment for your child.

You can find additional information regarding Buck Lake Elementary on the school’s website www.bucklake.leon.k12.fl.us Also be sure to join the school’s Parent listserv to receive emails with helpful information from the school. I will provide announcements and updates in the weekly newsletter emailed on Fridays. Make sure to check your email as I will send out reminders in addition to the weekly newsletter. Please let me know if you have any questions. The best way to contact me is by email at ryanp@leonschools.net or calling the school at 488-6133.                                                    

Sincerely,   

Some parents ask about “homework” for their Pre-K student. I will be encouraging consistent practice on the academic skills that we are working on in the classroom as well as social skills practice including being a good friend and using good manners. There will be occasional projects that we may have you work on or gather supplies for at home. You will find information on what we worked on for the week in our class newsletter that will go home on Fridays. This may include letter name/sound practice, sight word practice, reading the Imagine It Pre-Decodable Books with your child and practicing writing your child’s name. For those of you who may wish to have some extra activities for your child to do you will find a list of websites below. I also suggest Pre-K or K level workbooks that practice reading, writing, and math skills that you can purchase at Wal-Mart or other book stores.  Please make sure to spend time reading with your child every day!