Here are some things you can do to help your child have a better day ~ and it helps me, too!

* Please dress you child in clothes that they know how to get into and out of, so that they do not have trouble when using the bathroom.
* Please consider that our playground area is dirty and clothes will come home gray. We can also get messy in class, so please keep this in mind when dressing your child.
* Please work on teaching your child how to tie their shoes, or consider buying shoes with a different kind of fastening.  (I wish I had a nickel for every shoe I've tied in 17 years!)
*  Please put your child's name on everything they bring to school - backpack, coat, lunch box, etc.
* Give you child a good start on the day with a full nights sleep (10 to 12 hours for most 5 to 6 year olds) as well as a good breakfast.
*  Pack or supply a healthful lunch and drink - - please go easy on the sweets.  And don't pack too much - they will have 30 minutes to eat, but they are pretty excited about eating with each other and they have troubles finishing their lunch! And then there's recess!
*  Have your child bring their backpacks every day.
*  Try to send them out the door with a hug and a happy feeling each day.  Plan ahead the night before on what to wear, is the backpack ready to go, pack the lunch if possible.  It will take some time and thought to work out a good routine for you and your child.
*  Please let me know if there are changes occurring at home that many affect your child's behavior or attitude at school.
 

Beacon Elementary ~ Kindergarten

 Please label these items with your child’s name:

* A school bag or backpack to carry home those very important and special papers each day.
The backpack should be
big enough for a 10”X14” manila envelope without folding it,
and it should be easy for your child to open and close it by themselves.

 * One PeeChee (design of their choice) –
to be kept in our classroom for the year to store writing and coloring projects in.

 These items will be shared with the whole class:

* 1 container of Hand Wipes (unscented if possible) OR
* 2 boxes of 24-count CRAYOLA crayons
* 8 small glue sticks (please NO blue or purple as they are quite messy)

 (Keep in mind that these items may need to be replaced later in the year as they are used up. 
We will let you know when we need more!)

Thank You!

Please LABEL all jacket and coats,
and write your child's name on the OUTSIDE of their lunch box - this really helps!!
 

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     (I'm not sure who this will be right now, but will update this information as soon as I know something!)
 

She can be reached by calling the Beacon School Office (249-4528). Among other things, she will be coming into the Kindergarten classes and share with us Kelso's Choice and Second Step - two good programs on conflict resolution and problem solving.  She will be working with small groups of children and friendship skills, and can be contacted if you have questions or need resources from a counseling aspect.  We welcome her back to our staff and look forward to working with her.

We do have a Parent Library of resources on a wide variety of parenting topics located in the room across from our school Office.  They may be checked out for your convenience and information - there are some great books and tapes!
 

From time to time we could use some extra art and math materials in our classroom. 
If you have any of the following items lying around your house unused ~ we'd love to have them!Please check in to this spot for additions or deletions ~
and I will let you know when our cupboards are full and bursting! 
If there is anything else that looks interesting, just check with me
(I'm a packrat from way back!)

(Please be sure that any items you send in are clean and appropriate for young children.)

These are some of the books I enjoy sharing with children throughout the year.  Other book titles are listed with the Theme descriptions.  Children never tire of hearing a good book more than once!

You can help your child develop some valuable self-help skills and ways to be responsible for their own school belongs ~ I don't know how many times I've heard, "But my Mom forgot~"

* Have a place near the door or hallway where your child can keep their backpack and any other items to be brought to and from class. This could be a plastic crate or tub - they come in great colors and sizes these days.  A small bookcase might work, too.

* Make it part of their nightly routine to get their backpacks ready for the next day.  Boomerangs, Pocket Pals, homework, Traveling Books, Show'N Tell ~ they can all be organized in the backpack along with notes, Book Orders, excused absence notes from you - say, this might be helpful for you as well!

* Be sure to make reading a part of the routine if you can!

* Laying out the clothes for the next day would help get the morning off to a less hectic start ~
hopefully!

* Plan the routine details with your child - if they can be involved and make some choices, they may be more willing to help.  They should be doing the organizing, with your guidance!  Good habits take time to really learn, so hang in there!  I feel that some sort of organization will be beneficial to us all.  Teaching responsibility and self-sufficiency doesn't just happen.  If it's tough at first and just easier to do it yourself, then you may be doing it for a long time!  Be specific in the plans and model and practice a lot!
 

Boomerangs & Pocket Pals ~

* Boomerangs are large manila envelopes that carry information and school work home at the end of each week.  They are used by all the grades here at Beacon.  We call them "Boomerangs" because they come back empty on Mondays to be used again on Fridays.  There is a cover sheet where parents can sign by each date to show they have received the information.  Our class newsletter is usually one of the included items. 

In Kindergarten we have things going home most days, so the backpacks are important to bring and use every day.  Be sure to check your child's backpack each day as you discuss what they did in class ~ make it part of a routine.  And look for these Boomerangs on Fridays!

* Pocket Pals is a program I have set up and used for several years now.  I want to encourage and support reading to your child every night (YOUR homework for the year), so I have a large collection of books that your child chooses from each day to "check out" and have read to them at night.  We uses large manila envelopes (same kind as the Boomerangs - I think they are called "interoffice envelopes" with a string closure) that has a colored cover sheet taped on with a picture of a Kangaroo - they have pockets! 

The book your child checks out goes inside along with a blue recording sheet for you to fill out each time you read to your child (date, name of book, initials).  I collect filled out sheets all year and will count up all the books read by each family.  (Last year my 33 combined students read over 3,200 books - and those were only the ones written down and did not count the books we read in class or in Library!)  Anyone can read to your child - parents, grandparents, older siblings (they need the practice) or babysitters.  Books from home or the public library count, too.  The book is brought back the next day, put in the return box, and another book is checked out.  This is part of the things each child is to do as soon as they arrive each day. 

* Montesano Parent/Teacher Organization

We hope you will take an active interest in our parent-teacher organization (PTO). 
As a member of this organization, you will be working together for
quality public education of your child. 
We hope you will support and participate in this important group. 
You will be receiving more information in September on how you can get involved.

 * Montesano School Board

The School Board and the personnel of Montesano School District
hope the years your child spends in our school system will be a positive experience
that will benefit your child throughout life.
The Montesano School Board meets at 7:00 PM on the third Thursday of each month
in the Board Room of the District Office
located below the tennis courts on Spruce Street.
You are welcome to attend the meetings. 

  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact:

* myself, Ms. Connolly (your child’s Kindergarten teacher) (360-249-4528)

* Mr. Craig Loucks, our school principal (360-249-4528)

* or the Superintendent. (360-249-3942)
 

Also, please check out the Montesano School District website at
www.monte.wednet.edu
for more information concerning Beacon Elementary and
the entire Montesano School District.

(This will come in handy during snow days -
school closures will be current on the website for those kinds of days!)