Parent Handbook
Kindergarten Parent/ Guardian Handbook Cochrane Christian Academy 2023 – 2024 INFORMATION TO HELP YOU PREPARE FOR KINDERGARTEN 2023-2024 DRESS CODE Casual clothes are suggested to avoid staining good clothing. Your child will require sports appropriate indoor shoes that are suitable for gym use. Please provide shoes with Velcro fasteners. Teachers do not have time to tie many pairs of shoes. Dress your child according to the weather. Recess will be everyday regardless of the weather, unless a school-wide indoor recess has been declared. SUPPLIES NEEDED A back-pack large enough to hold the Home/School Agenda, Library books and snow-pants, etc. in the winter months. (No wheels please!) Each child needs to bring his/her own morning snack, lunch, and water bottle. Pack all food into ONE carry bag. Please keep this in mind when purchasing their lunch bag. Food choices should be convenient, simple and healthy. Bring a Ziploc bag for the garbage, as all garbage will go back home with your child. Please do not send snacks with peanuts or tree nuts due to allergies. CLASSROOM SCHOOL SUPPLIES All classroom supplies such as agendas, pencils, crayons, notebooks, scissors and glue are provided. PLEASE LABEL YOUR CHILD’S BELONGINGS!!! This includes jackets, boots, mitts, indoor and outdoor shoes, lunch boxes, water bottles, backpacks, etc. This will be essential for indoor shoes as we are going to keep the shoes at school in a Rubbermaid container. They will get mixed up so names are very much needed! HOME/SCHOOL AGENDA Daily communication will take place via an agenda. This is our primary method of communication with parents and guardians. All notices and notes between home and school will be placed in this agenda. The agenda will be checked each morning for notes from home. It is important to establish a routine of returning the agenda to school each day. BATHROOM BREAKS There is a one stall bathroom in the classroom that children are allowed to access at any time during the day. If that bathroom is occupied, then the student will choose one friend to walk to the bathroom with. All children will take a bathroom break mid-morning, prior to snack and at the start of lunch. At this time, they will use the bathroom and wash their hands. · If children need to use the bathroom before or after this time, they will use the 'buddy' system. · The class door will remain open as long as children are gone. · If the washroom is busy, students will return to the classroom and try again after several minutes. · Male children using the bathroom will use the stall toilet each time rather than the urinal. · While one student uses the bathroom the other stands by the blow dryer and waits for his/her friend to finish. · The 'buddy' will get the teacher if required. · Both will report back to the teacher when they have returned to the classroom and close the classroom door PROTOCOLS FOR FOOD AND TREATS SENT TO SCHOOL CONTACT WITH THE TEACHER AT THE SCHOOL CCA’s phone number is 403-932-5177. A change in arrangements for after school pick-up must come as a written note in the Home/School agenda or a phone call to the office. If there are people, other than a parent, that will pick up your child, make sure the teacher/school knows that they are approved. The different pick up person will be asked for ID to ensure that the child is released to approved people only. IN CASE OF EMERGENCIES please leave a message with the office and they will contact the teacher. UPDATE THE TEACHER Let us know if something special has occurred in the child’s home life (new sibling, something traumatic, vacation, or anything that may affect their school life). REPORTING Cochrane Christian Academy reports using Real Time Reporting. This means that as the teacher completes assessments, your child’s profile will be updated on PowerSchool. This allows for parents to see how their child’s learning is progressing throughout the school year without having to wait for Report Cards. The teacher will contact families with informal reports as required. Parents are encouraged to set up times to meet with the teacher if there are any concerns. CLASSROOM NEWS Monthly newsletters will be sent home with your child regarding the kindergarten program, student helper days and calendar. CLASS ACTIVITIES During a normal school day, your child may do any of the following: · Devotions and Sharing Time · Songs and rhymes · Field trips · Social centers such as sand table, water table, playhouse, painting, crafts, listening center, blocks, etc. · Thematic units (Inuit, Heroes and Helpers, Treasure Hunters) · Academics; Literacy including Phonemic Awareness, Numeracy, Citizenship and Identity, Environment and Community Awareness. · Gym, dramatic play and music · Listening to stories Children learn best through first-hand experiences. Their natural curiosity motivates them to learn through seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling the objects, people and events in their surroundings. Your child will be going on a variety of field trips this year. The parents of each child attending the kindergarten program will fill out the annual field trip approval form at the beginning of the school year through School Engage. In addition, Rocky View policy requires you to fill out a field trip approval form for each individual field trip. This form is now available on School Cash online when you go to pay for the trip. A local school bus will be used to transport children to and from field trips. LEARNING SUPPORT At CCA we offer some additional learning support services: Learning Support Teacher, Rachel O’Neal, who coordinates supports for academic learning and programming as well as liaises with RVS and outside services such as OT, PT, Speech, etc. Child Development Advisor (CDA) who coordinates support for social/emotional learning/needs. If you feel like your child may require additional supports for their learning to be successful, please contact the Kindergarten teacher or Rachel O’Neal (roneal@rockyviewschools.ab.ca). VOLUNTEERING Kindergarten loves to have volunteers! There are a variety of ways to support the children and the teacher with the gift of your time. We ask that you hold off with signing up to volunteer until our first field trip in October. This allows the children to learn to rely on their teacher for assistance and support in the classroom. If you are unable to volunteer in the classroom, there are other ways to help. A list of volunteer opportunities will be sent out in early September. Volunteers are required to have a Vulnerable Sector Police Check prior to working in the classroom. Details for this process are available through the office staff. The primary purpose of the parent classroom volunteer is to encourage and assist all children in their activities. We are helping them to be independent and therefore we want to encourage the children to do as much as possible for themselves – even if it takes a little longer. You may be asked to help in the preparation of materials and crafts. There are also various housekeeping “duties” such as straightening up centers or clearing tables after snack time. All volunteers are required to sign in at the office. You will be given a badge to wear to identify you as a volunteer. HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT YOUR CHILD’S KINDERGARTEN EXPERIENCE AT HOME Read stories aloud at bedtime, and other times Help your child to print his/her name Use good speech as a model for children’s language skills Encourage them to talk about everyday activities Encourage your child to make decisions by offering choices Encourage your child to take responsibility for some tasks Encourage your child to solve everyday problems Ensure plenty of rest, with early bedtime Provide opportunities for your child to walk, stretch, hop, jump, run, dance, or skip, both indoors and outdoors Encourage your child to listen to a variety of music Display your child’s school work at home We have an exciting year ahead of us!
COCHRANE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (CCA)
Parents are invited to send individually pre-packaged food and treats to school with their child for such events as birthdays and special classroom celebrations (please consult your child’s teacher for specific classroom routines). All packaged items must be labeled ‘NUT FREE’.
