What if my child is absent?

* Our school day begins at 8:44 each morning. If your child is going to be absent, please call the Safely At School line and leave a message about your child's absence. The SAS phone number is 814-235-4555. Remember to send in an excuse with your child on their first day back to school.

* If you know that your child is going to be late arriving to school, also call the SAS phone line and let us know. Please tell us which lunch your child will order for lunch the days that they are arriving late.

* If you need to sign your child out early, please let us know the day before or the morning of so that we can help your child's transition be as smooth as possible.

How do I send in my child's lunch money?

* Please send in cash or checks in a sealed envelope, labeled with your child's name and room number.
* The food service department also offers a direct deposit system for on line payments. Please refer to the district web site for more details about this process.

Do you celebrate birthdays in kindergarten?

*Yes, if you wish! We love to be able to celebrate special days with the members of our class. We will sing special songs for the birthday child, make a Happy Birthday book and also serve a special snack, if you care to send one in.

* Please give us a few days notice that you will be sending in a special snack. We do encourage a healthy treat, but we do not insist on any particular type of food. We may ask that you select a treat that takes special food allergy or diet considerations in mind. You can send the treats in with your child, or drop them off at the school main office. Please include an ingredient list/nutrition label so that we can confirm ingredients in case of food allergies. We will serve the birthday treats to the class after lunch.

* Please don't send invitations to birthday parties or celebrations to be delivered at school. This often creates an uncomfortable situation for the child/children who do not receive an invitation. The only exception, of course is if you intend to invite every child in the class.

What is a Daily Folder?

* Your child has decorated a special blue folder to bring home each day. In it, will be any notices from the school office, PTO notes, lunch account balances from food services and any other notes from the classroom. We will also include any work that your child has completed. Please take all papers out and keep them at home. Send the Daily Folder back to school the following morning so that we can use them to organize your child's mail throughout the week. You can also send any lunch money envelopes, bus passes, excuses, etc. back to school in your child's Daily Folder.

Will my kindergartner have homework?

* After the fall parent conference, your child will begin to record their library book/home book reading in a special reading log. Please help your child do this by reading the books with your child or to your child. Discuss the title, author & illustrator with your child. Encourage them to include a colorful drawing of their favorite part of the book. The children will be asked to share their reading logs with the class each library day. This is a fun way to set good homework expectations with your child, even in kindergarten. Remember that this should be a fun, enjoyable part of your child's day. Consider breaking the task down over several day. Maybe read the book to your child the evening they bring it home from school. Perhaps even just read the book a second time the next evening. On the third day, have your child record the title of the book. The next day, discuss & record the author and illustrator's names. And finally, another evening, draw their favorite scene from the book. By breaking the task down, and completing it over several day, you will be helping your child learn to set small homework goals and to accomplish them over time!

How do I get on the Parent Volunteer Schedule?

* Each year, we ask for one parent who would be willing to organize the monthly schedule for other parent volunteers. Please contact us and we will give you the name and e-mail address or phone number of the person in charge for this school year.

* We always seek parents who are able to volunteer during our morning language centers. They are from 9:30-10:30 each morning. The parents will sit with a small group of children and provide support as the children complete the activity.

* If you want to volunteer, but are unable to come in from 9:30-10:30, we still welcome you. There is always a need for help during Kid Writing, or even during math or science centers. In addition, we always need help with filing or clerical jobs. We welcome your help and will find a way to accomodate your scheduling needs.

Will a book order be sent home?

* We will send home a Scholastic Book Club order form, occasionally or as indicated by family interest. A parent volunteer will prepare the order forms to be sent home in your child's Daily Folder. After all order forms have been received, that parent volunteer will place the order to Scholastic. The books usually arrive at Ferguson Township Elementary within 2 weeks. We will also be using the online ordering system from Scholastic.  This is the preferred method to ordering books for your family, as it uses less paper, less waste.  Please let us know if you would like to use the paper ordering form instead!

How do I contact the teachers if I have a question?

* You can call the school's main office at 814-231-4119. The office will forward any messages to your child's teacher.

* If you wish, you can e-mail Mrs. Engle at gle11@scasd.org

What are my child's morning routines or activities?

*Arrival Time: The buses and walkers arrive in between 8:30-8:44. During those 14 minutes, your child will take care of his or her backpack, jacket, bathroom visits, ordering lunch, signing in, and attendance. If your child accomplishes these jobs quickly, they may choose a learning activity to work on while waiting for the day to begin.

* Circle Time: At 8:44, the bells will ring calling all the children to gather on the carpet for our morning meeting. This is when we place our class lunch order, send our attendance and any notes from home to the main office. We read a morning message from 'Pete, the Panda Bear' and review our day's schedule. This is also when we say our Pledge of Allegiance and sing some patriotic songs. When time allows, greet one another and do other fun movement activities to warm up for learning.