Meet and Greet Orientation Recap
It was wonderful to meet you all at our Pre-K orientation.
I can tell we are going to have a spectacular year working together to foster a positive experience for your special treasures.
Here are a few of the things discussed at our orientation as well as some extra info we may not have covered.
MORNING ARRIVAL AND BREAKFAST
DISMISSAL
DRESSCODE
LUNCH
BIRTHDAYS!
NAPS/BATHROOM/WATER
COMMUNICATION
ATTENDANCE and ABSENCES
VOLUNTEERS
Before and After-school Care
Before_School Care starting at 7 am, Story Hour (one hour after dismissal), and After-school Care (dissmissal -6PM) are available. Make arrangement with Mrs. Betancourt in the main Office Building to register your child if needed.
Ms. DeLeon and Ms. Sonia❤️
I can tell we are going to have a spectacular year working together to foster a positive experience for your special treasures.
Here are a few of the things discussed at our orientation as well as some extra info we may not have covered.
MORNING ARRIVAL AND BREAKFAST
- School hours are from 8:10 a.m.-1:50 p.m.
- On first day only may parents drop children off inside classroom, after that it is closed campus and children must be dropped off at front doors/carpool
- Drop off will be done at the front of our school. Children will be led by a designated employee to their class room doors at that time. Don’t worry they will be trained to sit/ read books and wait for me or to go to cafeteria where they will receive* free breakfast.
- Free breakfast is served at the cafeteria before 8:00 a.m. Students May arrive for breakfast as early as 7:45 am. If you need to drop your child before that time, make arrangements with the main office to register them in Before School Care (Starts @ 7:00 AM.)
- Our classroom door opens @8:10 a.m. (I will be there early the first few days until children learn routine)
- Children are considered tardy after 8:20 a.m.
DISMISSAL
- Pick-up will be done at the end of our car pool lane near Prek classroom fence.
- We ask that parents help make this process quick and smooth.
- Parents will receive a color coded car pool pass to make to process easier. Blue Carpool Card must be shown through window or sun visor.
- Parents if you are in the carpool lane, it would be great to install your child's carseat on the right side of the vehicle to avoid you getting out of the car or us bringing your child around through traffic.
- Please DO NOT stop in middle and get out of the car. Wait your turn, pull up close to curb and we will bring your child to you.
- Once there are no more cars in our carpool and most children have left, Prek gates will close and your child will be taken to the office to await your arrival. You will need to go to the office to sign your child out of late pickup log.
- Be patient, the sun creates glare, you can see us through your window but sometimes we can’t see you.
- Now is a good time to start teaching your little one how to buckle their car seat or booster independently! This will speed up the car pool process in the long run.
- No parking on street, or you risk getting a ticket!
- Anyone picking up your child must be on emergency card.
- In order to ensure the children's safety and your privacy, please hold off any questions or lengthy conversations until all the children are dismissed.
- I will gladly schedule to meet with you after dismissal or through a phone call or remind chat.
DRESSCODE
- We are a mandatory uniform school. On Fridays children may wear their bright green gator shirts or any previous CME t-shirts.
- Green gator shirts are available through PTA for $10
- Please provide a change of clothes to keep at school. It must be labeled and in a labeled plastic zip-lock. (shirt, shorts/pants, sock, underwear)
- We are in Prek and get busy with paints and other fun things please expect a few messy shirts and shorts!
LUNCH
- Prek lunch is at 11:30 a.m., children may bring a lunchbox or purchase food from the cafeteria.
- Let me know of any food allergies
- Lunch menus are available on dadeschools or paypam website.
- If you would like to prepay your child's lunch, you may do so through paypams.com. You will need your child's student ID which I or the front office can provide.
- You can always send money in a labeled envelope for your child.
- You can apply for the free lunch application online (fastest way) or wait to receive the paper handout on Monday. However it may take a few days to process and get a response. Here is the link:https://freeandreducedmealapp.dadeschools.net/
BIRTHDAYS!
- We do not go all out to celebrate birthdays. But if you wish to bring a special snack for the children to share, we can arrange for that. Cupcakes are O.K.
- No candles, NO BALLOONS, No home baked goods! (so we can read labels)
- We only allow this very special snack right after lunch in the cafeteria for a 15-minute period as to not interrupt our learning.
- You must make arrangements with me first! at least 2 days in advance!
NAPS/BATHROOM/WATER
- Our program includes a 30-minute rest/quiet time. We do not force the children to sleep, but we do encourage them to take a moment to relax while we listen to soft music. They may lay quiet on their mats, look at a picture book, but they may not interrupt the other children.
- We have restrooms in our classrooms that the children will be free to use at any time.
- We will provide reminders throughout the day and may provide help buttoning/unbuttoning if needed, but unfortunately we may not wipe your children after they use the bathroom. We can only walk them through the process… so parents I am asking you now to help your child become more independent in that matter if it is an issue in your home.
- Children may use the water fountain in our classroom as well, but if you wish to send in a water bottler daily (preferable), we will have a basket set up for that. Just make sure their bottle is labeled of course!
- Supplies needed right away (all these must be labeled):
- Their backpack (big enough to fit folder and nap blanket. with no wheels)
- Sturdy plastic folder
- Composition notebook
- Nap mat
- Blanket or thin towel (if it fits in a shoebox it’s a good size, please no bigger than that!)
- Any other supplies are welcome and I will notify you when we are running low on something specific.
- (We have a wish list online on amazon which you may already know about.)
- Here is the link: http://a.co/5Jviz3S
- We also post occasional projects on a donors choose website for donations. Sometimes donations get doubled, when I post a new project I will let you know and you may spread the word on your social media in case someone wants to sponsor us.
COMMUNICATION
- On Monday your child will be sent home with a packet from the office. It is important to look through, sign and return as soon as possible. They are due to us by Friday August 25th. We are collecting pages :1,3,5,9,11,16,27 and 34 plus acknowledgement of receipt and school emergency card (thick paper)
- You will also get a parent contact information sheet from me to fill and for me to keep in case of emergency. If you did not receive one at orientation last Thursday you can download the file (here) and send it in as soon as possible.
- Plastic red folders must return to school daily inside their book bag. Any papers that come from the office will be sent in the folder. I encourage you to check daily. If you ever send notes, or payments (payments always in labeled envelope or ziplock) make sure that is in the red folder not the backpack. We want the children to become independent so we will teach them to take their folder out of their book bag in the morning. Please do the same at home ask them to get you the folder to check and also to put it back in by themself.
- If you haven't done so, please sign up to our remind app:
- Enter rmd.at/2b394h on your smart phone web browser
- text to: 81010 Message: cmeprek
- let me know if you are having a hard time figuring it out I would be glad to help.
- You will be receiving weekly update emails from me to let you know what we are working on with your child and things coming up the following week. This will ensure we have a strong school home connection to foster maximum learning for your precious child!
- SO Make sure I have your email address!
- Feel free to contact me during my planning hours after school 2:00-3:00 p.m., unless there is an emergency like a change in the way your child is being picked up that day.
ATTENDANCE and ABSENCES
- Pre-K does attendance a little differently than the rest of the school. We do have to report your child’s attendance to the state of Florida since the VPK program is state funded.
- At the beginning of every month, you will receive a document that you will sign in ONLY BLUE INK after checking the attendance. This form MUST be returned to us before the 5th of every month. It will look like this: http://cmeveprek.weebly.com/vpk-attendance.html
- If your child is absent from school one day, please remember to send him or her back with a handwritten note (it can be by you). However, if the child misses 3 consecutive days, a doctor's note must be obtained in order to excuse the absence. Tardys are not excused.
VOLUNTEERS
- If you would like to volunteer in our school, you must register through dadeschools portal AND attend our school volunteer orientation.
- Volunteers are really needed for lunch waves,
- We have found that in the classroom it is a distraction, but there will be occasional opportunities if interested for special activities.
- Here are the steps to register as a volunteer. (you will need your child's student ID# (I have that) and their PIN (Carmen in main office has that)LINK: http://ehandbooks.dadeschools.net/userguides/pdf/166.pdf
- If you are interested in joining our #roomparentsquad, let me know so I can direct you in organizing and coordinating our class needs.
- We will be administering a Florida PreK assessment soon to your children.
- This will be the base to compare the mid and end of year assessments.
- The scores usually come out low but do not be alarmed.
- I would like to meet with you 3 times a year after each assessment to discuss your child’s progress so we are on the same page in providing support in areas lacking.
- Here we work mostly on whole child with focus on Social emotional skills that are important to learn in all other areas.
- Prek extended payments can be made through main building campus or sent to us.
- Please make sure to label that envelope and place it in your child's folder. We collect folders and we do not check backpacks! So if it is not in folder, there is a good chance we won’t see it.
- We will also tape the receipts to the inside of your child’s folder for your records.
- Please make sure you have the updated payment schedules as it has changed.
- Remember that afterschool care and story hour programs are separate fees than the extended prek day.
- Open house will be Sept 11th
- Thank you for entrusting me with your most precious treasures, we look forward to working with you for a fantastic Prek year!
Before and After-school Care
Before_School Care starting at 7 am, Story Hour (one hour after dismissal), and After-school Care (dissmissal -6PM) are available. Make arrangement with Mrs. Betancourt in the main Office Building to register your child if needed.
Ms. DeLeon and Ms. Sonia❤️