Kindergarten Disclosure Statement

Beacon Heights Elementary School 2019-2020

Mrs. Emily Ward
Room 251
801-481-4814
emily.ward@slcschools.org

Dear Families,
I welcome you to the 2019-2020 school year! The beginning of the school year is always
exciting and I am anxious to learn all about my new kindergarten students! During the first
few weeks of school, I look forward to building relationships with you and your child. Your
student will have a safe space to learn and grow this year! This year will be productive and
stimulating!
In this packet, I have attached classroom goals, rules, procedures, grading policies,
and behavior policies for our kindergarten classroom. I know this is a bit lengthy but please
read through this packet with your child so you both know how our classroom functions. I
have attached a slip at the end of this packet to be signed and returned to me.
I deeply encourage and welcome students and families to contact me regarding any
questions, comments, or concerns relating to our classroom activities. Please do not hesitate
to reach me by email, Remind app, phone, or simply by classroom visit before or after school
hours. You can also visit our classroom website at: https://mrswardkinder.weebly.com/.

I look forward to working with you!

Mrs. Emily Ward

Grade Level/Class Description

● Hello students and parents! I am so glad to be a part of your first elementary school
experience! This year, we will learn what is outlined in the Utah Core Curriculum
pertaining to Kindergarten students. This includes areas such as: language arts,
reading, mathematics, social studies, science, and creative arts. These subjects are
extremely important for students of all ages and I plan to implement them in various
ways throughout the school year. Whole class, group work, partnering, individual work,
and centers will occur every day and enhance the learning process in all subjects.
● Also, students are going to learn how to be a part of a neighborhood, school and
classroom community.

Kindergarten Goals and Objectives

● I will be implementing the use of the Common Core Standards and Utah Core
Curriculum to assist me in planning beneficial lessons that will prepare your student
for first grade. The Common Core Standards and Utah Core Curriculum outlines
standards of learning that are essential for all students at each grade level. The
curriculum includes ideas, concepts, and skills to provide a foundation on which
subsequent learning may be built. The curriculum for kindergarten can be found on
the Utah State Office of Education’s website at:
http://www.schools.utah.gov/curr/core. Another great website to find the
kindergarten curriculum is: http://www.uen.org. Please feel free to visit these
websites at anytime or contact me with any questions regarding the Common Core
Standards and Utah Core Curriculum.
● The Salt Lake City School District’s Kindergarten level curriculum brochure can be
accessed from the District home page at:
http://www.slcschools.org/departments/curriculum/K-6-Curriculum-Brochures.php.
Then, click on the Kindergarten link.

Instructional Materials
● This school year, we will be using the following instructional materials to assist with
learning:
o Wonders, McGraw Hill, 2014
o Reading Street, Scott Foreman, 2008
o Eureka Math, Great Minds, 2016
o Writers Workshop, Lucy Calkins, 2013
o Please see me for other multiple resources utilized throughout the school year.

Instructional Practices
● I will use different learning styles to encourage students to become inquisitive
learners, active learners, and self-motivators. Kindergarten is a great year to teach
students how to be responsible for their own learning. A list of instructional practices
we will use throughout the school year are listed below.
o Whole Group – Working together as an entire class.
 o Small Group – Students working together with the teacher.
o Group Work - Students working together in small groups.
o Partnering – Students working with one other classmate.
o Individual Work – Students work individually.
o Centers – Students practice together and individually on specific goals in all
subjects.
o Daily 5 – Students practice together and individually on reading to self, reading
to a partner, listening skills, writing, and word work.

Course Requirements (Assignments, Attendance, Tardies, Discipline, etc.)

● Attendance: I plan to make every hour at school effective and full of learning
opportunities and when a day is missed, it is very hard for a student to make up that
full day of learning. I know that emergencies happen. Let me know why your child
missed class and I will be happy to help him/her catch up. Students will be able to find
work they missed in their mailbox. If you know when your child will be missing school,
let me know so I can give you the assignments we do in class at an earlier date. It is
also very important to be on time and ready to learn every day. School policy states if
students arrive after 8:50, they are marked tardy.

● Participation: I expect all students to participate in classroom learning, discussions,

and group work. When we are talking together as a class, students should raise their
hands, ask questions and/or share comments. This involvement leads to deeper and
more thoughtful learning.

● Class work: Class assignments are expected to be completed throughout the day and
will be given to students daily. We will be working on these assignments as a class, in
groups, or individually; therefore, everyone should be able to complete them in a timely
manner. All students should have these completed and turned in before leaving at the
end of the day.

● Projects: Projects will be given toward the end of thematic units to determine student
comprehension. The projects will help students sum up what they have learned, and
they will help me to determine if we need to go back and review a lesson. Sometimes
projects will be given in groups, partnerships, or individually.

● Assessments: Periodically, I will give students worksheets, quizzes, reports,

presentations, etc. I like to use a variety of assessments because some students are
better test takers while others are better presenters. Different assessments will be
used continuously. These assessments will be put into student portfolios where
families can see how well their children are performing. During parent-teacher
conferences, parents and students can look at the materials placed in portfolios and
witness the progress made throughout the year. At the end of the year, portfolios will
be sent home.
 ● Behavior: I expect all students to follow our classroom rules and procedures.

The rules are…

o Be safe-
▪ Keep hands, feet and all other objects to yourself
▪ Walking feet
▪ Ask a teacher if you need to leave the classroom
o Be respectful-
▪ Use kind words
▪ Follow directions the first time
▪ Inside voice
▪ Listening ears
▪ Eyes on the speaker
o Be Responsible –
▪ Be ready to learn
▪ Clean up after yourself
● If students do not comply with the rules and procedures, I will give a verbal warning to
help them correct and remember why we need to behave appropriately. After the
verbal warning, I will begin to move student’s clips on our behavior chart. Our behavior
chart looks like this…
o Outstanding!
o great
o good
o ready
o think
o teacher
o parent contact

● Once I give a verbal warning, I will move clips to “Think” on the chart. From there, I
will continue down the chart to “Teacher’s Choice” and “Parent Contact”. Also,
students can move up from “Ready to Learn” to “Outstanding” so the behavior
chart isn’t a negative component of the classroom.

Grading Procedures
Homework:
● Homework will be given in a packet every Monday to help students practice what was
learned in class. Homework can consist of handwriting, reading, writing, math,
computer programs, etc. Homework packets will be due every Monday. Reading logs
will also be included in the homework packets. Students are required to read for at
 least 20 minutes every night. Students/parents need to record what was read and how
long he/she read for.

Late Work and Missed Assignments:

 Most of the time, I will accept late work because things may come up that prevent
students from turning in assignments. However, I would like to know why work is late
before I accept it. I will give students a week from the day the work was due to
complete and turn the assignment in to me. If students will be missing school for 5 or
more days, contact the office and let me know so I can collect assignments before
your departure.

Tentative Class and Activity Schedule

● Mondays-Thursdays:
o 8:45: morning meeting
o 9:00: math
o 10:00: recess
o 10:15-10:55: specialty classes*
o 10:55: recess
o 11:10: lunch
o 11:45: quiet time
o 12:00: literacy/writing
o 12:30: early reading intervention
o 1:00: whole group literacy/reading groups/daily 5
o 2:00: recess
o 2:15: snack
o 2:30: science/social studies
o 3:10: clean up
● Fridays:
o 8:45: morning meeting
o 9:00: art/science/social studies
o 10:00: recess
o 11:10: lunch
o 11:45: quiet time
o 12:00: whole group literacy/small group/daily 5
o 1:10: clean up

*This schedule is subject to change due to out of class activities such as computers, art,
music, library, dance, P.E. etc. Most of these out of class activities will be placed in the
schedule where “specialty classes” are labeled.
 I have read through Mrs. Ward’s disclosure statement with my child.

Guardian’s Signature __________________________________________________________

Print Student’s Name _________________________________________________________