Assemblies
Most weeks, ES students attend an assembly on Tuesday mornings. Assemblies are an opportunity for one class to share their learning with the rest of the school, as well as for important announcements and celebrations of achievements. Assembly begins at 7:55, so PreK students can be dropped off in the classroom between 7:45-7:50, at which point we will all begin walking down to the ES Hall. Students who are dropped off at the front gate by a driver or nanny can be dropped off between 7:45-7:50, as usual, and then they will also begin walking to the ES Hall. If you arrive after 7:50 with your child, please go directly to the ES Hall for drop-off and meet us there!
Parents are always welcome to stay for assembly. Towards the end of the year, PreK will host assembly to share and celebrate examples of our own learning with the rest of the elementary school. Please be sure to save the date so that you can attend PreK's assembly on April 24th.
House Events
House Events, like assemblies, take place on Tuesday mornings; usually once per month. Every child and teacher in the Elementary School (and Middle School!) is divided into a house team: red, yellow, green, or blue. On House Event days, we play games such as tug-of-war, cheer competitions, or even creative art games to raise points for our respective house teams.
The last event of the year is the Big Splash. Students can compete by jumping off of the diving board into the pools to create the largest splashes or most creative dives. PreK students will not be entering the pools (as they do not have swimming lessons at school), but will participate in kicking their legs to create splashes in the pool, if they want to. Please pack an extra pair of clothes for your child on this day! At the end of the year, the team who has collected the most points will win the House Cup. Will it be your family's house color?
Family Picnics
Family picnics are a great community event for parents who are able to attend school during their lunch break. During our scheduled lunch time, we invite families to join us on the ES Lawn for a picnic lunch. You are welcome to bring your own food and eat with your child, but please refrain from bringing food to share with others (we thoughtful of allergies / food sensitivities).
In PreK, our lunch begins at 11:05 and ends at 11:30. Recess follows afterwards, from 11:30-12:00. We hope you'll be able to join us!
Fifth Grade Buddies
Meeting up with fifth grade buddies is a big part of the PreK month! Our fifth grade buddies become friends, mentors, and guides through the year. At the beginning of the year, each PreK student is matched with a fifth grade student, typically on the same house color team. At least once a month, we meet up with them for about twenty minutes to do some reading or a fun project together. These activities provide the PreK students with a role model who can support them in reading (it's incredible to see the students looking up to older students who are reading and writing; not just their teachers!), while the fifth grade students practice leadership skills, language development, and their own reading and writing while scaffolding for the younger students.
During house events, the fifth grade students look out for their buddies in a one-on-one way, so that everyone has a partner walking to and from the classroom and feels safe during the events, when we are not all together as a class. It is a very rewarding relationship in both directions. This year we are buddies with Ms. Johnson's class, 5J.
Celebrations / Parties
We will have three celebrations during the school year: Halloween, Christmas, and End-of-Year.
For each of these parties, food will be provided by the PTO. We are asking that families pay for this food with one contribution, at the beginning of the year, of 160LE total. This pays for:
- A nicely decorated Cupcake by Marny’s; a new shop that has just opened by two of our very own CAC moms.
- One bag of popcorn provided by the Booster club
- A slice of Papa John’s pizza
- One box of Apple juice
At the Halloween party, on October 26th, your child will receive the above food, but we ask that parents do not attend the actual celebration. Instead, you can come at 2:00 to help your child dress in his or her costume and then attend the Halloween Parade which will take place at 2:30-3:00.
For the Winter (December 21st) and End-of-Year Celebrations (June 4th), we will update with specific timings as soon as we know. However, you are welcome to attend these celebrations with your children and we look forward to having you in the classroom for these happy events!
Family Math Night
Family Math Night, February 7th, is a fun Elementary School event where students teach their parents some of the math games that we play in the classroom. This event takes place after school, in the evening, and is designed to help parents learn how they can help their children develop fluency with math skills, such as counting, subitizing, and even addition and subtraction. During family math night, teachers are available for support, but students should feel independent in working with materials and teaching skills to their parents and siblings. Please support your child in cleaning up after using the games (it is a busy night!).
Egypt Festival
For Egypt Festival Day, April 19th, there are also many fantastic activities for your children and for you to attend as well. Typically, the day begins and ends with an assembly which you are welcome to attend. We also have an Egyptian Culture activity for the PreK students. As the date comes closer, please check back for an updated schedule including timing of these activities.
Parent Teacher Conferences
Due to the age and development of our PreK students, our parent-teacher conferences follow a slightly different routine than the other grade levels in the Elementary School.
Our first conference with you, at Parent Day, is an opportunity for you to share with us your ideas and thoughts about your child that can help us be better educators for him or her. As you are truly the first teacher for your child, we are looking to you as the expert! We will continue to get to know your child better in the school setting in the coming weeks and months at CAC, but at Parent Day we are looking forward to getting to know you, your family, and your child through questions, anecdotes, and conversation. We look forward to a great day getting to know the PreK families and we hope you enjoy some time talking to your child's teachers as well.
Trimester One Conference: Parent Teacher Conference. After you receive your child's report card, please read it over and then schedule a time during Parent-Teacher Conference day so that we can talk about your child's development during Trimester One. Together we can discuss what we have seen at school and at home, and identify goals for the year. Childcare is available at the playgrounds, with our wonderful playground monitors.
Trimester Two Conference: Parent Teacher Conference. Unlike K-5 conferences, where students are involved in the Trimester Two Conference, our PreK conference remains Parent-Teacher only. We will continue to discuss your child's development as well as progression towards goals. Childcare is available at the playgrounds, with our wonderful playground monitors.
Trimester Three Conference: Student-Led Conference. During our Trimester Three conferences, your children will be taking on a leadership role and teaching you about everything they have learned during their year in PreK. They will share their portfolios with you, as well as teaching you some activities and games that they have learned during the PreK year. Teachers are available for support, but are not directly involved in the conference. If you wish to discuss anything regarding your child's development, please schedule a separate time to meet with the teacher.
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