Dear Kindergarten Parents: We realize that preparing for kindergarten is exciting for you and your child! We, too, are eager to be part of your child's life at this very important time. We will work hand in hand with you to make this a wonderful year. As your child gets ready for kindergarten, here are a few things that would help: writing his/her name (capital letter at beginning of word, rest lower case); using scissors; naming some letters in the alphabet; counting objects to ten (10); naming numbers to ten (10); and many of the activities found in the "Summer Connection" booklet provided by the district. A few days before school begins, we will invite your child to a "Hello" party (30 minutes long). This party lets your children meet with their teacher, some classmates, and see the room before the first day of school. While children meet their teachers, parents will be in another room filling out school forms. We will send your child an invitation to this party the last week of July. As of now, Highland has three All Day Kindergarten teachers. Mrs. Pat Ide has taught kindergarten for many years at Highland. She loves to play golf with her husband, Roger. Mrs. Katherine Smith will begin her third year at Highland. She enjoys reading children's literature, singing, and playing the piano. Mrs. Diana Thomas will start a second year at Highland. She enjoys reading and playing tennis. They can be reached in the following way: Ide at 472-7614, Smith at 472-7612, and Thomas at 472-7615. A fourth All Day Kindergarten teacher is in process of being hired. We also have new half-day Kindergarten and half-day Young Learner teachers. Lisa Chisum taught kindergarten at Highland a few years back and we are happy that she has chosen to return. We welcome JaQueese Dightmon to our Kindergarten team. We would like you to know some important information. Closed-toed shoes are safest at school. Back packs large enough to hold 9X12 paper (please, no wheels, for safety) are a great help in getting information to parents each evening. Your children should dress comfortably, and remember we sometimes we do messy things, so keep that in mind! No other supplies are needed. When school starts this August, Kindergarten will be from 8:30 - 3:00 on Mon., Tue., Thurs., and Fri. On Wed. we dismiss with the rest of the school at 2:30. The AM half-day session will be from 8:30-11:10. The PM half-day session will be from 2:10-3:00 with early release on Wed. Before school each day, your child may play on the kindergarten playground (south side of the school) under supervision at 8:10 and 12:00 noon just before school starts. Teachers will pick them up on the playground. After school, all kindergarten children are outside, in front of the office, where their teachers will supervise them. We look forward to meeting you! Sincerely, Pat Ide, Katherine Smith, Diana Thomas, Lisa Chisum, JaQueese Dightmon

Nice to have Supplies List Backpack 1 Box Kleenex 2 large glue sticks