Kindergarten Information for Parents

Program Hours

The Kindergarten program is a half-day program running in the morning. Our program times are 7:58 -10:43 am, Monday through Friday. Classes begin on September 1 , 2022 and run through June 29, 2023. A specific school year calendar will be available in September and on our school website on the calendar page. 

Staggered Entry

For the 2022- 2023 school year, we WILL be doing a staggered entry. Your child will either attend school on Thursday September 1st or, Friday September 2. Please look for the Kindergarten sign at the northwest entrance of the school where all the Kindergarten students will gather. On your child’s first day, parents are welcome to attend the first 15 minutes (approx.) to help your child settle into our school routine. All Kindergarten students will come at 7:58 am on Tuesday September 6. 

Attendance

When your child enters the Kindergarten program, he/she has started school. It is important that attendance is regular. Habits of punctuality and regularity of attendance should be developed during this first year of school life. 

Absence

If your child is absent for any reason at all, please contact the school (403-777-6650 extension 1 for the absence line) and explain his/her absence before school begins. This notice is required for the teacher’s file and your child’s safety. 

Changes

If your phone number, address or babysitter changes, please phone the school to update this information. 

Pick-Up and Drop-Off

You can drop off and pick-up your child at the northwest entry doors before and after class. The drop off area is on Huntercrest Road NW, not the school parking lot. CBE policy states no children are to be in the parking lot. 

You are expected to wait with your child until the teacher comes to the northwest entry door to let them into the school. At the end of Kindergarten, please be waiting outside the northwest entry doors until the teacher dismisses your child. Please note that the teacher will not allow your child to leave until they see you or their caregiver. 

Please notify the teacher if someone other than a parent will be responsible for your child’s transportation to and from school, e.g. babysitter, daycare.

Before and After School Care

If you need out of school care for your Kindergarten child, Summit Kids is our provider. If you require full day care for your Kindergarten child, you would drop your child off at Summit Kids in the morning and they would be brought to the classroom at 12:28 for the afternoon Kindergarten class. After class, a Summit supervisor will collect them from the classroom and bring them back to the gym to await your after-school pickup. If you just need before school care, Summit Kids will take your child into their program beginning at 7:00 am and bring them to the morning Kindergarten class at 7:58. You can register with Summit Kids at www.summitkids.caor by phone 403-477-6006. 

Clothing

Please send your child in play clothing in which your child can comfortably move around in, sit on the floor or paint a picture in without having to worry about keeping clean. Children prefer to fasten and unfasten their own clothing, without assistance at school. 

Inside Shoes

Each child will need a pair of runners they can independently fasten to leave at school. Please print their name inside each shoe.  These runners are to be worn in the gym and classroom beginning on the first day of school. 

Labeling

All of your child’s belongings should be labeled clearly. (Label both mittens.) This is a great time to model the correct printing of their name with upper- and lower-case letters. 

Money

We will very seldom ask your child to bring money to school. We are moving to online payments for field trips, fundraisers, or special events so that you do not have to send money or cheques to school. Parents will be able to pay for these items through their MyCBE account. 

Backpack

Your child will need to bring a regular sized backpack each day. The children will be carrying snacks, library books, a blue agenda pocket folder and their work back and forth to school. This backpack also gives them a place to put outside clothing while in class. 

Healthy Food Choices: Breakfast and Snack

Please ensure that your child eats and healthy breakfast before they leave for school. The meal should include a protein of some sort (e.g. cheese, yogurt, eggs) as this helps your child to focus and have enough energy to make it through the day. Kindergarten children may bring a small nutritious snack each day, for example fruit, veggies or cheese and crackers. Children are given an opportunity to have a snack during class. This is not a meal and should not be treated as one. Children are only given 10 minutes to have a snack. 

Severe Allergies

Our school has a severe nut allergy alert. Students are asked to avoid bringing any product containing nuts, especially peanuts. 

Bedtimes

A 5/6-year-old child, attending Kindergarten, should be getting at least ten hours of sleep a night. This gives them the energy they need to learn while they are at school. 

Names

It is very helpful if at the end of August your child can recognize his/her own name and begin to print his/her name, using a capital letter followed by lower case letters, e.g. Susan. 

Instructional Communication Plan

It is very important that a clear plan for communicating student progress is in place. Effective communication enhances the learning possibilities for your children. The dialogue between home and school comes in a variety of formal and informal communication strategies outlined below. They include: 

Early Years Evaluation (EYE)

The Early Years Evaluation (EYE), which is done in the fall, provides a framework for teachers use to gather observations in the classroom and around the school. It is designed to assist teachers in assessing the skills of children as they begin school.

The EYE can be used to help children make a positive transition to school, identify children who need extra support and involve parents in meaningful ways. This is shared with parents at the November reporting period. 

Calgary Board of Education Report Card

A report card will be sent home with your child in December and June. Parent-Teacher Conferences are held in October, February and April, and a curriculum information session will be held in September. 

Communication Strategies

• Email (school messenger)
• Telephone contact
• Home journals
• Individual Program Plans
• Informal dialogue
• Student portfolios 

Library Books

Students begin to sign out library books in October. It is the student’s responsibility to take care of these books. If a student damages, or loses a library book they will be responsible for the cost of replacement.

School Council

All parents are invited to attend School Council meetings. They are usually held the first Thursday of each school month at 6:30 pm. Exceptions are September and January, which are the second Thursday. Watch newsletters and school website for dates. 

Volunteers

For complete Volunteer information, please see our Volunteer page.

Volunteer Opportunities

There are many meaningful and enjoyable ways that you can serve in schools:

• Help with certain tasks in the classroom, the library, or the office
• Assist with supervision on field trips
• Serve fun lunches to students
• Read with students who require extra support
• Organize special events for students
• Assist at School Council sponsored events.

Screening Process

In the CBE, all adult volunteers require a valid security clearance. There are no exceptions. 

Note that guest speakers or presenters, visitors to the school, and parents assisting their own child only in the school are not considered to be volunteers, and therefore do not require a security clearance. 

Security Clearances are valid for five years from date of issue. You can apply at any school, and once cleared, are able to volunteer anywhere in the CBE. 

Annual Volunteer Registration

You must complete the Huntington Hills School CBE Volunteer Registration Form when you begin volunteering and annually thereafter. By completing the form, you agree to abide by the conditions that protect the safety, confidentiality and working environment of schools. You also make a signed declaration with regard to criminal charges. 

Signing In

If you are coming to work or volunteer in the school, please report to the office. You will be asked to sign in and wear visible identification.

Safety and Security

If you are coming to the school for any reason, please come through the main office and sign in. We have a number of students who are involved in custody issues and in order to keep them safe, we need to know who is in the building at all times. The office will call your child down to meet you.