August 31, 2015
Dear Families,
Welcome to Kindergarten! Kindergarten is such an exciting time full of learning and fun activities. My
goal is to help your child develop a love of learning, build good work habits, and to form strong
relationships with others.
I would like to take this time to introduce myself. I am Michelle Robinson and have been teaching for
twenty-three years all but one of those in Kindergarten. I have been fortunate to be here at
Newcastle for the last ten years. I live in Renton with my husband Lynn, our third grade daughter Elsa
and our dog Phoebe. I’m sure you will hear lots of stories of the adventures that I have with my
family. I really love reading books on my Nook as well as reading stories to the kids (one of my
favorite times of the day). I also enjoy my 5:30am walks with my dog unless there are too many
bunnies out.  I adore working with Kinders and my Kindergarten team; they bring much joy and
laughter to my life. As part of the team is our Instructional Assistant named Terry Van Pelt, she
spends a few hours a day in our class and can be found at recess and in the lunchroom. She has been
with the Kindergarten team for five years, and this is our second year together. We offer a positive
learning atmosphere where we focus on social skills that guide the way to your child becoming a
successful student. We are both educators and moms (well Terry is a new grandmother to 2 gorgeous
babes); with that we look forward to sharing this school year with you as we work together to further
your child’s growth.
Below is important information about our classroom and school.
OUR SCHEDULE
9:05 First Bell rings
9:15 School Begins
10:35-10:45 Recess
12:25-12:40 Lunch Recess
12:40-1:00 Lunch
1:50-2:05 Recess
3:40 Dismissal
1:30 Wednesday Dismissal
Specialist Schedule
Music - Monday 11:50-12:20 Thursday 3:10-3:40
P.E. – Monday 2:40-3:10 Tuesday 10:45-11:15
Library – Friday 2:10-2:40
Full Day Kindergarten Information
DROPPING OFF AND PICKING UP CHILDREN
Bus Riders: As the students arrive they will be directed to our kindergarten line up area, which is near
the hopscotch area outside of our classroom. I will be holding a sign with my name on it. Please assist
your child in knowing my name so other adults can help direct kiddos. As all the buses have unloaded
and drop off kids are in line, I will walk everybody into the classroom. I will also escort them to their
bus lines at the end of the day.
Car Drop-Offs and/or Walkers: Cars will be directed around the entrance of the school to the dropoff lane in the parking lot. Once in the drop-off lane, students may get out and walk down the west
stairwell, around the building to our line which is near the hopscotch area right outside of our
classroom. I will walk the kiddos into the classroom as we have everybody in line. If you arrive late
and do not see Cathy Martin, you will need to check your child in to the office.
For dismissal, children will be escorted upstairs by two responsible Lion’s Club kiddos (2nd Grade or
older) until they are comfortable with the procedure. Parents are asked to meet their children
outside and not in the hallway by the classroom or office. Children are expected to stay with a
Newcastle teacher or Educational Assistant until their parent/guardian arrives on campus to pick up
their child. Kindergarten students will be loaded into their parent’s car by Cathy Martin our office
assistant. If the parent/guardian is 10 or more minutes late, children will be escorted to the office
where they will remain until they are picked up.
Please send a note when someone, other than you, is picking up your child. Be sure the person knows
exactly what time school ends. Include their name and telephone number in the note. If your child
has a bus assignment but will not be going on the bus please alert me. Please place the note in your
child’s folder (and make sure your child knows it’s in there). Or you can send this information to me
via email.
LUNCH
For lunch, your child can either bring a lunch from home (in a lunch box clearly marked with their first
and last name) or your child can purchase a lunch from school ($3.50 per day). If your child chooses
to buy a lunch at school, you can access the current lunch menu from the Newcastle Elementary
website. Here, you can also add money to your child’s lunch account. Lunch money can also be
added to your child’s account by sending a check to school (please clearly mark the memo line with
your child’s name and lunch number). Lunch money will be sent directly to the cafeteria (not the
office). Children purchasing lunch will make their lunch choices in the morning. There are always two
different lunch options, as well as the salad bar/baked potato lunch and yogurt/cheese lunch which
are offered daily. Please look over the menu with your child nightly to decide what lunch choice is
best for him or her. Please also spend some time before school starts practicing your child’s 4-digit
lunch number (even if your child isn’t purchasing a lunch on the first day of school). All students will
eat together in the Commons.
SNACK
Please send a small snack to school with your child every day. This snack should be nutritious and be
something that they can eat in about 10 minutes. Please do not send candy or drinks (water bottles
are ok). It should be something that can be eaten easily and independently, such as sliced fruit, string
cheese, or crackers. Please put your child’s snack in the front pocket of their backpack. Emergency
snack donations would be much appreciated.
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
Newcastle practices the C. A.R.E.S. program to encourage positive behavior C=Cooperation,
A=Advocate, R=Respectful, E=Empathy, and S-Self Control. The beginning of the school year will be
spent practicing the routines and procedures of the classroom using the C.A.R.E.S. wording to guide
us. I am a huge believer in positive reinforcement. Within in our classroom we use a behavior chart
where the children will have the opportunity to “clip –up” during the school day or may need to “clipdown” if a poor choice is made, but may go back up if the behavior is improved.
FOLDERS
Each student will be receiving a plastic green folder with their name on it for taking and bringing
papers to and from school. Please help your child be responsible for bringing his/her folder to school
every day and making sure papers are brought home to an adult…this is our link! The folder will
include; your child’s projects, notes and reminders from me, book orders, field trip permission forms
etc. I would also appreciate if it is cleaned out each day and only papers that need to be returned to
school are brought back. Please feel free to send me notes or messages via the front pocket of your
child’s folder.
Some Newcastle Procedures
~Please call the attendance line 425-837-5800, then press #2 when your child will be absent
~When your child returns from an absence, please send a note including the reason for the absence
~If you plan to pick your child up early, please send a note in folder. When you arrive, go to the office
to check your child out and the office will call for your student to meet you there.
~Volunteers need to sign in at the office upon arrival on campus.
APPROPRIATE DRESS
Kindergarten is your child’s job! Please make sure they are dressed appropriately for that job. We
will be doing a lot of hands on activities including painting, glittering, and gluing…not to mention
recess! We don’t want the students to be worried about getting dirty. Everyone will need to wear
tennis shoes for the gym on P.E. days.
Also, please make sure that all of your child’s clothes are labeled with their name. As students take
off sweatshirts and coats, we need to know whom these belong to. Also, please make sure your child
has a change of clothing in his/her backpack, just in case of an accident. These will need to be kept in
their backpack, as we do not have storage in the classroom.
BIRTHDAYS
Birthdays are special days! Each teacher at Newcastle Elementary has a pencil to hand out to the
Birthday child. If your child has a summer birthday, we will celebrate their birthday in June before
school is out.. As a whole staff, we agreed that treats are not to be brought to school for birthday
celebrations. It is a Kindergarten policy not to distribute party invitations unless all children are being
invited, since there are hurt feelings when some students are excluded. Thank you for your
understanding.
STAR OF THE WEEK
This is our way of celebrating someone special each week. The “Star of the Week” is a special event
for your child this year. It is a time for us to celebrate your child. Your child will bring home the “Star
of the Week tube” on a Friday sometime throughout the school year. Please fill out the poster
(drawings, photos, favorite things and return it to school with your child on the following Monday.
Your child will bring home a little book on the Friday of your child’s Star of the week. After your
child’s week, the poster will be laminated and added to our Star of the Week book. The posters will
be sent home at the end of the year.
ROUTINES
Your child should come to school well rested. It is important to have a consistent nightly bedtime.
Talking with your child about school is a wonderful way to show your support and build a successful
year. Questions to ask if they reply “nothing”: What activities did you participate in during Reader’s
Workshop? What did you write about during Writer’s Workshop? Did you go to P.E./Music or
Library? What was something new that you learned today? Tell me about one of the stories Mrs.
Robinson read today! What were you proud of today?…
HOMEWORK
It is my belief that children should be read with every night at home. As your child’s reading skills
progress, they can read to you as well.
Each week we will be focusing on a new famous word. We will be creating a class book; each child will
dictate a sentence using the word(s) and illustrate their sentence. These books will travel home
frequently throughout the school year. More specific directions will be inside the book cover.
Additional homework that relates to our math curriculum will be sent home in coordination with our
studies in class. These are called “Homelinks.” Please assist your child in forming good study habits of
finding a quiet homework area that is free from distractions. You are free to help them with their
homelink, but remember only to serve as a “guide” and do not complete the homework for them.
PERSONAL ITEMS
It is Newcastle policy that students do not bring personal items (such as balls, toys, electronic devices,
etc..) to school. Personal items are best left at home to prevent hurt feelings and conflicts that they
sometimes cause. We have PLENTY to do in the classroom and at recess, so personal items shouldn’t
be needed.
“WHAT’S IN THE BAG”
“What’s in the Bag?” is an assignment that the kids really enjoy and is a chance to build many
wonderful language and social skills for your child. Each week, your child will be responsible for
finding a small object to put in a small bag. The object will need to start with the item noted on the
previous Friday’s newsletter that is emailed. Once your child has found an object, work together to
write 3 clues for the object inside. Practice the clues together so that he/she will be able to tell them
to the class. On your child’s day he/she will give the clues to the class, and the class will guess what’s
in the bag! I’ll be modeling “What’s in the Bag?” next week, so your child will have a pretty good idea
of how it works! I will send more information next week.
Monday
Calvin
Noah
Isaiah
Gabriella
Tuesday
Keaton
Jasna
Alex
Milan
Wednesday
Carlo
Brielle
Beckett
Owen
Thursday
Abhi
Brayden
Andres
Mckinley
Friday
Sam
Alexis
Jonathan
Sabina
___________ THE LION?
Each day, our class Lion will be sent home with a new student “host”. We will name our lion within
the next few days and begin sending him/her home in his overnight bag, you’ll find him/her and a
journal. While hosting the lion, please have your child record his adventures in the journal.
Kindergartners will independently use a lot of pictures and their “kindergarten spelling” (some letterlike forms, letters, and beginning words). Adults are welcome to help with the kindergarten writing
but it is the child’s job to do their best “kid-spelling. The next day, your child will read us about the
journal page and what the lion experienced while he/she stayed with you! If there is a special
occasion that your child would like to host the lion for, we can try to arrange a trade with another
child just let me know
FIELD TRIPS
We go on a couple of trips during the year. This is an important experience as this makes children’s
learning real and meaningful. A note will be sent home in advance to let you know all of the details.
BOOK ORDERS
Once a month I will send home a Scholastic Book Club order form. Look it over and if you would like
to order books, you may do so online. Book orders usually take about 3 weeks to come in. This is an
inexpensive way to add to your home library and our class earns free books also.
VOLUNTEERS
Beginning in October, there will be many opportunities for volunteering in the classroom. I would also
like one Room Parent who will be in charge of making the volunteer calendar each month and will be
the liaison with the PTSA.
WHAT DOES KINDERGARTEN LOOK LIKE?
The kindergarten day will be filled with experiences to encourage a positive attitude towards school
and enrich learning.
Literacy:
Reading & Writing
Workshop:
 Shared reading, guided reading, and
independent reading
 Reading Strategies
 Letter Knowledge
 Word structure
 Phonics and decoding
 Sight words
 Writing Strategies
 “Best guess spelling”
 Handwriting Without Tears Program
Math:
 Number Concepts
 Counting Skills
 Calendar
 Geometry/Shapes
 Patterns
 Graphing
Science:
 Liquids and Solids
 Properties and Change
 Plants and Animals
Health & Social Studies:
 Friendship and emotional well-being
Making Meaning (Read Aloud Stories)
 Comprehension
 Making Connections
 Questioning





Measurement
Numeral Writing
Computation
Place Value
Estimation
 Caring for our bodies and learning about
their functions
 Identifying emergency situations and
using safe behaviors
 Five Senses
 Respect and responsibility
 Families and customs
CONFERENCES & REPORT CARDS
Conferences will be held December 2nd and 3rd. There is no school on these days. Report Cards will go
home in November.
COMMUNICATON
There are several ways to contact me if you have a question or concern about your child. You can
email me, call and leave a voicemail message on my classroom phone, or you can put a note in your
child’s green folder. Please note that I usually do not answer the phone during the day because I am
with the children. If it is an emergency, please call the office for immediate assistance. Email is the
best way to get a hold of me.
Office Phone: 425-837-5802
Classroom Phone: 425-837-5851
Email: [email protected]
Newsletters: emailed every Friday
I am looking forward to getting to know you and your family and making this a great year for your
child!
Sincerely,
Michelle Robinson