���Welcome to Kindergarten�at Bennie Elementary School!!!

​

PLEASE JOIN US ON MONDAY, MAY 1 2 AT 6:30 PM FOR OUR KINDERGARTEN ROUND UP. WE WILL PROVIDE A GUIDED MEETING ON THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:

• FUTURE BOBCATS WILL JOIN OUR STAFF IN 2 OF OUR CLASSROOMS.
• INTRODUCTIONS
• KINDERGARTEN READINESS
• DAILY SCHEDULES
• SNACK AND LUNCH
• ROUTINES AND PROCEDURES
• ITEMS FOR BACKPACKS AND CUBBIES
• RESOURCES
• A Quiz will follow :)

​

STAFF INTRODUCTIONS

​

YOUNG 5’S TEACHER

• Mrs. Michelle Maynard

​

KINDERGARTEN STAFF

• Alisha Coppo
• Julia Hellar
• Eileen Housley

​

​

​

WE HAVE A PHENOMENAL BENNIE PTA THAT SPOILS OUR STUDENTS!!!

2024-2025 PTA School Meetings/Save the Dates

���Bennie Elementary School Kindergarten Round-Up and Enrollment 2025-2026

Items for Kindergarten Parents to complete

1. Register your child for kindergarten online: https://www.allenparkschools.com/apps/pages/Enrollment

​

****STUDENTS MUST BE REGISTERED BEFORE WE CAN SCREEN THEM***

​

​

• Please sign up for a time to you and your child to visit

Bennie. Sign Up Genius Link

• Parents will complete a social/emotional scale form

in the office while your child is screened.

• Students will visit with a Kindergarten teacher

for the Kindergarten screener.

​

​

Bennie Communication (links are underlined)

​

• 24/25 Parent/Guardian Information(Bennies Ins and Outs) - arrival,dismissal, lunch, snacks, etc..
• District Page- departments, parent portal, registration, employment, etc..
• Parent Square- primary communication tool that will be used( newsletters, events, updates, district info., etc…
• Class Dojo-some teachers may use this for parent communication for classroom pics, student work, and student behavior.
• Parent Portal- access to your parent connect, district resources, grades, and classroom placement information.

Parent Square Directions- New Communication Tool

This school year we will transition to- Parent Square. This communication platform allows the convenience of text, email, or app messages. It also has a better view from your cell phones than our current email system. If interested in the app, please download to your phone through the App Store or this link: https://www.parentsquare.com/select_school/new

You can also create an account to get text messages to your phone. This is very similar to Remind, which we used in the past! Register with the email we have on file/you use for school purposes. You should’ve received an email to this email address today with this same message! Overall, I think this will be a nice new feature for Bennie 🙂

Latchkey(Before and After School Childcare)

​

• We are pleased to offer Latchkey( before and after school childcare) for our Bobcat Families! Please use the link below if interested in signing up for Latchkey :)

click here to see district information about Latchkey

​

Information from Our District Nurses

​

​

• State of MI requires all Kindergarteners to have immunizations up-to-date. A copy of these immunizations needs to be provided for enrollment. The immunizations required are described here: Vaccinations required for school entry.
• Each child entering Kindergarten needs to have a physical exam. This is the form the physician should complete: Health Appraisal Form.

​

Information from Our District Nurses

​

• If a child requires medication at school, a Medication Authorization Form needs to be signed by the parent and physician.

​

• Please contact the school nurse with any medical conditions that may impact education or may require emergency medications. (for example: Asthma, Food Allergies, Type One Diabetes, Seizures, etc.)

​

• When enrolling, please make sure all contact numbers are correct and the health information section is filled out completely.

​

Lunch & Recess

Please see the following information about school lunches for this school year:

Breakfast:

• FREE

​

Lunch:

• Free
• $.50 Milk $.30 Reduced Milk
• $1.00 yogurt
• $1.25 Extra Entree

​

Students have a 40 minute lunch period that is broken into two chunks: 10:50-11:30

• 20 minutes to eat
• 20 minutes to play outside

Students will have a morning and afternoon brain break with their classroom teacher,which are 10-15 minutes(inside or outside). They will also have a 20 minute recess with their lunch period.

***Please be sure you are dressing your child for the weather. We will be going outside at any temperature above 20 degrees***

Click here and download to see our Breakfast Menu

Click here and download to see our Lunch Menu

Kindergarten Lunch is 10:50-11:30 am

​

Kindergarten has snack every afternoon.

Snacks and Water Bottles

Students will have a snack mid-morning or in the afternoon each day. Snacks are not provided by the school.

Please be sure to send a healthy snack everyday.

We ask that you place it in a separate part of their backpack for quick and easy access (outer pocket).

***This also helps where students will not go in their lunch box and eat their lunch at snack time haha***�

Water bottles- we encourage you to send a thermos style water bottle that has a built in straw. This allows the students to refill during the day and also cuts down on spills in the classroom :)

​

Student Birthdays at Bennie

We love to celebrate our students birthdays at Bennie! Our classroom teachers will always ensure that we make your student feel special on their big day! With that, we also want to make sure that we are staying safe and being considerate of others. Please see the following items of how birthdays are celebrated at Bennie. We appreciate your support with these items

Bennie Staff

​

Our classroom teachers will be sure to celebrate your student on their big day :) We ask that the following items are not brought into the building for your students’ birthday celebration:

• No consumable items or special treats. There are many allergies these days and we want to be safe.
• No Goody Bags- this puts pressure on other students and families to go out and do the same. Good bag items have caused behavior issues in the past.
• No Balloons- please keep these at home.
• No Birthday Invites- this should be done outside of the school. We want to respect the feelings of all of our students.

BENNIE SCHOOL SUPPLY LISTS

• School Supply Lists- These are suggested lists that help out our classroom teachers :) Supply Lists- click me

A Day in Kindergarten

Morning

​

8:30 Arrival

Morning Activity - Independent Review

Daily Calendar/Morning Meeting

Brain Break/Recess

Literacy Block/Guided Reading - Small group

10:50 am - Lunch & Recess

Afternoon

Mathematics Lesson & Activities

12:50 - 1:40 Specials Time

(Art, Music, Media, Technology, or Gym)

Snack/Quiet Time

Brain Break/Recess

Science/Social Studies/Writing Lesson & Activity

End of the Day Routine (Read Aloud, Clean, Pack Up, etc.)

3:30 Dismissal

​

• Please work with your child on the following:
• Write their first name/hold a pencil
• Recognize their first and last name
• Use the bathroom independently
• Know if they are a packer or buyer for lunch
• Be able to dress themselves and tie shoes (otherwise wear velcro)
• Be able to put their coat on/ zip it on their own
• Coloring, cutting and gluing
• Count, recognize, and write numbers to 10
• Recognize ALL letters of the alphabet by sight out of order (uppercase and lowercase)
• Listen and Follow one-to-two step directions
• Sit and listen to a story

​

​

Fostering Independence at home

Skills to practice this summer:

​

• Zipping coats and backpacks
• Tying shoes
• Blowing noses/sneezing and coughing in elbow
• Opening snacks and food packages
• Practice belts and buttoning pants (by law we are not allowed to assist in snapping pants)
• Bathroom skills- washing hands, flushing etc.
• Using words to express their needs

​

​

Preparation During the Summer

The national PTA has a great resource guide for parents! Click the blue link below to view and print if you would like.

​

Starting Kindergarten Off Right!

Vaccine Clinic at APMS

Great Start Readiness Program - GSRP

​

GSRP is a state-funded, full day, free preschool program that runs 5 days a week for students who are 4 years old on September 1st.

​

Students must qualify for the program based on an interview process. If you feel that your child may benefit from an additional year of preschool, please message Nicolette Roller for more information on the Allen Park Center for Early Childhood Education!

​

Contact Nicolette Roller, Early Childhood Director

roller@appublicschools.com

Young 5s/Kindergarten

Based on state law, children must turn five years old on or before September 1st to enroll in kindergarten. In previous years, children could be enrolled in kindergarten if they turned five years old by December 1st.

​

Young Fives kindergarten is the first year of a two year kindergarten experience for those students who have birthdays before December 1st and would benefit socially and emotionally from an additional year in kindergarten. Parents with children whose birthday is after July 1st and before December 1st who wish to enroll their child in Young Fives/kindergarten must complete a waiver and meet with Mr. Short to review kindergarten readiness.

​

Young Fives Kindergarten provides children with an opportunity to learn in an enriching and academically challenging environment that nurtures their growth. Research shows that children who attend kindergarten readiness programs like Young Five Kindergarten are more likely to do well in school and attend college.

Is my child losing a year?

Essential Elements of Young 5s

Students in Young 5s have birthdays between

July 1 and December 1.

​

Candidates for Young 5s can benefit from additional support with:

• Being able to socially interact and participate in a classroom environment.
• Being able to regulate appropriate emotions and responses in various experiences within the educational environment.

​

Students in Young 5s:

• Will be learning in a smaller class size
• Maximum of 15 students
• Are able to receive more 1-1 support.
• Can continue learning and maturing through play that nurtures their growth.
• Will attend Kindergarten the following school year.

​

Enrolling in Young Fives will not take away from your child’s education. Allowing your child to gain a year will help them to be more equipped in the following years to come. Young 5s students demonstrate their leadership when they enter kindergarten, along with their ability to stay on pace. Research shows that students who attend kindergarten readiness programs like Young 5s are more likely to do well in school and attend college.

​

My child went to preschool, is Young 5s the same thing?

Preschool curriculum is substantially different from Young 5s. Young 5s classrooms are introduced to the Kindergarten Curriculum using a hands on approach which introduces key concepts and academic vocabulary.

What does the schedule look like?

Y5/Kindergarten schedules are the same. Each student will attend Monday-Friday (8:30-3:30pm). Students participate in all kindergarten activities, such as music, art, PE and enrichment throughout the year.

​

Young Fives

“Life Skills, Positive Behavior, Student Celebrations”

***Our PBIS Expectations provide our students with the goals for “Being Safe, Being Respectful, and Being Responsible” at Bennie. These goals focus on the following areas: our classrooms, hallways, lunchroom, playground, restrooms, and arrival/dismissal. These are great items to review with your students at home. We have a monthly focus area and celebrate our students monthly with ACE Awards!

• Bennie Blues- Bennie Blues Master
• Bennie Yellows- reflection sheet to be signed by student, parent/guardian, and teacher. Teacher tracks and keeps records. Bennie Yellows Masters
• Bennie Reds- new ODR, carbon copies are in your staff folders. ODR Master

*** To go along with our PBIS Program at Bennie, we have also implemented the “Bennie Beliefs”. These are important life skills that will help our bobcats with establishing goals both academically and socially. Each month we will recognize 4 students at Bennie from each classroom. 2 students will be recognized for going above and beyond for the monthly “Belief” and 2 students will be recognized for overall amazing PBIS behaviors for our “ACE AWARDS”. These students will be awarded their certificates at monthly celebrations and recognized on our Bennie Facebook page.

CLASSROOM PLACEMENT- (Parent Connect)

Bennie 22-23 Placements

• PLACEMENTS-Parents/Guardians will be able to view their student(s) teacher on Wednesday, August 29th, 2024 at 4:00pm. These will be viewable via the parent portal at click here for the parent connect portal ***Classroom teachers will be viewable after 4:00pm. ***Please follow the directions on the web page to sign up :)

Arrival and Dismissal

ARRIVAL

​

Arrival Procedures

• Families can use any of the 3 entry locations to drop off your students in the morning. Door 6, Door 1, or Door 16. This is to allow for smooth traffic with a “1 stop drop” and for siblings to enter together :)
• Doors open at 8:25 am. No supervision for students prior to 8:25 am.
• The school day begins at 8:30am, please make sure students are arriving on time. Student attendance and lunch count are taken during the first 10-15 minutes of school.
• At 8:35am all doors are locked and students have to enter at our main entrance at Door #1.

​

DISMISSAL

​

Dismissal Procedures

• Students will be dismissed at the doors indicated on the map on slide 19 at 3:30pm.
• Please leave immediately upon connecting with your child.
• If you have children in multiple grades, please wait for the youngest child at his or her door, then go to a central meeting point (front sidewalk is a good one) for older children to meet you. Your older students can also meet you at your “youngest child's door” for a Sibling Spot.
• The school day ends at 3:30pm
• Students that are not picked up by 3:35pm are brought to the main office to call home.

​

​

Morning Arrival

**Feel free to use any of the 3 drop off lanes in the morning. We will have safeties and staff to guide your students to their classrooms

​

​

Door 16-3rd-5th and siblings

Door 15- 3rd-5th and siblings.

Door 1- Young 5’s, CC, and Siblings

​

Door 6- K-2 and Siblings

***DOORS OPEN AT 8:25am***

Afternoon Dimissal:

​

** To help with afternoon dismissal and the safety of our students, we will use the following grade level doors. Families should plan a meeting place at the end of each school day. **

FUTURE BOBCATS LAWN SIGNS

We look forward to an Amazing Year Together!!! Question that you may have? Stop by our tables to talk with our PTA, Girlscout, etc..

Don’t forget to sign up for a screening date!!

WELCOME FUTURE BOBCATS!!!

SNAP A PICTURE OF YOUR STUDENTS FOR THEIR FUTURE 5TH GRADE PROMOTION AND SENIOR GRADUATION BOARDS!!!