Welcome to Great Beginnings Pre-K Program

Welcome to LSR7's Great Beginning's Pre-K Program! Below you'll find information sent to all families to help your transition into our program a little easier.

Arrival and Dismissal Procedures:

If your student is part of the half-day program, arrival and dismissal may look different.  We will be sure each family has arrival and dismissal times and procedures that fit their student's session.

Arrival:

• We will begin unloading cars around 8:55 am
• Please stay in your car.  Our staff will help your student get out and walk inside.  This will help the process go quickly and smoothly. 
• Our goal is to finish unloading cars as close to 9:10 as possible. 
• If arrival is over and staff members are no longer outside, please walk to the front door to check your child in through the office. You may have to wait with your child until a staff member can walk them to class.

Dismissal:

• We will begin dismissal around 3:50 pm
• Please do not get in the car line before 3:40, we want to make sure we are not getting mixed into the Prairie View Elementary traffic
• Please have your yellow car tag in your window when you pull into the Priaire View parking lot, so they know you are headed to the Pre-K car line
• When you pull into the front drive to wait for your child to be brought out, please be outside your car ready to buckle your child if they need help.  Staff are not allowed to help buckle students into the car.
• Our goal is to finish loading cars as close to 4:10 as possible
• If dismissal is over and staff members are no longer outside, please walk to the front door to check your child out through the office. 
• If you or the person picking up your child does not have a yellow pick-up tag, we will ask you to park and come to the office.  We will need to check ID before releasing the student.  

 

School Expectations:

Pre-K has established school-wide expectations to support our students as they learn to regulate their behavior, understand their feelings, and make friends in our Pre-K Program.  Specific behaviors and expectations have been established for our school setting to help our students grow in their ability to work with others, solve problems, and express themselves at school. We have a system of tools and strategies for defining expectations, teaching expectations, acknowledging appropriate behavior, and correcting inappropriate behavior. The goal is to create an environment that prepares all students for success. Our school-wide expectations are built around teaching our students to be safe, kind, and helpful. Mastering these behavior expectations, in turn, develops a strong school family and strong positive life skills. 

The social-emotional strategies implemented at school are strategies for life and we want children, families, and staff to use these skills in all life settings.  We want all adult and child members of our school community to be able to communicate in a positive, effective manner to get their needs met. As needed, behaviors will be addressed by the program director or other school district staff.

 

Dress:

Your child should be dressed in clothing appropriate for play, and our play can often be messy!   We do have spills and will be working with paint, glue, and markers often.  Also, children at this age have toileting accidents.  Therefore, please dress your child in informal, comfortable clothing easily managed in the bathroom.

• Labels for your child’s personal belongings are highly encouraged (backpack, water bottle, coat, etc.)!
• Each child needs an extra set of clothing in their backpack (pants, underwear, shirt, socks), labeled with their name, in case of accidents.
• Students are involved daily in gross motor activities.  Outdoor time occurs every day, unless the temperature is below freezing, extremely hot, or it is raining or snowing. Please be sure to dress your child appropriately for the weather.  
• We recommend that you send your child to school in tennis shoes, sneakers, or closed-toed shoes that are not likely to come off easily.  Flip-flops are unsafe in our setting, even in warm weather. 

Quiet Time:

Our full-day Pre-K students have quiet time each day from 2:00-3:00 pm.  Children are not required to nap at this time, but they are required to rest.  A rest time during full-day programming is best practice in early childhood education.  As children grow and develop, rest time gives their bodies and minds time to rest and recharge during those big changes!  Learning to take a rest time at school is hard for some children.  Our staff will work with our students to build skills in their ability to relax, calm, and rest.  During quiet time, teaching teams must maintain the same adult-child ratio that occurs during instructional time, so it is not possible to offer alternate activities to a child who is unable to rest. 

We will provide each student with a rest mat and sheet.  We ask that families provide any blanket your child might want to be comfortable (that will easily fit in a 2-gallon Ziploc bag).  We will send the rest time sheet and blanket home to be laundered each Friday.  Please send these items back to school each Monday.  All rest time items will remain at school during the week, so please send items that will not be missed at home during the week. 

Toys From Home:

Everything children need for a successful preschool experience (materials, books, toys) is provided by the Great Beginnings Pre-K Program.  Students’ personal property (games/toys/books/jewelry) should not be brought to school. Any item brought will be held for safekeeping by the teacher until the day’s end.  Classroom teachers may allow certain days for sharing items from home.  You will be notified if your child is to participate and what day that will occur.