2011-2012 School Year
 
General Goals:
1. Help each child feel good about his/her self.
2. Increase confidence in both academic and social areas.
3. To help each child increase their knowledge and 
appreciation in their Catholic heritage.
 
 I believe that all children can learn and have great 
potential for learning. It is my responsibility to meet each 
child at their level of development and help them to 
become the best that they can be. My role is to create a 
classroom environment that supports young children's 
emotional, social, and academic growth.
 
The ABC's of Kindergarten
A
Absences:       
If your child is ill, please contact the school office at 
991-5700, ext 302. If your child must leave early for a 
doctor's appointment, please check in at the school office 
first.
B                         
Birthdays: 
Birthdays are special occasions for young children.  If your
 child wishes, he or she may bring a treat for the class. 
The treats must be prepackaged.  Please keep in mind that 
we have egg, peanut, and tree nut allergies in our class this 
year.  We will celebrate summer birthdays on 1/2 birthdays 
or the last week of school.
*This year a "Birthday Bag" will be sent home with the 
birthday child.  Please take time to write read the book 
and write in the journal. 
C
Conferences:    
Conferences are held three times during the school year.
October 20, 2011   1:00 - 4:30 and 5:30 - 9:00
January 6, 2012  1:00 - 4:30
March 16, 2012  1:00 - 4:30 
 
Discipline:
I believe that all children are different, and all actions 
and reactions are personal in nature. Situations are dealt 
with as they arise, with the focus enabling the child to 
grow and learn from his or her actions.
Students may engage in behavior that does not create a 
problem, does not jeopardize the safety, or the learning 
of anyone. They are encouraged to solve their problem in 
a way that does not create another problem.
                                   
Our class rules are:
1. Raise your hand and wait to be called on when the 
teacher is teaching.
2. Work and walk in line quietly.
3. Be a good listener.
4. Respect people and property. (Keep hands, feet, and 
object to yourself/Share/Wait your turn/Help clean up)
5. Always do your best and be a friend to everyone.
 
Consequences:
1.  Everyone begins with a Smiling Frog.
2.  Warning
3.  "Uh, Oh" Frog Face - 3 to 5 minutes time-out
4.  Warning
5.  Sad Face Frog - 5 minutes time-out; talk to teacher; 
note sent home 

Rewards: 
Students will be given verbal and written praise often. 
Good News notes will be given. Students should feel good 
about what they are doing and not need prizes. We will 
build a classroom community where everyone is liked and 
accepted.  Students will be able to earn pom poms for a 
class reward. When the jar is full, students will choose a 
reward for the entire class.
                        
E
E-mail: 
You can contact me via my email address: 
kflahaut@immacolata.org. I will check my email daily. 
If you need to discuss something urgently, please call the 
school office at (314) 991-5700, ext. 302, and Mrs. 
Gaskell will send me a note.
 
F
Fieldtrips: 
We will be taking two field trips this year. 
October 11, 2011:  The Magic House - American Symbols 
April/May:  St. Louis Zoo 
Please let me know if you would like to be a chaperone.
 
Fine Motor:        
 Fine motor skills are the manner in which we use our 
fingers, hands, & arms. They include reaching, grasping, 
manipulating objects, drawing, coloring, cutting, tracing, 
gluing, and writing using different tools like crayons & 
scissors.   Working in a vertical position helps strengthen 
the wrist but also provides stability for the hand to work.  
Games such as Lite Brite and Operation also encourage 
this position of the hand and wrist.
  
Additional activities to aid in proper hand development are 
playing with putty or play-doh, doing lacing cards, 
manipulating tweezers to pick up small objects like erasers, 
pom poms, and cotton balls, and snapping fingers.        
      
 
H
Homework:       
Homework is to help you see what we are doing at school, 
a way for you to see what your child can do, and to get 
them in the habit of bringing back homework on a 
specified day. It will be due on the last day of the week. 
It may be turned in early. Homework will be posted on the 
Immacolata website.
Handwriting:            
Handwriting is integrated into the entire curriculum. 
Students will write in journals, work at the writing center, 
and use other materials such as: play-doh, clay, paint, 
whiteboards, stencils, and so much more.  We teach the 
traditional block printing with emphasis on holding the 
pencil correctly, correct size, spacing, and letter formation. 
We will work on developing the correct tripod pencil grip, 
the Tripod Fingers (thumb, middle and index fingers) 
working well together to control the pencil.
  
Students should be able to:  form letters correctly, use 
left-to-right directionality, and capitalize first letters of 
own first and last names.
  
I
Independence:            
Your child is learning to do more and more on his/her own. 
Please encourage this independence, especially in shoe tying, 
zippers, snaps, and cold weather dressing.
J
Journals:                     
Students will write in a journal each morning. As students 
are exposed to a variety of phonics and reading experiences,
 journal entries will move from drawings and "inventive" 
spelling towards more conventional writing.
K                                         
Kindness:
Students will be asked to follow the Golden Rule and are 
encouraged to treat all members of the class as well as 
others, with kindness and respect.  The school has adopted 
the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program.
L
Literacy Centers:                  
During literacy centers, students will practice reading and 
writing skills while the teacher works with individual 
students or small guided reading groups.
Language:        
Reading readiness will be taught using The Letter People, 
Success, Alphatales, Raz-Kids website, Dolch Dogs videos, 
and Building Blocks. Each week we will focus on one letter 
of the alphabet. We will learn nursery rhymes, poems, and 
songs that go along with the alphabet. These programs 
allow the child to develop his/her highest potential without 
feeling pushed or forced to learn. Students will be 
encouraged to express their ideas verbally, through 
written or picture forms, listening, sharing, lots of stories, 
poetry, and dramatic play.
Lunch/Snack:         
Each day students will have the chance to eat a snack 
before lunch.  Please keep in mind that we have tree nut, 
peanut, and egg allergies in our classroom this year.  
Students may order lunch from Finninger's Catering 
Service on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and 
Fridays.  Orders may be placed at Finninger's.com.  Pizza 
lunch may be ordered on Wednesdays.  You may purchase 
milk/juice for your child for $20.00, but may also want to 
send an additional drink during the warm weather.
M
Math:                
We work on many math skills during the calendar time each 
morning. The math program focuses on hands on activities 
through the use of manipulatives. Math skills are acquired 
during the group work, direct instruction, and games. Our 
math texts are: Math P.A.L.S., Box It or Bag It, and 
Math Their Way. Students will explore rote counting up to 
100, skip counting, recognizing numerals up to 30, addition 
& subtraction, comparing numbers, time, money, shapes, 
measurement, problem-solving, and one-to-one 
correspondence
Mission of School:
Guided by our Catholic faith, we enable children to reach 
their full intellectual potential and learn to lead a life of 
compassion in the spirit of Christ. 
N
Newsletter:                     
Each week I will send home a weekly newsletter to tell 
about the upcoming week. It will be sent home with the 
child's homework. I also will post it on the Immacolata 
website and email a copy as an announcement through 
Teacherease. 
O
Olweus Program: 
Olweus is an internationally researched bullying prevention 
program is designed for all students not just for those who 
are bullied or those who bully others. 
The goals of the program are:
 to reduce existing bullying problems among students
 to prevent the development of new bullying problems
 to achieve better peer relations at school
What Is Bullying?
Bullying is when someone repeatedly and on purpose says or does mean 
or hurtful things to another person who has a hard time defending 
himself or herself.
  
All students will follow these four anti-bullying rules:
1. We will not bully others.
  
2. We will try to help students who are bullied.
  
3. We will try to include students who are left out.
  
4. If we know that somebody is being bullied, we will tell an adult at 
school and an adult at home.
*Class meetings will be held often throughout the school year.
      
 
P
Parties:                     
There are three main parties each year--Halloween, 
Christmas, and Valentine's Day.  Students exchange cards 
on Valentine's Day. We will also have a feast before 
Thanksgiving break and a celebration on the 100th day of 
school.
Parent Readers:                
The time and day is not yet set. It usually is at the end of 
the day from 2:30 - 3:00. Please bring several books to 
share with the class.  You may bring snacks for the class.
Portfolios:
Each student has a three-ring binder portfolio that I will 
keep quarterly assessments, samples of work, pictures, 
and observation notes. This will be reviewed during the 
conferences, and will be sent home at the end of the year.
Q
Questions:                        
Please contact me by e-mail: kflahaut@immacolata.org, by 
phone 991-5700 x408, or by note.
R
 Report Cards:
Report Cards are issued in January, March, and May. 
These reports reflect the progress your child has made 
toward various kindergarten objectives.  Report cards are 
not issued in kindergarten first quarter. 
Religion:                 
Religion is a part of each day. Students will pray, listen to 
bible stories, model the behavior of Jesus, and learn about 
their uniqueness. We use the Blest Are We textbook and 
Promise which teaches the students about the reading in 
the weekly masses. Students will attend mass on 
Wednesday mornings at 8:45.  Please try to have your child 
at school before 8:40. 
Raz-Kids: 
Raz-kids.com, allows your child to access an online library 
of reading materials from any computer connected to the 
Internet.  Raz-kids helps students improve their reading 
skills as they listen to a book read for modeled fluency.  
If the computer has a built-in record function, they can 
record themselves reading the same book.  Or, students 
can read the book to themselves or aloud for practice.  
Interactive quizzes are available at the end of most books 
to check for understanding.  You may access the website 
by:  
1.  Going to raz-kids.com and click on "Log In"
2.  Type in the teacher's username:  kflahaut and click Go.
3.  Find your name or symbol on the chart and click on that symbol.
4.  Click on the picture password. 
S
Special Person: 
Each student will have 1 to 2 days each month to be the 
special person and share something with the class. 
Students will take home the "Mystery Bag" the night
before their special day. They are to pick a couple of 
special items from home and something that starts with 
the letter of the week. I may give suggestions during 
various months, but it will be on the monthly special person 
calendar. Students will need to come up with three clues 
about their items so that the class can guess what they 
have in the bag.
S
Science:             
MySci will be coming to spend a week at our school in 
March. Kindergarten will be studying animals during this 
time. The focus of the kindergarten science curriculum is 
on developing an awareness of the world in which we live. 
Through scientific inquiry, concepts will be presented in 
the life and earth sciences, including the study of plants 
and animals, the five senses, general health, the four 
seasons, weather, magnets, states of matter, and 
electricity. These will be explored utilizing an inquiry-based, 
hands-on approach.
 
Social Studies:  
Kindergarten students learn to adjust and modify their 
behavior in a larger group. Using Discipline with a Purpose, 
students will learn five of the 15 self-discipline skills. We 
will also learn about people, school, our community, 
geography, and holidays. We will use "Let's Find Out", a 
periodical from Scholastic.
Supplies:
Thank you for all the supplies that have already been sent 
to school. We do tend to run out of wipes and paper towels 
first. I will inform you if more supplies are needed. For 
seasonal activities, we will need help with supplies like 
paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls, brown grocery bags, 
fiberfill, baby food jars, egg cartons, etc. I will send out a 
note when items are needed. 
Specials:
Art is taught by Mrs. Welsch on Tuesdays. 
Computer lab is taught by Mrs. Pardo on Mondays.
We visit the library on Thursdays. Our librarian is 
Mrs. Gallagher.
*Remember to send library books back.
Music is taught by Mr. Moramarco on Fridays. 
P.E. is taught by Mr. Menke on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  
*Please make sure that your child wears sneakers on these 
days.  Girls will want to wear shorts under their jumpers.   
*Spanish is taught by Mrs. Torres on Wednesdays and 
Thursdays.
Shared Reading:
Shared Reading is an interactive process used with the 
whole class. As the teacher reads the story, children join
 in on phrases or words that they know. During subsequent 
re-readings, children read more and more of the text, 
until they are able to read the story independently. 
Shared reading is an opportunity for the teacher to model 
conventions of print and the use of the reading strategies.
T
Teacherease:
You may look at your child's grades on www.teacherease.com. 
Kindergarten does not lend itself well to the regular 
grading system.
Take-Home Reading (Bag Books)
Beginning in January, the students will begin taking home 
one book a week to read at home. This is wonderful 
practice to build reading fluency and to reinforce 
vocabulary words they have learned. When they return 
the book to school, they will read it to me, and I will send 
another book home. This is your child's chance to 
"show-off" their developing reading skills.
Please look for a vinyl bag that will have books that your 
child can read.  (They may need some help.)  Encourage 
them to read them as often as they like.  Please send the 
bag to school each day.  The books will be sight word books, 
classroom books, class-made books, and predictable pattern 
books.   
U
"U" are important in your child's education. Thank you for 
all that you do!  
V
Volunteers: 
Volunteers will be needed for class parties, field trips, 
and reading to the class as well as other times during the 
school year.
W
Wednesday Envelopes: 
Wednesday Envelopes are sent home each Wednesday 
with the oldest child in each family. They contain 
important school information. Please send them back to 
school by the following Monday.  This envelope is used for 
entire semester. 
Writer's Workshop
Students will participate in Writer's Workshop each day. 
This is the time where they will learn what good writers 
do! We will begin with personal narratives.
X
Xtra Special
The kindergarten students will have 8th grade buddies 
each Friday from October to April. The 8th grade will 
read with our class. The 7th and 8th grade students will 
accompany us to mass. 
Z
ZZZ's
Students will take about a thirty minute rest period each 
day after lunch. We will watch movies and educational 
videos.  Please try to make sure that your child gets plenty 
of rest. It will help them to be alert and ready to learn 
each day!