Welcome to Kindergarten: A handbook for families
Welcome to kindergarten! Kindergarten is a special time when children are introduced to new learning experiences, friendships and environments. We are excited to have your child start his or her journey here in Barrington 220. This booklet will answer questions regarding kindergarten classroom options, enrollment requirements, transportation information and more. We look forward to getting to know your child and watching him or her learn and explore. Welcome to the Barrington 220 School District.
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Enrollment requirements •
Age requirements: Children who are residents of the district and turn 5-years-old on or before Sept. 1 the year of enrollment are eligible.
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Pre-Registration: Pre-registration forms are available at Kindergarten Round-Up on Feb. 2. Please return this form to your home elementary school or district office by March 10. This information will help the district with student placement for all kindergarten programs. You will be notified of optional program placement in April. Parents who have pre-registered will be provided with a link to officially register their child through Infinite Campus in May.
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After May 2: Any parent who has not pre-registered must call 847-3816300 for an appointment at the District Office to officially register his/her child(ren).
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Documents required to pre-register • • • •
Kindergarten pre-registration form Student home language survey Certified, legal birth certificate Acceptable proofs of Barrington 220 residency:
Category I
Category II
(One document required) • • •
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Most recent property tax bill Mortgage statement (homeowner) Signed and dated lease and proof of last month’s payment (canceled check or receipt) Real Estate closing papers (for closing within last 60 days)
(Two documents required) •
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Homeowner or renter’s insurance policy/premium statement Current public aid card Voters registration Receipt for moving van rental Driver’s license
Medical requirements • • • •
Physical examination, dated on or before Sept. 1, 2017 Eye exam, due on or before Oct. 15, 2017 Dental exam, due on or before May 15, 2018 Immunization records
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Health Requirements Before your child can begin kindergarten •
Kindergarten Physical Examination: We accept the examination documents at any time upon pre-registration or registration. Please submit early to assure your child has met the health requirements and any health issues are planned for in advance of school entry. Submit completed health exams to the home school or the Administrative Center. We accept proof of appointment for those unable to complete health examination prior to the first day of school. DUE before the start of school.
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Immunizations: We accept the vaccine documents at any time upon pre-registration or registration. Please submit early to assure your child has met the State of Illinois vaccine requirements. The month/day/year and correct number of doses at the correct intervals must be verified by a health care provider. Additional vaccine information is available on the Barrington 220 website. DUE before the start of school.
Please keep a copy of your child’s health examination and immunizations for your own records. Parents or guardians who object to examination(s) or immunization(s) on religious grounds are not required to submit their child or wards to either, provided they present a completed Illinois Certificate of Religious Exemption form. This form must be completed in its entirety by the parent/guardian and signed by the physician, advanced practice nurse of physician assistant performing the examination. The statement must set forth the specific religious belief which conflicts with the examination(s) and / or immunization(s). Each vaccine that is objected, must be listed. The form is available on the Public Health website at www.dph.illinois.gov (then search “religious”).
Per School Board Policy 7:100 - Students not meeting the physical examination and immunization requirements PRIOR to the first day of school will be subject to exclusion on September 1st.
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Kindergarten fees Typically the kindergarten fees are approximately $120 per student. Fees are dependent upon board of education approval each February and are due August 1. In addition to the standard fees, parents of students enrolled in enrichment kindergarten will be charged no more than $3,500 for the school year.
Transportation In most cases, students who live more than 1.5 miles from their home school will be provided bus service through Barrington Transportation Company. More detailed bus transportation information will be included in your registration packet.
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Tips to prepare your child for school • • • • • • •
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Speak positively about school so your child is excited about starting kindergarten and learning new things. Help your child be more independent with meals, using the bathroom, zipping jackets and putting on shoes. Practice with your child to learn basic numbers and letters and how to write his or her first name. Encourage your child to express wants or needs and to be a good listener and friend. Review transportation routines with your child so he or she is familar with how they will get to and from school. Make home a place for learning. Designate a spot to do school activities with your child after school. For more tips, visit barrington220.org/kindergartentips
Kindergarten Core Curriculum Barrington 220’s kindergarten core curriculum is aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards. For more information about the standards or materials used for kindergarten instruction, please see the Curriculum & Instruction page at barrington220.org. Literacy (Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening): • Demonstrate phonemic awareness. • Recognize and name capital and lower case letters. • Use knowledge of letter sounds to decode words and read kindergarten sight words. • Demonstrate comprehension of stories and informational texts; ask/answer questions about key details from a text; compare/contrast adventures and experiences of characters in a text. • Read and understand grade level text with independence. • Apply sound-letter knowledge in written work and begin to understand the writing process. • Write using illustrations, class books and written response, including writing text that accompanies a related picture and self generated writing. • Participate in collaborative conversations with peers and adults. Mathematics: • Use numbers 1-10, then 1-20, including written numerals, to represent quantities and to solve quantitative problems, such as counting objects in a set; counting out a given number of objects; comparing sets or numerals; and modeling simple joining and separating situations with sets of objects. • Investigate numbers 1-100. • Compare by position, size, length and weight within basic measurement concepts. • Identify days of the week and months of the year. • Identify, name, and describe basic two-dimensional shapes, such as squares, triangles, circles, rectangles and hexagons, presented in a variety of ways (e.g., with different sizes and orientations) as well as threedimensional shapes such as cubes, cones, cylinders and spheres. • Generate addition and subtraction stories.
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Science: • Study plants and animals in a life science unit. • Explore Forces and Interactions in a physical science unit. • Learn about weather and climate in an earth science unit. • Learn about and use tools that scientists use; conduct fair tests to answer questions and inquire as to what materials can be reused and recycled. Health: • Understand how keeping clean keeps us healthy and develop hygiene habits. • Demonstrate understanding of appropriate behavior in a stranger situation. • Develop social-emotional life skills: listening, focusing attention, following directions, identifying feelings, being assertive, and caring for others. Social Studies (under curricular review for 2017-18): • Explore our role(s) as responsible citizens in our home and school community. • Understand how choices are impacted by our location, needs and wants, and available resources. • Explore culture and traditions of families and the local community.
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Barrington 220 kindergarten programs Standard half-day kindergarten Barrington 220’s standard kindergarten program is the half-day model. Half-day students will be fully educated according to Barrington 220’s traditional curriculum and programming. See page 9 for detail on the kindergarten curriculum. The Barrington 220 kindergarten curriculum and half-day model will prepare children well for first grade and beyond. Parents will have the option to state their preference for morning or afternoon kindergarten. Requests are granted upon space and availability. Morning sections run from 8-10:30 a.m. and afternoon sections take place from 12:052:40 p.m. Wednesday is an early release day in Barrington 220. Students are dismissed approximately 30-minutes early in the afternoon section.
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Optional programs Enrichment Program Enrichment program is an optional, fee-based program. During one half of the day, students will be taught the standard kindergarten curriculum. During the additional portion of the school day, students will also participate in enrichment to compliment their education. Enrichment may include: • Exploratory and creative play • Theme-based activities
• Physical education, art and music • Literacy activities
Chinese Immersion Our optional, kindergarten Chinese Immersion (CI) program is a half-day program taught in place of the standard core program. A maximum of 48 students, or two full sections of CI, will be admitted into the program each year. Students will be taught our standard kindergarten curriculum by a certified instructor who is fluent in both Chinese and English. Students will learn 50 percent of the time in English and 50 percent of the time in Chinese. As students move through the program, they will develop language proficiency and master academic content and skills in both languages.
Spanish Dual Language Spanish Dual Language (DL) is an optional kindergarten program held at the Early Learning Center. A maximum of 48 students, or two sections will be admitted into the program each year. DL is a two-way immersion program, where half of the students are native Spanish speakers and half are native English speakers. Students in kindergarten receive 90 percent of their instruction in Spanish and 10 percent of their instruction in English by a certified instructor. For each subsequent year, the percentage of instruction in Spanish is decreased by 10 percent. By fifthgrade, instruction in the two languages is balanced at 50 percent Spanish and 50 percent English. DL is an extended day program that runs from 8 a.m.-1:40 p.m.
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Optional program selection process If demand exceeds available space for Barrington 220’s optional kindergarten programs, a random student selection process will be implemented. For more information on this process, visit barrington220.org/kdgselection.
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Kindergarten timeline February: Kindergarten round-up, Chinese Immersion and Dual Language meetings held; pre-registration begins. March: Optional program applications due. April: Families notified of optional program acceptance. Half-day program placement notification begins. May: Online official registration begins. May-August: Optional program placement continues depending upon availability. July 15-August 10: Provide current proof of residency documents.
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Frequently Asked Health Questions When do I keep my child home from school? • • •
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Fever: Keep your child home for a period of 24 hours after the fever has passed, without fever reducing medications. Vomiting or diarrhea: Keep your child home for 24 hours after the symptoms have stopped. Communicable disease: Keep your child home for a period of 24 hours of antibiotic treatment or after the contagious period for the illness is over. This time frame may be longer for more serious communicable diseases. Report illness symptoms completely on the attendance line at school.
When will my child be sent home from school? • • • • • •
Fever of 100 degrees or greater Vomiting or Diarrhea Unidentified skin rash Communicable illness suspected: pink eye, strep throat, chicken pox, impetigo, whooping cough, or other. Injury and/or illness requiring medical attention Other as decided upon by the nurse and parent/guardian
If my child takes medication, what do I do? Barrington 220 believes that prescription and nonprescription medication should be administered in the home. However, if it is in the best educational and health interest of the child to take prescribed medication during the school day, then a Medication Authorization Form must be completed. This pertains to all medications (prescription, over the counter, and emergency). You may obtain the medication form at the district website or in the school nurse office. Medication must be brought to the school by the parent or guardian in the original container.
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How do I make changes for emergency contacts and health information? It is frightening for an ill or injured child when we are unable to reach a parent or guardian. Emergency contacts and parent phone numbers can be changed through the parent portal of Infinite Campus. Also, please notify the health office regarding changes in your child’s health condition or medication, so that we can best meet his/her health needs at school.
For more information, visit barrington220.org/healthoffice
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Private community care providers If you need care for your child before or after school, we recommend calling one of our valued community partners listed below. Atonement Christian Day School.........................................................................(847) 382-6360 Barrington Park District K.E.E.P.............................................................................. (847) 304-5278 Creative Learning Montessori.................................................................................(847) 382-3421 Creme de la Creme..................................................................................................... (847) 852-4000 Lake Barrington Academy of the Stars...............................................................(847) 382-7350 Montessori Children’s House of North Barrington......................................(847) 550-0917 Noah’s Ark Christian Preschool............................................................................(847) 836-5540 Salem Methodist Preschool.................................................................................... (847) 381-0536 St. Anne Parish School............................................................................................... (847) 381-0311 St. Mark’s Day School.................................................................................................. (847) 381-9172 St. Michael’s Little Angels........................................................................................ (847) 381-5490 South Barrington Park District................................................................................(847) 381-7515
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Contact Us Barrington 220 District Office 310 E. James St., Barrington, Ill., 60010, 847-381-6300 Arnett C. Lines Elementary 217 Eastern Ave., Barrington, 847-381-7850 Barbara B. Rose Elementary 61 W. Penny Rd., South Barrington, 847-844-1200 Countryside Elementary 205 W. County Line Rd., Barrington, 847-381-1162 Early Learning Center 40 E. Dundee Rd., Barrington, 224-770-4300 Grove Avenue Elementary 900 S. Grove Ave., Barrington, 847-381-1888 Hough Street Elementary 310 S. Hough St., Barrington, 847-381-1108 North Barrington Elementary 24175 N. Grandview Dr., North Barrington, 847-381-4340 Roslyn Road Elementary 224 Roslyn Rd., Barrington, 847-381-4148 Sunny Hill Elementary 2500 Helm Rd., Carpentersville, 847-426-4232
barrington220.org