K.C. Heffernan Kindergarten Orientation

The transition from home to Kindergarten can be a time of both stress and excitement for both students and parents. With this in mind K. C. Heffernan (KCH) Elementary School held its annual Kindergarten Orientation on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 in the KCH Gymnasium. The orientation targets parents of students who will be entering kindergarten in September of 2010 and is designed to provide information essential to a successful transition to Kindergarten. A special highlight of this year’s orientation agenda was a presentation on the KCH Site-based Team’s “Bus Buddy” initiative which will begin in September. Driver Middle School students Lisa Morocco (5th grade) and Mckenzie Lieber (4th grade) presented an overview of the innovative program which hopes to ease the stress of riding the school bus for the first time: “When your child is on the bus there will be an older child looking out for them.” With words like these Morocco and Lieber described the “bus buddy” program which will pair Kindergarten students with older mentors as they ride the bus to and from school. Principal Gary Bissaillon welcomed families to the Kindergarten Orientation program and gave an overview of the KCH early childhood program and philosophy. The program’s agenda also included:
Dr. Craig Tice, Superintendent of Schools, welcoming families to the district, “I am the caretaker of the district….its programs, its facilities, and its budget.”
Cindy Bird, K-6 Curriculum Coordinator/Assistant Principal, reviewed the Kindergarten curriculum with an emphasis on the Everyday Math Program, English Language Arts, and the new Science Program. Bird stressed the importance of parents reading to their children as she concluded her part of the orientation presentation.
Jody Wiley, Kindergarten teacher, shared a power point presentation that focused on “A Day in Kindergarten”. Wiley highlighted the various components of a day in the life of a Kindergarten child as she talked about circle time, centers/activity time (blocks, housekeeping, sand/water, computer, arts and crafts, etc.), show and tell, six traits writing, snack, physical education, and the core curriculum areas.
Bissaillon and Wiley both emphasized that the K.C. Heffernan Kindergarten learning experience is based on the premise that “Childhood is a journey not a race.”