PTO

Riverview PTO does so much for our school, our kids, and our teachers. It would be a great group for you to get involved in. It's a wonderful way to meet new families and get involved in our school. They are always searching for volunteers and voices! If you are on Facebook please join the "Riverview PTO Big Rapids" page to get tons of information and updates. Otherwise you are welcome to contact the group by talking to Mrs. Horvath in the school office, she would be able to answer all of your questions or point you in the right direction. 

Calendar Information

Although I have posted the BRPS 2014-2015 school year calendar, there are a few immediate dates that need to be brought to your attention. 

Wednesday August 27, Kindergarten Open House 4:00-7:00 p.m. You will be getting a letter in the mail that will indicate (according to your child's last name) what time your family should come specifically. This will eliminate a crowd in our Kindergarten room and will allow for me to answer any of your questions on a much more intimate level. It will also be VERY helpful if you are able to let me know at the open house how your child will be getting home from school both on the first day as well as on a typical day of school. 

Tuesday September 2, First Day of School (HALF DAY) dismissal is at 11:30 a.m.  

The first bell for the school day (every day) rings at 7:50 a.m. A typical school day ends at 3:20 p.m. 

Early Release Fridays (1:20 dismissal) 

These days have been put in place to help minimize the number of school days teachers are out on school business. The idea is that on the first Friday of every month, students will be released from school a few hours early so that teachers are able to attend meetings and work on the school business that is required. This will decrease the number of substitute teachers that need to be hired throughout the school year as well as the amount of time teachers are out of touch with their classroom and students.

A Few Skills Before Kindergarten

Here is a suggested list (icanteachmychild.com) of things that will help your child be prepared for kindergarten. Work away at them throughout the summer and your child will have a great head start! Have fun! 

Personal and Social Development

Independence

Ties own shoelaces 

Blows own nose 

Zips own coat 

Takes care of their own bathroom needs

Approach to learning

•

Shows eagerness and curiosity as a learner

•

Persists in task and seeks help when encountering a problem

•

Is generally pleasant and cooperative

Self-Control

•

Follows rules and routines

•

Manages transitions (going from one activity to the next)

•

Demonstrates normal activity level

Interactions with Others

•

Interacts easily with one or more children

•

Interacts easily with familiar adults

•

Participates in group activities

•

Plays well with others

•

Takes turns and shares

•

Cleans up after play

Conflict Resolution

•

Seeks adult help when needed to resolve conflicts

•

Uses words to resolve conflicts.                                                                                                          

 Language and Literacy

Listening

•

Listens with understanding to directions and conversations

•

Follows one-step directions

•

Follows two-step directions

Speaking

•

Speaks clearly enough to be understood without contextual clues

•

Relates experiences with some understanding of sequences of events

Literature and Reading

•

Listens with interest to stories read aloud

•

Shows interest in reading-related activities

•

Retells information from a story

•

Sequences three pictures to tell a logical story

Writing

•

Uses pictures to communicate ideas

•

Uses scribbles, shapes, and letter-like symbols to write words or ideas

Alphabet Knowledge

•

Recites/sings alphabet

•

Matches upper-case letters

•

Matches lower-case letters

•

Identifies upper-case letters

•

Identifies lower-case letters

Mathematical Thinking

Patterns and Relationships

•

Sorts by color, shape, and size

•

Orders or seriates several objects on the basis of one attribute

•

Recognizes simple patterns and duplicates them

Number concept and operations

•

Rote counts to 20

•

Counts objects with meaning to 10

•

Matches numerals

•

Identifies by naming, numerals 0-10

Geometry and spatial relations

•

Identifies 4 shapes- circle, square, rectangle, triangle

•

Demonstrates concepts of positional/directional concepts (up/down, over/under, in/out, behind/in front of, beside/between, top/bottom, inside/outside, above/below, high/low, right/left, off/on, first/last, far/near, go/stop).

Measurement

•

Shows understanding of and uses comparative words (big/little, large/small, short/long, tall/short, slow/fast, few/many, empty/full, less/more.

Physical Development

Gross-Motor Skills

•

Pedals and steers a tricycle

•

Jumps in place, landing on two feet

•

Jumps consecutively- 7 jumps

•

Balances on one foot for 5 seconds

•

Hops on one foot 2-3 hops

•

Hops on one foot- 6 ft.

•

Throws a ball with direction- 5 ft.

•

Catches a thrown ball with arms and body

•

Climbs a playground ladder

•

Skips smoothly for 20 feet

Fine-Motor Skills

•

Stacks 10, one-inch blocks

•

Strings 4 1/2″ beads in two minutes

•

Completes a seven piece interlocking puzzle

•

Makes a pancake, snake, and ball from play dough

•

Grasps pencil correctly

•

Copies: vertical line, horizontal line, circle, cross, square, V, triangle

•

Copies first name

•

Prints first name without a model

•

Grasps scissors correctly

•

Cuts within 1/4″ of a 6″ straight line on construction paper

•

Cuts out a 3″ square on construction paper

•

Cuts out a 3″ triangle on construction paper

•

Cuts out a 3″ circle on construction paper

•

Uses a glue stick appropriately

•

Uses appropriate amount of glue for tasks

The Arts

Creative Arts

•

Identifies 10 colors: red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, black, white, brown, pink

•

Uses a variety of art materials for tactile experience and exploration

Music/Movement

•

Participates in group music experiences

•

Participates in creative movement/dance

Creative Dramatics

•

Makes believe with objects

•

Takes on pretend roles and situations

Playground Picnic

We shared our lunch today with moms, dads, grandmas and grandpas!

Q & U Wedding

We had so much fun this morning celebrating the union of the letters Q & U. All of the letters of the alphabet came to celebrate!

Valentine's Day

Look at how much fun the students and parents had on Valentine's Day!! We had so much parent help! It looked like a ton of fun!

What Will Mrs. Scheible's Baby Be?

We made a graph to see if more Kindergarten students think that Mrs. Scheible is having a girl or a boy. It looks like the majority believe that the baby will be a girl, which does seem to mirror what the teachers are all saying too. Some of the names that the students came up with were very...unique. :)