Welcome to Kindergarten!

If your child is injured or becomes ill at school, every effort will be made to contact you. Please keep both your contact information and emergency contact (other responsible adults to call in case you are not available) information up to date. To update information, contact the school office.

A sick child needs to be at home to protect that child and prevent exposure to other students. A child with a fever greater than 100ºF may return when their temperature decreases without the use of a fever-reducing medicine. 

If your child has a health condition that needs to have special consideration, please contact the school prior to the first day of attendance.

If your child needs medication during school hours, please bring that medication in the original container and check it in with the school secretary. For safety reasons, it is critical that you transport the medication and complete the necessary forms at the school.

Prescription and non-prescription medication must be in the original container. When requested, pharmacists are usually willing to provide two labeled containers, one each for home and school.

Important skills for entering kindergartners include:

• Can follow routines.
• Play cooperatively with others.
• Try new activities willingly.
• Wait patiently for a turn or to speak.
• Pay attention to a story or activity for ten minutes.
• Take care of personal needs such as toileting, hand washing, and dressing themselves.

Try This!

• Give your child opportunities to play with others.
• Explain consequences of good and poor choices.
• Play games that require taking turns and paying attention.

Important skills for entering kindergartners include:

• Using blunt scissors to cut paper
• Practice holding a pencil.
• Identify body parts, such as head and toes.
• Draw straight and curved lines.
• Copy letters and shapes, such as a circle.
• Know basic colors.

Try This!

• Give many opportunities for your child to draw and print using markers, crayons, and pencils.
• Provide activities that build skills for small muscles in the hands, such as cutting out shapes, stringing beads, and pouring glue.
  

Important skills for entering kindergartners include:

• Knowing and saying their name.
• Identify labels and signs, such as a STOP sign.
• Know some letters and letter sounds.
• Enjoy listening to and talking about storybooks.
• “Read” familiar books by memory using picture clues.
• Understand reading left to right, top to bottom.

Try This!

• Read aloud to your child daily. Visit the library.
• Choose books and activities that are fun for both of you.
• Give your child opportunities to write and draw.
• Play listening games, such as “I Spy…” with verbal cues and directions.
  

Important skills for entering kindergartners include:

• Touch and count objects up to 5.
• Count to 10.
• Sort items and group objects.
• Recognize basic patterns.

Try this!

• Point out different shapes in your house, in a store, and as you travel (a price tag is a rectangle, the traffic light has circles.)
• Encourage counting objects around your house or in your car (count how many items are in your snack.)

Is there an after school program?

The following schools have an after school program partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Corvallis.

• Adams
• Bessie Coleman
• Garfield
• Kathryn Jones Harrison
• Letitia Carson
• Lincoln
• Mt. View

For more information, please contact the Corvallis Boys and Girls Club at (541) 757-1909.

What if my child doesn’t know any Spanish? How will they know what’s going on?

Our schools and teachers are skilled at helping students aquire a second or even a third language. We will work with your child regardless of the language spoken at home to help them excel in school.

Is there a way to help prep my child for DLI?

A helpful beginning is to expose your child to simple songs, rhymes and counting in English and Spanish.

How can I help my child if I don’t understand Spanish?

Our dual immersion teachers will give you strategies to help your child, even if you don’t fully understand the language. There is minimal homework at the elementary level.

What if I want to give someone permission to pick my child up from school?

When you register your child, please list people who you approve to pick them up from school. To modify that list, please call the school office.

My child will turn 5 in August. Can they enroll?

Children need to turn 5 prior to September 1. Special exceptions may be made for children turning 5 prior to the first day of school, and before September 15. Please contact the school office.

What documents suffice for proof of address?

Examples include a State-issued ID, Oregon DMV or ID Card, current phone, water, or utility bill, mailings from a State or Governmental agency such as the Department of Human Services or Oregon Health Plan or lease, rental, or title closing agreements.

I’m not sure my child is ready to start school. Should I hold them back a year?

We welcome all children who turn 5 prior to September 1. If you are concerned about your child’s readiness, talk with the school office about setting up a time to meet with the school counselor or principal. Sometimes two years in kindergarten are approved.

We didn’t do preschool. Is that ok?

Yes, we want your child in our kindergarten classroom regardless of preschool or no preschool.

My child didn’t go to preschool because of the pandemic. Is that ok?

Yes, we will be paying special attention to our incoming kinders knowing the year they have lived through this pandemic. We welcome them!

What does my child have to already know in order to start kindergarten?

There are no prerequisite skills for coming to kindergarten. Most entering kindergartners have developed some skills in the four areas listed here.

Can I request a teacher for my child?

We have confidence in all of our kindergarten teachers and do not place students in a classroom based on parent/guardian request.

Can I volunteer in my child’s classroom or at school?

All volunteers are required to fill out an application and a background check. Click here for more information about how to apply.

Once approved by our Human Resources department, please contact the school office directly to find out about volunteer opportunities.

How big are kindergarten classes?

Typical kindergarten class sizes are between 18 and 25 students.

How many teachers are in each class?

Each kindergarten classroom will have a two adults for the majority of the student day.