Dear Families,

I am looking forward to working with your child during their first year of school. During kindergarten your child will continually be learning, changing and growing in all areas of development. During the first few days of kindergarten, we will talk about rules that they have had at home and other places including on the bus. We talk about why we have rules. The number one reason why we have rules is to stay safe! In our kindergarten classroom, we want to create an atmosphere that is safe and can be a learning environment for all children. We read the story How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen. After this story we talk about the things the dinosaurs shouldn't do in school as well as the things that they school do in school, emphasizing on what we should do in school.

DES is promotes "The Tiger Way". Students are expected to behave in a way that is responsible, respectful, and safe. We will take our list of things we should do in school and fit them into "The Tiger Way."

We will talk about and continue practicing these rules. If a rule is not being followed, the following consequences will be used.

I believe in having logical consequences for times when rules/guidelines are not followed. In order for a consequence to be effective, it must be relevant to the rule/guideline that was not followed, reasonable, realistic, and respectful. We all make mistakes, and want to do our best to learn from them.

Logical consequences fall into three categories. They are explained below.

1. You Break It - You Fix It: Whether it is a material that was broken or someone's feelings, they will be asked to fix it. That might include asking the person what they can do to make them feel better, or helping a student repair/fix a project that was damaged, etc.

2. Loss of Privilege: If classroom members are not following the guidelines for using certain materials or participating in certain activities, they can lose their privilege of using them for the period. I will always give them a chance the next day to show that they can use the equipment or participate in the activity according to the guidelines.

3. Take a Break: In our room students are asked to "Take a Break" if they are forgetting the guidelines. This is not meant to be a punishment, but rather a reminder and time for the students to gather control to rejoin the group. If an in-room "Take a Break" is not effective, students may be sent to a buddy room in which they can gain control there.

If the above is not effective, or for extreme behaviors such as hitting, swearing, or anything that may cause harm to themselves or others, a visit with the principal may be necessary. Other strategies such as conferencing or behavior plans will be used if necessary. My hope is to model and encourage positive behavior and help guide students in using positive behaviors to solve their conflicts.

At times, we will celebrate our successes, accomplishments, and positive behavior. These celebrations will occur both individually and for the whole class. Below are a few examples.
 

School-Wide Discipline

Tiger Paw Awards: Tiger Paw Awards can be given out by any adult in the school for students who are demonstrating behavior above and beyond what is expected. If a student receives a Tiger Paw Award, their name will be called during morning announcements and they will get their picture taken and displayed on the bulletin board in the hallway.

Tiger Way Reminder Slips: Tiger Way Reminder slips can also be given to students by any adult in our school. Tiger Way Reminder slips are given to students who are forgetting to follow the Tiger Way by being disrespectful to others including name-calling and put-downs, interrupting, or not following the directions. If a student receives three Tiger Way Reminder slips in one trimester, they will meet with the principal and a phone call will be placed to the parents. If a student receives six Tiger Way Reminder slips in a trimester, a parent meeting will be scheduled with the principal.

Behavior Slips: Behaviors Slips are given to a student when unsafe behavior is displayed by the student. Students who receive a behavior slip will meet with the principal, a phone call will be made home, and the behavior slip must be signed by a parent and returned to school.