Full Day Kindergarten Program

Our Program at a Glance:

• Children must be 5 years old by September 30th
• Curriculum includes formal introduction to reading, math, geography, social studies, science, language arts, music, art and computer
• Curriculum follows the Virginia SOLs for Kindergarten
• Daily Spanish lessons, weekly Music & Movement and Art lessons
• Bi-monthly library trips
• Monthly theme related field trips
• Small class sizes
• Schedule: 5 Days, M-F 8:30-2:30 with extended school program 7:30-6:00

Welcome to Kindergarten

Welcome to Golden Pond School’s full day kindergarten program. Kindergarten is an important milestone for you and your child; it marks the beginning of his/her formal school career. Golden Pond students will be given opportunities to build and explore oral language, reading, social studies, math, scientific investigation, reasoning, and critical thinking skills through meaningful activities. We strive for educational excellence and are committed to providing a positive learning environment. We are dedicated to inspiring a genuine passion for learning in our children.

At Golden Pond, we value the close ties between children and family. The strong reciprocal relationship that develops between our families and the school is extremely important. Research indicates that parental participation in education helps promote school success. With this in mind, Golden Pond School has constructed a carefully planned school year that provides multiple opportunities for parent involvement and participation. Together we can open windows of possibilities for our children.

Eligibility for Kindergarten
A child who is five years old on or before September 30th of a given year is eligible to enroll in Golden Pond’s kindergarten that year. Most children who are already five by this date will be able to make a successful start in the program.

Golden Pond School Emphasis
Teachers at Golden Pond School are dedicated to inspiring in our children a genuine passion for learning. We seek to nurture and direct the intellectual curiosity of our children into an intrinsic love for learning, continuing for the rest of their lives. The focus of our curriculum is both academic and social. Teachers will encourage children to develop their creativity and self-expression. We strive to ensure educational excellence, high expectations, and positive social interaction in a caring learning environment.

Teacher Qualifications
Golden Pond Kindergarten Teachers are certified elementary school teachers with at least a Bachelor’s Degree. When we hire teachers for our classroom, we look for qualified, experienced educators that are passionate about working with young children. We also provide our teachers with continued training and current research to enhance the educational experience of our students.

Appropriate Milestones for Kindergarten Readiness

DOES YOUR CHILD:

Golden Pond School Curriculum Overview
Golden Pond School’s Curriculum is adapted to the Loudoun County Program of Studies. The full day program will adhere to the Standards of Learning established at the State level. In fact, at Golden Pond School we meet and exceed all the county and state standards.

Reading and Writing
The reading program at Golden Pond School reflects the newest reading research. At Golden Pond, our reading program should more accurately be called an early literacy program. It is a flexible, multifaceted, multi-pronged approach to early reading and early writing. More precisely, it is a literacy framework that introduces our children to reading and writing simultaneously.

We do this through these literacy lessons:

Reading Aloud:Reading aloud is done with our children several times a day in both large and small groups. We use carefully selected classic children’s literature that connects to our classroom themes.

Shared Reading: During shared reading and rereading we use enlarged texts that all the children can see. These enlarged texts include Big Books and class charts that both teacher and child can follow together using a pointer to keep place.

Guided Reading: In our guided reading lessons, the teacher works with a small group of children who are at a similar reading level.

Independent Reading: Children read stories, songs, and poems that have been introduced to them previously on their own or with a partner.

Shared Writing: Teachers and children work together to compose messages and stories. The teacher supports the children during shared writing by being the scribe and talking through the process, sounding out words and explaining punctuation as they read.

Interactive Writing: As they do in shared writing, teachers and children compose messages and stories during their interactive writing lesson. These messages and stories, however, are written using a “shared pen” with the children. “Shared pen” is a technique where the children are asked to fill in a missing letter or word.

Guided Writing: Children engage in writing a variety of texts. The teacher guides the process and provides instruction through mini-lessons.

Independent Writing: Children write their own pieces including story retellings, class books, labeling, and lists.

Handwriting: In order to provide consistency for the children we follow Loudoun County public schools in using D'Nealian handwriting script.

In conjunction with these lessons our classes are built around literacy rich centers such as:

• Storytelling Centers (retelling of familiar stories with puppets and/or flannel boards and story characters)
• Reading Centers
• ABC Centers (using a variety of letter and sound games to reinforce letter knowledge)
• Listening Centers
• Dramatic Play Centers
• Writing Centers
• Publishing Centers

Mathematics
As with our reading program, our math program also reflects our commitment to educational research and “hands-on” learning. Kindergarten Math covered at Golden Pond School falls into 5 strands as recommended by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). The following mathematical concepts are taught:

Science
Students will learn about the five senses and how to use their senses to observe and investigate their world. Through hands-on activities children will explore and investigate how things change over time, properties of water, animals, plants, magnets, and shadows. Children will also learn about natural resources, conservation, and recycling.

Social Studies
Through stories, songs, poems, and monthly themes, children will become aware of important people of the past. Children will identify the people and events honored by national holidays as well as our current president. Children will learn about being a good citizen. They will use simple maps and globes to locate land and water and learn positional words. Children will also learn about community workers and the difference between needs and wants.

Music
Golden Pond School provides each child with an introduction to music in a developmentally appropriate manner as well. Our music and movement program encourages learning through musical play and song with a wide variety of hand held instuments creating sounds while developing social skils and gross and fine motor skills. The subtle difference in sound and pitch increases with phonemic awareness for emergent speech as well.

Spanish
Golden Pond School provides a fun and educational introduction to Spanish on a daily basis once our children enter our Three Year Old or older programs. Our focus is to make our students comfortable with the language while playing kinetic games, singing silly songs, and reading interactive books. This exposure to Spanish lays an excellent foundation at an early age that will help each child succed if they have the opportunity to expand their Spanish knowledge in the future.

Art
The art program at Golden Pond School is based upon the philosophy that it is the process, not the product. We introduce skills and topics that are age appropriate and correspond with Kindergarten themes, but first and foremost, we encourage each child to stretch their creativity and imagination and to have fun. The children will work with many different mediums and will be introduced to such topics as abstract art, self-portraits, painting, and working three-dimensionally.

The results of our curriculum can be seen in our PALS test results.

Additional Kindergarten Information:

Food
Golden Pond School provides morning snack and lunch for all kindergarten children. Breakfast and afternoon snack are provided to children enrolled in the extended day program. Breakfast, lunch, and snack menus are posted throughout the building and are also available on the website for parents to download.

Parent-Teacher Conferences
Conferences will be scheduled throughout the school year so that you and the teacher may share information and plan educational goals for your child. Parent-teacher communication is an important component in the educational process. This conference is a crucial step in planning together for your child’s education.

Progress Reports
You will receive a written report of your child’s progress four times during the school year. These written reports will describe the teacher’s evaluation of your child’s progress and development in such areas as critical thinking, academic/content areas, social interaction, speaking, listening and following directions.

Parent Handbook
Our parent handbook will be given to all parents upon registration for Kindergarten and will provide answers to questions regarding medication, snow, injury, school safety, discipline, holidays and confidentiality policies. Please look for your Parent Handbook in your registration packet.

Field Trips
We give the children at Golden Pond School the opportunity to visit various places of educational interest in the Washington area to enrich their classroom experiences. Our Kindergarteners also visit the library every other week to checkout books and have a special story time. The field trips are taken in the Golden Pond buses under the supervision of the teachers and parent chaperones. Parental permission is required before any kindergartener is taken on a field trip.

Calendar
Golden Pond School’s Kindergarten Program generally follows the Loudoun County School calendar. Kindergarten children do not attend on days when county schools are closed. Our Extended school program also generally follows county school closings. Because our program is full day, there may be a few additional days of closure. Such days will be specified on the school calendar which is distributed in the summer before school begins.

Attendance Policy
Kindergarten children will benefit from attending the program regularly. Punctuality and regular attendance will play an important role in your child’s academic and social adjustment. Instructional hours for Kindergarten will be 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Since classes begin promptly at 8:30, we recommend using carpool, which starts at 8:10 a.m. When it is necessary for your child to be absent, please call Golden Pond and notify the school that morning. If the parent does not call the school, Golden Pond will attempt to call the parents. We must make sure that all children are accounted for.

Enrollment Process for Full Day Kindergarten
We request that new families interested in admission make an appointment for a tour of the school. As a parent you have the opportunity to see our school environment and receive the admissions information package. We will accept new student applications along with the Program Request Form and the non-refundable application fee at the end of the tour. At this time, we request to see your child's original birth certificate or passport. New students will be required to submit information from their previous schools. We will also administer the preschool PALS test to all applicants and observe applicants in an age-appropriate classroom. All information collected is considered before placement is offered. We mail notification of acceptance and placement for fall admission by mid-March along with an acceptance contract. Applications for admission received during the current school year are acted upon promptly based on availability. Following acceptance, parents must submit the completed enrollment contract along with a deposit of 10% of the annual tuition. This completes the admissions process.

Kindergarten Orientation
The Kindergarten teacher will individually visit each student at his home about two weeks before the school year begins. This is an opportunity for your Kindergartener and the teacher to get to know each other and start building their relationship. We will also hold an Open House the Friday before school begins. The Open House is a time for you and your child to come in to Golden Pond School and see the classroom. You will have the opportunity to ask questions, discuss Golden Pond School policies, and cover curriculum. The teacher will also describe the general routine of the class. Please look for the particular dates regarding home visits and the Open House in the orientation letter included in the July mailing.

Kindergarten Supplies

• Spare change of clothes in a Ziploc bag
• 1 bottle of Elmer's glue
• 1 current photograph of your child
• His or her name on all items of clothing brought to school
• Golden Pond uniform shirts (ordered through the GPS Land's End website)
• Golden Pond backpack (provided by school)
• 6 large glue sticks
• 1 box of baby wipes
• 1 adult t-shirt for art smock
• A 1-inch 3-ring binder (any color)

Supporting your Kindergartener

• Read to your child everyday
• Listen to your child and show interest in what is being said
• Teach good health and safety habits
• Give your child some responsibilities such as putting away toys at clean-up time
• Emphasize that school is a good experience and that what he or she is doing there is important
• Screen television programs and plan family activities
• Establish a bedtime schedule, which ensures that your child will have at least 10 hours of sleep a night
• Always be positive! The early years are so important to building healthy self-esteem
• Together we can build a bright future for your child. Please let us know if we can be of assistance in answering any further questions

Extended School Program

We offer an Extended School program for our school aged students. Our program offers:

• Thematic hands-on activities
• Center time
• Story time
• Afternoon snack
• Outdoor recess
• Schedule 5 days M-F 7:30-8:30 and 2:30-6:00