UPK 1/Pre-K

UPK SUPPLY LIST FOR SCHOOL YEAR 2025-2026

SUPPLY LIST FOR SCHOOL (Please label the following items with your child’s first name)

   *TWO EXTRA SETS OF CLOTHING – INCLUDE SHIRTS, PANTS, UNDERWEAR AND SOCKS (PLEASE PUT THIS IN A PLASTIC STORAGE BAG)

*BACKPACK (Make sure the lunchbox, folder, and artwork can fit inside.)                           

*LUNCH BOX WITH A ZIPPER

* REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE

*2 PLASTIC 2 POCKET FOLDERS (Please have the pockets on the bottom, not the sides)

*TWO INCH BINDER (It will be left at school and returned at the end of the school year.)

*DIVIDERS FOR THE BINDER (We only need 5 dividers.)

*COLORING BOOK

The following supply items do not need to be labeled:

* 1 4PK CONTAINER OF PLAY DOUGH (can be any color)

*A PACKAGE OF NAPKINS

*A BOX OF TISSUES

* 2 PACKAGES OF BABY WIPES

*2 3 PACKS OF ELMER'S GLUE STICKS

*1 CLOROX WIPE CONTAINER

*1 8ct BOX OF CRAYOLA CLASSIC COLORS WASHABLE MARKERS

SUPPLY LIST—FOR HOME FOR OUR MONTHLY FAMILY PROJECTS (Please leave these items at home for you to use with your child)

*CRAYONS

*SCISSORS

*GLUE

*PENCILS

Some of the items will need to be replenished throughout the school year.  Our monthly newsletter will list any items that are running low in the classroom.

CLASS RULES AND POLICIES 2025-2026

UPK RULES AND POLICIES:

 RULES AND POLICIES:

1.  Arrival:   Our school day officially starts at 7:45 a.m. and ends at 2:30 p.m.  If you would like your child to participate in all activities, please have them to school before 7:45 a.m.  Each morning starting as early as 7:20 a.m., Mrs. McLoughlin will meet the children at the front door of school and escort them up to the breezeway right outside our classroom.  I will greet the children as they arrive at the breezeway and we will sit and wait together for our classmates to arrive at school.  When the bell rings at 7:45 a.m. we will enter our classroom and, after entering the classroom, your child will unpack at his or her table before putting his or her book bag, lunchbox  and jacket into the closet.  Water bottles will stay at your child’s table.  The communication folder will be placed in our special bin in the classroom.  A child will be marked late if they arrive at school after 7:45 a.m.

2.  Dismissal:  If you are picking your child up after school, please be sure to wait for him or her in the car dismissal line.  Dismissal is at 2:30 p.m.  Car pick up will be in the back of the school.  Please get on the line further away from the building and closer to the baseball field and pavilion.  I will be outside, guiding the children to the cars. Please remember to wait at your car for your child.  The children will wait on the wall and the circles outside of the UPK 1/Pre-K classroom to be called to go home.  (UPK 1/Pre-K, UPK2/Pre-K, kindergarten, and first grade, as well as any siblings, are also dismissed through the UPK1/Pre-K door.)  Information about our School Dismissal Manager will be coming home.  By utilizing the School Dismissal Manager you will be able to let us know of any changes to your child’s dismissal procedure.  Mrs. McLoughlin will wait with those children leaving by bus in the kindergarten classroom, and will send them out of the classroom to the teachers on bus duty as their respective buses are called.  

3.  Schedule:  During the first week of school you will receive our classroom schedule for the year.  The schedule will indicate the different times for the activities that we will be doing throughout the day.  Our schedule will also show our special classes:  art, gym and music.  When the children attend the special classes, Mrs. McLoughlin will attend those classes with them.

4.  Monthly Newsletter and Google Classroom:  A newsletter is sent home each month, listing the academic and skill areas we are working on, along with important parent information.  We will use our Google Classroom to share photos of activities that are happening in our classroom and weekly updates.  We can also use our Google Classroom if at any point during the school year we need to be virtual.  This is also another way that we can meet for parent teacher conferences.  Information on how to join our Google Classroom will come home during the first few weeks of school.

5.  School and Classroom Rules:  We feel that it is best to relate to the children in positive ways.  They will receive lots of praise and positive input for good behavior and hard work.  We do expect the children to obey the rules both in the classroom and outside.

Bishop Dunn Memorial School Rules:

Be inclusive and welcoming to all

Demonstrate responsibility in all we do

Maintain a positive attitude

Show integrity and honesty

Our classroom uses a note system in each child’s folder to let you know how your child is doing each day in the classroom.  We will attach the note to the folder each Monday and ask that you leave it attached till the end of the week.  Each day we will indicate on the note how your child behaved in class.  A copy of the note is attached at the end of the packet for you.  Each day that your child receives either 2’s or 3’s on his or her behavior chart in the folder your child will receive a sticker on his or her chart in the classroom.  When the sticker chart is filled, your child will be able to go to the “Prize Bear.”

We also work together as a class to spell the words “BDMS Knights.”  Each day that the children, as an entire class, work hard and follow directions, the class earns a letter in BDMS Knights.  When the children have spelled out BDMS Knights, they earn:  extra recess, extra toy time, a special movie, or game time.  Each child will also receive a small prize from our bear treasure chest.  (Mrs. McLoughlin or I will hand out these mystery prizes.)  This activity of spelling BDMS Knights helps to promote the importance of working together and the idea that we are all part of the same class.

6.  Folders:  We will be using one of the folders that you send in as our communication folder, from school to home and home to school.  One side of the folder will be labeled leave at home – these papers are yours to review and keep at home.  The other side of the folder will be labeled return to school.  These papers are projects or parent notes that need to be completed and sent back to school. Please make sure to check the communication folder each night to make sure there is no important paperwork that needs your attention and to empty out the leave at home side.  The other folder will be left at school.

7.  Family Projects:  Each month the children will receive a different family project to complete.  The projects are set around the different themes of the month.  A note will always accompany the project, explaining what needs to be done and when the project is due. 

8.  Snacks and Lunch:  The children will have a snack each morning around 9:30 a.m.  Please send your child to school with a juice box or water and a nutritious snack i.e.:  fruit, vegetables, crackers, yogurt, etc.  Please do not send in glass bottles for snack or lunch drinks.  Lunch will be at 12:00 p.m.  Please pack a lunch, a drink and a snack for lunchtime every day.  We do encourage the children to eat at least half of the lunch that is sent in.  Please save new foods for home as children crave foods they are comfortable with eating at lunchtime.  We strongly encourage families to not send in candy with lunch.  Please note: WE ARE UNABLE TO WARM UP LUNCH IN A MICROWAVE. 

9.  Table and Rug Seating:  Table spots will be moved every two months.  This gives the children the opportunity to socialize with different friends.  Spots on the rug are not assigned and children may sit on the first circle they find when coming to the rug.

10.   Birthdays:  We will recognize your child on his or her birthday with a special birthday crown to wear and we will sing Happy Birthday.  We also ask that you send in a favorite story for us to read at the end of the day. Birthday treats for the class to enjoy can be sent in.  Please make sure the item you are sending in is store bought, with an ingredient label.  We will pass out birthday treats during lunchtime.  Ordering pizza for lunch is another way you can celebrate too.  If your child has a food allergy or food intolerance, we will ask that you send a special treat that we can keep at school to give them for birthday celebrations.  If your child has a birthday in July or August, we will celebrate those children during the last week of school.  Goody bags are not allowed.  Please give one week’s notice of celebrating your child’s birthday to make sure of no conflicts in our schedule.

11.   Clothing:   We are a busy classroom using lots of different materials to play and learn each day.  Please dress your child in clothing that you don’t mind getting messy.  Sneakers are strongly encouraged as we do go outside to play on the playground each day.  Shorts under skirts and dresses are encouraged.  Open-toed shoes are not permitted as they get lots of mulch in them outside and toes get easily stepped on.  If we need to use a change of clothes, we will write a note letting you know why and request that a new change of clothes be sent in.

12.   Bathroom:  We have a bathroom in our classroom.  Two children of the same sex may use the bathroom at the same time.  Please remind your child that he or she will need to raise their hand and ask to use the bathroom.  We will also have bathroom breaks throughout the day, such as before snack and before lunch.  Mrs. McLoughlin will also be bringing some of the children downstairs during our bathroom breaks to use the bathrooms outside of the art and music room. 

Reading:  We utilize the Let's Play Learn program for developing readiness skills.  The components that we focus on are:  phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.

Math:  The children work on five math modules of learning that focus on:

-Numbers 0-10

-2D and 3D shapes

-Measurement

-Beginning Addition and Subtraction

Science and Social Studies:  Our science and social studies curriculum are based on themes such as:  All About Me, Families, Important People, Animals, Habitats, and Plants

Reading Centers:  The children work in small groups during this time, based on their skills and abilities. The children are working on reading skills at their current ability level.  In UPK we spend time recognizing letters, working on listening comprehension skills and vocabulary development.

Writers Workshop (One of the Centers during Reading Center Time):   The children work in small groups during this time.  We work on learning to express ourselves though both drawings and writing.  Each month a piece of work is saved in our writing portfolio in our binders as well as in our class memory books.  Some of the topics we work on are:  drawing with scribbles, drawing with shapes, responding to literature, seasons and holidays

Picturing Writing:  This program fosters literacy through art and is a progression of literature, art and writing experiences designed to teach the key elements of writing to students.  The lessons incorporate reading quality picture books that support the focus of the day.  The main topics that our class books will focus on are:

-Pumpkins -- descriptions of a pumpkin

-Winter City -- describing snow

UPK Schedule 2025-2026

UPK Class and Teacher List 2025-2026

Girls                                            Boys

Asena                                        Benjamin

Carolyn                                     Carson

Ellie                                            Cole

Emma                                       Darius

Isabella                                    Graham

Kali-Ann                                  Griffin

Naomi                                      Landon

Nora                                          Leo

Olivia                                        Noah

Savannah                               Savino

Teachers:

Mrs. Colleen Middlemiss –Teacher

Mrs. Cathy McLoughlin – Co-Teacher

Mr. Aaron Czarnecki – Gym

Mr. John Newhall – Music

Mrs. Leigh Waksmundzki – Art

Show and Tell starts each school year in October 

Show and Tell Schedule for each month is sent home attached to the monthly newsletter.

As part of our oral language program, we have Show and Tell in our class. Two children each day bring a special toy, book, picture, poem, tape, etc. to class to show the other children and talk about it. We ask that children do not bring in toy weapons, toys related to war or violence, or pets. The children are asked to describe what he/she is bringing to class (e.g. what it is, how it works, where he/she received or bought it from, etc.). Practice at home using complete sentences is recommended, so your child will feel comfortable talking about his/her special item. After your child has shared the item with the class, he/she will be able to answer three questions from the children in the class. The children enjoy being the teacher and teaching us about the item. Your child will leave his/her sharing item in the closet until sharing time. When sharing is finished, the item will be returned to your child’s book bag or closet hook.  The Show and Tell schedule is attached each month to the monthly newsletter. We remind your child the day before to bring an item.   If your child forgets to bring in an item on his/her day, your child has to wait until his/her next turn to bring to show the class. If your child is absent on his or her Show and Tell day, please have your child bring an item in on the day that he or she returns to school. If you have any questions about the Show and Tell program, please just let us know.

If you need another copy of the sharing schedule for the month, just let us know and we will send one home in your child's folder.

A Few Read Aloud Suggestions for Starting Pre-K

Here is a list of a few read aloud suggestions for starting school.  Many of these stories will help your child to feel more comfortable about school and being a pre-k student.  Do not feel as though you need to go out and buy these books.  The stories are available at your local library or on YouTube.

Preschool, Here I Come by D.J. Steinberg

The Night Before Preschool by Natasha Wing

Maisy Goes to Preschool by Lucy Cousins

Pete the Kitty’s First Day of Preschool by James Dean

Hello Preschool! by Priscilla Burris

Ready, Set, Preschool: Stories, Poems, and Picture Games by Anna Jane Hays

School by Emily Arnold McCully

UPK Writing Rubric