SYLLABUS | prekpinnacleacademy

Contact

Please contact me anytime if you have any questions or concerns and I will get back to you within 24 hours. I generally check my email right before school, once during rest time, and once before leaving for the day. If it is urgent you may contact the front office and they will give me the message.

Email: BHaun@pinnacaleacademyva.com Phone: (703) 537-0355

Schedule

8:00-8:20 AM: Arrival and Table Toys

8:20-8:40 AM: Morning Meeting

8:40-9:10 AM: Outside, Gross Motor

9:10-9:40 AM: Morning Snack/bathroom break

9:40-10:10 AM: Circle Time

10:10-11:45 AM: Learning Centers

11:45-12:00 PM: Closing Circle

12:00-12:30 PM: Lunch

12:30-1:00 PM: Books, clean up, and Bathroom

1:00-2:30 PM: Quiet time/rest time

2:30-2:40 PM: Bathroom Break

2:40-3:10 PM: Outside, Gross Motor

3:10-3:30: Afternoon Snack and story

3:30-3:45: Dismissal and Table Toys

Attendance

It is expected that students are on time and ready to learn every day to help maximize learning time. Your child may arrive as early as 8:00 A.M. and will be marked tardy after 8:15 A.M. Dismissal will begin at 3:30 P.M. and your child will need to be picked up by 3:45 P.M. to avoid a late fee. Student tardiness not only takes away from the instructional time of the student arriving late, but from the class who is distracted by the disruption. Therefor, we expect every student to be in the in the classroom in his/her uniform by 8:15 AM every day. If you need additional care we offer before and after care from 7:00 AM- 8:00 AM and 3:45PM-6:00 PM. If your child will be absent, please let the front office know as soon as possible. Please see the student Handbook for further details.

Each day, as you enter the school in the morning, please use Sign-in sheet located on the inside next to the classroom door, to sign your child “in” noting the time and your initials. At the end of each day, please sign-out your child, also noting the time and your initials. This is a licensing requirement. All students in Prekindergarten must be properly signed in/out each day, and they must be escorted to /from the classroom by their parent, guardian or approved pick-up/drop-off person. Please keep drop offs short, your child will do better and be able to settle into the classroom quicker with a quick hug and a promise to see him/her at pick-up.

Uniform

We strongly believe that having a clean tidy uniform on at the time of drop off will help students come in with a positive attitude and allows them to start the day free of distractions. Pre-K students are required to wear Pinnacle Academy School uniform. Pre-K students are permitted to wear the physical education uniform to school. This includes the cobalt blue t-shirt with the Pinnacle Academy logo, the navy blue sweat pants or navy blue athletic pants, the navy blue sweatshirt with the Pinnacle Academy logo, and socks and tennis/sneakers/sports shoes. Pre-K students are strongly encouraged to wear the more formal school uniform since it helps to set a more formal tone for learning.

Girls should wear the navy blue or khaki pants, jumper or skorts, the white, light blue or the burgundy polo shirt with the Pinnacle Academy logo, navy, black, grey or white socks, and rubber soled dress shoes or athletic shoes.

Boys should wear navy or khaki pants and the white, light blue or the burgundy polo shirt with Pinnacle Academy logo and dress shoes with rubber soles or athletic shoes. All shoes must be solid dark colored (black, navy or brown). Only one secondary color or colored trim allowed in a minimal amount; shoes must be solid in color. All shoes must be closed toed and closed heeled. If a child is not dressed in their proper uniform, a phone call will be made to the parent(s) to provide the necessary attire. Please do not allow your child to wear clogs, flip flops, jellies, sandals, light up shoes, sleeveless tops, costumes, skirts or shorts that are shorter than knee length to school at any time, including dress down days.

On Field Trip Days (generally the third Wednesday of the month) your child should wear the Physical Education uniform. This includes the cobalt blue t-shirt with the Pinnacle Academy logo, the navy blue sweat pants or navy blue athletic pants, the navy blue sweatshirt with the Pinnacle Academy logo, and socks and tennis/sneakers/sports shoes.

Each child is required to have a complete extra set of clothing at school. This includes an extra pair of underwear, socks, pants, top, and pair of closed toe shoes. Each item must be labeled with your child's first and last name. It is very uncomfortable for a child to continue wearing clothes that are soiled from playing outdoors. We want each child to be as comfortable as possible during his/her school day!

Dress Down Fridays

We will be implementing a paw system for dress down Fridays. Your student will earn one paw for being on time (in the classroom by 8:15 AM) and one paw for being in a tidy clean uniform (at time of arrival). We will start our week on Friday and end on Thursday for the dress down chart. Your student needs to earn 3 paws in both the uniform and attendance category to earn dress down for Friday. You will sign their paw papers every week at Thursday’s pickup, to acknowledge whether your child has earned a dress down day

Weather and Outdoors Play

We go outside twice a day please ensure that your child has appropriate outerwear for our varying temperatures. We will play outside weather permitting, as long as the temperature is not below 34 degrees (including wind chill) or above 90 degrees. On days when it is not possible to play outdoors, activities for gross motor skills and free play time will be offered indoors.

Discipline

Pinnacle Academy does not permit any form of corporal or physical punishment at any time. Your child has the right to a safe and respectful learning environment at all times and will not be subjected to any punishment that would violate those rights. Please see the student handbook for additional details.

A school is often a child's first home away from home. It should be a place of wonder, trust, friendship, and fun. We clearly explain expectations and then encourage each child to do his/her best. When a child is bothered by something, or is "misbehaving," it is important to gently assist the child is identifying the root of the upset. By gently talking with a child, or the two upset children, we are usually able to help them explore what has happened. Then we can provide them with the guidance and tools for handling things in a positive and helpful manner. We often anticipate and model best behavior through story and circle time activities. Our principles are enriched in our Character Education classes, and vice versa.

Occasionally a child will need an opportunity to unwind in a safe, supportive environment. We have a thinking chair, as well as a peaceful circle carpet. Sometimes a child will ask to be in one of these quiet areas in our class (while supervised) no more than 1 minute per year of age. Occasionally we will ask a child to sit in a chair on the outside perimeter of our circle. This way the child is still participating, but has a little more space if needed.

On rare occasions, a child will be escorted to the office. We reserve this for a serious type of incident (physical aggression). We find that fortunately most situations are resolved with patience, understanding, and love.

Behavior Management

Our students are amazing individuals and deserved to be recognized for their success. Pre-K we will be using the Fill a Bucket Method. This is based on rewarding and catching positive, and pro-social behavior to help motivate students to go beyond the expected and become active participating members in our community.

We will have one classroom bucket where students can earn pom-poms as a class for doing things above expectations, good behavior with substitutes, field trips, and specials. They will also lose pom-poms as a class for not changing behaviors after 2 warnings, not listening to chaperones, or specials. Once the classroom bucket is full they will earn a prize as a class (to be mutually agreed upon by the students and teachers) such as pajama day, extra dress down day, picnic lunch, movie, or computer time.

We will also have individual buckets that will be counted every Friday. Children can earn pom-poms for being “caught” doing something nice for a peer, teacher, or visitor (sharing, cleaning, assisting), They can also earn pom-poms for reaching individual milestones, or persevering through a task. They will lose a pom-pom for negative interactions with peers, non-compliance with teachers after two warnings, disrespectful behavior to visitors, or specials. They will loose all their pom-poms for biting, deliberately trying to seriously injure another child, physically abusive behavior to teachers, and extremely severe threats to others (these behaviors will also result in your student being sent to the office, and may result in further action). If your student has 10 pom-poms at the end of the week they will be able to bring a show and share item on Monday (The item must fit in his/her cubby, and relate to the theme or the letter of the week). If your student earns 15 pom-poms they will earn show and share on Monday, as well as a prize from the prize box. If your student earns 25 or more pom-poms they will earn a show and share on Monday and a prize from the big prize box or two smaller prizes.

Food

Please provide your child with a morning and afternoon snack with a drink for morning snack and another drink for afternoon snack. Snacks should be nutritious and low in sugar. Bottled waters or milk in an insulated thermos is preferred. Please avoid food and drinks that are high in sugar or fat as they distract your child from the school day. Your child’s snack bag needs to be labeled with his/her first and last name as well as the current date: THIS IS A LICENSING REQUIREMENT. For lunch, children should bring in a healthy lunch with a drink, in a lunch box. Lunches can also be purchased in advance through the school or the PTO (on Pizza Fridays). The lunch box must be labeled with your child’s first and last name and the current date: THIS IS A LICENSING REQUIREMENT.

Nap

Children need to bring in a cot sheet and small blanket from home for Nap. We will send all bedding home on Friday’s to be cleaned, and must be returned by Monday Morning. Please do not send toys from home, your child may have one small soft toy to cuddle with on his/her cot.

All children are expected to rest quietly on their cots for the first 30 minutes. After 30 minutes children will be given the option of doing a quiet activity on their cots.

Homework

We will be sending homework home in your child’s folder on Tuesday at dismissal. Homework is due the following Monday Morning at drop off, and will be graded for completeness starting in October. This is a fun opportunity to talk about the theme, letter of the week, number of the week, and sight words with your child. Children whose parents are involved in their academic work do better in school overall. Thus we expect that you work through this homework with your child, but allow your child to complete it. Please complete assignments throughout the week, and do not wait until Sunday evening to do all of it.

Also we hope you are reading with your child and giving your child a chance to interact with books and as an incentive: children with 7 (15 minutes a day) hours of reading on their reading log at the end of the month will get to select a prize from the prize box.

Library

We will be walking to the Oakton Public Library on the second Wednesday of every month starting in October. Each student will need their own library card to check out books. Students are responsible for turning their books in on time. They may return the books to the book cart in the classroom on the first Monday of every month, and the teacher will return all books in the cart to the library. Otherwise, please make sure to do it on your own, or renew them to avoid late fees.

Field Trips

Prekindergarten will have several field trips during the school year that are age appropriate and educationally enriching. Chartered buses or the school van are utilized for transporting children, staff, and appointed volunteers. Typically field trips will be held on the third Wednesday of the month (May change due to availability and weather). A permission field trip form is required to be signed for each field trip. Please have your child wear his/her PE uniform on field trip days.

Parent chaperones are welcome and may be needed to complete some field trips. Please let me know if you would like to volunteer as a chaperone.

Curriculum

We will be utilizing the Mother Goose curriculum as well as additional resources. We will have a monthly theme, and a specific area of focus every week. The Day will consists of stories, songs, calendar activities, meaningful conversations, language arts, math, science/sensory, art, books, dramatic play, blocks, gross motor play, nutrition, and the integration of technology.

Our monthly themes are: My Amazing Body, Weather All Around Us, Rainforest Adventure, Winter Wonderland, Dinosaur Dig, It’s a Small World, Blast Off to Space, Ocean Commotion, Growing Gardens, The Alphabet House

Language and Literacy: We will develop listening comprehension, communication, vocabulary, phonological awareness, concepts of print, letter and word recognition. reading comprehension, and writing skills throughout the year. Some activities include:

Letter of the week activities
Name practice
5 weekly Sight words
Journals
Read-alouds
Book interactions
Constant give and take conversations
Literacy games
Homework
Creating our own stores.
Creating captions for our work
A print rich environment
Library visits

Math: We will develop number concepts, shapes, spatial awareness, patterns, sorting, measurement, and logic skills throughout the year. Some activities include:

Number of the week
Using shapes to make items
Pattern boards
Noticing and continuing natural patterns
Measuring various objects with standard and non standard methods.
Time and clocks
Addition to 10
Subtraction from 10
Calendar activities
Cooking activities

Social Studies: We will develop an understanding of families, communities, civics, economics, geography, and history throughout the year. Some activities include:

Using play money
Pretend play
Puppet shows
Paw Pride awards
Fill my bucket
Multicultural books
Studying the globe, and talking about cultures living there.
Retelling stories from our past.
Class and individual graphing projects.

Science: We will develop scientific reasoning, understanding of life science, physical science, Earth science, and technology skills throughout the year. Some activities include:

Conducting experiments
Creating our own experiments
Learning to ask and answer: Who, what, when, where, why, and how.
Classroom pet study
Informational texts
Classifying and sorting materials
Recording results
Creating and answering hypothesis.

Art: We will develop skills in music, dance, and movement, visual arts, and Drama throughout the year. Some activities include:

Novel songs
Repetitive songs
Multicultural songs
Instruments
Scarves and other props in dance.
Exploration of various mediums
Looking at famous works of art
Using drawings as a way to express our selves
Puppets
Dress up
Roleplaying

Social and Emotional Development: We will develop our self-concept, ability to self-direct, and social relationships throughout the year. Some activities include:

Learning to find our voice
Displaying child created projects
Talking about feelings and thoughts
Circle time activities
Self-guided centers
Fill a bucket
Active voice
Social stories
Modeling words and behaviors

Physical development: We will develop our gross motor, fine motor, health, and safety skills and understanding throughout the year. Some activities include:

Outdoor play
Yoga
Scissors
Pencil grasp
Sitting together at meals
Discussing healthy choices
Special visitors
Rules and expectations
Washing hand techniques
Stranger safety
Phone number and parent name memorization

Other Languages: We will develop an approach to a second language, comprehension of a second language, and communication in a second language throughout the year. Some activities include:

ASL (American Sign Language) vocabulary in songs, and communications
Spanish: Theme related words, greetings, numbers, and colors.
Others: greetings in world cultures.

Computer: We will develop our understanding and ability to use a computer throughout the year. Some activities include:

Keyboarding games
Mouse use
Proper care of technology

Pre-K Supplies

This year, the Pre-K classroom supplies will be purchased in bulk, allowing us to get a wider variety of necessary age-appropriate materials for our learning and classroom needs at a lower bulk price. Pinnacle Academy is charging a Pre-K Supply Fee of $50.00 per student. In addition to the Supply Fee above, children will also need to bring in their own headphones for Computer Class.