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Kinder Families Guide

Family Resources

Kindergarten Family Guide

This is an exciting time for you, your child and the school staff, and we are looking forward to working with you. Our goal is to make sure your child’s school experience is as successful as possible. We know that a parent/guardian is a child’s first and best teacher, which is why we need you as our partner! 

Learning behaviors modeled at home will greatly help your child to be successful in kindergarten. To help you with this, we have prepared fun activities, important information, and resources to help you prepare your child for kindergarten. 

As your partner in education, we are here to support you and your child with getting off to a great start in our schools. We can’t wait to meet and work with you and your child!

Visit Our Enrollment Hub to Enroll

    • August 29 - School Open Houses
    • September 4-6 - WaKIDS Family Connection Days
    • September 9 - First Day of School for Kindergarten

    Visit Our Calendars Page for More Dates

  • Oak Harbor Public Schools uses ParentSquare to communicate with families. ParentSquare provides a simple and safe way for everyone at school to connect. With ParentSquare you are able to:

    • Receive all school and classroom communication via email, text or app
    • Communicate in your preferred home language with automatic translation
    • Direct message teachers and staff
    • Have access to your school's documents and pictures/videos that come in your ParentSquare messages
    • Easily sign up to volunteer and/or bring items

    At the beginning of the school year, you will receive an invitation in your email to join ParentSquare. This invitation will go to the email address or phone number you provided at the time of registration. Please click on the link the message to activate your account. You can also use your email or phone number to set up your account without an invitation.  You can use ParentSquare on any device. In the links on the right navigation you can download the free mobile app for Android or iOS.

    Get More Information About How to Use ParentSquare

    Engaged families further student learning. When families are engaged in their children's education they achieve higher grades, have better attendance and behavior, and demonstrate a more positive attitude toward education. Visit the Get Involved section of your school’s website for more information.

    You can get involved and stay connected with your child’s education in many ways:

    • Join or support your school’s PTA
      Parent Teacher Associations play n important role in our schools by sponsoring events and activities
    • Attend school and district events
      Be on the lookout for upcoming events and activities at your school. Information is shared through your school’s newsletter and on calendars on your school’s website
    • Sign up to volunteer
      Our schools are always in need of volunteers to support student learning and fun.
    • Check in with your child’s teacher
      It is important to connect with your child’s teacher throughout the school year to check on their progress.Be sure to also attend parent teacher conferences.
  • Here is a handy checklist with suggested ways to help you support your student before they start Kindergarten.

    • Set regular routines at home
      • Set dinner time
      • Set bedtime with time for reading a story
      • Set morning routine that includes your child independently getting dressed, eating breakfast, brushing teeth, etc.
    • Talk with and listen to your child
    • Limit TV, DVD, tablet or computer time
    • Take your child on adventures such as walking around the neighborhood, a local park, or the beach
    • Have your child play outside every day and interact with other children
    • Play games and particpate in learning activities with your child
  • Oak Harbor Public Schools’ Kindergarten Programs help children learn and grow physically, socially, emotionally, and academically. These are some skills your child should be able to do when they come to kindergarten to help them have a successful start to school. These are skills are based on National & State Standards.

    My child:

    • Can follow rules and can transition from one activity to another
    • Can take care of their own needs including:’
      • Dress themselves, including putting on shoes and coat
      • Button, zip, and snap
      • Independently take care of toileting needs
      • Wash and dry their hands
      • Ask for Help
    • Can play well with a gropu of two or more children
    • Had a friendship with at least one other child, even if it was only for a short while
    • Can skip, walk up and down stairs and run in a straight line
    • Can walk a line in balance
    • Has fine motor control:
      • Holds pencil correctly
      • Connects blocks
      • Holds scissors and cut
      • Draws a circle, square, triangle, rectangle
    • Can write their own name
    • Is understood by most people
    • Can have a conversation with others
    • Can ask for help
    • Shows eagerness to learn about a variety of topics and ideas
    • Is able to change plans if a better idea is thought of or proposed
    • Can verbally count to 20
    • Can count 10-20 objects accurately
    • Can identify with part has more or less, or the same/equal
    • Can identify basic shapes like circle, square, rectange, and triangle
    • Can identify basic colors like red, blue, yellow, green, and orange

    If you think your child may need additional support or interventions to provide them with the tools they need to be successful, they may be eligible for special services.

    Early Learning Readiness & Child Find

    Special Education Services

     

  • The Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS) is a transition process that helps to ensure a successful start to the K-12 experience and connect the key adults in a child’s life.

    WaKIDS Family Connection takes place at the very beginning of the school year, the three days prior to Kindergarten First Day of School. Contact your school for details.

    Learn More About WaKIDS

  • Kindergarten Bus Riders

    A parent or guardian must be present at the bus stop to pick up their Kindergarten child at the end of the day. If a parent or designated adult is not at the stop, the bus will continue and the parent will be notified to pick up the student at the Transportation department at the end of the bus route. If a guardian is unable to be present, they may designate another adult by submitting a written note to the Transportation Office in advance. The note will be kept on file upon request.

    You can sign up for transportation services during the online enrollment process or through the transportation request form on the website.

    Learn About Bus Conduct, Safety, and More

  • Oak Harbor Public Schools participates in the National School Lunch Program and is committed to offering students delicious and nutritious meal options every day.

    Begining in the 2024-2025 school year, all students in our elementary schools will receive one free breakfast and one free lunch serving each day. To maintain free meals for everyone, it is still important that families fill out the free & reduced meals application every school year.

    Learn More About Free Meals

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    Each month our Nutrition Services Department partners with Whidbey Island Grown Cooperative and Puget Sound Food Hub for Harvest of the Month, a farm-to-table program. On Harvest of the Month day, elementary students get the chance to sample locally grown fruits or vegetables – often in unique ways that they may not have tried before.

    More Than a Meal

  • Notify your school nurse immediately if your student has a life-threatening health condition, such as asthma, allergies, diabetes, seizures, bee sting reactions and others, that may require medical services performed at school. By law, a nursing plan and medication/ treatment order from your student’s licensed healthcare provider must be in place before your student starts school. Submit the paperwork every school year before your student begins school. Forms are available at your school or below.

    Healthy Kids

    Washington State law requires children attending kindergarten through 12th grade to have an immunization record on file at school. As of August 1, 2020, changes to the immunization law require medically verified immunization records for school prior to entrance. Medically verified records includes one or more of the following:

    • A Certificate of Immunization Status(CIS) printed from the Immunization Information System (IIS)
    • A physical copy of the CIS form with a healthcare provider signature
    • A physical copy of the CIS with accompanying medical immunization records from a healthcare provider verified and signed by school staff
    • A CIS printed from MyIR   (https://wa.myir.net/)

    Learn More About Immunizations

    Required Enrollment Documents

  • Each school has a specific plan with roles and responsibilities for handling a variety of situations. The school will provide communication for minor or school-specific situations. However, communication for most emergency situations will come from the district office.

    Learn More About Safety in Our Schools