Bayfield Primary School is getting excited to introduce a new group of kindergarten students to a lifetime of learning next fall, and registration and orientation sign-up are already underway.
Parents of children who will be ready for kindergarten in August are urged to call the Bayfield Primary School office at 970-884-0881 to get registered for the school year and sign up for a May orientation session.
Bayfield Primary School Principal Jan Alderton said that registering a child early for kindergarten allows families to attend events and access services the school makes available to ease the transition to kindergarten — beginning with the orientation sessions that will be offered this spring.
“The (current) kindergarten students get out of school two days earlier than everybody else, and then Wednesday and Thursday of that week we will have orientation sessions for the incoming kindergartners and their families,” Alderton explained. “The kindergarten teachers lead it, and I talk a little bit and we do some basic screening assessments on all of the students that come in so we can better place kids in classrooms.”
The orientation sessions will be offered at 8:15 a.m., 10:00 a.m., and 1:30 p.m. on May 22 and 23, and Alderton stated that the screenings can be particularly helpful in setting an incoming student up for success.
“It helps us be more successful and helps them be more successful,” Alderton said. “We also want to create balanced classrooms, and it is really tough to do if only half of your population comes to orientation and goes through the screening. Unfortunately, we don’t have any other timeframe or way to do the screening if they come in to register over the summer.”
Parents who register their children early for kindergarten and attend an orientation session next month will also receive a Link to sign their children up for participation in the summer reading program offered by BPS.
The program runs for 7 weeks in the summer, from June 3 - July 18, and individual sessions are offered from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
“These are 30-minute slots, and kids work with a teacher 1-on-1. Parents can sign up for one slot per day, and for as many days as they'd like,” Alderton described.
While early registration for kindergarten has a lot of obvious benefits for students and their families, it is also extremely valuable to teachers and other school officials to assist them in planning for the coming school year.
“Kindergarten is always one of those grades where we don’t know how many kids we are going to have so we don’t know how many teachers we are going to need,” Alderton said. “We always know that we have a few that will come in late, but the sooner we have a pretty solid idea the sooner teachers can start to plan.”
The veteran administrator said it has always been a bit of a guessing game to determine how many kindergarten students would be coming in — and how many classrooms and teachers would be needed to accommodate them.
“I’ve seen this happen year after year, even before I was an administrator,” Alderton stated. “We used to be able to take what the preschool has and double that number, and pretty much guarantee that. That hasn’t been the case the last few years though because our numbers have declined, so we can’t as solidly use that as our measure. That means it really is dependent on parents getting in here and registering their kids.”
Those parents whose children attend preschool at Bayfield Early Education Programs (BEEP) generally get their children enrolled — and the number presently enrolled for next year is around 50 right now. Uncertainty about how many more will be joining those students makes it difficult to determine classroom assignments, especially if students aren’t added until after school begins.
“Last year, after school started, we registered 12 new students in the first week. Our classes were already pretty maxed out, and that pushed our numbers even further,” Alderton reported. “We ended up splitting each one of those classrooms and creating a 5th section, and that is tough on a teacher that you pull in two weeks after school started. It’s challenging, no matter who you put in that position.”
The school district was fortunate to have a qualified teacher available on staff to meet the unanticipated need for an additional kindergarten teacher, but that is not a luxury Alderton wants to count on again.
“You aren’t always going to have that, and when we have to hire somebody from the outside, it takes even longer to have interviews and bring a new teacher in. Then there’s still a classroom to set up,” she reasoned.
Students who miss early registration are also at risk of missing the start of the school year, and that can make the adjustment even more challenging for children and parents.
“Being registered before school starts also means you attend Open House before school begins,” Alderton said.
The school also holds a staggered start for its kindergarten class, with 1/2 of the students attending the first day of school and the other 1/2 attending the second day while the first group stays home. The students don’t all attend together until the third day of class.
“That better helps our teachers orient the kids to their expectations and the environment of a larger school,” Alderton explained. “They have to find their way around for the first time, so the teachers are very creative. They do scavenger hunts and lots of different activities those first couple of days to help these young learners feel comfortable. Teachers also have some individual time with the students so they can learn more about them and what their needs are.”
She said that the students who enrolled after school began did not receive the benefit of those early experiences to help them adjust to their new adventure.
“They missed orientation, the open house, and that nice gradual start to the school year. The kids were just tossed in and had to get going,” Alderton said.
She said that the students who are added to the mix late are given plenty of opportunity and assistance to catch up, but admitted that it is easier to get off to a good start in school if a child is able to participate in some or all of the preparation events.
“Our teachers are experts at what they do, so they are going to make sure the kids are comfortable and get what they need, regardless of when they come in,” Alderton stated. “When they are able to go through the whole process, though, it obviously increases the comfort level for the kids, and the chance of success for student and teacher alike.”