Kindergarten Information

We look forward to getting to know you and your child this year. Please read through all the information below. You will be receiving many forms and notices in the first few weeks of school. Please send them back in your child’s homework folder the next day. If you have any questions, let your teacher know.

IMPORTANT:  This summer, be on the lookout for an incoming kindergarten survey to fill out before your child starts school.  The information from this survey will be sent to your child's kindergarten teacher so please complete within a week of receiving. If you have multiple incoming kindergarteners, please complete the form once for each child. We can't wait to meet you!

Thank you for choosing Lafayette School for your child! Together we will make this a memorable year in your child’s education.

Kindest regards,

The Kindergarten Teachers

School Hours:  M, Tu, Th, Fri 7:50am - 2:05pm (Kindergarten dismissal is 1:55pm) and Wed 7:50am -12:50pm (Kindergarten at 12:40pm.) Drop off and pick up are on the yard. You must walk onto the yard to drop off and pick up your child. We will eventually restart our stop, drop, and go program, which is a morning car drop off, but families are always expected to get out of their car to get their child for pickup. 

School instruction starts on time, so make sure your child arrives to the school yard on time. Children are supervised on the yard after 7:30 am. Children should go to the cafeteria on rainy days and their teacher will get the children from the auditorium or cafeteria and walk them to class. If your child comes late, they must go to the office and get a late slip before entering the classroom, so please try not to be late as it is very disruptive to the class.

Messages and Conferences: The school phone number is: 415-750-8483. You may leave a message in the office or email your child’s teacher. We have regularly scheduled parent conferences, once in the fall and another in the spring. Please check your email for updates from your child's teacher.

Meals: Free breakfast and lunch are available at school  for all students. Students may choose to bring a healthy snack and lunch from home. Please make sure both your child’s snack and lunchbox are clearly labeled. The San Francisco Unified District has a healthy food policy. Please provide healthy foods for your child. No sodas, candy, or gum please. Help your child develop healthy eating habits at an early age in order to grow into a healthy adult!

Attire: Please label all of your child’s clothing. We donate bins and bins of beautiful clothing from our school each year because the clothing is unclaimed! If your child has forgotten something, please come and check the bins under the central stairs to the cafeteria or the yard.

It is expected that you have fully toilet trained your child before they enter kindergarten. If your child does have an accident, you will be called to come and get your child from school. This is a school policy.

Backpacks: Make sure the backpack is large enough to hold a folder and a few books. Please label your child’s backpack. Empty your child’s backpack EVERY day. Please do not have your child bring any “toys” to school, unless it is an assignment. If you find toys or items in your child’s backpack that are not theirs, please send them back the next day so that they may be returned properly.

Water bottles: Please have your child bring a well labeled water bottle to school. They must be able to fill the bottle independently at school. 

Homework: Kindergarteners do not have homework for the first half of the year. Academic activities will be provided to our on site after school programs (YMCA and TRNC) by the kindergarten teachers for students to do during after school programming. Starting in the late Winter/early Spring, they will have minimal homework to prepare them for first grade, as well as a few home STEAM projects. But reading should be happening every night.  Please have your child read with an adult or sibling each and every night at home, in English or your family’s native language.

Progress reports: Performance reports are sent home in November, February and June. Informal testing is done throughout the year to monitor your child’s progress and help guide teaching. Parent teacher conferences are held in November and March.

Absences that are not due to your child’s illness, medical appointments, or a death in the family are considered “unexcused” by the school district. Parents will receive a truancy report from the district for 3 or more unexcused absences. Please email your teacher and the school at sch664@sfusd.edu to notify us of an excused absence.

Illness: If your child is ill, please email the teacher or call the office. If your child is ill for 3 or more days, a doctor’s note is required by the office upon returning to school.

Behavior: All kindergarteners are taught to respect all people, living things and property. Please encourage this concept at home as well. Please remind your child that hitting of any kind is not allowed in school, even “play hitting or fighting.” If they have a problem that they can not solve with words, have them ask an adult for help. Please remember that you are your child’s role model. They are looking at you for the “right” way to handle various situations. Your child will copy what they see and hear.

Welcome to Lafayette Elementary!