Kindergarten at Westmount Charter School

Please Note: Attendance in the Westmount Kindergarten program does not indicate acceptance into the Westmount Charter School Grade One program.

Days and Times
At Westmount we offer families the option of full days, Monday-Wednesday-alternate Fridays or Tuesday-Thursday-alternate Fridays. We do not offer a half-day program. The Friday schedule is clearly laid out in the monthly calendar on this website: Mon-Wed are "A" days, Tue-Thur are "B" days.

A few details:

• Classes begin at 8:30 AM and end at 3:15 PM. Staff are available to supervise students from 8:15 AM-4:00 PM only. Parents are to make every effort to pick up children by 3:30 PM.
• Lunch is from 11:40 AM to 12:20 PM, including a recess time.
• Kindergarten classes have a recess time separate from grade 1-5 students.
• To respect the needs of children with life-threatening food allergies, all Westmount students are to refrain from bringing foods containing nuts or nut products to school.
  

In order to promote student security, all visitors to the school, including Westmount parents, are required to obtain a Westmount photo ID badge, or sign in at the entrance to receive a visitor's badge. Parents picking up their children at day's end are asked to wait in the designated parent area, by the main security desk, or in the school's cafeteria.

Program Philosophy
Emphasis on the total child
Preparation for Grade One
Development of: Multiple Intelligences, Social skills, Self-discipline, Self-respect, Curiosity, Character, Co-ordination, Self-awareness, Self-confidence, Initiative, Independence
Math and Language skills and concepts integrated into the Kindergarten day.

In our Kindergarten we:
Explore, examine, and enjoy literature
Develop vocabulary
Experiment with words and letters
Sort, count, extend patterns
Explore the community through field trips
We hope our students view school as an exciting and wondrous place to be, where learning is a fun and fascinating life long journey.

Parent Volunteers are warmly welcomed in our classrooms, but volunteers are expected to obtain a security clearance. We encourage an open and supportive working relationship between home and school.

Transportation
Bussing is available at cost (see link on right hand of web page) for kindergarten students living outside the 2.4km radius of the school.

Staggered Entry
Students who have been accepted into our Kindergarten program will be receiving a letter from one of our Kindergarten teachers, indicating which "staggered entry" day he/she will be attending. Some of the students will come on the first day, some will come the second day, some will come the third day, all will come the fourth day.

8 July 2010

Kindergarten Links

Application procedure for Kindergarten. As with all publicy-funded kindergarten programs in Alberta, the birthday cut-off for 2010-2011 Kindergarten applicants is February 28, 2006. Children born later than February 28, 2006 will need to wait until subsequent school years to apply for kindergarten.

As a publicly-funded program for gifted learners, we do not charge tuition. For a schedule of our school fees, click here.

Kindergarten Supplies

Most kindergarten supplies are provided by the school. However, all kindergarten students are asked to bring the following (2010-2011 list, subject to change):

1 pair indoor (soft-soled) shoes
1 pair outdoor shoes/boots
1 backpack/large book bag
one 1-1/2-inch hardcover binder, not zippered
10 page dividers, labeled Sept-June

(please do not label the following - to be used collectively)
4 glue sticks
1 small package of large dry-erase markers
4 large freezer weight zip lock bags
1 small package of Paper Mate or Pilot brand fine tipped black pens
1 package of 10 or more page protectors