For Local and Area Preschools and Kindergartners
Believe it or not, for parents of kindergartners and preschoolers time is rapidly approaching to send those little ones off to school for the first time. In fact, March 3 is the kick-off date for all three Owensboro and Daviess County school districts’ registration drives for the 2014-15 school year.
The Daviess County and Owensboro public school districts hold registration for preschool and kindergarten from March 3 – 14 for children who will be entering school for the first time. In both public school districts, to register a child for kindergarten, parents are asked to visit the school the child will attend. DCPS and OPS kindergarten registration is available to children who will be 5 years old by Oct. 1, 2014, and is a full-day program Monday through Friday.
DCPS and OPS preschool is available to children who will be 3 years old on or before Oct. 1 and who either meet Head Start eligibility requirements or are identified with a developmental delay or disability; and children who will be 4 years old by Oct. 1, who meet income guidelines or are identified with a delay or disability. DCPS elementary schools and OPS’s Hager Preschool also accept a limited number of tuition students. While registration begins for the preschool programs in both districts on March 3, public preschool registration remains open throughout the year.
The Owensboro Catholic Schools pre-register all kindergarten through grade 12 students from March 3 through March 21 at the school the child will attend or at the OCS Central Office. Those entering Kindergarten must be 5 years old by Oct. 1. Preschool is not available through OCS.
Beyond taking care of registration, parents can be doing a number of things to help their soon-to-be preschoolers and kindergartners get ready for the big day—entrance into school for the first time.
Teachers are often asked for tips on preparing a child to enter school. Surprisingly, if you ask most kindergarten teachers what skills students will benefit the most from having when starting kindergarten, the answer will not be academics–it will be social skills! The ability to take turns and share with others, the ability to sit quietly for 10 to 15 minutes at a time, the ability to wait their turn, and the willingness to follow directions are some of the most important skills incoming youngsters can master when they are getting ready to enter school.
Parents can help children to develop other important social/personal skills:
The ability to answer questions and express how they feel
The ability to ask for help
The desire to be independent
What about getting a child ready for schoolwork? Teachers agree that reading to a child and helping the child develop a love of books is a tremendous benefit. Knowing how to hold a book and follow content from left to right, playing rhyming word games, and defining words they don’t understand helps a child develop reading readiness.
Children need to develop strong fine motor skills. Writing and drawing with pencils and crayons helps develop those skills. And, paper and crayons can spark a child’s creativity.
As for academic skills, parents can work on activities that will help the child recognize letters, produce letter sounds, count to 10, recognize numbers 1-5, know colors, recognize shapes (circle, square, rectangle, triangle) and have a size and number sense-(understands more/less, bigger/smaller).
Parents will need to be prepared to present several items before a child may enroll and it is very helpful to have these documents to present to the school at registration.
Documents which a child must have on file for entrance into school this fall:
Birth certificate
Social security card
Up-to-date Kentucky immunization certificate (diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, MMR, Varicella, H influenza type B, Hepatitis B)
Completed Kentucky medical examination form (available at your doctor’s office) proving that the child has had a recent physical examination.
Completed Kentucky eye exam by an eye doctor for students ages 3-6
Completed Kentucky dental screening/exam (forms available at your dentist’s or doctor’s office) for students ages 5 & 6 years old.
Numerous private preschool and kindergarten programs are available throughout the area. Contact those schools for enrollment information.
For additional enrollment
information and forms:
Daviess County Public Schools at: www.dcps.org or call (270) 852-7000 or the school the child will attend.
Owensboro Catholic Schools at:
(270) 686-8896 or the school the child will attend.
Owensboro Public Schools at:
http://www.owensboro.kyschools.us/enrollment/
or call (270) 686-1000 or the school the child will attend
Submitted by Julie Ellis, Owensboro Public Schools Information Officer