More News

‘‘The whole idea is to make sure everyone is signed up properly, but also to help the students get ready to come to school,” said Kate Harrison, Montgomery County Public Schools spokeswoman.

Kindergarten orientation is a time to help children look forward to starting school and for them to begin to build a strong partnership between home and school, she said.

Although each school designs its own orientation program, there are some county guidelines.

‘‘Our message to the schools is to make it positive,” said Rebecca Reitz, an instructional specialist in the Division of Early Childhood Programs and Services. ‘‘It should be easy going, not a time for testing or assessment.”

One school with a unique approach is Cedar Grove Elementary School in Germantown. Cedar Grove holds a parent orientation night before kindergarten orientation.

‘‘There are a lot of unknowns about the day so we want to answer questions and make the parents comfortable,” said Nancy Sanders, a kindergarten teacher at the school. ‘‘The principal gives a tour of the whole school and the secretaries are there to help with paperwork. If the parents are comfortable, they send that message to their children.”

Kindergarten parent Cyndi Stanford, whose twin boys attend Rachel Carson Elementary School in Gaithersburg, wishes her school had offered a pre-kindergarten orientation parents meeting.

She found kindergarten orientation overwhelming.

‘‘I felt like the new student,” she said. ‘‘There was so much to see, pictures on the walls, things hanging from the ceiling, plus paperwork to fill out,” and she also had to keep an eye on the boys.

The orientation process is equally valuable for the students, parents and the school according to Linda Warren, principal of Weller Road Elementary School in Silver Spring.

‘‘For many parents this is the first time they have a child in school, so they get a feel of the atmosphere of the school,” she said. ‘‘For us, we get an idea of the children coming in so we can put together the classes, we want them to be heterogeneous.”

Students are excited that they get to come to school, she added.

‘‘It is a good time. The classrooms are set up so we can invite the children in with their parents and hopefully have a positive experience so they feel more comfortable when August comes,” Reitz said.

All elementary schools ask that parents call and make an appointment for their orientation.

At Cedar Grove, children spend half of the orientation exploring the kindergarten classrooms. Students spend time in each of the school’s four kindergarten classrooms and meet each teacher.

The rest of the time is spent in guided lessons, ‘‘Like a mini-day at school,” Sanders said.

County public schools are holding kindergarten orientations through May 25.

What you need to know

Children eligible to start kindergarten in the fall must be 5 years old by Sept.1, 2007. Parents should call their local elementary school for the kindergarten orientation date and make an appointment. If not sure which school that is, call the MCPS Boundaries Office at 240-314-4710.

More information is available at www.mcps.k12.md.us.