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REGISTER HERE!

Welcome to our newest Exeter Eagles--the Class of 2036! Throughout the next few months, we're excited to help you and your child prepare for the start of kindergarten. Once you've registered your child, please come back every month to learn more about what you need to know to prepare your family and your child for kindergarten in the fall, meet our kindergarten teachers, and more! Please also make sure you save the dates in August for important activities and events before your child begins school on August 24th.

If you have questions at anytime, please do not hesitate to contact your child's school, or call our central administration at 610-779-0700.

February 2023

• Gather registration documents (vaccines do not need to be complete to register)
• Kindergarten Registration opens on February 1st. Click HERE to begin! 

March 2023

  • Click HERE to meet Owatin Creek's principal, Mr. Charlie Payne!
  • Click HERE to meet Jacksonwald's principal, Mr. Matt Hathaway!
  • Click HERE to meet Lorane's principal, Mrs. Karen Hodge!
  • Click HERE to learn tips for bus safety with our Bus Safety Patrol!
  • Click HERE to have Ally & JJ show you how easy it is to buy a lunch!
    • Find current menus on our Food Services website HERE. 
    • Pay for school meals using School Cafe, our convenient online system, HERE.
    • Apply for reduced-price or free school meals HERE.
    • Visit our Food Services website anytime by clicking HERE.

TIPS FOR THE MONTH:

  • Start practicing how to put on and take off a backpack with your child. Show your child how to use the zippers and load and unload his/her backpack.
  • Teach your child how to carry a tray with pretend food. Teach your child how to open common lunch containers, such as ziplock bags, juice boxes, milk boxes, fruit pouches, etc. We have friendly cafeteria aides who help students open these items, but you may want to avoid packing certain items if you feel your child will be frustrated waiting for adult help. 
  • Start teaching your child how to use the bathroom independently. Show him/her how to wash and dry his/her hands thoroughly. Make sure your child is familiar with urinals and toilet stalls and how to use them. 
  • Practice taking turns and sharing. If you play games, allow your child to lose occasionally so it's not a new concept when he/she comes to school. 

April 2023

This month, we're excited to introduce you to our kindergarten teachers!

• Click HERE to meet Jacksonwald's Mrs. Druzba
• Click HERE to meet Jacksonwald's Mrs. Simmons
• Click HERE to meet Jacksonwald's Mrs. Weaver
• Click HERE to meet Lorane's Mrs. DeCamillo
• Click HERE to meet Lorane's Mrs. Firestone
• Click HERE to meet Lorane's Miss Stein
• Click HERE to meet Lorane's Mrs. Young
• Click HERE to meet Owatin Creek's Miss Motze
• Click HERE to meet Owatin Creek's Mrs. Murphy
• Click HERE to meet Owatin Creek's Mrs. Okonski
• Click HERE to meet Owatin Creek's Mrs. Vogt
• Click HERE to meet Owatin Creek's Mrs. Warchol

TIPS FOR THE MONTH:

• Practice rhyming and playing with sounds with your child. These are fantastic literacy skills that will help your child learn how to read.
• Show your child letters. Have him/her identify both the upper and lower case version of each letter. Teach him/her how to make the corresponding sound to that letter.
• Reading to your child every day for at least 10 minutes is one of the best things you can do to help your child get ready for kindergarten--and provides you both with memorable time together before your child enters school. 

May 2023

  • Click HERE to meet Jacksonwald's Nurse Strauss and learn more about what vaccinations the Pennsylvania Department of Health requires students to have when entering kindergarten. You can also access more information about vaccine requirements on our website HERE. Please note: Your child does NOT need to have all of his/her vaccinations completed at the time of registration; these forms can be turned in before school starts or during the first week of kindergarten.
  • Click HERE to meet Owatin Creek's Nurse Templin and learn more about the physical and dental screenings the Pennsylvania Department of Health requires students to have when entering kindergarten. She'll also review the health screenings nurses conduct annually for students in school. You can also access more information and find the required forms for these screenings on our website HERE. Please note: Your child does NOT need to have all of his/her exams completed at the time of registration; these forms can be turned in before school starts or during the first week of kindergarten.
  • Click HERE to meet Lorane's Nurse Pinkasavage and learn more about when you should keep your child home from school and important tips she has when sending your child to kindergarten. You can also access this information on our website HERE, review our attendance procedures HERE, and find all of our health forms HERE. 
  • If you would like to contact your child's school nurse, please find a directory HERE. 

TIPS FOR THE MONTH:

  • Practice identifying shapes with your child, such as circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, etc.
  • Practice identifying numbers with your child. Can your child count to 20? If not, begin practicing now to set your child up for the best start to kindergarten.
  • Help your child start to learn how to sort objects. You can incorporate this activity into everyday activities, such as when you do daily housekeeping or when running errands. To introduce this concept to your child, ask them to think about sorting objects by color, shapes, sizes, textures, uses, etc. 

June 2023

• Click HERE to meet Jacksonwald's secretary, Mrs. Dani Merkel. Mrs. Merkel is available by phone at 610-779-1820 or by email at dlmerkel@nullexetersd.org. Mrs. Merkel can help you with enrollment questions or any other general questions about Jacksonwald. She works with Mrs. Marybeth Eckenroth, Jacksonwald's Attendance Secretary. Please contact Mrs. Eckenroth if you need to excuse your child from school. You may also learn more about attendance at Jacksonwald at https://exetersd.org/jacksonwald/attendance.

• Click HERE to meet Owatin Creek's secretary Mrs. Andrea Williams and attendance secretary Mrs. Karla Tryon. You can reach them by phone at 610-406-4580. Mrs. Williams can also be emailed at alwilliams@nullexetersd.org. She handles kindergarten enrollment and can help you with any general questions at Owatin Creek. Mrs. Tryon handles attendance for Owatin Creek and should be contacted if your child needs to be excused from school. You may also learn more about attendance at Owatin Creek at https://exetersd.org/oc/attendance.

• Click HERE to meet Lorane's secretary Mrs. Jen Hemstreet and attendance secretary Mrs. Adele Reilly. You can reach them by phone at 610-582-8608. Please reach to Mrs. Hemstreet by phone or email at jlhemstreet@nullexetersd.org should you have any enrollment questions or need help with any questions at Lorane. Mrs. Reilly handles attendance for Lorane and should be contacted if your child needs to be excused from school. You may also learn more about attendance at Lorane at https://exetersd.org/lorane/attendance

TIPS FOR THE MONTH

• Have your child start practicing how to follow directions. Directions should be simple and easy to follow. Start off by giving directions one at a time to check to make sure your child understands what you asked. As your child gets better at following directions, you can layer a second or third direction onto the first. Think of this as a fun activity (such as finding a hidden object in the house through a series of directions) rather than something that involves work! 

• Your child obviously knows his or her first name, but does your child know his or her last name? Practice spelling it and writing it with your child. 

• As parents, we tend to give our children help before they may ask for it. Try to start having your child initiate asking for help before you offer it. Listen to see if your child asks for what he or she needs clearly; if not, encourage him or her to become more concise with what he or she needs. 

July 2023

We're so excited to meet you soon! Click HERE to join Exeter Alumnus Summer Turczynski as she reads to you, "Look Out Kindergarten! Here I Come!"

TIPS FOR THE MONTH:

  • Your child probably loves to color and draw, but in case he/she hasn't used a pencil very much, please start practicing now since he/she will use one every day in kindergarten.
  • Grab some paper and glue and start having fun using scissors and gluing cut paper together. Find some interesting and simple shapes for your child to practice using scissors to cut.
  • Summer's a perfect time to get outside and practice running, hopping, skipping and jumping! Grab the chalk and make a hopscotch board to practice all of these skills.

August 2023

We're so excited to meet you this month! Here are some important dates for you:

• August 1 - Lorane Kindergarten Orientation (at Owatin Creek Elementary) - Register HERE
• August 2 - Jacksonwald Kindergarten Orientation (at Owatin Creek Elementary) - Register HERE
• August 8 - Owatin Creek Kindergarten Orientation - Register HERE
• August 18 - Kindergarten Self-Guided Tours + optional bus ride at all elementary schools. Select either the 10-11AM session or the 1-2PM session 
• August 24 - KINDERGARTEN BEGINS!
• August 28 - Jacksonwald Meet-the-Teacher Night from 5-7PM
• August 30 - Lorane Meet-the-Teacher Night from 5-7PM
• August 31 - Owatin Creek Meet-the-Teacher Night from 5-7PM

School supply lists for all Kindergarten students can be found HERE.