Parents and their 2013-14 kindergarten students are invited to Warsaw Community Schools’ “Kindergarten Round-Up, Welcome to the Class of 2026” celebration. Every WCS elementary school will host a round-up celebration Feb. 28 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., according to Chief Academics Officer David Hoffert. “We weeded down a lot of the registration so there’s one form this year. The rest will move to online registration,” he said. During registration at the round-up, Hoffert said, “It’s the minimum information we need to set a student up.” Wendy Long, WCS director of communications and language programs, said the school corporation welcomes families from out of the district. The round-up will be a good time for them to find out more about the school district and the school of their choice. Tuition costs for transfer students who enroll at the start of the school year are waived. During the celebration, there will be tables representing the transportation department, health services, PTO, school and community sponsors. Each building will have a short presentation at 6:30 p.m. on what to expect at their school at the start of the school year. There also will be a bus available at each school for kindergartners to familiarize themselves. At each school’s round-up, there will be discussion about the possibility of a corporation half-day kindergarten program. Whether WCS has a half-day program will depend on enrollment numbers. There will be a place on the registration form for parents to express interest in the half-day program. Currently, WCS has only 18 students in the half-day program. All others are in full-day kindergarten. Information on early entrance into kindergarten also will be available at the round-up, pending the school board’s approval at its meeting Monday. “The state has an Aug. 1 cut-off date for kindergarten, and WCS is exploring what our local cut-off will be and the criteria that will need to be met,” Hoffert said. Also pending the board’s approval, WCS is teaming up with the United Way for a Kindergarten Jump Start program. The United Way-sponsored program will be for students who have not had a preschool experience and it will help prepare them for a successful transition to full-day kindergarten, he said. “There are lots of reasons to come to the kindergarten round-up,” Long said. Hoffert said each school is having its own round-up this year because the building principals felt very passionate about showcasing their school and activities. Parents also like to feel at ease with the school by meeting individual teachers and getting to see what the kindergarten class looks like, he added. “We want to ease parents’ worries and showcase the phenomenal teachers here at Warsaw Schools,” Hoffert said. Child care will be available at each school during the round-up. Spanish translators also will be at each building, and nurses will be on hand to answer specific health questions. If a parent can’t make the event, information from the event will be posted on the school corporation’s website at www.warsaw.k12.in.us, and those parents are encouraged to stop by the local school office. For information, call the school district office at 574-371-5098, the local school or visit the website. “We’re extremely proud of our kindergarten programming here at Warsaw schools, and we look forward to meeting our new class of students at Warsaw Community Schools,” Hoffert said.
