January 5, 2017

Dear 2017-18 Kindergarten parent,  

Welcome to the beginning of an exciting adventure-the start of your child’s elementary school education! We at Sherman Elementary are pleased to be a part of this moment and look forward to discussing how we can work together with you to best support your child’s development.

This upcoming school year, Sherman Elementary is pleased to announce the possibility of an exciting program called PreK5, which will be open to children turning 5 years old by September 1, 2017. This program will be a bridge between preschool and kindergarten that will give children whose birthdays fall late in the year an opportunity to learn important academic and social skills in a hands-on way that supports their development. We are asking ALL parents of incoming kindergarten students to participate in an interest survey regarding this type of program.  Please visit https://goo.gl/forms/ze923SzSRoULa1CA2 to take the 12 question survey.  We ask that you complete the survey by Friday, March 17, 2017.  To be considered for the PreK5 program, parents must pre-register their child.  Regardless of program availability, we are asking all parents to pre-register their kindergarten age eligible child so that we can plan accordingly with our staff needs.

*Disclaimer: In order for the district to hold the PreK5 Program, a minimum of 12 students must be enrolled each year.

This is important because kindergarten standards and curriculum have changed over the years, and many of the skills children were once taught in first grade are now expected in kindergarten. PreK5 is a wonderful new option that will allow families to give their children the gift of time to develop at their own pace and continue building the social, emotional and academic skills that will help them succeed in elementary school.

Using a unique, specialized curriculum based on the kindergarten standards, the PreK5 teacher will help children develop social skills through activities that build confidence and communication. They will expose children to reading and math in an exciting, interactive way.  The students will be using educational games to learn about words and sentences and to help them understand mathematical concepts like counting and patterns. The social, emotional and academic skills children learn in Pre-K 5 will help them succeed in kindergarten, become leaders in the classroom and confidently navigate the school day routine.

If you need more information or have issues accessing the survey link, please feel free to call me at 217-496-2021 or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  Thanks again for your participation in the interest survey.

Respectfully,
Mrs. Lindsey, Principal