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Kindergarten at Keystone Oaks

Welcome to Kindergarten at Keystone Oaks!

Children who are 5 years of age on or before September 1, 2024 may attend kindergarten during the 2024-2025 school year.

Welcome to Kindergarten at Keystone Oaks!

Kindergarten Registration for the 2024-2025 school year is now open!

Any child who lives in Castle Shannon, Dormont, or Green Tree who will be five years old by September 1, 2024 is eligible to begin kindergarten this year.

To learn more about Keystone Oaks' full-day kindergarten program, the transition process, and registration requirements, please click here to view the presentation from our Kick Off to Kindergarten event.

Kindergarten Registration

The District utilizes an online registration system for new students enrolling in the District. All registration forms are completed electronically and supporting documents (student identification, proofs of residency and immunization records) are uploaded directly into the District’s student information system.

Staggered Start Schedule

To help facilitate transition into a full-day kindergarten schedule, the first few days of kindergarten are shortened days, with an early dismissal after lunch and recess. Transportation is provided if students ride the bus. A more detailed schedule will be provided to families in August.

Teachers and support personnel will use the transition days to collect student data. This data will help kindergarten teachers create well-rounded homerooms. Homerooms for kindergarten students will be announced before the start of full days.

If you have any questions about the District's kindergarten program or kindergarten registration, please do not hesitate to reach out to one of the building principals listed below or to Registration Secretary Mrs. Marlo Marasco.

Aiken Elementary - Mr. Dave Thomas ([email protected])
Dormont Elementary - Mr. Brian Werner ([email protected])
Myrtle Elementary - Mrs. Lauren Baughman ([email protected])
District Registration - Mrs. Marlo Marasco ([email protected])

Kindergarten Registration Requirements

Please visit the New Student Registration page for instructions on how to register your child for kindergarten.

Kindergarten Screenings

Prior to entering kindergarten, each child will undergo a typical screening that helps teachers get to know the child and understand the different ability levels that they need to accommodate in the classroom. Generally, screenings involve short activities in the following areas:

Motor Skills - Gross motor skills include hopping and walking toe-to-toe. Fine motor skills include copying shapes, letters and writing
Language Skills - Items include answering simple personal questions (full name, age and address)
Concepts - Items include pointing to named body parts, naming or identifying colors and counting items

Kindergarten screenings take place during the first week of the school year as part of the transition week for kindergarten students.

Kindergarten Curriculum

At Keystone Oaks, we understand how important it is to make the right choice for your child's first year of school. Keystone Oaks teachers, staff and administrators are dedicated to working with families and their children to ensure that the transition to kindergarten is as easy and exciting as possible.

Attending kindergarten is important for child development and future educational success:

Kindergarten helps children prepare for the transition from home to school and entry into first grade.
Children who attend kindergarten develop the skills necessary for educational success through hands-on and interactive learning experiences.
The age at which a child attends kindergarten is a significant period in development when independence, initiative, decision-making, creativity, learning ability, relating to others and feelings of self-worth begin.

Keystone Oaks kindergarten curriculum is designed to ensure that your child is engaged in a supportive learning environment and learns the necessary skills for educational success through a variety of interactive, hands-on lessons and activities. Attending kindergarten is an important step in helping your child develop readiness skills for future academic success. At the conclusion of the kindergarten program, your child will:

Develop independence and responsibility
Enhance fine and gross motor skills
Be able to think creatively and solve problems independently and as part of a group
Cooperate with others, listen and follow directions

Establishing a daily routine is very important in kindergarten. Below is a snapshot of what a day in kindergarten at Keystone Oaks looks like:

Upon arrival, students:

Put away belongings in their cubbies/lockers
Bring homework and announcement folders in to the classroom
Begin to complete independent morning work
Listen to announcements and say the Pledge of Allegiance

Students learn math concepts, such as:

Recognizing and quantifying numbers, patterns, number sense and place value over the course of the year
Demonstrating problem-solving strategies
Solving simple addition and subtraction problems
Students are introduced to language, phonological and phonemic awareness skills by:
Learning to hear and manipulate sounds
Putting words together and taking them apart
Exposure to different genres through a variety of stories
Identify settings and characters, as well as the beginning, middle and end of stories

Science in kindergarten is an inquiry-based learning program that enables students to develop valuable skills, such as problem solving, critical thinking and teamwork as they explore the five senses through the world of fabric. Kindergarten students enjoy gym, music, art, library and STEAM activities time each week.

Preparing for Kindergarten

Deciding whether or not a child is ready for kindergarten is an important and challenging question facing many families. There are a lot of factors to take into consideration when deciding whether or not a child is ready to begin attending school.

The following list is provided to give families a sense of the skills that children should have before entering Kindergarten. Not every skill on the list must be acquired before a child can enter kindergarten. The teachers in Keystone Oaks' kindergarten program will work with children to develop these skills over the course of the year.

Families who have questions about whether or not a child is ready for kindergarten are encouraged to reach out their pediatrician, pre-school teacher and/or child care provider, who may have valuable input. Additionally, before entering kindergarten, children will go through an interview and screening process with Kindergarten teachers, who will assess readiness skills in a number of areas. Click here for more information about the screening process.

Typical kindergarten readiness skills include:

Sharing and understanding the concept of taking turns
Cooperating and playing well with others
Sitting still and listening to an entire story
Attending to a task for at least 10 minutes
Speaking and asking for what they need
Recognizing their own name and answering to it
Helping to pick up and put away materials after an activity is finished
Using the toilet independently
Playing by themselves for a short period of time
Identifying some letters of the alphabet (upper and lower case)
Counting to 10 and identifying some numbers
Sorting objects by color, shape and size
Identifying colors
Recognizing and writing his/her own name
Being away from parents for a brief period and understanding that they will come back
Demonstrating large motor skills, such as hopping, catching a ball and using alternating feet to talk up and down the stairs

Kindergarten Resources

Activity Guide: Kindergarten, Here I Come

Kindergarten at Keystone Oaks

Kindergarten at Keystone Oaks

Kindergarten Registration Requirements

Kindergarten Screenings

Kindergarten Curriculum

Preparing for Kindergarten

Kindergarten Resources

Suggested Reading