Welcome, New Polar Bears!
There's nothing better than starting your educational journey as a Polar Bear. The Hortonville Area School District (HASD) offers a half day 4-year-old kindergarten program (Monday-Thursday each week) to prepare our youngest learners for success in kindergarten.
The mission of HASD's 4K program is to provide ALL students with challenging and diverse opportunities to become enthusiastic lifelong learners who will build the future. Four-Year-Old Kindergarten (4K) is based on the fact that children learn at different rates, in different ways, and at different times. It is our responsibility to view each child as a unique individual capable of great things!
4K is different from five-year-old kindergarten; it is a play-based experience that highlights learning through exploration with an emphasis on social and emotional development. By the end of your child’s 4K year, they will show growth in all areas of development including social and emotional skill application (such as problem solving, self-control and cooperating with peers), increased school behaviors (including following teacher directions and participating in classroom activities) and the ability to identify and write their first name. They will amaze you with all the new things they will learn and do!
In order to enroll in the 4K program, a student must be four years old on or before September 1, 2025. There are no provisions for early entrance into HASD's 4K program, which is available to your child for one year. If you have a child that fits this demographic but is not yet nor has a sibling in the HASD student database, please fill out our Census Information form. This will help ensure we get you the information you need to get your student enrolled when that time comes.
If you have additional questions regarding HASD's 4K program, please contact Deborah Lohr, 4K Program Coordinator at (920) 757-7030, or Stephanie Thompson, Administrative Assistant at (920) 779-7911
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Expectations
Of Our Teachers:
- Foster a positive environment where children feel safe, comfortable and are nurtured.
- Engage together in age-appropriate activities and hands-on experiences that promote growth in all areas of childhood development.
- Reply to notes, emails, and phone calls in a timely fashion.
- Communicate our classroom and school activities through calendars and newsletters.
- Uphold Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction’s requirements for teacher licensing.
Of Our Families:
- Empty backpacks daily, responding to teacher notes and returning permission slips, fees, and correspondence by the requested time in a sealed, labeled envelope placed in your child’s folder. Please do not allow toys in your child’s backpack unless requested by your teacher for a special activity. Our goal is to share common classroom toys. Challenges arise with sharing personal items and teachers cannot be responsible for managing toys from home.
- Help your child develop a dressing routine and select weather-appropriate clothing to increase your child’s success in being an independent dresser. We strongly encourage children ALWAYS wear tennis shoes as we do a variety of physical activities where safety and sure-footedness is a must. Flip flops and Croc’s are strongly discouraged.
- Complete all forms and paperwork on time. This helps ensure safety of your child.
- Keep your child home when they are ill. When children do not feel well, their brains and bodies are not ready to learn.
- Arrive at the start of class; please respect your teacher’s time for preparing the classroom for exciting learning opportunities.
- Be involved! We encourage active participation through volunteering, chaperoning field trips, attending classroom and district opportunities and, most importantly, engaging your child in conversations about school.
- Provide healthy snack choices for your child only.
- Notify us of any changes in your family’s contact information.
Of Our Children:
A child must be four years old on or before September 1st of the entering school year to participate in the 4K program. A common question from parents is: What does my child need to know before coming to 4K? Because children come in with a variety of experiences and knowledge as well as up to an eleven-month difference in age, we instead encourage families to ask: How can I help prepare my child for a successful year in 4K? Here are a few teacher suggestions:
- Practice independent dressing and managing of belongings: un/packing backpack, putting away shoes and coat in designated space
- Encourage conversation about specifics from your child’s day: What did you eat at snack? Did you play in the housekeeping area today?
- Provide life experiences: visit the library, get them involved while grocery shopping, frequent the park, practice using manners at a restaurant
- Develop routines at home: getting ready for school (for example, eating breakfast, getting dressed, brushing teeth, putting on coat, waiting for bus) bedtime (such as, putting on pajamas, having a snack, brushing teeth, reading books, whispering goodnight)
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