By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
Hays USD 489 will once again begin shepherding new students and parents into the district during the annual Kindergarten Roundup, set to begin at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Hays High School, Gym B.
The event gives is an opportunity for district administrators to share with parents the information needed to enroll children in the district, Wilson Elementary principal Anita Schieve said.
"First, we want to give you information about every school and just about kindergarten in general," she said. "We also want to talk to you about what the requirements are for a student to get enrolled in kindergarten, like what appointments you need to have scheduled and what forms you'll need to fill out."
Those forms include pre-enrollment information and school choice for the student.
"We also have some tours scheduled at every individual elementary, so that if you don't know which school yet, and you haven't been in any of the schools, you can come and visit us see the school," Schieve said.
The tours are scheduled during different parts of the day, and often offer an opportunity to meet building staff as well.
"Those online forms need to be completed before or by March 10," Scheive said.
Parents will be notified of their child's placement in early April.
Schieve said the district tries to accommodate every placement request, and it's rare that the child would be placed in their second-choice school.
Decisions on placement consider various factors, including an already existing connection to a particular school and available space.
For children to enter the district, they must be 5 years old by Aug. 31 and while the district does not screen students for required skills, to help prepare students to enter the district, Schieve said the development of social skills is important.
"We talk a lot about helping teach kids some of those soft skills," she said. "Play games with them so that they can feel they can practice taking turns handling frustration, and losing. It's important to learn how to lose and how to compromise."
To build those skills, Schieve said parents should set up playdates with other children their age so they can learn how to compromise, help them name feelings and show empathy.
"Talk them through that," she said. "How could we help make this better, help them learn how to apologize, help them recognize that sometimes things happen that we can't control.
"Just handling some of those social situations are huge for managing and navigating kindergarten."