Welcome to Mrs.

Willis' Kindergarten!

 

Meet the Teacher

My name is Mrs. Willis and this is my sixteenth year teaching kindergarten. After teaching for 3 years in my hometown I moved to Michigan City and this is my 13th year teaching here. I received my bachelor's degree from Purdue University and my master's degree from Indiana University. Kindergarten is my favorite grade to teach, I love coming to work each day, and I enjoy the challenge of helping all of my students learn to their full potential!

I would like to welcome all of the wonderful boys and girls to my class this year. We are going to be doing some fun projects while learning how to read, write, and learn lots of math skills! It is extremely important that your child comes to school EVERY day that he/she is not sick. Poor attendance will affect your child's learning and school performance, and it will also negatively affect the school as a whole. So please, please, please try and make attendance a priority!

In order to make sure the students continue to learn as much as they should, I have clear routines and guidelines in my classroom, and the students are expected to follow directions and do what is expected of them in order to keep a positive learning environment and to ensure that learning time is not wasted. Respect and good manners are extremely important to me, and disrespectful behaviors and bullying will not be tolerated. I often support positive behavior with positive praise and attention along with “surprises” and Class Dojo points. We also support positive behavior as a school with reward tokens called Pine Panther Pennies, and students throughout the school can earn these and redeem them for prizes. When a student does not follow directions and has been warned, there will be consequences such as losing play time at recess, time-outs in the classroom, or other natural and appropriate consequences. If negative behaviors are persistent or dangerous to others I will call home or send a message, depending on the behavior. Major negative behaviors will be handled by the principal or with time spent in the EAP (educational alternative placement) classroom.

I love helping students learn and I look forward to working with your child!