The teacher's want to ensure things are balanced in their classroom - the orientation was used for the parents to fill out forms and ask any questions and for the teacher's to observe the students. They are looking for the obvious - can they read etc but they are also looking at fine motor skills, following instructions, issues with leaving parents, can't sit still etc. They will work thru the class lists this summer to create the class. At our orientation the teacher's took a picture of the kids in a rocking chair. They used the picture for their notes as well as placement and so they knew names and faces on the first day. The picture was at the kids seat when they started Kindergarten. They also took a the same picture near the end of the year for the parents to see how much their kids had changed.

At our school I heard at orientation the teachers also use it to get an idea of kids they want in their class.

Anonymous wrote:If you attend at the same time as a friend your child already knows, would the administration be likely to separate friends or likely to recommend they be in the same class?

Two years ago, a mom requested that her son, my son, and a 3rd boy be placed together. All were put in different classrooms. The school won't know who is friends with whom unless you tell them. In hindsight, it was great for the boys to be separated. They played together at recess but still expanded their circle of friends.

The next year, my son & one of the other boys were in the same classroom. We had some problems with them being a bit mischievous and I'm pretty sure they won't be placed together in a class again.

Personally I think it would be a better idea to spilt the kids into different classrooms. The kids need to learn to meet other kids, social and build relationships. If they come in with a friend already I think this limits their interactions with out kids. They can play together at recess and other kindergarten wide events. This happened to us and while the first few days were tough after that our DS made a bigger group of friends which was much more beneficial for him then sticking to just one needy friend.

We had our's about a month ago. We had a small group of kids (maybe 8-10?) and they took the kids and led them to one of the K classrooms. Parents were told they could stay the whole time, go to the library to fill out paperwork, to go back and forth. I went to the library and came back.
When I left the classroom they were reading a book "Mouse goes to School" or kindergarten, or something. Then they did an art project related to the book, then they went to some table where there were various activities (ordering the alphabet, coloring, building with blocks, writing their names, etc.) which were conducted by staff, to pretty much test their fine motor skills.
I agree with the PP that it is to make sure they put the kids in the right class; not based on how much they know but more to make sure they are evenly distributed.
At the end they got a snack of a juice box and pretzels and called it a day. It was really fun for my daughter (and us too)

If you attend at the same time as a friend your child already knows, would the administration be likely to separate friends or likely to recommend they be in the same class?

Wow it had not occurred to me that this was anything other than coming in to submit forms and start to get the kids comfortable. Interesting.

Ds wouldn't even go in to the classroom, he has some issues, and luckily the school picked right up on it and placed him with a teacher who had an aide (for another kid) but having the extra eyes and hands for my ds has been a huge help!

Forgot to add - it isn't like they are being placed for tracking reasons. The schools want to ensure they have a nice mix of students. They don't want to end up with one kindergarten class filled entirely of kids who are already reading at a fifth grade level, no emotional problems while another class only has kids who have never been away from their mothers before, don't know their letters, etc

From my experience last year - the children were taken to a separate classroom while the parents were in another room doing the adult stuff.

The children did a couple art projects and had a snack. So yes, they were being evaluated but it was fin for them. The project was a normal preschool type of project.

We have this for my daughter today and I'm not sure what to expect. Most of the paperwork indicates that it is just a tour-type thing. But I have heard that the kids are somehow evaluated for placements and/or readiness? Can anyone give me some insight?

TIA