Families with children going into kindergarten this fall will have some opportunities to see the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District’s program for themselves in the coming weeks.
Starting on Thursday, tours will be offered at Sudduth Elementary School. Tour dates are Jan. 11, 16, 18 and 25 and Feb. 1, 6 and 8. All tours start at 10 a.m. During the tour, parents and future students will see the school up close and have an opportunity to ask questions. Space is limited, and tours can be reserved by emailing SOCSD public information officer Nicole Thomas at nthomas@starkville.k12.ms.us.
“It’s a great opportunity just to put some names and faces together and to get to talk to the teacher, ask questions, engage in different activities,” said kindergarten teacher Brittney Rye. “We get to talk about the special classes we have, art and music and library and P.E. We also get to talk to them about our curriculum, the different skills and standards that we’ll be working on throughout the year, our expectations for when they first come here in the fall, what we’re really going to be working toward, our goals for the year and then allow them the opportunity to ask questions.”
Rye also said the tour could be a good indicator for parents of where their child will need to be by the time they start kindergarten.
“It’s definitely different than any environment that they’ve previously been in , especially the size of our school,” Rye said. “I think sometimes it helps the children feel a sense of assurance that these classrooms are going to be fun, there’s going to be a lot of fun things that they are doing.”
Sudduth will also host its kindergarten open house on Jan. 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., allowing families an additional opportunity to meet with Sudduth personnel and get more information.
Principal Elizabeth Mosley said there was also a logistical side to the events.
“It will help with the plan for the number of teachers and classrooms, and things that we need for the upcoming year,” Mosley said.
Registration documents will be available to parents. Mosley also said the tours and open house will help ensure a substantial portion of kindergarten registration is completed early.
“We usually have quite a few,” Mosley said. “I would say in the past, we’ve had between 200 and 250 parents show up."