Thank you for taking the time to visit our classroom website. Throughout the school year, your child will participate in hands-on learning opportunities to develop his or her academic and social skills. In District 58, our goal is to always meet the needs of the whole child. By doing so, we strive to create an education for our students where they can thrive in and outside of our classrooms. There will be many wonderful milestones and learning goals that your child will meet throughout the year. I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to work with your child and your family in the months to come!
Meet the Teacher
Hi! My name is Brittany Sanfillippo and I have been teaching kindergarten at Highland School for eight years. I received my undergraduate degree in elementary education and my masters degree in special education from Elmhurst College. Outside of school, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I keep busy by spending time outside and being creative through paper crafting, hand lettering, and wheel-throwing pottery. I absolutely love being a teacher and helping students reach their goals; I couldn't imagine doing anything else!
Classroom Tour
Specials Schedule
Students who attend the morning session of kindergarten will participate in art lessons twice a month. Students who attend the OKEEP afternoon session will participate in P.E. twice a week and music once a week. On P.E. days, please make sure your child is wearing comfortable clothes and shoes.
Each week, students will visit the library for a lesson as well as check-out a book. Kindergarten students check-out one book at the beginning of the year and check-out two books during the second half of the year. Please make sure your child's book is returned in his or her backpack by the day we check-out.
- Monday: AM Art, PM P.E.
- Tuesday: AM Library, PM Language Lesson
- Wednesday: AM Book Check-out, PM P.E.
- Thursday: PM Library
- Friday: PM Music
Common Questions
What time does school start? 8:20am. Supervision will be provided between 8:10-8:20am. I encourage you to drop off your child at 8:10am so that they can socialize with their peers before school starts! At the beginning of the school year, safety patrols will walk the new kindergartners to the back of the school where each class lines up.
What time does school end? 11:30am for AM students and 2:55pm for OKEEP students.
AM students will be released at the front of the school. Parents may wait in their cars behind the AM bus or park and walk to the front door of the building.
OKEEP students will dismiss thru the primary hallway doors. Parents are welcome to wait there to pick-up their child. If your child is being picked-up by car, he or she will walk to the front of the building with the rest of the class. Please have your last name in the window of your passenger seat. Students will be picked-up in our front driveway.
What is OKEEP? District 58's Optional Kindergarten Enrichment and Enhancement Program was developed for families who want their child to have increased exposure to the skills and topics being taught in kindergarten. During the PM session, students participate in center-based activities that develop their math and literacy skills as well as introduce them to STEM-related topics. You can learn more about OKEEP on our district's website.
How long is lunch? For students who stay for OKEEP, they will be given a 20 minute recess and a 20 minute lunch break. Before the school year starts, we encourage parents to have their child practice eating within 20 minutes and opening containers. While there are lunch room supervisors to support students, we encourage kids to be independent!
Do I need to report my child's absence or vacation? Yes! Please call the school office if you know your child will be absent from school. If your child is going to be on vacation for an extended amount of time, please call the office and send me an e-mail of the dates you will be away. The office's phone number is: (630) 719-5835.
Will my child have an iPad to bring home? No. However, we do have a class set of iPads that we will use throughout the year!
Will my child have homework? There will be an activity calendar sent home at the end of each reading unit. In addition to the activity calendar, we encourage you to read to your child for 20 minutes each day.
How will you celebrate my child's birthday? Parents can bring their child's favorite picture book to read to the class on their child's birthday. They will get to wear a birthday sticker, pick out a crazy straw, and hear their name read on the announcements. At Highland, we ask that parents do not bring birthday treats (edible or non-edible) or pass out invitations.
Kindergarten Sight Words
We encourage our students to learn how to read and spell these sight words by the end of the year. While your child will participate in many activities at school to learn these words, it is also important that you practice recognizing these words at home.
Foundational Skills
Four times a week, we set aside 30 minutes during our AM session to support students in learning phonics and increasing their phonemic awareness skills. During this time, all kindergarten students are divided between the kindergarten teachers, reading specialist, reading room instructional assistants, and additional support staff to create a small group learning environment. Students will be assessed after every rotation cycle, which lasts anywhere between four to ten weeks. After being assessed, students will either stay in their same group or change to a different group that's working on a new phonemic awareness skill.
The foundational skills stages continue to be addressed in first and second grade as each child progresses at their own developmental pace. During our foundational skills time, we hope to create a strong foundation in each students' phonics and phonemic awareness skills so that they can grow to become successful readers and writers.
Contact information
If you have any questions throughout the school year, I encourage you to contact me by e-mail (bsanfillippo@dg58.org) or school phone (630-719-5835) so that I can touch base with you!