Documents Required for Student Enrollment

This list is intended to help you through the enrollment process. In every case, originals are required. Where appropriate, copies will be made and originals returned. 

• Child's Original/Certified Birth Certificate.  If your child was not born in the United States, a valid passport is acceptable.
• Proof of vision and hearing screening, completed after age 3; submit statement from examining official. Michigan Law requires a vision and hearing screening for kindergarten entrance. Screening done in preschool by a health department technician or at a doctor’s office fulfills this requirement. Oakland County Health Division offers free vision and hearing screening for county residents. Call (248) 424-7070 for an appointment. Your child's pediatrician may have screened your child at a well visit, so that office is a great place to start.
• Parent/Guardian Identification (valid driver's license or picture identification card with district address).
• Official Immunization Record (use Immunization Checklist or submit copy of official record).
• Certified Copy of Appointment of Guardianship (if applicable). 

Verification of Residency

One of the following documents is required to prove residency

• Recent Property Tax Statement
• Current Lease/Rental Agreement
• Closing Statement from a recently executed home purchase

AND

Any three of the following documents (with district mailing address) are required to prove residency. Mail should be no more than 60 days old and should be from three different sources. We do not accept cell phone bills, voter's registration, junk mail, or mail from Bloomfield Hills Schools.

• Employer / Tax Statements
• Credit Card or Bank Statements
• Car or Health Insurance 
• Gas, electric, water or cable bills
• Government Agency

* Students who were previously enrolled but have not actively attended a Bloomfield Hills School within the last six months are considered "new" students.

NON-DISTRICT RESIDENT TUITION INSTRUCTIONS

• For students entering kindergarten and developmental kindergarten in the Fall 2023, the online enrollment is open now.
• This form will take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete.
• Complete this form using a computer (a smartphone or tablet is not recommended).
• Please read the instructions carefully on the introduction page.
• If you have questions or are unclear while completing this form, please send an email to studentservices@bloomfield.org.
• If you'd like to select Developmental Kindergarten for your child, once you complete the Online Pre-enrollment, send an email to StudentServices@bloomfield.org and let us know your request.

Welcome to Bloomfield Hills Schools!

Kindergarten orientation will take place on May 12, 2023 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at each of our elementary schools. Families who are considering developmental kindergarten for their child should attend the orientation at their assigned neighborhood school, where you’ll learn about both classrooms. This is a time for parents to introduce their future kindergarten or developmental kindergarten student to their school. Parents will receive information about the school day and are welcomed into the broader elementary school community.

We sat down with a group of kindergarten teachers from Bloomfield Hills Schools and asked them what they'd like families to know and do.

If you've been intimidated by other kindergarten checklists, you might be surprised by the first, and most important, checklist item. "Talk to your child about kindergarten," a teacher stated, "and reassure them that you'll be back," they added. The teacher said that, while some children come bounding into her classroom on the first day, others hold back, sometimes in tears. Families can help alleviate fears, answer questions, and create a positive first experience by talking to their children ahead of time.

All of the teachers we spoke with agreed that family preparation and participation is critical to successful emotional transitions. "We're going to talk about numbers and letters during the year," said a teacher, who emphasized the need for social preparedness over academic skills. "Coping skills, problem solving, getting along with others – those are all things that families can work on over the summer with their preschool children."

• "Bring them to the playground when no one is here," shared a teacher. "They'll see it's not scary and feel more familiar with their surroundings when they come here on the first day."
• Help them learn how to be away from you and other familiar adults by leaving them in a positive daytime experience, such as summer camp and lessons. Bloomfield Hills Schools offers a variety of summer experiences for children of all ages. Learn more
• Learning to be social with strangers can be a struggle for some little ones. Meeting someone new and talking to them can be as easy as a trip to the local library, grocery store, or museum. You can also ask your child if they'd like to help you host a block party or join a playgroup. Social settings are important for children and teach them skills such as sharing and taking turns talking.
• Practice with your child ways of articulating what they need in a verbal way. "If a child taps on their glass, I'm not sure what they're asking me for," explained a teacher. In addition to knowing how to ask for things verbally, help teach your child how to politely get someone's attention.
• You can give your child a simple "test" of their attention span by reading an age-appropriate book to them. Can they sit next to you and listen to the entire book? "Ideally, they should be able to sit and listen to a book without touching the child next to them," said a teacher. "That's another important thing, learning to keep your hands to yourself," explained the teacher.
• >"Does your child know how to cope if something goes wrong?" asked a teacher. "If their juice tips over, will they watch it spill or will they react and clean it up? Some children may cry and not know how to cope with the lost juice. It's important that they learn how to react when bad things happen," explained the teacher.

Yes. Your child can attend kindergarten as long as they will be five-years-old on or by December 1. Please complete the kindergarten age waiver form below, and upload it with the documentation in the online enrollment process.

Kindergarten Age Waiver

The teachers challenged families to watch their child do something that they didn't think they could. You may not think your child can do something on their own, but the summer is a great time to challenge them, and yourself, to see if they can do it. A public restroom may not be the best place to try a solo potty experience for the first time, but opening a bottle of milk or putting a straw in a juice box may be worth a shot next time you're out to eat.

• What's your name? It's important that your child know their first and last name. It's even better if they know how to write it. Letters can, and most likely will, be backward, upside down, and only somewhat legible. "What's important is that they know their name and they're trying to write it," said one of the teachers. You can help your child by playing various name games. Write their name in chalk on the sidewalk and then have them "paint" over each letter with water, until each letter is gone. "Refrigerator letter magnets are wonderful," said a teacher. "So are window markers and bathtub crayons, if you don't mind the mess."
• To help children write properly and legibly, help them hold a pencil the right way by playing grasp and drop games. Children can stand and hold a toothpick or pencil, dropping it into a container below (such as an empty water bottle). This pinching grasp will get them familiar with the way a pencil feels in their hand as they write.
• "Read to your child every day," said a teacher. "And ask them questions about the story," added another. A child who is questioned about the characters in the story, what they predict will happen next, etc. will be better prepared for the teacher to ask questions during class. The teachers also suggested pointing with a finger to the word you're reading as you read it.
• Counting objects one at a time, called one-to-one counting, can make for loads of summer fun. Collect summer flowers on a walk and then count them, one at a time, when you get home. Open an empty egg carton and write a number in the dish of each egg space, from one to twelve. Then, using dimes, buttons, or other small objects, fill each egg space according to the number inside. Since sorting objects is also important, you can sort sea shells in groups of small, medium, and large. You can also ask your child to help you sort the laundry by color, type, or household family member.
• The grocery store is a great place to practice numbers, sorting, letters, color, and order, not to mention patience, problem solving (if they're out of an item you need), and meeting new people. Give your child their own grocery list with a picture, name, and quantity of each item you need. Your child will have great fun checking off each item!

Bloomfield Hills Schools kindergarten classrooms are child-centered, active learning environments. Students flourish when they are supported, engaged, empowered, and challenged. Teachers communicate regularly with families, individualizing the learning experience to meet each student’s needs. Our teachers inspire a passion for learning, the pride of accomplishment, and the joy of discovery. This special blend of intellectually stimulating learning and personal attention creates an ideal school experience.

English Language Arts

The kindergarten curriculum creates excitement about literacy. Reading to kindergarteners, and encouraging them to tell stories for someone to write down, teaches that print carries meaning and represents language. Carefully selected narratives help children discover the wealth of information and entertainment available to readers. Pre-reading activities, including learning letter names and sounds, recognizing common sight words and practicing beginning comprehension strategies builds a firm foundation for future literacy. Writing experiences are also an important part of the curriculum. Children learn to form upper and lower case letters and proper print format (left to right, top to bottom). They draw pictures and begin to write, sharing their stories and ideas with others. They later move into writing how-to books and persuasive writing.

Mathematics

The BHS mathematics curriculum is guided by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). This comprehensive curriculum is designed to help your child achieve the mathematical proficiency levels that will provide the foundation for further math courses. Though hands-on, engaging activities, students will become familiar with the following concepts in kindergarten:

• Numbers 1 to 100
• Understand addition as putting together and adding to
• Understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from
• Describe and compare measurable attributes
• Classify objects and count the number in each category Identify and describe shapes
• Analyze, compare, create and compose shapes

In the classroom, students and teachers will build a community in which they work together to communicate mathematically, by using a common language to solve problems, incorporating mathematical reasoning.

Science

Children figure out scientific concepts by investigating natural phenomena in a manner that encourages them to observe, reflect, explore, ask questions, and formulate in areas that are familiar to them. Topics include earth science (weather and the seasons, ecosystems); physical science (the physical properties of matter, how matter changes, energy, objects in motion); and life science (the five senses, life cycles of animals, heredity). Students are taught to use measurement tools and to illustrate data by constructing simple charts and graphs utilizing science and engineering practices.

Social Studies

The kindergarten social studies curriculum is designed to help children gain an increased awareness of themselves and the world through the lens of “Myself and Others.” Students will learn the foundation of what it means to be a historian by chronicling their own time (past, present, and future) and a geographer by utilizing maps to develop a geographic awareness of their world (home, school, and other relevant locations). As a preliminary foundation for the later study of government, children discuss appropriate rules for personal conduct. As community members, they participate in group activities and decision making. Kindergarten subjects are rarely taught in specified time blocks, but rather commingled so all learning is relevant and meaningful to students’ lives.

Enriching opportunities

Several “specials” or “encore” classes are offered throughout the week. Art and music classes are scheduled each week. The arts help us understand our own lives and identify with the lives of others. The arts are a driver of innovative thinking needed to solve our world’s most pressing problems. Physical and health education instruction addresses the benefits of fitness and good nutrition; activities encourage fair play and good sportsmanship. BHS offers Spanish instruction beginning in pre-kindergarten. At the kindergarten level the focus is developing an ear for other languages. Children learn greetings, basic nouns and verbs, colors, numbers and days of the week. Each of these “special” classes complement the kindergarten curriculum.

Media and digital literacy in kindergarten includes learning about the appropriate use of technology and the ethics surrounding such use.

• Our elementary schools run a weekday schedule of 9:10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
   
• In the event there is a half day, dismissal will take place at 12:30 p.m.

The morning and afternoon Latchkey program is designed to provide children with a safe, well-supervised environment. Activities include art, quiet study and reading areas, physical fitness, games, outdoor and indoor play. Our program is play-based and encourages a relaxed environment for the child who is in school all day. An afternoon snack is also provided daily.

Latchkey registration begins in July for the following school year.

Visit the Latchkey webpage for more details or email Latchkey@bloomfield.org.

School meals are planned to meet at least 1/3 of a student's recommended dietary allowance.
Each student meal includes a minimum of five required food items:

• Meat or meat alternate
• Fruit
• Vegetable
• Grains/bread
• Milk

A wide variety of foods are offered within each food group so that students can select a well-balanced meal!

Free or reduce priced meals are available for families who qualify.

Visit the Lunch webpage for more details.

Yes, Bloomfield Hills Schools offers bus transportation. It is the mission of the Transportation team at BHS to transport children safely, in mechanically sound vehicles, to and from school and school activities, with compassion, caring, and courtesy in a safe environment.

BHS has 58 buses that are excellently maintained by our mechanics. We have received excellent police inspections for our fleet for the past 30 years!

Visit the Transportation webpage for more details.