Kindergarten registration set for February 23, 2012 

            All children ready to enter kindergarten in the fall can register on Thursday, February 23 from 1-6 p.m. at several Carteret County Public Schools across the county. All children five years of age on or before August 31, 2012, are eligible for enrollment in public school kindergarten.

Parents or guardians are urged to register their children on this date. Registering students helps principals and teachers assign students to classes, ensure that enough teachers are hired and that classes are not overcrowded. Those students registering on February 23 will also be given information about spring and summer activities that schools are planning to ensure a smooth transition for students entering kindergarten.

            Registration for the 2012-2013 school year will be conducted from1-6 p.m. at:
            • Atlantic Elementary School,
            • Beaufort Elementary School,

            • Bogue Sound Elementary School,

            • Harkers Island Elementary School,
            • Morehead City Primary School,

            • Newport Elementary School,
            • Smyrna Elementary School, and
            • White Oak Elementary School.

            According to Elementary Education Director Lisa Kittrell, kindergarten registration takes place in Carteret County on the last Thursday of February each year. Seventy-nine percent of the students that started kindergarten last fall applied at last year’s kindergarten registration in February. Each site will have activities set up on February 23 for the rising kindergartners and their parents or guardians. As an added convenience, parents can register their child at one school on February 23 and that application will transfer to the appropriate school if the family moves during the summer upon the parents’ notification.

            “We strive to make the kindergarten registration process as easy as possible for parents and fun for children,” Mrs. Kittrell said. “We want parents and children to be comfortable with the process and be excited about attending school.

            “The February 23 date is very important and we would like all rising kindergartners to be registered on that date to help with the school system’s planning and budgeting,” Mrs. Kittrell continued. “This impacts the number of teachers hired, the assignment of students to classes and the amount of supplies purchased.”  Mrs. Kittrell encouraged parents to make sure they have a certified copy of their child’s birth certificate.

            Parents should take their child to the school in the area where they live on registration day along with the following required items:

            1. a certified birth certificate (mother’s copy will not accepted);

            2. the child’s immunization record/shot records

            (A physician, health clinic or local health department administering the required vaccines must give a Certificate of Immunization to the person who presented the child for immunization. The certificate/record must include the following: name, sex and date of birth; name and address of parent/guardian; number of vaccine doses given; date vaccines were given; and signature of physician or health department stamp.); and

            3. proof of the child’s home address (such as a utility bill).

            For more information about these registration dates or about kindergarten, call the school office or call Debbie Baysden at the Carteret County Public School System central services office at 252-728-4583, ext. 127.