Spring is almost here, and that means it’s time for the next round of kindergarten registration in Beaufort County Schools.

Registration and screenings begin as early as March 22 at Eastern Elementary School and go until May 25 there. Bath Elementary, Chocowinity Primary, Northeast Elementary and S.W. Snowden Elementary schools all hold screenings in April.

To register, a child must be 5 years old on or before Aug. 31, 2016, to enroll for kindergarten during the 2016-17 school year.

Melissa Dana, principal at Eastern Elementary School, said there are a variety of factors that teachers assess while a child is being screened, including name spelling, sounds and ability to follow directions.

When the General Assembly passed a requirement for the Kindergarten Entry Assessment this school year, Dana said she has noticed the kindergarten level mixing in social skills with academics, rather than just focusing on academics, as was the case in years past.

“Now, with the new legislation with the Kindergarten Entry Assessment … it takes in some of those pre-K issues of the whole child,” she said. “People have a different outlook from what it used to be.”

Bridging the gap between pre-K and kindergarten is a positive move, according to Dana, and evidence of this is already apparent in the classroom.

Dana said Eastern’s 16 kindergarten classes are trying to incorporate “purposeful play,” which creates learning opportunities within the students’ centers. Another example is how some of the students acted out situations in a dental office, combining playtime with learning, she said.

“Play is not play for the sake of play. It is purposeful play,” Dana said. “They actually practice those academics.”

Kimberly Jacobson, a kindergarten teacher at Eastern Elementary, said the school is also holding a Readiness Night for parents to learn how to prepare their children for kindergarten.

Teachers can use the assessment from the registration screening to suggest areas in which a parent could help a child improve his or her knowledge, Jacobson said.

She said kindergarten teachers are expecting to see different learning levels within the classroom, and they use that disparity to the students’ advantage.

“They can work together and help each other,” Jacobson said. “It (assessment) gives them an idea of what they can work on.”

“Kindergarten is where learning begins,” Dana said. “They’re so wide open and they’re so ready.”

To register a child, parents should bring two proofs of residency, as well as a certified birth certificate, immunization records, a health assessment (available at registration) and an eye exam, although it is optional.

For more information or for a full list of registration dates, call Beaufort County Schools at 252-946-6593.