Newsletter & 2nd Grade Calendar

Week of August 22nd, 2021:

Weekly Updates: Welcome to our first weekly update! You can expect to receive an email from me every Sunday evening with a link to our weekly update. These updates can also be found on our classroom website under the “Communication” tab. In each update, I will include important announcements, information about upcoming events, and a brief summary of what we are learning in class each week.

Masks: As you know, all students and teachers at Ford will be required to start wearing masks this upcoming Monday (8/23). Please make sure your student brings additional masks in their backpack in each day. It is also extremely helpful if your student knows which pocket of their backpack they can find their extra masks. :)

Back to School Night: We will be hosting a Back to School Night on Thursday evening (8/26). This event is intended for adults only. You will have a chance to learn more about the school as a whole and I will be presenting about what to expect in second grade this year. I will also explain the behavior management strategies I use in the classroom and provide a brief overview of the curriculums we use. The schedule for Back to School Night is:

Thursday, August 26, 2021

5pm - 5:25pm - All School Presentation

• Come learn about many of the things happening at FORD - School Cafetorium

5:30 - 5:55pm - Classroom Presentations

• Visit your child's classroom to learn more about their day

6:00 - 6:25pm - Repeat of classroom presentations

6:30 - 6:55pm - Repeat of All School Presentation

Please plan to attend the presentations that work for you.

Chromebooks: In second grade, students are expected to bring their Chromebooks (laptops) home every night, charge them, and bring them back to school the following day. We are hoping to have our Chromebooks ready to send home this week. I will be providing more information about Chromebooks, chargers, and log-in credentials at Back to School Night.

Snacks and Water Bottles: As a reminder, your student should be bringing one healthy snack and a filled water bottle to school each day. Please label your child’s water bottle with their first and last name.

Specials: Starting this week, we will have the same special every day for the entire week. This week, our class will go to Art.

This week in literacy we will:

• Continue our “Warm-Up” unit of Superkids

• Review first grade phonics skills such as vowel teams and ‘magic e’

• Review how to write complete sentences with proper punctuation and capitalization

This week in math we will:

• Take a pre-assessment

• Continue Unit 1 of Bridges (you can follow that link to learn more about what is covered in Unit 1)

Week of August 15, 2021

The first two days of school have flown! I am thrilled to have your child in class and am looking forward to the year ahead.

• You can expect to hear our class updates each week on Monday, as well as what we are learning.

• This week, we are working on establishing our classroom routines and expectations as well as getting to know our school!

• Our specials schedule this week is: Monday: STEAM Tuesday: Art Wednesday: Music Thursday: PE Friday: STEAM

• We have a morning snack time if you would like to send your student with a healthy snack each day. Also, students should bring a water bottle each day.

• We have a few upcoming lessons in our reading unit about letter writing. If your student does not know their address, could you please help them remember their name, address, and birthday? Thank you for your support!

• A reminder that this Wednesday is a late start day. This means that the soft start is at 8:45 and school starts at 9 am.

• On August 26th from 6-7:30 is our back to school night.

• If your dismissal plan has changed from what you originally told me on the transportation form, could you please let me know? Thanks!

Thank you for your support!

Valerie Taft