Welcome Back letter for the 23-24 school year. You will find information about classroom expectations, rules, consequences, grading, homework, and agendas.
Dear Second Graders and Parents,
Welcome to second grade! We have an exciting year planned for everyone!
DAILY HOMEWORK:
The weekly homework sheet will help to keep you informed of reminders, tests, and homework assignments. This sheet will be kept in the back clear pocket of your child’s green folder that is provided by the school. Practice work done in class will be sent home on the “Keep at Home” side of the folder daily, please try to take out the “Keep at Home” papers everyday. Please review the practice work at home on a daily basis, the tricky/ decodable words, and the targeted sounds/spellings are on the back. Math homework workbook will be sent home and is to be kept at home. The lessons that the students should be working on will be on the homework sheet. You will do a lesson a day. Homework from the workbook does not need to be turned in. The fact sheet homework will need to be returned everyday! If a student completes all of their homework for the week, they will receive some kind of incentive….pencil, candy, etc. I try not to give too much homework.☺
AR:
Accelerated Reader is a huge part of growth in reading comprehension in the 2nd grade. In the first grade, we learn how to read. In the 2nd grade, we use reading for comprehension and application purposes. AR is the key to that goal. A student’s ability to choose a book of interest at their reading level is so powerful. I hope that parents help with this goal, by encouraging their children to read AR books nightly. Have your child read either the whole book or part of the book to you. Ask them to go over what the story was about with you. Talking about what they read is important as well. I am putting the tools to become proficient readers by pushing AR in my classroom, and home support is key to that success.
WEEKLY GRADES:
Letter grades will be given in mathematics, reading, spelling, and language. The following grading system will be used:
93-100% A
85- 92% B
75- 84% C
67- 74% D
0- 66% F
SNU grades will be given in handwriting, social studies/science, and music/art. (See school handbook).
Graded papers for each week will normally go home on Thursdays. If they do go home on a different day, you will be informed of this. Please review the work with your child, sign the top behavior report and return the entire stack to school the next day. If a student does not return sign papers, they will not get the next set until the others are returned.
BEHAVIOR POLICY:
Classroom rules will be discussed in class. The rules are also visible on the conduct sheet that is placed in the front clear pocket of the green communication folder. Each week, a behavior report will be sent home with graded papers. The report will contain a weekly conduct grade. Also, there will be graded papers attached to this report. These show grades taken during the previous week. Please wait to sign the behavior report when they are sent home with sign papers. This shows us that you have reviewed behavior report as well as graded papers.
REMIND 101:
It is very important to sign up for remind 101 as I will send frequent text messages regarding upcoming assignments, tests, and events. Instructions on how to sign up will be sent home with your child during the first week of school.
SNACK/WATER:
Students may bring a healthy snack to school. Snacks are not provided by the school. No peanut products, as IES is a peanut free school, and we do have a student who is allergic to peanut products in our class; therefore I will be checking snacks before students eat them. For snacks, they may have a pouch/straw type juice. No open bottles, containers that can be easily knocked down or spilled, for example….powerade or soft drinks. Students can also bring a water bottle daily. Please ONLY put water in these bottles.
INDIVIDUAL SUPPLIES:
Students will need a 17’ desk caddy (chair back).
Headphones
Students may also bring a coloring book to use during free time.
CURRICULUM:
Our math curriculum is Eureka Math and our ELA program is the Core Knowledge curriculum (CKLA). Each of these programs pushes students to do higher order thinking and use problem solving skills. My goal as their teacher is to implement the programs in a way that is interesting and inspires learning.
Please note the following:
Drop off time starts at 7:10. If students would like to eat breakfast, they need to be dropped off by 7:20. Class starts at 7:40, if you drop your child off after 7:40 you must walk them down and sign them in. Dismissal time is 3:40. If you need to get your child before dismissal time, you must sign him/her out in the front office. If your child's transportation changes for the day/week, you must call the office or a note must be sent or they will be sent home their usual way.
Green communication folders will be sent home with the children daily with information on completed classwork. Please check this folder each evening for homework and behavior communication. A parent’s initial is needed each day on the conduct section of the folder. You may send notes through the conduct portion of this folder, located in the front clear cover of the folder. Please do not take out any of the papers in the plastic sleeves inside the folder, this is for in class use.
Sign papers will be sent home every Thursday.
If you send money to school with your child, please place the money in a sealed envelope marked with your child’s name, teacher's name and the purpose for sending the money. Please send separate checks if paying for more than one thing (For example, field trip money can be paid with a check, but a spirit shirt would have to be purchased with a separate check.)
Again, I look forward to making this year a great one!
Thank you for sharing your child with me,
Mrs. Jena LaCombe