Second grade is a HUGE shift and change for students. They will be learning self responsibility and expectations between the classroom and home. Communication between you as parents/guardians and myself as their teacher will be crucial this year to your students second grade successes! Please do not forget that I am on your team and wish nothing but success for your child throughout this school year!
I will be sending home graded work and important papers/forms via student mailboxes. I will not be maintaining student's personal folders. If you wish for them to bring papers home in a folder, please provide one for them to do so. Students will be expected to check their personal mailboxes in the classroom, bring home their "mail" in their folder or backpack and empty them at home. Again, this is something that is new and big for students to learn to be responsible for themselves, at school AND at home!
I believe that homework is a great tool for building student responsibility and forming healthy study habits!! Homework is also a really great way to keep families in the loop on what we are up to in class and how your student is progressing academically. Homework will NOT begin until at least mid September. Please be on the look out for updates on that to come.
Homework will be sent home on Monday's and will be expected to be turned in on Friday's. Homework will be review work that students have shown mastery of within the classroom and is meant to be a practice and refresh assignment. I also reward the work and responsibility weekly. These rewards typically are popsicles/ice cream or another class preferred reward.
If your student was previously enrolled in the MSBSD, they should already have a Chromebook checked out to them. If your student is new to the district, they will have their own Chromebooks checked out to them (much like a library book) for the school year. Chromebooks and chargers will remain at school.
It is important for students to bring a water bottle to school EVERY DAY. Please make this a habit when preparing snack or lunches in the morning. There are no water bottles available for students in class. We have refillable water bottle stations at school and water fountains within the classroom.
I would love to bring parents into the classroom! I will reach out when I am needing help!
We will be doing fundraising throughout the year. During our open house, there will be posters in the hallway for you to volunteer for our grade level needed volunteers!
PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE the open house before letting the school know your child's daily go home routine! If you were unable to attend the Open House on Aug. 14, please send me an email ASAP so that I can make sure your child gets home without any hiccups on the first day/week of school!!
Please do not tell your child if he/she is a pick up/bus change before the school day. Call the front office when plans are finalized. Per district request, we are not to make dismissal changes. Teachers receive these change of routine messages at the very end of each school day.
Please make sure that you are utilizing Pikmykid for dismissal changes! This is the system the school district uses to ensure that students are going home as they are supposed to each day.
FIELD TRIPS
Save the date-ish: May 2026!!!
We will be going to Seward!! We will take a tour bus from school, stopping at the the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center for a self guided walking tour along the way. Then we will continue on to Seward for a lunch and then onto a self guided tour of the Seward Sealife Center. This was the trip we did the last two years and it has been an absolute blast!!
We will have another field trip during the fall as well. We do not have dates or a solid plan at this time. We typically like to take the kids bowling around Halloween or Thanksgiving. Please be on the lookout for that information on Parent Square.
Students go outside for recess daily for 30 minutes. Please make sure your child is prepared for the weather with appropriate gear. Some days may be indoor recess due to rain or colder than -10 degrees.
If you are planning a birthday party for your child at home, please refrain from bringing invitations to school unless the entire class (or all boy/girl party) is invited. Children are very sensitive at this age. They may pass invitations before or after school. Thanks for you cooperation on this matter.
Second Grade will not be participating in edible birthday treats this year. If you wish to send in something to share with the class, please choose something that is not a food item. Thank you for your understanding.
COMMUNICATION
Communication and trust between you as parents/guardians and myself, as their teacher, will be crucial this year to your students second grade successes! Please do not forget that I am on your team and wish nothing but success for your child! Please email me or message me on Parent Square with questions and/or concerns!
I understand that sometimes you may have questions or important needs to communicate with me outside of regular school hours. Please understand that I will do my best to respond in a timely manner, but sometimes I may not be able to get back to you immediately. I appreciate your understanding and grace with me, as I have a lot of school responsibilities, as well as be a wife and mother of small children.
I will be at school and available between 8:45 am and 4:15 pm, Monday through Friday (unless there is no school).