Welcome Back!!

Welcome to 2nd Grade!

Dear Parents and Students of Room 112,

Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing, and fun Christmas break. I just wanted take the moment to say thank you for your generosity in regards to Christmas. I truly appreciated the kind gestures!

I am looking forward to an awesome school year together! We have quite an exciting year ahead of us, especially with the sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. It is such a blessing to teach your children and help prepare them for these sacraments. I am eager to get to know you and your families.

Email is the best way to contact me going forward. I check my email when I come into school at 7:30 and right before I leave school by 3:30.

2019 Goals:

This week as we have entered back into our school routine, we took time to develop classroom and individual goals for 2019!

The students wrote down their goals on post it notes and placed them on the easel in the front of the room.

Our classroom goals for 2019 include:

1) Choosing kindness in everyone

2) Trying our best everyday

3) Respecting others and treating everyone like a friend

Some of the personal goals that the students wrote include:

1) Remembering to S.O.A.R.

2) Trying my personal best everyday

3) Being the best student I can be.

2nd Grade Weighted Grading: Updated on March 9th:

Classwork is 30%

Tests are 40%

Quizzes are 20%

Homework is 10%

Please check PowerSchool weekly as grades are updated on a weekly basis throughout the trimester!

Below you will find the classroom expectations and procedures to help make this year go smoothly. Please never hesitate to contact me via email at ewardell@stbarnabasparish.org with any questions or concerns.

Behavior-“Treat others the way you want to be treated” is a way of life in our classroom and at St. Barnabas. I expect every student, teacher, staff member, and visitor to follow this rule.

Misbehavior, in its various forms takes valuable time away from everyone in our classroom. It is my job to make sure each student receives a quality education and with constant distractions this becomes much more difficult. On day one of second grade, I will introduce and enforce our second grade behavior system. We use the same clip system that the students used in first grade. More details about the behavior system will be explained at Back to School Night. See Parent/Student Handbook for additional details.

Homework-Homework is giving nightly. It is expected to be done neatly and handed in on time. We encourage you to help your children with their homework but please let them try it on their own first. Homework is a time to review the skills/lessons that were taught during the day. Please let me know if your child is struggling each night with his/her homework.

Assignment Notebook- In Second Grade, we introduce assignment notebooks. Students are expected to write their homework down daily. Please reinforce the importance of writing down homework to your children. As the years go on, this becomes a very important organizational skill.

Spelling- Students will be tested on 14-16 words each week. Tests will be given on Thursdays. Students will be given their spelling words and spelling homework menu on the Friday before. All homework must be turned in by Thursday.

Graded work/ Power School- All graded work will be sent home on Fridays in your child’s Friday folder. Please make sure to go over your child’s work with them as it comes home. Please check Power School frequently to stay up to date on your child’s progress and grade.

2019 Grading Policy Explanation (UPDATED):

This year we have married the two grading approaches of points and weighted categories. We have a point range for types of assignments (e.g. tests can be anywhere between 50-100 points, quizzes 10-25 points, etc.), and those are added up within "weighted" categories, such as "tests," "projects," "homework," etc., where each category counts for a certain final percentage of the overall grade. For example, tests are worth 50% of the final trimester grade, homework worth 10%, and so on. This is a common practice of standardization of grading among many elementary and high schools and helps to ensure grades strike a balance balance in terms of showing both proficiency and effort.

Please never hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns at anytime.

Birthdays- We will be continuing with non-edible treats. Birthdays will be celebrated in the homeroom. The birthday child may pass out his/her non-edible treat to share with their class or donate a book to the classroom library in his/her name. If an edible treat is brought to school, it will be sent home to ensure the well- being of all of our students. I truly appreciate your cooperation with this important safeguard for our children. Summer birthdays will be celebrated towards the end of the school year. Currently we have 22 students in our classroom.

A little background information about myself. I am a 2018 graduate of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. I graduated with a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Spanish. I am originally from the Chicago area and attended Cardinal Joseph Bernardin Catholic School in Orland Park and Marist High School before I attended Purdue University. An interesting fact about myself is that I completed my Senior Service experience at St. Barnabas when I was a senior at Marist.

I am excited to begin my teaching experience at St. Barnabas in the Beverly community. I am looking forward to a wonderful year with you and your children.

I enjoyed meeting and seeing many of you at back to school parent night, which is Thursday, September 7th @ 7pm in the church. Please feel free to contact me at anytime with any questions or concerns.

Thanks,

Ms. Wardell

ewardell@stbarnabasparish.org