SECOND GRADE CLASSROOM PROCEDURES

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1 SECOND GRADE CLASSROOM PROCEDURES Take Home Folders - Please check your child s book bag each evening. Every day and night the students are held accountable for bringing back their green take home folders. There will often be notes from school or me that need to be looked over and sometimes may need a response right away. All papers and notes will be placed in the students green take home folder so they will not be lost or torn. All notes will be placed on the left side. Homework that is to be completed and returned the next day will be on the right side. Homework Policy: Each student s homework is due the following day unless otherwise noted. Late homework or book in the bags will result in pulling a bee. This year, students will be assigned various language arts and math activities throughout the week. Their homework will be posted on our second grade website each Friday for the upcoming week. As a second grader your child should spend on average minutes each night on school work. In addition, we encourage students to read minutes each night. As we move through the first few weeks of school we will begin to establish our homework routine. They may have 1-2 homework activities each night Monday through Thursday. Some of the homework assignments may include a math home link or practice activity, a math game, word works (spelling), writing response in their at home journals, book in the bag, math facts. I will have extra Home Link pages in the basket outside our classroom door in the event that your child forgets his/hers at school. Often, the classrooms are locked after school and students are not able to return to the classroom. Homework that is to be completed and returned the next day should be signed and placed on the right side of the take home folder. Behavior - Students are expected to follow Sugar Creek s school rules as well as the classroom rules. In addition to the school rules, our class will also be creating our own rules for the class to follow. If a student does not follow a rule, a verbal

2 reminder will be given. After that, a warning card will be placed on their desk. (The warning cards are for the first half of the year only.) If the behavior continues, the student will remove a bee and have five minutes away from class with a brief discussion with the teacher. On the second occurrence within the same day, another bee will be pulled and the child will be writing a note home explaining their actions. On the third occurrence within the same day, I will contact the parents either by phone, , or a note. In addition, they will take a trip to the principal s office. I hope to keep in close contact with parents in order to quickly eliminate misbehaviors by students. Each student will be bringing home a classroom contract within the next week so that you are better able to understand the classroom rules and consequences. At the end of each day, students who kept all their bees in their hive will receive a stamp on their hand. Please check for your child s stamp each night. If he/she has not received a stamp, please discuss the reason(s) he/she pulled a bee for that day. *Every Friday, each child will bring home their Bee-havior Counts recording sheet so that you are able to see how they did each week. If your child keeps all and/or but 2 bees, they will be participating in Friday Fun. Lunch Money Process: The money for your child s lunch should be brought to school inside a plastic baggie or envelope with your child s name on it and labeled LUNCH MONEY. Please try to send this to school on Mondays if possible. This money will then go to the office and Mrs. Vaughn will take care of your child s account accordingly. You also have the option to add money to your family s account online (all students/staff in one family in Unit 5 share one account). You can add to your account or check your balance through Skyward. Snacks- Your child is encouraged to bring a healthy snack each morning to school. This helps the transition between breakfast and lunch so that their learning potential is at its highest peak. Your child will be responsible for providing their own healthy snack to be eaten during our snack time only. Your child may want to bring an extra snack to be placed inside their book bag just in case they forget. Some examples of healthy snacks are the following-fruit, veggies, crackers, pretzels, goldfish, etc. *Please no drinks, dips, fruit cups or applesauce. **The students are welcome to bring in a water bottle on Mondays that can be used throughout the week and will be brought home on Fridays to be cleaned. Please make sure your child s water bottle has a spill-proof lid!

3 Book Share Time: As a way to promote literacy both at school and at home, I am asking that each child bring in a book at the beginning of each month. They will be responsible for having a book talk which will introduce the book to their classmates (what the book is about, their favorite part, if they received it as a gift, etc ). They are encouraged to bring in any type of reading material that is appropriate for school. Examples are books, magazines, comic books, poetry, newspaper article, chapter books, etc. This is an excellent way for students to see what their peers are reading, motivate children to read other genres, and to practice their oral speaking skills. A note will come home at the end of each month for this opportunity! Friday Information- Throughout the year, on most Fridays you will receive a couple of routine items that provide important information. 1. The first item will be a class newsletter titled Classy News. This newsletter will give you and your child a chance to review the items that we have accomplished through the week. It will also provide you with the upcoming events as well. This will be on our website *** Each week I will ask a question at the bottom of the page so that you and your child will be able to answer it together. This is a way of holding your child accountable for showing and reviewing the newsletter with you each week. An adult or parent will need to sign it and return it on Monday so that your child will be able to claim their prize for being accountable. The students also have a chance to enter our weekly drawing. 2. The second item is your child s Bee-havior Counts report. This lets you know how many Bees they have kept in their hive throughout the week. Our goal is to keep all of them in their hive in order to earn their Friday Fun. You will be getting more information about this after we have made up our classroom rules. 3. Book Orders: On the first Friday of every month, your child will receive a book order form. Book orders are completely optional, however it is an excellent opportunity for you and your child to purchase books to add to your home library at a very reasonable cost. The book order, along with a check is due back by the following Friday. Please make checks payable to the proper book company. Please no cash! You will also have an opportunity to place your book order online. I will send more information home about this later in the

4 year! The first book order will be sent home in September. Every order adds bonus points to our classroom account, which in return I use to purchase books for our classroom library. Book in a Bag: This year, on Mondays your child will be bringing home a book that corresponds to our weekly basal story. This book connects to the story that we read in class and will be at your child s independent reading level. They are encouraged to read the book at least two times (to themselves, a family member, a stuffed animal, a friend, a pet, etc.) The bag will contain the book and a reader s response. Your child should complete this response neatly with parent assistance as needed. The book, bag, and completed response form are due on Friday. We will do this throughout the year. More information will follow. Library: Each child will be allowed to check out two books per week from the Learning Center. These books must be returned in order for new books to be checked out, on the next Learning Center day. During his/her time in the Learning Center, each child will be able to work in the computer lab as well. I will notify you with our class check out day at the library. Birthdays: We love to celebrate birthdays at school! On your child s birthday, your child will have special privileges, and they are also a special helper for the day. The students will receive a birthday pencil, sticker and classroom full of wishes. **It is a school policy that students do not bring birthday snacks. They are welcome to share their birthdays with a treat bag, pencil, sticker, etc. with the class. Please let me know if you have any questions. In regards to birthday parties outside of school, I have an All or None policy. I request of all parents in my room to NOT send invitations with your child to pass out at school, UNLESS everyone in the class is invited. This avoids others from getting hurt feelings. In addition to the birthday parties, I am not able to give ANY addresses out for any type of invitation. I hope you understand. Please let me know if your child can not celebrate birthdays or holidays. Star of the Week - Once things in our class begin to settle down, our class will begin Star of the Week. This is an opportunity for each child to shine. I will do this in random order. I will send a note and poster home notifying you and your child the Friday before their special week. Over the weekend, the star student and their family are to complete the poster that is provided. They are encouraged to either draw or tape on additional pictures to the poster. They may also bring one

5 stuffed animal, favorite book, or special treasure to share. All week, the star student will be a helper. On Monday, the star student will present the poster to the class and it will be hung on the bulletin board for the week. On Tuesday, the class will create a special book about the star student. On Wednesday, your child will present their current event to the class first thing in the morning. Also, they will have the opportunity to read their favorite picture book to the class. On Thursday, your child will have the chance to sit in my desk during morning work time. Then, on Friday, your child will be bringing home their star of the week book along with their special items. In addition to this, on the last Thursday of each month, the second grade teachers will have the star students eat lunch together. More details will follow when your child is the star student!! Portfolios- I believe that students learn best by assessing their own work. It is rewarding to monitor growth as a teacher. It is extremely important that students self-monitor their growth as well. In order to do this in the classroom, we will be keeping a lot of our work and writings at school. There will be three important portfolios kept at school. Each student will have an academic portfolio that is kept in the classroom. Each student will have a traveling school portfolio that will be sent on through their remaining years at Sugar Creek. The students will keep a writing portfolio which contains their writing pieces from Writer s Workshop. The students will be given several opportunities to review these pieces. I would like to encourage you to keep a portfolio of your child s work at home as well. Lines of Communication- I will be sending home a hard copy of all notes and newsletters this year. Usually, they can also be found on our classroom website: Please be sure to always check your child s folder and our Friday Classy Newsletter. I will work diligently to keep the lines of communication open. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me as soon as possible! I can only help solve a problem if I know what the problem is. is usually the best way to contact me, as I will always respond within 24 hours. I encourage parents to spend at least 20 minutes each night with your child, reading, completing homework, reviewing the day or playing games. You are your child s first, and most important teacher! By involving yourself in your child s school day and experience, you are helping set the tone for a fun, successful year!

6 I know that this is a lot of information to swallow, so please do not hesitate to call, write, or make an appointment to stop by. I am positive that once we all get into the swing of things, everything will be smooth sailing!!! Thanks for your continued support. I am very eager to work with you and your child! How Parents Can Help Be positive about school. Make sure your child arrives at school on time. Make sure your child has school supplies. Build responsibility for tasks at school by giving your child tasks at home. Teach your child not to interrupt, but to become a good listener. Provide a time and place for study. Read with your child. Sincerely, Katie Nelson You may contact me at nelsonk@unit5.org