The A-Z's of 2nd Grade Presented @ B2S Night

A-Zs of Second Grade!

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Absences: Please email me or call the office if your child will not be here.  If you do not call, Mrs. Trumbley will call to follow up on your child's location.  If your child is sick, please keep them home until they are fever free without medicine for 24 hours.

Allergies:  We have a severe allergy to peanuts and white beans in our classroom.  Our classroom is a nut free room. Please check labels for anything that says peanuts, peanut oil, or made in a factory with peanuts.  On the last page is a list of safe snacks. If you are interested in further information about food allergies, you can check out https://www.foodallergy.org  If your child brings in a snack that is unsafe, I will ask them to put it away to be eaten later at lunch or at home.  I will provide them with a snack so they are not hungry. If you have any questions about the food that you are sending in for snack time, birthday treats, or parties please feel free to email me or Nicole Svienty at nsvienty123@yahoo.com.  We appreciate your help in keeping Room 104 a safe environment.

Art: Art class will be held every B,  C, and E days with Mrs. Warsaw. Art shirts are being provided by me.

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Bead Jar:  Students are encouraged to work as a team to earn beads for our bead jar.  When the jar is filled, they make a list and vote on the reward. I will post to the blog when we are having a reward day in case you want to confirm your child’s story.

Bear Necessities: These are the ways we can practice our school motto, which is  "Be Responsible Everyday. Always be Respectful and Safe." Children will meet with our school counselor Mrs. Van Hekken once every 6-day cycle for SEL (social emotional learning) time.

Birthday treats: Birthday treats are welcome. We do have a severe nut allergy in our room so please be aware of this when choosing treats. Currently we have 27 children in our room.  Your child may want to pass additional treats.  Please keep this to 4-6 extra treats so they are not missing too much learning time.

Book Orders:  Flyers will come home most months.  When ordering online use order code H3JBZ. You may also send in the order with a check made out to Scholastic Books if you prefer.

Box Tops:  These can be found on many different items you purchase and bring our school money.  We collect them in our classroom. Thank you in advance for sending them.

Buzzer:  We have a secure front door with a buzzer system.  Please know your student will have to be buzzed in if late or arriving during school hours.  

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Computer Lab Time: We will visit the lab one time per cycle.  Our day is C-day. Parent involvement is welcome and appreciated.  

Conferences: Please sign up tonight by the office.  I intend to conference on October 7th, 8th, and 9th in the morning, after school, and each evening. I will send a note home toward the end of September confirming your time.  If a time does not work with your schedule, I will find a time that does in the following week.  

is for…Discipline: Our class will be using a method called 1,2,3 Magic. When a student demonstrates an undesirable behavior (talking out of turn, disrespecting others, etc) the teacher says, “That’s one”. If the behavior continues the teacher tells the student “That’s two.”  At this point the student has had two warnings to stop the behavior. If the behavior continues the student is given a “three”. The students have been told that if they have a three, it will result in a conference with me to discuss what happened, why it happened, and what they must do differently so it does not happen again.  If the behavior continues beyond that, your student and I will work together to write a note home to you so that you are aware of what is occurring.

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E-mail:  My email address is cstarks@sjschools.org please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.   I do check this a few times during the day as well as in the evening.  If you have me as cborah@sjschools.org, please remove that as it will be turned off soon.

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Family: You are your child's first and most important teacher!  Please talk to your child daily about school.  

Field Trips: We will be going to Calling All Colors, the Planetarium, Sarett Nature Center, The Heritage Museum, the Silver Beach Carousel, and the bluff in St. Joseph for a tour of the historical monuments.   Please complete the field trip form before you leave this evening. Thank you!

is for…Gym: Physical Education is held on D and F days.   Mr. Phaler is the teacher. Children need to have gym shoes each time.

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Homework: My goal for the homework is to reinforce classroom skills, practice neatness, and learn responsibility.  Homework will come home each night Monday through Thursday. The activities will vary across the subjects. Please feel free to help your child and check their work. Parent involvement is important.  The paper-work should never be any more than 20 minutes. If your child struggles with it in anyway, please don’t push. Instead, write me a note telling me what didn’t work so I know how to help. When it comes to grading, students will receive a check plus, check, or check minus based on correct answers and neatness.  

is for…I PICK Good Fit Books:     I PICK stands for

I choose a book

Purpose-why do I want to read it?

Interest-Does it interest me?

Comprehend-Am I understanding what I am reading?

Know-I know most of the words

iXL math:  We will have access to the iXL math website again this year.   I will structure your child’s math around their individual needs. We will talk more about this during conferences.

is for…Journals:  We will write almost daily in our journals.  Topics will include everyday subjects that are familiar to the children.  This is a wonderful way for children to become comfortable with the writing process and gain confidence in who they are as writers.

is for....Kindness: Students in our classroom are encouraged and expected to treat all members of our class as well as others with kindness and respect.

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Laps For Lincoln:  This is our main fundraiser of the year.  Our culminating celebration will be on Friday, October 4th at Lincoln from 5-7.  More information will be coming home on Friday, September 20th.

Lexia:  This is a wonderful program produced by the same company that created Rosetta Stone.  It has an engaging platform that helps fill in holes and build key reading skills. My goal for your child is that they complete his or her required minutes and units each week.  They should not need to do this at home as plenty of school time is given for accomplishing this goal. In addition I would ask that you DO NOT help them with this. I monitor my teacher page very closely and if they are struggling with something I take that opportunity for a small group lesson where we can talk and work with the material together.  Thank you for your cooperation on this.

Library: Library is held once a cycle on B day.  When students borrow books from the school library they must return them on the following library day.   I allow them one chapter book and one non-chapter book.

Lunch: Our lunch is from 11:45-12:35.   Lunch and milk money can be sent in an envelope or baggie with your child's name on it.  You may also make a deposit online at the SJPS website. You may come eat with your child.  Sign in at the office and meet us outside of the lunchroom.

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Music: Music class is held on A and C days.   Ms. Mac is our music teacher. Our program will be on Thursday November 21st at 3:00 and 6:00.

Moby:  This is a wonderful online program for all subject areas.  We as 2nd grade teachers will use this program to track and differentiate your child’s 2nd grade math learning.  I will talk more about this at conferences.

Math Center: We will have math center each week. The 2nd grade expectation is to complete Wizard Levels A, B, C, & D by the end of May.   I will talk about my expectations for your child at our conference in October. Math facts are very important to me and I will be a very big advocate to your child being fluent with his or her addition & subtraction facts.  

is for…News. Any news about the classroom can be found on sjschools.itslearning.com or on our blog which is starks2019-2020.blogspot.com.  For news about the school please check Mr. Hubble’s blog which is sjlincolnschool.blogspot.com.

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One hour delay.  Our delays are on most Wednesdays and will be in the weekly update each week.

Organized.  Students are encouraged to stay organized with their folders between school and home, with their desk area, and with their work.  We are off to a great start!!!

is for…Parties: We will have a Halloween, Winter Holiday, and Valentine's Day party.  Your help is needed and greatly appreciated in making these parties successful.  Please see the sign-up sheet to help with planning and supplies. Thank you so much!!

P.T.O.: Each year this organization works hard to provide activities and essentials for Lincoln Elementary.  Monthly meetings are at lunch and parents are encouraged to attend. Your help with any volunteering time you can give is greatly appreciated.  

is for…Questions? Please feel free to inquire about any questions or concerns.  I prefer you use email as this method is the easiest for me to respond to.

is for…Reading: Please make sure your child reads or is read to for at least 15-20 minutes each night.  Reading every night increases your child's success with reading. Reading to them is also good as this models fluency.   They should fill in their log every night.

is for…Snack:  We have snack two times a day around our recess time which varies each day.  Please remember to pack only peanut free options and also small portions of finger food that can easily be eaten while we work.  If you send food that needs a spoon, please send a spoon as I don’t have those. Foods like pretzels, snack bars, fruit vegetables or small crackers would be great for snack.   I often have a bag of pretzels in case someone forgets.

Star of the Week:  Each child will be a star for a week.  During their week, they will bring home a letter describing the week.  They will also bring home a poster for them to fill out as well as an estimation jar to fill.  They should bring their estimation jar and poster to school on Monday. During your child's week they may bring sharing everyday and have the option to celebrate their birthday or half birthday.  The schedule is on the blog for your reference.

Spelling:  In 2nd grade we use sound spelling during the writing process and then dictionaries during the proofreading process.   Please encourage your child to sound spell at home. If they ask you how to spell something, sound it out and have them tell you what sounds they hear.  Thank you!

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Take Home Folders: Your child has been given a blue “take home” folder.  This folder will provide a link between home and school. We put any papers that need to be returned in the “Return to School” pocket. Other papers that are no longer needed at school are put in the “Keep at Home” pocket. This is a great organizational tool for your child. Please help your child review and clean out their folders each night.   

Thanksgiving Luncheon:  Our luncheon is on November 14th.  This is a time where staff and students sit to eat together.  We enjoy a lunch with our 5th grade buddies. Parents and grandparents may join this lunch as volunteer servers. .

is for…Unique: Each student is unique. Children come with a variety of personalities and learning preferences. Some children are strong visual learners and can see a word once or twice and remember it forever. Other children are better auditory learners and can easily hear and blend sounds to figure out many words. Some children need a lot of structure and guidance; other children are very self-directed and learn best when they can choose topics about which they want to read and write. In our classroom, various instructional techniques and methods will be used to help all students be successful and to meet the individual needs of each student.

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Visitors: Visitors are welcome, however they are required to use the front door and check in at the office and obtain a visitors pass.  

Volunteer:  I will have ways for you to volunteer in the classroom including helping with parties, and being in the computer lab.  If you are interested you will need to fill out necessary forms and have a background check. If you completed this process last year, you still need to fill out the forms as this is a yearly requirement. 

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Websites: This year, Mr Hubble’s blog (sjlincolnschool.blogspot.com) will be the ideal website for information about Lincoln School.  For classroom information please either check our classroom blog (starks2019-2020.blogspot.com) or itslearning (sjschools.itslearning.com).   

Weekly Update:  This is an update, posted to the blog every week, providing information for the week and month ahead. 

is for…X-periences!  I know that the students will have many fun and interesting learning experiences this year!   Please be sure to contact me at anytime you are concerned. I want this to be a great year for your child.

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Year’s Worth:  My goal for your child is a year’s worth of growth (at least).  This means where-ever your child is academically, my goal is to grow them at least one year.

This will be a wonderful year and it will zoom by! I am so happy to have your child in my class and I know we are going to have a fantastic year of learning!! Thank you.