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- What is your discipline policy?
- Can I send a birthday snack on my child's birthday?
- What is the Scholastic Book Order my child brought home?
- Does my child have homework today?
- What is a HORSE?
- What are 'Snazzy Snacks'?
- How do I opt out of having my child's photo posted on the class website?
- How can I get involved helping out in class?
- What are these "Types" of writing my child is bringing home?
- What other programs does Central use in their curriculum?
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What is your discipline policy?
In order to maintain an orderly environment where all
children have equal opportunity to learn, we will be using a 'Go for the
Green' behavior reminder, coupled with the school's "Citizenship Points"
system.
In the "Citizenship Points" system, all second graders are given 12 points
at the start of each month. When a student in our class must move to "Red"
they will lose one point. At the end of the month, all students with even
one point remaining will participate in the grade-level incentive for the
month.
You can read more about this new policy in the school's handbook.
Here is how our "Go for the Green" system will work: since every day is a
new day, children will start out each day on 'Green'. Students will be
given a verbal reminder to correct their behavior. If the behavior
persists,they will have to move to 'Yellow'. This will result in the loss
of 5 minutes of recess. If a second warning is given, they are moved
to 'Red' and lose 2 citizenship points and their next recess so that they
can fill out a "Behavior Reflection" sheet that must be signed and returned
the next day.
I believe that children need to be responsible for their actions and their
choices, so if your child must move themself to 'Red' during the day, he/she
will fill out a behavior reflection sheet that we will go over together.
He/She will bring it home to discuss with parents/guardians. It must be
signed by a parent/guardian and returned the following school day.
Please see the "rules" section of this site for more detailed information.
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Can I send a birthday snack on my child's birthday?
Your child's birthday is an exciting day! In class, they will
get to keep our 'Birthday Hamster' on their desk for the day! They will also
receive a birthday book created they their classmates, as well as get to pick
their pencil from the 'Birthday Blooms' box in the window.
I will gladly set aside about 20 minutes for us to celebrate your child's
birthday with a birthday snack. Cupcakes, popsicles, and other individual
serving items work well! Remember to send napkins too!
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What is the Scholastic Book Order my child brought home?
For families wishing to participate in our book order program,
an order form will come home about once a month. You are welcome to place
an order for your child. Keep in mind that every purchase you make earns
points that I can use to order special books, games, and other rescources
for our classroom!!
If you choose to order books, please send your order form back with your
money (a check or money order made out to "Scholastic")by the date written
on the form. Please keep in mind that I cannot order your
books without your payment!
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Does my child have homework today?
Homework will be assigned each day, Monday through Thursday.
Please check your child's homework folder and initial the homework sheet
each night. The homework folder will need to come to school every day and
go home each night!
Homework is always speller's choice and (almost always) a math home link.
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What is a HORSE?
Please check the HORSE page on the website for answers to all
of
your questions! Your child is responsible for their HORSE and must bring it
to and from school EVERY DAY!
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What are 'Snazzy Snacks'?
"Snazzy Snacks" are something we will make, usually the last
Tuesday of each month, in class. Students will learn how to create a tasty
snack, while using math skills to measure ingredients and writing the recipe
in their best handwriting. There will be a sign-up sheet at Open House
Night if you would like to volunteer to donate ingredients for one snazzy
snack!
If your child has any food allergies, or if there is any other reason your
child cannot have certain foods, please let me know!
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How do I opt out of having my child's photo posted on the class website?
I would love our website to be a place where you can come and
see pictures of our class in action!
I would like to post photos of our class, but I will not post children's last
names.
However, if you would like to 'opt out' of having your child's photo posted
on our site, you must fill out and return the "OPT OUT" form on page 39 of
the handbook.
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How can I get involved helping out in class?
I would love parent or grandparent volunteers in class! If you
are interested in volunteering to help, please let me know through a note,
call, or e-mail.
Volunteer opportunities include putting up bulletin boards, helping students
with AR tests, assisting with activities like Snazzy Snack or art projects,
being a Mystery Reader, or just coming in to lend a hand on a normal day!
If you aren't able to come in during school hours due to work or other
obligations, but still want to lend some time, let me know and we can think
of other ways to put your time and talents to use to help extend and enhance
the learning of our students!
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What are these "Types" of writing my child is bringing home?
We are using the "Collins Writing Program" for the 2nd year.
In the Collins program, there are 5 types of writing.
Type 1 is used for brainstorming. Generally children receive a credit/no
credit for completing a type 1 writing assignment.
Type 2 is used for quick assessment or a "content" writing assignment. This
is graded based on the content, not conventions used in writing.
Type 3 is similar to type 2, except children are given 3 "FCAs" (Focus
Correction Areas), which they write on their paper to remind them what they
are supposed to work in in the paper. The FCAs in 2nd grade would typically
be things like "caps and ends", "2nd grade sentences", the format of the
piece of writing, or specific content they must include. A type 3 is
assessed not only for content, but also for sticking to the FCAs. For
example, if the FCA is "caps and ends", to receive full credit, students
must make sure all sentences start with a capital letter and have end
punctuation.
Type 4 and 5 writings are reserved for upper elementary grades.
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What other programs does Central use in their curriculum?
We use "Everyday Mathematics" for math. This program has proven to be a
fantastic tool in our district! It is a spiraling program that continually
builds on previous knowledge.
For reading, we use Macmillan/McGraw-Hill. Click here to go to their
site where your child can play games and extend our classroom learning at
home! I highly recommend encouraging your child to explore this site!
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill is also where our spelling words will come from.
We follow Macmillan/McGraw-Hill for social studies and our science curriculum
is based on the Michigan State Standards and Benchmarks. In 2nd grade, we
will cover mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians, states of matter,
weather, plants, light and sound energy, and health and safety in science.
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