Curriculum (See Curriculum page of web site)
First Reconciliation-(tentative date) 7 p.m. Thursday, December 10. There will
be a mandatory parent meeting in October, dates to be announced later.
First Eucharist—2:00 p.m. Saturday, May 1
¨Grading-
O (Outstanding) 93-100%
VG (Very good) 90-92%
G+ (Good and improving) 87-89%
G- (Good) 83-86%
G- 80-82%
S+ 77-79%
S (Satisfactory) 73-76%
S- 70-72%
NI (Needs improvement) 63-69%
U (Unsatisfactory)62% and below
¨Take home folders
Your child will bring home a yellow folder each day. It
will contain finished work, notes and homework. Please help your child
remember to return this folder to school each day. Please take all corrected
work out of your child’s folder each night.
¨Weekly newsletter
I will send a newsletter home every Monday to keep you
informed of what is going on in our classroom. Important information in the
newsletter will include the week’s spelling words, the scripture verse for
memorization, weekly homework, upcoming events, and the nightly reading
commitment.
¨Homework
Homework will be assigned on a weekly basis. Typically there will be four
homework assignments each night. The first two assignments will always be to
read for at least 15 minutes and to practice math flashcards. The others will
be either spelling, scripture memorization, math, science or social studies.
Unless otherwise stated, homework is due back to school on Friday. Completed
homework will be graded based upon completion and turning it in on time.
Homework will be reflected in their report card grade. Please keep the
homework packet at home until Friday. Return the newsletter page and it will
be returned to you with the homework packet on Friday.
¨Reading at home
The Monday newsletter will have a notice at the bottom,
which will need to be signed and returned on Friday, indicating that your
child has read 15 minutes each night, or a total of 60 minutes during the
week. During September and October, the students will fill out a leaf for
each book they read. This program will be continued throughout the school
year, except the leaves will change to snowflakes, flowers, etc. At the end of
each month, all children who read the minimum number of pages I set for the
monthly goal will receive a reading certificate. This will also be used as
part of their reading grade.
Discipline
Positive discipline is always my first choice. The children
receive lots of verbal praise, pats on the back, hugs, etc. throughout the
day. We also have a can of love notes that I give to the students for good
behavior, and they give to each other for doing kind deeds. Our class rules
are very basic:
¨ Follow directions
¨ Listen when others speak
¨ Work quietly
¨ Raise hand to speak
¨ Use kind actions and words.
¨When a student has trouble following these rules, I then turn to
behavior management which consists of the following:
¨ Verbal warning
¨ Turn white card
¨ Turn green card (student misses recess)
¨ Turn pink card (note goes home, misses lunch recess)
¨ Turn blue card (visit with Mrs. Dunn)
¨ When a student turns a card, it is brought to me and I indicate on the back
of the card the rule broken and the day. Those students who have a white card
on top at the end of the school day will receive a stamp on their card. All
cards are returned to the white position each day. On Friday the students
take home their behavior cards to show you. Hopefully you will usually see 5
stamps on the front of the card. If your child turned the card during the
week, you can look on the back to see what happened. The card must be signed
by a parent and returned on Monday of the following week. If a student does
not return the signed card on Monday he/she will start the week by pulling
his/her new card for the new week. This is an easy way for you to keep
informed about your child’s behavior at school, and your signature each Monday
indicates to me that you are aware of how your child is doing.
¨Sharing
We will not have regular sharing in 2nd grade; however, the Shining
Star may bring in sharing any day of his/her special week. If students have
something relating to a unit of study, or something of educational value,
these things are always welcome.
¨Shining Star
Each student is assigned one week during the school year to be
in the spotlight and have a chance to share about him/herself with the class.
When it is your child’s week to be Shining Star I will send home a note.
¨Birthdays
Birthday treats are welcome but not necessary. See attached page for the
exact date we will be celebrating each child’s birthday.
¨Absences
The office requires that a note be sent to school explaining why a student was
absent from school. Work missed during an absence will be sent home for
homework. The student has one day to complete the homework for each day of
school missed. Please do your best to schedule appointments before and after
school, especially on Fridays. Each Friday students will take spelling,
scripture and religion tests. If a child is absent, I will do my best to see
that these tests are made up, with the exception of spelling tests, for which
a make-up test will not be given. A student will be excused from these tests
once per quarter without it affecting their grade, any subsequent tests missed
after that they receive a zero. If there are extenuating circumstances, please
talk with me. If your child has a doctor’s appointment, please bring a note
from the Dr.’s office and the absence will be recorded as a medical absence.
¨Tardies
Children coming into the classroom after 8:00 a.m. must get a tardy
slip from the front office. Students who are tardy three times per quarter
will be required to serve detention with Mrs. Dunn after school on Friday.
¨Volunteers
Please sign-up, I will assign times/days accordingly, and a
schedule will be sent home so you will know when you are scheduled to come
into the classroom. If you know that you can’t come in on your assigned day,
please switch with someone else, as I will be expecting someone on your
assigned day and time. Thank you!
¨ITBS Testing
Standardized testing will take place Oct. 13-23, first thing each morning.
Please see that your child has a good night sleep and a healthy breakfast
before coming to school. Because these tests are given orally, they usually
are not made up if missed.
¨Pillows
If possible, please send in a pillow to be used during silent
reading time.
¨Treasure box items
If you have any little “treasures” at home that are like
new and are not of value anymore and would like to donate them to our treasure
box, please send them in with your child. Everything is much appreciated, and
one child’s junk is another child’s treasure!
¨Lending Library
Outside the room between 1st and 2nd Grades. Please feel
free to borrow any of these books.
¨How to reach me:
(858) 755-1777
e-mail: csmith@select.net