Absences
If your child is absent, they must bring a written excuse with them upon their
return to school. They will be given their missed work when they return and
will have 3 days on which to complete and return it. If they miss a test,
they will be expected to complete it when they return to school, unless they
have missed several days.
AR
The students must pass 6 tests each nine weeks. If they receive anything
below an 80 on their test it is failing and does not count. (The goal is for
each student to average 80% or higher on each test). They are given 20 minutes
daily to read and take tests in the classroom, but I really need your help in
making sure they are reading their books at home independently and know the
content before they take a test. AR books will go home everyday and return to
school the next day (they must have their AR book with them to take a
test). Summer AR tests do not count for the 6 books required for the first
nine weeks; they will only count towards Millionaire reading.
Birthdays
It is against school policy to have birthday parties in the classrooms. If you
wish to celebrate your child’s birthday at school, please plan it during lunch
time, or let me know in advance and we can plan to have it outside in the
afternoon.
Check bookbags
Please check your child’s bookbag daily for any papers
sent home regarding homework, projects, or other current classroom information
that you need to be made aware of.
Class Rules
The following are rules for Room 21. They are implemented to ensure your
child has an environment to learn in.
1. Raise hand and wait for permission to talk.
2. Treat others, as you want to be treated. “No Put Downs”
3. Keep hands, feet and other objects to yourself.
4. Follow directions the first time they are given.
Fighting or hitting is an automatic Office visit
Cheating - receive a “0” on the paper and an Action Plan
CONSEQUENCES FOR NOT FOLLOWING CLASS OR SCHOOL RULES
1st time: name on board = warning
2nd time: one check by name = “B”
3rd time: two checks by name = “C”
4th time: three checks by name = "F". Complete an Action Plan
Severe: Office
Action Plans will be completed in school and sent home the same day in their
folders for you to sign and return.
After five action plans within ten days they are automatically sent to the
office. I will notify you when they get the fourth action plan.
REWARDS - Good notes sent home/End of nine weeks celebrations
Conduct Grades
We have a procedure in the classroom that assigns a daily grade for conduct.
The children are given directions and reminders. If a child continues to talk
or play around, the turn their conduct card and each time they are marked down
a letter grade forconduct. At the end of the day if your child received an
"A" he/she did not get spoken to as a reminder all day. A "B" meansthey had to
be asked again after a reminder. A "C" means they had to be spoken to two
additional times, and an "F" means three additional times that they had to be
spoken to. These grades are recorded daily.
This translates to a grade at the end of the six weeks:
A child that received a F was spoken to an average of 135 additional times
after a direction and a reminder that nine weeks.
A child that received a C was spoken to an average of 90 additional times
after a direction and reminder that nine weeks.
A child that received a B was spoken to an average of 45 additional times
after a direction and a reminder that nine weeks.
Correspondence
If you have a question about anything, please send me an e-mail at jhorne@mcsdga.net
. I check my e-mail several times during the day and in the evenings. I ask
that each parent send me a home or work e-mail address by the end of the first
week of school. I have found e-mail to be the most effective way to
communicate with parents. I will not send home any paper copies of newsletters
or notes unless something needs to be signed or read immediately. A weekly
e-mail will be sent to inform you of information that pertains to the
classroom. You also need to check my web site on a daily/weekly basis.
Grades
Muscogee County uses a ten point grading scale. Grades will be determined by
daily classwork, tests, projects, and homework. Grades that are circled are
recorded in the gradebook. If a grade is not circled, then it means that this
is a skill we are still working on and it was not recorded. The Muscogee
grading scales is as follows:
A- 100-90
B - 89-80
C - 79-70
F - Below 70
Homework
Students are asked to turn in their homework daily (unless absent or an
emergency occurred). A 20 point penalty is incurred each time your child turns
in late assignments and they will receive a No Homework Action Plan to fill
out (these will be sent home the day received). They will have homework daily
in math and phonics, except on Fridays and days we have assessments. It is
very important for you to check over all homework assignments nightly and
initial where asked. Homework in science and social studies will be given at
times so you know what they are studying. They should bring home their science
and social studies books everyday when we are studying that subject. We
alternate between these two subjects, by studying each one for four1/2 weeks.
I will send home any science and social studies papers completed in class the
night before a test to be used as study guides.
Millionaire Club/Wall of Frame
Students in second grade must read 125 books to become a Millionaire. This
includes books read at home, school and AR.Please do not include AR books on
the home reading log. I will keep up with them in class. Turn the logs in as
you complete them. You can print extra logs from the link on my web site as
you need them or let me know.
Progress Report
These are provided during the fourth week of each grading period to let you
know what your child’s grade average in each subject is at that point in time.
Snacks
The children can bring a snack each day for the afternoon. I do not supply
snacks or keep them in the classroom for the students; they will need to bring
their own daily.
Spelling Tests
Every Friday there will be a Spelling test. The words will be sent home on
Mondays and posted on the web site. The test consists of 15 words and 2
dictation sentences. The sentences will not be on the list to study, however
words from the list and previous weeks words will be used in the sentences.
Water Bottles
The children are encouraged to bring a water bottle daily. The only thing I
request is that the containers have a top that can be closed when they are not
drinking and that they only bring water in them. They will be allowed to fill
it up during the day.
Weekly Papers
Each Tuesday I will send home your child’s papers from the previous week. It
is very important that you look over each paper, sign (just the top sheet) and
return them on Wednesday. If you have questions about any assignments, either
e-mail me or attach a note to the front of the stapled papers. I do not look
through the papers once they are signed and returned. Due to a new school
policy, papers will not be sent home at the end of each nine weeks for you to
keep.