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Missy Testerman |
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Class InfoThis page contains answers to common questions of students and parents.
May I volunteer in your classroom? Of course! I welcome parent volunteers, and will especially need volunteers to help with story groups and to run copies for our class on the school copier. Please let me know if you are interested. May I eat lunch with my child at school? Absolutely! We eat lunch at 11:25, and you are welcome any day. Just signin at the office and wait for us on the ramp outside the lunchroom. Because preparing for lunch is a very hectic time for us, I do ask that you not come to our classroom at this time. As per official school policy, I do ask that you limit these lunches to once a month. What do I do if my child is absent or misses school? If your child is going to be absent for a couple of days (or more), please call the office and ask that I get his or her assignments together for you. You may pick these up in the office, or I can send them home with a brother or sister. After your child returns to school, please send a note telling why your child was absent. The office must have this in order to excuse any absence, even if a child was sick. Unless you have been notified by the office, it does not have to be a note from a doctor. A note from you will work. How often can my child take a Reading Counts test? In our classroom, students may take a test every day. I have books available for them to use, or they may check out books from the library. Several of the books on the list are probably books you have at your home. Please ask me, and I'll be glad to check book titles for you to see if they are on Reading Counts. I expect EVERYONE in our classroom to read 100 books this year. To meet this goal, you will have to start early in the school year. What can I do to help my child at home? By far, the most important thing you can do at home is to read, read, read, read, to and with your child. Not only does he or she need to practice his or her own reading, he or she needs to hear a good reader read. This helps increase his or her vocabulary, and provides a good model for your child. Also, reading from our reading book and any other book your child can read from is excellent practice that can only help. Also, please talk positively about school in front of your child. If he or she know that you are concerned and expect him or her to do well, he or she will have a better attitude toward school and learning. Above all, please make sure that your child completes homework assignments, and is prepared for class each day. Students are expected to turn in homework the morning after it is assigned. If not, the students will have to move one card and complete the homework during our playtime. If a student does not turn in homework more than three times during a nine weeks grading period, the "work habits" portion of his or her grade will be lowered. What is the grading scale for second grade? Second grade uses the following grading scale: 100 A+ 90-99 A 80-90 B 70-79 C Below 70 U (Unsatisfactory) On report cards, I will put both a numerical average as well as the letter grade it corresponds with. What additional supplies or materials could be useful for the classroom? If parents would like to contribute other supplies to the classroom through the year, we use: antibacterial wipes, any neat and easy craft kits pertaining to topics we study, paper cups,gift cash card for film development, plastic spoons, Pam cooking spray, plastic straws, mismatched socks or gloves(clean) for puppets, large novel notepads with designs appropriate for book covers(turtles, bears, seasonal, tennis shoes, etc.), self- stick notelets(seasonal, animals, etc.), packs of pencils, erasers, small toys for the treasure box(bottom of the toybox things children no longer play with), glitter paint,fabric paint,etc. Any of these things would appreciated at any time during the year. Thanks! We eat snack each afternoon, and I will send a snack schedule each month on our class calendar so that you will know when it is your child's turn to bring snack. Please try to keep the snacks reasonably healthy. Suggestions include: fresh fruit or veggies, small containers of Jell-o, raisins, small containers of fruit, pudding, small packs of peanuts, crackers, baked chips, etc. We are not allowed to have juice, but your child may get water if he or she brings a leakproof water bottle. If you wish to send something for the class on your child's birthday, the office policy is that you SEND it with your child, and that it be only a small "officially approved snack item" for snack. No parties(except Valentine's Day) are allowed, as per school board policy. What are the end of the year rewards for Reading Counts? Mrs. Phillips hosts a movie reward for students in Grades 1-3 who accumulate at least 75 RC points. In addition, Mrs. Thames, Mrs. Housewright, and I take our students who pass 100 books (NOT POINTS) on a special trip to Dollywood after the school year is complete. What do I do if my child leaves his book or homework at school? This is one of those "tough love" answers. The first time your child leaves something at school, I might consider allowing him/her to return to our classroom to retrieve it if it is early enough that I am still there. After the first time, please just allow your child to accept the consequences that will come from not having homework the next day. While I know this can be a traumatic episode for everyone involved, losing a few minutes of playtime will not leave emotional scars on your child, I promise. In fact, it typically only takes once or twice for this to happen before your child starts to realize the importance of packing his/her backpack properly. I remind them several times as they pack to go home as to exactly which items they need to take home, and will do so all year. Above all, please do not go to great lengths to rescue your child from his/her predicament. Unfortunately, over the years the same parents I see returning to school several times a week,calling half the class to get an assignment, calling the principal at home or photocoying someone else's sheet in first grade are the very same parents who are doing the same thing in sixth and seventh grade. I know how busy your life is; I am trying to keep you from sentencing yourself to be a special recovery agent for the next 11 years. My own child learned very quickly in kindergarten that you must pack your backpack BEFORE school is over or take the consequences the next day, and he was just down the hall when he discovered his missing pages. While it seemed like the end of the world at that time, it certainly drove home the point that packing at the end of the day is his responsibility. How do you do this all day? I would go crazy! It's pretty easy: I love this job, and think it is the best one in the whole world. When you visit our classroom, there may be times when the noise and order may seem like some form of bizarre punishment for visiting adults. The truth is that this noise and chaos at appropriate times are contributing to helping your child learn. Just as there are times when you will see our classroom very quiet, organized, and orderly, you will also see our more active learning times. How often are report cards sent home? Report cards are sent at the conclusion of each 9 weeks grading period. I will also send home a midterm report halfway through the 9 weeks period so that you are informed as to how your child is progressing. |
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