Parent Night 2nd Grade August 31st, 2015

Tonight’s Purpose The purpose of this meeting tonight is to inform you about what to expect as a parent of a student in 2nd grade this year. We will have a conference time to discuss specifically YOUR child’s academic as well as social progress at our fall conference time in October.

General Information Please call the office and/or me with any changes in transportation. You may also write a note, but children often forget and leave things in backpacks even when I remind them. We also have a wonderful way to monitor &/or pay for lunch money online. First bell is at 9:00 am. Please do not drop off students before this time, unless they are eating breakfast. Breakfast begins at 8:45 and they can get in the north doors of the cafeteria.

MORE General Information Please send Binders back to school everyday. Make sure that you have initialed the agenda. Our class is always in need of extra materials for craft projects. From time to time, I will let you know in our “Thursday Thought” any specific items needed. If you are able to contribute anything we would greatly appreciate it!

Homework and Binders Binders, and Remind 101 are my main methods of communication. I have already sent several s and messages on Remind 101 if you are not receiving my s or texts from Remind 101 please get with me before you leave tonight. I assume you are reading everything sent home in the binder. Check your child’s backpack and binder every night and help them keep it cleaned out so you can easily spot any new notes going home. Important information from different organizations such as P.T.A is sent home every Thursday in the Thursday folder. There are times that information, papers, or notes are sent home on days other than Thursday. All graded work will come home in Thursday folders. Keep these papers for your records until the 9-weeks are complete and report cards have came home in case of a discrepancy in the grades. An agenda is in the binder. Please initial nightly indicating that you’ve seen the behavior Dojo points for the day and have completed the homework.

MORE About Homework Homework consists of: Reading 20 minutes each weeknight. Reading blue reader story on Tuesday nights Studying for spelling test and vocabulary test each night. Math Fact Practice (starting after Labor Day) Your child will need to meet their individual goal for the week. This usually takes 2 to 3 AR tests for the week with an 85% or higher score (make sure to sign the AR log in the LEGO binder) 2 AR tests will be required for the week– we will talk about AR more later I tried to keep homework simple enough to fit into busy schedules. For example, read at the ball field etc. If you find this is still too much for your child try breaking it up into smaller portions. Homework is not meant to be frustrating.

Grades Parent Portal –Online way to keep track of your child’s attendance and grades. –Make sure you have your log-in from Christy in the office. If you have an older child at Briarwood, then you already have an account. Subjects grades are taken in and example grades taken in each: Math – Daily Work and Topic Test Reading – AR, Reading comprehension test Language Arts – Grammar workbook pages & test, Spelling test Science – Various science activities Social Studies - Various social studies activities

More on Grades Grading Policy –Take at least 2 grades per week per subject. –Below a 70% on daily work will be allowed for redo and given full credit but after January the two grades will be averaged together. –Redo work will need to be fixed and returned ASAP –Missing assignments will receive 50% –-1 point for backwards letters. Reversals and misuse of capitalization on spelling tests will be counted wrong. ***2 nd grade gives averaged letter grades for the 9 weeks report card rather than skills based in 1 st.

2 nd Grade Academics Curriculum Outline Language Arts Math Reading Social Studies HomeworkScience

Reading It is CRUCIAL that your child reads every night! Practice vocabulary words nightly. On Fridays there will be a comprehension and vocabulary test over the story in the blue reader. Blue readers will be coming home on Tuesday nights. Signing the agenda lets me know your child completed that nights assignment.

DIBELS Test 3 times this year  The Reading Sufficiency Act (RSA) requires schools to develop a plan for students who are not on grade level in reading. I will be contacting parents if your child is not on grade level. We will then work together to develop a plan on how to help your child.  This is determined by the DIBEL’s score.  Mrs. Danner’s Dibels test is Tuesday and Mrs. Janzen’s Dibels test will be Wednesday.

Accelerated Reader The STAR level indicates the reading range, points, and reading time needed for your child. Reading material will be based on your child’s individual score. Example: Name of Student GE/Date Tested Reading Range % Daily Min. Points Needed Flintstone, Fred 2.1 (9/4/2014) % 20 min. 4.4 pts This individualized goal needs to be met by October 14 th for Fred. Make sure to sign up for RenPlace online. Information about this program will come home soon. It will allow you to see how your child is doing on AR. We will start choosing AR books from our school library based on our STAR reading level.

More on AR After reading their selection in class and at home, students will come to school and “test” their comprehension. Their goal will be to reach their individual reading goal with 85% accuracy in a 9-week period. We will celebrate their success with a school-wide AR celebration every nine weeks. Please make sure that when your child brings home an AR book, they read it 2 times to ensure accuracy on their computer test. Make sure to sign the reading log that is in their binders for each book they read at home. This helps to ensure that children are not testing on books they have not read. I will allow children to take AR tests in class if they have read the book at least 2 times. I will continue to allow this as long as they are passing the tests.

Math A program of mathematics includes the use of manipulative materials on a daily basis to solve problems, graph, develop patterns, and cover all aspects of PASS (Priority Academic Student Skills) for 2 nd grade Math. Memorizing math facts with sums to 20 and their corresponding subtraction facts is crucial in second grade. Math Fact Homework will start soon. You can set a timer for 1 minute and see if your child can get 20 of the 25 problems correct in that 1 minute. Timed fact tests will be given on Fridays. We will go through the addition math facts before we move on to subtraction.

Behavior Management We will be using Classroom Dojo to help us keep track of good and not as good behavior. This an online program that will be projected on the Smart board where students can earn/lose points. We will set a goal for students each week as to how many Dojo points they should receive that week. Students will write their goal on Mondays in their agenda and how many points they have earned each day for you to see. Make sure you have signed up for the Dojo App to stay connected to your child’s progress. This came home in Thursday Folders last week. When goals are met students will get to participate in Fun Friday activities. Any negative behaviors will have natural consequences.

Dojo Continued Examples of things that can help them earn a point would be: having agendas signed, sitting quietly during a lesson, working hard in their seat, and walking quietly in line. Examples of things that can help them lose points would be: talking instead of working, playing in the restroom, playing when they should be listening, being disrespectful. If there is a continuous behavior problem, we will schedule a conference to discuss an individual behavior plan for the student.

Security Policy After the 9:15 tardy bell, all doors will be locked including the front doors. You will have to be buzzed in by the front office after identifying yourself. This is for your child’s safety. The current attendance policy: 2 early tardies or dismissals will count as an absence.

Thank you for attending!! Questions from you??