Welcome Mrs. Blaine & Ms. Branges Second Grade

About Us My Name is Amber Blaine and I have been teaching elementary school for 17 years. I have two teenage boys, a wonderful husband. I am so excited to be working with Ms. Branges! Mrs. Branges

What To Expect This Year Two Teachers=One Class Mrs. Blaine will be here in the mornings and Ms. Branges will be here in the afternoon. Students will have Library, Computers, and P.E. weekly. They will have VAPA once a month. P.E. will be on Wednesday and Friday so please have them wear the correct shoes for physical activity. Students will bring home weekly communication folders on Tuesdays, please return the folder empty on Wednesday mornings. Sign and return any paperwork also ASAP.

Communication Email Both Teachers Class Website bbranges@rocklin.k12ca..us ablaine@rocklin.k12.ca.us Class Website Send in written notes-both teachers will see it Weekly Folders Email-IF YOU HAVE AN URGENT MESSAGE CONTACT THE FRONT OFFICE. Behavior Notes or Citations need to be signed an returned Report Cards Parent/Teacher Conferences

Leader In Me!! Encouraging the 7 Habitats on a daily basis Behavior Management Leader In Me!! Encouraging the 7 Habitats on a daily basis Earn classroom Tickets –the team with the highest points earn tickets each day, Students who made their way to outstanding or role model behavior will earn tickets. There will be a drawing on Monday. All tickets that are not drawn go into to the Super Prize bin for a drawing at the end of the trimester. Clip Chart-Be Proactive, Begin with the End in Mind Team Points-Think Win-Win, Synergize Behavior reflection/action sheet and citations

Homework Spelling-we will complete one unit each week from the Houghton Mifflin program. On Monday they will take a pretest. If your child scores 100% or only misses one, he/she will focus on the challenge words for that week. Test will be on Friday and there will be a list of activities for them to help practice the words. Reading log-reading for 20 minutes a day—ONLY FILL IN ONE BOOK TITLE PER DAY (even if they read more they only get credit for one book) this can be independent reading or if you read to them. Please initial the reading card for every 20 minutes. Math will be practice or a home connection activity 2-3 nights a week Homework folders will need to be at school everyday, it will hold: Spelling List, Math Homework, Reading Card, Monthly Enrichment Sheet

Spotlighting Our Curriculum

Literacy Reading Writing Currently use the Houghton-Mifflin series for spelling. Leveled Reading groups use a variety of text to help develop fluency, comprehension and other literary elements. Accelerated Reader program test comprehension at their reading level. Tracks progress. iready is new program that assesses their vocabulary and comprehension skill level. 320 Sight Words Writing Emphasis on writing complete sentences with correct capitalization and punctuation. Use of varied vocabulary and sentence structure. Focus on writing a 5 sentence paragraph. Students will write narratives about familiar topics, complete short reports and learn to support their own opinions in writing.

We use the Bridges in Mathematics program Basic Facts to 20 in both addition & subtraction Addition & subtraction of large numbers Problem Solving Telling time, money, measurement, and geometry Place Value Beginning algebra and graphing A family letter will be sent home at the beginning of each unit to explain the concepts being taught along with illustrations, models and examples of the types of methods or concepts your child will be exposed to. There are also online tools that your family can have access to that can help reinforce daily lessons or big ideas.

Science & Social Studies Units will alternate Social Studies is a collaboration of our Scott Foresman materials with the instructional program GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design) We will cover the following units: Map Skills, Long Ago and Yesterday, People in History, Our Government, and Producers and Consumers. Science/Health The MacMillian/McGraw-Hill Science program will be used to for Physical Science, Earth Science and Life Science concepts. Our focus will be Force & Motion, Processes that Change the Earth, and Life Cycles. We will also cover nutrition and health related topics.

Absences &Tardiness Make-up work will be sent up in the afternoons or when student returns Not all work can be made up Send in an excuse letter After multiple absences a letter is sent home from the school/county. Remember, excessive tardies have a negative impact on student achievement Lost & Found, each year so many items are donated to charity because students items are not claimed. Please put your child’s name or initials on all of their belongings.

Please do not send in food items Birthdays Please do not send in food items Your child’s name will be announced in the morning announcements. We will recognize your child be singing special classroom songs to them. Students can bring in special pencils, erasers or bookmarks to celebrate their day.

Thank You For Coming! We look forward to working with you and your child this year. It is going to be a wonderful year filled with exciting learning activities!