Back-to-School Night September 19, 2016

Tonight’s Agenda: 1. Happy Gram (Please jot your child a note) 2 Tonight’s Agenda: 1. Happy Gram (Please jot your child a note) 2. Introductions 3. Announcements 4. Explore Cowan Website 5. Questions   The mission of Cowan Elementary is to educate every student every day.

Back To School Night!!!  Mrs. Galan’s 2nd Grade The one thing I hope you learn about me this year is that I LOVE teaching children! I hope you will take comfort in knowing that I will treat the children in my class as if they were my own. This means a lot of things: showing respect, treating them fairly, praising where it is earned, and holding very high expectations – both behaviorally and academically. Here are some of the things I expect from every child every day! *I expect them to come to school every day ready to learn! *I expect them to work hard every day! *I expect them to follow all the rules every day! *I expect them to be kind to each other! *I expect them to treat me with respect! *I expect them to become incredible readers, writers, scientists, and mathematicians! All of these things will happen this year, and much more! I hope that we will ALL work together to help your child be a successful second grader and to work on becoming a life-long learner!

TEACHER. Be in the dining room by 7:30 every day TEACHER *Be in the dining room by 7:30 every day. *Create meaningful learning experiences daily. *Provide students with strategies to become better readers and writers. *Communicate daily with families. *Hold at least 2 conferences per year. STUDENT *Be in the dining room by 7:25 or classroom by 7:45 every day. *Make one year’s progress in reading, writing, and math. *Follow all classroom and school rules. *Actively participate in classroom activities. *Do homework on time. *Do the very best possible on every assignment every day! FAMILY *Make sure your child is in the classroom by 7:45 every day. *Listen to your child read EVERY night. *Check homework, sign planner, and check and read papers in folder every night. *Attend parent/teacher conferences! Classroom Rules Be kind to others! Be safe! Always do your best! Follow directions. Have fun learning! Please don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions at any time! 841-2744 clarissa.galan@austinisd.org  (purple) WOW! I am having a WONDERFUL, FANTASTIC, SUPER STAR kind of day!! 4 (green) I am having a GREAT day and making EXCELLENT choices! 4 (blue) Warning! – I need to check my behavior and make better choices! 3 (yellow) Reflection – I need to fill out a reflection about my choices and work hard to make better ones! 2 (orange) I need to spend some time in another classroom and think about my choices. 1 (red) I need to visit with an administrator in the office to discuss my behavior! 1 Mrs. Galan’s Class Schedule 7:25 – Morning Assembly 7:30 – Read to Self 8:00 – Reading 10:20 – Special Areas 11:05 – Word Study 11:20 – Numerical Fluency 11:38 – Lunch 12:08 – Math 1:00 – WOW/Recess 1:30 – Math (cont.) 1:45 – Science/Soc. Studies/Health 2:52 – End of Day Jobs/Dismissal

Ways To Help Your Child At Home Setting the Atmosphere for Reading Ways To Help Your Child At Home Setting the Atmosphere for Reading * Help your child find a quiet, comfortable place to read. * Have your child see you as a reading model. * Read aloud to your child. Reread favorite stories. * Read with your child. * Discuss the stories you read together. * Recognize the value of silent reading. * Keep reading time enjoyable and relaxed.  How to Help with Reading To produce independent readers who monitor and correct themselves as they read, I recommend the following prompts before “sounding it out.” Give your child wait time of 5 – 10 seconds. See what they attempt to do to help themselves. “What would make sense here?” “What do you think that word could be?” “Use the picture to help you figure out what that word could be.” “Go back to the beginning of the sentence and try again.” “Skip over it and read to the end of the sentence or paragraph. Now what do you think it is?” “Put in a word that would make sense there.” ”You read that word before on another page. See if you can find it.” “Look how that word begins. Start it out and keep reading.” Tell your child the word.

  How to Help with Spelling When your child asks you to spell a word, you can help by asking questions such as: * Say the word slowly and write what you hear. * Which part of the word looks right to you? * Which part is giving you trouble? * What other letters make that sound? * Have you seen that word somewhere else? Can you find it for me? Have your child make no more than 2 attempts at the correct spelling. Verify the spelling by confirming the correct spelling or supplying it. Encourage your child to write the word as a whole, from memory, rather than copying it letter by letter.  

The report card highlights… ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: Reading English/Language Arts Mathematics Science Social Studies Health PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: Follows directions in all areas of school Makes effective decisions at school Is responsible for schoolwork Is responsible for… homework Takes responsibility for own actions Respects self and others Manages emotions constructively Interacts cooperatively with adults Interacts cooperatively with peers

What to look for, do, and remember each day in Mrs. Galan’s 2nd grade EVERY DAY - Your child’s planner and folder should travel back and forth. PLEASE remove papers from the KEEP AT HOME side. PLEASE sign the planner in the parent box each night. Mondays – Spelling Homework Night Thursdays – Math Homework Night Every evening – READ for 10 minutes and record on the reading log

Finally… 1. Please join PTA. 2. I hope you can join us for the Carnival on Saturday, October 22nd. 3. Turn in Fall Funds as soon as possible. Due Oct. 7th. Stay in communication with us!