W ELCOME TO C HAMPIONS A CADEMY O PEN H OUSE ! Mrs. L. Murphy Mrs. M. Coyle 1 st and 2 nd grade

T EAM T EACHING Reading, Writing, Social Studies – Mrs. LaShonda Murphy Your second grader’s homeroom teacher is Mrs. Murphy. Math, Science – Mrs. Melanie Coyle Your first grader’s homeroom teacher is Mrs. Coyle The first grade will be with Mrs. Coyle in the morning. The second grade will be with Mrs. Murphy in the morning. We will switch classes at recess time.

OUR G OALS To give your child the academic and social skills he/she needs to progress to 2 nd or 3 rd grade. To help your child learn new, innovative, and rigorous lessons so that he/she will be prepared for our diverse society. To provide a supportive and fun classroom environment. To help your child make new friends and discover new interests. To give your child the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to become excellent members of society.

A L ITTLE ABOUT YOUR CHILD ’ S TEACHER, M RS. L A S HONDA M URPHY This will be my 3rd year of teaching. Started career at HISD, and taught 2 nd and 3 rd grades last year at Harvest Preparatory Academy. Graduated from University of Houston with a Bachelors in Education. Married for 10 years, 1 daughter. (Dalasia - 5 th grade)

A L ITTLE ABOUT YOUR CHILD ’ S TEACHER, M RS. M ELANIE C OYLE This will be my first ‘full’ year in Education. I began teaching last year at Harvest Preparatory Academy in February teaching Kindergarten Math/Science I graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2011 with a History Degree. I have been married for 12 years to my husband, Steve. We have 3 daughters and 2 sons: Elisa – 15, Sarah and Stephen – 11, Maria, 9 and Ethan 4. This is my second year in Houston, TX after living in Orlando, FL for most of my life!

W HAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM Y OUR T EACHERS 1. We will always teach in the best way we know how and do whatever it takes to take our students to the next level of learning. 2. We will always make ourselves available to students and parents, and address any concerns you might have ( s, phone calls, conferences). 3. We will always protect the safety, interests, and rights of all individuals in the classroom.

W HAT WE EXPECT FROM YOUR CHILD They will always work, think, and behave in the best way they know how and will do whatever it takes for their fellow students and themselves to learn. This also means that they will complete all their homework when assigned, talk with their teacher if they have a problem with the work and will raise their hand and ask questions in class if they do not understand something. They will never give up on their ability to learn and grow as scholars.

Your scholar will always strive to protect the safety, interests, and rights of all individuals in the classroom. This also means that they will make every effort to listen to all of their teachers and classmates and give everyone their respect.

Each scholar is responsible for their own behavior. As a classroom community, we have put together a social contract. This contract tells us how the scholars will treat each other and their teachers, and how the scholars expect to be treated. Every scholar has agreed to follow the social contact and has signed it. Please help your child self-manage their behavior by reminding them to make good choices and follow the social contract.

R EWARDS AND C ONSEQUENCES Rewards *clip moved to black=OUTSTANDING *a visit to the Treasure Chest *lunch with the teacher *extra Recess time *Shout Outs *no homework pass *ROAR ticket Consequences *verbal warning *color change to yellow (5 minutes off recess) *color change to blue (no recess) *color change to red: telephone call home and/or note in planner, cool-off in another classroom *discipline referral

W HAT WE WILL LEARN The first two weeks of school we focused on: Building relationships Teaching students the different Thinking Maps and other learning strategies that they will use in all their classes throughout the year Practicing school routines and procedures (school songs, pledges, hallway transitions, etc.). Pre-testing/ Diagnostic Assessments (running records for reading and math levels, subject area tests based on last year’s learning objectives, content specific vocabulary, etc.)

R EADING Within our reading program we will teach grade level curriculum as well as differentiated material that will expand your child’s reading skills. Areas of emphasis include, but are not limited to: Literal comprehensionPredicting Interpretive comprehensionPersuading VocabularySummarizing FluencyTopic/Main Idea/Details Gathering InformationAnalyzing NonfictionStory Elements Phonics Novel reading Author’s mood and purpose

F LUENCY Champions Reading Fluency 2 nd Grade Goals Fall77 Winter96 Spring110

L ANGUAGE A RTS The language component of our curriculum covers:  Parts of speech  Sentence structure  Types of sentences  Complete sentences  Capitalization  Punctuation  Grammar  Phonic  Figurative Language  Phonemic awareness  Prefix/Suffix meanings  Multiple Meaning Words  Dictionary Skills

W RITING Your students will have many opportunities throughout the year to practice writing for different purposes. The following are some examples of types of writing students may be doing in first and second grade. NarrativeJournaling Informative Autobiographies Paragraphs Science Lab Procedures ObservationsMath Word Problems Descriptive Poetry Note takingEditing Process writingReflections on Learning

S PELLING A spelling pretest will be given at the beginning of each week. Based on the pretest, students will be assigned a list. Spelling tests will be given on the last day of the week. Your child’s spelling test words will be given in isolation and in sentence dictation. When studying the words at home, please group them and study the word families and the rules for adding endings onto the base words. Spelling practice will be a part of your child’s 30 minutes of homework each night. Spelling homework will include a writing activity that needs to be completed and returned to school by Friday.

M ATH Math instruction for your 1 st grade scholar will include numeracy, number concepts, recognition and relationships up to 120, addition, subtraction, 2-D and 3-D shapes, linear measurement, telling time as well as personal financial literacy including using coins. Math instruction for your 2 nd grade scholar will include concepts such as numeracy, addition and subtraction, geometry, linear measurement, telling time, as well as personal financial literacy and an introduction to multiplication and division concepts.

S CIENCE First and Second Grade Science Units Will Include:  The Natural World: Weather Observation and Safety, What we find in the Sky  Rocks/Soil/Water, Conservation, Plants  Living Things in their Environment  Force, Motion, Energy and Matter

S OCIAL S TUDIES Our Social Studies curriculum is developed around the concept of working together in a community. We will learn about:  Where/Why communities are started  Types of communities  How communities change over time  Community Structure  People in communities  Community leaders/Laws  Goods and services  Supply and Demand  Geography/Landforms/Maps/Directions

H OMEWORK AND F RIDAY F OLDERS Homework will focus on reading fluency, spelling practice, and math computation skills. It will be located in the Scholar Binder with their Agenda/Planner. On the back of every ELA homework sheet there will be a one minute timed reading. Please do this on Monday and again on Tuesday. Additionally, please have your child read aloud from a book at their level. Every child will have a reading log and response and should be reading 30 minutes per day. A homework grade may be recorded each week. Additionally, your child’s teacher may need to send unfinished class work home to be completed and returned to school. On Friday, all classwork and homework will be sent home in the Friday Folder. If the work is not complete, your child may finish it at home. All work must stay attached to the cover sheet. Please sign the cover sheet, leave the work attached and send it back in the Folder on Monday. Any additional information that needs your attention will be in the Friday Folder. (Lunch Menu, Notes Home, our Class Newsletter)

H OMEWORK Reading every night; Practice math facts to continue to improve fluency; Learn and master spelling words and spelling patterns; Weekly practice packet will be due on Friday and should be signed.

D AILY C ONTACT, P ROGRESS R EPORTS, R EPORT C ARDS Daily notes regarding conduct will be in your child’s planner on a daily basis. Please check the planner every day and initial it. 4 report cards (every 9 weeks) 4 progress reports (halfway through every 9 weeks) 2 Parent/Teacher conferences Fall and Spring to discuss student progress Additional conferences are available at your request We may also request conferences as needed

O THER I MPORTANT I NFORMATION A healthy breakfast in the morning helps a student focus during the day. We have several nut allergies at Champions Academy. Please take this into consideration when sending snacks or providing treats for classroom celebrations. In first and second grade, students will participate in district- wide standardized tests. These include MAP testing and STEP testing. MAP testing will be done three times this year and begins NEXT WEEK. STEP testing is done four times and is beginning this week. Each is used to help us know what knowledge your child has and what the next level is for your child to achieve. Please help your child make the most of their time in school by making sure that any toys or other distracting items are left at home.

I N C ONCLUSION Please know that both of your child’s teachers have an open-door policy. Feel free to ask us questions and let us know if you need help with your child or if there is something going on that may cause your child to be distracted in their learning. If we don’t know the answer, we will seek out the information. General philosophy: 1 st and 2 nd grade scholars work very hard at school all day. They are learning academics as well as good citizenship and working towards being responsible for themselves. Our goal is to hold your child accountable in a ‘Love and Logic’ approach. We will use many varied methods to help motivate and encourage. Your child may make mistakes, forget items, etc. and we will be understanding. It is a part of learning. It’s okay to make mistakes as long as we learn from them !

C ONTACT US ! We love to hear from you! We are always available for questions or concerns. Also, please contact us if you wish to come visit and/or help out! LaShonda Murphy Melanie Coyle

L ET ’ S G ET R EADY T O H AVE A F ANTASTIC Y EAR !!