Parent Information Night September 4, 2014 Jennifer Bray Second Grade Serene Hills Elementary

Schedule 7:25- 7:50Morning Procedures 7:50- 9:20Language Arts *9:00 Snack 9:20- 9:40Recess 9:40-10:30Specials 10:30-11:20 Social Studies 11:20-11:50Lunch 11:50-12:35 Science 12:35-1:35S.A.I.L. 1:35-2:35Math 2:35-2:40 Pack Up 2:45Dismissal

Transportation – If you have any last minute transportation changes please Heather Kenley at Library – Fridays at 8:00am, open checkout 2:15 – 2:45 Daily Class t-shirts for field trips, track and field, Fridays – please make sure you have turned in money and form to teacher Snack - Should be Healthy Birthdays – Cupcakes last Friday of the month or Healthy Snack. Specials – PE is every other day. Art and music alternate

– We are going GREEN – Make sure you have signed up to receive the message in a bottle. You can find this link on the home page of the Serene Hills website or click on the link below. – ptin?v=001YTjaUsdMimhXb7rdSaOKS7m5uoY Zofqk&1876Nav=%7C&NodeID=394 ptin?v=001YTjaUsdMimhXb7rdSaOKS7m5uoY Zofqk&1876Nav=%7C&NodeID=394

Lunch Money You can pay your child’s lunch account online at

Field Trips Children must travel on the bus to and from the school. Parents must pay separately when attending the field trip, and because of space, will not be allowed to ride the school bus. If a parent is a chaperone, we ask that you do not bring siblings. There will be a field trip chaperone form needed for you to attend as a chaperone with us. Make sure your child brings a disposable lunch.

Homework Assignment Sheet Spelling Homework Contract Reader’s Response Questions/Ideas DOL Math Planner Communication Between Teacher & Parent All homework is due on Friday. Homework Binders

Planners – communication

Spelling Words –There will be a pre-test each Friday. The pre-test will consist of 10 words that follow the phonics rule. –If your child makes an 8 out of 10 on the pre-test, then they will receive a challenge list. (List B) –The spelling list will come home Monday with the homework assignment sheet.

Make up work is due the same amount of days your child is absent and will be sent home with the child when the child returns from the absent days. Reading: Read aloud at least 10 minutes every night. Write 2 responses a week. Math: due on Friday Spelling : choose an assignment- due Friday Vocabulary: Review each night- quiz on Friday DOL: Review each night- quiz on Friday Homework should only be done in pencil.

After reading aloud for 10 minutes, students should write some type of written response about the book. Please initial each night to verify that your child has read for the allotted minutes.

DOL Practice sheets are in child’s binder Corrections will be done in class Quiz will be every Friday (with the exception of this Friday September 5 th ) Skills include: grammar, sentence editing, punctuation, vocabulary, and comprehension

Helpful Reading Strategies Look at the picture Sound it out Find a little word in a big word Reread the sentence ALWAYS ask yourself: “Does it look right and make sense?” Use context clues to decode the word Ask a friend Skip the word and come back

Writer’s Workshop Students will participate in Writer’s Workshop throughout the year. During this time, we concentrate on writing skills. These skills include sentence structure and grammar within a sentence. My goal is to help them become better writers and love the process of writing!

Math Number Sense: even/odd, number patterns, ordinal numbers Addition and Subtraction to 18 Time to the minute, quarter hour, half and hour Money: value, adding a collection of coins to $1.00, Adding/Subtracting 2 and 3 digit numbers no regrouping Adding/Subtracting 2 and 3 digit numbers with regrouping

Math continued… Place value to thousands (expanded notation, comparing, symbol representation) Fractions – up to twelfths Measurement – length, area and temperature Graphing Probability Geometry: attributes of shapes and solids; differences/similarities; spatial relationship Word Problems Multiplication and Division using manipulatives Daily Math Practice – consists of a daily practice which reviews math skills and concepts each day. Mad Minutes: (+)(-) timed for one minute; drill and memorization; graded only if they complete all 25 problems; goal setting.

Social Studies Where We Live: our city, maps Our Earth: maps, landforms, conservation, geography Working Together: goods and services, producers and consumers Our Country Today: government Our Country Long Ago: tradition, pioneers, colonists People and Places in History: holidays, landmarks, inventions

Science What is a Scientist? Technology in Our World Changes in Matter Energy, Motion, and Magnets Earth and It’s Resources (Recycling, Fresh Water/Salt Water, Rocks) Weather (Weather Safety, Patterns of Weather, the Water Cycle) Solar System (Observing the Moon, Observing the Night Sky) Plants and Animals (Basic Needs, Characteristics) Environments for Living Things

Rules, Schmooles! We have AGREEMENTS! Instead of a list of rules that we all need to follow, we have 5 agreements in our classroom. The rhymes below help us remember what each of them means. We help each other remember these agreements so that we may work together as a successful learning community.

Mutual Respect

Attentive Listening

Appreciations/No Put Downs

Participation/Right to Pass

Personal Best

R.O.L.E.

H.A.L.L.

Discovery 2nd Grade All students will be screened using the Stanford Achievement Test. Students will be administered the test in their homeroom class. Testing window is September Students scoring in the 94th percentile and above will be tested for Discovery (with parent consent.)

Characteristics of gifted students advanced/extensive vocabulary - work advanced beyond the grade level/age - extremely inquisitive, asks many questions, often challenging, provoking and/or demanding - in-depth understanding of complex concepts - persistence is evident in areas of interest - high level of curiosity, energy, enthusiasm and vigor for new ideas - advanced reasoning - feels keenly about own ideas and solutions to problems, and often expresses them regardless of what others may think - likes to examine new possibilities for problems/solutions, rather than fitting within a structure - especially original imagination - sustained attention span - initiates projects and often prefers to work alone - keenly observant/sense of humor

PTO INFO PTO does so much to provide the materials and opportunities for our school that we otherwise would not have. Please get involved by visiting the PTO page through the SHE website.

Attendance Good attendance is important for many reasons. Your child receives the maximum benefit of education by being in school every day, and numerous studies show a strong link between academic performance and consistent attendance. Because attendance is so critical for the quality of your child's education, Texas has a Compulsory Attendance Law

Attendance School district policy states, “If a student fails to attend school without excuse on 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same school year, the District shall file a complaint against the student’s parent in a county, justice or municipal court for an offense under Education Code ”

Attendance Please be aware that vacations are NOT excused absences.

Requesting Work During Student Absence When a student is absent, it is important that the student takes the responsibility to see that all projects, essays, research projects and other assignments are completed and turned in to the teacher. The work must be turned in at a time specified by teacher. Makeup Requests: For absences of three or more days, makeup work may be obtained through the office. Allow 24 hours notice for work to be collected.

Remind 101 Download the Remind app. It’s free! Enter this number in the message. Click here to learn more about Remind101

If you wish to purchase dinners, return an order form, with payment to your teacher or the front office by 9/12/14. You can bring your own food and enjoy the fun!! Dinners must be preordered and cannot be purchased at the event. Questions? Contact Roxi Tsakas- Back to School Family Picnic Thursday September 18th 5:30-7:30

Thank you for coming! Please check my website for HAS and 2 nd grade information. / /1046 You can contact me at: or or (office) for an immediate response.