Back to School Night

1. Back to SchoolNight September 27, 2012 Ms. Beatty Second Grade Room 110

2. Introduction • Welcome • Second Grade is a major year of growth both academically as well as emotionally. • Encourage risk taking • Promote independence • Celebrate attempts and achievements

3. Goals • The primary goal is for your children to feel safe and secure so that they will strive to be the best they can be! • Building a classroom community that centers around mutual respect and tolerance is crucial for all children to optimize their learning.

4. Parent-Teacher Relationship: We Work Together! • At home: • Well fed before school • Arrive on time • Backpack and homework checked and emptied • Keep children home if sick • A HEALTHY snack daily (We are a Nut Free Classroom!) • In our class: • Safe and comfortable learning environment • Planned, purposeful, and organized • Identify learning issues objectively • Know your child as a student and communicate that to you • Combining our efforts: • Communicate clearly • Support one another

5. Daily Routines • Arrival (on time please!) • Lunch count • Attendance • Unpack • Hand in homework • Copy down homework • Do now/morning work • Morning message • Morning Meeting • Calendar • Tracking the days • (place value, money, hundreds chart) • Weekly Poem • Wall Words (5/week) • Weekly Jobs • Each child has a job that changes weekly

6. Motivation for Positive Behaviors • Reward Jar • Prizes • Centers (All subject areas & computers) • How Am I Doing Today? • How To Be a Super-Duper Second Grader? • Bucket Fillers • Manners Matter! • Be Respectful!

7. Homework • Review of classroom learning • Independence and responsibility • Check off each assignment when finished • If homework is not completed, it needs to get finished during recess • Special circumstances • Child’s best spelling • Check HW folder for notes and empty out each night • Sign HW notebook and Homework each night • Let me know of any difficulties • Friday Take-Home Folders—empty out, sign, and return to school on Mondays • Friday Book Bags – return to school on Mondays

8. Reading Workshop • Common Core National Standards • Instruction • Word Attack Strategies • Comprehension Strategies • Readerly Behaviors • Literacy Block – about an hour and twenty minutes daily • Teachers College • Informal reading inventory and performance assessment • Balanced Literacy Instructional Practices • Daily read aloud • Guided Reading/Strategy Groups • Shared Reading • Independent Reading and conferencing • Partner Reading • Poetry • Nonfiction Reading

9. Writing Workshop • Writing process • becoming independent • focus on the process (editing, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure) • child’s best work • Various Genres • small moments, realistic fiction, fairytales, all about (non-fiction), animal research • Conferences • Ongoing assessment • Sharing and Celebrating

10. Word Study • Words Their Way • Developmentally based program • Formal Assessments 3x/year that will place your child in a group • No weekly tests/regular homework (word sorts at home) • We use word sorting to understand the patterns in words • New sorts weekly, write sentences, games, activities in class • Spelling Strategies • Word Wall • Goal: build transference into daily writing

11. Mathematics • Goal of math instruction is to ensure understanding of concepts and apply to new problem situations. • The learner is encouraged to actively experiment with possible solutions using strategies and manipulatives. • Inquiry and creativity are encouraged. • Word Problems (Mathematics Journal) • Math Facts Quizzes • Fast Math • Homework in math activity book (to reinforce the concepts) • Student Handbook is kept at home until June.

12. Social Studies • Main Units Covered: • Communities (urban, rural, suburban) • Government (constitution) • Famous people, places, holidays • Discovering our past • Introduction to Geography skills • Study Skills • reading a text, organizing info, note cards, etc… • Trips • Projects • Current Events • Scholastic News • ($5.00)

13. Science • The district is using a new science program called the Full Option Science System (FOSS): • Engages students through hands-on inquiry • Encourages students to analyze and interpret data • Uses multisensory methods to maximize information gathering for all students • Units Covered: • Balance and Motion • Air and Weather • Animals (not FOSS) • Projects

14. Special Events • Field Trips • Long Island Children’s Museum (4/4/13)– 50 cents • We will take part in a workshop called “Mapping Our World” and then tour the museum. We will eat at the museum. • Adams Playhouse (Teacher From the Black Lagoon) (5/3/13) – approximately $17 • Book Fair • October 5th from 9:00 to 9:30 A.M. (class) • October 3rd from 6:30 to 8:30 P.M. (evening) • Picture Day • October 9th • Classroom Celebrations • Thanksgiving – Literature • Writing Celebration – Realistic Fiction • Expert Fair – Students read, write, and share a topic of expertise • Assembly Programs (cultural arts, science)

15. Miscellaneous • Report Cards • Each child is evaluated based on the NY State Standards. • Birthday Parties • Celebrated once a month for all birthdays in that month • No favors • Parents do not come in to celebrate—school wide policy • Mrs. Valentine, Mrs. Wagner, and Mrs. Meyers are our class parents • They will notify you in regards to our monthly birthday celebration. Parents are asked to send in cupcakes, juice, and paper goods to the office before 10:00 A.M. We are a Nut Free Classroom. • October Birthday Celebration: October 12, 2012 • Library Books • Due back to school every Day 4 • Gym Days • Wear sneakers

16. Thank You for Coming! • Home-School connection • Contact me with any questions, concerns, etc… • I can be reached at 516-792-4500 • Sign-up sheets • P-T Conferences • Guest Reader