2rd Grade Handbook

2011-2012 Personal Items Please label all lunch bags, backpacks, coats, jackets, water bottles, etc. with childs name and room number. Please do not allow your child to bring toys to school. Toys of any kind are not allowed at school, including balls. School Hours Doors will open at 8 am no playground time before school Breakfast begins at 7:58 am Instruction begins at 8:10 am If your child is late to school at 8:20 am, you must walk your child into the office and sign them in. The student will then be given a tardy slip and escorted to class by one of the office staff. Specialist Schedule and Lunch Our designated recess/lunchtime is 11:05 a.m. -11:45 am. Students will have recess first. Students are encouraged to pay for lunches before school in the lunchroom. Specials are as follows: PE, Art, PE, Library, and Music. Please have students dress accordingly for P.E. (socks and tennis shoes) and bring library books on library day. Snacks In the past, several students have complained that they are very hungry after attending specials at about 10:00. Students are allowed to bring a small, individual serving size, healthy snack to eat after they return from their specials class. Bringing a snack is not mandatory or required. However, I have found that when students arent hungry they tend to work better. Students are expected to have polite manners while eating, to only eat during the designated time given, and to clean up after themselves. If these expectations are not met, they will not be allowed to bring snacks. Water Bottles Students may bring a labeled water bottle to class. DO NOT freeze the bottle, it makes for a messy desk! No other beverages will be permitted. Water fountains are located in the classroom and throughout the school. Reader of the Week One student will be chosen per week to read a story to the class. They have all week to practice their story. Students are asked to neatly complete a written reflection to explain why they chose this book. A parent signature is required. Grading Scale The following letter grade scale is used for basic skill subjects: A 90-100% B 80-89%
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C D F

70-79% 60-69% Below 60%

The following symbols are used for learner responsibilities and social growth: E excellent S satisfactory N needs improvement If you are ever concerned about your childs academic progress in school, please do not hesitate to set up a conference with me. Birthdays Birthdays may be celebrated within the class if you choose. Please keep the following in mind: 1. Discuss with the teacher ahead of time to schedule the day and time you can bring a treat into class. 2. Plan for 18 students (double check the number of students). 3. If you cant come to school and be with us, but want to share treats, they can be brought to school and we will share them. 4. Do not feel that you have to bring a treat on your childs birthday. It is entirely your choice. 5. Treats do not have to be sweets. You may choose a healthy snack or some small non-food item such as a pencil or sticker. 6. Choose treats that can be handed out easily and eaten outside or inside with minimal mess. 7. Suggested treats are: Cookies, cupcakes, ice-cream cups (pre-packaged), stickers, pencils, erasers, or drink boxes 8. Please do not bring cake, soda, or jugs of juice. *Invitations to private birthday parties cannot be passed out during school hours in accordance with CCSD regulations. Parent Involvement I welcome your involvement in the classroom! Throughout the school year I will need your help in a variety of ways. Those ways include coming into the classroom, doing work to assist the classroom at home, or donating items we may need. Please communicate with me the ways in which you are able to help. If you are planning to volunteer at school you will need to attend a mandatory training. (ie: field trips, parties, Field Day, helping in the classroom)

Make-Up Work When a student is unavoidably absent from school, he or she is responsible for making up the work covered during his or her absence. Students will have 3 days to make up their assignments upon their return to school in addition to the daily work given. If you know of an unavoidable absence in advance, please notify the office and your childs teacher in
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writing at least a week in advance. This will give us an opportunity to provide you with a packet of work to take with you! Progress Reports A progress report is designed to give you an indication of your childs growing skills. They are meant merely as part of the ongoing communication between school and home in terms of the current progress. I will be sending home progress reports every two weeks. They will be sent home on Monday with the weekly homework. They are expected to be returned and signed by a parent the very next day. If you wish to discuss the progress report and to gain additional feedback, please feel free to contact me and arrange a conference. I will be happy to discuss any of your questions or concerns.

Learning climate/Discipline procedures In order to provide your child and all of the other students in my classroom with the optimum learning climate, we have established and discussed the following classroom rules: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Show respect to others Raise your hand Follow directions Use kind words Do your best work

Celebration Points The class must work together to be successful! When you work together, you earn points. Your teacher wants to celebrate the entire classes success by giving a reward of some kind when a certain number of points are reached. When the entire class is on-task, transitions from one subject to another have been successful, or compliments are earned points are added. Points can be removed when the entire class is not doing what they are supposed to. When the point goal is earned, the class will have a reward. Choices - Card Pulling System Each student has a pocket which is labeled on the How am I doing today? card chart. There are 4 cards, each with a different color and a different consequence. The cards/consequences are as follows: Green (Great Job!) Everybody starts on green every day. Yellow (Warning) If a student needs a reminder to remediate an action more than a few times, then I will ask him/her to flip their card to yellow. This is a warning that will also cost the student $.25 of classroom money. Orange($1.00 fine) If a student has changed his/her behavior and continues to not follow the rules, I will ask him/her to flip their card to yellow. The student will OWE me $1.00 classroom money. Red (Loss of One Puzzle Piece) If the student continues to display the inappropriate school behavior, I will ask him her to flip their card to red. The student will OWE me $2.00 classroom money. A note will also go home with the student to advise the parent of their childs behavior. *** If the student continues to make poor choices, I will then contact the parents to discuss their childs behavior and there is a possibility of a visit to the principal depending on the behavior of the student. To monitor your childs daily behavior; be sure to ask them what color they were on at the end of the day. Conferences
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The best way to get in touch with us is via e-mail, a note or a phone call. We check our emails twice daily. Please be aware that e-mail within the district is a matter of public record, so treat matters of confidentiality with care. You may also call and leave a message for us in the office. If you would like to schedule a conference, please send a note with your child or an e-mail. We will try to coordinate a time that is convenient for everyone involved.

Homework On Monday, I will send home the homework sheet (see example below), students will keep it at home all week, and return it on Friday with a parent signature. Every night students are to read 20 minutes and then write down the title of the book (spelled correctly, please!). The goal is to practice reading skills and make reading a daily habit. Students will also practice working with word sorts nightly. If there is any other homework besides 20 minutes of reading and spelling, it will be listed on the homework table. I go over the homework expectations and directions for the week on Monday prior to sending it home with students. The homework sheet will also have any important information for parents in the box labeled From the Teacher. Each student will receive a homework folder (Gordy folder) from the school.

Name__________________________
Feb 11, 2012
Monday Reading Things to note
Read for 20 min.

February 6-

Homework
Tuesday
Read for 20 min.

Wednesda y
Read for 20 min.

Thursday
Read for 20 min.

Friday
Reading Log is due

Please sign and return all the paper in the Gordy folder. (The Gordy folder is your 3rd graders Homework Folder.)

Reading Logwrite the title of the book(s) you read.

Monday ___________________________________________________________ Tuesday __________________________________________________________ Wednesday__________________________________________________________ Thursday____________________________________________________________ Parent Signature _____________________________________________________

From the Teacher:

Welcome to 2nd grade!!

If I didnt get a chance to meet you on Friday at Parent Orientation, I have sent home the Parent Handbook that we went over. Please review this with your third grader. Thank you.
Educationally yours,
Mr. Hendrickson cshendrickson@interact.ccsd.net

Awards and Recognitions Student of the Month Student of the month is awarded to the student(s) selected by the teacher who have demonstrated qualities and characteristics valued by the McCaw Community. These qualities could include, but are not limited to, improved citizenship, academic progress, demonstration of responsible behaviors and a positive learning attitude. Primary teachers are to select 1 student a month. Intermediate teachers may select 2 students a month due to larger class size. Students will receive a certificate and have Waffles with Walker. Monthly Perfect Attendance Individual: Students will be recognized for monthly perfect attendance. Students may not be tardy to qualify for perfect attendance. At the beginning of each month, students who had perfect attendance for the previous month will be given a perfect attendance voucher which may be redeemed at the snack shack during lunch. Whole Class: Each day that a class has perfect attendance, the perfect attendance flag is hung outside the classroom door. At the end of the month, teachers will send the total number of perfect attendance days to Maryann via email one week prior to the first Friday. There will be a winner for primary (K-2) and one for intermediate (3-5). Students will receive ice cream from Mrs. Walker at lunch time. Character Cash Each month the school will focus on a specific character trait. Character Cash is awarded to students who are caught demonstrating the character traits valued by the McCaw Community. It may or may not be a trait which is the focus of the month. The full name of the student will be written on the character cash. The student will hand in his or her cash to the office and their name will be submitted for a weekly drawing to receive a Caught Being Good t-shirt. Trimester and End-of-Year Awards Taking Care of Business The Taking Care of Business award is presented at the trimester awards assemblies to those students who have demonstrated responsibility by turning in homework and classroom assignments, coming to school prepared to learn, working appropriately in the classroom and being engaged in the learning process. Teachers may select as many students as demonstrate these qualities for this award. Perfect Attendance Perfect Attendance is awarded to students who have no absences and no tardies for the trimester. At the end of the year, recognition will be given to those students who have missed no days for the entire year. Exemplary Attendance Exemplary attendance is awarded at the end of the year to those students who have missed 3 or less days with 3 or less tardies.
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A and A-B Honor Roll Students who have achieved all As and no Ns will receive A honor roll awards. Students who have achieved all As and Bs and no Ns will receive A/B honor roll awards. Most Improved Academics Students who have demonstrated remarkable growth in academic areas will be awarded this award. This award is at the discretion of the teacher.

Sign and Return

I have read the Parent Handbook and discussed the necessary content with my child. ________________________ Parent Signature Date _________________ ______________________ Student Signature

I have read and discussed the discipline procedures with my child. Please sign and return to school. ________________________ Parent Signature ______________________ Student Signature