WELCOME TO

SECOND GRADE WITH

MRS. PENDERGAST!

MRS. PENDERGAST--EDUCATION
I earned my degree in Elementary
Education at Westminster College in Salt
Lake City with a minor in history. I then
continued on with my Masters at Utah
State University, adding a reading
endorsement and an ESL endorsement. Im
just finishing up my Elementary Math
Endorsement this semester. Ive been
teaching for 12 years, and this will be my
5th year teaching second grade. Ive
taught grades 2, 3, 5,and 6, but I love
teaching second graders!

ALL ABOUT MRS. PENDERGAST

I married the wonderful Mr. Pendergast in
2014!
We enjoy traveling, movies, camping,
sports, and doing things with family.
We have family all over the country, and
we love to travel and spend time with them.
SOME OF THE
THINGS I LIKE:
Hiking, baking & canning,
quilting & sewing, traveling.

CLASS SCHEDULE
The first bell each day is at 8:40 AM.
School is dismissed at 3:25 PM, Monday-Thursday.
Friday is an early-out day, and school is dismissed at 1:25 PM.
Students will have specials classes during the week. Our class will be split among the
other second grade classes for specials. Your students special schedules will be on the
front of their homework folder for you.
The first day of school is August 24, 2016. This is also an early out day at 1:25. The
first three days of school are early out days.

Students will enter our classroom through the back door and also exit that way after
school. You are welcome to pick them up and drop them off there.

CLASS RULES & BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT

We have 6 class rules:

1) Listen while your teacher is talking.

2) Follow directions quickly.
3) Keep your hands and feet to yourself.
4) Raise your hand to speak or stand.
5) Be safe, be kind, be honest.
6) Keep your dear teacher happy. (This is a rule
about making good choices, not my personal
happiness!)

If students are choosing to not follow a rule, these

steps will be taken:
1) Verbal warning
2) 5 minutes off next recess or activity
3) Miss next activity
4) Teacher/student discussion
5) Parent Contact

I believe in helping students

work out conflicts first to see
if problems can be
managed.
As always, any bullying
(hitting, name calling,
aggressive behavior) will not
be tolerated. Parents will
receive a phone call from
their student, and students
will have modified recess.

CLASSROOM REWARDS
Students will be earning Brag Tags this year for the good
behaviors they exhibit and for accomplishments, such as
getting 100 percent on a test or passing off math facts.
We will be focusing a lot on positive character traits such
as honesty, being a good friend, and doing best work.
Students can earn brag tag cards for their necklaces or
also colored beads. They will get to wear these at school
when they earn something, and everyone will wear them to
celebrate each Friday.

STUDENT-LED CONFERENCES
Students will be
participating in Student-Led
Conferences for Parent
Teaching Conference time.
The students will be
collecting pieces of work to
display that shows their
progress and will be sharing
this with parents during
conference time. There will
also be time available to
talk to Mrs. Pendergast.

WHAT STUDENTS WILL BE LEARNING IN

ND
2

GRADE

Language Arts: reading, spelling patterns, types of books, new vocabulary, speaking
and listening skills, working as part of a group
Writing: complete sentences, writing both fiction and nonfiction stories, types of
sentences, types of words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.), refining writing skills with
better vocabulary
Math: learning about greater numbers to 1,000, skip counting (2s, 5s, 10s), addition
and subtraction facts fluency, shapes, money, time, reading graphs, addition and
subtraction strategies of larger numbers

Science: Rocks, moon, stars, weather, gravity, plants & living things
Social Studies: Communities and their differences, civic responsibility, map reading
Technology: Beginning keyboarding skills, using digital tools

Arts: Exploring and developing artistic skills

Healthy Lifestyles/PE: developing movement skills, healthy habits

HOMEWORK EXPECTATIONS
Parents,
I realize that lives are busy, and that homework may take some time. My goal is to have
students be able to complete a majority of their homework in 5-10 minutes, by themselves,
with parents checking as necessary. Homework does a few things: 1) allows parents to see
things we are working on in class, 2) Provides students with a small bit of practice and
opportunity to do it themselves (vs having teacher right there), and 3) Helps students learn the
responsibility of doing homework and bringing it back for a reward (just like adults get paid
for jobs). I hope that homework is not burdensome on a family or family time.
Students will have a weekly homework packet that goes home on Monday and is due Friday.
There will never be homework on weekends. Each Friday, students who have completed all
parts of their homework will get to participate in a Fun Friday activity (art, sports, puzzles,
etc.) with all the other second graders.
If you have questions about the homework, please dont hesitate to contact me. I am happy to
adjust homework for students who show need.

ATTENDANCE & MISSED WORK

Students learn so much while they are here at school. Many assignments cant be
duplicated because they involve a lot of class discussion, teaching, and hands-on
work. If a student misses a day, the work missed will be here for them to make-up
when they return. Usually the student needs some direction and instructions on what
to do and how to complete the work. Please do not send a note requesting work for
an upcoming absence. Most of the stuff students miss for an extended absence will
have to be retaught to them anyway.
Please make sure your student is to school on time each day! Students begin their
daily routine as soon as the first bell rings. If your student needs more time to get
started, please help them get here at the first bell and not the late bell.

GRADING
Grading: Many assignments are practice, and therefore will be counted as practice.
Assessments linked to standards assessment and mastery will be scored and entered
in the grading system. Students will be graded on points and also on a rubric. At the
end of the term, grades will be based on the SMART system where 3 is complete
understanding of the subject and 1 means the student is struggling greatly with the
concept. The SMART system is based on understanding and mastering concepts.
The goal is to have students master a concept by the end of the year or sooner. See
me if you have any questions, or there is a brief explanation on the class website.
Students may make up missed work but only during the same term (9 weeks).

3= Grade level work

2= Below grade level work
1= Far below grade level work

Check your students grades on mydsd. As always, please contact me with questions or
concerns.

VOLUNTEERING
I would love some volunteers in our classroom. There will be a sign up at the Back to
School Open House on August 20. We will not be needing volunteers for the first few
weeks as students get adjusted and used to the classroom procedures and routines.
Please remember that volunteers must try to be consistent, check in and out of the
office during volunteer times, and have a desire to work with students or do anything
that may need to be done.
There will also be opportunities during the year for volunteers to go on field trips,
host class parties or celebrations, or help with special projects. I know schedules can
be challenging, so maybe a one time opportunity will work better for volunteering
over a weekly time.
There are also opportunities with the PTA! Please sign up with them at Back to School.

COMMUNICATION
Communication: My goal is to email or update the class blog with news for the coming week.
Please check there regularly for updates. Your students will become very familiar with this website,
as we use it to access a lot of our online things at school.
http://www.2ndgrademrspendergast.weebly.com

Email is a great way for us to stay in touch, so please feel free to use it! That said, if you dont
have a current, updated email with the office, please update it. You can contact me at
mipendergast@dsdmail.net .

CLASS SUPPLIES AND DONATIONS

Any supplies you could donate to your classroom would be greatly appreciated. These
are the things we use the most:
* Glue sticks (for interactive math notebooks, spelling activities, art, etc.)
* Pencils, pencils, and pencils

* Cleaning wipes and tissues/Kleenex

* Fine tip dry erase markers
* Your student may want to bring a water bottle, labeled with his or her name. Water
bottles will be sent home weekly to wash and clean.
I will have many of the supplies your student needs here at class on the first day. I will
provide your students with a great start to the year. Each of them will have a pencil
tray, pencils, glue stick, whiteboard marker & eraser, crayons, and scissors.

SEE YOU AT THE OPEN HOUSE!

MONDAY, AUGUST 22 FROM 5-7PM!

Room 22!