ABC’s of 2nd Grade 2013-2014

Welcome to second grade! Our goal is to help students become responsible, organized, and independent while learning the curriculum. We look forward to a great year!

A ttendance

Many 2nd grade learning activities are group oriented and involve interaction with classmates. Therefore, it is next to impossible to recreate these activities at home. Please view school as a priority and see to it that your child attends every day except in cases of illness or emergency. (In order for an absence to be excused, the school must have written documentation (email teacher) or a call to the McAlpine Health Hotline 704-849-6074). According to a CMS policy, parent contact will be made after 3, 6, and 10 absences in a given school year.

B irthdays If you wish to bring in a treat to celebrate your child’s birthday, please plan to bring it during our lunch time. Treats must be store bought. School staff will not be responsible for dispensing the treats. Invitations for birthday parties may only be sent to school if all children are invited.

C ommunication

Binders: Your child’s binder will be the most important tool for second grade. The binder will include the McAlpine agenda, homework, notes, syllabi, assessment data and math games. Please review this daily and initial in your child’s agenda. Items included in the binder are: - Important Notes: Various types of notes may be sent home in student binders and/or agendas. If you send a note in your child’s binder or agenda, please tell your child to give us the notes at the beginning of the day so that we can reply as quickly as possible. It is the student’s responsibility to make us aware of any note. Other items may include forms or money. - Homework: The front pocket will be designated for daily homework and spelling contract (all homework should be stapled into one packet and turned in on Friday). - Syllabi: Several sleeves will be designated for quarterly syllabi. The syllabi let you know what will be taught and assessed on a weekly basis and how your child will be graded at the end of the unit (total points are added, converted to a percentage grade, and a 1-3 is assigned based on the grade conversion provided below *see Grading). - Math Games: One sleeve will contain math games (printed sheets) and the pencil pouch will include primary number cards, addition combination cards and other game tools to play at home. Please keep these games in the pocket for safe keeping all year as students will need access to the games from their binder at home and at school. If you lose any of the games or materials, you can print them off the wiki (http://2ndgrade.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/Math+Resources )

Phone Calls and Emails: Although email is the best way to communicate with us, we are open to receiving phone calls as well. Emails will not be checked during instructional hours, so if you have a change in transportation or need to contact your child or teacher during the day, please call the office. The school phone number is (980) 343-3750. Here are the second grade teachers email addresses: Mrs. Henning: [email protected] ; Mrs. Tremper: [email protected] Mrs. Monismith: [email protected] ; Ms. Lance: [email protected] Conferences: There is a scheduled parent/teacher conference time in the fall. If you feel the need to have other conferences during the year, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher to set up a time before or after school. It is not conducive to the learning environment to discuss student progress during the school day or during student arrival time (7:15-7:45 am).

D ismissal and D ress Code Dismissal: School ends at 2:45 pm. You must send a note if your child is to go home a different way than his/her normal schedule. Please do not send changes via email if it is after 3pm on the day prior to the change. Even if you send an email, a note is helpful too.

Dress Code: Students should follow the dress code policy outlined in the CMS student code of conduct. Please note that McAlpine will enforce the ‘fingertip length’ rule as it applies to shorts and dresses/skirts. Additionally, students will not be allowed to wear flip-flops or ‘shower shoes’. However, they may wear sandals.

E mergencies Please make sure that we have current emergency numbers and information on file for your child. If information changes throughout the year, please send notification in writing to your child’s teacher. You should fill out and return a blue emergency card at the beginning of the year.

G rading The following rubric is the CMS grading policy for second grade. 4: Consistently expands grade level standards (The student consistently produces high quality work, applies concepts independently, and is self- motivated.) 3: Consistently meets grade level standards (The student consistently meets grade level standards. The student regularly demonstrates proficiency.) 2: Progressing toward grade level standards (The student is approaching and occasionally meets the standards for the current grade level.) 1: Not meeting grade level standards (The student has not yet met minimum level standards. The student needs more time and experience for concepts, processes, and skills to develop.)

Third Grade Grading Scale Correlation: Second Grade Third Grade A: 100-93 77-100 is the same as receiving a 3. B: 92-85 69-76 is the same as receiving a 2. C: 84-77 Below 69 is considered a 1. D: 76-70 F: Below 69

H omework Your child will have math and spelling homework Mondays through Thursdays. Students are expected to write down homework in their agendas at the beginning of each week. It will be posted daily for students to copy. Students are responsible for making sure homework gets to and from school each day and is returned on Friday morning upon entry. *Helpful Hint*: the following are 2nd grade homework staples: math worksheet M-W and a math game on Thursday (parent initial in agenda), 30 minute nightly reading and response (student writes book title and parent initial each night), nightly spelling contract (student can complete any combination of activities to earn 10 points).

I nternet Your child will use the Internet for various purposes throughout the year. In order to do this we must have the permission slip from CMS signed and returned along with other release forms (video, photo, P.E. etc.) McAlpine is expected to become a ‘Bring Your Own Technology’ school this year and we will inform you when the change is initiated. L unch Feel free to join your child for lunch at any time throughout the year. In order to join your child at lunch (or anytime during the day) you will need to sign in at the front office and obtain (and wear) a visitor’s pass. Guests without a visitor’s pass will be asked to return to the office to sign in. Children and their guests should sit at the guest tables in the cafeteria. Your child may choose a friend to join you, but only if the guest tables are not already crowded.

M cAlpine Code of Conduct

In order to provide students with the best educational environment, it is important for us to establish certain rules and guidelines for the classroom. Make sure you sign the code of conduct form. The McAlpine code of conduct says that students will follow the ‘Sweet Sixteen’ expectations. A copy of the Sweet Sixteen is available on the wiki.

***Please review your teacher’s classroom management letter attached for specific classroom details. N ewsletters Newsletters will be updated on the WIKI each week. Please read through them for important changes or events that might be going on in the classroom. Our WIKI is: http://2ndgrade.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/Newsletter

O utside Time Students will go outside weather permitting each day for physical activity. Students should dress appropriately. In order for students to use the playground equipment, their shoes should have backs. NO FLIPFLOPS!! Q uick and Quiet Hellos As you volunteer in our classroom, we will urge your child to acknowledge you with a “quick and quiet” wave hello. It is important for them to greet you, but remain involved in class activities. Please support us by reminding them of the same thing.

R estroom Breaks Because of the importance of our instructional time during the day, we try not to have students leave the room in the middle of class. We ask that students use the restroom in the morning between 7:00 and 7:30. They may also go during non-instructional time (stations) and we will give children the opportunity to use the restroom once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Please encourage your child to use the restroom at those times in order to avoid missing valuable information. If your child needs to use the restroom more often due to a medical condition, please send a note informing the teacher of this condition. S nacks Due to our lunch time being on the earlier end, snacks will be allowed under several conditions. Students may have a one-item working snack in the afternoon. The snack must be completely crumb- free, utensil-free, and nutritious (CMS competitive food policy). The amount of food should be relatively small (the size of your child’s fist). Your child is responsible for removing it from his/her backpack upon arrival and will not be permitted to retrieve it later. Some good examples are below or you may choose something very similar:  Cheese cubes or string cheese, portable yogurt, goldfish, bite-sized pretzels, popcorn, granola bar (but not Pop Tarts), cereal, healthy snack mixes. We hope you’ll understand the stringent policy, as snacks do interrupt the instructional time and can potentially cause big bug problems if not monitored. Thanks for your understanding 

T ardies Students should be in the classroom by 7:45 am. Arriving after this time causes students to lose instructional time. Although students will not be counted tardy before 7:45 am, we begin instruction at 7:45 and students who arrive at or near the bell may miss valuable instruction due to unpacking. Volunteers We love to have your help! If you would like to volunteer in your child’s classroom or in the school, contact the classroom teacher for information. Please remember to register online before volunteering as well as log your hours on the computer in the office upon sign-in. Website Our grade level website will be updated weekly (homepage) and quarterly (subject-area pages) so check it out. Our website is: http://2ndgrade.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/home Water Bottles Water bottles are kept on desks may only contain water. Children should bring water bottles to and from school every day. Students should start the day with a full water bottle. Juice, soda, etc. is not allowed in the classroom. Sugary drinks attract bugs and are messy if spilled. If a student brings these things, we will ask him or her to put them away until lunch time. Please be sure that the bottle has a “pop-up” top to help prevent spills (no disposable bottles). X,Y,Z We are eXited to work with You and Your child this year. Make sure he/she gets plenty of zzzzz’s each night as we have exciting days planned for this year.  Please review the policies and procedures with your child. In order for our classes to run smoothly, we need your help in reinforcing these things at home. We look forward to working with you and your child this year! Mrs. Henning , Mrs. Monismith, Ms. Lance, and Mrs. Tremper *Please sign this form and return the complete ABC’s packet by Friday, August 30th. (We will keep the ABC’s in your child’s binder for your reference throughout the year.) I have read and understand the policies and procedures outlined in this document.

Child’s Name:______Child’s Signature:______Parent’s Signature:______