A Note from Mrs. Skon

Friday Folders and “Peek of the Week” Newsletter:

Each week a Friday Folder will be sent home with students. The folder contains information from the Big Woods office. The Friday Folder should be signed by a parent or guardian and returned to school each Monday. You will also receive a weekly “Peek of the Week” newsletter keeping you up-to-date on important happenings in our classroom and at Big Woods. This will be my primary means of communicating with families. Spelling, vocabulary, and high frequency words will be included in the newsletter.

Specials: Each day we will have specials. Below is our schedule of these extra classes. Students will need tennis shoes for Gym which may be kept in their lockers. On Media days, students will be allowed to check-out books. They will not be able to check out new books unless they return the books from the week before.

Specialist Schedule for Mrs. Skon’s Second Grade

Day 1
Gym / Day 2
Music
Wellness / Day 3
Media
Chinese / Day 4
Gym
Computer / Day 5
Gym
Art / Day 6
Music

Behavior Expectations: Within the first week of school, each child will be sharing their hopes and dreams for this school year. This will serve as a basis for developing a set of class guidelines that will help our class have the year that they hope for. We will also be developing a class belief statement centering around the ideas of the students and the class they want to be (examples: respecting others, quiet voices in the hallway, etc.). We will continuously refer to our beliefs throughout the year. Additionally, we will be discussing and creating a list of things that are the “student’s job,” and “my job.” The purpose of this list is to help each student stay on task during the day. As your child’s teacher my goal is to guide your students in making good choices, and helping your child be the person they want to be. When students are not making good choices, I will help them by using questioning strategies and reminders. We all make mistakes and it is important that responsibility is taken for those actions. Sometimes, students need to “take a break.” This means leaving the group for a short time, and returning when they feel they are ready to participate in a way that follows our class rules and beliefs. After this, if a student is still struggling, I will meet with the student and we will discuss a plan of action as well as a logical consequence.

Birthdays: We will celebrate student’s birthday on the day of or closest possible. See the Birthday Celebration sheet for your child’s celebration day. You are welcome to send a “birthday treat” to share if you wish to; please keep in mind this is optional. All treats must be store bought.

Daily Planner: Planners are a communication tool between parents and teachers. They include reminders and what the students have learned each day. Students are expected to fill out their planners each day and have them signed by a parent or guardian before returning them the next day. Parent signatures verify that the planner has been read and homework is complete. Please note: In keeping with our Handbook Policy(p.11) if homework is not complete, parents should document the reason. If planners are not signed and /or returned for two consecutive days, students will attempt to call parents.

Grading: In second grade we will be using the following marks for Math and Language Arts grades:

E- Exceeds Expectations

S- Secure

D- Developing

N- Needs Improvement

*Students come into second grade at many different reading and math levels. My goal is to have students show consistent gains throughout the school year. ‘N’ means a student is still at a beginning level. ‘D’ means a student is showing steady progress. ‘S’ means a student is working at grade level for that time of year. ‘E’ means the student’s progress is above our expectations for a second grader at that time of year.

Homework: The most important homework is for your child to read at least 15 minutes everyday and to practice additionand subtraction facts for 5 minutes every day.I will almost always send a math Home Link every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Math Home Links are math practice pages. Students will glue the Home Link in their homework notebook in class, complete the work at home, and return it to school the next day.

Language Arts: Every two weeks students will complete a Theme test focusing on phonics, grammar, and story comprehension. Spelling tests are given weekly.

Make-up Work: When your child misses school, I will send home missed assignments that can be made up at home. Please help your child complete this work and return within 2 school days.

Math: At the beginning of each math unit, you will receive a Home Link Family Letter. Please hold on to this letter throughout the unit since it contains information about what and how learning, along with answers to the math Home Links. Parents find these letters very useful.

*Please practice addition and subtraction facts throughout the school year for 5 minutes each night.

Your child will be given a “mad minutes” (3 minute timed test) twice a week to assess math facts

Morning Meeting: We will begin each day with a 15 minute Morning Meeting. We will sit in a circle and do a greeting, sharing, a team building activity and any news and announcements. This is also a time that we can share any class concerns that may arise throughout the year. This is a very important part of our day. Morning Meetings helps us in building a respectful, caring class community.

Recess & Lunch: Recess time is 11:10-11:30. Students will need to have closed-toe shoes for recess. Our lunch time is 11:30-11:55. You may pack a cold lunch or eat hot lunch at school.

Snack: We will have snack time in the morning. Each student needs to be responsible for their own snack. Please send healthy snacks. Crackers, fruit, raisins, pretzels, are examples of healthy snacks. Please do not send cookies, chips, pop, or candy. Snacks should be sent daily and will be kept in backpacks until snack time.

Star Student: We will celebrate one student each week and what makes him/her unique. A note will be sent home in your child’s Friday Folder announcing his/her turn to be the Star of the Week.

Teacher hours: You may reach me at school between 7 am and 3 pm. E-mail is a great way to contact me. If you are

e-mailing changes for your child’s afternoon transportation the day of, please contact the Main Office and they will be sure your child and I receives the message before the end of the day.

Volunteer Opportunities: If you would like to assist in the classroom by working one-on-one with a child or with small groups of students, preparing class projects, and correcting papers please let me know via email. Volunteers are scheduled October-April. Please let me know the days/times you are available!

I look forward to a great second grade year together!

Mrs. Skon

763-497-8025 ext. 61162