Classroom Policies

Welcome to Second Grade

We wish to extend to each and everyone a warm "Hello". After a wonderful summer, it's time to begin again. We hope your child is looking forward to the new school year that lies ahead. They will be going on an exciting adventure called "Second Grade." There are many new and exciting learning experiences they will be partaking in this year. We will try our best to make this adventure both exciting and enjoyable. 

BIRTHDAYS

Celebrating student birthdays is a special way for our community to be able to recognize each of the unique individuals that make up our student body. We believe that school should be a place where students can be celebrated safely. Families looking to bring in something for their child to pass out to the entire class must follow the following guidelines:

• We encourage families to bring in non-food items for their child to pass out to their peers (small toys or trinkets)

• If a family wishes to bring in a treat for the class to enjoy, there must be enough for the whole class AND the snacks will be strictly limited to popsicles. We will keep these popsicles in our freezers for students to enjoy during a break time. 

SNACKS

There will be morning recess each day.  We ask that you send in a healthy snack daily, as lunch is not served until 12:00. Sharing and trading foods is prohibited.  In the lunchroom, a "Safe Zone" table will be established and maintained for all students with life-threatening food allergies.  If you do not want your child to sit at this table, you must notify the school nurse in writing. Snack and recess is from 10:00-10:25 daily. Please have your child bring in a water bottle that they will be able to keep at their desks.

SCHOOL DAY

Students begin entering the building at 7:40 AM and  proceed to the Hall. At 7:50 teachers meet the class and proceed to the classroom. During this morning time the children unpack, get ready for the day, and begin morning work. This morning work acts as a review for the students. All students should be in the classroom by 8:00 AM for prayer. Students not in the room by 8:00 will be marked absent. The student must report to the office first if tardy. The children are dismissed at 2:25 PM. They have been assigned to a bus, or maybe they are walkers, extended day or car riders. If there should be change in their normal schedule, please let us know by way of a note or email.  If you need to dismiss your child early, please send along a note in the morning, and be sure to sign your child out at the office.

ASSESSMENTS

Second graders will be assessed this year in a variety of ways. There are more formal assessments in all content areas. Three times a year the students take the MAP test which shows progress throughout the year. The MAP test gives teachers more infomation to help guide their teaching.  Informal assessments include teachers’ observations, daily work, writing samples, activities, experiments and projects. Both forms are combined to best assess your child. There may be occasion for work to be corrected or completed during the day. We work with the children to help them understand their mistakes. Our goal is for the child to apply the skills and knowledge they have learned.

HOMEWORK

Second graders receive a homework packet on Mondays.  All homework is posted on the Saint Mary Second Grade site. The intent of a homework packet is to allow the student the flexibility to complete the homework within a week’s time. Reading is a given in the homework packet. Everyone is expected to read a few minutes each night and to record the readings on the Reading Log. If you do not list any books read for the week, we assume you have not read any. We may periodically include a Math log, so that your child can practice math fluency through games, or online sources.  This log is also be an important part of your child's homework.

Homework should reflect pride in one’s work. Papers that are rushed or partly completed, or that do not follow the directions do not show the effort that is expected of Second Graders. Illustrations should always be colored neatly, and handwriting should always be neat. We ask that homework be completed in pencil. Homework folders are passed in or due on Fridays.

We hope that for the most part homework is done independently. However we understand that there may be times when parental help is needed. It is for this reason that homework is not given a heavy grade. We are looking for the children to develop good work habits, independent thinking, pride in one’s work, and good study habits. We also expect them to pass in the homework folders without being reminded.

The grading policy is simply a 3-2-1 rubric. Packets or papers that are scored a 3 show that directions have been followed and best effort is given. A 2 shows average work, with some areas that are lacking. A 1 is incomplete, not completed correctly or shows a poor level of knowledge. As the year continues, the rubric may change to a 4-3-2-1 rubric, with scores of a 4 showing outstanding effort.
 

CLASS RULES

At the beginning of each year the children discuss and decide which rules are necessary for our classroom. These rules are then posted and reviewed whenever necessary. Our guiding principle is that each person in the class has a right to learn. Rules are kept simple, and focus on the positive.  Rules such a listen to the speaker or show love and kindness reflect our Christian beliefs.  With guidance and reinforcement, the children can better manage their behavior.

CLASSROOM WORK

Second grade is filled with activities that include whole class and small group instruction, cooperative groups, computer activities, group work, partnered work and individual work. Each class is made up of a diverse group of students with many different learning styles and needs. Children are encouraged to take responsibility for their learning. We encourage each child to do work that is neat and to the best of their ability. Students are expected to complete their work in class. Many of these procedures are a carry over from First Grade.

UNIFORMS

Please label your child’s uniforms. There are many times sweatshirts are unidentified because the children have taken them off during gym. Please use the Student Handbook as your guide for seasonal uniform changes. Out of uniform slips will be passed out to those who do not wear the uniform correctly.

GRADING:

Tests such as math, spelling, religion, science and social studies are given number grades. Other papers are scored with the 3-2-1-rubric at the beginning of the year, and change to a 4-3-2-1 rubric by midyear. Math tests are given independently, parts of the science, social studies and science tests are read aloud to the class. 

Spelling tests are but a small portion of the spelling and writing grades. Spelling tests are taken from the spelling patterns learned in our Fundations program. Specific words are not give, but word patterns from the lessons are used, thus showing your child's overall knowledge. Word patterns are worked on dialy through tapping sounds, practicing spelling words patterns and going over trick words.

Second Graders should expect to spend 20-30 minutes per night on homework.

COMMUNITY SERVICE:

Second graders help to serve trhough many of the programs we have at St. Mary School. Monthly mass collections show we care for the welfare of others. Winter Coat Drive, and the collection of gently used books to help those less fortunate than ourselves lso allow us to share what we have with others. This process helped the children to realize that service to others is an enriching activity.

GOALS:

Our goals for your children are to help them become more independent learners. We take them from simple one step directions to more complex two and three step directions, both in oral and written form. We form many partnerships within the classroom: reading and math buddies, cross group buddies, elbow partners, and same group buddies. We encourage your children to learn to work with many other children as well as to learn to work independently. We are there to promote learning but we are also there to offer strategies for learning rather than giving answers.

COMMUNITY BUILDING:

We began our year developing classroom rules. As a class we replaced the “do not…” with a more positive word. Reflecting that the classroom is a community of learners, we focused on the ideas that we wanted to make the classroom an environment where we all could learn.

Community service projects, Sixth grade buddies, classroom jobs, homemade cards, and prayer intentions all help to unite us as a community.

SCHEDULES:

Monday - Religion, Spanish
Tuesday - Religion
Wednesday - Religion, Music, Library
Thursday- Art, Religion, Technology
Friday - PE, Spanish
 

If you or you child has a question or concern, do not hesitate to let us know.
Mrs. O’Brien