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                                                                        August 22, 2011

Dear Parents,

         Welcome to Ellsworth Hill Elementary and Room B-14! This will be my 15th year of teaching, and I am very excited about beginning another school year. I hope your child is too! This handbook is an overview of basic information to get us started on our way to a great year. Keep this handy and refer to it throughout the year.

       I look forward to a very successful year. I know that together we can provide a fun learning and growing second grade experience for your child. Please feel free to call me at school ({330} 653-1424) or drop me a note with any concerns or questions you may have. You may also email me at dennisw@hudson.edu. Please realize that I only check email in the morning and at the end of the day, and sometimes email is not functioning. Because of these factors, this is not an acceptable way to communicate any change in transportation for your child.

Classroom Management

         The classroom discipline in Room B -14 is one based upon Foster W. Cline, M.D. and Jim Fay’s Love and Logic. Our school library and Guidance Counselor have many resources that are available for parents to check out.  The classroom expectations for the students are as follows:

§      I will treat you with respect, so you will know how to treat me.

§      Feel free to do anything that doesn’t cause a problem for anyone else.

§      If you cause a problem, I will ask you to solve it.

§      If you can’t solve the problem, or choose not to,

I will do something to solve it.

§      What I do will depend on the special person and the special situation.

§      If you feel something is unfair, whisper to me, “I’m not sure that’s fair,” and we will talk.

Special Subject Schedule

Monday:                                             Library 10:35 – 11:12

                                                            Art 11:15 - 11:52

Tuesday:                                           Physical Education 10:35 – 11:12

                                                            Music 10:35 – 11:12 

Wednesday:                                     Art 10:35 – 11:12 

Thursday:                                         Physical Education 10:35 – 11:12

Friday:                                               Music 10:35 – 11:12

*Don’t forget to wear your tennis shoes on Tuesday and Thursday!

Curriculum   

  Language Arts

Language Arts will be taught, in part, through a program called Literacy by Design. It is a complete literacy program that combines research-based instruction with classroom practices that work. This program connects whole class, small group, and independent instruction through common comprehension strategies. Literacy by Design links literacy skills to standards-based science and social studies content through the use of fiction and nonfiction texts and themes. The Literacy by Design program provides and supports early literacy instruction that aligns with scientifically based research. The program was written to include a systematic, focused approach to instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, decoding, vocabulary, and the writing process.

Word Study

         We will be using the Rebecca Sitton spelling program this year, similar to what your child experienced in first grade. There will be a core list of words that your child will need to master in context. Other words of significance will be introduced. A detailed letter and resource guide will be sent home explaining ways you can support your child with his/her word study.

Mathematics

         The Investigations program is quite hands-on, allowing for individual discovery and understanding of math concepts, skills and problem solving strategies. Watch for letters to come home throughout each unit. The letters will list the topics we will cover and activities that may be completed at home to reinforce the concepts. We will study strategies to help the students master the basic addition and subtraction facts. Flash cards will be sent home periodically for continuing practice. Every ten school days we will have “Pocket Day”. This is a classroom routine where the children wear as many pockets as possible, and then we will collect data about the number of pockets the class is wearing.

  Social Studies

         In Social Studies, the children will be learning about groups of people. We will study, compare and contrast the cultures of the Masai of Kenya and the Inuit of the Arctic. We will study a unit on Colonial Williamsburg and Americana. Geography will be woven through these units as well as a unit of its own.

  Science

         Science is another very hands-on subject. We will be examining soils, changes of states of matter, life sciences (habitats), and the sun, moon, and stars.

v  Health

         Our Health studies will include nutrition, dental health and safety.

Learning Journal

       Your child will have a spiral notebook labeled “Learning Journal”. This notebook will be used for reading, word study, writing, science, social studies and math activities. This journal will also be used to write a “Dear Parent” letter each Friday. Each Friday your child will bring home his/her learning journal with a letter telling about the week at school.  After I have read the letter, I will stamp it with a place for you to sign or initial it. This letter is to be shared and edited between you and your child. Please feel free to write a letter to your child in the journal if you’d like. Please be sure to sign it and remind your child that he will need to be sure to bring it back to school on Monday. It is very important that this learning journal return to school each and every Monday. We use it all the time!

Homework

       Each evening second graders will be expected to read silently or with someone for at least 15 - 20 minutes. (See Home Reading section for other details.)

         Some nights the children will have math homework from the workbook related to the unit they are studying. Occasionally the children will have other homework or other assignments related to the read aloud or the science, social studies, or health unit we are studying. The directions and details will accompany these projects.

Home Reading

       The first school day of each month the children will bring home a ‘home reading’ coloring sheet. The children color sections to show minutes read at home. This reading may be completed independently, with a parent or with a sibling. The sheet, signed by a parent, is due the last school day of each month.

Read Aloud

       Reading aloud to the children is a very important and fun aspect of second grade. We will read and celebrate many special books. After reading the book to the students, we usually celebrate with a special day. This special day usually includes seeing the movie version of the story, comparing/contrasting the book and the movie and other fun activities involving writing, language and math. Some of the books read aloud include: Charlotte’s Web, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, The B.F.G., Gooseberry Park, My Father’s Dragon series and various versions of modern and classic fairy tales. The children do not need a copy of these books, but may bring in a copy to read along if they wish.

Monthly Newsletter

         At the beginning of each month, your child will bring home a newsletter highlighting our units of study. You can focus your questions to the specific areas of study, as well as help your child with extra reading or investigating the topics.

Book Orders

         Each month the children will be given book club order forms. To place an order, please return the book order form and a check made out to the company in an envelope by the due date.  Book orders are a great way for the children to choose their own books and get excited about reading. Ordering from the book clubs also helps us earn free books and materials for the classroom. On occasion there will be a software order form attached so that the children may get computer activities to use at home.

Sharing

         Every member of Room B-14 will be given the opportunity to share photos, trophies, etc. with the class. One child a week will bring home the “share bag”. You will know it is your child’s turn when this bag comes home. Enclosed in the book bag is a direction/idea sheet.

Birthdays

         We are happy to celebrate birthdays with a simple treat that you may choose to drop off at school in the morning or send in with your child. This allows use to celebrate when we have or need a break. Children with summer birthdays may choose a day to celebrate their ‘half-birthday’ or another special day.

Stuff

         Toys, trading cards, Game Boys, Webkinz, Silly Bandz etc. are a distraction to learning. Please help by being sure these items stay at home. Mechanical pencils are also a distraction. Regular #2 pencils (Dixon Ticonderoga are the best) and a good eraser are the way to go! The children will need to replenish supplies as the year goes along (pencils, good eraser, crayons, glue, glue stick, scissors and colored pencils.)

Whose is this?

PLEASE label your child’s possessions with at least his/her first and last name. Don’t forget to label coats, boots, hats, and lunch boxes. You would not believe what ends up in the lost and found!

Medicines

         Any and all medicines MUST go through the office/school nurse.

Going Home

         Any change in bus routine at the end of the day will require a note from you (please date it). If your child is in Brownies or something similar you may send one note listing all the dates that there is a change in transportation.

Ways Parents May Help

·      Check daily for mail in your child’s take home folder. Help return any forms, homework, and the Learning Journal.

·      Be positive and quickly reassure your child to ease anxieties.

·      Review the class expectations should a problem arise. Remind your child that he/she has choices.

·      Help with any corrections (marked with “Please Fix”) on papers brought home.

·      Help your child dress for the weather. We will go out for recess even when it snows. J

·      Help practice spelling words, math facts, etc. Let your child do his/her homework, but reassure him/her that you will check it.

·      Play the math games that are sent home. Repeated practice helps to reinforce the concepts we are working on at school.

·      Foster the joy of reading!

I am looking forward to a year filled with a lot of learning, growth in organizational skills, development in responsibility, a true appreciation for reading, and of course, tons of fun! Thank you. 

Wendy Dennis