7:55 - 8:10 Morning Meeting

8:10 - 8:50 AR/Guided Reading

8:50 - 9:00 Handwriting

9:00 - 9:25 Recess

9:25 - 9:55 Reading

9:55 - 10:30 Writing/Grammar 

10:30 - 11:30 Elective/PE (Teacher Conference)

11:30 - 12:00 Lunch

12:00 - 1:00 Math

1:00 - 2:05 WIN

2:05 - 2:25 Spelling

2:25 - 2:45 Library

2:45 - 3:00 Spelling

3:00 - 3:30 Science/Social Studies

3:30 - 3:40 Pack Up

Welcome to Second Grade!

It is our pleasure to welcome you and your child to Holland Elementary’s second grade! We are looking forward to a very exciting year filled with many opportunities for learning and fun! Below are topics that you might like further information about to help your child be as successful as possible in 2nd grade. 

Daily Schedules:

       Each class has different schedules, however some activities are shared.  Electives and PE, as well as our teacher conferences, are 10:30-11:30am.  Electives for second grade are computer lab, where they will learn typing, Music, and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math).  They will rotate through these one week at a time.  Second grade lunch is 11:30am – 12:00pm.  WIN time (1:00-2:05pm) is also an important part of the school day because this is when they are able to work on what they need to improve or be challenged. Please consider this when scheduling appointments for your child.

Arrival/Dismissal:

All students will gather in the cafeteria between 7:20am -7:50am. After 7:50 am, please escort your student to the Front Office to sign them in.

We will use KidAccount for dismissal. If you will be picking your child up from the car line, please remember school ends at 3:45pm. If you need to change how your child is getting home for the day, please call the office before 2:00pm.

Absences/Tardies:

Students are considered tardy if they arrive after the second bell rings at 8:00 and must report to the Elementary office before going to class, so that they will not be counted absent for the day. If your child is absent, please send an excuse note with them when they return to class.

Behavior Expectations:

A well-planned year begins with success-driven behavior expectations and a positive classroom climate. We like to encourage our students to meet behavior standards by offering incentives for positive behavior. If a student does not make good choices, we talk about the choices he/she has made and how to improve upon those choices. Each teacher’s reward/incentive plan will be a little different to meet the needs of students in their homeroom.

The behavior system for our grade is as follows:

Star/Sticker: Star Student… Great job all day! (Went above and beyond expectations)

Checkmark/No rule reminder - Meets behavior expectations (no warnings) 

Written Note/Rule Reminder – Behavior needs improvement in some area (one or two warnings)

• 2 laps around the playground

Parent Contact - Not meeting 2nd grade behavior expectations (several warnings)

• 5 laps around the playground

Office - Severe behavior issues – parent contact, possibly sent to principal

• consequence will be given by principal

At the end of each nine week period, second grade has a “Star Party”! A Star Party might include things like free time to play games, extra recess, or watching a movie! For the first few weeks, we are all working toward learning and practicing the classroom and school rules. Students who work to show responsibility, and work diligently to follow classroom rules and expectations with consistency get to participate in the Star Party. Parents will be notified if students are consistently not meeting behavior expectations. More information on behavior and expectations will be coming home soon!

There are, of course, consequences for misbehavior, such as the loss of a privilege or activity. Consistent, daily misbehavior or severe misbehavior will call for more severe consequences and/or parental contact. These consequences may include: laps during recess time, visit with the principal, loss of special event privileges, loss of Star Party, loss of field trip, etc.  These are designed to make consequences more meaningful and effective for individual students.

PTO Reward Party

PTO is offering a behavior incentive reward party once per 9 weeks to help us reinforce great behavior.  This is replacing the PTO reward cart they had last year.  Second graders can earn a ticket by having 4 or less rule reminder notes home on their behavior calendar per 9 weeks.  This ticket gets them into a 20-25 minute social time with a treat provided by PTO.  

Homework/Daily Folder:

Homework is given daily to help your child excel in school. It is designed to review and reinforce daily learning and help your child develop good study habits that they will use throughout the rest of his/her school experience! A homework/daily folder goes home every day, helping students remember their homework and encouraging parents to be involved in their student’s learning. They will have a short math assignment each day (Monday-Thursday) for homework that will be due on the next day.   Each night, students will also practice spelling words and  read their AR books with you or to you.   This is so important to help reinforce the skills they are learning at school.  Please ask them questions about the book or ask them to retell the story to check for understanding.  Each evening, please review the behavior calendar in their folder and sign. 

Birthday Celebrations:

If you would like to send a treat to celebrate your child’s birthday, please notify your child’s teacher. Please send treats with your child or deliver it to the office. We will enjoy the treats after 3:00pm!

Lunch:

2nd grade lunch is at 11:30-12:00 every day. School lunch will not be free for all students this year, so please make sure to send lunch money or add to their account as needed. On Tuesdays, 2nd grade students will be able to purchase ice cream during lunchtime. Students will be expected to finish their ice cream before teachers pick them up. 

Movie Policy:

There are times throughout the school year when we might show movies. Examples of times this could occur are movies that support curricular learning, and/or movies earned as a reward. If we are showing a movie in class, we will let you know what movie we are showing, the rating of the movie (PG or G), and when we are showing it. If you do NOT want your student to watch the movie, let me know. I will make other arrangements for your student. 

End of Year Awards:

Students will receive awards based on A.R. Point Clubs, UIL participation, and reading & math achievements. More information will be provided later in the year!

Class Dojo:

ClassDojo is our main parent/teacher communication system. (Class Dojo also has an interactive reward system, but since other class reward systems are already in place, it’s not utilized much in 2nd grade.)  After you have signed up, you will be able to see what your child is doing in school through the ‘Class Story’ feature.   Class Story will be updated to include key events and photographs. Messaging is another integral part of ClassDojo and parents and teachers can communicate with each other very easily for class announcements, reminders, school events, etc. Teachers will check their Dojo messages during our conference period (10:30-11:30). There may be other times throughout the day that your child’s teacher is able to check messages, but please understand this is not always the case. If you have an urgent need to contact your child’s teacher or a quick response (including dismissal changes) please contact the office.

Second Grade Syllabus and Grading Policies

**Some sections are weighted more heavily (60%) for a more accurate representation of what the student can do independently.

Language Arts:

Reading (comprehension passages/skills) 40% of grade

Writing/Grammar 60% of grade

Math:

Daily Work 40% of grade

Assessments 60% of grade

Spelling/Phonics:

Phonics Daily Work 40% of grade

Spelling Tests  60% of grade

Science and Social Studies:

Students are given a letter grade determined by participation and listening skills exhibited during whole class lessons.

Handwriting:

Students are given a letter grade determined by assessment of correct formation of letters as they are taught and as they are written in practice and in daily work.  Student handwriting is expected to improve throughout the year.  Students are taught correct print formation and later cursive.  Please do not start teaching your child cursive early as we do not use the same cursive as many schools in years past.  

Reading Grade:

Students are given a letter grade determined by their tested reading level at the end of each nine weeks. AR reading levels are adjusted as necessary to keep students working at a Zone of Proximal Development, which provides for greatest reading growth. 

This rubric is the basis of their reading grade and will be sent with each report card:

While any amount of reading growth should be celebrated, meeting the above targets is our reading growth goal. It is important to gauge your student’s reading skills to national and grade-level norms to determine readiness for the next grade level.

AR Grade:

Students are given a grade determined by the Renaissance Star Test given each 9 weeks averages and points on his/her level. (It is important to note that success/grades in A.R. can vary from the 9-weeks Star Reading grade, as A.R. tests are taken on the student’s current reading level with assistance, and the Star Reading grade will compare your student’s unassisted/independent level to grade-level norms.)  A student who does not meet point and percent goals, will have points deducted from his/her grade average to determine a final grade. 

The point deduction that is subtracted from the student’s average is calculated using the information below:

• 90% - 99% of goal, -4 points

• 80% - 89% of goal, -8 points

• 79% or less of goal, -12 points

Student point goals are based on their reading level. Point goals are adjusted to meet the needs of students being pulled for groups during A.R. time. We want our students to understand that both the average and their point goals are important to their reading success. Please note that AR goals are based on your student’s current independent reading level, NOT based on their grade level. This means that a great Accelerated Reading grade is achievable for all students. 

AR Field Trips: 

AR not only gives your child the opportunity to better his/her reading skills, but is a great incentive to read as well! Students have the opportunity to go on Field Trips for meeting their point goal and AR average requirements! Students are aware of and track their progress throughout the grading period.  

There are 2 other trips that can be earned. The first semester “extra” trip is for students earning 100 AR points in the first semester; the second extra trip is for students earning 200 AR points for the year or 100 points within the second semester! Please note that students must have met their 9-weeks point goal and have an average of 87% or above to attend A.R. field trips.

AR Reading Expectations:

They are given 40-50 mins of class time to read and test on AR books. (Students are also given time to take AR quizzes during WIN time as needed.) Each student must read a book 2 times (excluding chapter books) before taking a quiz on a book. Students will be asked to read 1 to 2 books for their daily reading homework– once at home and once in class. Each child will take home 2-4 books a day; they are not expected to read all 4 books each night, this is done to give them some choice.  If a student fails an AR quiz, he/she will conference with the teacher about the book and problem solve how to do better next time. Students are shown their weekly and yearly points earned and their current average after every AR quiz. Parents will be notified if students are consistently not meeting AR expectations or if their student is close to 100/200 AR points. 

Students are expected to take a minimum of 2 quizzes each day over books they have read. Please note, if your student is interested in achieving the extra 100 or 200-pt trips, this does require extra reading and testing! Students interested will want to read as many of their books as they can at home and try to take 3-4 tests per day as much as possible.

Retention Policy:

In addition to the factors in law that must be considered for promotion, mastery shall be determined as follows:

•  Individual progress as measured by the state standards and assessment test results (e.g., TPRI, BAS, TEMI, iReady).

•  Performance in meeting grade level expectations in reading and math.

•  Attendance [see FEC].

•  Maturity (academic, social, emotional, and physical).

•  Teacher, principal, RtI committee, and parent/legal guardian observations and recommendations.

• A student shall be retained if the student does not meet grade-level expectations in both reading and math.

The principal is authorized to review the criteria in this policy in determining whether a student shall be retained. A parent may appeal the decision of the principal in accordance with FNG(LOCAL).

We work hard every day to ensure our students are learning. When students are struggling and need interventions, we communicate that with you. If students continue to struggle and don’t show appropriate mastery with interventions, we will communicate this with you. Retention is only considered when we feel like it is the best option for your student. 

UIL Contest

Each year, students from 2nd grade to 12th grade participate in UIL academic meets. The Elementary UIL contest is typically held in early December. Students are involved in a variety of events that inspire creativity and promote skills such as good sportsmanship and critical thinking!

Second graders have the opportunity to try out for one or more of the events below. Each event teacher will hold tryouts beginning in late September or early October and choose their teams based on those tryouts. Each UIL team will consist of 3 contestants and 1 alternate. Please take time to read through the event descriptions with your child and discuss any events in which your child may be interested in being a participant. More information will be coming from each event teacher later on!

*Students that participate in UIL will have the opportunity to go on a field trip later in the year to celebrate all their hard work.

Chess Puzzles- Mrs. Chaney

The benefits of chess are well documented for players of all ages, and especially for young people. Chess teaches problem solving, hones concentration and encourages analytical and strategic thinking. Chess can be a lifelong pursuit.

Students will learn to play chess, which will help them understand how to solve the chess puzzles. Learning how to solve chess puzzles, in turn, helps them improve their chess skills.

Students will solve chess puzzles at the UIL competition. All Chess Puzzle test questions are multiple-choice format. Contestants receive one point for each correct answer. There are no deductions for incorrect or unanswered questions.

Creative Writing- Mrs. Brothers

Contestants will be given a prompt with several captioned pictures. From these pictures, the students will create an original story based on their selections in 30 minutes. The stories must contain at least one of the pictured items, but it is not required that all items on the page be included.

Through preparation for the contest, students in second grade will be able to better evaluate their own writing .The contest is designed to promote creativity and to encourage writing skills at an early grade level.

Storytelling- Mrs. Baggerly

Contestants in the second grade will listen to a storyteller read a brief story only once, and then retell that story in their own words before a judge or judges. Contestants utilize gestures, facial and vocal expression to retell the story in their own words. The more expressive, the better! In fact, retelling the story accurately isn't quite as important as the actions and expressions they use when speaking.

To tell a story, the participant must develop skills in listening, thinking and speaking. This contest also allows for the development of creative expression. There are no time restrictions on the length of the story the student creates.

Music Memory- Mrs. Kriczky & Mr. Lusk

The focus of the Music Memory contest is an in-depth study of fine pieces of music literature taken from a wide spectrum of music genres to expose students to great composers, their lives and their music.

Students will listen to approximately 20 seconds of the musical selections and identify the name of the major work, selection and the name of the composer. For the second grade contest, the list will have 10 music selections by a varied range of composers and music genres. The Music Memory test will include a matching portion followed by listening identification. Contestants will use a word bank to match composer names with selection titles. Listening selections will focus on major themes from each piece. 

     *  *  *  *  *

Teamwork and communication between parent and teacher is very important for the success of each child.  Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher about any concerns or questions you may have. Class Dojo or email are both great resources to stay in contact with the teacher.  Should the need arise for a conference, please schedule through the Elementary office at (254) 657-2525. 

Thank you for your cooperation and for the opportunity to work with both you and your child! We are looking forward to a great year and hope that you are as well!

Sincerely,

2nd Grade Teachers