1. The A B C’s of Second grade 2012-2013

2. is for Attendance and Art Masterpiece If your child is going to miss any part of the school day, please call the attendance line at 224-3303 and leave a message. Please do not rely on emailing your child’s teacher. The bell rings at 8:25, students are tardy at 8:35. Tardy students must stop by the front office and get a tardy flame before coming to class. Art Masterpiece is a national art enrichment program that uses reproductions of fine works of art to promote art literacy in elementary school age children. We need a volunteer in every classroom for this program.

3. is for Birthday Book Club Fulton is promoting our Birthday Book Club to celebrate all student birthdays. Please visit Mrs. Foster’s library website to learn more details and find the birthday book club schedule. Fulton Library Website

4. is for Communication Please contact your child’s teacher via their email address (lastname.firstname@cusd80.com) Conferences (parent-teacher) are scheduled for August 28 th -29 th. Notes to and from parents go in your child’s daily take home folder/binder If you call your child’s teacher and leave a message, calls will be returned within 24 hours

5. is for Discipline Fulton teachers follow the Responsible Thinking Process which teaches respect for the learning of all students by fostering responsible thinking and making students responsible for their own behavior. RTP helps to create a classroom environment that maximizes the time spent on teaching and learning Through a series of questions the teacher asks the student to evaluate his/her actions and make a responsible choice about behavior. Each second grade teacher follows a discipline plan of their own utilizing the Responsible Thinking Process

6. RTP Questions

7. is for Exercise and ELA (English Language Arts) Second graders will take an afternoon snack recess. Your child is encouraged to bring a healthy snack from home. ELA standards are new for second grade, take a minute to become familiar with what your child will be learning in reading, writing, speaking and listening areas this year. ELA standards

9. is for Field Trips and Fundraisers Tax credit donations help greatly with the funding of our second grade field trips. Tax credit paperwork. If you wish to make a tax credit donation to Fulton, please note that a minimum of $25 per donation must be made to make use of the tax credit. Fundraising will be limited this year to the All Star Fun Run in November. Please help us reach our goal this year by participating.

10. is for Grading and Going GREEN MS (Meets Standards) = Comprehends the concept(s) P (Progressing) = Moving towards comprehension of the concept(s) AC (Area of Concern) = Needs additional support Progress reports are sent home mid-semester, but you can access your child’s grades at anytime using the parent portal. More information to come soon. It is very important that you look over your child’s class work when it comes home. Some will be graded and some will be practice. In our efforts to GO GREEN, we are asking parents to print out 2- 3 items per week from home, homework, newsletters, and reading logs. All of these items will be posted on our Spotlight on Sparks page. If you need something printed from school and sent home with your child, please email your child’s teacher.

11. is for homework Second graders will have (daily/weekly) homework which will be posted to our Spotlight on Sparks page. Please print homework and return completed.Spotlight on Sparks Homework is a review of skills taught in class and intended to be practice at home. This practice will demonstrate your child’s independent level of understanding. Students should be able to complete homework by themselves and have it checked by a parent. The second grade expectation is that all students will complete all assigned homework each day/week.

12. is for Important Information Please be sure to check our Spotlight on Sparks page daily for important information, weekly learning objectives, newsletters, learning websites, school events, spelling lists, and homework.Spotlight on Sparks Additional classroom information will be sent out in e-mail blasts to parents by your child’s teacher as needed.

13. is for Junior Achievement The purpose of Junior Achievement is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. These programs help prepare young people for the real world by putting these lessons into action and help strengthen their communities. If you are interested in volunteering for Junior Achievement, please contact your child’s teacher.

14. is for Mrs. Kramb We are happy to welcome our new principal, Mrs. Kramb. Please take some time to visit her webpage and get to know her.webpage

15. is for Lunch and Library Fulton offers lunch for $2.50, breakfast for $1.00, and 50 cents for milk or juice. Each child is assigned an account which can be refilled at anytime via cash or check (sent in with your child), or online. Parents can visit www.MyLunchMoney.com.www.MyLunchMoney.com Lunch time is 11:10-11:45 a.m. Library books are due the day before the scheduled library day.

16. is for Math Our new Common Core Math StandardsCommon Core Math Standards Check out our Spotlight on Sparks page for math practice websites, it will be updated weekly to match our learning objectives. We use a hands-on approach in math with the use of a variety of manipulatives. Students learn math more concretely when they can directly apply their knowledge to something that they can either identify with in their daily lives or manipulate with their hands. Math skills are differentiated to meet the skill level of the students.

19. is for Newsletters Second grade’s weekly newsletter will be posted to our Spotlight on Sparks page.Spotlight on Sparks Any information specific to your child’s classroom will be sent out in an email blast.

20. is for Opportunity There will be a variety of opportunities to support your child’s teacher. – Art Masterpiece – Junior Achievement – P.T.O. liaison – Classroom/home helper – Donations – Tax Credit – Special Events

21. is for Playground and Parent Links 2 nd graders will share the playground (before school only) with 5 th grade. Day 2 and 5 are the only days 2 nd graders can use the playground before school. 2 nd graders will use the playground at lunch and afternoon recess. There are a number of important parent links on Fulton’s website as well as each teacher website.parent links

22. is for Questions If you have questions about procedures or policies followed at Fulton, please view our Fulton and second grade websites as they contain answers to most questions. E-mails and phone calls will be returned within 24 hours.

23. is for Reading Reading – Daily from 8:45-11:05 a.m. – Nightly reading (at least 20 minutes) – Guided reading books will be sent home – Reading folder must be brought home and back to school each day – Reading log will need to be signed – Flexible reading groups

24. is for Science, Social Studies, Specials, and Spelling Science standards and Social Studies standards Science standards and Social Studies standards Specials are on a 6-day rotation schedule with 2 days of PE, 2 days of Music, and 1 day of library. Spelling – your child will take a spelling test based off of the Harcourt phonemic element of the week or individualized spelling lists. Spelling lists will be posted on our Spotlight on Sparks page.

27. is for Thinking Maps We are a Thinking Maps school and Fulton students are able to create and use thinking maps in all content areas. Please visit our website where you can learn more about the eight thought processes that are the basis of Thinking Maps.website Thinking Maps are used in our writing process, Write From the Beginning, and are a valuable tool used throughout all grade levels at Fulton to help students plan, organize, and implement their writing.

28. is for Understanding With the adoption of Common Core Standards there are many exciting changes to our classroom. Please be patient and understanding while we try new things.

29. is for Volunteering Volunteers must read and sign the volunteer packet prior to volunteering at Fulton Elementary.

30. is for Writing Writing standards are incorporated into every subject area in second grade. Writing standards Look for your second grader to write friendly letters, persuasive, informative, functional, research and opinion pieces, paragraphs with a topic and closing sentence as well as narratives and response to literature.

31. is for Xpectations Second grade expectations include: Complete all assigned homework Fill out reading log after reading each night. Read student handbook Check your email and Spotlight on Sparks page for information from your child’s teacher. Be ready to learn, be responsible for your learning and be respectful of others learning

32. is for Yo-Yo We’re going to go through ups and downs during this year, but if we work together as a team your child will succeed!

33. is for Zzzzzzzzzzzzz… Sleep is important for growing bodies and brains. Make sure your second grader comes to school rested and ready to learn.