3.  Increase fluency- end of year goal of 90 words per minute.  Increase comprehension – understanding what you have read.  Focus on what and why we read – for pleasure; to obtain inform; various genres.  Scholastic Reading Inventory Assessment.  Reading Counts books based on students current appropriate reading level (Lexile levels)  Check your child’s homework each night and offer help as needed.

4.  We will be writing across the curriculum - journal entries in all subject areas.  Creative writing  Writing Conferences - The writing process and stages of writing activities (rough draft; edit; final) How you can help at home?  Read, Read, Read!  Take your child to the library  Encourage writing- Have your child write the shopping list; thank you notes; letters to family members or write a journal before bedtime.  Check your child’s homework each night and offer help as needed.

5.  Themes that will be taught this year in Math: money; place value; addition & subtraction; multiplication; fractions; graphing; measurement; geometry and time.  Types of Assessment – observation; group work; computer programs and paper & pencil. How you can help at home?  Help your child understand the importance of math by practicing at home; memorizing all the math facts; practicing money and time daily. You can do this in the car or when your child asks for money or what time of day it is.  Have your child “teach you” new concepts/skills learned in class.  Check your child’s homework each night and offer help as needed.

6. Social Studies themes that will be taught this year - Georgia History: Native American Indians; colonists. Georgia Geography: landforms; the 5 regions. Map Skills: town/county/state/region/country/continent; oceans; directions. Georgia Government: citizens; local/state/national government; holidays; laws. Economics: needs & wants; goods & services; spending & saving. Science themes that will be taught this year - Matter: properties of matter; solids, liquids & gases; matter can change. Seasonal changes: weather; characteristics of seasons Energy and Pushes & Pulls: position & motion; heat & light energy. Night sky: stars; moon; constellations; day vs night. Life cycles: stages; growing and changing. How you can help at home?  Help your child understand the importance of the world we live in by discussing age appropriate current events.  Watch educational programs.  Check your child’s homework each night and offer help as needed.

7.  Your child will be assigned homework 3 – 4 nights a week.  Projects may be assigned as well.  Your child will be expected to have their homework and or projects completed neatly and on time.  These assignments are available in your child’s agenda; on teacher’s website and or in the 2 nd grade team newsletter each week.  Homework will relate directly to what we are working on in class each week.

8. An excused absence, according to the CCSD handbook, is an illness or death of an immediate family member. Vacations; sick parent; missed the bus or oversleeping are not excused absences.  Please send a note the first day that your child returns to school after being absent.  Make-up work will be sent home if requested and only in the event of an excused absence.

9.  Our instructional day begins at 7:30 am.  The tardy bell rings at 7:45 am.  Children not in their classroom by 7:45 am, will be marked tardy. Walking a sibling to class; waiting in car line or helping another teacher is not an excuse for being tardy.  Our instructional day ends at 2:10 pm.  If at all possible, please schedule appointments after the school day.

10.  Please write in your child’s agenda EVERY DAY how they are to go home.  Any changes in your child’s “normal” transportation must be made in writing.  We cannot accept word of mouth changes from your child.  We cannot accept email transportation changes.  Please call the Carmel Office at 770.926.1237.  We are responsible for your child getting home and we take that responsibility very seriously!

11. The grading scale is as follows:  90-100 = O  80-89 = S  70-79 = N  69-below = U

12.  Open House  Curriculum Night  Agenda  E-mail (please allow up to 24 hours to respond to your email)  Carmel Website  Teacher Website  Weekly/Biweekly Team Newsletter  Conferences (fall, spring and as needed)

13.  Cherokee County School District Homepage http://www.cherokee.k12.ga.us/Pages/Welcome.aspx  Carmel Elementary School Website http://portal.cherokee.k12.ga.us/Schools/carmel- es/default.aspx