Welcome, Parents! Back to School Night 2012-2013 Mrs. Mullin Grade2 grade2@sainteugeneschool.org

About the Teacher Mrs. Lauren Mullin West Chester, 2005 Graduated with my Master’s Degree in Education – May 2011 Previous placements School District of Haverford Township Upper Darby School District STS

Second Grade Daily Procedures Morning Unpack, Prayers, morning business, journal writing morning meeting Religion Math or specials Bathroom/ recess ELA (spelling, reading, phonics) Bathroom/ prayers Lunch Afternoon ELA (SSR, handwriting, Grammar) Spanish, computers/library, social studies, science, math, or music Jobs, pack up, prayers Read aloud Dismissal

Second Grade Specials Monday Computer/Library (1:00-2:00) Tuesday Gym (9:15-10:00) Wednesday Spanish (12:50-1:35) Science (afternoons) Thursday Daily Mass Art 9:05-9:50 Social Studies (afternoons) Friday Music

Assessment Tools Paper and pencil tests, oral reports, observations, one-on-one assessments, quizzes, class work, class participation, projects. I use multiple assessment tools to gather as much information as I can on the student. This allows me to get a full read of their understanding and skill level. I want to be able to reach each child’s strengths with these different types of assessment. Student Portfolios

Assessment Reports Saint Eugene operates on a trimester schedule: report cards come out three times a year (December, March, and June). Progress Reports also sent out to give parents updates before the report cards. (October 17th, January 23rd, April 24th) Scores are posted on Option C as soon as tests and projects are graded. Please allow a few days after a test/projects is handed in to view the grades. Assessments go home for you to view and sign every Friday. They should be signed, sent back in, and then will be stored in a folder for the year.

Grading Scale O 6 VG 5 G 4 S 3 I 2 U 1

Homework Homework sheets will be sent home in the Homework folder at the beginning of every week *Please sign each night* Nightly reading…10 minutes – move to 15 minutes Nightly math – First in Math games Incomplete assignments- completed at lunch recess. Students who have a habit of not completing homework will take it home for additional homework. Second grade will receive about 30 minutes of homework each night. More time may be necessary in preparing for tests or working on projects. Homework is expected to be done each night at home. It is very important that the children see us on the same team when it comes to completing homework. Homework is assigned to re-emphasize the facts and concepts that we learned that day in class and it also helps to build responsibility and self discipline.

Folders Take Home (Homework) goes home every night (Blue) Worksheets, letters, projects, communication between teacher and parents, behavior Writing Folders (Red) Holds papers for each step of the writing process. Seatwork Folder- stays in desk (Green) All seatwork, class work, other packets Friday Folders goes home every Friday (Yellow) Please review, sign, and return ALL papers on the school side. DO NOT remove any tests, they will remain in school for the trimester. Papers on the home side should be cleared out and kept at home. Test grades will be posted on Option C as I grade them.

Communication Folders Brown folders from the office filled with important papers will be sent home on Wednesdays with the youngest child in the family. Please empty folders and return them, along with any paperwork that needs to be filled out on Thursday. Please place any papers/envelopes sent back to school in the homework folder. Brown folders should be sent back to school empty.

Copybooks/Journals Spelling copybook Religion Writing Journals Written homework Weekly lists/pretests Religion Class seatwork completed in here Prayers and projects stapled in here Writing Journals Writing in class Open-ended prompts Free writes

Supplies I supply paper, folders, glue bottles, and many other things. Please check your students materials regularly and replace when necessary. Pencils run out quickly...please make sure your child has plenty. (3 sharpened a day) Folders and copybooks are provided- please use these materials! Students may get confused if there are extra books and folders, plus there is not a lot of extra space in our desks!  Thank you for your cooperation!

Behavior Traffic Light system (With a twist) Marble jar Start on green – Ready to learn First offense - move to yellow – Warning Second offense – move to orange – Loss of privilege Final warning – move to red – Parent contact Students who are behaving above expectations move up to blue (great choices), purple (role model), and pink (super student). Color in calendar day whatever color they ended the day on…slips for colors other than green are sent home to be reviewed and signed. Provide positive feedback for green. This means they had a good day even if they didn’t move up. Marble jar Bucket Fillers/Dippers

Attendance and Punctuality Regular attendance Very important Establishes positive attitudes toward school 2 days or more of absence Work sent home (unless otherwise specified) Homework buddy system at the end of the day School begins at 7:50 am Please be prompt! Difficult for children to adjust to a day coming in late Schedule appointments outside school time if possible

Health and Safety Plenty of sleep! Water bottles – put name in marker on plastic ones. No juice for snack time – only water in a bottle. Keep sick children home! Call the office to report absence Inform me of any allergies and injuries.

Celebrations Birthdays Other holiday parties (afternoon of holiday) Provide healthy snacks if possible (soft pretzels were popular last year!) If you are providing a snack, please provide any paper products such as napkins and cups. Summer birthdays: celebrate in June or half birthdays Other holiday parties (afternoon of holiday) Halloween, Christmas, Easter Organized by myself and homeroom parents Treats, games, craft

Book Orders Scholastic book orders are completed monthly. This is optional. Great ideas for birthdays and holidays. Please do not choose continuous orders. This becomes too difficult for payments and shipments. You may go on the site and order these from home. I will attempt to set up an online parent ordering for credit card payments.

Reminders! Make sure your child always knows how he/she is going home! Send a note in if there is any change! Supply money was due last Friday. Water only for snack time. Please say your goodbyes and stand in the back of the line after the teachers arrive to pick up their classrooms. Please email me or send a note in with any requests or questions. It is hard for me to remember all of these things when I am told in line in the morning. Label all belongings- coats, bags, books, etc. When providing class snacks, please no peanuts! 

IMPORTANT DATES Terra Nova Testing – Week of March 4th Reconciliation – March 11th (Snow date – 18th) School show – April 26th First Holy Communion – May 4th May Procession – May 6th

Learning from Experience Processing Information PBS Online http://www.pbs.org/parents/goingtoschool/how_2.html What They Learn In second grade most children practice the skills learned in earlier grades and begin to use them with ease. Some children who were not completely ready to understand all the material introduced in first grade may now be ready to master it. Second graders apply what they learned about the meanings of letters and numbers to more complicated material, and begin to develop their analytical abilities even further. Learning from Experience Second graders no longer rely solely on their life experiences to learn. Even so, they may have trouble imagining unfamiliar things. This means that a second grader who reads a story about a mountain can create a mental picture if she has seen a mountain in the past. But if she has no idea what a mountain looks like, she might have a difficult time figuring it out, even from a detailed written description. Processing Information Children at this age are better at processing information than they were just a year ago. They get riddles, puns, and sarcasm. They can build on the things they know to understand more about them, and to make connections to new concepts. If they’ve been fascinated with spiders in the past, now they can study details of a spider’s anatomy, and then compare it to a praying mantis.

Final Thoughts and Raffle 