Video from the administrators, office staff and
resource teachers
Austin Elementary!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqgfBKcveB4
The Second Grade Team
2A – Tim Wu
2B – Casey Griffith
2C – Heather Naragon
2D – Kaitlyn Moore
The ABC’s of
Second Grade
Attendance
Many 2nd grade learning activities are group
oriented and involve interaction with
classmates. Therefore, it is next to
impossible to recreate these activities at
home. Please view school as a priority and
see to it that your child attends every day except in cases of illness or emergency.
Students must be in their seats no later than
7:50, or they will be marked tardy.
Birthdays
Birthday parties are not held at school. Your child may
bring cookies or cupcakes to share with the class as long
as they are store bought. For summer birthdays, you
may bring a treat on your child’s half birthday. Please
bring individual or pre-cut treats.
(NO cakes, ice cream, favors, or balloons)
Communication
Please be sure to check your child’s Mustang
folder for important papers and notes. There is a
calendar in your child’s take home folder with
important events. We will also use this calendar
for reporting positive and negative behavior!
Please send lunch money in a LABELED envelope.
Conferences
Parent – Teacher Conferences will be held the week of
October 7th-11th. We will send an e-mail with a sign up
link for you to sign up at a time that works for you.
Dismissal
Students are dismissed at 3:05. All students should be
picked up from the front of the school no later than 3:15.
You must show your green card in order to pick your child up.
No exceptions!
When picking your child up from the gym, please enter quietly and exit
quickly. Please do not use this time to talk with teachers or other parents.
We have many students that need to be released and this process will go
much faster if the gym remains quiet. Thank you for your help! 
Please send a note if your child is to go home a different way than his/her
normal schedule, or if they will be picked up earlier than 3:05. If your
transportation plan changes, please call the office no later than 2:45,
otherwise we cannot guarantee that we will receive the message in time.
Emergencies
Please make sure that we always have the
correct emergency contact numbers and
information in the PORTAL for your child.
If your contact information changes,
please update the PORTAL immediately!
Field Trips
Second Grade will participate in one field trip this
year.
Permission slips must be returned in order for your
child to attend the trip. Students are encouraged to
wear a school shirt on every field trip.
If you plan to attend the field trip, please make sure
you have an updated background check on file!
GT Testing
The deadline for GT applications is tomorrow, September
4th. Application forms are available on the Coppell ISD
website. All students will be tested in third grade.
Grandparents/Special Friends Day
Grandparents and Special Friends Day will be Friday, November 8th.
This will also be the during the Book Fair.
Grading
Second Grade does not assign numerical grades. In order to give a
more detailed assessment of student performance, we use
standards-based report cards. (MS, AS, IPS) When looking at the
second grade report card, please reference the report card matrices
to better understand the standards.
HomeFUN
Reading is the foundation of all
learning. We want to develop a life
long zest for reading. Your child
should be reading for 20 minutes
each night.
There will be more information to
come on homework once we dig
deeper in the curriculum.
Illness
Please keep your child home if he/she is sick.
It is important that we not pass germs around
to each other. When your child arrives back to
school, please send a note with a handwritten
signature to the office no longer than 1 day
after the absence so that it will be excused!
Internet
For important information about events at
school, please be sure to check out the
Austin Elementary website at:
www.coppellisd.com/austin
Journals
Your child will write in several journals
throughout the school year. (math, science, word
work, and writing)
The journals are a time for students to reflect on
their experiences or events at home or in the
classroom, as well as to showcase their learning
and progress throughout the year.
Kindness
In Second Grade, kind and respectful behavior is
expected from everyone at all times.
R time is a weekly lesson format to teach social
skills.
We are also on the lookout for that Code Keeper
behavior!! You never know who has those
tickets!!
Lunch
Lunch is from 12:15-12:45.
If your child forgets their lunch, you may drop it off in
the office and it will be placed on the “Forgotten
Lunch Table”. Your child will look for it there.
Family Friday Lunch!
Our campus will be open to lunch visitors on Fridays
only! On these days, we will have additional seating to
accommodate all the extra visitors so we hope you
will be able to be a party of these special Fridays with
your child!
Mustang Manners
In 2nd grade we encourage good behavior with positive
reinforcements. However, if students continuously
choose to make poor choices, they will have fair,
appropriate & related consequences. Please remember
that “fair” does not always mean “the same” –
consequences are specifically tailored to meet the
needs of each individual student.
Newsletters
Newsletters will be posted on the
teacher’s website.
Please read them for important
information about what we are
doing at school.
Outside Recess
In second grade, we use the “big playground” behind the
cafeteria.
Your child may bring a ball to recess as long as it is labeled
with his/her name. Please remind your child that he/she is
responsible for his/her items and if it goes over the fence, we
are unable to leave the playground to get the ball. We will not
allow toys, bats, racquets or other items that could be harmful
to other students.
Please visit the Coppell ISD website to view the weather
policy for PE and recess.
Parties
We will have two parties this year:
Winter Party - December 19th
Valentines Party - February 14th
If you would like to help with a class party, please let your
child’s teacher know.
PE
Our PE days are Monday, Wednesday and
Friday. Please refer to Mrs. Dobecka’s website
for her “Curriculum Night” information!
Quick & Quiet
Hello
As you volunteer in our classroom and
school, we will urge your child to
acknowledge you with a “quick and
quiet” hello wave.
It is important for them to greet you, but
remain involved in class activities.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Reading
A large portion of your child’s day will include
participation in small group instruction and Daily
5/Café stations.
Please encourage your child to read for a
minimum of 20 minutes nightly.
Snack
We will have a “Working Snack” time each day.
Your child may bring one small, healthy snack.
Please send a snack that is clean and does not
require utensils.
Please remember that we are a “Nut Free Class”,
so do not send a snack with nuts or nut butter.
Spelling
In 2nd grade, we teach spelling skills through “Word
Study” strategies. Your child will be assessed and then
assigned to a “Word Study group”, based on their
abilities. There will be no weekly spelling tests.
Tardy Policy
Students should be lined up in the gym by 7:40am.
Arriving after this time causes students to lose valuable
instructional time – and it is extremely disruptive to the rest of the
class.
By ensuring that your child is at school on time each day, you are
helping them to become more responsible and timely citizens.
Students who are not in their seats by 7:50 must report to the office
for a tardy pass.
Unexcused
Absences
If your child is absent, please be sure to
send a note with a handwritten signature
when they return. E-mails will not be
accepted. ** If we do not receive a note
within 2 days, the absence will remain
“unexcused” and cannot be excused.**
Volunteers
We love volunteers! Moms, dads,
grandparents….look for information on
how you can help in our classroom!
Water Bottles
Your child may bring a water bottle to school
as long as it has a pop-up top. Water bottles
without a pop-up top are easily spilled and will
not be permitted during instruction time.
Please be sure to label all water bottles.
Writers Workshop
Your child will get to experience the stages of
publishing stories this year as we learn about the
writing process during Writer’s Workshop.
_________________________________________________________________________
We are excited to work with you and
your child this year!
Please be sure that your child gets
plenty of Zzzz’s each night because we
have a lot of exciting activities
awaiting them each day!