August 20, 2015
Dear Parents,
Welcome to a new school year! My name is Lynn Hotnisky and I am very happy to be your child’s teacher this year. Second grade is a fun and busy year, and we have much to look forward to. I know that there is a lot of information here, but I want to keep you informed as much as I can.
Our students are welcome to bring a healthy snack and water bottle to school every day.
It does get warm in here during the summer weather and a water bottle is highly recommended. Please allow your child to bring water
only; no juice, soda, etc. Please be sure that the water bottle is labeled with your child’s name and has a lid that can close. Our lunch time is 11:25.
Some information that may be of interest to you:
Our school will be following a four-day rotation schedule. This is similar to what we’ve done in the past. This way, students will not miss specials due to holidays. It does take a little getting used to, but we will quickly get the hang of it!
This year our specials schedule is as follows. Students must remember to wear sneakers on Day 4 of our rotation for gym and to bring in their library books on Day 2.
Day One: Music
Day Two: Art
Day Three: Gym
Day Four: Library
There are some items that we could use in our classroom. These are supplies that all of the students share. If you care to donate any of the following, it would be greatly appreciated. But please do not feel obligated to do so.
We could always use donations of:
-mini pretzels
-snack-size Ziploc baggies
-Clorox Wipes
-Hand Sanitizer
-prizes for the prize box
-tall kitchen trash bags with drawstrings

Every day your child will be bringing home a homework folder. It will have homework papers, flyers, completed work etc. Please check it daily and remove any papers that are complete. Please make sure that school bags are cleaned out every evening.
Homework is given on most nights. It will typically involve a spelling, and math assignment (there are not too many for the first weeks of school.) I also ask that children read for at least 10 minutes every evening. Listening to you read counts too! I will usually hand out all spelling assignments for the week on Monday, and they are due by Friday.
Please encourage your child to complete assignments neatly. On Mondays, my weekly letter will list the assignments for the week. This information can also be found on my website.
Students will be bringing home a reading book and a social studies book during the first week of school. Please cover the books and return them to school where they will stay. We will do our best to keep our new books looking new. If you wish to purchase book socks for the two books that your child will need to cover, you will need the extra-large size.
We will have a classroom party before the winter holidays, and at the end of the year.
We do have snacks and exchange valentines on Valentine’s Day. I look forward to discussing these events with our homeroom parent. I expect our field trip to be in the spring. I will keep you updated with information as it becomes available.
Our Second Graders will be involved in the Spring Musical. It is typically scheduled on an evening in June. It is a very memorable time for them! They get to come to school
“at night” and dress up in their nice clothes. We will let you know more information closer to the date of the event.
I am very excited about this school year. I look forward to working with you in a partnership that will help your child to have a successful school year. I welcome communication with you. Please write or email me at any time with comments, questions, concerns, etc. Enclosed is a survey that I ask you to complete and have your child
bring to school on the first day of school. If you feel that there is anything I should know about your child, to better understand him or her, I would appreciate hearing from you. Any information that you choose to share with me will be kept confidential.
Thank you for everything that you do!
Sincerely,
Lynn Hotnisky hotnislm@npenn.org

Parent Survey
2 Hotnisky
Child’s Name____________________________________ Tell me about your child…
How will your child arrive at school? If by bus, what is the bus number?
How will your child leave school? Again if by bus, what number?
Will there be any special dismissal arrangements for the first day of school?
How does your child feel about coming to school?
Have you noticed particular teaching strategies that help, or times when your child learns best?
What do you see as your child’s strengths?
What do you think are areas of need or goals for your child?
What do you hope your child to achieve this year in second grade?
What are your thoughts about the way that your child interacts with other children?
(over)

Do you have any concerns regarding your child’s health about which you think I should be aware?
Does your child have any food sensitivities or allergies? Or are there foods that your child should not eat due to beliefs or orthodontia?
Any other comments or concerns?
How would you like your child’s name to appear on his or her name tag?
Please provide an email address(es) to which I can send you classroom updates or other communication.
Parent(‘s) name(s) email address(es)
Thank you for taking the time to complete this. I look forward to working with you this year.