Parent’s Night
2014-2015
Parent Teacher Communication
• Email (best way)
– scarlin@houstonisd.org & jbard@houstonisd.org
• Red Communication Folders
– We look at these daily
• Voicemails
– Mrs. Carlin: ext. 425
– Ms. Bard: ext. 415
Parent and Teacher Conferences
• Can be scheduled by parent or teacher
• They are scheduled by appointments only
(please no Drop Ins)
• Can be scheduled before school (at 7 a.m. or
during our student’s ancillary time 1:05-1:50
• Early dismissal days designated for
conferences: October 29th & January 28th
Classroom Procedures
Busy Mornings!
• Please be on time for school: 7:35
• Morning Routine:
– Unpack backpacks
– Place important notes in designated areas
– Place completed homework on desk
– Copy homework assignments & reminders into
agenda
– Complete Daily Language & Daily Math
– Go Book Shopping
– Sharpen pencils
– Listen to morning announcements
– Eat breakfast
Folders
•
•
•
•
Red Folder
comes home daily
holds Reading Log and
Daily Conduct Sheet
holds homework
holds Wednesday
communications from
the office and PTO
•
•
•
•
Weekly Work Folder
comes home on Wed.
holds graded papers
needs to be signed and
returned on Thurs.
keep passing papers at
home and return
papers at 70 or below
Speaking of Homework….
•
•
•
•
•
•
it is given Monday-Thursday
typically one piece of paper (may be 2-sided)
assignments written on Homework Log
20 minutes of daily reading
math fact practice as needed
spelling practice as needed
More About Homework…
•
•
•
•
a review of material covered in class
a chance for children to develop responsibility
should be completed NEATLY in pencil
is returned the next day by the child (not a
parent) or is completed during recess
• will be checked together in class
Discipline Management
• Respect
– Treat everyone with courtesy and respect
• Safety
– Act in a safe and positive way
• Preparedness
– Come to school prepared for learning (this
includes HOMEWORK!)
• Responsibility
– Act responsibly in and out of the school building
• Focus
– Stay on task
Project Class
•
•
•
•
•
New Program
All teachers at Bush are trained
Visuals (posters are in all classrooms)
Part of announcements every morning
Helps students correct their behavior
Discipline Management
Although we prefer to accentuate the positive, there
are consequences
for repeated behavior infractions.
• one conduct mark in a day = 5 minutes off
recess
• two marks = 10 minutes off recess
• three marks = no recess
*Please note that some behaviors may warrant
the loss of the entire recess without going
through the first 2 steps.
Conduct Grades
• Weekly conduct grades are based on the
number of infractions for the week. The scale
for weekly grade computation is noted on the
bottom of the Weekly conduct sheet.
• Conduct grades for the report card are based
on an average of the weekly grades using the
following point scale:
E = 4 points
S = 3 points
P = 1 point
U = 0 points
OLA (Other Language Arts)
Language, Writing and Spelling
• 30% of grade comes from Spelling
• 70% of grade comes from Language and
Writing
Spelling
• weekly word list – rule words
• 12 words per test-3 review words on each test
starting with 4th week’s test (next week)
– 2 different list (GT/Regular)
•
•
•
•
correct spelling is not just for Friday’s test
keep a Spelling folder at home for review
Spelling Test are not re-tested
No make-ups
Language
• students’ writing needs
• warm-up activities, daily editing
• parts of speech, singular and plural
possessives, pronouns and antecedents,
punctuation of dialogue, irregular verb tenses
• Sentence dictation test
Writing
Learn steps of the writing process
Pre-write
Draft
Revise
Edit
Publish
Evaluate and share
Writing (cont.)
• Types of Work:
– How-to- writing
– Personal Narrative
– Poetry
– Fantasy
– Descriptive Paragraphs
– Friendly Letters
Reading
• Second graders have moved from “learning to
read” to “reading to learn”.
• Guided Reading
• literature-based
• trade books
• author studies
• genre studies
• flexible grouping
• workstations
• focus on student’s levels
• Weekly Comprehension (not re-tested)
Daily 5 & CAFE
• Daily 5
– Read to Self
– Read to Someone
– Work on Writing
– Word Work
– Technology
• CAFE
– C-Comprehension
– A- Accuracy
– F-Fluency
– E-Expand Vocabulary
Accelerated Reader
“A.R.”
• read and test over books
• Doesn’t support the Guided Reading Philosophy
• will start after I-Station and STAR testing sessions are
completed (technical difficulties)
• AR test may be taken during recess or after school in the
library (parent must be there with their child)
• not graded
• students earn stars for every 10 points (GT), 7 points
(regular), 3 points (ESL)
• Stars handed out by the Librarian every 9 weeks
• Library is open after school on Tuesday & Wednesday from
2:50-3:15
Math
• Math series(new!) – Go Texas Math –
Computer animated lesson with hands on
manipulatives incorporated into daily lessons.
• Fact tests given weekly after 6 weeks of speed
and accuracy training. Together we set
weekly goals to develop AUTOMATICITY!
~2 minutes GT class
~3 minutes Regular
Math Continued
•
•
•
•
Daily Routines includeNumber of the Day
Here’s the Answer, What’s the Problem?
Problem Solving Strategies-Fantastic Five
Steps- Find the facts; underline the question;
eliminate extra information; choose a
strategy; check answer for reasonableness
Science & Social Studies
• Science and Social Studies are usually taught
in 3 week blocks unless the unit is more in
depth.
• Laseri3 Science funded by the Smithsonian
Institute- 3 modules this year:
~Life Cycle of Butterflies
~Changes
~Weather
Other Important Notes
• Weekly newsletter sent on Mondays
• Attendance is very Important!!
– Absences – send note within 3 days
• No party invitations at school-send by mail
• Scholastic News Magazine
• Field Trips- Fall- Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse
(MST)
Spring- Butterfly Museum/Imax
• Classroom donations
Thank you for coming!
• We are excited to have your child in our
classes this year and can’t wait to watch
them grow! 
• Please lend a Helping Hand! 
• Mrs. Carlin & Ms. Bard