Parent’s Night
2014-2015
Getting to Know Ms. Romo…
• I attended DePaul University in
Chicago Illinois
• My degree is in Elementary
Education (K-9) with a concentration in
Language Arts/Reading (I get to teach
my passion)!
• I have a teaching certification in both
Illinois and Texas.
• This is my second year at Bush. Prior
to working here, I taught first grade at
a private school in Chicago, Illinois.
• My fiancé's name is David Hampton
and we love to spoil our French
Bulldog puppy, Oscar Wilde.
Getting to Know Mrs. Dillman
• Graduated from Abilene Christian
University
• Certified Early Childhood - 4th
grade
• Prior to coming to Bush I Taught
Kindergarten in HISD
• My husband Andrew and I have
been married for 3 1/2 years. We
enjoy spending time with friends
and family as well as our sweet
puppy Rollie.
• I am so excited to be a part of the
Bush family!
• We look forward to a challenging
and successful school year.
Great Expectations
• In second grade, we have very high
expectations for all of our students. This year
we will provide your child with the skills
needed to blossom in the areas of
independence and rigor. The second grade
team is dedicated in ensuring your child’s
success this year.
Parent Teacher Communication
• Email (best way)
– adillman@houstonisd.org &
lromo1@houstonisd.org
• Red Communication Folders
– We look at these daily
• Voicemails
– Mrs. Dillman: ext. 446
– Ms. Romo: ext. 403
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 students’ 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 a.m.
• Morning Routine:
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Unpack backpacks
Place important notes in designated areas
Place completed homework on desk
Copy homework assignments & reminders into agenda
Complete Language or Math assignments
Go Book Shopping
Sharpen pencils
Listen to morning announcements
Eat breakfast
Folders
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Red Folder
comes home daily
holds Reading Log and
Daily Conduct Sheet
holds homework
holds Wednesday
communications from
the office and PTO
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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….
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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…
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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 if time allows
Discipline Expectations
• 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
Holding Each Other Accountable
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We are using positive reinforcement and competition (Top
Dog, Bronson & Merryman) to help our students learn how
to make good choices.
• Every day we look for tables making good choices, Ex.
Following instructions, going above and beyond with
classroom work, and give points accordingly.
• We add the points at the end of every two weeks, which ever
tables has the most points earns a reward.
• Examples of rewards may be: Getting to choose a learning
spot for the day, eating lunch with the teacher, etc.
Project Class
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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 based words
• We will be adding two challenge words each week as
well
• 12 words per test-3 review words on each test
starting 4th week’s test (next week).
• Correct spelling is not just for Friday’s test
• Keep a Spelling folder at home for review
• Spelling Tests 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 reading 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
• Not encouraged by Guided Reading
• 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 7 points gained
• 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.
• Math Fact tests will be given weekly. Students
will have 6 weeks of speed and accuracy training.
Together we set weekly goals to develop
AUTOMATICITY!
~ 3 minutes
Math Continued
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Daily Routines include Daily Math
Number of the Day
Problem of the Day
Problem Solving Strategies - Fantastic Five Step
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1. Circle the facts
2. Underline the question
3. Eliminate extra information
4. Choose a strategy
5. 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.
• Laser i3 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
• 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 help our students shine bright this year.
• Mrs. Dillman & Ms. Romo