Class Information Packet
2015-2016
Miss Eileen Ginty
Second Grade
Horizon Elementary
Dear Parents,
Welcome back to another fun and exciting school year! I am thrilled to have
your child in my second grade class. We will learn many things this year, have fun, and
your child will be working hard. This packet will explain how our class will be functioning
this year and contain a lot of important information.
A Little About Me
I have been teaching at Horizon for fifteen years and I am thrilled to be back
teaching 2nd grade this year here at Horizon! I grew up in New Jersey and am a diehard New York Giants fan! I attended Mount Saint Mary’s University and received a
Bachelors degree in history and political science. I graduated from Seton Hall University
with my Master’s in education. I am currently pursing a second Master’s degree in
reading at Shenandoah University.
I love to spend time visiting my parents in Ireland during the summer. I enjoy
traveling during vacations and hope to do more in the upcoming years. On the
weekends, you can most likely find me spending time with my friends or playing with my
two dogs. I spend time at the local libraries with my Labrador Retriever, Jack, who is an
educational therapy dog. I am looking forward to a fun and exciting school year with
your 2nd grader!
Supplies
A school supply list is available on Horizon’s website. Two things that the second grade
teachers specifically ask their students to have are zippered pencil pouches and plastic
folders. Purchasing these items at the beginning of the year will allow you to avoid the
headache of replacing them throughout the school year. Occasionally, if we happen
to run out, I may ask for additional supplies during the year such as glue sticks, pencils,
tissues, or Lysol wipes.
Communication
Every night your child will bring home their take home folder. Inside their folder
there may be flyers and notes. Please make sure you take a look at the papers that
come home nightly and send the folder back to school every day with your child.
I will have a weekly newsletter to keep you informed of what is happening in our
classroom. I also find that it is convenient for me to communicate via email. Please be
sure that I have your correct email address before leaving Back to School Night. If you
are unable to make it please be sure to send a note with your child letting me know
your current email address. At any time during the school year, you may contact me
through email, phone, or by sending in a note with your child.
Lunch
Our lunch is at 10:45 each day. You are welcome at any time to join your child
for lunch. Once you have checked in at the office, you may meet us in the cafeteria at
our lunchtime. If you know that you are coming and would like a school lunch, please
send a note with your child so that I can order a lunch for you in the morning when we
send our lunch count down. I recommend that you prepay for your child’s lunch so
that they do not have to keep track of money. You may prepay by coming to school
to the cafeteria or by sending a check made payable to “County of Loudoun”. Your
child will get a reminder from the cafeteria when their account is running low. Breakfast
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is available before school each morning. If your child is eating breakfast at school,
he/she will directly go to class upon finishing.
Snack
We will have a working snack each afternoon. Juice boxes and messy snacks
should not be brought in order to avoid major messes. I encourage students to bring
healthy snacks. Please avoid sending in snacks with your children that include peanuts
due to severe allergy concerns. In the lunchroom there is an allergy table, so students
are permitted to bring in food with peanuts.
Students may keep water bottles at their desks throughout the day as long as it is
not a distraction. Sports water bottles that have an easy pop top work best in the
classroom since they spill minimally when accidentally knocked over.
Birthdays
Loudoun County Public Schools has enforced that all schools are “treat free”.
With the number of severe allergies children have, it is safest to avoid treats from being
brought in. Please do not send in anything, including non-edible items, with your child
on their birthday. We will celebrate the birthday boy or girl’s big day by acknowledging
them on Horizon TV. Thank you for understanding and obeying this county policy.
Class Parties
We will have three parties throughout the school year. We will have a fall sportsthemed party, a winter party, and an end of the year party. Parents will be invited to
the fall and end of the year parties. Room parents will help coordinate these fun
celebrations!
Homework
Students are required to complete approximately 30 minutes of homework each
Monday-Thursday night. Students who complete and bring in their homework daily will
earn a Dojo point for working hard.
To encourage student responsibility, I ask that parents do not drop off forgotten
student folders/homework at school during the day. The mild consequence of receiving
a negative Dojo point typically remedies forgetting homework and instills student
accountability. Thank you for understanding this request.
Nightly Homework:
Reading:
Reading Logs: Students are required to read for 15 minutes Monday-Thursday and
should be recorded on their monthly reading log. Their reading log will be checked only
on Fridays, so your child may keep it either at home or in their homework folder until
they need to turn it in. Every month has a certain goal of minutes read. If the goal is
met, your child will receive a Pizza Hut Book-It coupon for a free personal pan pizza (this
begins in October and ends in March).
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Math: Your child will receive a homework packet on Monday that is to be brought in
each day so that homework can be checked. There will be a cover sheet that shows
the week’s topic and each night’s homework assignment. Dreambox will be available
again this year and some times it will be assigned for homework (log in information will
be sent home in the upcoming weeks).
Second grade students will be flexibly grouped for math within the classroom this year. At the
beginning of each quarter, the class will take a pre-test on skills to be taught during the quarter. Students
will be post-tested with the same test at the end of the quarter. Scores on the pre-test, performance on
timed math fact quizzes, and classroom performance will be the factors used for group placement. Each
group will be taught the same concepts throughout the quarter, but the approach will vary.
Grouping allows students to be taught at a pace and developmental level they are ready for. It
also allows me to have more time to focus on the needs of each student. No student will have any
academic advantage over another based upon his or her math group placement. This placement system
has been created to better meet the needs of each of my students.
Homework is a review of skills taught during the week and your child should be able to complete
math homework fairly independently. Math homework should take no longer than 15 minutes each night.
If you have questions about math grouping within the classroom, please let me know.
Word Study: Along with reading and math each night, your second grader will have
word study homework. In their word study homework notebook, they will have a baggie
with their words and the nightly assignments stapled in the notebook. Students will sort
their words and get it checked by me at the beginning of each week. The sort will be
written on the Teacher Sort page. If you are ever questioning the placement of a word,
please refer to the Teacher Sort as it reflects the correct sorting.
Why is Word Study important? Word study is our differentiated spelling instruction at school. Word
study is a student-centered approach to phonics, spelling, and vocabulary instruction. In the beginning of
the year, students take a diagnostic test that demonstrates what word features they already know and
what they need to work on. Students are involved in grouping words that have similar features, and they
then use what they know about words to make connections and discoveries about new words. Each
week, a particular feature will be studied, and the children will be involved in sorting their words by feature,
making connections to similar words, hunting for other words with that feature, and using the words in their
writing. Your child will receive words on Monday with a common feature. They will be involved in different
activities at home and at school throughout the week to work on this feature. By doing word study, your
child will focus on skills that they need to work on, and they will be able to build their knowledge of what
they already know and make connections to new words. You’ll see how meaningful this is to their learning
as opposed to receiving a random word list. We’ll work together to build their knowledge of words and the
features they contain. If you have any questions regarding word study, please let me know.
Homework and Absences:
If your child is absent from school, they will have assignments to make up that they
missed upon returning. Please have your child check with me to be sure they have all
the make-up work they need. If they are out of school for an extended time due to
sickness, we will make arrangements to complete missed work. If your child is absent
due to a vacation during the school year, please note that it is not school policy to
send home work that the child misses before they leave. Any work missed will be made
up upon their return.
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Grades
Second grade students will receive letter grades of E, M, P, and B. Below lists what each
letter represents. This information is found in the pamphlet that was handed out tonight.
4 = E - Exceeds Standards- demonstrating knowledge independently by going above
the learning target (standard).
3 = M – Meets Standards- demonstrating knowledge of the learning target (standard)
consistently and independently.
2 = P – Progress Towards Standards- demonstrating knowledge of the learning target
(standard) independently, but not consistently.
1 = B – Below Standards- demonstrating knowledge of the learning target (standard)
with assistance.
School and Class Behavior Plans
School
 As an entire school, Horizon Elementary has adopted the 3 C’s- Comets who are
Caring, Cooperative, and Courteous.
 Faculty and staff may also give out stickers to individual students who are
displaying these characteristics. If your child comes home and shows you that
they received a sticker, praise them for their accomplishment! 
Class
In order for a functional and safe environment for all students, rules must be followed
at all times while at school. Our class rules are as follows:
1. Listen and follow directions
2. Keep your hands, feet, and objects to yourself.
3. Be respectful of yourself, others, and the school.
4. Have fun and do your best!
In order for these rules to be followed, I find it works best when a reward system is used
to encourage good choices. These are the kinds of incentives that will be used:
Individual Incentive:
1. Stickers that were discussed above.
2. Class Dojo:
 Each student has an avatar labeled with his/her name.
 During the course of the day, students have the opportunity to receive points for
positive behavior such as “being a good friend”, “following directions”, and
“working hard”. One student will be selected as the “class role model” for the
day.
 There is also a “Needs Work” section with behaviors such as “being disrespectful”,
“no homework”, “not following directions” and “excessive talking”.
 Students and Parents will be able to check their account online to track the
amount of points earned.
 Students that end the week with 5 or more Dojo points will receive a “Bridget
dollar”. Students will be able to use their class money to spend on our class treasure
box.
* Any student who chooses severely inappropriate or unsafe behavior will immediately be
referred to the office.
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Class Incentive:
 Our class will earn cafeteria dollars for showing the 3 C’s while they are having
lunch. Once they earn a designated amount of dollars in their ETM machine, we
will celebrate with a fun activity.
Class Treasure Box
As part of our classroom management and reward system, our class will have the
opportunity to earn class money known as “Bridget or Jack” dollars, which will allow
them to visit our class treasure box. If a student finishes the day with 3 Dojo points or
higher AND completed their homework from the night before, they will earn a dollar.
Once a week we will visit the class treasure box.
Fun Friday
On Fridays, I will have a block of time set to relax with a fun activity or content
video for those students who turned in all their homework for that week. Students who
do not complete their homework will work on it in the hallway. Fun Friday is used as an
incentive for students to take responsibility for turning in their homework on time.
Volunteers
After we have been in school for a few weeks and are into our routine, I plan on
having scheduled volunteers in the class. I am as eager to have you, as you are to be in
here. I will send out an interest flyer within the next few weeks once we have our
schedule set in stone for those parents who want to volunteer.
Our Class Specials Schedule
Monday- Library, P.E.
Tuesday- Art, Guidance*, SEARCH*
Wednesday- PE, Music
Thursday-, Computer Lab
Friday- P.E., Music
* Every other week
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Book Orders
This year we are participating in the Scholastic book club. This optional book club will
allow you to easily order books for your 2nd grader. We will be using the secure
Scholastic Book Club online ordering system. It’s easy to order from home AND for every
online book order; our class receives a $3 coupon to use for a book to add to our class
library.  Here’s how to order online:
1. Sign up at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. On the parent page, click the "Don't have a User
Name and Password?" link, and then register for your own username and password that you can
use from that point forward.
2. When prompted, enter the one-time class activation code. This code ensures that your order is
sent to Miss Ginty. Our class code is H7DL6.
3. Send your order in by the due date. Books will be delivered directly to the classroom.
Student of the Week!
In order to help build classroom community, students will be assigned a week where
they will be given a poster all about themselves to decorate and fill out. Students will be
selected at random and given a week to complete their poster that they will share with
the class. I hope the children will enjoy learning more about each other with this
activity!
I hope that you find the information in here useful. Please feel free to check our class
webpage for dates, newsletter, and important links throughout the year. If you need to
reach me during the year, you can send a note with your child, call the school and
leave a message, or email me at eileen.ginty@lcps.org. I’m looking forward to a great
year working with you and your son or daughter!
Sincerely,
Eileen Ginty
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