The ABC’s of
Second Grade
The ABC’s
Early Release Days: On Fridays, students are
dismissed at 1:55. Teachers then meet with their
Professional Learning Committees to discuss aspects of
the curriculum. Also, Thursday, March 13th , is an early
release due to parent/teacher conferences.
Field trips: Information about field trips will come
home in the H.E.R.O. book and will be detailed in the field
trip permission slip.
Family: The students and I spend a lot of time
Attendance:
Learning and fun take place every
day! Please make sure your child comes to school on time
except in cases of illness or emergency.
Birthday:
If you wish to send a treat for your child’s
birthday, you may do so. New school policy is requiring
store treats that are clearly labeled with ingredients. Many
second grade students have allergies. Please do not send
birthday party invitations to be distributed at school
unless all children receive an invitation.
Box Tops:
Our school collects “Box Tops for
Education.” Each label is worth 10 cents. It adds up fast!
Bucket Fillers:
In second grade we focus on
positive behavior. Based on the book by Carol McCloud,
called Have You Filled a Bucket Today, students will earn
warm fuzzies for their buckets for making good choices.
Students are rewarded for positive behavior such as: being
a good listener, helping friends, staying on task, being
respectful and responsible, staying organized, and working
hard in class.
together and consider one another part of our “school
family.” Please encourage your child to tell something
about their day at school.
Gym: Please have children wear athletic shoes on gym
days.
Genre: Our class will be learning about many different
genres of literature this year, including: fiction, nonfiction,
fairy tales, fables, tall tales, poetry, and mystery.
Homework: Students will have some homework in
Second Grade. Students will bring a homework log home
each night so that you know what your child is to do.
Please sign the homework log nightly. Homework
assignments will vary and will be sent home in the B.E.E.
book. Children are expected to read at least 15 minutes
every night. There may also be math, word work, or a
reading comprehension sheet to complete.
Half Days: There is a half days this year on May 9th.
Students do not eat lunch at school this day.
Conferences Parent /Teacher conferences are
held at the end of the first trimester on November 25th and
26th. There will be conferences at the end of the second
trimester on an as-needed basis only. Watch for
information and reply accordingly.
H.E.R.O: These binders help keep us organized.
The
three-ring binder houses a money/notes pouch, homework
folder, important papers folder, and superhero work folder
to assist with communication between home and school.
Communication is important.
Contact between
school and home is very important for your second grader.
Feel free to contact us whenever you have a question,
comment, or concern. Email is the best way to contact us.
Important Papers Important papers will be sent
home periodically in the yellow important paper folder in
your child’s H.E.R.O. book.
Curriculum Night is on August 29th from 6:307:30. You will get the chance to see your child’s classroom
and learn about this year’s curriculum.
Dismissal:
School ends at 2:55 on full school days
and 1:55 on Fridays.
Independence is a goal for students because it
builds self-esteem and self-confidence. Second Graders
are very capable of doing many things on their own and I
encourage them to do as much as they can for themselves
in the classroom.
Daily 5: Every day during our reading block, the
students will participate in the Daily 5. These are
independent centers/stations that the children go to while
we are conducting guided reading lessons with small
groups. The daily 5 stations are: Read to Self, Write to
Read, Listen to Reading, Work on Words, and Read to
Someone.
Emergencies:
The school may need to contact
you in case of an emergency. If your phone number or
address changes, please notify us.
Jaguars: We are the BJ Hooper Jaguars! 
Keep updated: by reading the classroom
newsletter and checking the H.E.R.O. book every day for
other notes and information.
reading books will come home with your child from time to
time. Students must return the book to school the following
day.
Lunch: Our class eats lunch from 11:15-11:35.
If
lunch money is sent to school, please send it to school in
the H.E.R.O. book in an envelope marked with your child’s
name. There is a money pocket for this purpose that is
located in the front of the H.E.R.O. book. If bringing a
lunch from home, please make sure the lunch box is
labeled with your child’s name.
Scholastic Book Clubs:
Your child will be
bringing home book order forms this year. This is a great
way to purchase books inexpensively, while helping our
class earn points towards books!
Supplies: We work hard in second grade and
consume a lot of supplies! Please look for notes about
supplies that are needed in the classroom. Thank you in
advance! 
Math: Our math curriculum is called enVisionMATH.
enVision is a program that engages the children and
strengthens their understanding of math through
interactive and visual learning. It helps students become
better problem solvers and provides data-driven
differentiated instruction.
SMARTBoard: Smart boards are a wonderful and
fun interactive learning tool for our students.
Specials: This year we have SPECIALS on a
rotating schedule. Each class will have each special every
4 days.
Snack: Please send in a healthy snack daily with your
child. We are a peanut free zone in second
Newsletter:
A newsletter will be sent home to keep
you informed about what is happening in our class.
grade. Please look at the ingredient labels when deciding
on a snack.
No school: There will be no school on the following
days: September 2, October 11,14; November 25-29th;
December 23 -- January 3, January 20; February 14,17;
March 14, March 24- March 28; April 18, 21 and May: 26.
The last day of school is June 3rd.
Talking:
Talking to friends about feelings and ideas
is an important part of learning. There are, however,
appropriate and inappropriate times to talk. We understand
that breaking rules about talking may seem less important
than others, but we encourage you to support us in the
enforcement of this rule, because it does affect your child’s
learning as well as other children.
Organization Good organizational habits begin to
form in second grade. To help keep your child organized
through the year, we will provide a H.E.R.O book for things
to be brought to and from school in. This binder MUST be
brought to school every day.
Unique: We believe that each child has unique
learning differences; therefore we will be providing
instruction to your child that may be different than his or
her peers.
Practice: Just like any other thing you expect to be
good at, the skills learned in school need to be practiced.
Please provide time at home for your child to practice their
math and reading.
Volunteers and visitors must register in the
PTO: The PTO is the school’s Parent Teacher
office, pick up a badge, and fill out the green form that will
be kept on file in the office. Please fill out the GREEN form
ahead of time if you would like to volunteer in the
classroom, please contact us to let me know your
availability.
Organization. It is a way to promote and support
communication between home, school, and the
community.
.
Questions? Please feel free to call, stop in, email, or
send a note.


jlawrence@district41.org (847) 245-8146
degroenwald@district41.org (847) 245-8145
sfrick@district41.org (847) 245-8151
Report cards will be sent home 3 times during the
year. First trimester report cards will be sent home
November 22nd , second trimester report cards will be sent
home March 7th, and the final report card is sent home on
the last day of school, June 3rd (if no snow days are
taken).
Writing Reading and writing are closely linked. We will
be doing a lot of writing in writer’s workshop! The kids love
expressing their creativity through their stories and they
REALLY love publishing them!
Parents and family members may eXit and enter via the
main school entry.
Recess: Second grade has recess from 10:55-11:15,
Your ideas…and suggestions are welcome!
right before lunch. Students will go to recess every day
except for if it is raining or below 10 degrees. In the winter,
your child must bring boots, snow pants, jacket, hat, and
mittens. Please make sure all clothing has your child’s
name on it.
Zzzzzzz - Make sure that your child gets plenty of
Reading: We will be doing lots of reading in 2nd
grade. Please allow time for your child to read books to
you. Share with them your love for reading. Guided
rest. Setting and keeping a bedtime is a wonderful gift you
can give your child