August 19, 2014
Dear Parent,
Welcome to Second Grade! I want to let you know that I am thrilled
about teaching your child! We have an exciting second grade year ahead of
us. It will be both fun and challenging.
I believe that the education of a child is a team effort. Your child will
achieve much more with us working as a team. If at any time I can be of
help to you feel free to contact me at school (243-2530) ext. 7311.
If I am unable to talk to you at that time, please leave a message and
I will return your call as soon as possible. Included in the parent packet are
our specials. If you need to see me, please note the planning periods that
are listed. If those periods are not convenient for you, I will be happy to
meet with you before or after school.
As your child’s teacher, I would like to share some of my expectations
and to acquaint you with some general information about our classroom and
Buchanan Elementary. I hope that this packet will help you understand what
is expected in second grade and answer any questions you may have.
School Times
School begins at 8:45 and ends at 3:45 on Monday through Thursday.
On Friday, dismissal is at 2:45. After 8:45, your child will be counted tardy
and will need to go to the office to check in. Your child may enter the
building at 8:10 and must report directly to the gym.
School Work
All work must be completed on time. Work will be due by 8:45 a.m.
the day after the assignment was given (unless a specific date is assigned).
Usually work will be completed during the school day. However, if we do not
complete work in class, it will need to be completed at home. Homework
assignments will be over lessons that have been taught in class. Therefore,
your child will not be bringing home lessons that they have not already
learned. Homework will usually be assigned to reinforce a skill or for extra
practice when needed. Your child should not be bringing home large amounts
of work. If you find that your child is bringing home numerous assignments,
please contact me and we will find out why.
Confirmed Absences
If your child is absent, please call the school office or write a note
when your child returns so that his/her absence will be confirmed. If the
school is not notified of the reason your child is absent, then the absence
will be unexcused. In the event of an absence, school policy states that your
child will be given one day for each day absent to make up work. Your child
will be responsible for getting his/her makeup work papers from his/her
desk when returning to school. Much is missed when a child is absent so
please realize that only a portion of the work can be made up.
Money
On occasion it will be necessary for your child to bring money to
school. Always send money in a sealed envelope with the following
information written on it.
1. Your child’s first and last name.
2. The amount of money
3. The purpose for the money (lunch money, book order, etc.)
4. My name and the room number (Mrs. Culver, Room 311)
Book Orders
I will be sending book order forms home with your child. There is
never an obligation to buy anything. However, this is an inexpensive way to
build your child’s home library. If you send a check for a book order, please
make it payable to the book club.
Lunch Money
You can send breakfast and/or lunch money any day throughout the
week. Please write your child’s name and room number (311) on the outside
of a sealed envelope. Breakfast is $1.00 and lunch is $1.60 per day. Milk to
go with a brought lunch is 30 cents. Adult lunches are $2.50. Peanut butter
and jelly sandwiches will begin if a child’s lunch charges reach $15.00.
If you come and eat with your child, please meet us at the cafeteria. We
are asking parent(s) and child to sit at a back table if you come and eat with
your child. Parents may only eat with their child. Our class uses our 4 round
tables when everyone is here. Lunchroom monitors will be expecting us to use
our restaurant manners.
Water Bottles
Students may bring water bottles to keep at their desks. They should
be short, plastic water bottles. (Snap up lids only) Bottles will come home
at the end of the week so they can be washed and ready for a new day.
Please put your child’s name on his/her water bottle.
Transportation Notes
Please make me aware of your child’s daily transportation schedule.
This schedule will be followed daily unless the school is notified otherwise.
If your child is going home from school in a way that is out of the ordinary,
please send a note that morning or call the school office. The note should be
written identifying your child’s first and last name, destination, bus number,
and our class number or my name (room 311 or Mrs. Culver). If a note is not
sent, a call must be made to the office by 2:30 p.m. on the day of the
change. See the Parent/Student Handbook for more details. If I am not
aware of the change in transportation in either of the two methods
mentioned, I will send your child home his/her normal schedule.
Please make sure and read the Transportation Handbook!
Inclement Weather – Please send me a written update if the information
you put on the inclement weather should change. In case of an early
dismissal, I will go with the information you have provided me.
Outdoor Recess
All children are expected to go outside for recess unless they have a
doctor’s excuse. Please be sure that your child is dressed appropriately
daily. Temperatures can change drastically. Pay attention to the weather
forecast to ensure proper dress.
Homework
My purpose of homework assignments is to reinforce what we are
learning at school, have parent involvement, and to develop responsibility.
Homework assignments will be given for the following week in our Friday
newsletter to help you know how to help your child. Parents, please sign all
homework that comes home. This lets me know that you have seen what
your child is to do. Homework should be returned the following morning. If
it is forgotten, it will be completed at recess time the day it is due. Please
read with your child a minimum of 15 minutes every night.
Invitations
Birthday invitations are not to be handed out at school unless all
students in the class are invited. If you wish to send treats to help
celebrate your child’s birthday, you may send them with your child.
Remember, only prepackaged foods may come to school for snacks/treats.
Medicine
If your child requires medicine to be given during the day, written
permission from a parent is necessary. A responsible adult should deliver
medications to school, with only the number of doses required for school
doses. (No extras please) The medicine needs to be brought in the original
container. The nurse cannot administer any over the counter medication
except the Tylenol we have at school without your doctor’s written approval.
The nurse will administer all medications. (Includes cough drops)
Daily Communicator
Your child will bring home a Daily Communicator which will include a
behavior calendar, a Communicator Form/Reading Log, and notes from the
office. Friday, a weekly newsletter will come home in the Daily
Communicator. Not a lot of reading papers will come home as we will do a lot
of work in our Reading Journals. Much of our Writing will stay at school as
well. Please go over all papers with your child and correct anything not
corrected in class. Please sign the provided Daily Communicator Sheet,
behavior calendar, and Reading Log each day and have your child return the
Daily Communicator the following day.
Volunteers and Classroom Visits
If you would like to volunteer in the classroom this year, please fill
out the volunteer sheet and send it back to me as soon as you can. I will be
making a volunteer schedule the third week of school. I like to have parents
come in and help during reading time and also help with various projects. I
would also like to have a volunteer come in and help by making copies each
week. If you would be willing to be a regular volunteer, please let me know. 
Parent/School Communication
I believe that a good parent-teacher relationship is necessary for
maximum school success. It is a necessity that you and I work as a team.
Throughout the year I will communicate with you through notes, telephone
calls, newsletters, quarterly reports and parent-teacher conferences. I
encourage you to contact me if you have any questions or concerns at any
time. You can call me at school (243-2530), email me at
culvers@branson.k12.mo.us, or send me a note. I am available for
conferences regarding your child’s progress before school, after school, and
during my planning periods, by appointment on school days. I appreciate you
scheduling these times in advance.
Handbook
Please take time and read the Parent/Student handbook carefully
with your child, and keep it for reference throughout the school year.
Some of What We Do…
Communication Arts
Reading
Reading instruction is a significant part of the communication arts
curriculum. Reading objectives (Common Core Standards) are incorporated
as a part of all the language arts. Reading objectives include skill
development in word study, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and
reading comprehension. I will be working with students on their individual
reading levels. We integrate several sources to teach these fundamental
subjects. We will use the Four Blocks Framework of systematic, multimethod, multi-level instruction developed by Patricia Cunningham, Dorthey
Hall, and Cheryl Sigmon and the Arkansas Literacy Model of teaching. We
have flexible reading groups where the students read on their own reading
level with guided reading books. Students will be given a good amount of
time to read as that is what makes better readers (practice). Students
need to read nightly for a minimum of 15 minutes as well. (Sheet will come
home each day in child’s Daily Communicator for parents to sign and record
number of minutes read during the evening.)
*To be consistent with First Grade, in Language Arts, Second Grade will be
using a Checklist on the grade card. Because of this, much of the assessing
that I do will be formative assessments, which will guide my instruction for
your child. Letter grades will continue to be given in Content.
Writing
I will be using Writer’s Workshop to teach writing. Many different
grammar skills will be taught. The different genres of writing that we will
be learning about are: Narrative, Informational, and Opinion Writing. While
writing, we will be learning to use the writing process: Prewriting, Drafting,
Revising, Editing, and Publishing. All students in our room are authors!
Spelling
We are using the Arkansas Literacy Model words this year for
spelling. On Monday, I will introduce the words. We will be working with the
spelling pattern for that week and brainstorming other words that go with
the pattern. On Friday, students will complete a Word Work Quiz in which
students identify the correct spelling of the words I introduced on Monday
and then students will be asked to spell 7 other words given by the teacher
that go with the week’s pattern, as well as brainstorm 2 other words that go
with the pattern. It is our wish that students will transfer the weekly
learned skills and be capable of spelling many different words correctly.
Because spelling is not just pure memorization for a Friday test, I will be
checking to see if these words (and words with the same patterns) are
spelled correctly in our daily writing.
Math
We are using a Math Program, enVisionMATH, this year. Pamphlets will come
home as the lessons are taught each day. The pamphlets will be completed
at school during math instruction time. The math pamphlets do not need to
be returned, unless, the student has unfinished work to complete.
Sometimes a math homework page will come home during the week. The
math homework page is due back the next day.
Science
We will follow the district curriculum in science instruction. Many hands-on
practical explorations will be done in science as we explore our world. We put
a large emphasis on science in second grade. We try to integrate our science
knowledge with reading also.
Social Studies
We will explore our world through social studies by following the district
plan. Children will gain knowledge in the areas of democracy, history, and
economics in second grade.
Handwriting
We will practice traditional manuscript handwriting this year. Please
encourage your child to always do his/her neatest work. Students will learn
cursive handwriting in third grade.
Discipline:
Our classroom houses a small society. Each student is a citizen who acts in
accordance with expected standards of behavior. With this in mind,
rewards are not always given for expected behavior-just, as society does not
give rewards for behaving properly. Also, irresponsible behavior is seen as
an opportunity for growth, rather than for punishment. Our approach
encourages students to exercise self-discipline through reflection and selfevaluation. Students learn to control their own behavior, rather than always
relying on the teacher for control. I want our classroom to be encouraging
and conducive to learning at all times. In this way, young people develop
positive attitudes and behavioral skills that are necessary for successful
lives.
(This is in addition to PBIS)
Expectations:
*Do my tasks
*Control myself
*Follow directions
*Have materials
*Be where I belong
*Speak considerately
Our Behavior Plan:
Students will clearly understand the classroom expectations, the school
matrix, (PBIS) and I will be teaching and the students will be learning the 7
Habits of Being an Effective Leader. They are as follows:
Habit #1: Be Proactive : The Habit of Choice
Habit #2: Begin With the End in Mind: the Habit of Vision
Habit #3: Put First Things First: The Habit of Integrity and Execution
Habit #4: Think Win-Win: The Habit of Mutual Benefit
Habit #5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: The
Habit of Mutual Understanding
Habit #6: Synergize: The Habit of Creative Cooperation
Habit #7: Sharpen the Saw: The Habit of Renewal
I am excited about teaching the 7 Habits this year. These habits tie right
in with PBIS. Each student will have a clothes pin for a clip chart. Each
color represents the behavior that students can choose behavior wise. The
colors are as follows:
Pink: Outstanding Day
Green: Good Day (expected behavior)
Blue: First Warning
Purple: Second Warning
Yellow: First Minor (will bring a Think Sheet home to be signed)
Orange: Second Minor (will bring a Think Sheet home to be signed)
Red: Third Minor (will bring a Think Sheet home to be signed)
Each evening, your child will bring a Behavior Calendar home (in Daily
Communicator Folder) with the color of his/her day.
Please sign the Daily Communicator Sheet so I know you saw the Behavior
Calendar. This will allow you to be aware of your child’s daily behavior.
Thanks in advance for signing the Communicator Sheet on a daily basis!
I look forward to working with you this year! I hope this information
will help you better understand some of your child’s responsibilities this
year. I wish to thank you in advance for your time and effort. I would also
like to thank you for granting me the opportunity to teach your child. I have
high expectations for all of my students in second grade. Second grade can
be more challenging than previous grades to children. This may take an
adjustment period by your child. With these high expectations, I will strive
to set a very positive tone for my students to ease into this transition.
Working together we will make this a wonderful year!
Your Partner in Education,
Shannon Culver