I have outlined some general procedures for the school year. I look forward to partnering with you to ensure that your child has a safe, positive, and fun experience this year in first grade!
COMMUNICATION
Communicating with me: Your child's well-being is a top priority for me and our communication is key to ensuring that your child is safe, happy, and having a positive school experience. Please reach out at anytime! In general, the best way to communicate with me is via email at broon@dcsdk12.org. Second grade life is busy and I don't always have a chance to check this during the school day, but I will do my best to respond within 24 hours. If you need to communicate on a more urgent or time sensitive matter, please call the school office at 303-387-7700 or send a note with your child. For example, if your child's plans for getting home differ from usual, please send a note. To ensure your child's safety, it is imperative that I know if your child is going home with a different adult/on a different bus.
I will use this blog and email blasts to communicate upcoming events and general classroom information. The additional tabs will be great resources for academic supports and homework ideas. Please be sure the email addresses listed in Infinite Campus are updated to ensure you are receiving all communication.
Completed classwork will generally be sent home in the Monday homework folders. Some weeks, we have a lot of paper and pencil tasks to take home and share and other weeks we do not. Much of our classwork is done whole group, on white boards, through games, and other means that may not translate into tangible work to bring home.
We have two formal parent-teacher conference times during the year and formal progress reports are also sent home twice a year per the district schedule.
School Communication: School-wide communication is electronic via the Electronic Thursday Folder which will be sent to your email. In addition, Principal Jenny Brown will send out regular updates on the Principal Blog. Both of these will provide you with important information and I encourage you to peruse them regularly.
HOMEWORK
Homework provides the opportunity to begin to learn responsibility and time management, as well as to practice learned skills. The recommended amount of time a second grader should spend on homework is 20-25 minutes daily. Each child is different, so use your judgement when deciding how much homework time is best for your child.
Reading: The most critical piece of homework in second grade is daily reading. This can be a combination of reading to your child, listening to your child read, and allowing your child to read independently. As your child becomes a stronger reader, the emphasis will shift to meaningful comprehension discussions and less about listening in and helping them with their word solving. See the reading tab for guidance around how to support your child with reading.
Math: Throughout the year, I will send home a variety of math practice options. I would recommend setting aside time at least once a week for a math activity. Depending upon your child's needs, this might look like Sunshine Math extension activities, practice with math facts, math review games, or other actives. Look for materials that might include game boards and cards, as well as links to online games and activities. Please create a place to keep these materials as they will be used in different ways throughout the year. See the math tab on the website for additional resources.
Word Work: In second grade, more of our word work practice will shift to homework. We will still introduce the new pattern each week in their groups, and students will have brief, in-class practice opportunities. Nightly practice pages will be coming home to support their work with word patterns. We will have spelling tests each week to assess progress on the patterns that they are studying. This will also include a few weekly high frequency "no excuse" words that do not follow this pattern.
Word Work: In second grade, more of our word work practice will shift to homework. We will still introduce the new pattern each week in their groups, and students will have brief, in-class practice opportunities. Nightly practice pages will be coming home to support their work with word patterns. We will have spelling tests each week to assess progress on the patterns that they are studying. This will also include a few weekly high frequency "no excuse" words that do not follow this pattern.
Homework folders will be sent home on Mondays and should be returned to school each Friday. Thank you for helping your child develop responsibility by making homework a routine. Please let me know if you have any questions.
CLASSROOM AND SCHOOL RULES
Gold Rush has create school-wide rules that all students are expected to follow. The rules use the acronym within the phrase "Go for the GOLD."
G-Give Respect
O-Own Your Actions
L-Listen and Learn
D-Do Your Best
We continually demonstrate and reinforce what these aspects look like in all places and in all aspect of our day. In order to show what "going for the GOLD" looks like in our classroom, we will be creating a classroom promise to refer to throughout the year. The "GOLD" acronym and our class promise help us stay safe and create a positive learning environment. Please review this information with your child and reinforce the importance of our expectations. Here is a sample of what our classroom promise will look like:
Our Promise
Give Respect: We promise to be a good friend, use polite words, and when someone
asks us to stop, we stop!
Own Your Actions: We promise to tell the truth and apologize when we need to. We
understand that everyone makes mistakes.
Listen and Learn: We promise to listen to the person who is talking. Our voices are off.
We promise to follow directions.
Do Your Best: We promise to stay focused during work time and always do our best!
We promise to do these things, even when no one is watching!
LUNCH
Please see the "Our Schedule" tab to see our scheduled time for lunch. It is helpful to go over the lunch choices with your child ahead of time. When students bring lunch, please send containers they can open on their own. You are welcome to come to school and have lunch with your child. Please let me know if you would like to order a lunch – or tell your child to order one for you! In our experience it is best to wait about three weeks before you come visit.
SNACKS AND WATTER BOTTLES
We will have an afternoon snack time. Please send snacks that are healthy and manageable to enjoy. (No Gogurt, please!) Help your child become more independent by setting a routine for packing a snack in their backpack each day. They get upset when they don’t have a snack, and we have a long day!
Also include a labeled water bottle each day. This eliminates the need to leave the classroom for drinks. Students may bring only water, not juice or other drinks. Students may use the bathroom as needed. During instructional time we may encourage students to try and wait, unless it is an emergency.
APPROPRIATE DRESS
When it is your child’s turn for P.E. they need to have tennis shoes in order to participate. Children will be playing outside during the day, so please keep this in mind, as well as our rapidly changing Colorado weather. Please help your child dress appropriately and come prepared for the weather.
BIRTHDAYS
Your child may celebrate his/her birthday with the class if you wish. If possible, please let me know a day ahead if you’d like to bring treats for the class so I can leave time in our day. We request a small, individual, manageable snack for each child in the class, such as Rice Krispie treats or cookies. Please be sensitive about our class’ allergy needs. No juice, please. This will help keep our classroom clean! If your child has a summer birthday, feel free to arrange a celebration day; many students with summer birthdays celebrate on their half birthday.
I am looking forward to our partnership in your child’s learning!