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School & Classroom Policies

  1. School Wide Policies

R.A.H. Read at Home – This is part of our nightly homework. Each child reads for at least 20 minutes five nights a week. Help your child fill out the monthly R.A.H. form by coloring in the character each night that your child reads. Also assist in filling out the back with favorite books or titles from Ticket to Read. At the end of each month, please sign and return the form. R.A.H. medals are given out at the end of the year for 100% completion.

Wednesday Envelope – Your child will bring this home every Wednesday. Inside it you will find important school communications and information and your child’s corrected work. Please take out all papers and return the signed envelope the next day. Please do not send paperwork back to me in the Wednesday envelope—use your child’s homework folder to return paperwork or notes and place in my classroom mailbox.

Absences – When your child is absent, please call or email the school office or send a note with your child the day that he or she returns to school.

Conferences – Fall conferences will be held the last week of October. 

  1. School Wide Programs

Computer Chrome Books –Most of our time will be spent on Florida Virtual Learning, ST Math, Discovery, and IXL.

Library – We will visit the library every Monday. Each student may check out two books per visit (one fiction and one nonfiction). One book may be taken home, the other will stay at school. Library books will be returned each week. Our librarian will send notices home for late books and collect fines for lost books.

Music – Music is on Thursday with instruction by Ms. Hughes provided from the school district.

Scholastic News  – Each week, your child will read a Weekly Reader magazine in class. These magazines are full of current issues and cover several subjects. This resource is enjoyed by all and is funded by the PTO.
 

  1. Field Trips:

*Permission slips and information will be sent home before each field trip.

 

  1. Homework Policy

Students have a homework binders that they take home every day.  Each Monday they will receive a sheet of Weekly News for the week. On the backside of the Weekly News you will find the Homework Cover Sheet. Students must read for a minimum of 20 minutes 5 nights a week as part of their homework (R.A.H.). All homework assignments are due daily unless otherwise stated. Please check your child’s work for neatness, accuracy, and proper penmanship.  Then sign it off nightly. Send a note if your child was unable to complete his or her homework. There are always exceptions such as illness or family emergencies. However, if not doing homework becomes a habit, it will be reflected on your child’s report card.

 

  1. Student of the Week

Each week, a child will be chosen to be the Student of the Week! The purpose of this classroom activity is to focus attention on that student, pointing out his or her special qualities and attributes and making him or her feel special. The child will have the opportunity to share special things about him/herself. Each child will display a Student of the Week poster and have an opportunity to share it with the class. This also provides an opportunity for the child to speak in front of the class. The Student of the Week will receive a blank poster on Friday to fill out and return it the following week to be displayed and shared by Thursday.

 

  1. Classroom Standards

Students are expected to behave properly and safely with concern for the people and property at school. Good manners are expected. Positive reinforcement is used extensively. However, if a student has problems with behavior, he or she will face the appropriate consequences.

I expect every child to follow the classroom rules. In the beginning of the school year, our class created rules based on:

Teachers have the right to teach.

Students have the right to learn.

which include:

  1. Always show respect.
  2. Be kind with words and actions.
  3. Be a good listener.
  4. Make good choices.
  5. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
  1. Instructional Program

Reading: We use the Houghton Mifflin Medallions Reading Series. Students will do a variety of activities suggested by the series and created by the teacher. The curriculum that is taught is based on the Common Core Standards for second grade. These are available online at the Fountain Valley School District’s website. Examples of reading skills expected of 2nd graders are: reading for comprehension, finding text evidence, comparing plots, settings, and characters, determining the main idea, restating facts and details, recognizing cause and effect. Second graders also practice and learn these skills: locating and using text features such as using the table of contents, and identifying synonyms, antonyms, compound words and sentences. There will be projects sent home throughout the year. Information about these reports will be sent home in the homework folder.

Writing: We’ll do a variety of writing this year. We will focus on poetry, expository writing, and narrative writing.  Students will be incorporating our school wide writing programs: Thinking Maps and Write From The Beginning and Beyond to develop personal narratives, opinion, and informational essays. We will begin with students writing a five paragraph narrative. They also learn to stop and add details about each of the supporting statements. I am always looking for proper penmanship and incorporating cursive.  

Math: We use the Houghton Mifflin Math Expressions Series, IXL, and ST Math software on our chrome books. A deep understanding of math concepts is needed, not just memorized computation skills. All students should know their addition and subtraction facts as well as multiplication and division facts. I recommend using flashcards at home to be sure that your child is fast and accurate with number facts.   Help your child discover math in your daily lives. Real life math experiences really help your child. Using fractions (cups, teaspoons, etc.) in the kitchen is a fun way to learn! Measuring real items in your house or your backyard (using a ruler, yardstick, or measuring tape) is great practice. The ability to count and add money (coins and bills) is a necessary skill for life. Real life experiences with money (helping pay a cashier, counting pocket change, etc.) is extremely helpful in your child’s success and is really fun!

CGI (Cognitively Guided Instruction) is also used throughout the district. This is a teaching philosophy based on over 20 years of research that shows that children come to school with rich informal systems of mathematical knowledge and problem-solving strategies that can serve as a basis for learning mathematics with understanding. It is based on four different classes of addition and subtraction problems and the natural trajectory of children’s problem solving strategies.

   Spelling: Students will be provided a systematic, explicit, and sequenced instruction program based on assessment results. They will participate in interactive, hands-on instruction for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling that will support their reading skills. Students will learn to read and write words by sight and notice phonics patterns while explaining their meaning. Each student has a spelling dictionary at his or her desk. I encourage the use of a dictionary for spelling. It not only helps your child find the correct spelling of a word but it reinforces the concept of alphabetical order.

Speaking and Listening: Students will have opportunities to practice speaking informally and formally in class. Some of their speaking grades will come from their presentations of their book reports, projects, and their Star of the Week Poster. Be sure that they practice at home. Hopefully, they will become comfortable speaking in front of the rest of the students. We’ll also work on not just hearing but on really listening and being able to follow directions.

History-Social Science: The main theme in 4th grade is Learning about our wonderful state, California.

We’ll cover concepts such as geography, early exploration and settlement of California, The Gold Rush, and Growth and Development of our “Golden State”.  There will be a project assigned at the end of the year as a culminating activity to our study of California. 

Science: We have adopted Discovery Science as our new curriculum that aligns with the new Next Generation Science Standards. 

  • Energy
    • Speed and collision of: Sound, light, heat, electric current:
  •  Waves
    • Transfer and movement of:
      • wavelength and  light: reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen.
  • From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
    • Plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction including animal senses
  • Earth’s Place in the Universe
    • Rocks and Fossils support and explain changes in landforms
  • Earth’s Systems
    • Weathering/erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation
    • Maps: Earth’s surface
  • Earth and Human Activity
    • energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment
  • Engineering Design
    • simple design problem
    • Generate and compare multiple possible solutions
    • Plan and carry out fair tests

Physical Education: Given good weather conditions, we will be going outside as much as possible for P.E. Students need to wear clothing and shoes suitable for running and jumping.   Open-toed shoes are not permitted.

Computers: Students will utilize their personal chrome book daily so please make sure it comes to school charged. We will put these computers to use during our class time accessing sites such as IXL, ST Math, Science Discovery, and other great websites and apps that are educational. 

Testing

Testing occurs throughout the year. You will be notified before the testing begins. Please avoid out of town trips during these days. District math, ELA, and writing Benchmarks and Classroom English language arts, writing, and math will be given throughout the year.

Grading

               Report cards will be sent home three times a year, with two progress reports preceding each report card by six weeks. Grades are given for both achievement and effort. Please contact me about any concerns you may have about your child’s success and progress. The more specific you are, the better I can prepare to answer your questions successfully. The following grading scale will be used:

3 = 80-100%              =          Sufficient Progress Demonstrated (End of the year expectation)

2 = 60-79%                =          Partial Progress Demonstrated

1 = 0-59%                  =          Minimal Progress Demonstrated