Miss Mock’s 2nd Grade Class HandbookRoom 108

Bryden Elementary School2014-2015

About Miss Mock

Miss Mock graduated from Kent State University in December of 2010. This past summer she was busy catching up with friends and taking graduate courses. This will be her third year in her own classroom and she is VERY excited to be teaching second grade again! She loves to read, spend time with her family, and go hiking in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. She would love to get e-mails from parents that have questions or want to check in. E-mail her at amock@beachwoodschools.org. Be sure to check out her website located on the Beachwood City Schools website.

Our Classroom Rules

The first week of school we worked together to create a set of classroom rules. We talked about how we want to feel in our classroom, how we want to be treated by others, and

how we can learn our best. Here is what we came up with…

1. Be Respectful

2. Be a Kind Friend

3. Be Responsible

4. Always try your best!

Our Specials

MondayP.E. *** bring tennis shoes

Music

TuesdayMusicP.E. *** bring tennis shoesWednesdayMedia (Tech and Library)

ThursdayScience

FridayArt______________________________________________________Library- Children may check out two books (one for at school and one to take home). If your child does not return their books they will not be permitted to check out another book until the overdue one is returned. Please help you child be responsible with their library books. Lost or damaged books will be billed to you.

Bus Notes

All notes regarding after school activities should be sent to school in your child’s folder. Any time your child is not riding his/her own bus home; he/she must bring in a note and give it to the teacher first thing in the morning. The note should include your signature. Please do not e-mail bus changes to the classroom teacher. If last minute changes need to be made please contact the office and talk with our secretary.

Parent Participation

Parent involvement is certainly welcome and encouraged! There are many opportunities for you to get involved. PTO membership is a great way to get involved and support your

schools. Other good ways to get involved are lunch/recess volunteer program and read aloud.

Folders:

Your child has a “home/school” green folder for bringing work and notes home and for returning work and parents’ notes to me. Homework assignments are sent home nightly Monday- Thursday. Please make sure to check your child’s folder each night and return anything that requires signature! While it is your child’s responsibility to manage his/her own folder, your attention to the materials sent home each day is critical. If your child’s folder becomes torn or lost please replace it as soon as possible.

Absences

The Bryden school handbook defines policies on absences. Please make sure that you call the office if your child will not be in school and inform us of any contagious illness. If your child has missed more than 3 days of school due to illness please call me and I will prepare some work for him/her to do at home. Work can be picked up in the office at the end of the school day. If you know of an absence in advance please let me know. See the handbook for policies on vacations.

Snacks

Second grade has lunch at 10:50 a.m. each day. In the afternoon at 1:20 p.m. the children will be given the opportunity to enjoy a healthy snack during Bison Time. You can send a snack with your child daily or provide a sealed plastic bag of non-perishable food for them to store in their locker for the week. Please be sure to pack their snack SEPARATE from their lunch. If your child decides to bring a water bottle please label it with their name. Please note that we are a PEANUT/TREE NUT FREE room.

Our BirthdaysBryden School celebrates birthdays in a special way. Once a month there will be a birthday party in the lunch room for all the children who are celebrating their birthdays that month. This is done to minimize junk foods at school. The PTO will contact parents by phone or e-mail to plan a treat ahead of time. Please note that we are a PEANUT/TREE NUT FREE room.

JanuaryMendele (16)

February

MarchJosh (7)

AprilWilly (10)

Griffin (10)Shreya (14)

Jaya (17)Nicholas (23)

MayEmma (18)

JuneMolly (8)

JulyGrant (1)

Samantha (8)Keita (10)

London (11)

AugustNing (13)

Makayla (13)

SeptemberMadison (7)

OctoberJeremiah (10)

NovemberLexi (1)

DecemberMiss Mock (16)

Social StudiesWe will be using a wonderful Social Studies curriculum called We Live Together. It covers some of the materials mandated in the Ohio standards for second grade Social Studies and I create and supplement all other materials.

ScienceAt Bryden we are fortunate enough to have a science resource lab. I will be working with Mrs. Michelle Leizman to create and implement inquiry based science lessons in the classroom that align with the new common core standards. We will visit Mrs. Leizman’s science lab once a week for an hour.

MathBryden will be using a math curriculum called My Math. This curriculum is aligned with the new common core standards. The children will work through two workbooks this year. Math homework will be given Monday- Thursday. The children will also work in a spiral curriculum math workbook called Simple Solutions to reinforce math skills.

Handwriting

Will use the Zaner-Bloser handwriting curriculum. For the first half of the year we will review manuscript writing, concentrating on the body position, pencil grip, and paper position. Please do not encourage you second grader to use cursive until we start teaching it in January. Children will begin using cursive starting with the lower case letters and then the upper case letters and numbers. Legibility will be the emphasis of the year.

Reading“The ultimate goal of the reading program is effective comprehension of a wide variety of materials presented in different ways and for different purposes. These materials should be understood at the literal, inferential, critical, and creative levels.”-Beachwood Philosophy of Reading

At the beginning of September, second graders are tested for reading using the DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment). Groupings may change throughout the year. Although students are reading at different levels the instruction content is similar for all students. They will be instructed in word recognition, vocabulary, comprehension, and written expression. Fiction and non-fiction literature will be emphasized. Groups are flexible.

Homework

Your child will typically have math homework Monday through Thursday as well as spelling that is due every Friday. Typically there will be no more than two assignments to complete aside from reading and math facts.

Please set aside a time and place for your child to dedicate to doing homework. Homework is assigned to reinforce and practice skills learned during the school day and allow your child to complete unfinished work. Please help your child be responsible completing and remembering to return homework on time.

Speeches

The students will be asked to give several speeches throughout the school year. Speeches are formal oral presentations about specific topics. Children will prepare for their speeches with written notes. They will be evaluated and the evaluations will be sent home. Each speech should include an intro, facts about the topic, and a conclusion. The first speech will be informally at school, and then I will send assignments to be done for homework. Encourage your child to use notecards as a visual aid. You can expect you child to give about one speech every month or so.

WritingOne of the important goals at Bryden is to help students write as fluently as they speak. Throughout the year, your second grader will participate in a variety of writing experiences. We will have daily Writer’s Workshop where the children learn and practice writing and editing skills. They learn to follow the writing process of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing. Children can write in their own private journals, which are not checked for spelling and punctuation, but are used to encourage the development of ideas and creativity. They will also be given a writer’s notebook. We share children’s writing through writing conferences and class presentations. Twice a year, their writing is assessed based on:

Purpose (clear idea of assignment, topic and development of ideas)

Direction (sentence progresses logically with beginning, middle and ending)

Ideas (interesting ideas, variety and clarity) Style (varies sentence structure, using descriptive and

interesting vocabulary) Presentation (student uses complete sentences, correct

capitalization and punctuation, correct spelling of words that have been assigned and good use of invented spelling.

Our Class List

Makayla BrownShreya Chellu

Mendele Friedman Madison Gray

Jeremiah HarrisLexi Jaffe

Willy SeunghwanGrant Keilin Jaya Korah

Samantha LewinMolly Lewis

Emma PenneyLondon PetersGriffin PreislerNicholas Reese

Ning SangKeita TakahashiJosh Stephany