Welcome to Second Grade!  I'm looking forward to getting to know you and your child and to make it a fun, pleasant experience for all of us.   The following information should be helpful now and as the year progresses.  If you have any additional procedural questions that cannot be answered by the school manual which is on-line or this packet, please feel free to contact me.

CURRICULUM:

     Religion: The Blessed Trinity, the Church, Sacraments, the Mass, Mary, the Liturgical Year, Special Saints' Feast Days
     Math:  Number concepts (Ordering, Skip Count, Place Value), Operations (Addition and Subtraction of multi-digit numbers); Problem Solving, Estimation, Geometry, Measurement, Statistics, Probability, Roman Numbers to XX.  A "Math At Home" page will be sent home at the beginning of each unit to explain the concepts we'll be working on and offer supplementary activites if you choose to do at home.  See www.eduplace.com/maf for Math activities.
     Integrated Language Arts:   Literature (Poetry, Prose), Spelling, Vocabulary, High-Frequency Words (sight words), Grammar (Sentences, Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs), Reading/            Comprehension Skills, Writing Process, Handwriting, Library
     Spanish:   This is an interactive program teaching Spanish to the children (and myself) through an on-screen video teacher. 
     Other:  Science/Social Studies (integrated into the curriculum, but not graded), Physical Education, Art, Music, and Technology

HOMEWORK:   SHOULD NOT TAKE LONGER THAN 20-30 MINUTES. 

HW will be written in the Homework Assignment Book.  The Homework Book should be signed by the parent/guardian each night.  It is not necessary to sign each page of homework as long as it has been reviewed.  It will be normal for your child to need some help, however, if you feel he/she is having more difficulty than you're comfortable with, please write a note in the HW book.  I review the HW book and stamp it each morning.  Homework is an assessment and will be a part of your child's grade.  Each subject begins with 100 points per trimester; 5 points will be deducted for missed/skipped/incomplete homework and will be completed during recess.  Certainly, there are exceptions to this but I will need a note from you.  We are trying to make the children responsible for their own work and to take ownership for their actions. 

TESTING:   We have been asked not to give tests on Monday and we honor that as much as possible. You will be given ample notice of tests via the Homework Copybook.  Sometimes we give a Math test on Mondays since it is a subject that you don't ‘study' for.  All graded tests will be sent home in the test folder.  Please sign and return them the next day.  If a test is scheduled and we're off due to inclement weather, the test will be given the following school day.

LATENESS/ABSENCES:    If you are late, please bring your child to the office, obtain a late pass, then walk your child to the front door of the lower building and have him/her walk to the classroom.  Due to security reasons, we ask that you do not come up to the classroom.  Thank you.  If your child is absent, please send a note to school when he/she returns stating the reason for the absence.  Also, don't forget to call Child Check!

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT: 

Sticker Book:  Each child has a sticker book.   Stickers are given out both as a class (i.e., excellent behavior during church, fire drills, etc) and individually (i.e., exceptional manners/kindness).  This form of praise works very well as children are very good mentors to their peers.   A prize is given out for every ten stickers.

I also use a "Traffic Signal" for classroom management.  Every child starts on green each morning.  If a child is distracting or breaks a class rule, he/she moves her named clothespin to yellow.  If the behavior stops, they move back to green; if it continues they move to red.  Yellow gives them an opportunity to change their behavior and therefore is not recorded.  If they reach red, I will send a note via the HW book.  Please discuss the situation with your child.  If the particular behavior problem is recurring, I will contact you for further discussion.

CORRESPONDENCE:

 Under the SLS website you will be able to access Room 9 information.  You will find General Information (this information), Newsflash (monthly newsletter), Class Photographs, Calendar (important dates to remember, project due dates, etc)

Room 9 Newsflash:  Every 3-5 weeks, I will send a newsletter called Room 9 Newsflash to let you know what's going on in the classroom, upcoming events, etc.  Notification of these will be written in the Homework Assignment Book as Newsflash or NF.  Please be sure to read them-they often contain deadline dates and important information.  As a bonus, you get to enjoy my very strange humor (it's great when I don't see the reactions to my comments- I'm sure I'd have a few tomatoes thrown at me!).  Believe me, by June you will be sick of these.  These will also be posted on the SLS website under Classrooms - Grade 2 - Room 9 - Newsflash 

Daily Notes/E-Mail:   You may send in notes with your child, contact me through the office, or by e-mail.  My e-mail address is ldolan@saintlukeschool.org.  You may access this address by using the Saint Luke Website, clicking on Faculty and then "email" next to my name.  The best way to contact me is e-mail - I try to look at it several times a day.

Conferences:    Initial conferences will be scheduled at the end of October/beginning of November.  If you should have concerns throughout the year and need to speak with me, please contact me.  Conferences will be scheduled at a mutually convenient time.

This information can be found on-line throughout the year under the SLS website.  Go to Classrooms - Grade 2 - Room 9 - General Info

I look forward to working with you and your child.  Together I know we can create a learning experience that is both enriching and fun!

                                           Mrs. Lori Dolan