Welcome to 2nd grade!
Ms. Sloan’s class
Dear Parents/Guardians:
I’m so excited to start the new school year with these kids! A little bit about me: I received my BA in History from the University of Utah and moved to London and completed my MA in Medieval European History from Birkbeck, University of London. I absolutely love reading and do so all the time! On top of my teaching here at Diamond Ridge, I also teach dance and cheerleading for a studio in Salt Lake. I love traveling and thanks to my time in London I have gotten to do quite a bit and plan on continuing to do so. I love sports, movies and just enjoying life! I look forward to getting to know my new students and creating an exceptional learning experience for your child!
BEHAVIOR AND DISCIPLINE
I believe in preventive discipline. This means that in my classroom, students will be rewarded for doing the right thing. The idea behind this is that students will want to do what is right and will therefore not need a consequence. However, if consequences are necessary, there are different levels. Each child will have a clothespin with their number on it. A chart will be hung; each color represents a different reward or consequence. As your child makes great choices they will move their clothespin up the chart and will be rewarded. If there is a need for a consequence, the student will move their pin down. At the end of each day, your student will color in the bottom square of their planner corresponding to the color their pin ended on.
Colors and Consequences:
Pink: Outstanding!
Purple: Great Day!
Blue: Good Day!
Green: Ready to Learn
Yellow: Think about it
Orange: Lose Privilege
Red: Parent Contact and/or Office Referral
REWARDS:
Paper coin money will be awarded for following directions and obeying rules. Students will then be able to spend their money at our class store. Praise, special privileges, and positive notes will also be used.
PLANNER:
Each day your student will write on a planner page that is to be kept in their homework folder. Read and do homework with your student and initial the planner page every night. I will check the planner page daily. If you have any questions or concerns, please write in the planner or email me at [email protected]. Planners are a great way to communicate!
ATTENDANCE
Your child’s regular and prompt attendance at school is crucial. Many learning activities are hands on and group oriented involving interactions between teacher and students. However, please evaluate your child’s health before sending your child to school. If he or she is not feeling well or has been ill during the night, please keep him or her home. In general, if your student is well enough to go to school, they will go out for recess. Your child MUST bring a note to stay in from recess.
If/when your child misses a day of school for any reason, PLEASE SEND A DATED NOTE explaining the reason for the absence. If no excuse is received, the absence will be marked unexcused. Several unexcused absences can lead to truancy investigations.
If your student is going to miss several days and you know ahead of time, please let me know. If absent, your child will miss projects, discussions and group work, etc. that cannot be made up. Any worksheets that your child misses will be placed in his/her desk and sent home when he or she returns to class. Please complete and return those pages to school.
DONATIONS
If you would like to donate to our class, the following are items that would be greatly appreciated, in order of priority.
ACCELERATED READER (AR):
The Accelerated Reader program is vital to your student’s reading progress in 2nd grade. Reading at home is essential to the success of this program. AR gives your student reading practice and tests their comprehension. Books need to be read three times and the test must be passed with at least 80% accuracy.
In the first few weeks of school your student will be given a STAR test to determine their reading level and a point goal will be set for the 1st quarter. Your student will be bringing home library books labeled with the correct level.
Hints for helping your student reach this goal:
STAR – a reading vocabulary test given at the beginning of each trimester. The score is represented as an appropriate reading range for the students.
ZPD – Zone of Proximal Development—this matches a student to an appropriate book level.
GOAL – the number of points the student should accumulate during a term. The goals set are realistic but challenging. We have 100% rewards/parties as an incentive. Don’t wait until the last minute to try to reach goals! A current list of AR books can be found at arbookfinder.com. http://www.arbookfind.com
Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] at any time. Writing in your student’s planner is another great way to communicate about what is happening in the classroom. I look forward to working with you this year.
Thank you!
Ms. Sloan
Ms. Sloan’s class
Dear Parents/Guardians:
I’m so excited to start the new school year with these kids! A little bit about me: I received my BA in History from the University of Utah and moved to London and completed my MA in Medieval European History from Birkbeck, University of London. I absolutely love reading and do so all the time! On top of my teaching here at Diamond Ridge, I also teach dance and cheerleading for a studio in Salt Lake. I love traveling and thanks to my time in London I have gotten to do quite a bit and plan on continuing to do so. I love sports, movies and just enjoying life! I look forward to getting to know my new students and creating an exceptional learning experience for your child!
BEHAVIOR AND DISCIPLINE
I believe in preventive discipline. This means that in my classroom, students will be rewarded for doing the right thing. The idea behind this is that students will want to do what is right and will therefore not need a consequence. However, if consequences are necessary, there are different levels. Each child will have a clothespin with their number on it. A chart will be hung; each color represents a different reward or consequence. As your child makes great choices they will move their clothespin up the chart and will be rewarded. If there is a need for a consequence, the student will move their pin down. At the end of each day, your student will color in the bottom square of their planner corresponding to the color their pin ended on.
Colors and Consequences:
Pink: Outstanding!
Purple: Great Day!
Blue: Good Day!
Green: Ready to Learn
Yellow: Think about it
Orange: Lose Privilege
Red: Parent Contact and/or Office Referral
REWARDS:
Paper coin money will be awarded for following directions and obeying rules. Students will then be able to spend their money at our class store. Praise, special privileges, and positive notes will also be used.
PLANNER:
Each day your student will write on a planner page that is to be kept in their homework folder. Read and do homework with your student and initial the planner page every night. I will check the planner page daily. If you have any questions or concerns, please write in the planner or email me at [email protected]. Planners are a great way to communicate!
ATTENDANCE
Your child’s regular and prompt attendance at school is crucial. Many learning activities are hands on and group oriented involving interactions between teacher and students. However, please evaluate your child’s health before sending your child to school. If he or she is not feeling well or has been ill during the night, please keep him or her home. In general, if your student is well enough to go to school, they will go out for recess. Your child MUST bring a note to stay in from recess.
If/when your child misses a day of school for any reason, PLEASE SEND A DATED NOTE explaining the reason for the absence. If no excuse is received, the absence will be marked unexcused. Several unexcused absences can lead to truancy investigations.
If your student is going to miss several days and you know ahead of time, please let me know. If absent, your child will miss projects, discussions and group work, etc. that cannot be made up. Any worksheets that your child misses will be placed in his/her desk and sent home when he or she returns to class. Please complete and return those pages to school.
DONATIONS
If you would like to donate to our class, the following are items that would be greatly appreciated, in order of priority.
- Anti-Bacterial surface wipes
- Glue sticks
- Dry Erase markers (Black)
- Paper towels
- Ziploc bags (gallon, quart, sandwich, and snack sizes)
- Paper cups, paper plates, napkins
- Hand sanitizer
- Art supplies (markers, colored pencils, paint, etc.)
- Box of tissues
- candy or toys for the reward box
- Playground equipment (jump ropes, balls, etc.)
ACCELERATED READER (AR):
The Accelerated Reader program is vital to your student’s reading progress in 2nd grade. Reading at home is essential to the success of this program. AR gives your student reading practice and tests their comprehension. Books need to be read three times and the test must be passed with at least 80% accuracy.
In the first few weeks of school your student will be given a STAR test to determine their reading level and a point goal will be set for the 1st quarter. Your student will be bringing home library books labeled with the correct level.
Hints for helping your student reach this goal:
- Reading can be done 3 ways:
- Reading to your child
- Reading with your child—helping with difficult words
- Independent reading by the child
- Question your child about what has been read.
- When your child reads an AR book from home, or the public library, please send a note indicating the title of the book so the child can take the correct test.
STAR – a reading vocabulary test given at the beginning of each trimester. The score is represented as an appropriate reading range for the students.
ZPD – Zone of Proximal Development—this matches a student to an appropriate book level.
GOAL – the number of points the student should accumulate during a term. The goals set are realistic but challenging. We have 100% rewards/parties as an incentive. Don’t wait until the last minute to try to reach goals! A current list of AR books can be found at arbookfinder.com. http://www.arbookfind.com
Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] at any time. Writing in your student’s planner is another great way to communicate about what is happening in the classroom. I look forward to working with you this year.
Thank you!
Ms. Sloan