Open House Follow Ups

Hello Families!

Thank you to all who were able to make it out to Open House/Back to School Night last night.  We know it is difficult to get out of the house on a school night for events.
For those who were unable to attend, please be sure to sign up for a conference.  Conferences will be held on November 25 and 26 - the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  If you will be unable to attend conferences, please let me know so we can work out an alternate plan.

Homework:
The first homework of the year is coming home today!  It should be fairly simple and easy for students to do independently.  However, feel free to help as needed/wanted.  
Today's homework includes reading (or being read to) daily, an optional reading log (where students can illustrate their favorite parts of the books/stories), a short math and literacy sheet, and practicing their lunch numbers (number included on index card in folder).
Speaking of homework, I would like to let you know my rationale and expectations for homework.  Please read below for my homework philosophy...

Homework Philosophy:
First of all, I do not send homework to add stress or additional headaches to your busy lives.  Every year, there are families who want homework and families who don't.  Therefore, please do what works best for your family and situation.

I send homework for the following reasons:

1. To give students practice taking something home and bringing it back to school,

2. To allow parents to see what 2nd grade students should be able to do independently, on their own - as well as the sorts of things we are working on in class,

3. As a communication bridge between school and home,

4. An opportunity to practice skills we are learning in class.

When I get homework back, I will always look it over and offer feedback to the student.  If a student has taken the time to do homework, I feel it is important for him/her to be acknowledged for this work.
I will also check off that I got it back so parents can double check that students are keeping up with turning things in.

Given these goals, it is really up to you and your family how much you want to invest in homework.  If homework is making your life difficult, please send me a note and let me know.  We are a team, so please feel free to communicate as needed.

Behavior Sheets:
I am trying something new this year.  Ms. Johnson and I are keeping a daily record of each child's school and behavior skills.  I will be sending them home next week.  The point of these papers is to allow us to communicate behaviors, effort, etc with you.  Next week, you will be getting a month worth of sheets.  Please check the back sides as well as we sometimes put notes on the back.  Also, there may be empty columns periodically if we don't have time to fill them out on a day.

I would love to hear your feedback on these sheets.  Let us know if they are helpful to you or not.  Thank you!

Field Trips:
The second grade team is busy scheduling field trips for the year!  You will be getting more information on these soon.  I will let you know when to look for the info in your child's Friday Folder. 

Our trips this year will be:

OMSI,
Dragons Eat Tacos (downtown play),
Portland Youth Philharmonic (maybe - still waiting to hear), and 
Portland Parks Geology trip to Mt. Tabor.

Seesaw:
If you have not had a chance to sign up for Seesaw yet, let me know and I will send home another sheet with the sign up information if you need it.  This is a great way to see your child in action at school!

Schedule:
Our schedule is a bit wonky this year.  Our "specials" are spread around, which means that we have a slightly different plan each day.  In today's Friday Folder, you have a copy of our schedule. This paragraph is also linked to an online version.  

Classroom Volunteering:
In the next couple of weeks I will get out some information for classroom volunteering.  There are opportunities for garden volunteering, helping in art class, and working with small groups and/or individuals during reading and math time.   

*The garden volunteer sheet is located just outside the classroom door if you would like to take a look and sign up for one or more sessions.

Also, if you have not gone through the process of a PPS district background check, please take a few minutes to get this started.  You need to have a background check on record in order to volunteer.  CLICK HERE for more information.
Thank you in advance!

I hope you all have a great weekend!