Scholastic Orders Due                 10/15

Early Dismissal at 11:30a.m.       10/24

Monthly Projects Due                  10/31

End of 1^st Quarter                       10/31

Halloween Party                         10/31

·        Your child may bring in a healthy treat and a small bottle of water. Suggestions for a healthy treat include fruits, vegetables, or granola bar. Please no candy.  Remember this is only a snack, not a full meal.

·        There will not be a reading, grammar, or spelling unit this week. Therefore no weekly tests to prepare for.

·        The only homework for the week will be to get plenty of rest!

·        A good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast will ensure a successful testing experience for your child.

·        The testing will begin promptly at 8:10a.m. Please make sure your child arrives to school on time.

·        The entire school will follow “Quiet Hours” for most of the morning. 

If you have any questions or concerns about the Terra Nova Tests, please feel free to contact one of us. This will be a new experience but we are confident that the kids will do just fine. We will take a practice test and will review the testing procedures at length.  Thank you in advance for your support at home!

          Next week, October 6 – October 10, the 2^ND graders will be taking the Terra Nova tests. Attached to this packet you will find a handout describing the testing procedures in greater detail. These tests will be a new experience for the students. The best thing to do at home in preparation for these tests is to ensure that your child has a good night’s sleep and has a  healthy breakfast each morning.   Please note that due to testing there will NOT be a spelling, reading, or grammar test next week.

          Those of you who have ordered Scholastic books this month there was a problem with the order. Please don’t worry but they will be on their way shortly.

          During the month of September the weekly reading tests were read out loud to the kids. This was done to help ease the students into the tests. This month the kids will be required to read the tests on their own. We started preparing for this last week, in that I read the questions and the students were asked to read the answer choices on their own. If you were surprised by your child’s grade this past week, this may be the reason.  The students need to work on taking their time and reading each answer choice carefully and if they are unsure they should read it again. I plan on working on this test taking skill this week in preparation for the reading test. Please encourage this at home. Thank You!

          At the end of the month we will have our first classroom party to celebrate Halloween. Students are welcome to dress up and bring in treats for this party. However, there must be enough for all students and they must be individually wrapped. The kids will have the opportunity to “trick or treat” around the classroom. These treats will be passed out and sent home. The room moms will provide treats for the classroom party. More information about the party will be given closer to the date. Please note that we have a total of 23 students who will be participating in our classroom party.

          That is it for now. Please continue to sign and check your child’s take home notebook for announcements as many of them do come up throughout the month. Also, please clean out your child’s folder every night. This will be very helpful to their organizational skills. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great month!

          Attached to this newsletter you will find several IMPORTANT papers. At the beginning of every month your child will bring home a “monthly packet.” Included in this packet are: (1) Sight Word List – the children will be required to pass this unannounced test with 100% accuracy (2) Math Facts Test (0 and 1) – the children will be required to pass this test with 100% accuracy. Please do not return this paper to school. This is for you to keep at home using as a study guide. (3) Reading Log – Each child is required to read at least 15 books at home each month. Each book they read must be recorded on the reading log. After each book has been read and recorded on the reading log, a parent must initial it. (4) Book Report - This should be completed at home and returned to school anytime before the end of the month. (5) Checklist – I have included a checklist to keep at home. This is to keep track of all of the monthly assignments at home and does not have to be returned to school.  All of these monthly assignments must be returned to school by: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2008.  I understand that this may be confusing. I will discuss this in greater detail at Open House. However, if you have any questions regarding this please contact me.

          Hopefully, your child has informed you of our football program. Again, I will discuss the details of this program at Open House. Until then, I just wanted to let you know that you should be expecting a “Score Card” at the end of each week. On this “Score Card”, you will find if your child has scored a “touchdown” that week. Basically, everyday your child comes to school and follows the routines and rules of 2^nd grade they will “gain a yard.”  If your child earns a yard every day they will then score a touchdown on Friday!  At the end of the week, your child will bring home a Score Card informing you if they scored a touchdown. If they didn’t score a touchdown, they will bring home a score card informing you of how many yards they earned during the week.  Please sign this and return to school on Monday. I will explain this in detail at Open House.  Until then, the children have all been great! Lots of touchdowns already!!!!

          I know this a lengthy newsletter, but since we have a while until Open House I wanted to make sure that you are fully aware of some of the policies of 2^nd grade. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have a question or concern about anything. I look forward to working with you this year!