September Newsletter
Hello! I would like to tell you a little about our class this year. In Second Grade we focus a great deal on our phonics and reading skills to help prepare us for years to come. We will spend a lot of time reading both as a group and individually. Our reading circles will start on September 14th, and will be every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 8:35 to 9:05. If you are interested in helping out, please fill out the “Reading Circles” form and return it to me as soon as you can. We have 3 reading groups therefore two parents a day would be most helpful and beneficial. We will be learning how to write in cursive and will use cursive quite often throughout the year both in class and at home. In our Math class, we will be learning many new things that may require some work at home, including: addition with carrying, subtraction with borrowing, fractions, and multiplication and division. We will have a new Bible verse every month that will need to be practiced at home, as this will be part of your child’s Bible grade. Also, starting this year in Bible, we will be learning catechisms. Catechism means “learning God’s truth by question and answer”. I believe this addition to Bible class will provide students with a strong foundation in knowing what they believe and why they believe it. We are starting the year out with Citizenship, which will help us gain understanding in what a good citizen is and how to be a good citizen. The second quarter we begin our Health, Safety, and Manners class, third quarter we begin History, and fourth quarter we study Science. There is a Science Fair in late April that every child is required to participate in. Details will come later in the year. Most of our work will be done in class, but we will have Reading and Spelling Homework, and homework will increase slightly as the school year goes on. Homework lists will be given at the beginning of every month in their Friday folders, as well as news for any upcoming field trips, etc. (See attached list for September.) If, for any reason, the daily work was not completed in class, it may be sent with your child to be completed at home. Our rewards system for good behavior, participation, and helping out in class is cold, hard CASH! They will each start out with $5. They will have many opportunities to earn more, but...if they get their name on the board money will be taken away. At the end of each month, beginning in October, 2nd grade will have a store set up for the children to buy something with the money they have earned. They will be helped along with figuring out how much money to give the cashier and, eventually how much change they will get back. They will also be encouraged to SAVE money, not spend it all at once. We would like some help in making this store a fun and exciting experience by giving them a wide variety of items to buy. We are looking for fun items ranging from $1 to $10. Our first class store will be October 30th. Other items we could use in the classroom are gift cards to Michael’s for crafts, small candies for winning games, and disposable microwaveable plates. If you have any questions let me know! You can reach me by email atkshackelford@gladstoneaog.org, and if you would like to make an appointment after school you can always call the school and set one up through Sharon at the front desk. Thank you!
-Mrs. Shackelford
