Back in the Swing of Things

Greetings all!  It seems as though these past few weeks have simply flown by!  This week we are starting our MAPS Testing.  This is to give us an idea of where each child currently is in math and reading.  Unfortunately our test times fall at the same time as our guided reading.  What this means for you is that the reading folders may not be coming home this week.  I will be trying to get as many turned out as possible but I do not want to send a book home that we have not spent time reading in our groups.  We will have testing one day next week but hope to have our schedule back to normal as soon as possible.

In case anyone is wondering what is going on with our behavior system here is a chart of what it looks like.

 

Every child starts on green and throughout the day student's clips may move up or down according to the choices they make.  Students who are constantly on task are able to move their clip up.  Students moving up will first hit blue (Good Day) and then move to purple (Great Day).  When a student hits the purple then you will receive a positive note home the following day (I wait until the next day to send the note to ensure that students know their choices for the entire day decide upon their rewards).  If a student gets to pink (outstanding) then I have rewards coupons that they are able to choose from.  Rewards include things such as: wear your hat in class for the day, bring a stuffed animal to school for the day, use the special supplies, bring show and tell (Friday only), or bring a book to read to the class (Friday only).  These rewards are to reinforce the positive choices that they make throughout the day.  If a child is having trouble making positive choices then they may be asked to move their clip down.  If a clip is moved to orange that is the warning to make a better choice.  If the student's clip moves to gold then they will spend time at recess practicing making a better choice.  Should a student continue to struggle throughout the day I will be contacting you so that we can work on a plan to help make the learning environment more productive for all.  With this system there is always room for improvement.  I believe firmly that we all make mistakes and deserve second chances.  A negative choice in the morning does not equal to a terrible day.  Your child has the chance to change the day around and make better choices that will move their clip back up.  If you have any questions about this system please let me know!

On another note we have been hard at work with our writing this year.  The writing process is one that is important for every student and we as a second grade team are working hard to ensure that students are getting the chance to write every day.  In our class we have a writing space (check out the picture :) ) that holds all of our supplies.  For the first term we are working on narratives.  The small moments that happen in every day life can make the best stories!  If you can talk with your child about how the little things in life can sometimes be the most important things!

 

Now that we have gotten back into the swing of things at school the days are just flying by.  In math we have started to look at money (coins) and make the connections of value to the coin.  In our Science unit we are starting our projects on Habitats.  As soon as we finish our projects I will be posting pictures of what they look like!