Sign-up Parent/Teacher Conferences

Families,

Parent/Teacher conferences are scheduled for October 8 and 9. If you have not scheduled your conference with me (see directions on a recent post), please do so as soon as possible. If you do not have internet access or are having trouble using your smartphone (there have been reports that scheduling on a smartphone can be challenging), please let me know and I can input a time for you.  Just send me an email and I will respond with some available times for us to meet. You can also use a computer here at school. My goal is to have 100% attendance at conferences. Together we can help your child be successful!

Thank you for Attending Parent Night

Families,

Thank you to those of you who were able to come to Parent Night last night. I appreciate you taking the time to find out more about our classroom and the 2nd grade curriculum! It was a pleasure meeting some of you for the first time and seeing others of you again. It is such a pleasure to have the opportunity to teach your children.

If you were not able to attend, please know that a red folder will come home today with your child. Inside, you'll find a copy of the PowerPoint presentation I gave, a brochure containing information about the second grade curriculum, and other information. Please be sure to update your email address, if necessary, and return the half sheet on pink paper that is in the folder. Also, there's a page stapled and address to you from the office. Please check to make sure all of your contact information is current and make changes as necessary. This should also be returned to school. There is another sheet in the red folder that explains how to sign-up for your child's Parent/Teacher Conference. The same information is located in the post below this one. Please make sure you register at www.westada.org and follow the directions on the page to schedule a time on October 8 or 9 that works for you. It may take a few days to have your registration approved, so the sooner you register, the sooner you'll be able to make your appointment. Finally, a sheet containing your child's password for PowerSchool was included in the red folder. A hard copy of your child's report card will no longer come home. You'll need to sign-in to PowerSchool to view final grades at the end of each trimester. If you do not have access to the internet, we have computers available for your use here at CJE.

If you haven't done so, please consider signing up to receive updates from my blog. You can register your email on the right side towards the top of the page.

The second grade recently applied for a grant on the Donors Choose website. We are looking to receive enough funds to purchase some science materials to supplement our curriculum. Donations made in the next 4 days will be matched dollar for dollar. All donations are tax deductible. Please consider donating...even $5 will make a difference. It takes less than 3 minutes to make a donation! Here's the link Second Grade Scientists Exploring Exciting Topics in Tubs

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact me. Email is the best way to communicate with me. My email address is hoschouer.ana@westada.org.

Thanks again,

NEW! You Can Now Sign up for Parent/Teacher Conferences Online

The new district website (www.westada.org) and our school website (http://www.westada.org/chiefjoseph) are a great resource for parents and students.

This year parents can use the website to sign-up for Parent-Teacher Conferences from the convenience of their own home or office!  

The following steps should take no more than a few minutes, but it is important that you complete Step 1 as soon as possible due to registration approval. Otherwise, you may not be registered in time to have your first choice of conference times.

 

Step 1: Register at www.westada.org  ASAP!

·        For information on the new website and directions on how to register, go to the www.westada.org and click on the ‘Welcome to the New Website’ link under ‘Today’s Top Stories’.

·        Note: The approval process may take 2-3 days, so please register today so that you are ready to sign-up for conferences on September 17.  We anticipate posting available conference times that day.

o   Be sure to check your junk/spam folders for the confirmation e-mail

Step 2: Sign-Up for Parent-Teacher Conference

·        As noted above, you will be able to sign-up for conferences on/after September 17.

·        After having registered successfully, go to www.westada.org and click ‘Sign-In’ (top of the page).

·        Enter your User Name/Password and click Sign In

o   At the top of the page, click on ‘Select a School’ and choose ‘Chief Joseph School of the Arts’

o   Click on ‘Teachers & Staff’, Mrs. Hoschouer, and ‘Class Calendar’ (calendar will default to current month)

o   Change the calendar to October using the drop-down menu to the top right of the calendar

§  Available conference times will be listed on October 8^th and 9^th

·         Register for your desired conference time (only one per student) by clicking on the desired time slot, clicking on ‘Register’ in the Registration Box, and confirming by clicking ‘Register Now’

§  Note: If you need to change your conference time, please repeat the process for a new time slot AND remember to cancel your registration (for the slot you had previously selected) by clicking on that slot and then ‘cancel registration’

Classroom Updates and Important Information

Parent Night

Please join me on Tuesday, September 16 from 6:00-7:30 pm for Parent Night. Our evening will begin promptly at 6:00 in the CJE gym with a brief introduction from Mrs. Hart. After that, I'll be sharing important information about your child's second grade experience in our classroom (N11). I will be available to answer any questions your may have.

Spelling
We are still waiting for our internet-based word study program to work properly so that all students’ spelling inventories can be graded. This will allow us to place each student in a spelling group at their instructional level. We expect to have differentiated lists by the week of September 22-26. This means one more week of a single list in our class. It will come home, as always, in the B.I.R.D. folder today.

Lock-down Drill
We will have a "practice" lockdown drill sometime in September or October. This is simply for practice and to ensure students and staff are prepared in the unlikely event that CJE is involved a lockdown situation.

 
Skills Groups
Second graders began going to reading skills group this week. Based on beginning of the year assessments, second grade teachers placed students into a reading group. In each group, the focus will be on specific essential skills students need to become better readers. These groups are fluid and students may be placed into a different reading group after the IRI and reading MAP test results are available.

School Carnival  Please read the information that came home today in the B.I.R.D. folder about the PTO-sponsored school carnival on Friday, October 3 from 6:00-9:00 pm. The second grade is collecting BSU-themed items for a basket that will be auctioned during the evening of the carnival. If you are able to donate a new BSU items for our basket, it would be greatly appreciated! All proceeds from the BSU basket(s) will given to the 2nd grade to purchase items that support and promote learning.

CJE Second Grade Teachers Need Your Help!

Hi Families, I want to make sure my students have the materials they need to succeed, so I just created a request for my classroom at DonorsChoose.org: Second Grade Scientists Exploring Exciting Topics in Tubs Give to my classroom by September 21, 2014 and your donation will be doubled thanks to DonorsChoose.org. Just enter the code INSPIRE on the payment page and you'll be matched dollar for dollar (up to $100). If you chip in to help my students, you'll get awesome photos and our heartfelt thanks. Thanks so much, Ana P.S. If you know anyone who may want to help my classroom, please pass this along!

Homework

Families,

Our first spelling list and corresponding homework came home on Friday, August 29. Please make sure your child completes at least three spelling activities before Friday, September 5. Students should hand-in their spelling activities as part of homework that is due on Friday.

If your child did not complete and return the All About Me Puzzle, please return it ASAP. We will be doing a community building activity with it and need all students' pieces for the activity to be successful.

Today your child brought home a homework packet. This packet is due back on Friday, September 5. Please make sure to read the pink note about fluency practice and be sure to complete that portion of the homework nightly. The remaining pages can be completed throughout the week at your family's convenience.

A reading calendar for the month of September will come home tomorrow. Please keep this at home during the month and color each day that your child reads at least 20 minutes during that day. Reading calendars are due at the end of the month.

Thanks for your support!

Welcome to the 2014-2015 School Year!

Families,

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year. I am so excited to have a great bunch of kiddos. We have been working hard to learn our classroom routines, procedures, and expectations.

I have also been administering math and reading assessments to help me place your child into skills groups. Skills groups will begin the week of September 8. We will have skills groups from 2:30-3:30 every afternoon. There will be 30 minutes of reading and 30 minutes of math.

Each student has a B.I.R.D. (Being Incredibly Responsible Daily) folder that should come to school and go home each day. Inside of the B.I.R.D. folder is a behavior calendar. This calendar is a way for you to see how your child's behavior was each day. It is based on the behavior clip chart we have in class. The behavior calendar should be initialed nightly and kept in the B.I.R.D. folder. Students start on "Ready to Learn" (green) each day. I ask students to move their clip up when they make good choices. Students who are off-task, distracting others, or not following directions will be given a warning and will then be asked to move their clip down if the behavior continues. Students' clips can move up and down throughout the day. Please know that I have used this system for a number of years and have found it to be a method that encourages positive behaviors. If you are ever concerned about your child's behavior, I would be happy to discuss your concerns. I will talk more about our behavior chart at Parent Night on Tuesday, September 16.

Homework will come home every week on Monday (or the first day of the week) in the B.I.R.D. folder. Homework is due on Friday (or the last day of the week) in the B.I.R.D. folder. The fluency portion of the homework is to be completed each night Monday-Thursday. In addition to the homework packet, a list of spelling words will come home for your child to practice. The words are to be cut out and sorted. There will be a list of activities to choose from for practice. A reading calendar for the month of September will come home on Friday. Students are expected to read 20 minutes or more at least 20 days during each month. I will send home a decodable book each week that aligns with our basal reader story. This can be used to read at home and should be read multiple times. Students may also read books they check out from the CJE library, the Meridian Public Library, or books you have at home. Reading calendars should be signed by a parent and returned at the end of each month. Students who read at least 20 minutes for 20 or more days during the month will be invited to eat lunch in the classroom during our 20/20 Lunch Bunch. An award and a small treat will be given during this celebration.

We have Library on Mondays. Students will begin checking out books on September 8. Please make sure your child returns their library books each  Monday so they are able to get new books to read.

We have P.E. on Wednesdays and Fridays. Please make sure shoes that are appropriate for running and other activities are worn on these days.

A newsletter came home today. I will begin emailing the weekly newsletter to save paper. If you would prefer a paper copy be sent home with your child, please let me know.

Here are some Upcoming Events you may be interested in marking on your calendar:

• Monday, September 1--No School (Labor Day)
• Tuesday, September 2--Picture Day
• Tuesday, September 16--Parent Night 6:00-7:30 pm (Two sessions available)
• Friday, October 3--PTO Carnival 6:00-9:00 pm at CJE

If you have any questions or concerns, please send me an email. This is the best way to reach me as I am unable to answer my phone during instruction time. My email is hoschouer.ana@westada.org

Thank you for allowing me to teach your child! I'm looking forward to a fantastic year of learning!