Calling All BSU Bronco Fans

Our BSU Bronco basket is still in need of items! This basket will be auctioned at the PTO Carnival on October 3. If you are able to donate any BSU Bronco-themed items, it would be greatly appreciated. Presently, we only have 5 small items for the basket and really need additional items to fill the basket. Thank you in advance for your donations!

Volunteers Needed!

Families,

The second grade is hosting the football toss game during the PTO Carnival on Friday, October 3. We are still in need of volunteers to help run this booth. If you are able to donate 30 minutes between 5:30 and 9:00 pm, please let me know. We currently only have two parents from the entire grade level willing to help.

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!