2nd Grade Curriculum Overview

Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome to 2nd grade! I am looking forward to spending a great year of learning with your children.

I was born and raised in Quebec, Canada. I attended catholic schools from Kindergarten through high school. After high school, I participated in an exchange program which brought me to Texas. My main goal, then, was to learn English. I continued my studies and eventually graduated, in 1987, from the department of education at West Texas State University. I have been married 22 years to Martin, the Technology Director at Justin-Siena High School. I have a son, Nicholas, who graduated from Justin-Siena this past summer and is now a freshman at West Texas A&M University. My daughter, Ashley, is a sophomore at Justin-Siena High School.

The following will outline classroom procedures as well as an overview of the 2nd grade curriculum.
CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR:

Our classroom rules are:

• Raise your hand
• Respect others and their property
• Take turns
• Always do your best

There is a chart posted at the front of the classroom. Each child has a clothespin with his/her name on it. At the start of each day, all pins are on "Ready to Learn". During the day, the students will have opportunities to move their pins along the chart to "Good day", "Great Day" and "Outstanding". Should a student choose to not follow the rules; there is a place on the chart labeled "Think About It". This is to allow the student to correct a behavior that may be disturbing to others or self. Should a student continue a negative behavior, he/she may be asked to move his/her pin to "Teacher's Choice". This means that as the teacher, I may require the student to take time out at recess, offer an apology, or "repair/fix/mend" what was broken by the negative choice. An additional area of the chart is labeled "Parent Contact". As we partner up to offer your child the best learning experience possible, I may find at times, that your involvement and support may help correct a situation.

HOMEWORK:
Homework will be assigned Monday through Thursday. Your child should be able to complete the daily assignments within 30 minutes each day. Occasionally, your child may have the opportunity to work on a project over the weekend. However, weekend only assignments will not be assigned in 2nd grade. Your child will write all homework in a planner. I ask that you sign the planner everyday including Fridays. I will sign the planner daily as well and keep you posted on behavior by a happy face stamp and sometimes a written note. I will also post important information and daily homework assignments on the school's web page at stjohnscatholic.org. Please, make it a habit to check the page regularly. There are no packets in 2nd grade. Homework assigned is generally due the following day.

CURRICULUM:
St. John the Baptist Catholic School's curriculum is aligned with the California State Standards.

• Religion: The theme of God's Creation is explored in 2nd grade. We study, in depth, the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Sacrament of Eucharist. Catholic students also have the opportunity to receive these sacraments during the school year.
  Text used: Call to Faith by Harcourt Religion Publishers.
• Mathematics: Emphasis is given to addition and subtraction facts, solving problems, recognize, name, and compare fractions, describe and classify plane and geometric shapes and put shapes together to form other shapes.
  Text used: Mathematics by Houghton-Mifflin.
• Click here to view math curriculum in a PDF document.
• Social Studies: Six main themes are explored during the year, People and Places, Places Near and Far, Ways of Living, People at work, America's past, and America's Government.
  Text used: Neighborhoods by Houghton-Mifflin.
• Science: We study of Life cycles, Earth's Materials, and Energy and Motion.
  Text used: Discovery Works by Houghton-Mifflin.
• Language Arts: We develop reading, spelling, and writing skills as we enjoy thirty-six themed units.
  Text used: Reading MacMillan/McGraw Hill

2nd grade students have the opportunity as well to participate in P.E., Music, Computer, Library, and Art classes.

I hope that this information can be helpful in your understanding of your child's learning experience this coming year. Please, do not hesitate to contact me with any question or concern. I prefer e-mail cford@stjohnscatholic.org but you can also leave a voice mail on my classroom phone: (707) 224-8388 *137.

I look forward to making this year a memorable one in your and your child's life.

Sincerely,
Celine Ford, 2nd grade teacher