Mrs. Tubbs’ 2nd Grade

Primary Rm. 12

7:30-7:50 Breakfast

7:50-8:10 Morning Meeting

8:10-9:00 AR

9:00-9:20 Library

9:20-9:50 Reading

9:50-10:15 Spelling

10:15-10:30 Handwriting/Restroom break

10:30-11:30 Electives/PE

11:30-12:00 Lunch

12:00-1:00 Math

1:00-1:45 Grammar/Writing

1:45-2:15 Recess/Pack Up

2:15-2:35 Science/Soc. Studies

2:35-3:35 WIN Time

3:35 Dismissal  

Welcome to Second Grade! 

It my our pleasure to welcome you and your child to Holland Elementary’s second grade! We are looking forward to a very exciting year filled with many opportunities for learning and fun! Below are topics that you might like further information about to help your child be as successful as possible in 2nd grade. 

Daily Schedules:
Each class has different schedules, however some activities are shared.  Electives and PE, as well as our teacher conferences, are 10:30-11:30. Electives for second grade are technology, where they will learn typing, music, and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math).  They will rotate through these one week at a time.  Second grade lunch is 11:00 – 11:30. Please note on our schedule that their main ELAR (grammar, writing) and math times are in the afternoon.  Please keep this in mind when scheduling doctor’s appointments and such.  W.I.N. Time is also an important part of the school day because this is when they are able to work on what they need to improve or be challenged appropriately.

Absences/Tardies:
Students are considered tardy if they arrive after the second bell rings at 7:55 and must report to the Elementary office before going to class, so that they will not be counted absent for the day. If your child is absent, please send an excuse note with them when they return to class.

If you need to change how your child is getting home for the day, please call the office at (254) 657-2525.

Behavior Expectations:
A well-planned year begins with success-driven behavior expectations and a positive classroom climate. We like to encourage our students to meet behavior standards by giving lots of praise and rewards of various kinds for positive behavior. If a student does not make good choices, we talk about the choices he/she has made and how to improve upon those choices. Each teacher’s reward/incentive plan will be a little different to meet the needs of students in their homeroom.

At the end of each nine week period, second grade has a “Star Party”! A Star Party might include things like free time to play games, extra recess, or watching a movie! For the first few weeks, we are all working toward learning and practicing the classroom and school rules. Students who work to show responsibility, and work diligently to follow classroom rules and expectations get to participate in the Star Party. More information on behavior and expectations will be coming home soon!

There are, of course, consequences for misbehavior, such as the loss of a privilege or activity. Consistent, daily misbehavior or severe misbehavior will call for more severe consequences and/or parental contact. These consequences may include: loss of recess time, visit with the principal, loss of special event privileges, loss of field trip, etc.  These are designed to make consequences more meaningful and effective for individual students.

Accelerated Reading (A.R.): 

A.R. not only gives your child the opportunity to better his/her reading skills, but is a great tool to monitor that success as well. 50 minutes of class time each day is dedicated to A.R. Students are expected to take a minimum of 2 tests each day over books they have read. (This expectation is adjusted for students who have pull-out intervention during this time.)

Each student must read a book 2 times (excluding chapter books) before taking a test on a book. Reading a book twice helps your student not only remember the book with more accuracy, but helps to build their reading fluency. Each child will take home 2-4 books a day; they will read books once at home and once in class. If a student fails an A.R. test, he/she will meet quickly with the teacher about the book and problem-solve how to do better next time.

Parent/Teacher Communication:

Teamwork and communication between parent and teacher is vital to the success of each child! Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher about any concerns or questions you may have. Class Dojo or email are both great resources to stay in contact with me.  Should the need arise for a conference, please schedule through the Elementary office (254) 657-2525. 

Thank you for your cooperation and for the opportunity to work with both you and your child! I am looking forward to a great year and hope that you are as well!

ClassDojo

Renaissance Place (A.R.)

UIL Contest
Each year, students from 2nd grade to 12th grade participate in UIL academic meets. The Elementary UIL contest is typically held in early December. Students are involved in a variety of events that inspire creativity and promote skills such as good sportsmanship and critical thinking!

Second graders have the opportunity to try out for one or more of the events below. Each event teacher will hold tryouts beginning in late September or early October and choose their teams based on those tryouts. Each UIL team will consist of 3 contestants and 1 alternate. Please take time to read through the event descriptions with your child and discuss any events in which your child may be interested in being a participant. More information will be coming from each event teacher later on!

*Students that participate in UIL will have the opportunity to go on a field trip later in the year to celebrate all their hard work.

Chess Puzzles- Mrs. Pitts
The benefits of chess are well documented for players of all ages, and especially for young people. Chess teaches problem solving, hones concentration and encourages analytical and strategic thinking. Chess can be a lifelong pursuit.

Students will learn to play chess, which will help them understand how to solve the chess puzzles. Learning how to solve chess puzzles, in turn, helps them improve their chess skills.

Students will solve chess puzzles at the UIL competition. All Chess Puzzle test questions are multiple-choice format. Contestants receive one point for each correct answer. There are no deductions for incorrect or unanswered questions.

Creative Writing- Mrs. Brothers
Contestants will be given a prompt with several captioned pictures. From these pictures, the students will create an original story based on their selections in 30 minutes. The stories must contain at least one of the pictured items, but it is not required that all items on the page be included.

Through preparation for the contest, students in second grade will be able to better evaluate their own writing .The contest is designed to promote creativity and to encourage writing skills at an early grade level.

Storytelling- Mrs. Tubbs
Contestants in the second grade will listen to a storyteller read a brief story only once, and then retell that story in their own words before a judge or judges. Contestants utilize gestures, facial and vocal expression to retell the story in their own words. The more expressive, the better! In fact, retelling the story accurately isn't quite as important as the actions and expressions they use when speaking.

To tell a story, the participant must develop skills in listening, thinking and speaking. This contest also allows for the development of creative expression. There are no time restrictions on the length of the story the student creates.

Music Memory- Mrs. Kriczky & Mr. Lusk
The focus of the Music Memory contest is an in-depth study of fine pieces of music literature taken from a wide spectrum of music genres to expose students to great composers, their lives and their music.

Students will listen to approximately 20 seconds of the musical selections and identify the name of the major work, selection and the name of the composer. For the second grade contest, the list will have 10 music selections by a varied range of composers and music genres. The Music Memory test will include a matching portion followed by listening identification. Contestants will use a word bank to match composer names with selection titles. Listening selections will focus on major themes from each piece.