The First Quarter has been a very busy start to this school.
We have been doing many fun and interesting things.

In Reading, we have been reading many great stories this first quarter. The students are enjoying the stories and activities that they working on with the parents who are volunteering in the classroom. The topics that they have been learning about are Johnny Appleseed, apples, fire safety, and Halloween stories. In the reading series, the students are enjoying the stories and are doing good writing.

In Math, we reviewed and practiced several strategies of adding. We practiced Touch Math, number lines, using counters, memorizing, and fun computer games on-line. The students seemed to enjoy jumping the number lines a lot! We also have been learning about Data, Graphing, and Probability.

We studied magnets in Science. The students had to make predictions about what would stick to a magnet and test those theories. They had to look at and draw the magnet field of different shaped magnets. They had to test magnets to see how they “attached” and “repelled”.

In Social Studies we learned about communities. We learned about the different kinds of communities, “urban, suburban, and rural”. We made a map of our community, Pleasant Ridge.

The Second Graders started Terra Nova Testing on Wednesday, October 1, and it lasted until Wednesday, October 15. This is the first time that the students have taken a standardized test. The tests will finish and be processed to send back to the company for scoring. Parents will receive scores and a letter of explanation from Mr. Herring when the scores come back. We do not know exactly when the score will come back. We can only guess that it will be between the end of December and the end of January.

On Halloween, the Second Grade went to Archbishop Liebold Home for Aged to sing for the residents. The students wrote and illustrated Halloween Carol that we made into books for the classroom and for the residents at Archbishop Liebold Home for the Aged.

In the Second Quarter, in math, we will be finishing up Data, Graphing, and Probability and moving on to Place Value and then Adding Double Digit numbers.

In Reading, we will be reading books, doing projects, and studying about holidays and customs from other counties and cultures. As we finish up “Nature Walk” the Second Grades will be hiking to Kennedy Park for some fun outdoor activities. The next two themes, after we finish “Nature Walk” will be “Around Town: Neighborhood and Communities” and “Amazing Animals”.

Welcome to Second Grade!
I am Mr. Chris Cain. I graduated from Saint Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Indiana. I have been teaching for twenty years. I taught three years of Second Grade at Collins Lane Elementary in Frankfort, Kentucky. This will be seventeenth year at Nativity teaching Second Grade.

We will experience and learn many new things. The Catholic Second Graders will receive the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist. We will learn how to add and subtract double-digit numbers, write in cursive, and read many great stories and books. Through these activities we will grow as students and members of the Nativity community.

The following are some of the procedures and policies for the classroom. Please read over them to help you understand more about our classroom. I look forward to a super year of learning and fun!

Homework
Homework will be given Monday through Thursday. Students will bring most, if not all, homework in a folder labeled “Homework Folder”. They should also write down the assignments in a notebook with the label saying “Homework Notebook”. Homework should be turned in no later than two days after it has been assigned. Parents should sign their name or initials on the homework assignment next to the student’s name. If a student is absent from school, they are responsible and required to complete all daily assignments and homework missed. If the student has been absent for 2 days, they have 2 days to return the work they missed. If any assignments, homework, or make-up work is not returned in the given time, it will be recorded as a zero or U. Please check to see if they are copying and doing the assignments. All graded papers will be sent home on Thursdays, in a folder labeled “Take Home Folder”. Please return the folder the following day. The papers may be kept at home, unless otherwise requested.

Spelling words are given each Monday. Students should study the words a little each night. Students will help select extra words on Monday. The number of words will increase as the year progresses. Each Friday, or at the end of the week, there will be a test over the list of words.

During the third and fourth grading Quarters, math homework will be given, but only two nights a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays.


Grading/Evaluation
Students will be evaluated in many ways and not just written work. The report card is a good indicator of how your child is progressing.

Daily assignments will be graded in two ways.
-1. The first will be a “ √t”, which means the students have completed and checked the assignment together in class.
-2. The second will be a fraction. The bottom number will be the total number of points on the assignment. The top number will be the number of points correct on the assignment. The fraction will sometimes be accompanied by a letter grade, (S+, S, N, and U).

Handwriting will be evaluated by the teacher and will only be given a letter grade, (S+, S, N, and U). A Handwriting grade will be taken on the Spelling tests.

Homework will also be graded with only a letter grade, (S+, S, N, and U), but the grade will be weighted, S+ being 6 points, S being 4 points, N being 2 points, and U being 0 points. These grades will be recorded.

Tests and quizzes will be given in Math, English, Spelling, Science, and Social Studies. Tests will be announced to students and the material to be tested will be reviewed in class and/or a review homework assignment will be sent home. These grades will be recorded and averaged with all homework assignments for a grade on the Report Card.

Interim or Midterm reports will be sent home with any student who is earning an N or U average. They will be sent home with the students four weeks into the grading period. They must be signed and returned no later than one week after it is given.

Another way of evaluating in second grade will be the Terra Nova Test. We begin those tests sometime in October. A note will be sent out as soon as we know dates for the testing. Please see that that your child gets plenty of rest during the test time. This will be their first try at a standardized test and they need all their energy to concentrate on doing their best. The results of these tests will be sent home with a letter to help understand them.

I am looking forward to working with the children and the volunteers who work in the classroom. If you have any questions or would like to talk to me, please feel free to send a note, call during school hours, my voice mail mailbox number is 418, or stop in before or after school. I arrive at or before 7:00 A.M. and I leave at or about 3:30 P.M. My e-mail address is mrchrismcain@yahoo.com. I will try to check both voice and e-mail one or two times a day, before and after school.