September 3, 2013 Dear Parents, Welcome to the second grade, The Ivy Nook classroom!

We are eager and excited to begin a wonderful journey with your children this school year. This year begins Mrs. Fords eighth year teaching at Stevenson School. Having taught most grade levels over the course of her 21-year career, she has spent most of those years teaching second grade. Working with seven/eight year old learners brings Mrs. Ford much happiness. In his third year of teaching at Stevenson, Mr. Rogers is thrilled to be joining the second grade team. Having taught third grade the last two years, Mr. Rogers brings a fresh perspective and delightful enthusiasm to second grade. After college, Mr. Rogers enjoyed a successful career in educational publishing on the Monterey Peninsula. The 2008 economic crash provided Mr. Rogers with the opportunity to follow his heart and go back to school so that he could work with children. Together, Mrs. Ford and Mr. Rogers look forward to a fun, rich year full of adventures and explorations with your children. Here are our goals for the year and expectations for all members of the team: Goals To prepare students for continued academic success To foster an inclusive, respectful and happy classroom community To build on student strengths and encourage risk taking in areas of challenge To layer understanding through developmentally appropriate lessons To accommodate all learners through differentiated instruction To provide individual learners with the tools they specifically need to succeed To develop strong study habits and organizational skills To foster resiliency and problem solving skills To inspire curious learners To have fun and be joyous To provide children with an awareness and understanding of different points of view, cultures, and beliefs To instill in students a life-long delight in and love of learning Expectations for Students Respect your classroom, your school, your classmates, your teachers, and yourself Take charge of your academic, social, emotional, and physical needs Do better than your best Be positive in all you do Do the right thing even when no one is looking Take risks and be willing to make lots of mistakes Expectations for Adults Deliver your child to school on time, well-fed, well-rested, and ready to learn Check the class website weekly: stevenson2nd.weebly.com

Assume good will (please trust our intentions are always for the good of our students and the class as a whole) Keep your teachers informed of any concerns, questions, compliments, or challenges Expectations for Teachers Serve the whole child as a means to building a foundation for lifetime success: benevolent leaders, ethical citizens, creative thinkers, curious academics, and emotionally mature and joyful people Provide multi-sensory instruction, individualized attention and appreciation for all learners Celebrate diverse perspectives, ways of thinking and cultures Encourage the development of critical thinking, problem solving, responsible risk-taking, and decision making skills via a safe and healthy classroom learning community And most of all respect the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive changes of our second graders and collaborate and communicate with our students families in order to facilitate positive growth and learning.

Below please find some important information, which may help you to better understand the routines of second grade. 1. Schedule: Please review our weekly schedule. Children may be dropped off as early as 7:30 A.M. on to the playground. The school day is from 8:00 A.M. 3:15 P.M. Students may be picked up from the carline area at 3:15 P.M. Otherwise, students will go to the playground for snack, relaxation, and/or play. (3:15 3:30 P.M.). After school workshops will be held in two sessions this year. Workshop A is from 3:30 4:15 P.M. and Workshop B will be held from 4:20 5:05 P.M. End of the day carline will be held from 5:10 5:30 P.M. Please take note of when the students will be having P.E. and Dance and make sure to label all clothing with your childs name. Students should use their Stevenson drawstring bag to carry their P.E. and Dance clothes. This year, students will keep their bags in their backpacks throughout the week. 2. Food/Snacks: Please send water with your child daily as well as several snacks they can enjoy during morning and afternoon snack periods. Please label your childs lunch box. Lunches will be kept in the students backpacks that will hang outside. Our hot lunch provider is Aqua Terra. You may sign your child up for hot lunch at aquaterrakids.com 3. Discipline In our classroom, the students and teachers discuss the needs for a safe learning environment. Together we compose a pledge for good behavior in which each student is expected to follow. When behavior needs to be corrected, a verbal warning will be issued to improve the behavior. If the behavior is improved, there are no consequences. If, however, the inappropriate behavior continues, the student may lose a few minutes of their free time to discuss the behavior with the teachers.

In the unfortunate event of continued inappropriate behavior, the student and teachers will seek Mrs. Barrows assistance and a phone call or note will be sent home in the hopes that together we can help the student get back on the path to successful behavior. 4. Reading Homework Each student has been provided a green Stevenson folder. This folder will be the vehicle to transport a reading log, your students chosen reading book, any parent communications, and occasional discussion/observation topics. The students should read at least 20 minutes a day and maintain a daily reading log. Though there will be no formal homework, students may be asked to have a conversation, or do an observation (which will be discussed the next day). 5. Student Work Green Stevenson folders will come home daily with any recent work. Please review your childs work with him/her. The students and teachers will periodically select pieces of work to be included in the students portfolios. 6. Student Profile Please take the time to fill out this form and return it to school as soon as possible. All information provided on the form will be kept confidential and is ONLY for professional use in helping us to better understand your child. 7. Birthdays We will celebrate each childs birthday in the classroom. Students are welcome to wear free dress on their birthday or day of celebration. You may send in a non-edible goody for children, if you wish. If your child has a summer birthday, we will choose a special day to celebrate. Please let us know if you would like to participate in our celebration at school. We typically celebrate birthdays at the end of the school day. Birthday invitations may be sent home in the classroom folders if the entire class has been invited. If not, please mail from home.

8. Communication Please email both teachers with any questions and we

will get back to you within 24 hours. You may reach us via phone at 831626- 5200 (x 1122) or via email at: cford@stevensonschool.org and arogers@stevensonschool.org Please contact us as well as Andrea Sisco in office about an early pickup or a change in your childs schedule the day prior or as soon as possible. We will post to our Websites blog and update pictures and other information weekly. Please reference our stevenson2nd.weebly.com for news and important updates. 9. Illness Please refer to the school handbook for complete policies. If your child is at school and appears to have a contagious illness, we will send him/her to the office and you will be called to arrange pick up. Please keep your child home for 24 hours after a fever, vomiting, cold, etc. Please talk to your children about the importance of washing hands often and thoroughly with soap. Please call Andrea (front office) if your child will miss school due to illness. The students may be checked for lice if the need arises.

10. Conferences and Reports- Scheduled conferences will be held in October and March. However, should you feel the need to meet with us anytime throughout the year, please contact us to arrange an after school conference. Written narrative comments will be sent at the winter midterm (end of January). 11. Volunteering There will be several volunteering opportunities in our classroom and in some of your childs other classes. However, we like to spend the first couple of months building rapport and routines with our students. We will not begin volunteering in the classroom until the end of October. Please sign up with Mrs. Barrow, Assistant Head of School, for a parent volunteer training session. Our room parent Sun Shine Hohman will be working with us throughout the year. She will update the parents regularly on upcoming school and classroom events. 12. Second Grade Super Star Over the course of the school year, each student will be chosen to be our Second Grade Super Star for a week. This student will be given special responsibilities and will be asked to bring in photos and special awards or items to be displayed in our classroom. At the end of the week, the Super Star will share his/her photos and items. You will be notified with a letter the week prior to your childs special week. We look forward to an exciting and rewarding year with your child. It is our ardent goal to work in harmony with you, so together we can ensure the success and happiness of your child this year. Sincerely,

Christine P. Ford

Andrew Rogers