8/31/2016 0 Comments First Day LetterBelow is a copy of the letter I sent home today. I will do my best to post pertinent information that was also sent home to you in your child's folder. Having open and constant communication is vitally important for the success your child has in Second Grade. Check back on Friday for some photos and updates from our first week! Dear Parents: I’m so excited to begin the year as your child’s Second Grade Teacher! My hope is that I can inspire each student so that he/she finds joy in the learning process. School should be a happy place where students feel comfortable to be themselves so that optimal learning can take place. Every child has a unique combination of talents as well as areas of needed growth. I am here to encourage each student to reach his or her potential and to improve in areas of need. I will be incorporating a learning structure called ‘The Daily Five’ into our Reading Workshop. This is a flexible grouping of students who will work to improve in a specific area of Language Arts. The idea is that each lesson is tailored to fit each child’s need more specifically. I will post more information about this reading process on my website as the year progresses. I am also implementing a behavior plan called Growth Mindset. It encourages positivity, effort and growth. Our behavior chart in the classroom will not be traditional in nature in that student’s names will not be displayed. Each student will choose a magnet with a unique design. As the year progresses, the children will understand that when their magnet is placed near a specific growth mindset, they will see how far they’ve come or need to go. Behavior management is personal for each student and I think the anonymity is helpful and perhaps, comforting. Enclosed, you will find more information about this behavior plan. There will also be a Time In Corner, rather than a Time Out Corner. This is an area that will encourage a student to reflect on why a specific behavior is being displayed and what can he or she do to improve. There will be motivational books, posters, a cozy rug, pillows and a place to write and Make a Wish if the child chooses to do so. (Your child will be able to tell you more about this.) Children are motivated to improve and change disruptive behavior when they feel understood and confident. Since most of the daily information you need to know is provided for you on my website, I did not send everything home to you in this folder. I know how quickly piles of paper accumulate and I don’t want to overwhelm you. As information becomes available to me, I will post it on my website as quickly as possible. For special events, happenings and other important information, I will continue to send home these notices and updates in your child’s folder. For the day to day happenings, such as the schedule for specials, daily classroom schedule, homework policy, etc., please refer to my website. If you don’t have access to a computer or would rather have this information provided in a hard copy, please let me know and I will be more than happy to send it home in your child’s folder. I want to remind everyone that the beginning of the school year is a crucial and important time to implement procedures and routines. If these are not executed properly and consistently, optimal learning will not take place. Therefore, much of the ‘content’ for the first weeks of school will be review in nature so that the students are spending more time learning procedures. I assure you that as the year progresses, each student will be challenged accordingly in all areas of academics. A great variety of books, both leveled and non-leveled, will be available to all students. I will have chapter books, middle grade novels, easy readers, early chapter books with a variety of themes and genres available for every student. Again, please refer to our class website at http://juliequinnrsd6.weebly.com/ It can also be located on the schools’ webpage at http://gcs.rsd6.org/ listed under ‘For Staff’ and ‘Staff Webpages.’ I will update it weekly so please check back often. I look forward to getting to know you and your child. Please feel free to contact me with any questions and concerns. Sincerely, Julie Quinn 8/26/2016 0 Comments Welcome Back to School LetterAugust 10, 2016 Dear Second Grade Adventurers, Have you ever been so excited about something that all you wanted to do is climb to the top of a mountain and shout it out to the world? Instead of shouting it to the world though (because people might think I’m a little strange!), I’ll shout it to you right now! “MY NAME IS MRS. QUINN AND I’M GOING TO BE YOUR SECOND GRADE TEACHER!” There. I feel better. It’s hard to keep all this excitement inside! Are you wondering why I called you ‘Adventurers’? Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean I’m going to make you study your spelling words while zip lining down a mountain. When I say Adventurers I mean you’ll be having FUN and taking RISKS with your learning. You’ll learn to S-T-R-E-T-C-H your mind while always BELIEVING IN YOURSELF. Sometimes the best kind of adventure takes place right inside your very own heart and mind. I’m going to be on the adventure right along with you. Even though I’ve been a teacher for many years, this is the first time I’ll be teaching second grade. Except, this won’t be the first time I’ve been in second grade. As a matter of fact, once upon a time I was a second grader in the exact same classroom where I’ll be teaching YOU! Isn’t that serendipitous? What does serendipitous mean you ask? Well, adventurer, why don’t you look it up, write down the definition and use it in a sentence. (Your family will be very impressed!) One example of adventure learning is to learn a new word everyday. Not only will this make you a better reader but you can beat everyone at Scrabble! Here’s another great word for you to learn – procrastinate. This is where I’m going to need your help. I’ve been writing a story about a ten year old girl who has a hard time learning math but has a teacher named Mrs. Lipstick (do you think that’s her real name?) who inspires her. Mrs. Lipstick is really into using new words all the time with her students and it ends up helping my main character with her learning adventure. At the end of the story, her struggles in math aren’t so terrible after all and she lives happily ever after. The only problem is I’ve been working on this story since my daughter, Eloise, has been in my belly. She’s about to turn 4! Do you think that’s a long time to be working on a story? So do I. Since we’ll be doing a lot of writing this year, I’ll be there right along side you thinking up ideas, problems, characters and all the other fun stuff that goes into the adventure of writing. I will not procrastinate any longer. Does that give you a clue as to what this word might mean? As many of you know, I live right here in Goshen with my son Henry (first grader), Eloise (Pre schooler) and Clara (crawler and soon to be toddler). We don’t have pets right now but I think we might get a cat! Here are some favorites of mine: Color: GREEN Dinner: CHEESEBURGER or SPAGHETTI or PIZZA Snack: CHEESE AND CRACKERS Dessert: CHOCOLATE Book: Walk Two Moons (I have many!) Author: SHARON CREECH Number: 3 (can you guess why?) Seasons: FALL and SPRING Activities: BEING SILLY WITH MY KIDS, EXERCISING, WRITING, READING, MUSIC, FINDING COOL STUFF AT TAG SALES AND FLEA MARKETS, TIDYING (YES, I REALLY ENJOY TIDYING) I can’t wait to hear about your favorite things. We’re going to have a great year together. Before you go, please give the next page to your parents. It’s just boring, grownup stuff. Now, stop reading this letter and go read a book! Don’t procrastinate! Go on now…Scoot! Skedaddle! Vamoose! I’ll see you little adventurers on the 31st! Love, Mrs. Quinn |
AuthorMrs. Quinn and the Second Graders in Room 203 Archives
November 2016
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