This trimester your child will be offered a program titled “Safe Buddies” as part of their health education class. Safe Buddies is a six-week session curriculum designed to support young people with the goal to provide instruction in personal safety and assault prevention.
Safe Buddies is consistent with Ohio Department of Education health education policies and social emotional standards and has been approved by the superintendent and the Board of Education. Both parents and educators will have “talking point” sheets as a reference and as a guide when discussing related topics with their children. Additionally, we will be connecting this program to our Social-Emotional curriculum, Open Circle.
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This new trimester entails schedule changes for each class, but I just wanted to highlight a few of the more salient ones for the Toro class:
Additionally, it's cold outside now! Please send your children to school with coats and other winter gear, because unless it's below 19 degrees F or a windchill of 12 or lower, they will be outside for recess. On Thursday, October 31st, GALA will be having Character Day, where students are allowed to come to school dressed as their favorite characters (students choosing not to participate should come to school in regular school uniform). Costumes should not distract from learning and should not have any masks or fake weapons. I'm excited to see what some of the Toros' favorite characters are!
Recently, students have been bringing toys to school for recess or Art and playing with them at inappropriate times, such as during class, breakfast cleanup, lunch, or at field trips. This has become a distraction to students, as well as a catalyst for interpersonal arguments, so the new policy at GALA limits toys to Art class only. This means that toys should be in backpacks at all times between 8:00-4:00, or they will be placed in my May Box, and students won't get them back until the end of school. Thank you in advance for your help enforcing this new policy!
Additionally, students should not be bringing any type of technology to school! If a phone, ipad, or any other device is taken out in class, or during the school day, it will be taken away until an adult family member comes to retrieve it. In preparation for Hispanic Heritage Month, I wanted to send some information of what exactly students will be doing. First off, what is Hispanic? Who is included in the term HIspanic? Here is a great comic that explains what Hispanic means and how it is not interchangeable with Latin@.
This year, on October 8th, the school is doing an exhibition of sorts with performances by the oldest grades (3rd and 4th grade classes). Every class will be choosing a country and then showcasing what they have learned about said country during a walk around the school (similar to the ELA one last year). Then the 3 classes with oldest kids (Tigers, Hummingbirds, and Quetzals) will have a presentation. There will also be food and there will be a whole school dance. The Bull class has selected Mexico as our country, and we will be putting together a table with information about this country as well as traditional Mexican food. As for how parents can help, teachers are asking that parents help by bringing food that celebrates Hispanic culture. If you are able to, please consider bringing a Hispanic dish that is from Mexico (if you are not able to, that's totally fine! Any Hispanic food is better than no food)! I will be sending a follow up email that will have more information about the food, with options and recipes! You are also invited to come watch the kids are they showcase their countries to the rest of the school during the Hispanic Heritage Month Parade. Keep a look out for more information about the actual event in the future! Toro class will be attending the book fair on Wednesday, September 11 from 8:30-9:00 am. Please send students to school (starting as early as Monday) with money for their purchases, so I can keep it in one safe spot and then give it to them before they shop on Wednesday. You may also choose to attend the fair with your student before or after school when it is open in the cafeteria.
My class library wish list will be posted on the stage as well! Math packets will now be handed out every Monday and expected to be turned in by the following Monday for credit! This will give students a chance to work over the weekend and check over their work.
Tomorrow evening GALA will host an open house for families to visit classrooms and learn a little more about their scholars' teachers! I invite you all to stop by my class (room 7) and hear about what we've been working on in class, my backstory, and ask any questions you may have. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow between 4:30-6:00 pm after a short information session in the cafeteria at 4:00 pm.
Today the first math homework packet of the year will be sent home with students in their homework folders! Each packet includes worksheets to coincide with the days' math lessons and will be sent home every Monday to be turned in every Friday. This work is for extra practice at home, but I strongly encourage my students to complete every page because doing the work in English at home will only help them when they take the state testing in English later this year. Additionally, if students complete the packet and bring it back by Friday, they will receive a homework star, which puts them in the running for a big prize at the end of the trimester!
I can't believe the summer is over! I am so incredibly proud of my now "ex-Toros", and I'm eager to hit the ground running with my new class. I hope everyone had a restful and fun summer and is ready to grow even more this year in second grade. I will be using this blog as a newsletter to families with information about our class, updates, and photos. I hope this can be a useful and informative tool to keep everyone on the same page. Welcome back!
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Señora ThomasClass happenings, photos, and updates! |