Welcome to

Second Grade!

Welcome to the 2013-2014 school year at Hurshel Antwine School. I

am pleased to begin this year with a great group of students. Second
grade is an exciting year for the students! Next year they will be
taking the STAAR test for the first time. Therefore, second grade
becomes a year of preparation for students. With your support and
communication, this year will be very successful. The following
information is important in keeping up with your child’s progress in
class work, homework, and daily behavior. In order for this year to be
a success, I need your help and constant support at home. In school, I
have prepared an organized and structured environment to best
promote your child’s academic growth. I hope the following information
will help you to better understand how our classroom will be managed
and make for a smooth and successful year.
 The ABC’s of Mrs. Concepcion’s
2nd Grade Class
A Attendance- It is so important for your child to be at school on time everyday! You
will significantly increase your child’s chances for success by making sure that he or
she is here, and on time, everyday.

B Backpacks- Be sure that your child brings his or her backpack to school every day so
that we can be sure everything makes it to and from school.

C Conference- Good communication between home and school is important to your

child’s academic success. We will have two Student LED conferences, I will let you
know when the scheduled student LED conferences are. If I find it necessary to have
a conference with you to either discuss your child’s academic performance or behavior,
I will contact you to set up an appointment. If you wish to speak with me during my
conference time for any reason please feel free to email or call me to set up a date
and time.

D Dress Code- Please be sure that your child is dressed appropriately each day, as is
outlined in the school dress code.

E Emergency Information- It is incredibly important that I have correct and up-to-

date phone numbers for you! If there is an emergency, I need to be able to contact
you, so please let me know if your address or phone number changes during the school
year.

F Field Trips- We will be planning one field trip this year, which are both fun and
educational for your child. Be sure to return permission slips quickly so that your child
will not have to miss any of these wonderful opportunities! Remember, participation in
field trips is a privilege, not a right, and may be revoked at any
time. (Refer to Mrs. Concepcion’s Discipline Plan Letter to Parents 2013-2014)

G Grades- Your child will begin receiving grades this year on his or her report card. I
will send home all graded classwork every three weeks, so you should always be aware
of how your child is doing in class. Please remind your child to always do his or her best
work!

H Homework- On Monday afternoons I will be sending home a weekly homework log.

This log will give the students an opportunity to work with homework on a daily basis or
they may want to do all the weeks planned homework in one day and have the rest of
the week to relax and just read before bed. This will be up to you to monitor what your
child can get done. Once your child is done with their homework, return it to the
folder. All homework will be kept in their homework folder/binder and not turned in
until Friday morning.
I Invitations- Students may only hand out invitations (for birthday parties, etc.) if
there is one for every child in the class. Otherwise, please take care of this outside
of school. We don’t want anyone to have hurt feelings!

J Join the PTA- The PTA is a great way for you to get involved at Hurshel Antwine!
Information about joining the PTA will be coming home with your child during the
first few weeks of school.

K Kindness- An important part of a successful classroom is that all students treat

one another with kindness. I expect all students to be kind in their words and
actions.

L Lunch- Please label all lunch boxes/paper bags with your child’s name and room
number (P-6). If your child is buying lunch, please place the money in an envelope or
zip-lock bag with your child’s name and ID number on it. I will hold the lunch money
until lunchtime.

M Math centers- will take place everyday.The math centers will follow our math
curriculum and provide enrichment and hands-on math practice. The children will be
in small groups and rotate through the various math centers. I will either be
stationed at a particularly challenging math center, or float around helping students
where needed.

N Number System- Your child will be assigned a number based on his/her place in
alphabetical order on the first day of school. This number helps to keep things
organized. Your child’s books, desk, supplies, etc. will be labeled with this number.

O Office- Remember to check in at the office any time you visit the school.

P Planner- Your child’s planner (agenda) will be kept in his or her binder. I will be
using the student’s agenda to communicate with you about your child’s work and
behavior. You will find your child’s daily behavior in the agenda according to the
classroom discipline plan. (Refer to Mrs. Concepcion’s Discipline Plan Letter to
Parents 2013-2014)

Q Questions- If you have any questions for me, please feel free to email me. My
email address is [email protected]. This is the best way to contact me, as I check my
email often. Otherwise, you are welcome to call the office and have them transfer
your call to my classroom. I have also included a business card with a magnet on the
back (for your refrigerator) so you may have easy access to my email. The quickest
way to contact me is through email.
R Reading centers- will take place five times a week. During centers, your child will
be placed in a group of four students of mixed academic ability.
I will use the daily 5 system, CAFE and guided reading. The centers are usually
created around the reading story for the week. While the students are at their
respective centers, I will pull a guided reading group of students. After guided
reading is over, the students will return to their center and try and do as much
work as possible before the end of center time. Your child will not be penalized for
unfinished center work if they were pulled for a guided reading group. Center work
is not busy work, but meaningful independent literature based activities that the
children enjoy doing. If your child chooses not to spend his/her center time
productively, he/she will have to stay in for recess to finish the work.

S Snacks- Please supply your child with one healthy snack. Your child cannot buy
snacks during snack time; therefore, you must supply the snack. The children will
eat their snacks in the afternoon. Please, give your child one small healthy child-
sized snack. Healthy snacks are fruit, vegetables, cheese and crackers, pretzels,
fruit snacks, granola bars, etc. I feel that it is important to instill healthy eating
habits at a young age and that there are numerous benefits to eating healthy.
Please, send your child’s snack in a labeled separate bag from his/her lunch.

T Tests- Students take a school wide math and reading test at the beginning,
middle and end of the year. I will send home a copy of the test results when the
tests are taken by your child. I also conduct tests on Fridays to monitor your
child’s understanding. We will also have spelling tests. Every week we will study 15
words that follow a specific pattern. I will choose 10 of those words for the test.
We will have a pretest on Thursday and a final test on Friday. If a student makes
100% on the pretest, then they will not have to take the test on Friday.

U Up-to-Date- Please remember to keep me up-to-date on any important changes

in your child’s life. Please let me know if there is any situation at home that you
think might cause your child stress at school. I would like to be informed of
important experiences that may be affecting your child’s state of mind, such as:
illness in the family, a best friend moving away, conflicts among family members,
loss of a pet, etc. Although I am interested in anything that could be affecting
your child, it is not necessary for you to reveal personal information. Please know
that anything you do say will be kept strictly confidential.

V Volunteers- If you wish to volunteer at Hurshel Antwine or in the classroom you

must first fill out a background check. Please check with the office so you may
obtain a volunteer application form.
W Water Bottles- All students are allowed to keep a bottle of water at their desk
during the school day. However, they may not have any other type of beverage in
the classroom. Water bottles may only be refilled at the beginning or end of the
day. However, if students are caught misusing them in any way such as water
fights, we will no longer be allowed to have water bottles in or outside of the
classroom.

X X-tra Practice- If you would ever like any ideas for ways to help your child at
home, please let me know and I will be happy to provide you with ideas and
resources for extra practice!

Y Your Support- Your support is so important to your child’s success in school! If

you have any questions or concerns about anything in our classroom, please contact
me. I am here to help your child be successful!

Z Zzzzzzz- Be sure your child gets plenty of sleep each night so that he or she is
prepared to do his or her best in class!

I look forward to working closely with you to insure a most enjoyable, successful
year for your child. Thank you in advance for your support.

Mrs. Concepcion
 Mrs. Concepcion’s Discipline Plan Letter to Parents
2013 -2014

Dear Parent(s):
In order to guarantee your child, and all students in my classroom, the excellent learning
environment that they deserve, I am implementing the following Discipline Plan starting today.

My philosophy:
I believe all of my students can behave appropriately in my classroom. I will tolerate no student
stopping me from teaching and/or any student from learning.

My classroom rules:
· Raise hand to be called on and listen when others are speaking
· Follow directions, turn in all assignments completed and on time
· Keep hands, feet and objects to yourself
· Work quietly and do not disturb others
· Show respect for ALL visitors, school and personal property

If a student chooses to break a rule:

· Student moves name to “ Satisfactory ” and receives an “S” in agenda.
· Student moves name to “ Needs Improvement ” and receives an “N” in agenda and no
recess
· Student moves name to “ Unsatisfactory ” and receives a “U” in agenda and lunch
detention/ loss of privileges (field trips, school dances, pep rallies, etc.)
· SEVERE DISRUPTIONS: Office Referral

*Parent notification will result for

consistent breaking of classroom rules.

Rewards:
Verbal praise, stickers, treats, reward coupons…..

I have read and understand the classroom policies. I have also discussed
these policies with my child.

____________________ __________________________
Student Name

___________________ ___________________________ ___________ ___________

Parent Signature Date