Questions
Mysterious are the ways of the Force. Find answers you will.
What time do you go to lunch?
Our class goes to lunch at 11:10. Parents are welcomed to meet students for lunch and should sign in at the office. Students will be picked up at the lunchroom at 11:40 to return to class.
What kind of homework is this?
Homework is for practice but it still recieves a grade. Our district does not put different point values on tests, homework, or classwork in second grade. A missing homework grade of 0 would count as much as test grade. The most important thing a parent can do at home is not homework. I would ask that students read, restrict screen time, play outside and get 10 hours of sleep each night rather than struggle over homework. Spelling practice, reading practice, vocabulary practice and unfinished classwork will be done at home. Menus will be provided for practice of these skills.
What kind of teacher are you?
I am the kind of teacher that knows how hard it is to hand your treasure over to a stranger for eight hours a day and have to trust that the stranger will keep that irreplaceable gift safe and whole. I am the kind of teacher that knows how hard it is to take those irreplaceable gifts from strangers and readily accept the heavy responsibility of keeping them safe and whole.
I am the kind of teacher that believes every child can learn and that every child is able to do far more than we believe.
I am the kind of teacher that believes in hard work, doesn't accept excuses and can still see the sparkle of magic in childhood. I adore teaching and I believe children naturally love to learn. I strive to make learning addictive! I am the kind of teacher that believes the end justifies the means so if your chlid tells you that he or she planted wings shed by fairies or that Ms. Swetnam keeps a dragon behind a mysterious door at school or that all we did at school was play with Legos; believe them.
I teach and run my classroom with evidenced based practices in a child friendly way. That way is called Whole Brain Teaching. Read more about it here:
What is a Flight Plan?
A Flight Plan is the binder that crew members use to organize every thing they need for school and it is used many times during the day. It contains a calendar page which is created by students each month. Study materials are also included for each week. Students create a personal spelling book to refer to while working on content areas. Newsletters, school or parent communications, student goals, and graded papers are also placed in the Flight Plan.
What color is my child on ?
Many teachers use colored cards or clips as a visual reminder of student behavior as part of classroom management. Parents tend to be very concerned about student behavior with the expecation that a good day is when the student is on green. I have a different approach. I use colored cards for practice. Behavior expectations are different for every person and that causes a problem when reporting card colors to parents. I feel that a child is constantly learning social behavior and poor behavior choices that result in natural, clearly defined consquences are powerful lessons. Such consquences range from walking reflection laps during recess, loss of classroom job for a time, loss of daily class reward at the end of the day and office referral for harm to self or others. I don't report card colors to parents because students must learn how to monitor and change behavior for themselves. However, I will contact parents if a child develops a pattern of behavior that restricts the learning of the child or others.