School is just around the corner with classes starting August 4th! I can’t wait to meet all of you! Together we will strive to be kind, patient and have fun while learning! We are all learning together! We are a TEAM! I have been teaching for a long time, and love to get outside, learn with all of my senses, and think outside of the box! I believe God is present all around us and loving us, and guiding us. He has a plan if we open our hearts to listen to Him.
I have been married 40 years to my best friend and partner, Phil. He and I have 3 grown children. Matt is married to Katie and lives in Seattle. They have a 3 year old, Nora who loves baby dolls. They have an old cat, Eleanor. Our daughter Stephanie is married to Drew and they have Vera who starts 1st Grade this fall in Zionsville, IN and Jack who is 4 who loves trash/recycle trucks. They also have a cockapoo named Koda who is 1 year old. Our youngest Michael lives in Brownsburg with Kelly and they have an almost 2 year old Elaina and they just gave birth to Clay July 24th.They have an old sweetie dog named Lucy, and a big cat named Dave. This year your child will learn and receive the gifts of two sacraments if they are Catholic; First Reconciliation and First Communion. If your child is not Catholic, they will learn about our traditions and we welcome learning about yours too!
I am working hard to get us ready for both physical and virtual learning but you can always contact me at [email protected] or call and leave a message on my home phone 812/876-3948. I look forward to a wonderful partnership to help your child be their very best! Blessings, Terri Schonhoff
Important Dates for First Reconciliation and First Communion
First Reconciliation Mrs. Santarossa’s class - February 18th after 8:30 a.m. Mass First Reconciliation Mrs. Schonhoff’s class - February 25th after 8:30 a.m. Mass
Class Retreat - To be announced First Communion - April 30th 11:00 Mass Father Tom presiding.
Communication
Most of your child’s communication with school and with me will be through email. You can reach me at [email protected] You can also reach me by phone at school at 812/336-5863 ext. 109 or at home at 812/876-3948. I try to check my email before and after school and at lunch. I welcome your comments and questions. If you have a problem or don’t understand something, or your child is upset, please contact me so things can be resolved quickly and fairly. I will be writing a weekly update to let you know key things we have learned and if there are any important upcoming events. This will be sent via email. I will also post this update on my website which is accessible by going to the St. Charles school website www.stcharlesbloomington.org and clicking on my name on faculty websites. There will be important dates to know, and my information packet on this site also.
Each night your child will bring home his Orange plastic Homework folder. This is designed to help your child be organized. Hopefully this will help eliminate lost notes, homework, calendars, and other school information. Your child will be expected to complete a homework packet that comes home on Monday, and must be returned by Friday. Bonus opportunities to do work online will be given too, but are optional to complete. This is part of homework 4 nights a week. .
Any paper communication will come home most of the time in your child’s Friday Folder. It is purple. It contains graded papers, school flyers, and any notes. Take the time to sit with your child and look at his great work, and praise him! Please return any forms with this folder each Monday.
Homework
Your child will have homework every night except Friday. Please ask your child what homework he has each night. I suggest that he do his homework in a place that is quiet and without television, so he can focus. A good place is the kitchen table, where you are nearby and he can stay on task. Some people like to do their homework at a desk in their room. Children often need a short break after school (about 30 minutes) before starting homework. It is a good idea to do it before dinner if possible. If this is not possible, then I would suggest he do it right after dinner before he gets too tired. Each night your child will bring home an ORANGE folder. This is his homework folder. The left pocket will be labeled “DO” and the right pocket “Done”. This will help your child keep organized. In the “Do” pocket, any notes that I might need to send home and any homework pages will be in the “Do” side. After your child has finished his homework, please check it to see it is correct. If it is not correct, please have him redo the work correctly. Once it is correct, put the papers and any correspondence you might have to send back to school in the “Done” side of the homework folder. These “Done” papers will be turned in Friday morning by your child.
Math facts should be reviewed each night. When children are confident about basic addition and subtraction then they have a good base to move forward in more difficult computation skills. Reading each night for a minimum of 20 minutes is so important. Reading to your child counts too, but make sure he is getting the opportunity to read at least half the time. By doing it together, you foster a love of reading and you get to spend some one on one time just with him! Please log into the Weekly Record the minutes you spent reading together! Your child should write down one thing they read about in the log. Please initial the log when complete.
Your child may also have another subject like phonics, social studies, and science or language arts for homework later in the year. If a child does not finish work assigned in school he will be finishing it for homework each night.
Altogether homework should not take more than 40 minutes.
Class Behavior Guidelines
I expect each child to follow the basic guidelines that we say each day in our school prayer: “I promise to always do my best and to treat everyone with respect and kindness”. I think if each of us does this, we can solve most problems. I expect each child to be responsible for his or her own actions. Each child has a choice to make in any situation, and is responsible for making a good choice.
We will also be learning the following Social Skills using the Friendz series. Introducing Yourself, Greeting Others, Following Instructions, Getting the Teacher’s Attention, Talking with Others, Minding Your Own Business, Making a Request, Accepting “No” for an Answer, Disagreeing Appropriately, Accepting Criticism or a Consequence, Giving Criticism, Accepting Compliments, Giving Compliments, Making an Apology, Volunteering Resisting Peer Pressure, Reporting Other Youths’ Behavior.
Curriculum
Religion Your child will be preparing to make his First Reconciliation and First Communion this year. Second grade is an exciting year in their faith growth! We use the series, Jesus Loves It is a well rounded program that also focuses on Scripture and Catholic Church doctrine to help students learn about their faith. It incorporates saints and people of faith for use as role models, and introduces Church feasts and seasonal celebrations. We also try to extend our living faith outside of the classroom by practicing our Catholic Social Teachings. We will be doing a wide variety of service projects this year, including participation in our school food drive, making cards for the military, sick and elderly, and caring for our environment, to mention just a few!
Reading and Language Arts Wonders is the foundation of our reading program. It incorporates phonics, reading comprehension, spelling, grammar and writing into its program. Some things we will be doing as a whole group and other aspects will be differentiated into small groups.
Literacy Circles (suspended at this time due to Covid) In order to further expand our reading experiences students will gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth. Each small group will have a leader that will direct discussions of the story. The guidance is cued from the responses given by the students, so each circle is different with each group of students. It gives students the opportunity to discuss their feelings about the book and ask questions. Student responses will be verbal, written and artistic.
Writing One of our school improvement goals is to strengthen our writing skills. We will be writing across the curriculum and develop a variety of writing genres. We will develop a personal narrative, write lots of stories, learn to express an opinion and explore some poetry.
Math We use the series in Math called Go Math. In second grade we will be expanding our knowledge of place value, two and three digit addition and subtraction concepts, learn money value, measure time and temperature, model fractions, measure length and area, capacity and weight. We will also start multiplication concepts. We will be learning in an interactive and manipulative manner. It is essential that each night your child spends some time with addition, subtraction and later in the year, multiplication facts.
Handwriting Handwriting will continue to be manuscript. We will be refining the size, legibility, and flow of the letters in second grade. The better their manuscript control, the better their development into cursive will be! Before second semester we will be introducing cursive. Please do not teach or encourage your child to try it before we teach it.
Spelling Spelling will be taught in conjunction with phonics. It will be interwoven with phonic sounds and sight word memorization.
Social Studies We use a weekly pamphlet to teach Social Studies calledSocial Studies Weekly. Social studies will also be taught using the series by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill. Focus areas include; People and Places, We Live Together, Exploring Our Earth, Life Long Ago, Needs and Wants, and How Government Works..
Science Science will be taught by Mrs. Maxwell. It is taught with lots of hands on experiences. Second graders will be learning about trees, solids and liquids, air and weather and insects. Students may also be part of our school Gardening Club which Mrs. Maxwell mentors. See her website for more information.
Music Music will be taught by Mr. Lucaitus. Students will progress in learning to sing and make music with instruments. They will also learn to identify and demonstrate musical note patterns and rhythms. I also have a piano in my class for children to play on a rotating basis!
Media Center Students are introduced by Mrs. Henry to a wide range of fairy tales and folklore. They will understand the Dewy Decimal System for arranging nonfiction books. Mr. Sherfick will introduce basic note card strategies, and a guided use of Internet resources. Your child will be able to integrate information for practical application using a computer and learn keyboard skills.
Physical Education Physical education will be taught by Mrs. Mitchell. Please make sure that your child wears appropriate shoes on Tuesday and Wednesday for this class
Reading Buddies Every Thursday we will meet with students in Preschool. We read to them, and also celebrate holidays with them. It is a great way for your child to mentor a younger child in our school.
Birthdays Birthdays are a special time for every child, so I want to make sure they have their own day! Summer birthdays can be celebrated as a half birthday, or the last month of the school year. We do have some guidelines at St. Charles. If you want to bring in a treat, I ask that you bring in the same item for each child. The snack must be individually wrapped, and be nut free. Popsicles, or other individual frozen treats are allowed. I also ask that you let me know ahead of time what, and when you would like to bring it to the class, so I can make time to celebrate. If you are having a party outside of school, I ask that you mail those invitations unless the party is for the whole class. I can provide addresses.
Field Trips At this time we will not be leaving the school due to Covid-19.
Field trips are learning experiences outside of the classroom! I will need parents to drive and help chaperone. You will be notified in advance of any field trip, and permission slips will be sent home for you to sign. Parent Volunteers At this time we will not be having volunteers in our classroom due to Covid-19. If you have a special talent or have the time and interest to help in our classroom, I welcome your help! I could use help with bulletin boards, small group work, organizational tasks, and just a helping hand with large group projects, field trips and holidays. If you are interested, please fill out the attached form and return it. Thank you in advance for your support! ☺
Clothing Children will have the opportunity to go outside most days for recess. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately. It is no fun to be outside if you are cold! Please make sure all items are labeled with your child’s name. This includes hats, gloves, sweaters and coats. Remember that we have Physical Education class on Tuesday and Wednesday. Your child needs to wear appropriate gym shoes on these days.