Welcome
By Jacqueline Macejewski
Welcome to Our
Second Grade Safari!
Welcome to Mrs. Macejewski's
Second Grade Class!
Dear Parents,
I am very happy to have your child in my second grade class this year. It is with our active involvement that we, as partners, can help your child during his/her journey through second grade. I encourage you to contact me whenever you have a question. You can contact me before/after school or during my lunch at 810-657-9318 Ext. 252. In addition, you may e-mail me at jsteigerwald@carsport.k12.mi.us
I am very excited to begin my fifth year here at C-PS Schools. Prior to teaching here, I attended Brown City Schools and later Saginaw Valley State University where I majored in Elementary Education with minors in Mathematics and English. I currently live in Port Sanilac with my husband and our dog Blue. Along with my teaching duties, I also coordinate the Accelerated Reader Program.
I truly love teaching and I am very eager to make it a special and successful year for your child!
My philosophy
My mission is to help my students develop a positive self-image as they strive to reach their individual goals. Each day, I will create an atmosphere conducive to learning where all students are treated with compassion and dignity.
Therefore I will:
*Encourage children to express themselves both orally and in writing.
*Use a combination of “hands-on” and “paper-pencil” activities.
*Use positive classroom management.
*Incorporate thematic units in my classroom.
*Correspond with you frequently through notes.
What Will Your Child Learn in Second Grade?
- Reading: The majority of our reading will be spent in Readers' Workshop and Making Meaning which focuses on all areas of comprehension and a variety of reading strategies. We will also be incorporating word study mini-lessons along with hands-on word study centers, along with daily grammar instruction.
- Writing:The writing curriculum will be implemented through a writing workshop, which will focus on the writing process, personal narrative writing, nonfiction writing, poetry, and a research project.
- Handwriting: We will be using a handwriting curriculum called Handwriting Without Tears. After mastering Handwriting Without Tears we will begin cursive writing.
- Math:The Everyday Mathematics series will focus on place value, money, time, addition and subtraction, 3-D and 2-D shapes, whole-number operations and number stories, patterns, fractions, and measurement.
- Science:This year our science curriculum will focus on the topics Earth's Land and Water, Measuring Matter and A Plant's Life.
- Social Studies:In Social Studies we will be focusing on communities.
Daily Schedule
8:10-8:40 Breakfast & "Wild about Writing"
8:40-9:00 Morning Meeting-Share "Wild about Writing," Calendar, Review, & Shared Reading
9:00-9:30 Word Study Mini-Lesson & Word Study Centers
9:30-10:00 Physical Education
10:00-10:15 Buddy Reading
10:15-11:05 Reading Workshop/Accountable Talk (Independent
11:05-11:45 Recess & Lunch
11:45-12:00 Read Aloud
12:00-12:25 Math Part 1
12:25-12:45 Math Centers
12:45-1:15 Math Part 2
1:15-1:30 Snack & Read Aloud
1:30-1:55 Literacy Centers
1:55-2:30 Writing Workshop
2:30-3:00 Science
3:00-3:05 Closing (review our day)
3:10 Dismissal
Specials
Mondays-Physical Education (9:30-10:00)
Tuesdays-Library (8:30-8:50), Physical Education (9:30-10:00) & Music (12:30-1:00)
Wednesdays-Physical Education (9:30-10:00)
Thursdays-Physical Education (9:30-10:00) & Music (12:30-1:00)
Fridays-Physical Education (9:30-10:00)
*Throughout the week we will also focus on buddy reading, social studies, art and science.
King/Queen of the Safari
Children will be randomly selected to be our King/Queen of the Safari. While your child is the King/Queen of the Safari, each day of the week will consist of an exciting event or activity to honor him/her. During the week before a student is our King/Queen of the Safari, a tote bag will be sent home with your child to collect all of their items. They will also receive a foam bee mask to wear throughout the week in our classroom, and get to take it home at the end of the week.
Monday: Sharing Sack- Students have a week to collect 3 special items with which to fill the bag at home and bring it back to share with classmates on Monday. Students should also bring 8 photos of their choice to display on the King/Queen of the Safari bulletin board.
Tuesday: Favorite Book- The King/Queen of the Safari student brings on of his/her books to read to the class. Students can read the book to the class if it can be read in less than 10 minutes or give a book talk if the book is longer.
Wednesday: Parent Letter/Questionnaire- Parents will write a letter to the class telling us how special your child is to you. I will then read the letter to the class at a class meeting. Students will also be asked many questions about themselves and it will be recorded on a King/Queen of the Safari sheet, and then filed into a class book.
Thursday: Estimation Can- Your child will also have a turn to put something in our estimation can when he/she is our King/Queen of the Safari. Please have your child fill it with the same items. I hope this will be a fun way to work on our math skill of estimation.
Friday: King/Queen of the Safari Recognition- The King/Queen of the Safari will be recognized by his/her classmates and presented with a certificate.
Safari Guide of the Day
Children will be randomly selected to be our Safari Guide of the Day. While your child is the Safari Guide of the Day in our classroom, he/she will have the opportunity to sit in the rocking chair while we complete daily activities at the carpet, have the privilege of being our line leader, and be my special helper for the day. I will rotate the children for Safari Guide of the Day daily.
It’s My Day Schedule
I have divided the class into It's My Day Groups. On your child's "It's My Day," he/she will share their "Wild about Writing," which consists of "free writing." Students may choose to write a narrative story, write a poem, make a list, draw a picture and write about it, use die-cut objects and write about them, write about what they are going to do next weekend, etc. In addition, your child may bring in something for Show and Tell.
Accelerated Reader
Your child has begun a school-wide Accelerated Reader Program! Your child will read books at their “just right” level and then take a short five-ten question comprehension test about the book they read on the computer. After your child takes a test I will record their score on an incentive chart. Every time your child earns 10 points, they will receive a prize. When your child reaches their goal of 100 points they will be rewarded by taking a bowling trip!
What books are Accelerated Reader books?
*You can find a list of AR books on the C-PS website
*The majority of my books in my classroom library are AR books. Students may read these during free time, readers’ workshop, or at home (I will allow students to check out one book from our classroom library a night).
When will the students take an Accelerated Reader Test?
*Students may take tests in the morning during morning work, during centers, or any free time that we have.
AR Store
- 10 points- pencil & top eraser
- 20 points- sticky pencil grip or pencil sharpener
- 30 points- zoo animal, flip flop, and funky bookmarks
- 40 points- smiley face, tropical fish, and race car notepads
- 50 points- s6port ball key chains, glow-in-the-dark lizards, squishy frogs, glow bracelets, and inspirational rubber bracelets (pick 2)
- 75 points- CPS water bottle
- 100 points- 100 point club T-shirt & a bowling trip!
AR Theme Events
*November- AR Harvest
*January- AR Olympics
*March- Buggy for AR
*May- AR Carnival
*I hope this will be a successful program that will help motivate and encourage children to read while enhancing their comprehension and fluency skills.*
Clip Art retrieved from trendenterprises.com
