Aaniin! Summer vacation seemed to fly by and already we are back in school. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful summer. Today we had a busy day getting to know each other and our room. We are already off to a great start.

I would like to welcome you and your child to second grade. My name is Heidi Ojibway and I will be your child’s teacher. This is my fifth year of teaching at the Fond du Lac Ojibwe School. I live in Carlton with my husband Sam and our three sons, Tyler, Trevor, and Sam. I am very excited about our year and welcome any feedback from you to make it a successful one. I have outlined a few items that will help you understand the way our classroom operates.

To begin, we will be starting our fourth year of using the Success For All reading curriculum. Our students made fantastic gains in their reading abilities last year with this program. I am very excited to see them grow even more as readers this year. Last spring your child’s reading skills were assessed and from that data they will be placed into a specific reading group according to their ability level. Even though your child is in my second grade classroom that does not necessarily mean that I will be their reading teacher. Children will be assessed every eight weeks and based on their performance they will continue in their same reading group or move to a group that will best meet their academic needs. Our Reading block will begin at 8:30 every morning. Please see that your child is on time and prepared to learn. Success For All homework will be assigned every night. It is crucial that your child completes this homework and it is signed off by you on a daily basis. As a parent, you play a huge role in their success.

We will be implementing a new math curriculum called enVision Math. With this curriculum, students learn that they are capable of having mathematical ideas, apply what they know to new situations, and think and reason about unfamiliar problems. I am very excited about implementing enVision Math in our classroom and can’t wait to see its positive results! We will also be incorporating the CGI Approach in our classrooms. CGI, Cognitively Guided Instruction, is an approach that provides children with an opportunity to build on their own mathematical thinking. Two approaches to Math – how exciting!

Classroom Rules
1. I will treat everyone & everything with respect.
2. I will keep my body to myself.
3. I will come to school prepared for learning & try my best.
4. I will act responsibly & accept consequences for my behavior.
5. I will be a kind friend.
6. I will not bully.

Discipline Policy
I implement the color change system in our classroom. This system is used in the majority of the primary classrooms at our school. It is a behavior management technique that is quite effective. All students start the day with the color GREEN. Each time a rule is broken they change to a different color (GREEN to YELLOW to BLUE to PINK). Consequences will be as follows:

First Color Change: 5 minute loss of choice time

Second Color Change: 10 minute loss of choice time

Third Color Change: loss of choice time for that day &
possible write-up

Students who do not receive a color change for the week will be able to choose from the classroom treasure box at the end of each week. Others will be allowed to enter a “Chance Can” drawing based on the number of offenses they received.

Homework
Homework will be sent home every night. As part of our reading
curriculum, Success for All, students will be required to do a minimum of 20 minutes of reading per night. As a parent, you must sign off daily, stating your child did indeed engage in that reading. This “at home” reading will be critical for their success. Spelling lists will go home every Monday, or the first day of the school week. Spelling lists will consist of 10 spelling words and 5 “no excuses” words. “No excuses” words are words that children should automatically recognize and be able to spell correctly. Knowing the correct spelling of these words will greatly increase their reading and writing skills. Please encourage your child to study their spelling words each night. Tests will occur at the end of each week. I will also be sending home math homework periodically throughout the week. This homework will strongly reinforce skills and concepts taught in the classroom.

Daily Planner
Your child will have a daily planner which will be used specifically for tracking homework and daily behavior. It will be sent home every night and must be returned the following school day. Please initial on the P.I. line daily.

Weekly Newsletter
At the end of each week I will send home a weekly newsletter that will highlight our weekly accomplishments and make you aware of important upcoming events. This newsletter is also posted on our classroom website. Please take a few minutes to review this each week.

School Supplies
Below is a list of school supplies that I would like your child to have. Please check periodically throughout the year to make sure school supplies haven’t run out.

• endless supply of pencils
• 1 large eraser
• 10 pencil top erasers
• package of crayons
• package of markers
• scissors
• 3 glue sticks
• 1 in. 3 ring binder (folder)
• backpack or book bag (to be brought to school daily)
• folder for daily homework
• tennis shoes for gym

Please do not send pencil boxes or trapper keepers, as we do
not have room to store these items. If for some reason you are unable to purchase these supplies, I will find them for your child. If you haven’t already sent them to school, it helps to label them.

Clothing
It won’t be long before we experience colder temperatures. Please make sure your child has appropriate clothing for the weather. Also, for the first month or so, our school is air-conditioned and it can get quite chilly during the day, so an extra sweatshirt that can stay at school is great.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Please review this
information with your child. I welcome any suggestions you might have to make this a successful year. If at any time you have questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to call me at work (878-7551) or email me at (heidiojibway@fdlrez.com). Our door is always open and we would love to have you visit at any time. Please remember you are your child’s first teacher and I am excited to work with you to educate them in the best way possible.

Miigwech,

Mrs. Ojibway