Welcome to Curriculum Night!

Ms. Smith’s Class

Room 19

Chinook Elementary

A HUGE THANK YOU!• Thank you to all of you for all you

do to support your students, our school, our PTSA and our learning. You make a direct and positive impact on our learning community!

Reminders before you leave tonight!

• Sign up for a parent/teacher/student conference. (Yes, please bring your student to the conference. If you feel like you need a private adult only conference, I’m happy to schedule that with you.)

• Sign up to volunteer (if you are available). Remember to be cleared through the office.

• Let Ms. Smith know privately if you are in financial need. There are funds available for things like school supplies, field trips, etc. We are here to help you and your students be as successful as possible!

A little about Ms. Sammi Smith• Born and raised in Idaho. Lived in Korea, Saudi

Arabia and South Africa before 3rd grade!• BA in English and Political Science from Idaho State

University• BA in Elementary Education from University of

Wyoming• MEd in Educational Leadership from University of

Portland• Master’s thesis was on how movement activities (like

brain gym positively impacts learning)• Lived and taught in Hong Kong at Hong Kong

International School for 2 years.• Married last summer at Rockaway Beach, OR

July 21, 2012

Ms. Smith’s Philosophy• Creating a SAFE environment is the most important

thing • Tribes community building activities• Natural Consequences as opposed to punishments• “Friendly Reminders”• Community Agreements (Respect, Kindness and

Respect of Property)• Movement improves learning! We move and “fidget” a

lot in this classroom!• High academic expectations with individualization—each

child works at their level to progress, learn and grow.• I am passionate about my job and I love what I do! • Thank you for the privilege of working with you and your

children this year!

Help your students be ready to learn!

• Early bed time—kids need 10-12 hours of sleep per night (they need at least 3 full REM cycles) that means if you get up at 7:00 am, sleep time should be no later than 9:00 pm.

Help your students be ready to learn!

• Breakfast is so important!

• Healthy Foods: Do eat protein (eggs, meat, cheese, nuts etc.), fruits, whole grains and veggies for breakfast, snack, cold lunch.

• HEALTHY BREAKFASTS– The Tuesday after the first early release will be a “Healthy Breakfast” day in our classroom. I will provide organic/free range hard boiled eggs and will invite you to send other healthy foods to share with the class.

Help your students be ready to learn!

• Water bottles– Please send a REUSABLE water bottle to school. Plastic disposable water bottles are filling up our oceans and plastic leaches into the water. Stainless steel with a straw is the best option!

• National Geographic for Kids--$5/child. This non-fiction magazine is an in-depth positive addition to our non-fiction reading.

• Cash is preferred, or checks made out to Sammi Smith. I purchase the class subscription on my credit card.

Focus on Non-Fiction and Informational texts:

Possible Field Trips

• Nutcracker Ballet

• Franz Bakery

• OMSI

• Play

Birthdays

• Please send NON-FOOD treats, if you’d like to send treats. (It is not necessary.) Items like pencils, school supplies, stickers, small toys, etc. are perfect!

--OR--• Guest Reader– you are invited to come

and read a book to the class to celebrate your child’s birthday. You can either keep the book or donate it to the class library.

FABFitness and Arts Block

• Tuesday—Art and PE• Wednesday—Music and Dance

• Please make sure that students wear good running shoes (or bring them) on these days.

• Please send an “Art Shirt” to leave at school, if you are worried that your student may make a mess of their clothing during art.

Spelling Component of Weekly Homework due every Friday

Homework Matrix=Flexible Learning

Homework• 2nd Grade Blue Homework will be coming home the first week of

October. We will be learning how to do homework in class and then it will be sent home. Homework will come home on a Friday (or the last day of the week) and will be due the following Friday.

• Kids work hard all day long at school. Homework should take NO

LONGER THAN 15 MINUTES each night. If it is too much for your child, please modify it and write me a note on the homework paper.

• The purpose of homework is to establish healthy learning habits and to practice.

• Please do not allow this to become a time when you are having a conflict with your child. HW should be a review of what we are doing in class, NOT a stressful frustration for both student and parent.

• Be sensitive to your child’s need to spend time with you, their friends, and PLAYING.

Homework Continued

• Nightly Reading—Students should be reading 15-30 minutes a night.

• Vary how you read—Parent reads to student, student

reads to parent, student reads to self, parent and student take turns reading words out of a “too hard” book, etc.

• Record your time for Read-N-Lead prizes. This is not “extra time”. Students get rewarded for the reading they are already doing. If you lose your Read-N-Lead calendar, just write a note with the total minutes read, sign it and turn it in.

• Goal for 2nd graders is 400 minutes per month.

Homework Continued

• Prime Time Learning– Student driven learning. During prime time

students will choose what they want to learn about. It can be any topic worthy of spending time on, from learning to crochet, to cooking, to knights and castles, to how the brain works. Prime time learning can be short (one day) or can be long term (several weeks).

Curiosity Projects Later this year, regular homework will be

replaced with a “curiosity project,” where students get to choose a topic that interests them and pursue it. The cycle will take approx. 6 weeks and will culminate with a 5-10 minute presentation that each student gives to the rest of the class. This will be like “Prime Time” but will be more structured and will culminate with a presentation to the class.

Science• Changes—Solids, Liquids, Gasses

• Soils—soil identification and composting with worms

• Balancing and Weighing—how to use a scale to measure the weight of an object

MathEnvisions Broshure

Students will have access to a website on the computer that supports their in class work. The website is https://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/snpapp/login/login.jsp

Students login with their student ID plus the letter s. Password is ilovemath2

Math• Unit 1—Understanding Addition and Subtraction• Unit 2—Addition Strategies• Unit 3—Subtraction Strategies • Unit 4—Working with Equal Groups• Unit 5—Place Value to 100• Unit 6—Mental Addition • Unit 7—Mental Subtraction• Unit 8—Adding Two Digit Numbers• Unit 9—Subtracting Two Digit Numbers• Unit 10—Place Value to 1,000• Unit 11—Three Digit Addition and Subtraction• Unit 12—Geometry• Unit 13—Counting Money• Unit 14—Money • Unit 15—Measurement and Data• Unit 16—Time, Graphs, Data

Literacy—Houghton Mifflin• Theme 1—Silly Stories• Theme 2—Nature Walk• Theme 3—Around Town/Neighborhood and Community• Theme 4—Amazing Animals• Theme 5—Family Time• Theme 6—Talent Show

Social Studies/Theme• Geography/Earth

• Main Street/Economics

• ??? –Class chooses (It could be space, rain forest, dinosaurs, etc.)

Thank you for being here! We are a team! Thank you for all that you

do to help your child lead a happy and healthy life!