September 8, 2009

Dear Parents,

        Welcome back to school! I hope everyone had a fun and enjoyable summer.

        I am excited to get started this fall as we have had many neat changes to our building. Please be patient and flexible, however, as we will be ironing out kinks and finishing some projects while we get started with the new school year.

        Hopefully you will find the school’s paperwork with your child tonight (Or Wednesday night). Please take some time and read/fill out forms with your child. Send them back when you get a chance. I hope to get everything back by the end of the week.

       Trying not to overwhelm you with information, I will send my paperwork in the Thursday folder (On Thursday. Again, please go over that information with your child as well.

        I am looking forward to a great year of second grade with your child.

 Sincerely,

Ben Mauntler

Syllabus/Course Outline for Second Grade

Instructor: Ben Mauntler
Phone Number:(231)889-5521

        Second grade will be an exciting and exhilarating experience for you and your child. A portion of each day is spent in collaborative teamwork. Students often rely upon and support each other in the small group setting. Guided Reading and Writer’s workshop provide time for individual accountability. Both instructional strategies lead to an environment that fosters individual growth and citizenship within a learning community. Writer’s workshop will be starting in October, Guided Reading will also start in October.

Academic foci: Reading, writing, spelling, mathematics, science, and social studies.

Texts

• Reading: Houghton-Mifflin: (basal) Invitations to Literacy

•                 Wright Group: (guided reading) Story Box

• Spelling:  Zaner-Bloser: (journal) Words I Need to Know How to Spell

• Math:     Everyday Learning: Everyday Mathematics

• All other subjects are taught using a variety of instructional techniques and materials

• Curriculum Map

Homework

It is very important that your child complete his/her homework each night. If your child chooses not to do the homework, please do not sign the sheet. Also, please help to remind your child that the homework sheet must be signed and returned each day. He or she is responsible, but may forget. There will be nights where completing homework is just not an option, ski club nights, late soccer games, family visits, etc. On these occasions please try to write a short explanation (“soccer game”, “family night”, etc.) on the homework sheet and I will be happy to stamp it.

For Reading I have the children copy “Read 10 min.” (15 and 20 min. later in the year). Please just have them read a chapter of a chapter book (if they are into that) or picture book to you or someone else, the actual time is not critical! If you choose to have them read more, that would be great. You make the call!

        The most important reasons behind the homework are to have them be responsible for bringing things back and forth to school and to spend family time at home practicing their reading and other school skills.

If a parent isn’t available to do homework I have instructed the class to find someone who is available and responsible to sign the sheet. This can, by all means, be a grandparent, older sibling, baby-sitter, family member, or even family friend/neighbor.

If you ever have any questions or concerns about an assignment I send home please write me a note on the homework sheet or call me here at school.

Class List

Ella,
Taylor
Madeline,
Kolin,
Chloe,
Kylie,
Dalron,
Jackson,
Cody,
Hayden,
Sydnee,
Hanna,
Bryce,
Caden
Matthew,
Lucas,
Colleen,
Emma,
Alli,
Justin
Jose'
Nickolas

Dear Parents,

        Thank you for being so patient this new school year with information about the 2^nd/3^rd grades. Keep in mind, changes may occur at any time. I will keep you posted as new developments happen.

        I will be teaching Math to all 2^nd graders each day this year. Mrs. Eichberger-Kudlack will send her second-graders to me at my scheduled Math time (9:45-11:00). There will be a rotation at the last hour of the day, 3 days a week (M, T, Th), so I will also be teaching Science and Social Studies for second grade. Sally Catanese will be teaching Science for third grade at that time or Gretchen Eichberger-Kudlack will be teaching Social Studies to third grade. Each teacher will be responsible for teaching Reading, Writing, Spelling, and Math (third grade) to their respective “homeroom” class. Please refer to the daily schedule…    Class Schedule

        I keep an “open door” policy. Please feel free to stop in and see what we’re doing if you get a chance, no prior notice necessary. If you have any comments/concerns please be sure to contact myself or Mrs. Hagen.

Thank you again for your patience. 

Sincerely,
Ben Mauntler

Elementary Office- 889-5521
My E-mail Address- bmauntler@manistee.org