2nd Grade - Mrs. Ruiz & Mrs. Torell

Welcome to second grade! We look forward to teaching your child and working with you to ensure that this year is a rewarding one.  We hope this packet of information helps you know more about your child’s day.  This year your child will have two teachers, Mrs. Torell and Mrs. Ruiz.  Mrs. Ruiz will be teaching all day on Mondays and Tuesdays.  Mrs. Torell will teach all day on Thursdays and Fridays. Mrs. Ruiz and Mrs. Torell will teach all day Wednesdays alternating every other week. We want to assure you that we are and will continue to work very closely together to ensure a successful year for all the students in our class.

A little about Mrs. Ruiz…………………….
I received my primary education in Robert’s Island at a little country school on the San Joaquin Delta called Delta Island School. I attended St. Mary’s High School for my secondary education and then attended California State University, Fresno for my Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies. I received my teaching credential through California State University, Stanislaus. My teaching career began in Stockton Unified School District where I taught 3 ^rd grade for one year at Grant Elementary School and then spent 17 years at Commodore Stockton Skills School teaching 1st grade. During this time I obtained my Masters of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction through California State University, Sacramento. After my 18 ^th year teaching at SUSD, I became a stay at home mom and substitute taught grades K-8 here at St. Anne’s School for four years until I was hired as a faculty member in 2014 to co-teach the 2 ^nd grade with Mrs. Herold. My husband and I have two children who are graduates of St. Anne’s School………….this is a very special place to our family.  I look forward to another exciting and wonderful year here at St. Anne’s School co-teaching with Mrs. Torell!

A little about Mrs. Torell..............................
I received my primary education from the Cathedral of Annunciation and my secondary education from Saint Mary’s High School.  I graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a Bachelors of Arts in Law and Society with an emphasis in Criminal Justice.  I earned my California Teaching Credential and Master of Arts in Teaching Reading at the University of San Francisco.  Additionally, I earned a Reading Certificate from the State of California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.  My teaching experience includes substitute teaching in the Archdioceses of San Francisco, student teaching first grade at Lomita Park School in Millbrae, teaching sixth grade at Summer Bridge summer school, six years of teaching fifth grade at Saint Matthew Catholic School, three years of teaching fifth grade, as well as one year teaching middle school social studies and sixth grade homeroom at St. Anne’s.  This year is exciting year for my husband and I.  We became a family of four this past April with the birth of our son and our daughter is in Kindergarten here at St. Anne’s School.  It is privilege to learn from, collaborate with, and co-teach second grade with Mrs. Ruiz.
 
 
HOMEWORK

Math- You should expect daily homework (M-TH), unless an assessment has been given that day.
 
Spelling- Spelling words will be sent home the first day of the week.  On the first day of the week a pretest will be given.  Any words that are missed on the pretest will need to written three times each and returned to school the next day.  The misspelled words will be circled on the spelling list sent home.  Please practice daily for the test on the last day of the week. Tuesday there will be ABC order of the spelling words.

Language Arts- A mixture of assignments related to the curriculum may be sent home on Wednesday.

Reading Log- This log will be sent home weekly. Your child will be expected to spend 20 minutes four times a week reading and writing about what they read.

Cornerstone- Daily homework assignments as well as assessment grades will be available on Cornerstone.

HOME FOLDER- All homework will be in your child’s “Home Folder”.  Please ask your child to show you their folder daily (M-F). Along with homework, notes regarding class or school information could also be sent home in this folder (M-F).

BEHAVIOR
Your child will be participating in an on line classroom behavior system called Class Dojo. Each child is assigned an Avitar character and will earn points for positive behavior or may lose points for not following class rules. Parents will be notified through email on their child’s behavior.

WEDNESDAY ENVELOPE
Most Wednesdays your child will receive an envelope with work from the prior week.  Please review the work with your child and return the envelope on Thursday.

GRADING
All assigned work and assessments, which are used to determine the achievement grade on the report card, will be averaged to determine the final grade.  The following percentages represent the three achievement grades on the report card. All grades are posted on Cornerstone. 
 
FIELD TRIP
This year we will take a number of field trips.  As soon as the dates are finalized, we will send home a sign up form for them.  We do need chaperones and look forward to having you share these special days with your child and the class.

RELIGION
This year your child will prepare for and receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We will the Christ is Our Life, God Cares for Us text.  This text will be used for the general curriculum and to prepare the students for Reconciliation. We will also be using Good News, a weekly publication based on the Gospel reading for Sunday’s Mass.  There are some home activities.  Any home activities do not need to be sent back to school. SO PLEASE CHECK YOUR CHILD’S HOME FOLDER ON FRIDAY FOR THIS PUBLICATION.
Prior to receiving Reconciliation your child must know the following: prayers; Our Father, Hail Mary, Sign of the Cross, Glory Be, Act of Contrition, along with the Ten Commandments, how to make an examination of conscience and the formula for receiving Reconciliation.  They will be tested orally, one – on – one.  They will have to be able to recite all of the necessary requirements by themselves.  These requirements will be broken up over the months leading to Reconciliation. A signature page may be returned prior to the due date, and your child will be tested once we receive it.
*Once Sister Isabel announces the date of First Reconciliation we will let you know.  There will also be a required parent meeting and child/parent retreat prior to First Reconciliation. In second grade there are six themes that will be explored in our reading series.  Each theme is comprised of three main areas of instruction.
Reading will focus on phonemic awareness, comprehension skills and strategies, and information and study skills.
Word Work includes spelling and vocabulary along with high –frequency words.
Writing and Language will cover reading-writing workshop, grammar, usage an mechanics, and listening and speaking. The subject content for this year in social studies will be: Depending on Others, Living in our Country, Knowing Your Family, and People Who Have Made a Difference.

SCIENCE
Throughout the year we will be studying the following: Objects in Motion, Forces at Work, Plant and Animal Life Cycles, Earth’s Materials, Past, and Resources, and Investigation and Experimentation.

MATH
This year our math program is Progress in Mathematics. It is an integrated Common Core curriculum which is written by a Catholic publishing company called Sadlier-Oxford. By the end of second grade your child should be able to identify any three-digit number, know that each digit in a three –digit number has a definite value, and understand the meaning of regrouping in addition and subtraction.
 
If you need to communicate with us, you may send a note in your child’s home folder addressed to us, email Mrs. Torell at etorell@stanneslodi.org, Mrs. Ruiz at jruiz@stanneslodi.org, or call the school office at 333-7580 and leave a message which we will return as soon as possible.
We look forward to an exciting year of learning with your child!

Thank you,
Mrs. Torell and Mrs. Ruiz