I hope you enjoyed the long weekend in the company of your friends and family.

While the students are still able to wear their optional summer uniforms, there is no need for them to change clothes for P.E. class. If your daughter has chosen to wear her jumper on a P.E. day (Tuesday and Friday) she will need to wear shorts under her jumper and have gym shoes, or change into her P.E. uniform. Beginning October 1 all students will need to change for P.E. class. Second graders do not wear their gym shoes to school on gym days, as they did in first grade. They must change into gym shoes when they go to class.

We would love to help celebrate your child’s birthday. (We have 24 students.) You may send a small, simple treat for the class, if you wish. We do have one student with a peanut allergy so please be very conscious of that when sending in any food. Instead of a food treat, you may choose to send a book, puzzle, board game, card game, CD of children’s music, or any small activity that could be enjoyed by the class all year long. Be aware that our school policy does not permit invitations to birthday parties to be passed out in school.

If you haven’t yet done so, please remember to send in a picture that was taken this summer. I would like the pictures for Wednesday evening’s Open House. I have enjoyed speaking with each child about what is happening in the picture. It is a way for me to get to know them a little better.

If you need to contact any member of our staff, remember that you can email us at www.sjcpsinfo.org and click on the name of the person you want to contact. Especially if you have a quick comment or question, this is an easy form of communication that can eliminate the frustration of playing “phone tag.” I answer all my email promptly, particularly if you contact me early in the morning before 8:00. Be aware that one of our third grade teachers is Mrs. Kim Ostrowski, whose name looks and sounds very similar to mine. Make sure you are leaving a message for the right person if you use either voicemail or email.

Attached to this newsletter is a Reading Log Calendar for the month of September. As instructed on the top of the calendar, please sign or initial this calendar each day on which your child reads independently or shares a book with a parent, sibling, friend or caregiver. We will ask to have the signed calendars returned at the end of the month. Second graders are expected to read at home at least 20 minutes per day. This is very important for the children to become confident, fluent readers with a real love for books. Believe me – you will never regret one minute you spend reading to or with your child.

Last week we met our sixth grade “buddies” from Mrs. McGowan’s room. We shared a “getting to know you” activity. We will get together several times during the school year to talk, work, have fun and pray. There is to be no exchange of gifts between the buddies during the year. We are just happy to have some new friends. This relationship is much less formal that that of the first grade/eighth grade buddies, which has been a tradition here at SJC for more than 25 years.

Some reminders and announcements:

§          Our annual “Meet the Teacher night will be held this Wednesday, September 3, beginning at 7:00 P.M. in Hynes Hall. Mrs. Gorman, our new principal, will address the parents, and you will have the opportunity to visit our classroom. This will be a chance for us to meet one another and to receive an overview of our second grade curriculum. For many reasons, Wednesday evening is not a time for a personal conference. I will contact you if I have an observation or concern about your child. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

§          One of the books your child was asked to read this summer was Henry and Mudge and the Forever Sea. If you still have your copy (if not, we can share) please send it to school with your child by Thursday.

§          Each child has been given a plastic bag to keep in his/her school tote bag. This is to hold a water bottle. In the past we have had problems with bottles opening and books getting ruined.

§          Attached to this newsletter is an order form for the Scholastic Book Club. Any orders should be returned to me in an envelope, with the checks made payable to “Scholastic Book Club,” not to SJC or to me. Please check your calculations carefully, especially if your child has made the selections unassisted. We will order about once a month. This month all orders must be in by this Friday, September 5. The books are very well priced and usually arrive in less than two weeks. With the “Bonus Points” that are awarded to the class with each order, I select books for our classroom library as well as other learning activities.

§          Last week we began our spelling program, which is based on the 100 words used most often in children’s writing. This program was also used in first grade so the children are familiar with the format.

§          Pencil cases or pouches were not part of the supply list for this year. If your child would like to have one, it must be small enough to fit in the limited space of the drawer in the child’s table. Last year’s green SJC pouch may also be used.

§          Be sure your child is in the school building by 8:50 and in the classroom by 8:55.  Students are marked tardy when they enter after 8:55.

§          Friday is a casual, out-of-uniform day. 

This week, among other things, we will be: reading some “silly stories,” determining how humor can make a story more enjoyable; working with number sequences, number lines and number grids; beginning a science unit on making healthy food choices; identifying community helpers; talking about our teeth; spelling which their said if do; discussing Scripture stories about the Good Shepherd and Adam and Eve; counting combinations of coins; learning how we get ideas for our writing and identifying the many groups to which we belong.

Have a wonderful week.

Email: oczkowski@sjc.pvt.k12.il.us           School Web site www.sjcpsinfo.org

Voicemail: 708-246-4454, #305