Welcome to Mrs. Jessi Pitman’s second grade class. I am very excited to start this school year with you. Second grade is my favorite grade to teach and I am thrilled God has called me back to it!
I want to begin by telling you a little bit about myself. I have been married to my wonderful husband Andrew for 17 years and he is a CPA and CFO of the University of New Orleans Research and Technology Foundation. Our daughter Samantha will be in 9th grade this year and our twin sons Craig and Seth will be in the 6th grade. We have a silly standard poodle named Maci who thinks she is a princess. This will be our first year at First Baptist Christian School and we are all very excited to be a part of the FBCS family.
I have always wanted to be a teacher. In high school I went through Slidell High School’s Teaching Academy from 9th-12th grade. It helped me confirm that this was the future God had planned for me. I went on to attend Louisiana College and earned my B.A. in Elementary Education. I began my teaching career in 2005 in the St. Tammany Parish school system as a certified teacher in 3rd grade. I then moved to 2nd grade for the next 5 years. After my twins were born, I decided to move to the Early Learning Center at Grace Memorial Baptist Church which is our church home. I taught kindergarten there for 9 years. I now have 15 years of teaching experience.
When Covid hit, I had to make the hard decision of leaving the kindergarten position I loved to home-school my children. During the crazy school year of 2020-2021 we remained home as God was planning our next step. While I loved teaching my children this past year, I felt God calling me back to teaching in an environment where I can not only share His word but integrate it across the curriculum. God led me to First Baptist Christian School where a second grade position was available.
With this year ahead, I want to thank you for the opportunity to teach your child and to be a part of his/her spiritual and academic growth. We are going to have a wonderful year as we work together for the academic success of your child.
Here are some explanations for how our classroom will run:
Rules:
- Listen to and follow directions
- Ask permission before leaving your seat
- Keep your hands, feet and objects to yourself
- Demonstrate self control
- Be kind to teachers and students with your actions and words
Behavior: We will use a behavior chart in our classroom to determine weekly conduct grades. Each day will be worth 20 points for a 100 point conduct grade each week. The students will begin each morning in the middle of the chart “ready for school”. Throughout the day the students will have the opportunity to work up the chart for following the rules and for displaying outstanding behavior. The students will move down the chart if a rule is broken. Once a student is moved down, that does not mean he/she is stuck in that spot; he/she will have the rest of the day to move his/her clip back up. Students’ conduct points will be determined by the space they are on when they leave for the day.
The behavior chart will be set up as follows:
Super Star +6 points
Riding a wave +3 points
Ready for school 20 points
Just keep swimming -3 points
Sinking -6 points
Ocean floor -9 points
Rewards: I will record each student’s extra points each day. I will add these extra points to any day that is lacking points then keep track of any excess points the student may have at the end of each week. When each student reaches 50 points they can pick a privilege or treat.
Folders: Your child will have 6 folders that he/she is responsible to bring to class and home from school every day:
- red-take home folder
- purple-Bible
- green-spelling
- yellow-math, science, social studies
- blue-language, cursive
- I will provide a folder for their reading workbook pages
Snack: Please send a healthy snack with your child every day. Candy will not be allowed at snack time. Please send a clear, water-filled bottle labeled with your child’s name for hydration through the day.
Birthdays: Everyone loves to celebrate his/her birthday. Please feel free to send in a celebration snack for your child that we will enjoy at our lunch time. If you are planning to invite classroom friends to a birthday party, please send enough invitations for every child in the class. I can only hand out invitations if everyone in the class is invited.
Phonics: In second grade, we will no longer have a separate phonics grade. All phonics will be incorporated into our reading, language and spelling curriculum.
Grading: You will have access to your child’s grades on Headmaster. I will update grades by Monday mornings for the previous week’s grades. Graded papers will then come home Monday afternoon for your review. Please sign the log and return the log and the papers on Tuesday.
Homework: Homework should be minimal in my class this year. I will provide ample time for class work to be completed during the day. Any homework assignments that are given will be sent home on Mondays and expected back on Friday or a designated date if it is a larger project. Students are responsible for studying each night (Bible verses, spelling words, math facts, etc) and for making time to read alone, read to someone, or have someone read to him/her. I will update my website by Fridays so you are aware of the next week’s upcoming assignments.
Website: Please visit our school website weekly: www.fbcseagles.com This website will give you information about school and classroom activities. I will have my page updated every Friday afternoon for the next week’s announcements, assignments, study guides, test schedule, special dates, etc.
Communication: Please feel free to contact me about any concern or question you may have. The most direct way to contact me is through email [email protected] I will check email before school, during my planning period and after school. If you need something sooner, please feel free to call the school office at 985-643-3725.
I am looking forward to this school year with you and your child. If there is anything I can do this year to help you or your family, please let me know. I will be praying for my students and their families as we go through the next step of their lives—Second Grade!
Jessi Pitman
