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Parent Letter

By July 23, 2022July 26th, 2022Uncategorized

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 to teach here at First Baptist.

I want to begin by telling you a little bit about myself. I have been married to my wonderful husband Andrew for 18 years and he is a CPA at Kissee & Company CPAs.  Our daughter Samantha will be in 10th grade this year and our twin sons Craig and Seth will be in the 7th grade. We have a silly standard poodle named Maci who thinks she is a princess. This will be our second 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.

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, 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. Last year was a wonderful year joining the FBCS staff and I feel blessed to be here another year.

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.

The following will give you an idea of how our classroom will run:

Rules:   1. Listen to and follow directions

  1. Ask permission before leaving your seat
  2. Keep your hands, feet and objects to yourself
  3. Demonstrate self control
  4. 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 has 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 2 Stickers + the daily 20 points

Riding a wave 1 Sticker + the daily 20 Points

Ready for school 20 points

Just keep swimming 15 points

Sinking 10 points

Ocean floor 5 points

Rewards: Students will receive stickers for exceptional behavior through the day as well as a sticker for each time he/she moves up on our chart. 15 stickers can be turned in for a treasure box treat.

Folders: Your child will have 6 folders that he/she is responsible to bring to class and home from school every day. Please check these folders nightly for unfinished work.

  1. red-Take Home Folder
  2. purple-Bible (and Bible Verse)
  3. green– Spelling and Cursive
  4. yellow-Science and Social Studies
  5. blue-Language and Math
  6. Orange-Reading (provided by teacher)

Snack: Please send 2 healthy snacks with your child every day. We will have a morning and afternoon working snack. 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. If something other than water is in the water bottle, we will have to pour it out and fill with water from the water fountain.

Birthdays: Everyone loves to celebrate his/her birthday. Please feel free to send in a celebration snack for your child. 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. I will collect all papers on Tuesday.

Homework: Homework will be: handwriting practice, completing unfinished classwork, studying each night (Bible verses, spelling words, math facts, etc) and reading an AR book at least 20 minutes each night.  Any projects sent home will be given at least one week in advance. My website will be updated by Friday, so you will be aware of the next week’s upcoming assignments. Please do not work ahead on any assignments, but if your child is absent, he/she is responsible for the work missed while out.

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, test schedule, special dates, etc.

Communication: I ask that you provide me with your email address so that I can contact you throughout the year. I send out a weekly email every Monday morning that contains the week’s announcements, classroom updates and most importantly study guides. 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

 

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