Dear Families,

Welcome to 2nd Grade! My name is Kay Glogovsky and I am very excited to be working with
you and your child this year. This is my 12th year of teaching and I can’t wait to get started!

I would like to tell you a little about myself. I grew up in Rhinelander, WI in a family of six girls.
I graduated from UW-Stout with a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education (PreK-K) in
1990 and then earned a Baccalaureate Degree in 2007 from Mount Mary College in Milwaukee,
WI for grades 1 through 6. In between earning my degrees, I got married and raised three
children with my husband Kevin. We have a Golden Retriever named Addie who is crazy but
such a sweet girl! We moved to Elkhorn in 1999 and have loved living in this community ever
since. After my youngest was in school full time I decided to look for a full-time teaching
position and was lucky to have been hired to teach in this school district in 2008.

As your child’s teacher I will strive to create a learning environment where the student is
respected and appreciated as an individual person and learner. I will do my best to help my
students have a successful year academically, socially, and emotionally. I can’t do it alone, so I
will be looking to you to work together to make this year rewarding and full of growth for your
child.

I try to be as available as I can for you to contact me. Our communication will be of the utmost
importance for us to help your child have a successful year. Please feel free to call me or email
me throughout the year for any concerns or questions and I will get back to you as soon as
possible. My phone number at school is (262) 723-1200 ext. 1249 and my email address is
glogka@elkhorn.k12.wi.us. I also have a website that I hope you find to be a good source of
information and another way for us to communicate. You can find my classroom website at:
www.mrsglogovskysclass.weebly.com.

On the following pages I have included some information to help you become familiar with your
child’s 2nd grade daily and weekly routines in my classroom. Please keep this information
handy so that you may refer to it in the future. This letter is also posted on my website.

I am looking forward to getting to know both you and your child and working as partners to
make this a year full of growth and positive experiences!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Kay Glogovsky 
Reward System

In my classroom I distribute “tickets.” I give them out every day a student’s Communication Log
for reading is returned daily and has been signed by a parent. I also give them out randomly to
students for different reasons. These can include students who are working quietly,
responsibly, and respectfully, or are getting right to work without being told or reminded. At
the end of each week students place as many of their tickets as they wish into a basket and I
choose three names/tickets. Those whose names are chosen, get to pick something from the
prize boxes. The students write their names on the back of their tickets as soon as they get
them so when they are picked, I know whose it is. The students quickly learn that the more
tickets they earn, the better their chances are for getting their name picked. 

Losing tickets (turning them in) is also a possibility. If a student has to be told more than once
to change his/her disruptive or disrespectful behavior that I feel is affecting the classroom then
s/he will be instructed to hand in one or more tickets. A discussion will follow regarding the
behavior choices and the student will be given another opportunity to correct his/her behavior.
I may also have the student fill out a Think Sheet regarding the behavior choice. This will come
home for you to look over, sign, and return the next day.

Birthdays

Birthday treats are always welcome in our classroom. As of right now, we have 21 students in
our classroom. PLEASE DO NOT send any treats that have nut or peanut warnings on the
labels. I have an allergy to both and this year I have two students with the same allergies.
Thank you for your cooperation.

Also, the Jackson Elementary Student Handbook states that if you choose to hand out birthday
invitations, ALL STUDENTS need to be invited, otherwise please find another way to contact the
parents of the children who are invited. Teachers are not allowed to give out phone numbers
and addresses of other students. Also, when a student is handing out invitations to a chosen
few, it can be upsetting to those who aren’t invited. I appreciate your cooperation with this.

Communication

You can find my classroom website at www.mrsglogovskysclass.weebly.com. Here you will

find our 2nd grade Common Core Standards, the daily schedule, as well as photos of the kids. I
will upload these periodically throughout the year. Take a peek every now and then and look at
all the fun we’re having in 2nd grade! I will be emailing a monthly newsletter to each family
who shares their email address with me. These include subject topics such as reading, writing,
language arts, math, science, and social studies as well as any upcoming events and reminders.
I am trying to minimize paper usage but if you do not have an email address please let me
know. I will be happy to send home a paper copy for you.
Discipline Policy

My classroom discipline policy focuses on helping each student become responsible for his/her
actions and choices s/he makes. Love and Logic is a discipline plan I utilize as it gives the
children opportunities to solve their problems in a positive, respectful manner. It provides
choices and teaches accountability. I have read some books and attended two seminars and
several classes on Love and Logic and find it to be extremely respectful and effective. I will
contact you by phone, email, or note if I feel your child’s behavior warrants notification. On the
other hand, every now and then I also like to write quick notes or send an email regarding
positive behaviors as well.

Physical Education/Gym

On the days that we have P.E. please remember to send your child to school with appropriate
shoes to wear or change into before class. Sandals, flip flops, clogs, and boots are unsafe for
children to wear during physical activities. The children may store a pair of sneakers in their
locker or they may be brought to school on Gym days.

Nutrition Break

The students will have a nutrition break every morning during announcements and morning
business (8:35-8:55). If you choose to send your child to school with a snack, please do your
best to bring a healthy one. Thank you!

Reading & Writing

Reading in 2nd grade, utilizes the Lucy Calkins Units of Study Reader’s Workshop model. This
program centers on independent student work in combination of teacher modeling, one-on-
one, and small group guidance. It will focus on skills such as decoding, fluency, exploring fiction
and nonfiction, different genres in literature, comprehension and asking and answering
questions while reading. I will use whole group, small group, and individual conferences for
reading. During reading there will be times that the children will be reading books at their
independent reading levels. Other times we will have shared reading to teach strategies in
comprehension, word recognition, and skill building with vocabulary.

Writing in 2nd grade, uses the Lucy Calkins Units of Study Writer’s Workshop model. This
program will integrate specific writing skills and use them to write narrative, opinion, and
informative writing pieces. We will also write poetry, journals, and friendly letters to
classmates.
Spelling/No Excuse Words

We no longer have spelling tests in 2nd grade. Studies have shown that memorizing a list of
words to spell for a test does not improve a student’s spelling skills. As a classroom teacher, I
have seen this to be very accurate. A student may get 100% on his/her test on Friday but
continue to struggle with it in daily writing. In 2nd grade, the students will focus on the 2nd
grade list of “No Excuse Words.” These are the most commonly used written words at this
grade level. I will send home the 2nd grade No Excuse Word list for all students and the 1st
grade list for those who need practice with both. I will test the kids three times in the school
year to see how their spelling is coming along.

We will also be using a phonics program that provides daily practice with spelling patterns and
will be a part of your child’s weekly spelling curriculum. There will be no daily homework
coming home or any weekly tests. All practice will be done in the classroom.

Math

The My Math program from McGraw-Hill is our district math program. It involves
differentiating so I am able to meet the different math needs of my students. Math is usually a
favorite subject for most of my students. I think that’s a telling sign of how effective and fun
this program has been for the kids. In addition to daily math work, I strongly encourage you to
practice addition, subtraction, and as the year progresses, multiplication facts on a weekly basis
at home to help with your child’s fluency. Every now and then, math worksheets may come
home if your child needs extra practice with certain math skill areas, but for the most part, your
child’s math is done in the classroom.

Science and Social Studies

Science and Social Studies units will be taught throughout the year. I will keep you informed as
to what we will be learning in my monthly newsletters. Some topics are Plants and Animals,
Computer Science, Technology, Map Skills, Geography, and Rules and Laws. PLTW (Project Lead
the Way) is our hands-on science curriculum that we integrate along with the Pearson science
program.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I know we are going to have a great year! If you
should ever have any questions or concerns, please contact me.

School: (262) 723-1200 ext. 1249

Email: glogka@elkhorn.k12.wi.us

Sincerely,
Mrs. Kay Glogovsky