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2nd Grade News & Notes

December 1, 2017

Dear 2nd Grade Families,

I hope you all had a restful Thanksgiving! We have had a great week back! We even had some snow to play in at the beginning of the week. As we begin to have real winter weather, remember that students need snow pants, jackets, hat, gloves or mittens and boots. You are welcome to leave things here through the week and we can send them back on the weekends if that easier to remember. A change of clothes is always good to have as well. This can stay in cubbies or backpacks, whatever is more convenient. This is helpful as clothes may get wet at recess and sometimes that’s uncomfortable for kids to have on the rest of the day.

Next Friday is an early release day, and students will have lunch in the classroom. Please be sure you send in your lunch slip (going home today) if your child will be getting LUNCH or MILK from school by Wednesday. If your child needs MILK to go with their lunch from home, please fill out the slip and just circle MILK. Thank you!

This week we spent some time reviewing our expectations as we always do after a longer break. We talked about how we can be respectful, responsible and safe in the classroom and in other parts of the building.

In Readers’ Workshop we reviewed all the things that readers do when we come to a tricky word. Readers can: look for a smaller word inside the word, check the picture and think what would make sense, use what’s happening in the story, look through the whole word part-by-part, look at vowel teams and try different vowel sounds, and think about what the words mean. We finished our latest read aloud, Marty McGuire Has Too Many Pets! We have read three Marty McGuire books and hope that Kate Messner writes more!

In math we have been working on adding bigger numbers! We learned what the word multiple means and we added multiples of 10 to two-digit numbers. We looked for patterns on the 100s chart and used the 100s chart as a strategy for solving addition problems.

We all got new word study words and also learned about adjectives this week as well!

Mr. Melen came for Skills For Growing on Thursday and we read a story called The Recess Queen and talked about how to be a good friend at recess and include others. We also brainstormed what we could do if a friend was making us feel left out.

We have some things coming up in December, here are some dates to remember…

• Friday, December 1: The coupon book fundraiser is finished today. If you haven’t sent the envelope back in please do as soon as possible. If you don’t want to purchase the book, you can just send it back with the envelope.
• 2nd Grade is doing the assembly on December 5 at 8:10, we will do announcements, a greeting and an activity! Each grade is tasked with leading the assembly and next week it’s our turn!
• Friday, December 8- Early dismissal at 12:30. Please fill out the form if your child needs a bagged lunch or just milk and return it by Wednesday, December 6.
• Friday, December 15- Winter sing-along at 1:30 in the gym.
• Winter Break- December 25-January 1

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns! Have a wonderful weekend!

Renae

2nd Grade News & Notes

October 27, 2017

Dear Second Grade Families!

What a great few weeks we’ve had! We have had such nice weather we have been able to get out a few times a day. The rain did catch up to us Thursday though! I had jury duty again this past Monday and will be out one more day, November 6 for a jury selection day. Once that is done, my name is out of the pool for a few years!

As I’m sure you’re aware, Tuesday is Halloween! Everyone is quite excited! I will be sending a sign-up genius link out for snack donations for a celebration we will have on Tuesday afternoon. Please don’t feel like you have to sign up if it’s not possible at this time! All the snacks will be on the healthy side to follow the Healthy School Guidelines!

I am also attaching a form about your preferences for Parent/Teacher Conferences. I will be doing 20 minute slots on November 20 and 21. If after school works better for you, I have put some possible times for that as well. Please send back your preferences in the home folder or email me the times you’d prefer.

Here are some of the things we’ve been up to this week…

In Math we have been learning about place value. We have explored with unifix cubes, beans and other manipulatives making and breaking groups of 100s, 10s and extra ones. We are gearing up to begin adding double digits in this next unit of study!

In Readers’ Workshop we have been working hard and growing as second grade readers. This week we talked about problems that can get in the way at reading time and how we can solve them to be the best readers we can be. I’ve been so impressed with the kids’ stamina as readers, they are reading more and more each week!

We began word study this week! Last week, I assessed each student and placed them in groups based on where they are in their spelling development. At the beginning of the week they will get a word sort based on their developmental area and they will cut and sort the words. Then they will have daily choices to practice the words and spelling patterns. I will do an informal assessment at the end of the week to see if they are ready to move to the next list! I’m happy to share more about this at conferences if you’re interested.

In Writers’ Workshop we have been working on fall writing. We have been reviewing important parts of sentences (capitals at the beginning, spaces between words and punctuation at the end). We have also begun to learn about part of speech. We started with what nouns are. We read a story called A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink. We did some sorts and activities about nouns and will continue with other parts of speech next week. We are continuing to work on handwriting weekly.

Here are some important dates coming up…

• Tuesday, October 31: Fall Celebration- We will do some crafts and have some special snacks from 1:30-2:30. Look for a snack sign-up in your email!
• Thursday, November 2: Picture Retake day
• Friday, November 3: Popcorn Friday, $0.50 a bag
• Friday, November 10: Early Release Day- 12:30 dismissal
• November 15, 16, 17- Scholastic Book Fair in the library
• Monday & Tuesday, November 20 & 21: Parent/Teacher Conferences- Hope to see you there!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, call or email! If you’d like to help out with crafts during our celebration Tuesday, let me know, I’ll put you to work!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Renae

September 26, 2017

Dear 2nd Grade Families,

Just a reminder that tomorrow morning is the Kindergarten, first and second graders turn for the UVM ropes course here on the playground. We will be outside from 8:30-10:30 tomorrow morning playing team building games! With this summer like weather the way it is please help your child remember:

• A water bottle- they will be able to bring it outside and can have it refilled as needed
• Shorts/t-shirt- it will be hot again so please make sure your child is dressed for the weather.
• Sneakers- we will be running and moving around so sneakers or shoes that won’t fall off will be needed
• A hat- if students want a hat to keep the sun off their face, not necessary if they don’t
• Sunscreen

Thank you,

The 2nd Grade Team

September 22, 2017

2nd Grade News and Notes

Dear 2nd Grade Families,

Today may be the first day of fall, but it still feels like summer! Please make sure your child is prepared for outside play by wearing layers! Also, water bottles are a great idea.

We have a few events this week to keep in mind.

September 27- On Wednesday we will be doing the UVM run ropes course that we had planned for last year and it was rained out. Please make sure your child has sneakers and is wearing appropriate clothes to be outside that morning. The ground has been wet in the mornings because it has been cold at night so a change of socks and shoes may also be good.

September 28- Thursday is picture day! Forms are going home with students today!

October 4- Walk to School Day

October 6- Our first Popcorn Friday! Popcorn is $0.50 a bag  and the proceeds benefit 5th grade fun day!

October 6- Early release for students. Dismissal is 12:30

We’ve been very busy in 2nd grade this week! Here is some of what we’ve been up to!

In Math we have been learning more about strategies to help with addition and subtraction.  We went over doubles and halves.  Another strategy we talked about were doubles +1. We’ve been learning a lot about even and odd numbers. We have a whole new set of workplaces that have been allowing the students to practice the skills we’ve been working on.

During Readers’ Workshop we continue to practice reading longer and stronger.  The students have been enjoying book shopping and reading books at their level during this time. I am continuing to assess at this time and have enjoyed getting to know all the kids as 2nd grade readers!

We have begun our 2nd grade handwriting book and are practicing letter formation.

We have continued learning about growth mindset and our brains this week. We read the book Only One You and have done some great activities with this story.  We also read The Fantastic, Elastic Brain. This was a great read aloud that went over the parts of the brain and what they do.  We focused a lot on how mistakes make your brain grow!

We are all settling into a routine and the students are doing a great job working and learning together! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Also a reminder about our blog if you haven’t had the chance to check it out.  I will put pictures up as soon as I can look at permission forms relating to pictures on the web!

https://mrspreskasclass.blogspot.com/

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Renae

2nd Grade News and Notes

September 14, 2017

Dear 2nd Grade Families,

What a wonderful start to the year we have had! We all survived our first full week and we are still smiling!! I am enjoying 2nd grade so much and have had a wonderful time getting to know new students and getting reacquainted with the kids I had for 1st grade. We have been learning a lot about one another and reviewing and practicing our classroom expectations.

In math we have been learning about math tools and manipulatives. We have begun workplaces and students are excited to be able to independently make choices about what workplaces they visit each day. They have been doing a great job making the right choice for themselves and filling out their workplace log with their selection. We made individual number racks this week which students will keep in their toolboxes for when they need them. Some used them when we worked on making 10s and 20s.

In reading we have been building up our stamina for independent reading. Students have been practicing reading longer and longer and they are doing a great job! We have talked about books shopping and choosing “just right” books. The kids are excited about the books in their book boxes and have been enjoying quiet reading daily. I have been able to begin some reading assessments which will help me focus on what students need for reading instruction.

A big focus for this year is growth mindset. We have been learning about the parts of our brains and what each part does. We have read some read alouds and done activities to help us understand growth mindset and the importance of learning from our mistakes and seeing mistakes as an opportunity to grow.This will be a focus for us all year.  This week some of our read alouds were The Most Magnificent Thing and ish.

Some important dates to remember:

• Friday, September 15- half day.  Dismissal is 12:30. We will be eating lunch in the classroom. Students that did not order a bag lunch should bring a lunch from home for tomorrow.
• Friday, September 15- International Dot Day! Wear your dots!
• Tuesday, September 19- assembly 8:10-8:30
• Saturday, September 23- Harvest Festival 1:00-3:00
• Wednesday, September 27- Community Building Games. This is an event that was planned for last year, but due to rain we couldn’t do it.  This will be outside, but if it’s raining we will be able to be in the gym. Students will need sneakers for this.
• Thursday, September 28- Picture day

Please feel free to email or call if you have any questions or concerns!

Have a wonderful weekend (and Friday)!

Renae

Welcome to 2nd Grade!!

Welcome to 2nd Grade! We have had a great start to the year! 
Here is our schedule for integrated arts:
Monday-PE
Tuesday- Library
Wednesday- Art
Thursday- PE & Music
Friday- Music