We have three and a half school days left before break and a week of fun and learning.
If your child has not already brought in a shoe box, please have him/her do so. This will be used to carry home the gingerbread house that the students will be making in class on Tuesday.
Wednesday is our International Festival. The students will rotate from one second grade classroom to the next visiting different countries including France, Russia, Spain and China. On this day, your child can wear to school the flag t-shirt they made and wore for the Second Grade Show with uniform bottoms. The afternoon is about celebrating different cultures and having fun.
Thursday is a noon dismissal and the Lower Division Sing-a-Long. You are welcome to join us at 11:00 in the Janet Root Theater. Please come sit with us if you can.
Our field trip to Fresh Food Hydroponics (http://ffhydro.com) was a big hit. If you have some time, I would encourage you to visit to pick some fresh produce. The strawberries and beans were delicious.
We are reviewing spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and handwriting this week in language arts. There will be no formal spelling or vocabulary quiz. We will be reading various holiday stories including Kyle's First Kwanzaa by Angela Shelf Medearis, The Chanukkah Guest by Eric A. Kimmel, The Black Snowman by Phil Mendez, and The Happy Elf by Harry Connick, Jr.
The students will be bringing home their Readers' Toolkit this week to use. Please ask them about it and encourage them to use it as they read.
In math, the students will learn to develop paper-and-pencil strategies for adding 2- and 3-digit numbers and use estimation to check if answers are reasonable.
I wish you a wonderful holiday. Be safe and merry.
Ms. O'Mullane
Monday, December 17, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
December 10-14
Welcome to our last full week of school for 2012. There are only 9 school days left until we break for the holidays. Our last day will be a noon dismissal on Thursday, December 20. The Lower Division Sing A long will also take place on this day (11:00am for grades K-4 in the JRT).
This week the students will go on their first Second Grade Field Trip to the First Fruits Hydroponics Farm (3215 46th Avenue North). You are welcome to meet us there at 10:00. This will be a fun field trip and last about 1 hour.
This is the last week we are collecting gifts for the Holiday Gift Drive. Please wrap and label each gift with the Family number and Child's name. A post it or peel away label on the gift with gift content is helpful. This Friday, December 14, the students will carry the gifts to the gym to be sorted by family. Thanks for your generosity for these families in need.
Our Second Grade International Festival will be held on Wednesday, December 19 after lunch. Please pack your child a very light lunch on this day, seeing food will be served at the festival.
Current Event sharing continues this week. Our presenters this week will be: Tuesday: Auggie, Jackie; Wednesday: Ainsley, Aidan; Thursday: Victoria, Will; Friday: Isabella.
Our Parent Reader this week will be H. Coleman. This is the last week we will have Parent Reader until January. Thanks to all who have come in to read this year.
Here is a glance at what is going on in the classroom this week.
Literacy
* Phonics - s/c or j/g, dge
* Spelling: pledge, central, gentle, celebrate, huge, fudge, fireplace, gymnast, price, space;
* Bonus Spelling: century, general
* Story of the Week - Imogene's Anthers by David Small
* Vocabulary: consulted, eventful, prodded, miniature, milliner
* Reading workshop: Good readers think about what they are reading. Students will continue using their tool kits to guide them as they read
* Writing workshop: Using a dictionary to spell unknown words; Editing checklist; Writing reflections for the Electronic Portfolio
* Grammar: Nouns are names of people, places and objects/things; Proper nouns are capitalized
* Handwriting: Paragraph writing; y - slide down; j - down and turn; the dot comes second
Mathematics - Unit 4
* Estimating costs
* Students will develop strategies for adding 2-digit numbers mentally and calculate the total cost of two items
* Making change for whole-dollar amounts up to $100
* Pencil and paper strategies for adding 2 and 3-digit numbers
Social Studies
* Holiday celebrations around the world
* Exploring Europe
Science - Changes - Separating Mixtures of Color
This week the students will go on their first Second Grade Field Trip to the First Fruits Hydroponics Farm (3215 46th Avenue North). You are welcome to meet us there at 10:00. This will be a fun field trip and last about 1 hour.
This is the last week we are collecting gifts for the Holiday Gift Drive. Please wrap and label each gift with the Family number and Child's name. A post it or peel away label on the gift with gift content is helpful. This Friday, December 14, the students will carry the gifts to the gym to be sorted by family. Thanks for your generosity for these families in need.
Our Second Grade International Festival will be held on Wednesday, December 19 after lunch. Please pack your child a very light lunch on this day, seeing food will be served at the festival.
Current Event sharing continues this week. Our presenters this week will be: Tuesday: Auggie, Jackie; Wednesday: Ainsley, Aidan; Thursday: Victoria, Will; Friday: Isabella.
Our Parent Reader this week will be H. Coleman. This is the last week we will have Parent Reader until January. Thanks to all who have come in to read this year.
Here is a glance at what is going on in the classroom this week.
* Phonics - s/c or j/g, dge
* Spelling: pledge, central, gentle, celebrate, huge, fudge, fireplace, gymnast, price, space;
* Bonus Spelling: century, general
* Story of the Week - Imogene's Anthers by David Small
* Vocabulary: consulted, eventful, prodded, miniature, milliner
* Reading workshop: Good readers think about what they are reading. Students will continue using their tool kits to guide them as they read
* Writing workshop: Using a dictionary to spell unknown words; Editing checklist; Writing reflections for the Electronic Portfolio
* Grammar: Nouns are names of people, places and objects/things; Proper nouns are capitalized
* Handwriting: Paragraph writing; y - slide down; j - down and turn; the dot comes second
Mathematics - Unit 4
* Estimating costs
* Students will develop strategies for adding 2-digit numbers mentally and calculate the total cost of two items
* Making change for whole-dollar amounts up to $100
* Pencil and paper strategies for adding 2 and 3-digit numbers
Social Studies
* Holiday celebrations around the world
* Exploring Europe
Science - Changes - Separating Mixtures of Color
* The students will brainstorm how colors change when mixed
* The students will use chromatography to separate black and green inks into their component colors
We will also be harvesting the garden, sharing our Antarctica book with our Kindergarten buddies and recording our reflections on Voice Thread.
Have a wonderful week -
Ms. O'Mullane
Have a wonderful week -
Ms. O'Mullane
Monday, December 3, 2012
December 3-7
I hope you enjoyed your weekend as I did decorating my house and yard to celebrate the festive season.
The students had their first compliment party last Friday and are trying hard to fill up the Q Jar (Quality work, Quality attitude and Quality behavior) again. What progress I have seen since the beginning of the school year and I am so lucky to have such a wonderful group of second graders in my care this year. Thanks again for all your support in the education of your amazing children.
We are currently collecting gifts for the Holiday Gift Drive. Please wrap and label each gift with the Family number and Child's name. A post it or peel away label on the gift with gift content is helpful. On Friday, December 14, the students will carry the gifts to the gym to be sorted by family. Thanks for your generosity for this family in need.
The Lower Division Holiday Sing Along will take place on Thursday, December 20 at 11:00 for grades K-4 in the Janet Root Theatre.
Our Second Grade International Festival will be held on Wednesday, December 19 after lunch. If you would like to help out with planning or assisting on the day, please contact G. White or K. Leary who are coordinating this event.
Current Event sharing continues this week. The new Current Event calendar is in your child's Take Home Folder. Our presenters this week will be: on Tuesday: Claire and Matthew; Wednesday: Noah and Stella DeFrain; Thursday: Nico and Rose; and Friday: Nick and Stella Davis
Our Parent Reader this week will be M. Emerson. Thanks again for making our Friday morning a special one.
Here is a glance at what is going on in the classroom this week.
Literacy
* Phonics: long e, ey and y
* Spelling words: speedy, keyhole, valley, twenty, donkey, chimney, money, breezy, nobody, hungry
Mathematics - Unit 4
Science - Changes
The students had their first compliment party last Friday and are trying hard to fill up the Q Jar (Quality work, Quality attitude and Quality behavior) again. What progress I have seen since the beginning of the school year and I am so lucky to have such a wonderful group of second graders in my care this year. Thanks again for all your support in the education of your amazing children.
We are currently collecting gifts for the Holiday Gift Drive. Please wrap and label each gift with the Family number and Child's name. A post it or peel away label on the gift with gift content is helpful. On Friday, December 14, the students will carry the gifts to the gym to be sorted by family. Thanks for your generosity for this family in need.
The Lower Division Holiday Sing Along will take place on Thursday, December 20 at 11:00 for grades K-4 in the Janet Root Theatre.
Our Second Grade International Festival will be held on Wednesday, December 19 after lunch. If you would like to help out with planning or assisting on the day, please contact G. White or K. Leary who are coordinating this event.
Current Event sharing continues this week. The new Current Event calendar is in your child's Take Home Folder. Our presenters this week will be: on Tuesday: Claire and Matthew; Wednesday: Noah and Stella DeFrain; Thursday: Nico and Rose; and Friday: Nick and Stella Davis
Our Parent Reader this week will be M. Emerson. Thanks again for making our Friday morning a special one.
Here is a glance at what is going on in the classroom this week.
Literacy
* Phonics: long e, ey and y
* Spelling words: speedy, keyhole, valley, twenty, donkey, chimney, money, breezy, nobody, hungry
* Story of the Week: Wombat Divine by Mem Fox
* Vocabulary: divine, audition, beamed, stroked
* Grammar: Abbreviations
* Reading workshop: Readers read fluently by reading with talking voices; Readers make their reading sound smooth by going back and rereading; Readers read with phrasing and intonation by noticing and using punctuation
* Writing Workshop: Using the dictionary as a tool for writing; Story endings
* Handwriting: Capitals, Commas, and Paragraphs
We started our new math unit today and so please have a look at the new Family Letter that I placed in your child's Take Home Folder. We also will review the Unit 3 quiz, which I have sent home for you to look at and do some further review with your child. Please return this school when you have view and signed it.
This week the students will:
* solve change-to-more number and parts-and-total number stories
* explore reading temperatures on a thermometer, finding the total value of a group of coins, and develop readiness for classifying geometric shapes
* read and show temperatures and solve number stories about temperature change
Social Studies
* Complete a scavenger hunt A to Z about Europe
* The students will begin investigating holiday traditions around the world. If you have a holiday tradition you would like to share with the students, please email me and we will set up a time for you to come to the classroom and share this tradition
A Dissolving Race: Warm and Cold Water
* The students will explore the relationship between the temperature of liquid and how fast a solid dissolves
Separating Mixtures of Color
* The students will brainstorm how colors change when mixed
* The students will use chromatography to separate black and green inks into their component colors
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)