Last Weekly Update for Your 2nd Grader! :-(

Sigh........

It's always been "Happy Friday" but this is a very sad Friday for me...

It's the last Friday I will be your child's teacher. I have grown so close to these kiddos and we are truly a family here in room 12. This is such a bittersweet time - it breaks my heart to see them leave and move on to the world of 3rd grade, yet it makes me so proud to see how far they've come since August.

The tests are taken, the grades are in, I guess it's really over.

As can be expected, next week our schedule is a bittttttttt crazy...

Monday is the rescheduled "Tacky Day"...along with being tacky we will be completing our last "repeated tasks" for the year. These will be put in your child's data binder that will come home. Along with the data binders you can expect to see your child's scrapbook and weekend news book.

We will also be practicing our timeline presentation. Students are SO excited about this. The students have written scripts to tell what happened during each month of our school year. They also have created posters and are choosing their favorite songs to sing for you. I sure hope you can make it at 2:00 on Tuesday to see them perform!

We will be bringing our biomes unit to a close by having lunch at the "beach" in our own little "forest" we have behind our school on Monday (weather-permitting).

Wednesday will be Field Day from 9:00-11:30. We will be down on the soccer field and it is supposed to be in the high 80's. Please have your child dress in his/her PE uniform and bring a water bottle ONLY. Unless your child did not order the hot dog lunch, students will not need ANYTHING at school other than themselves and a water bottle on Wednesday. It is optional to pick your child up after 12:00 for early dismissal. Mrs. Hinesley is hosting an end of year pool party in her neighborhood if you decide to pick your child up early. Please let me know if you plan on doing this!

Reminders/FYI:

• Monday - Tacky Day
• Tuesday - PE Uniform and End of Year Timeline Presentation at 2:00 p.m.
• Wednesday - Field Day (wear PE uniform and bring a water bottle ONLY)

Weekly Update - May 25th

Happy Friday...A Day Late!!

Next week we will be working on the following topics:

ELA: We will continue our novel study on Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. During this study we will focus on fact/opinion, synonyms & antonyms, adverbs, possessive nouns, classifying/categorizing, characters, summarizing, and vocabulary. We just finished two Roald Dahl books this past week: Esio Trot and The Enormous Crocodile...this week we'll read our last book of his for the year - Danny Champion of the World!

 

Math: Next week we will begin to review for our end of year test. We will focus on arrays, line plots, and graphing. Our end of year test will be the week of June 3rd. 

 

Social Studies: We will continue our unit on biomes. Last week students learned about rainforests, caves, and wetlands. This week students will focus on oceans and the arctic.     

Homework: As a second grade team we have decided to open up the rest of Study Island and have the students work at their own pace. We would like all assignments due by June 3rd. In addition, students should create a puppet for their role in our puppet show. All puppets are due May 29th. 

Friend of the Week: Ms. Kayla  

Reminders/FYI:

• P.E. days next week are Tuesday and Thursday. 
• Monday May 27th: Memorial Day Holiday (No School)
• Friday May 31st: Our Class Puppet Show! It will be performed in our classroom at 10:30 a.m. Each student will be responsible for creating his/her puppet at home for homework!
• Spirit Week June 3-7: Monday-Pajama Day, Tuesday-Tacky Day, Wednesday-Favorite Character Day, Thursday-Nerd Day, Friday-Crazy Hair/Hat Day
• Tuesday June 11th: Our End of Year Timeline Presentation
• Wednesday June 12th: Last Day of school and FIELD DAY!  

Weekly Update - May 17th

Happy Friday!!

Next week we will be working on the following topics:

ELA: We will begin our novel study on Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. During this study we will focus on fact/opinion, synonyms & antonyms, adverbs, possessive nouns, classifying/categorizing, characters, summarizing, and vocabulary. We will also begin our new Roald Dahl books Esio Trot and The Enormous Crocodile...these tie right in with our biome unit!

 

Math: Next week we will continue with Saxon focusing on 3D shapes, measuring using centimeters, multiplying by 1 and 100, and perimeter.

 

Social Studies: We will continue our unit on biomes. Last week students learned about deserts and prairies last week. This week they will be learning about rainforests, caves, and wetlands.    

Homework: As a second grade team we have decided to open up the rest of Study Island and have the students work at their own pace. We would like all assignments due by June 3rd. 

Friend of the Week: Kelley Wilhelm  

Reminders/FYI:

• P.E. days next week are Tuesday and Thursday. 
• Monday May 27th: Memorial Day Holiday (No School)
• Friday May 31st: Our Class Puppet Show! It will be performed in our classroom at 10:30 a.m. Each student will be responsible for creating his/her puppet at home for homework!
• Spirit Week June 3-7: Monday-Pajama Day, Tuesday-Tacky Day, Wednesday-Favorite Character Day, Thursday-Nerd Day, Friday-Crazy Hair/Hat Day
• Tuesday June 11th: Our End of Year Timeline Presentation
• Wednesday June 12th: Last Day of school and FIELD DAY!  

Weekly Update - May 10th

Happy Zoo Trip Friday!!

Next week we will be working on the following topics:

ELA: We will continue Journeys for the LAST week and review story structure stew and predicting. We will review multiple meaning words and contractions. Our spelling focus will be on words with oo, ew, ou. We are reading Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach...we hope to finish it this week!

Math: Next week we will continue with Saxon focusing on estimating, quarters, rounding to the nearest 10, finding half of a set with even/odd numbers, measuring using feet and inches.

 

Social Studies: We will continue our unit on biomes. Students learned about freshwater habitats and mountains last week. This week they will be learning about wetlands and prairies.    

Homework: As a second grade team we have decided to open up the rest of Study Island and have the students work at their own pace. We would like all assignments due by June 3rd. To make the homework load a little more bearable, there will no longer be spelling or handwriting for the year. Students will only have Study Island and 60 minutes of reading each week.
 

Friend of the Week: Denise Vu
Click on this link to see the F.O.W. schedule for the entire year: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ai_iR7kLmmMpdGw0RC1hZmlIeWtPWDd3NTE0QmV4SVE#gid=0

 

Reminders/F.Y.I:  

• P.E. days next week are Monday, Wednesday, Friday. 
• MAP testing will be Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday next week (May 13-15). Please make sure your child is at school these days!!
• Reflection Folders will come home Monday instead of today since students are not bringing backpacks to school today. Please go over these with your child and sign and return them by Wednesday the 15th.
• Celebration: Students filled our marble jar again! They have voted on a popcorn and movie party! We will be celebrating on Friday the 17th and watching A Bug's Life that correlates with the insect unit we just finished.
• May 27th: Memorial Day Holiday (No School)

Weekly Update - May 3rd

Happy 1st Friday in May!

Next week we will be working on the following topics:

 

ELA: We will continue Journeys and review comparing/contrasting and visualizing. We will also review dictionary skills and introduce prepositions. Our spelling focus will be on words with oa, ow, ee, ea. We are reading Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach...the kids are loving it!

 

Math: Next week we will continue with Saxon focusing on subtracting two-digit numbers with regrouping, subtracting 6 facts, solving a problem by guessing and checking, and covering the same design in different ways using tangram pieces.

 

Social Studies: We will begin our unit on biomes. Students will be learning about different biomes including: fresh water, wetlands, grasslands, mountains, prairies, forests, rainforests, deserts, caves, the arctic, and oceans.   

Homework: As a second grade team we have decided to open up the rest of Study Island and have the students work at their own pace. We would like all assignments due by June 3rd. To make the homework load a little more bearable, there will no longer be spelling or handwriting for the year. Students will only have Study Island and 60 minutes of reading each week.
  

Friend of the Week: 

Ella VanDenBerg
Click on this link to see the F.O.W. schedule for the entire year: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ai_iR7kLmmMpdGw0RC1hZmlIeWtPWDd3NTE0QmV4SVE#gid=0

 

Reminders/F.Y.I:  

• P.E. days next week are Tuesday and Thursday. 
• May 6th: Progress Reports available on TeacherEase
• May 7th: Mandatory Zoo Trip Meeting for all volunteers/chaperones @ 4:15 in Room 14.
• May 10th: Zoo Field Trip - Students should wear PE uniforms and plenty of sunscreen. Please apply the sunscreen before students come to school. The bus will be leaving the parking lot promptly at 8:30 a.m. and will return around 4:00 p.m. Chaperones are $12 at the gate and you will buy your own lunches when we get there.
• May 27th: Memorial Day Holiday (No School)

Weekly Update - April 26th

Happy LAST Friday in April! Time is flying by...only 32 days left!  

 

Next week we will be working on the following topics:

ELA: We will continue Journeys working on Lesson 25. In lesson 25 we will review sequencing. We will review context clues and more irregular action verbs. Our spelling focus will be on words with au, aw, al, o, a. We have started to read Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach...it ties right in with our insect unit!  

     

Math: Next week we will resume Saxon focusing on covering designs using tangrams, writing money amounts using dollar signs and cent symbols, subtracting two-digit numbers with regrouping.



Science: We will continue our unit on insects. Students will continue their research in class, creating their research flip books. Students should bring their insect projects to school on Thursday, May 2nd. We will be displaying these during our extravaganza!  

 

Garden Tea Party: Friday, May 3rd 10:30-11:30 We hope to release our butterflies into our brand new butterfly garden [also known as Rachel's Garden] located between the main building and E.C. building. Students will participate in a tea party, modeled in the book Matilda. The research homework about The Queen's Tea has helped students prepare for what to wear and expect to eat/drink at this event. We are also asking you to write a letter to your child telling them how proud you are of their amazing growth this year - please send this to school by Thursday, May 2nd in an envelope addressed to me. Please have your child bring in a tea cup/coffee mug from home so we can be Earth friendly and not buy plastic ones.

 

EOG Week Volunteers: Since K-2 will be on lockdown during testing, I am looking for parent volunteers to come into the classroom during our regular essentials times to do activities with the students. These can be musical, kinesthetic, artsy, or just plain fun. Please let me know if you are interested. This will be the week of May 13-17th.  

 

Book Fair: Next week (April 29-May 3). This time it is BUY ONE GET ONE FREE! What an easy way to donate books to our classroom library! :-)

Friend of the Week: Banks McAfee

Click on this link to see the F.O.W. schedule for the entire year: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ai_iR7kLmmMpdGw0RC1hZmlIeWtPWDd3NTE0QmV4SVE#gid=0

 

Reminders/F.Y.I:  

·         P.E. days next week are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 

·         April 26th (tonight): Movie Night - showing Wreck it Ralph

·         April 29-May 3: Book Fair - BOGO

·         May 2nd: Extravaganza @ CIS 5:30-7:30 p.m. All 2nd Grade projects will be displayed in Room 14.

·         May 3rd: Garden Tea Party 10:30-11:30; Early Dismissal @ 12 p.m. 

·         May 6th: Progress Reports available on TeacherEase

·         May 7th: Mandatory Zoo Trip Meeting for all volunteers/chaperones @ 4:15 in Room 14.

·         May 10th: Zoo Field Trip - Students should wear PE uniforms and plenty of sunscreen. Please apply the sunscreen before students come to school. The bus will be leaving the parking lot promptly at 8:30 a.m. and will return around 4:00 p.m. Chaperones are $12 at the gate and you will buy your own lunches when we get there.

·         May 13-17th: Parent Volunteers needed for EOG Week activities (See note above)

·         May 27th: Memorial Day Holiday (No School)

 

Weekly Update - March 15th

Happy Friday! 

Next week we will be working on the following topics: 
ELA: We will continue Journeys working on Lesson 21. In lesson 21 we will review main idea and details and inferring/predicting. We will review adjectives and dictionary entries. Our spelling focus will be on words with er. We are continuing to read Roald Dahl's Matilda...the kids are LOVING it.        

Math: Next week we will resume Saxon focusing on subtracting 10 from a 2-digit number, measuring and drawing line segments to the nearest half inch, adding 2-digit numbers with a sum greater than 100, representing and ordering numbers using base ten blocks.

Science: We will continue our unit on weather. We will focus on clouds and the water cycle. Rocket Ryan is coming again on Friday, March 22nd!!         

Friend of the Week: Siraj Mahmood

Click on this link to see the F.O.W. schedule for the entire year: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ai_iR7kLmmMpdGw0RC1hZmlIeWtPWDd3NTE0QmV4SVE#gid=0

  Reminders/F.Y.I:  

• P.E. days next week are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 
• Wedding - I will be out from March 20-29th for my wedding and honeymoon. Mrs. Bacharach will be my substitute. She knows the ins and outs of how my classroom runs, so I expect it to go very smoothly. If you need to inform her of any thing please send in a hand written note. 
• No Computers/Technology - Teachers will not have computers or internet access the week of March 25-29 and phones may be down. Please be sure to send in a handwritten note if you need to contact administration or teachers. Thank you for understanding. 
• Recycled Art Project - Look for information coming up in an email about a portion of this project your child will need to complete at home and bring to school on March 26th.  
• 2nd Grade Ball - This will be a culminating activity for our unit on Cinderella Around the World. Students are asked to dress in their fanciest clothes. Students may wear their fancy clothes to school all day. This will be from 2-3 p.m. on March 27th. 
• Science Fair - The date has been changed to Thursday, March 28th from 9-11 a.m.
• Fun Run - March 29th...Commitment forms are due Friday, March 22nd. Pledge money is not due until after spring break. 
• Early Dismissal - March 29th. Please pick your child up at 12:00 p.m.
• Spring Break - April 1-5

Weekly Update - March 8th

Happy Friday! 

Next week we will be working on the following topics: 
ELA: We will continue Journeys working on Lesson 20. In lesson 20 we will review comparing and contrasting and clarifying. We will introduce commas in a series and the prefix over-. Our spelling focus will be on words with or and ore. We are continuing to read Roald Dahl's Matilda...the kids are LOVING it.        

Math: Next week we will take a brief break from Saxon to focus on "Gallon Man". During this short unit, students will learn about capacity and volume. Students will learn a song, dance, and create a robot to help them remember how many quarts, pints, and cups are in a gallon.  

Science: We will continue our unit on weather. We will focus on recording wind with anemometers and recording rain with rain gauges.         

Friend of the Week: Bennett Leder

Click on this link to see the F.O.W. schedule for the entire year: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ai_iR7kLmmMpdGw0RC1hZmlIeWtPWDd3NTE0QmV4SVE#gid=0

  Reminders/F.Y.I:  

• Penny War - Today is the last day for the penny war. We should know the results of which class won by the beginning of next week.  
• Field Trip - We are heading to the Children's Theater of Charlotte this Friday, March 15th. We will be leaving school around 10:30 a.m. and returning around 2:30 p.m. Your child should wear his/her CIS DRESS UNIFORM (white polo with logo and navy pants) and pack a lunch as usual. 
• P.E. days next week are Tuesday and Thursday. *The handbook A/B days calendar is wrong starting February 18th. Please check my blog for an accurate schedule of PE days each week.  
• J.A. - A big THANK YOU to Mrs. David (Taylor's mom) for stepping up and volunteering to teach  5 weeks of our Junior Achievement program to the class. She will teach session 2 this Wednesday!
• Wedding - I will be out from March 20-29th for my wedding and honeymoon. Mrs. Bacharach will be my substitute. She knows the ins and outs of how my classroom runs, so I expect it to go very smoothly. 
• Recycled Art Project - A big THANK YOU to Mrs. VanDenBerg (Ella's mom) for stepping up and volunteering to lead our Recycled Art Classroom Contest for Earth Week. Look for information coming up in an email about a portion of this project your child will need to complete at home and bring to school on March 26th.  
• 2nd Grade Ball - This will be a culminating activity for our unit on Cinderella Around the World. Students are asked to dress in their fanciest clothes. Students may wear their fancy clothes to school all day. This will be from 2-3 p.m. on March 27th. 
• Science Fair - The date has been changed to Thursday, March 28th from 9-11 a.m.
• Fun Run - March 29th...This information is coming home TODAY...look for it in your child's folder. 
• Early Dismissal - March 29th. Please pick your child up at 12:00 p.m.

Weekly Update - March 1st

Happy First Friday in March! 
Where has the time gone????

Next week we will be working on the following topics: 
ELA: We will continue Journeys working on Lesson 19. In lesson 19 we will review text and graphic features and questioning. We will introduce synonyms and putting commas in dates and places. Our spelling focus will be on words with ar. We are reading Roald Dahl's Matilda.        

Math: Next week we will continue spiraling through Saxon working on identifying a.m. and p.m., noon and midnight, dozen and half dozen. We will also work on adding three 2 digit numbers and reading a thermometer to the nearest 2 degrees - perfect for our weather unit! 

Science: This past week we focused on the Scientific Method to get students ready for our science fair on March 28th (please note the date change due to the Fun Run on March 29th). Students have learned that Purple Horses Eat Oranges Constantly (P.H.E.O.C.)...otherwise an acronym for the Scientific Method (Problem, Hypothesis, Experiment, Observations, Conclusion). This week we will begin our unit on weather. We will focus on weather and precipitation, storms, go on a weather scavenger hunt, and create manual thermometers.        

Friend of the Week: Grace Hyatt

Click on this link to see the F.O.W. schedule for the entire year: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ai_iR7kLmmMpdGw0RC1hZmlIeWtPWDd3NTE0QmV4SVE#gid=0

  Reminders/F.Y.I:  

• Penny War - We need silver coins or dollar bills for our room and pennies to give to other classes. This competition will go on until March 8th. 
• Reflection Folders come home today - please go over the work with your child. As always, sign your name and send the assessments (in the back/right pocket) back to school on Monday. 
• P.E. days next week are Monday, Wednesday and Friday. *The handbook A/B days calendar is wrong starting February 18th. Please check my blog for an accurate schedule of PE days each week.  

• Silent Auction - CIS will be hosting the Annual Spring Social and Silent Auction THIS Sunday, March 3 from 1:00 pm-5:00 pm. The auction is open to the community. Tickets are 1/$10 or 2/$15. Childcare will be available for a small fee.  
• JA - A big THANK YOU to Mrs. David (Taylor's mom) for stepping up and volunteering to teach  5 weeks of our Junior Achievement program to the class. She will start Tuesday!
• Recycled Art Project - A big THANK YOU to Mrs. VanDenBerg (Ella's mom) for stepping up and volunteering to lead our Recycled Art Classroom Contest for Earth Week. 
• Science Fair - The date has been changed to Thursday, March 28th from 9-11 a.m.
• Fun Run - March 29th...look for more information to come home soon.
• Wedding - I will be out from March 20-29th for my wedding and honeymoon. Mrs. Bacharach will be my substitute. She knows the ins and outs of how my classroom runs, so I expect it to go very smoothly.  

Weekly Update February 21st (a day early)

Happy Thursday! 
Next week we will be working on the following topics: 
ELA: We will continue Journeys working on Lesson 18. In lesson 18 we will review characters and analyzing/evaluating. We will introduce suffixes -y and -ful and the verb be. Our spelling focus will be on long e spelled y and changing y to i. We are reading Roald Dahl's Matilda.        

Math: Next week we will continue spiraling through Saxon working on the addition algorithm, otherwise known as a step-by-step solution to a problem - it's like using a cooking recipe for math (example: one addition algorithm is "add the units (ones), add the tens, and combine the answers), subtracting 1 facts, identifying and creating similar shapes and designs, and creating and reading a Venn Diagram. 

Science: We will switch over from social studies to science starting Monday. We will begin our unit on weather.      

Friend of the Week: Tanner Hodges

Click on this link to see the F.O.W. schedule for the entire year: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ai_iR7kLmmMpdGw0RC1hZmlIeWtPWDd3NTE0QmV4SVE#gid=0

  Reminders/F.Y.I:  

• Penny War - We need silver coins or dollar bills for our room and pennies to give to other classes. This competition will go on until March 8th. 

• P.E. days next week are Tuesday and Thursday. *The handbook A/B days calendar is wrong starting February 18th. Please check my blog for an accurate schedule of PE days each week.

• BOARD of DIRECTORS MEETING - 2nd Grade will be presenting our service project at this month's BoD meeting TONIGHT (Thursday, February 21st) at 6:30 p.m. in room 17-A (located in the main building). Please come support our students!  

• EARLY DISMISSAL - Friday, February 22nd. Please pick your child up at 12:00 noon.  

• Field Trip Permission Slips - All money and forms are due TOMORROW (2/22). 

• Silent Auction - CIS will be hosting the Annual Spring Social and Silent Auction on Sunday, March 3 from 1:00 pm-5:00 pm. Tickets will be sold in the pick up line the week of Feb. 25th. Please ask your friends and family if they would like to attend. The auction is open to the community. Tickets are 1/$10 or 2/$15. Childcare will be available for a small fee.  
• Technology - my school email is working again (frankarts@ciscomets.com) but please note: if you email me and do not hear a response within 24 hours, please try calling me at school or emailing secondgradehotspot@gmail.com. I will go back to using my school email as my primary means of communication (in addition to my blog). 

A/B Day Confusion

Starting President's Day (February 18th) the handbook is wrong concerning A/B days. From here on out, if it says "A" it means "B" and if it says "B" it means "A". This week our PE days are Wednesday and Friday. 

As if the A/B days weren't already difficult enough to keep up with. :)

No Email!

My school email (frankarts@ciscomets.com) is inaccessible. If you need to contact me please call (704-455-3847 ext. 5526) or email secondgradehotspot@gmail.com 

Weekly Update - February 15th

Happy Friday! 
Next week we will be working on the following topics: 
ELA: We will continue Journeys working on Lesson 17. In lesson 17 we will review sequencing and visualizing. We will introduce antonyms and subject-verb agreement. Our spelling focus will be on long i spelled i, igh, ie, and y. We finished Fantastic Mr. Fox and have started to read Roald Dahl's Matilda.        

Math: Next week we will continue spiraling through Saxon working on adding two digit numbers with regrouping (using dimes and pennies) and using the addition algorithm, otherwise known as a step-by-step solution to a problem - it's like using a cooking recipe for math (example: one addition algorithm is "add the units (ones), add the tens, and combine the answers). 

Social Studies: We will continue our unit on economics, focusing specifically on comparing needs and wants now vs. long ago. Students will define technology, participate in a SMART board lesson, and create a compare/contrast visual (flip book, Venn diagram, or double bubble). Students will also review this unit by playing a swat vocabulary game. Thursday we will take our unit assessment.     

Friend of the Week: Ms. Glass

Click on this link to see the F.O.W. schedule for the entire year: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ai_iR7kLmmMpdGw0RC1hZmlIeWtPWDd3NTE0QmV4SVE#gid=0

 Reminders/F.Y.I:  

• Reflection Folders come home today - please go over the work with your child. As always, sign your name and send the assessments (in the back/right pocket) back to school on Monday. 

• Penny War - we are currently fighting for FIRST PLACE in the penny war! We need silver coins or dollar bills for our room and pennies to give to another first grade! This competition will go on until March 8th. 

• P.E. days next week are Wednesday and Friday. 

• Thank you to those of you who completed my second quarter survey. We still didn't have 100% participation, but I figured 88% was the best I'd get this time!  

• BOARD of DIRECTORS MEETING - 2nd Grade will be presenting our service project at this month's BoD meeting on Thursday, February 21st at 6:30 p.m. in room 17-A (located in the main building). Please come support our students!  

• NO SCHOOL - Monday, February 18th in honor of President's Day. 

• EARLY DISMISSAL - Friday, February 22nd. Please pick your child up at 12:00 noon.  

• Field Trip Permission Slips - All money and forms are due no later than February 22nd. 

• Silent Auction - We have only had ONE item donated for our class basket (thanks to Mrs. Hinesley)! Please send in a "spring" item for our class basket by Tuesday, February 19th.  
• Silent Auction - CIS will be hosting the Annual Spring Social and Silent Auction on Sunday, March 3 from 1:00 pm-5:00 pm. Tickets will be available for purchase the week of Feb. 18 and sold in the pick up line the week of Feb. 25. Please ask your friends and family if they would like to attend. The auction is open to the community. Tickets are 1/$10 or 2/$15. Childcare will be available for a small fee.  
• Technology - We were informed during our staff meeting that we have grown too large for our server at school. Teachers computers are starting to “crash” and some cannot log on anymore, therefore emails are inaccessible. As of now, nothing has changed with my computer…but from what I understand it is only a matter of time until mine goes down as well. In this case, if my email is inaccessible, I have created a school email through gmail. To make it easy to remember, it is the same as my blog address – secondgradehotspot@gmail.com. Please do NOT start communicating with me through this email unless my computer crashes (in which case I will send out a mass class email letting you know). I will not begin to check this account or utilize it until necessary. I just wanted to give you a heads up so you could add this address to your email contact list. Sometimes unfamiliar email addresses are sent into junk folders! Thanks for understanding our frustration with technology :-)

Weekly Update - February 8th

Happy 100th Day!! 


PLEASE take a few minutes to fill out my survey for 2nd quarter. It is a quick 10 questions -  comments are appreciated! My goal is 100% participation...we have had 18/24 responses. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WMVCJ75  
Thank you!

Next week we will be working on the following topics: 
ELA: We will continue Journeys working on Lesson 16. In lesson 16 we will review story structure and inferring/predicting. We will introduce pronouns and homographs. Our spelling focus will be on base words and endings -ed and -ing. We have started a new Roald Dahl book, Fantastic Mr. Fox.       

Math: Today we are celebrating the 100th DAY OF SCHOOL! Next week we will continue spiraling through Saxon working on naming a fractional part of a set, subtracting 0 facts, solving problems by drawing a picture and looking for a pattern, identifying and creating congruent shapes.              

Social Studies: We will continue our unit on economics, focusing specifically on trade. Students will define trade, watching a production worker video, check the labels on their clothing and compare the countries they came from. Students will also journal about what it would be like if we couldn't trade. Thursday we will celebrate Valentine's Day by scrapbooking, doing Valentine stations, and Valentine math.    

Friend of the Week: Will Hinesley

Click on this link to see the F.O.W. schedule for the entire year: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ai_iR7kLmmMpdGw0RC1hZmlIeWtPWDd3NTE0QmV4SVE#gid=0

Reminders/F.Y.I:  

• P.E. days next week are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!

• PLEASE take a few minutes to fill out my survey for 2nd quarter. It is a quick 10 questions -  comments are appreciated! My goal is 100% participation...so far we have had 18/24 responses. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WMVCJ75  
• PIZZA LUNCH - Tuesday, February 12th - Caden's birthday is Tuesday and his parents are sending in cheese pizza and ice cream cups for the whole class! Pizza may not be filling enough for some of your children. Please still send a drink, fruit or veggie, and afternoon snack!
• Thursday (February 14^th) - Students will have an opportunity to exchange Valentines toward the end of the day. Please note, students do not have to participate, but if your child decides to participate, there needs to be a Valentine for every child in our classroom. I emailed out a list of student names. 
• Talent Show - Friday, February 15th at Concord Christian Church from 5-8 pm

• NO SCHOOL - Monday, February 18th in honor of President's Day. 
• Field Trip Permission Slips - Look for these to come home Monday, February 11th. All money and forms are due no later than February 22nd. 
• Silent Auction - All basket items (spring theme) are due to the classroom by February 22nd.  

Notes from the Principal: 

Parent Wiki: www.cisparentnotes.wikispaces.com

Weekly Update - February 1st

Happy first day of February! I can't believe it is already the 95th day of school! 
 
Next week we will be working on the following topics: 
ELA: We will continue Journeys working on Lesson 15. In lesson 15 we will review cause and effect, abbreviations, and dictionary entries. Our spelling focus will be on compound words and the schwa vowel sound (When words have two or more syllables and we say one syllable with more stress, the vowel in the quieter syllable sometimes has neither its long nor its short vowel sound). We will continue reading Roald Dahl's The Giraffe and The Pelly and Me.       

Math: We will continue spiraling through Saxon working on drawing a number line, drawing line segments to the nearest inch, locating points on a number line, making polygons on a geoboard, identifying angles of a polygon, adding three or more single-digit numbers, and identifying the associative property of addition. Friday we will celebrate the 100th DAY OF SCHOOL!!             

Social Studies: We will continue our unit on economics, focusing specifically on goods/services and producers/consumers. This week students will define goods/services, make a double bubble comparing goods and services, have pairs of students act out services while the class guesses, bring in their HOMEWORK for our lesson on producers/consumers, define producer/consumer, and sort homework items into products that can be produced, grown, or manufactured.   

Friend of the Week: Asia Greene

Click on this link to see the F.O.W. schedule for the entire year: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ai_iR7kLmmMpdGw0RC1hZmlIeWtPWDd3NTE0QmV4SVE#gid=0

Reminders/F.Y.I:  

• P.E. days next week are Tuesday and Thursday!
• MAP Testing is next week on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. PLEASE make sure your child is here! 
• Report cards go home today, February 1st. Please sign and return them to school Monday. 
• PLEASE take a few minutes to fill out my survey for 2nd quarter. It is a quick 10 questions -  comments are appreciated! My goal is 100% participation...so far we have had 17/24 responses. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WMVCJ75  
• Homework - Wednesday students should bring in ANY item from home that fits in his/her backpack. The goal of this lesson is to sort the items between what can be produced, grown, or manufactured. Therefore, if everyone brings in the same sort of item (a toy, a can of food, etc) it won't be too exciting. Please try to convince your child to bring in something that no one else will think of! This goes along with our lesson on producers and consumers. 
• Reflection Folders come home today - please go over the work with your child. As always, sign your name and send the assessments (in the back/right pocket) back to school on Monday. 
• We filled our marble jar...AGAIN!! Students have voted to bring their favorite toy to school...again! They may bring their favorite toy (that easily fits in their backpack) on Tuesday February 5th. 
• $5 Fee is due to Mrs. Lamm for her Creative Dramatics class starting on Tuesday, January 29th. If you have any questions you can contact her at lammd@ciscomets.com

Notes from the Principal: 

Parent Wiki: www.cisparentnotes.wikispaces.com