Monday News for May 2nd

Wow!  It is hard to believe that May has arrived!   With the arrival of May, the children will begin practicing and getting ready for the second grade play, Aesop's Fables.  There will be a daytime performance for the younger grades and an evening performance for parents on May 25th @ 6:00pm.  Please be sure to mark your calendars.  The children have been learning songs in Music class that they will be performing in the play.  These songs are very catchy so don't be surprised to hear your child humming and singing these songs.  I know I can't seem to get them out of my head!  This play is perfect for supporting learning goals in both reading and writing.  Currently the children are all reading fables and learning the characteristics of fables so they can eventually create and write their own fable.  The children are learning all kinds of morals which lend themselves to some wonderful conversations at reading group and whole class discussions.

On another note, the children will continue to have word study, however there will no longer be weekly spelling tests.  Instead we are focusing on writing words in dictated sentences and in student writing.

In Science we are studying plants. Last Friday, the children sampled various vegetables and learned about different edible plant parts.  They also planted peas and corn that they will measure and make comparisons on their rate of growth for math.  The children will also be conducting experiments, controlling variables and measuring and recording results.  The garden will be a big focal point of our unit with lots of hands on opportunities.  If you would like to volunteer some time to help with the Hinesburg garden, please let us know.  The success of the school garden depends on many helping hands!

We will begin testing children in reading the second week of May.  This time of year can be challenging for children with many after school activities which translate to later bedtimes.  Children also begin to understand that the school year will be coming to an end and that change is in the air. This can create anxiety in many children. We have found that if you are able to stick to a regular bedtime routine this will help your child have a more successful end to their school year.

As always, please feel free to give a call or e-mail us if you have any questions.  Have a great week ahead!

Seed and Sample Day

Kids played so well together during building time on Friday morning before vacation

Champ came for a visit. Some students gave him such a speedy high-five, I missed it!

Monday News for April 11th

Last week, parent input forms for your child's 2016-2017 placement were sent home. Please take the time to fill out this form and return it by the end of this week. We greatly value your opinions on these forms.

Here is what the week ahead looks like:

Math-We will continue to explore geometry with a focus on area. We will also be focusing on fractions during number corner.

Biographies-Students continue to read biographies with their reading groups. They have also been writing an opinion piece about a person they have read about. In both reading and writing about biographies, students are focusing on character traits and accomplishments. We'll be working with our Flynn teaching artist on a biography about Marcel Marceau, a famous mime, this week.

Blog writing-Students have been writing about what they enjoy about spring on kidblog. Last week, we talked about how to make a valuable comment on someone's post (complement the writer in a specific way, make a connection, add new information, end with a question, proofread your comment). Your child can log into kidblog from our classroom page at home if you would like to see what they have been writing about. We'll continue to work on blogging later this week.

Word study-We'll continue to  review "bossy r" this week. You may notice the list your child brings home has some of the same words as the previous two weeks as well as some new words. We also have some new as well as review trick words.

Science-We'll continue to study matter this week, looking at the properties of solids and liquids.

Jump Rope for Heart is this Wednesday from 2:45-4. Please let us know if your child is participating, and if so, please remember to send in their paperwork.

Also, a reminder that next week, April 18-22 is our spring break. Have a great week ahead and a great week off. As always, let us know if you have any questions.

Weekly News for April 4th

It was a pleasure having time to meet with you over Parent-Teacher Conferences.  Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to meet with us.  It was our pleasure to share with you, your child's progress.  


We have begun a science unit on Matter and the children will be performing investigations about the different properties of solids and liquids.  Please check out some of the photos!

In Math we have begun a new unit on Geometry.Bridges  We have provided a link to the Bridges web site so you are able to read about the goals for this unit.  Please let us know if you have any questions.

In Reading, the children continue to read about Famous Americans.  Groups of 3-4 students have read biographies and completed a graphic organizer about the life and accomplishments of their famous American.  The small groups then worked together to create a poster to share with the rest of the class about their Famous American.  The children have really enjoyed this project!

Along with earning individual stars, the class is able to work towards a reward for working well together.  Recently, the children were able to earn enough letters to spell out "We earned extra recess!" The children voted for another game day.  We have included photos from Friday afternoon.  We love rewarding the class for working well together!

Reminders:  If your child is participating in Jump Rope for Heart, permission slips are due.

Please make sure your child is dressed warmly for these upcoming cold days.  Our playground can get really windy, so the wind chill can make it feel much colder!

Have a great week ahead!

                                       

                                                                                 

    

Weekly News for March 28th

We enjoyed meeting with many of you last week to talk about your child and their accomplishments, and we look forward to more conferences this week. It is amazing to reflect on the growth that has occurred since the beginning of second grade!

On Monday, students will take the spring district writing prompt. This allows us to measure how children have grown as writers since the fall district writing prompt and also allows us to see areas to focus on for the remainder of the school year. Many students have begun reading biographies about important individuals from history. We have been learning about character traits and how we can support our opinions of the person we are reading about with evidence from the text.

Last Wednesday, our class had our first workshop with Tracy Martin, a Flynn performing artist. With her, we created movements for scenes from the book Blizzard, one of the 2015-2016 Red Clover nominees. We then put these movements to music. Thanks to a grant we received, Tracy will be working with us to make "Words Come Alive" on Wednesday afternoons for the remainder of the school year! She will work with us to bring movement to our science and literacy curriculum, enhancing student learning.

In math, we are wrapping up our unit on place value to one thousand that has also focused on money. Students will take the post-assessment for the unit this week. We will then move into a unit on geometry.

Last week, information about the Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser was sent home. This fun event will take place after school on Wednesday, April 13th, ending at 4pm. Let us know if you have any questions about the event.

Have a great week!

Monday News for March 21st

Last Thursday, we saw "The Orchestra Sings" performance at the Flynn. We had been practicing songs for the performance for many weeks, so it was exciting to finally play and sing them with a larger audience and full Orchestra. Your children really enjoyed being part of the show, and we were impressed with their focus when learning the recorders in class.  We worked on a whole class opinion writing piece in which we recommended this field trip to other classes. We focused on elaboration of details of our reasons for the recommendation. The recorder is your child's to keep. A book from the Link Up program was also sent home which includes the songs from the performance as well as tips for singing and playing the recorder.  It is our hope that your child will continue to show interest in music and will possibly consider playing an instrument in the future!  Here is the opinion piece the class wrote together:

Our class got to see a performance at the Flynn theater where we got to be part of the show! We would recommend the orchestra sings field trip to your class too. The first reason is the song Oye. We really liked it because the singing was really good, we got to sing and dance too, and they even had a special dancer in a sparkly dress! The second reason was the song Simple Gifts. This song was really great to sing with the full orchestra and we were able to watch the conductor.  The third reason we recommend the show is that big kids play in the Orchestra. We liked this because we got to see many different instruments and the kids all did a great job. Now you know why we think you should see this performance!

This week we begin parent-teacher conferences. We are looking forward to sharing your child's progress with you! If for some reason, you need to reschedule your child's conference, please feel free to go to the sign-up and pick another time that works for you. We still have other times available. We welcome you to bring your child with you. It is great to have your child as a participant. However, we leave this up to your discretion.

Spelling this week will be review of the suffixes ed, ing and s. Since we have a short week with no school on Friday, we are using this time to reinforce previous skills taught so far. We will review trick words as well.

Just a reminder that all second graders should have mastered their addition and subtraction facts by the end of second grade. Second graders are expected to complete twenty addition and subtraction facts in one minute by the end of second grade. On the nights your child does not have math homework, we recommend these facts be practiced. We have suggestions for how this can be done and will suggest ideas at conferences.


Thank you so much for the wonderful donations to our class basket for the PIE raffle! We hope you can make the Family Dance and Basket Raffle on April 1st! It should be a fun family night out.

Have a great week ahead and we look forward to meeting with you soon!

Weekly News for Monday, March 14th

Last Friday, Miss Vermont Outstanding Teen winner, Sophia Parker, came in to talk about her love of animals, and what she does to help them. She is certified in animal rehabilitation and shared her stories and photos of how she started rescuing animals, and where she is today.  The students sat fully engrossed for an hour.  We wouldn't be surprised if your children end up trying to find an animal to help after listening to Sophia's presentation. 

On Thursday, we'll be taking part in the Vermont Symphony Orchestra performance at the Flynn. The children have been busy preparing by singing and playing the recorders in our classroom and in music class. Please make sure your child's recorder is returned to school on Monday, and that you send in the permission slip if you haven't done so already. It should be a great performance, especially since we will be part of the show! 

If you have not signed up for a conference, please do so at this link. If there is not a time available that works for you, please contact us and we'll figure something out.
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844afad2a1-parentteacher4

This Friday, March 18th, is the last day to contribute to our kitchen gadget basket for the family dance basket raffle on April 1st. If you would like to contribute an item, please sign up at this link and send the item in by Friday. Thanks to all who have already contributed!
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844afad2a1-rainy

This week in reading, we'll continue to focus on character traits. Students have been working to come up with describing words about a character, and then supporting the description with evidence from the text. This work ties to the opinion writing students are doing as well.

In math, we are currently focusing on coin values (pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters), solving story problems and playing games with coins. Reinforcing the coin names and values is something great to do at home as well.

Last Monday, students earned extra recess/sledding. We hope you enjoy the pictures! Have a great week!

Weekly News for March 7th

It's hard to believe that March is upon us!  It also looks like we might be getting some springtime weather later in the week.  With the arrival of spring, we often have wet fields and mud.  Therefore, we'd love it if you can continue to send your children with boots and shoes to change into after recess so we can keep a mud free, dry classroom.  Thank you for your help with this!

Important Reminders:  

Field Trip to the Flynn on March 17th - Please make sure you sign and send in your child's permission slip.

Basket Raffle and Family Dance April 1st-  We appreciate any donations to our Kitchen Gadget Basket.  All donations are due by March 18th.  If you would like to make a donation, please click on the following link http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844afad2a1-rainy.  Money raised from this fundraiser go to classroom teachers to support academic programs.  Thank you in advance for your support!  

Parent-Teacher Conferences - Please be sure to sign-up for a conference time.  Please click on the following link:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844afad2a1-parentteacher4.  If you do not see a date or time that works for you, please contact us and we will try to work something out.  We look forward to sharing your child's progress!

In class we are continuing with our unit on Opinion writing and will be branching out into writing our opinions about the books we are reading.  The children will be writing recommendations about books they have read and backing up their claims with evidence from the text.  Later in the month all second graders will be responding to a writing prompt and will be scored on their writing.  This is a district wide assessment given every year in March to see how students are progressing as writers.

The children continue to work with money and time during Number Corner and are also learning about 3D shapes.  The students are identifying mystery shapes by exploring clues that identify the number of edges, vertices and faces a shape may have.  During our Math lesson, the big focus is on place value and adding and subtracting larger numbers.  I have included the link to the Bridges Support Site for parents.  This web site will help you to support your child at home with their math homework and will give you a better idea of approaches that may be different from the way you were taught math in school.  Please let us know if you have any questions.

Have a wonderful week ahead!