I realize that a lot is asked of families, so please remember that this is completely voluntary. I thought I'd just post this reminder in case it was something that you had wanted to do, but needed some ideas. As always, thanks for ALL you do!!
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Red Sox Basket
Good morning! I hope you all enjoyed the weekend. I wanted to remind you that we are putting together a class basket to be raffled off at the upcoming Family Festival. Our basket theme is Red Sox!! So far we have collected a sweatshirt, 2 hats, and a Red Sox Checkers game. I thought it might be fun to include items such as a cooler or lunchbox, playing cards, or a water bottle in a baseball/Red Sox theme. If you have other ideas, that's great too!
I realize that a lot is asked of families, so please remember that this is completely voluntary. I thought I'd just post this reminder in case it was something that you had wanted to do, but needed some ideas. As always, thanks for ALL you do!!
I realize that a lot is asked of families, so please remember that this is completely voluntary. I thought I'd just post this reminder in case it was something that you had wanted to do, but needed some ideas. As always, thanks for ALL you do!!
Sunday, April 23, 2017
April 23, 2017
Happy Passover, Happy Easter, and Happy April Vacation!!
I hope that you had a fun and restful week. On Monday I got to run in the Boston Marathon. I worked really hard to prepare for the race, and I was very proud to finish. After that I spent the rest of vacation relaxing and spending some extra time playing with my daughters.
Before vacation we were busy in Second Grade. The students finished their poetry notebooks and have started to putting them together. The last two poems we learned were template poems and shape poems. It's amazing to see how creative the kids can be! This coming week we will begin our last Writing Unit which is on Informational Writing. This writing unit includes library research. Your child will have the opportunity to come up with their own "I Wonder" questions that they would like to research in order to learn more about a country from which their ancestors have come from. We will need some parent volunteers to help with the research, so look for a note coming home this week about that.
In Social Studies we finished up our study of Africa by writing poems about African animals. We then traveled to the coldest continent on Earth, Antarctica! The kids enjoyed learning about Antarctica and the fact that the only people who go there are scientists and that nobody actually lives in Antarctica. Next the children will be writing some interesting facts they learned about Antarctica, as well as learning about the loveable... penguins!
In math, we are working on Unit 8 which focuses on Geometry. In the first few lessons, the children have described the attributes of 2-dimensional shapes and have identified shapes that have certain attributes while playing the game Shape Capture. The kids also had a lot of fun using straws and pipe cleaners to build various polygons. This coming week we will continue by looking at 3-dimensional shapes and sorting them according to their attributes.
Thank you for sending in some wonderful games for your child to share during our "Game Day!" The kids had a great time that day learning new games and interacting with one another. I heard some great conversations as kids taught one another how to play a game, negotiated how they were going to decide which friends to play with, and encouraged one another. Here a few photos I captured that day...
I hope that you had a fun and restful week. On Monday I got to run in the Boston Marathon. I worked really hard to prepare for the race, and I was very proud to finish. After that I spent the rest of vacation relaxing and spending some extra time playing with my daughters.
Before vacation we were busy in Second Grade. The students finished their poetry notebooks and have started to putting them together. The last two poems we learned were template poems and shape poems. It's amazing to see how creative the kids can be! This coming week we will begin our last Writing Unit which is on Informational Writing. This writing unit includes library research. Your child will have the opportunity to come up with their own "I Wonder" questions that they would like to research in order to learn more about a country from which their ancestors have come from. We will need some parent volunteers to help with the research, so look for a note coming home this week about that.
In Social Studies we finished up our study of Africa by writing poems about African animals. We then traveled to the coldest continent on Earth, Antarctica! The kids enjoyed learning about Antarctica and the fact that the only people who go there are scientists and that nobody actually lives in Antarctica. Next the children will be writing some interesting facts they learned about Antarctica, as well as learning about the loveable... penguins!
In math, we are working on Unit 8 which focuses on Geometry. In the first few lessons, the children have described the attributes of 2-dimensional shapes and have identified shapes that have certain attributes while playing the game Shape Capture. The kids also had a lot of fun using straws and pipe cleaners to build various polygons. This coming week we will continue by looking at 3-dimensional shapes and sorting them according to their attributes.
Thank you for sending in some wonderful games for your child to share during our "Game Day!" The kids had a great time that day learning new games and interacting with one another. I heard some great conversations as kids taught one another how to play a game, negotiated how they were going to decide which friends to play with, and encouraged one another. Here a few photos I captured that day...
Sunday, April 2, 2017
April 1, 2017
I enjoyed meeting with you all and sharing the progress your child has made in term 2. This truly is a collaborative process, and I really appreciate all your support and time. Although spring conferences are our last formal meeting, please know that you can contact me at any time if you have something you'd like to discuss.
We had so much fun performing for you last Friday in our "Colors" show. We were amazed at how many songs, dances, and lines the kids memorized. It's always great watching these shows coming together, and it meant a lot to your children that you could attend to witness how all their hard work paid off.
In Social Studies we continued our study of Europe by focusing in on the country of Italy. The students learned a little bit about what life is like in this country. We also found out many interesting facts about some famous landmarks, such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Colosseum, and the Gondolas of Venice. After finishing up our Europe study by watching a short video, we then took our next journey to Africa. We began discussing where this continent is found in the world, as well as how the weather and land affect the daily life of the people and animals that live in Africa. We will continue to study Africa for at least another week.
Math over the past 2 weeks looked at measuring and collecting data (Arm Spans and How Far We Can Jump!) and representing that data on a line plot. We then used the data to answer various questions. The children also explored both Metric and US Customary units of measure, as well as shapes and their attributes. We finished up Unit 7 on Friday with a brief assessment of what was learned in the unit. We will be sending this home early in the week for you to take a look at.
The children are doing great with the poetry unit. They have already written a couplet, as well as 2 form poems ("I Like" and "I Meant To"). They are doing rough drafts and final copies of each to be included in their Poetry Notebooks. They will be excited to share their completed notebooks with you soon!
On Friday 2nd Grade had a chance to tell the rest of the school about our next compassion project, which is a Pet Drive. Over the next 2 weeks our school will be collecting items for the Lowell Humane Society. Look for a notice in your child's folder about how you can help.
Let's hope the Spring weather is right around the corner!!! Here is a look at some important dates to be aware of:
April 5th: Early Release Professional Development
April 14th: School Spirit Day- Beach Day
April 14th: Early Release
April 17th-21st: Spring Break: No School
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