It’s hard to believe it is already November! I truly enjoyed meeting with each of you last week for parent-teacher conferences. Setting goals early in the year and making sure we are all on the same page in terms of expectations is so important – thank you for your time. Almost every conference included a discussion about social issues as it related to your particular student. All parents want their kids to have friends and be able to negotiate the social landscape at school and beyond. Second grade is a great time for students to branch out and meet new friends. Please know that helping students develop good social skills is an important part of what we do in class. However, experience has also shown me that what can be a friend “crisis” one day, is often quickly forgotten the next – in fact, many times a social issue at morning recess has already disappeared by lunch recess! Don’t hesitate to contact me if there are persistent issues or problems I should be aware of.
Looking ahead, there will be some slight changes in homework as we move forward in the year. In the next few weeks look for a weekly math page that will provide extra practice in the area of open-response and explaining mathematical reasoning. These are important skills that many of us discussed at conferences. Also, I will provide an optional literacy based project each week, as well, as part of the homework. Look for more information to come.
On Wednesday, November 18th we will be having a student-only writing celebration. We will be celebrating the completion of our “How to Make . . .” books. Many students have expressed an interest in bringing in samples of what their book describes how to make. This is completely optional, but my only request is that if it is a food sample enough should be brought to share with all students in the class. Talk to your student about what they are writing and see me if there are specific concerns, questions or issues. Thanks for supporting the students’ enthusiasm for this project! Be sure to ask them about the PB & J sandwich I made when I introduced this writing unit.
Finally, thanks to all my regular volunteers and field trip drivers – you REALLY make my job much easier and allow me to concentrate on important instructional objectives. Additionally, we were so lucky to have Aruna Bhamidipati, Asmite Runge and Shailee Kulkarni come into the classroom in October for a wonderful presentation about the celebration of Diwali. I learned A LOT! And, we made beautiful Rangoli designs (on display high above the SMART Board if you would like to check them out). We even used the concept of the Rangoli designs the next day in Interactive Math by working with pattern blocks to create symmetrical designs. It is absolutely wonderful for both the students and me when parents and families can come into the classroom to share special traditions and cultural events. Please let me know if you have a special talent or tradition you would like to share.
Upcoming Calendar:
11/11 No School (Veterans’ Day)
11/13 Field Trip to Lively Arts Puppet Show at Stanford University
11/25-27 No School (Thanksgiving Break)Dear Parents:
The students are all working very hard so far in second grade. We are really looking forward to our writing celebration this Wednesday, October 14th at 8:25 a.m. You will get a chance to see some of your student’s writing so far this year, as well as learn a little bit about the Writer’s Workshop format. Hope to see you there! Also, you may have heard about a new helper we have in our room – Jeff. Jeff is with us as a full-time classroom aide until the end of October. He is WONDERFUL with the students and his help has been invaluable to me. I am already sad that he won’t be with us for longer! Please take a moment to introduce yourself to him if you are in the classroom. I do have one additional training day out of the classroom this month, as well as a day set aside for parent conferences. Attached to this newsletter there is a conference sign-up sheet. Please return it ASAP, but no later than Friday, October 16th. As for training days out of the classroom, I do try to minimize them as much as possible. However, I am the primary math lead teacher for El Carmelo and a reading intervention teacher in the Reading Academy program, both of which necessitate that I be out periodically. I do not consider my days out the classroom to be days of “busy work” for the students. My substitute teachers are chosen carefully and always continue with my regular classroom program as much as possible.
Check out some of the classroom highlights from the past few weeks:
** In math we are working on strategies for solving basic addition and subtraction facts, as well as using those facts for working with “Number Story” problems (what used to be called “word problems”). And, concepts of time, money and patterning run throughout our curriculum and are continually being reinforced. In addition, we have begun “Interactive Math Fridays” – much like Math Lab in the past – which features time for more game playing and projects associated with our math program. And, the center-based nature of this Friday math time also allows me to work to re-teach, assess and extend math concepts from the week with small groups of students. Thank you so much to our parent volunteers who are helping with this program!
** In Literacy we have focused on choosing “Just Right Books.” That is to say, books at the correct INDEPENDENT reading level for each student. There is nothing more frustrating for readers at this stage (and teachers!) than when students try to read books that are too hard for them. A Just Right Book has the following characteristics (and your student should be able to tell you these). (1) It is something the student is interested in reading, (2) It is a book in which the student can read (de-code) MOST of the words. (3) Most importantly, the student needs to be able to understand and talk about what is happening in the text. Reading the words on a page is DE-CODING, understanding the words on a page is READING! At this point almost all students have had an individual conference with me to discuss their selection of Just Right Books. We are now moving into using reading strategies to better improve comprehension, help with word-solving and increase students ability to talk about texts in a meaningful way.
** We finished our first science unit, Balance and Motion, and the students will now be moving to Mrs. Dosskey’s room for the 5-week science unit, Rocks and Pebbles, while I teach Balance and Motion to Mrs. Lemoine’s class. The final rotation will be to Mrs. Lemoine’s class for Insects and Plants. But don’t worry science doesn’t end at the Winter Break. Beginning in January we have classroom visits from the Junior Museum to reinforce the concepts from our studies this Fall, and the Spring is full of science-related activities like Earth Day and butterflies.
Of course, I could go on and on about everything else we are busy working on, but your best bet is to ask your student or stop by sometime and check things out for yourself! As a reminder, beginning this week I will be teaching the Reading Academy program after school on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so those days will be difficult for me to have an impromptu chat. Please always feel free to make an appointment if there is something you would like to discuss. It is possible to meet later after school, or during the school day at lunch, or during the times when the students are at PE/Music and library.
Thanks for all your support of what is happening in the classroom.
Upcoming Calendar:
10/14 Writing Celebration @ 8:25 a.m.
10/16 Field Trip to Cantor Art Museum at Stanford University
10/20 Mrs. Kinnaman out at 2nd grade math training
10/29-30 Parent Conferences (10/29 full-day, 10/30 after school)
10/30 Halloween celebration at school (more information to come!)
Dear Parents:
It has been a very busy three weeks already in Room 9! These first few weeks lay an important foundation for the rest of the year as the students learn important classroom routines and procedures, understand my expectation level in terms of their work and focus, and get to know their fellow classmates. Some of the activities so far:
o Learning all about our morning work and morning meeting routine – including the job of the “Super Students,” the Pledge of Allegiance, morning exercise, and morning journal writing.
o Practicing our basic math lesson format – warm-up, math message, lesson instruction, on-going practice and learning, and wrap-up and self-assessment of progress.
o Beginning writer’s workshop with a lesson about “tiny moments”
o Using the listening center as a group
o Introduction to the laptops – the students now know how to get a machine off the cart and safely to their desk, turn it on, sign-in to second grade, where our class folder is located, how to get on the internet and find my class page, and login to everydaymathonline.com to play math games.
o Science lessons about balance and motion, including balancing a trick crayfish and other shapes using counterweight and investigating spinning tops and “zoomers.”
In addition, I have completed almost all of my required beginning-of-the-year assessments and I have transitioned into utilizing that information to set specific goals for each students, as well as whole class goals. Next week we will continue to move toward a more “normal” schedule.
If you have not yet done so, please get me your student information form and field trip permission slips as soon as possible. I was also able to schedule an additional field trip to a Lively Arts puppet show performance at Stanford University in November. I will send home more information and a field trip permission slip for that event in the near future.
Upcoming Events:
o Monday, September 14: Homework “officially” starts for Room 9. Look for your child’s homework folder to come home each day (Monday-Thursday). You need to initial the homework journal each evening to be sure that you saw the assignments for that day. The homework is checked in EACH day – help your child build the skills to get it back and forth on their OWN!
o Tuesday, September 15: 2nd Grade picnic at El Carmelo (5 p.m.)
o Tuesday and Wednesday, September 15-16: I will be attending a reading intervention training at the district office, Mrs. Ersted will be the sub for that day
o Thursday, September 17: Photo Day – you should receive a flyer in the Friday folder with more information
o Thursday, September 24: Soule Shoppe Assembly for all grades at El Carmelo
o Friday, September 25: NO SCHOOL (Professional Development)
o Monday, September 28: NO SCHOOL (Local Holiday)