Week of October 13-17

 Hello Second Grade Families,

Upcoming Events

Friday, October 17: PTO Fall Festival (they still need volunteers or they cannot run the event!)

Monday, October 20: Tentative morning visit to school forest - I am looking for parents or grandparents to chaperone this field trip. If you are interested, reply to this email at your earliest convenience. We can only go if I get enough chaperones! (I have one so far!) Rain date: Tues. Oct. 21. Chaperones do need to have a background check on file - let me know if you need the form.

Saturday, October 25: Color Run!

Friday, October 31: End of Quarter one (and Ms. Fox's last day with us - though she'll just be moving down the hall for her next student teaching placement.)

Friday, October 31: Our Halloween Party - we will start planning our party and activities soon! Students can dress up for this party, though they may not cover their face with a mask while at school or bring any pretend or potential weapons. 

End of October/Early November: BABY ARRIVAL! As most of you know, I am expecting a baby soon. Baby's due date is November 2nd, but I am preparing for an arrival before that, just in case! I will be talking with the students more in the coming weeks about how things will change when I am gone for maternity leave. Mrs. Toepfer is going to be my replacement for the 12 weeks that I am off of work. She will start coming in soon to job shadow and ease her way into our classroom. As we get closer, she'll introduce herself to you!

Tuesday, November 11: Veteran's Day Assembly at 9:30

Wednesday, November 19: PTO Meeting 6:00-7:30 - The PTO would love to have new parents join their team!

Grading: If you have questions about our grading scale in elementary grades, please refer to the school website here for more info!  https://www.princetonschooldistrict.org/district/standard.cfm 

Homework:

Math sheet (every week!)

Read about 10 minutes per night (some students bring home black and white books for this - you decide how to have them use these!)

Check planners.

What are we learning?

Character Strong: RESPONSIBILITY - NEWSLETTER HERE!

Reading/ELA

Module 2: Look Around and Explore! (week 3)

HELLO, FAMILY!

Over the next three weeks, our class will be learning about examining the world around us and about making new discoveries. We will read books about different kinds of matter, explore things that are new and unusual, and even notice things about fine art! Children will also write a descriptive essay about a place they want to visit!

BRING IT HOME! Learning fun for the whole family!

Big Idea Words. Reinforce these important topic words when you are reading or talking with your child: examine, identify, record.

Try to incorporate questions like these into everyday conversations:

·        How could you examine that more closely?

·        What did you identify in that picture/story as being unusual or different?

·        How could you record your ideas about ______________?

Let’s Read Together. Make a special time and place to read with your child every day.

During this module about exploration and discoveries, try these activities during your reading time together:

·        Snap your fingers when a solid, a liquid, or a gas is mentioned in a text.

·        Raise your hand when a character makes a discovery or notices something new.

·        Switch readers when the setting changes.

Word Play. Play with words to help develop skills that are important for reading

        Week 1: Scavenger Hunt Look for words with ck, ng, and ph in books, in magazines, or on signs outside.

        Week 2: Beat the Clock

        Together, make a list of all the words with two or more syllables you can think of in one minute that begin with blends, such as str– and spr–.

Week 3: It's a Contraction

        Search for contractions in a newspaper or online article. Write each contraction and the two words that form it. Say the words. For example, they'll/they will.

Math

As we get to the more challenging story problems this week, we will be using comparison bars to help us compare amounts. Here is a video to help you understand comparison bars! It is different than what we have been doing with our put together and take apart problems, so it can be a bit confusing at first to explain how to solve. This teacher does a good job laying out the different parts of the comparison bar strategy.

Science

Our lesson about Habitat Diversity - how animals use their habitat to survive, and why animals might move from one spot to another - will continue this week.

Guidance

We started Guidance last week with Mr. Stephens. He will come in every other Wednesday afternoon.

Social Studies

This week, we will be able to get back into some Social Studies with a Scholastic News about drones that fight fires. We will also have a visit from our local fire department to focus on fire safety. If you haven't done so recently, here is a checklist to help your family be prepared for a fire:

• Check smoke detectors and change batteries regularly (usually every 6 months or annually)
• Practice a safe plan for exiting the home if there is a fire
• Locate and practice going to a safe meeting location for after individuals escape during a fire in the home

Our field trip to the Library and Folklore Museum downtown last Thursday was OUTSTANDING! Ms. Laura showed us around the library. The museum staff were so knowledgeable and worked well with this energetic class. The kids could learn so much more from future tours, as we only stayed for about 45 minutes. It is free to tour the museum on Saturdays when it is open from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm. I highly recommend a visit for your family! This museum is such a rare opportunity in a small town like ours and deserves to be viewed and experienced by our budding learners! What better way to dive into the concept of history than a museum visit? I believe they close for the season at the end of October, so hurry in for a visit! They will also be open during Trick-or-Treat on Water Street, 10/31.

We took many pictures of our field trip last week (Thanks Ms. Fox and Mrs. Slaughter!) so I created an album this time. Enjoy!

Mrs. Naparalla