Weekly Updates

Stefanich Challenge:

This year, to brighten up the end of February, Mrs Stefanich has brought back her two-week challenge! The whole idea is to Spark Joy throughout our school community. There will be fun activities and some dress up days. Opening Ceremonies will be on Monday and Closing Ceremonies will be a Glow Party on March 6th. We haven't finished designing our flag yet, but will work on it on a little more on Monday.

Here are the dress up days so you have them. Our class theme for Monday will be yellow and blue.

Monday 2/23: Class Theme Dress Up: Yellow & Blue

Wednesday 2/25: Favorite Team/Eagle Gear

Friday 2/27: Red, White and Blue Day

Monday 3/2: Gold, Silver, and Bronze Day

Wednesday 3/4: Dress Like a Teacher Day

Friday 3/6: Neon Day

Reading:

We worked on fluency and then spent a few days reviewing story elements. We will continue that work next week as we read books about our feeling words: irritable and embarrassed.

Writing: 

The second graders made great progress in writing their book reviews. This will be their last grade for opinion writing. All of the second graders' persuasive writing came home in their mail on Friday. Starting next week we will revisit informational writing for a few weeks as we study and write about Hudsonville History.

Social Studies:

This week we started our unit on economics. We talked about wants, needs, scarcity, choice, and opportunity cost. We also learned about human, natural and capital resources and learned how paper, glass, and pencils are made. These are all concepts that come back in future grades, so we are trying to build a basic understanding 

Math:

The second graders took their Unit 5 test on Tuesday, we went over it, and it came home in folders on Friday. Attached to the test are a grade sheet and the two checkpoints from this unit. We finished the week by finishing the last module in Unit 5 which was all about patterns. Next week we will start Unit 6 which is the geometry unit. 

Extra Information:

Feb 27 - Early Release

March 3 & 5 - Parent Teacher Conferences and Spring Book Fair

March 4 - Jet's Pizza Night

March 16 - Hearing Screening for 2nd grade

Weekly Update

We had a great short week! Friday was our day-long Valentine's Day Celebration and it was a big hit. Thanks so much for sending things in to make it a fun and special day for the second graders.

The second graders made gnomes, ate treats, delivered their Valentines and then read the ones they received.

I hope you got a chance to read some of your second grader's cards too. The kids all worked very hard on them!

Reading:

This week in reading we studied dialogue tags. We talked about how important they can be to help a reader understand how a character is speaking and feeling. We also talked about how to use context clues when there aren't dialogue tags. The second graders area really building their fluency and reading with expression!

Math:

Two different strategies,
but they got the same answer!

We have been working hard on counting money and adding and subtracting bigger and bigger numbers. The second graders have some great strategies for adding and subtracting within 100 and are applying them to bigger and bigger numbers. It is exciting to see how they are doing the math in so many different ways. This week we also worked on number lines using numbers up to 1,000! Next week the second graders will take their Unit 5 test. We will also play around with patterns next week before we start Unit 6.

Phonics:

The second graders made commercials for their last assignment for the BLC. They certainly have learned how to build and take apart Bigger, Longer, and more Complex words! Next week we will work on phonics in our reading and writing blocks and use our phonics block for our social studies unit on economics.

An ad for the BLC word construction & 
demolition company about 
vowel teams!

Writing:

We spent the three days last week finishing Valentine cards. Now that Valentine writing is done we will get back to persuasive writing. The second graders will write their last type of review: A book review. 

Extra Information:

We will go to the library on Wednesday this week instead of Monday

February 27- Early Release Day

March 2 & 4- Parent Teacher Conferences

Kids Heart Challenge Update:

We have almost reached our school-wide fundraising goal for the American Heart Association! Our class is in 1st place for the number of students who have signed up, and we are in 3rd place for donations! There are 14 days left to sign up or donate!

Weekly Update

We celebrated our 100th day!

Writing:

Every second grader finished their Valentines this week! They all worked incredibly hard to complete their Valentines, making sure each one included three sentences with correct punctuation. While that may sound simple, it is hard work for second graders!

Thank you so much to those of you who may have helped a little at home. We usually don’t run into this, but with so many snow days, it was a bit more challenging to get everything completed during school time. We truly appreciate your support!

Math:

During number corner we have been studying flags from different countries.  The second graders have been comparing and contrasting the flags and looking for patterns in the colors, stripes, and other elements. We have been also using them to talk about fractions. Each day we will be recording what fraction of the day's flag is red. It has been a fun theme for number corner so far this month.

The second grader have also been working hard on adding and subtracting coins.  A good practice to do at home would be to have your child take some coins, and add them up.  Can your child tell you what each coin is called? 

Phonics:

We finished our Vowel Manuals for the BLC company and sent them in!  The second graders worked hard to describe all the ways that to spell the long vowel sounds. Our next job for BLC is getting our Demolition Certification. We are working to show that we know how to take words apart and figure out Bigger, Longer & More Complex words!

Reading:

We are working on retelling our books.  Have your child tell you what book they are reading at school.

They should tell you the characters, the setting, the problem, and tell you the events in order from the beginning, middle, and end, and then tell you the solution.  If they haven't finished the book yet, then they should "infer" what may happen next by some of the events that are already happening.

Homework:

I hope you had a WONDERFUL Mid-Winter Break with lots of time to read!! Nothing is due for the upcoming short week.

Extra Information:

February 9&10- No school!

February 13- Valentine's Day

February 27- Early Release Day

March 2 & 4- Parent Teacher Conferences

Weekly Update

The second graders filled their two 10-frames for great whole-class behavior! We decided on an extra recess in the island of the bus loop as their reward! We put out cones out and had 20 minutes in the snow all to ourselves. It was so much fun!

 

Writing:

The second graders finished their restaurant reviews on Friday! They are doing a great job of reminding their readers of the main idea all throughout the review. On Monday we will grade those restaurant reviews and start book reviews! 

Phonics:

We have just a few days left before we have to submit our Vowel Manuals to the BLC. We have been working hard on finding all the ways to spell long vowel sounds. We have gathered lots of examples and tips for spelling these trickiest parts of any word. We are hoping to wrap up our vowel manual ideas early next week.

Math:

We have been working hard on learning money! There are some second graders who need to work on identifying coins and their values which is essential to being able to count coins and tell how much money they have. Playing lots of games with coins at workplaces and having a wallet and earning coins is great practice. Counting coins at home is great practice too : )

Reading:

The second graders have been doing such a good job using their coaching skills! We read with Kinder students in Mrs Mika's class this week and coached them as they read to us. They are really learning a lot about reading! Since we have moved from learning to coach to being coaches, the second graders are helping each other with comprehension strategies. Since they are reading longer and more complex books, keeping track of characters and events can be tricky. The second graders have been practicing retelling with their partners and jotting notes to themselves so they don't forget important events.

Homework:

The two-sided math page is due February 6.

Extra Information:

 Report cards and STAR reports came home in mail on Friday. I look forward to going over them with you at Parent-Teacher Conferences in March, but if you have questions or concerns sooner please reach out! PTC scheduling info is coming from the office soon : )

 Feb 4: 100th Day of School

     Feb 9& 10: Mid-Winter Break

     Feb 27: VIP Bowling

 Feb 13: Valentine's Day Celebration

💛💙 Kids Heart Challenge is this month!

If your second grader hasn't signed up yet, here's the link: Kids Heart Challenge

Right now we are the top class for number of students registered, which is pretty cool! It doesn't cost anything to register and it doesn't mean you have to raise any money. It just helps keep track of the official number of participants!

Weekly Update

We had so much fun bowling! A big THANK YOU to the Park Parent's Club for getting us a pizza lunch too! The kids all really had a good time!

Writing:

The second graders turned in their movie reviews this past week! We will score them and start working on a restaurant review next week. The second graders are getting good at writing their opinion and then following it up with details and examples. We have also been working on the main idea of each review - which isn't exactly the same as their topic. The topic might be Culver's, but a main idea would be: Culver's has the best fast food around.

Math:

We have been adding up to 1,000 this week! The second graders are also getting into earning coins and counting their money. They have been asking when they can shop so I think we will try to do that towards the end of this week.

It was hard work counting 1,000 cubes! First we counted ones into 10s, then 10s into 100s, and finally 100s into 1,000!

Social Studies:

We studied the idea of empathy this week. The second graders learned the definition and we learned about seeing things from someone else's perspective. We watched the book Enemy Pie, which is great for perspective taking.

Reading: 

We are still working on being great reading coaches for each other (an ourselves). This week we talked about identifying the characters and their problem right away to help retell the story and stay focused on comprehension.

Phonics:

The second graders got their assignment from BLC to build a vowel manual and they have started. We collected some examples of the ways the long a sound can be spelled and we added some tips to help remember when to use which spelling. Vowels are the trickiest parts of words and the second graders are doing great work breaking down the long vowel spellings.

Homework:

With all of the snow days this week we didn't get much time to work on Valentine cards in class. We were aiming for 10 to be done by last week, but most didn't make that goal simply because we didn't have time time. I usually don't let the kids bring cards home to work on, but you may have noticed your second grader brought a few home. It was completely optional, so if you didn't see any that's ok! We will be hard at work on them this coming week.

Extra Information:

Hot lunch for Monday: Apple Cinnamon Texas Toast or Cheese Pizza

Hot lunch for Tuesday: White choice: Cheese Pizza Bites or Corn Dog

Back to normal for the rest of the week.

Jan 30: Report Cards and STAR reports come home

Feb 4: 100th Day of School

Feb 9-10: Winter Break

Feb 13: Valentine Celebration

There are still a couple things we would love to have for our celebration. If you want to see what's left on the wish list click here: Sign-Up Genius If that is full the second graders always love to decorate their cards with stickers like these from Amazon.

Feb 27: VIP Bowling

February is also the start of the Kids Heart Challenge. The students get a wristband just for signing up and there are instant prizes again this year - which are always a big deal! There was info in the Park Newsletter, but I'm adding it here too : )

Weekly Update

Writing:

We have big two writing projects going right now. As part of our writing curriculum we are writing persuasive reviews. The second graders are writing about a movie they think is worth watching. We have talked about the elements of movies that may persuade people to watch them and the second graders are getting good at using persuasive language. 

The second project we are working on is writing valentine cards. Every day when they finish their morning work the second graders have been writing individualized messages. It can be tricky to come up with three sentences for every person, but the second graders are working hard and making a dent in the number of cards they have left to write. Thank you to everyone who has sent in stickers so far! Decorating won't happen until we are farther along with writing, so it's not too late to send decorations in!

As a class we counted over 2,000
craft sticks!

 

Math:

The second graders finished the Unit 5 Screener this week and while this unit is primarily focused on working with larger numbers there is also a focus on learning coin names and values and working with money. To help the second graders get some authentic practice Mrs Hills and I started a penny economy. Each second grader designed a "wallet" and everyone got one penny, nickel, dime, and quarter. Students have been earning pennies to add to their wallet in many ways including by walking quietly in the hallway, taking care of their boots, and cleaning up after themselves. They have also been losing pennies for interrupting, being off task, or not taking care of materials. Eventually the second graders will be able to "spend" their money on things like rulers, new pencils, stickers, and trinkets. They have already been "buying" a turn at leading our line and using flexible or special seating. If your second grader has a collection of trinkets they want to donate to our store feel free to send it to school! Mr Weber already donated a whole bunch of stuffies for us to "sell"! As a special incentive this week homework that gets turned in on Monday is worth 5¢!

Phonics:

Did your second grader tell you that we were hired? We are BLC's newest Phonics Construction Team. We don't have any assignments from them yet, so we are brushing up on our phonics skills and spelling strategies while we wait. Gus, our class pet, was a little nervous that he wasn't going to be good enough, so the second graders wrote him encouraging notes.

Reading:

As the second graders are giving more and more challenging books a try they may need a little more coaching so that has been our continued focus in reading. Students have been practicing with some sentence stems and reading out loud to each other to get targeted feedback. They are doing a fantastic job coaching each other!

SEL:

We revisited our classroom charter this week and make a few updates. We added to the things we can do to help everyone feel Safe, Happy, and Calm and Relaxed. Everyone agreed those words are still a great focus for our class. This is a great group of kids and they really do make our classroom a safe, happy, and calm learning environment!

Homework:

A double-sided math page went home in Friday's mail. It is due by this coming Friday 1/23.

Extra Information:

We go bowling this Thursday 1-22 from 12-2. We will be having a pizza lunch at the bowling alley so no need to pack a lunch that day!!

Remember you don't have to buy Valentine cards but if you want to send in some stickers of other decorations we would love it! Just make sure your second grader knows what is to share with the class and what is just for their cards.

Mrs Hills made us a Sign-Up Genius for the Valentine's Day celebration we will have on February 13. It's still a little way out, but if you want to sign up the link is right here: Valentine Party Supplies

Thanks in advance!

January Specials