Newsletter

Second Grade News – January 30, 2014

Things to Note:                    

-February Break: 2/24 – 3/4    -FFF Dates: 1/31, 2/7, 2/14    -100^th Day of School: 2/6

Science: Students enjoyed a Hands on Nature lesson about squirrels this week.  Students learned about the different types of squirrels.  They watched a puppet show, compared characteristics of different squirrels, and even were able to examine and hold a squirrel skull! 

Students have been working diligently on their animal reports.  This week we have begun writing our introduction.  Students are trying to “hook” their reader by either asking a thought-provoking question or by sharing an interesting fact.  Dioramas that will accompany this report are well underway.  Students have benefited from bringing what they have learned in our classroom to art class with Mrs. Holmes-Heiss.

Math: Students continue to work on learning both the addition and subtraction facts to fluency, telling time to the nearest 5 minutes, counting coin values, and using efficient subtraction strategies.  New in math is learning the names and attributes of 3D shapes. 

Literacy: Many students have recently joined a new reading group and they are very excited to have new group mates!  Second graders are all developing their skills as readers and have really enjoyed being challenged.  Students seem very eager to get into their new books. 

Students have been focused on learning spelling patterns to make long vowel sounds.  This week we have been studying long u patterns such as oo as in smooth, ui as in fruit, and uCe as in dude.  Second graders are very observant and quickly see how the long u sound can be spelled in many ways.

Other News: This week students joined the rest of the school for a whole school morning meeting where students watched a video about bullying and harassment starring our own k-3 students!  Students continue to be safe, be kind, and work hard to earn coins.  Students will be working very hard to earn as much as they can before break so that they can have an awesome beach day! 

Have a great week! – Mrs. Raynor

Hands on Nature

Learning about squirrels!

Examining skulls

Fun Fitness Friday Finally!!!!

Dear K-6 Calais families,

Good news!  Both Morse Farm and Mad River Glen are snow-covered and open for business, and the temperatures promise to be above zero.  We will venture out on our first Fun Fitness Friday this week on 1/24.

Here are a few program reminders:

·         Label your skis, poles, boots, skates if you are bringing your own equipment

·         Downhill skiers leave CES at 12:00 and return by 5:00pm

·         K-2 fun group & Downhill skiers eat lunch at 11:30

·         Skaters & XC skiers eat lunch at 12:00

·         Eating is not allowed on busses

·         Dress warmly, and see the gear & clothing checklist below:

Gear and Clothing Checklist

Please use this list as a guide when you’re packing for Fun Fitness Fridays. If you need help getting any of the clothing or gear on the list let Liz know ASAP (fffcalais@gmail.com). We want Fun Fitness Fridays to be as fun as possible, and a big part of having fun in winter is staying warm and dry!  Please remember to LABEL all of your gear with your name! Skis might be left behind if they are not labeled.

o  Warm coat

o  Snow pants or snowsuit

o  Mittens or gloves (two pairs are ideal in case one gets wet)

o  Hat

o  Neck warmer or scarf

o  Warm socks

o  Winter boots

o  Long underwear and/or other warm clothing to wear under your outerwear

o  Skates (if you are using your own)

o  Skis (if you are using your own)

o  Ski boots (if you are using your own)

o  Poles (if you’re using them)

o  Helmet (for alpine skiers)

o  Goggles (for alpine skiers)

I have a dream....

A few samples of the 2nd graders dreams! Come visit our classroom to see the rest of their great work! 

Friday fun

The second graders trying out planks with Jamie! 

Making the best of our cancelled Fun Fitness Friday. 

Enjoying the beautiful day .... They worked so hard all week, they deserved a reward! 

shoe boxes

Students will be making dioramas here at school to accompany their animal reports.  If you have a small shoe box you could send in to school that would help us get materials ready for this project!
Thank you

This week’s Fun Fitness Friday scheduled for 1/17 is cancelled. We will have a full day of school.

Please read Friday’s newsletter for updates and information on the remaining weeks of the Fun Fitness Friday program.

 

Second Grade News Jan 8, 2014

Things to Note:

Fun Fitness Friday Dates:  1/17, 1/24, 1/31, 2/17 and 2/14 for a rain date.

No School: 1/20 and 1/21

Math:  Students are diving into subtraction!  All second graders will be working on knowing subtraction facts fluently as well as developing skills to subtract numbers into the double digits.  This week we have been thinking about how addition connects to subtraction and how our knowledge of addition facts will help us learn our subtraction facts.  During our math time we continue to develop our skills around reading and setting clocks as well as our knowledge of coins.  Students are expected to know all coin names and values as well as be able to solve word problems involving dollar bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies using $ and ¢ symbols correctly by the end of second grader.  Please work with your child on counting coins whenever you use them in your life.  Real life situations are the best way for the kids to see the importance of this skill. 

Literacy/Science:     Students have begun a unit on informational writing.  They each have chosen an animal that lives in or near North America that they will research and write a mini report book on.  Students will be asked to write about what they already know (prior knowledge), what they still wonder, and come up with at least two questions they have about their animal.  Students will be learning how to use resources to write their report, will learn how to take a few notes from a resource, and then finally how to take the notes and write their own sentences from them.  Students will be using some of their library time to find resources and will also use some of their technology skills to access World Book to research their animal!  Students seem to be really excited about this project and have even been doing some of their own research at home!  I’m so excited to see what they come up with! 

I will be assessing student’s reading skills for the next few weeks.  The data I gather from this assessment will give me valuable information on what reading skills are still needed for the class as a whole, what skills each individual student needs, and what reading level they should be working within. 

Have a Great Week! –Mrs. Raynor

Research projects and informational writing

Students engaged in taking notes on the animal they chose. 

First FFF Postponed

Our first Fun Fitness Friday scheduled for Friday, January 10^th has been postponed until Friday, January 17^th.

Both Mad River Glen and Morse Farm are closed.