Homework

Homework Newsletter

September 4, 2013

Dear Families,

This year, your second grader will be responsible for completing homework assignments. I will be sending monthly homework packets home at the beginning of each month for students to complete. Homework should be worked on throughout the month and returned on the due date stated on the front sheet of the packet.

These homework packets are thoughtfully designed to support the second grade curriculum. Many math assignments connect with the Investigations math program that we are using in class. We will also include assignments that focus on counting skills, telling time, and counting groups of coins.

Students will also be asked to Stop…Drop…& Read for at least 20 minutes for each square on the packet. Students are always encouraged to read for additional times throughout the month. Your child may read silently, read to a peer/sibling, or read to an adult. You may also count time that you read aloud to your child as part of this reading time. We recommend that you stop and discuss the books with your child to check their understanding. Please remind your child to record all of the books for the 20 minute reading squares on their book log.

You are encouraged to help your child with their homework, but please make sure that your son or daughter is the one completing it.

Monthly homework packets offer families flexibility with their planning. Some nights, you may have a sporting event, a dinner with family, or just a regular busy night. These packets are great practice for developing study skills, such as finding a quiet place to work, making time to complete assignments, and checking their work for neatness and accuracy.

Please help your child to complete the packet throughout the entire month and not to rush through assignments. If your child is having difficulty completing any work, please encourage him/her to bring the packet in to us for extra help. We do not generally give out extra homework, but students are welcome to complete and record additional reading or find a project, such as keeping a nature journal, writing about a book they read, or practicing their math facts, which they could share with us or the class if they choose.

If you need assistance in making homework packets work for your family, please let me know and I will do my best to make a plan with you for your child. Thank you for your support as we move forward into a new and exciting year of learning!

Randilee Raynor

Picture Day

This coming Friday, September 6, 2013 is Picture Day at Calais School. Packets will be sent out very soon. 

In a million words or less

I'm so excited to see letters come in from families telling me a little about their awesome second graders. I have read the handful that have been brought to school and find myself smiling as I read. It is so refreshing to hear the input of family members, I can just feel the love for these kiddos in the words written about them! :) thank you families for allowing me to know your kids in a more intimate way. 

-Mrs. Raynor

Welcome Back

School starts in one week! I cannot wait to see everyone and get started :) 

See You All Soon

-Mrs. Raynor

Newsletter

2^nd Grade News

May 13, 2013

Dear Parents,

I hope you had a nice Mother's Day weekend. It looks like we are in for a little cooler, and more seasonable weather this week. It was great to see many of you at the Art Show and Concert last week. The students did a great job with their dancing and xylophone playing. I was really impressed!

Here's what's happening in class...

Math

We are finishing up the 6^th unit and the focus is on place value to 1,000. Students are reading, writing, and comparing 3-digit numbers. They are also writing these numbers in expanded notation

(237=200 +30+7) and adding and subtracting 10 or 100 from a variety of 2 and 3-digit numbers. They will have an assessment at the end of the week.

For math homework this week, students will be bringing home a packet of 200 charts to fill in. We started this work in class, but they need to work on this Monday and Tuesday nights and bring the packet into school each day to use at math time. All the pages need to be completed by Wednesday.

Reading

Students continue to read a variety of books in different groups, but all groups will be focused on naming character traits (like brave, caring, helpful, etc.) and finding details in the story that support their opinion. Students should also be reading each night for homework and recording their reading on the sheet in their book bag. I am encouraging everyone to take a book home, and some say that they are reading a book they have at home.

Writing/Mini Research Project

Last week students chose a science topic to research. Using National Geographic Kid's Explorer magazines and books, each student chose a topic to learn more about, wrote what they think they already know, and then brainstormed 2 – 4 key questions about their topic to research. This week the students will be taking notes, writing their answers, and will hopefully get started on creating a booklet to share their new knowledge. There will be no word study this week because we will be using this time, as well as our writing time to work on this project. Eric, the librarian and tech teacher, is helping us with this project.

Science

During the last couple of weeks our bean plants have been growing and many of them now have flowers! We continue to observe and measure their growth, but have also learned about how plants make their own food through a process called photosynthesis, and have observed and dissected tulip flowers to see how pollination works. I encouraged students to look at all kinds of flowers as they appear this spring and find the different flower parts we saw in class.

I hope you all have a great week!

Sincerely,

Mary Ann Tormey

Observing and dissecting tulip flowers

 Transplanting lettuce plants