Christmas Program

Just a reminder the Christmas program is Tuesday night at Fair Haven Church-7:00 PM. Doors open at 6:30. Please have your child there no later than 6:45 so we can get lined up and ready to go. 2nd and 3rd grade will be meeting in the 400 wing of the church, on the east side of the building. Looking forward to a fantastic program. A lot of hard work has gone into this, and I can't wait to see these kiddos shine! 

November 18: Newsletter

UPCOMING EVENTS:

November 23-35 Thanksgiving Break - NO SCHOOL

November 29 - Christmas Program

READING:

Students have until December 2 to make it to their SRC goal.  That is two short weeks away!  If your child has not passed 8 quizzes at this point continue to encourage them to take more than one quiz a week.  I know all students can get 10 points and accomplish their goal!

WRITING:

We have started a new program in our classroom-Words Their Way.  This is a program for students to learn spelling with word patterns.  We have completed two different sorts in class focusing on short and long vowel sounds.  I strongly encourage having your child practice the word sorts at home.  All sorts will be sent home on Fridays.  Below are some ideas of how to use the sorts at home.  There are some really fun ones that you can do together!  Please look for the word sort bags in your child’s Friday folder this week focusing on the letter a and i.

*Beat the Parent: Parent sorts the words while being timed by their child.  The child then tries to beat the parents time while sorting their words.

*Speed Sort: Student completes the sort while timing himself/herself.  The sort is then repeated to see if he/she can beat his/her previous time.

*Concentration: Students lay word cards face down.  Cards are flipped over two at a time.  The student is to read the words and determine if they belong in the same category.  If the words belong in the same category, the student has found a match and keeps the words.  This continues with students taking turns until all words have been used.

*Students place the words in the appropriate category and spell the words correctly.

MATH:

We have spent a great deal of time practicing 2-digit addition.  Many students have a secure grasp on this concept.  Please encourage your child to use the same strategy at home as they do at school.  Students solve 2-digit addition problems using the strategy Show All Totals or New Groups Below.  Ask your child to explain how they solve a 2-digit addition problem step by step.  We will begin review for our unit 2 math assessment the week after Thanksgiving break.  This assessment will cover 2-digit addition and counting money.  Please look for a review test coming home after break!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I am so thankful for each one of the students in my class and for everything they bring to our classroom.  We all learn so much from each other!  And I am also very thankful for YOU!  Thank you for being such supportive parents and making your child feel completely loved and adored!!!

November 11: Updates

It was so nice to meet with you at Parent Teacher Conferences!  I am so proud of the accomplishments that all of the second graders have made so far this year.  Due to Parent Teacher Conferences there will not be a new newsletter today.  However, I wanted to share a few updates with you about our day and the week to come.

On Monday, we will have time for students to shop at the Scholastic book fair.  If you would like your child to buy a few books, please send in the payment (plus tax) on Monday.  You should see your child's wish list paper to help determine what books you would like to purchase.  This is completely optional; however, there are many great books to choose from!  I couldn't resist buying a few myself!!!

Please check out your child's SRC report.  At this point, students should have six total points.  That means students need to have taken and passed six quizzes.  Please let me know if you have any questions!

Thank you for helping your child participate in Diversity Day today.  We learned so much about one another.  Also, students had the opportunity to taste a LOT of food from around the world.  Here are a few pictures from our celebration!  You will also notice it was Crazy Hair Day, too!

If I were President.....

If I were President of the United States, I would...

watch TV.

declare that nobody would be harmed.

make the world free.

make the world a better place.

have no school or homework.

help families that are poor.

ask people to build homes for people to live in.

make people happy no matter what I do.

make schools have longer recesses.

bring families back together if they are lost.

make big buildings...the biggest buildings ever!

go to different schools in surprise.

make rocket boots.

make jet packs.

answer people's questions.  

Written by your 2nd graders (future Presidents)

We are AWESOME!

November 4: Newsletter

Important Dates: November 4 - Early Release: Dismissal @ 12:15 November 9 & 10 - Parent/Teacher Conferences  November 11 - Crazy Hair Day November 14 - Book Fair Shopping for our class November 23-35 Thanksgiving Break - NO SCHOOL November 29 - Christmas Program Reading: Please keep encouraging your child to read each night and fill out their reading log.  Also, students should be taking an SRC quiz after one book each week.  Students should be around 50% of their goal today.  An updated progress sheet will be given to you at conferences.   Next week we will use the pictures and words in our reading to learn what our characters are like.  One way we will do this is by keeping track of our character's actions, thoughts, and feelings.  Also, we will try to describe a character by naming that character's trait.  We can do this by mixing together all that we have learned about a character through their actions, thoughts, and feelings as they try to get what they want.   Writing: Next week we will begin our next unit of study in writing.  We will continue to write personal narratives; however, now we will be using an author as our mentor.  Next week I will share many books with the students written by Cynthia Rylant.  She has written countless books (including the Henry and Mudge series, The High-Rise Private Eyes series,  Poppleton, and Mr. Putter and Tabby).  I am excited to share her writing with the class.  I know they will enjoy all of her stories and will be able to use some of the same writing strategies that she uses in their own writing.   Math: I am thrilled how well the second graders are understanding the value of two and three digit numbers.  Students are able to write a three digit number FOUR different ways.  Ask your student if they can show you how to write 162 in four different ways.  They should be able to write the number, the number name (we are still working on spelling), a quick draw, and in an expanded form.  Students have a solid understanding of place value.   This will be extremely helpful as we move into 2-digit addition next week.  Students will learn two strategies to use to solve.  A parent letter will be sent home next week explaining the Show All Totals and the New Groups Below methods.  You may recognize the New Groups Below method because it is a lot like the traditional way of carrying.  However, we use different terminology so check out the parent letter for consistency.  Social Studies: As we are studying community, we are learning the importance of diversity.  Diversity is a strength in a community and is something we would like to celebrate.  On Friday November 11, we will be having a DIVERSITY DAY in class.  We will focus on our differences related to our heritage including food, language, religion, and traditions.  Please see the note related to our diversity day in your child's Friday folder.  We are looking forward to learning more about each other!!! Vocabulary Word: Our vocabulary word this week is EXPLAIN. Explain means to clarify, demonstrate, interpret, describe in detail, and define. Other News:  Parent-Teacher conferences are next week. If you have not confirmed your conference time, please be sure to return those slips of paper to school so I know you can make it. Also, please see the list below to verify your conference time. Looking forward to meeting with all of you!  Don't forget to cut off and send in Box Tops! It helps raise money for the school!  PE CARES food drive has started! The class that brings in the most items will win a T-shirt and bowling party! How fun! To ensure a variety of items are sent in, it is suggested for 2nd graders to send in canned fruits and veggies. Anything will be accepted though, so please send it what you can. Thank you!

Parent Teacher Conference Schedule:

Wednesday, November 9:

4:30: Braedon Roose

4:45: Thomas Gunnink

5:15: Mason Herrema

5:30: Ava Patterson

5:45: Ainsley DeBoer

6:00: Charlie Quist

6:15: Jesenia Brouillette

6:30: Zaya Nederveld

6:45: Chester Karasinski

7:00: Ava Geissler

7:15: Mikayla Haight

7:30: Calvin Kasprowicz

Thursday, November 10:

4:30: Luke DeBoer

4:45: Ashley Wayne

5:00: Nora VanEerden

5:15: Abbi Ninan

5:30: Amalia Rivera

5:45: Ellis Neuman

6:00: Elijah TenBrink

6:15: Aiden Conner

6:30: Kaleb Roof

6:45: William Phan

7:00: Autumn Huizinga

7:15: David Amante

7:30: Angela Ragar

7:45: Kylee Troost

8:00 Jamison Sjoerdsma