Merry Christmas!

The joy in our classroom this week was contagious and overflowing! Christmas is such a special time of year to celebrate with young children.  

Thank you to Lindsay Tuttle for organizing a great party!  Also, thank you to all of the parents that helped out at the party, donated items, or joined us for the fun.  We appreciate all of your time and contributions.

We had a many delicious snacks!

We made an adorable Christmas ornament.

We also played a FUN game with great prizes!!!!

Thank you for all of the wonderful Christmas presents.  I am very blessed (and spoiled)!  It has been so much fun celebrating the Christmas season with your child. 

Have a great Christmas break and a Happy New Year!

See you in 2018!!!

Merry Christmas from the MERRIEST 2nd Graders!!! 

December 15: Newsletter

IMPORTANT DATES:

December 21: Classroom Christmas Party 9:30-10:30

We hope you can join us for the party!

December 23-January 7: Christmas Break

January 8: Classes Resume

January 12: Early Release (wear "Be Awesome" shirt)

Spirit Week is coming!  Check out our fun days coming next week!!!

This Christmas, our class will be exchanging gifts between boys and girls.  We would like to do a book exchange!  We are asking that each child buys a book that is age appropriate and does not cost more than $5.00.  Boys will buy a book for a boy and girls will buy a book for a girl.  The afternoon of our Christmas party day (Thursday, Dec. 21), we will play a fun game and exchange our books.  Please have the wrapped book, along with a tag for boy or girl, to school by Wednesday, December 20.  If the cost of buying a book for this exchange is a problem, please let us know and we will take care of it for you.  Thanks and we look forward to some fun reading!

Please make sure your child has appropriate winter gear for outdoor recess. (Hats, gloves, snow pants, coats, boots, etc.) Also... please be sure your child either has a pair of shoes at school, or brings a pair each day. Wet boots and our tile floor don't mix well. It gets really slippery. 

READING:

Please continue to sign and fill out your child's Weekly Reading Logs.  This is a quick and easy way for me to hold students account to their reading homework.  Thank you!
Next week we will wrap up our study on informational texts.  We will focus on how great readers stop to ask questions while reading as well as jot down new findings.

WRITING:

Next week we will finish writing our informational books.  We have been working on writing a main idea sentence, interesting facts, transition words, and a wrap up ending.  

MATH:

Next week we will take two days to review for our upcoming math assessment.  Students will take the Unit 2 math assessment on Wednesday, December 20.  The assessment will cover place value, comparing numbers, skip counting by 5, money (dimes, nickels, and pennies), and 2-digit addition.  Please look for a review coming home next week Tuesday.  This review test will be very similar to the actual test and would be very helpful to look over with your child. 

SOCIAL STUDIES:

We will continue to learn about the characteristics of a community next week.  We will focus on local governments.  In fact, we will even have a visit from the mayor of Hudsonville!  You will have to ask your child what they learned about government from our very own mayor.  :)

GROWTH MINDSET:

Questions to develop a growth mindset in children...

What did you do today that made you think hard?

What happened today that made you keep on going?

What mistake did you make that taught you something?

These can make for great conversations around the dinner table!

December 1: Newsletter

IMPORTANT DATES:

December 21: Classroom Christmas Party 9:30-10:30

December 23-January 7: Christmas Break

January 8: Classes Resume

January 12: Early Release (wear "Be Awesome" shirt)

The 2nd graders did a FABULOUS job at the Christmas program this week.  They all looked so fancy and sang beautifully.  My face hurt by the end of the night from smiling so much...beaming with pride!

Please don't miss the two papers in your child's Friday folder regarding our upcoming gift exchange between students.  One paper explains the gift exchange in full detail and the other paper is connected to a couple Scholastic book orders.  I will place the book orders on Friday, December 8 that way the books will arrive in time for Christmas.  There are many great books in these orders for 2nd graders.  Please let me know if you are ordering any as gifts and need them to be hidden from your child.  Also, I ordered a book for all of the 2nd graders.  Please avoid purchasing Olive the Other Reindeer.  Your child will be receiving it very soon!  

READING:

Continue to sign and fill out your child's Weekly Reading Logs.  This is a quick and easy way to hold students account to their reading homework.  Thank you!
Students are very excited to read informational books.  They are learning new facts while reading everyday.  Next week we will focus on fluently reading our informational books with a teaching voice.  We will also begin to identify text features.  Our goal is to be able to name various text features and tell how they help us learn.  We will look for the table of contents, headings, photographs, captions, labels, and many others.  

WRITING:

You may have noticed that we are starting to edit our Weekend Reports.  The blue marks on the writing shows students areas to correct punctuation, capitalization, or spelling.  Students will fix their mechanical errors before it comes home.  The hope is that students will begin to have less and less errors to correct as the year goes on.  I have also noticed that many students are using dialogue in their Weekend Reports.  I love how the ideas from our writing lessons are spilling over to all of their writing.  Their reports are always a highlight of my week when I get the chance to read them.

MATH:

We have had a big week in regards to our math instruction.  Students are learning how to add two-digit numbers.  First, we explored ways to add by relaying on a math drawing.  We then tried to connect that thinking to a step by step strategy to increase our accuracy and efficiency.  The two strategies that we will work on this year in second grade are called Show All Totals and New Groups Below.  You will find a friendly letter in your child's Friday folder explaining each method.  The New Groups Below is very similar to the traditional strategy of "carrying".  However, when we "carry" the ten over we now call it a NEW TEN.  If your child masters this method, they can even put the new ten above like the traditional method rather than below.  In class, we have discovered that this is a journey.  We have not mastered this concept YET, but we will continue to work through it until we understand each step along the way.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

On Friday, December 8 we will have Diversity Day in our classroom.  As we learn about community, we have found out that there are seven characteristics of communities.  The characteristics of a community are natural characteristics, businesses, places to have fun, buildings, transportation, government, and DIVERSITY.  To help students understand this concept, we will spend part of our day next Friday celebrating the diversity in our classroom.  Please look for the Diversity Day paper in your child's Friday folder.  It is our goal for all students to fill out this paper to get to know more about their own heritage and share their diversity with the class.  If you would like to go beyond this paper and send in pictures, food, or props that would be great, but that is completely OPTIONAL.  Please let me know if you have any questions regarding this day.

GROWTH MINDSET:

A growth mindset pledge:

Every day I will try my best.  I will not quit.  I will not rest.  Until my brain has grown a bit.  And I have learned how to do it.  If I fail I will be ok, I will just try a different way.  I will say I just can't do it yet because I have a GROWTH MINDSET!

I am thankful for...YOU!

I can't believe it is already Thanksgiving week!  I am feeling so very thankful for my students this year.  They are a group of kind-hearted, positive, and loving kids.  I am also thankful for all of you, and everything that you do at home to support what we're doing at school.
Happy Thanksgiving and have a great, long weekend with family and friends.  

Bauer's Giving Tree

THE GIVING TREE

Share the joy of the true meaning of the Holidays by participating in The Giving Tree for Bauer Elementary families in need.  Families receiving gifts will remain completely anonymous!

Beginning on Monday, November 27^th, you may select an ornament which will include a gift wish from The Giving Tree.  You will then wrap your gift(s) with the ornament securely attached to the outside of the package. Please bring your wrapped gift(s) to the office by Friday, December 15^th.

• The Giving Tree with ornament gift tags is located in the main hallway just outside the Office. Please let Mrs. Opple know the number on the tag that your are shopping for.
• Ornaments are labeled with wish gifts.
• Please attach ornament gift tag to the wrapped gift.
• Please bring your wrapped gift(s) to the Office at Bauer by Friday, December 15^th.

If you have any questions or would like a tag sent home with your student, please contact Mrs. Opple at 616-669-6824 or kopple@hpseagles.net.

Thank you for your support!

November 17: Newsletter

IMPORTANT DATES:

November 22-24: No School - Thanksgiving Break 
November 28:  Christmas Program @ Fair Haven 7pm
December 1:  Early Release (Wear Bauer Shirt)

It was so nice meeting with you at Parent Teacher Conferences the last few weeks.   Thank you for making the time to meet with me.  I am truly blessed to work with your children and have your support from home as well.  

READING:

Continue to sign and fill out your child's Weekly Reading Logs.  This is a quick and easy way to hold students account to their reading homework.  Thank you!
After Thanksgiving break, we will begin a new reading unit based on informational texts.  This unit will have students read many different examples of nonfiction texts.  They will work to learn the main idea, key vocabulary, and supporting details from those texts as well as identify text features within the text.  Students will be reading high interest texts about some of their favorite topics.  

WRITING:

In the weeks to come, we will transition to writing informational pieces.  The goal is for students to give readers information about a certain topic.  I am encouraging students to choose topics that they are already familiar with (baseball, dogs, space, etc.) so that they do not need to depend on their research in order to complete their writing.  It might be helpful for you to brainstorm a list of topics with your child at home to prepare for our upcoming writing unit.  Also, if your child has an informational book on a topic of their choice, they may bring it to school to use a resource while writing.  

MATH:

Next week we will continue with Unit 2: Addition with 20.  We will focus on comparing numbers within 200.  We will use the words... is greater than, is less than, and is equal to.  We will then explore 2-digit addition.  We will look at different methods to add 2-digit numbers that involve making a new ten or hundred.     

GROWTH MINDSET:

Encouraging words to use with your child at home...
"Don't give up until you are proud!"

Have a great weekend and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

November 3: Newsletter

IMPORTANT DATES:

November 8 & 14: Parent-Teacher Conferences
November 15: PE CARES Food Drive Ends

November 17: Hat Day/Popcorn Day

November 22-24: No School-Thanksgiving Break

November 28: Christmas Program at Fair Haven Church

This year's PE CARES food drive begins now and will run through November 15.  All items will be donated to Hand 2 Hand through Kid's Hope, HQ-Homeless Youth Drop-In Shelter and local families in need.  The class that brings in the highest number of items will win a PE CARES t-shirt and a bowling field trip to Hudsonville Lanes.  Thank you for your help and support in this community service project, and for taking this opportunity to teach our kids compassion and love for others.  Please see the note in your child's Friday folder for suggested items to donate.  

Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held Wednesday, Nov. 8 and Tuesday, Nov. 14.  Below is our scheduled list of conferences:

       
Wednesday, November 8

4:30  Angelia Trujillo

4:45  Zach Langeland

5:00 Trevor Lalley

5:15  Adde Ulberg

5:30 Mallory Kornoelje

5:45 Jillian Kornoelje

6:00 Nate Stanley

6:15 Ana Sanders

6:30 Mitch Behler

6:45 Austin Taylor

7:15  Jillian Tuttle

Tuesday, November 14

4:30 Peyton Ward

4:45 Skyler Gromko

5:00 Lucas Acevedo

5:15  Weston Oosterhouse

5:30 Brayden McCarty

5:45 Isabella Jaroh

6:00 Braylan King

6:15 Jager Nienhuis

6:30 Brady Steigenga

6:45 Liam Kooiker

7:00 Noah Mol

7:15  Nathan Lee

MATH:

Students had their first math test last week. I will be saving those tests and giving them to you at conference next week.  Our next unit begins with practice with place value.  Students will learn how to represent numbers to 200 using drawings and in an expanded form.   We will also continue to practice word problems with addition and subtraction within 20.  Please continue to practice facts at home with your child. 

GROWTH MINDSET:

Don't judge me about my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again!

-Nelson Mandela

October 27: Newsletter

IMPORTANT DATES:

October 31: Classroom Halloween Party 9:30-10:30

November 3: Early Release/Dismissal at 12:15

November 8 & 14: Parent-Teacher Conferences

November 28: Christmas Program

Halloween is right around the corner!   Our Halloween party will be on Tuesday, October 31 from 9:30-10:30.  All parents are welcome to join us for the fun!  Students may wear their costumes to school or change right before the party.  Please make sure all students have a change of clothes.  We will be costume free after our party. 

Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held Wednesday, Nov. 8 and Tuesday, Nov. 14.  Please send back your confirmation paper by Monday if you haven't done so already.  

READING:

October Book-It forms are due next week.  If you would like your child to participate, please sign the calendar and return it to school.  I will then send the calendar back home with a Pizza Hut certificate for a free personal pan pizza for your child.  The coupon is good for pick up only and the child must be present, as well as one coupon per child a day.  Happy reading!

Next week we will learn that readers try to describe a character by naming that character's traits.  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.  We will learn that readers don't just make guesses about a character's traits.  Instead, we name specific examples from the story to prove that the character is a certain way.  We will look for information about what kind of person a character is as we read, looking for places in the text that show off that information.  

WRITING:

This week students drafted the first page of their personal narratives.  They thoughtfully wrote a catchy lead to grab the reader's attention.  Next week we will develop the middle of our narratives by intentionally adding in the character's feelings, thoughts, and dialogue.   

MATH:

Next week we will take two days to review for our first math assessment.  This assessment will cover addition and subtraction within 20 and a variety of word problems.  We will plan to take the official assessment on Thursday.  Please look for a review coming home at the beginning of next week.  It will be helpful to look over the review with your child at home before the assessment in class.  

GROWTH MINDSET:

Next week we will begin to spend time self reflecting on our growth as mathematicians.  Students will share their new learning or thinking each day.  We will use the ideas below to guide our reflections...
*Describe a new strategy you learned.
*Tell a math word you learned and what it means.
*Describe a mistake you made and what you learned from it.
*Explain how you challenged yourself today.
*Tell about something you noticed today and how it helped you solve a math problem.  

October 20: Newsletter

IMPORTANT DATES:

October 24: Holiday Posters Due

October 26: Picture Retake Day and BPC Skating Party 

Time: 6-8pm

Cost: $5 admission, $1 skate rental 

Location: Tarry Hall Roller Rin

 3330 Fairlanes Ave 

Grandville, MI 49418

October 31: Classroom Halloween Party 9:30-10:30

November 3: Early Release/Dismissal at 12:15

November 8 & 14: Parent-Teacher Conferences

November 28: Christmas Program

Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held Wednesday, Nov. 8 and Tuesday, Nov. 14. We are just about finished getting everyone schedule.  A form will come home on Monday letting you know your time and day! 

READING:
I am still looking for TWO  parent volunteers to help out in the classroom once a week to work directly with our 2nd graders.   I am hoping to have a volunteer help students with their reading fluency and math facts on Monday and/or Wednesday morning (9:00-9:40).  Please let me know if you are interested!  A brief job description is posted below.  

Reading:  You will be working with students one-on-one as they read 12 different sentences.  These sentences are called "fluency strips".  The purpose of these sentences is to help build up blending skills with simple 3-4 letter words as well as high frequency words.  In addition to this, the sentences are short and easily decodable to support fluency practice.  
Math:  You will be working with students one-on-one as they practice an individualized list of addition and subtraction facts.  The purpose of these facts is NOT to have students simply memorize the facts but to strengthen their number sense and provide strategies for solving each fact efficiently.  

Our main focus as readers this week was to learn more about the characters.  We read to determine what the character really wanted or needed.  We then made predictions about what the character would do to solve the problem.  Second graders learned that we can grow as readers when we confirm and even change our predictions.  Next week we will pay close attention to how the characters act and feel.  We will better understand the book when we can understand what the character is going through. 

WRITING:

We began to plan our first personal narrative story in this unit as we study authors as mentors.  As writers, we know it is very helpful to plan our stories in MANY ways before writing.  We compared the processes of planning our stories to the practice we do in a sport before the big game.  In second grade, we are learning to plan our stories by...

playing the small moment in our minds like a movie

planning it across our fingers (making sure it has a beginning, middle, and end)

talking it out with a parnter

sketching it across five pages

tracing the lines while thinking of the exact words that will go on each page.

Next week we will take our thought out plans and begin drafting our personal narratives.  

MATH:

We will continue to work through word problems next week.  We will focus on how to think like mathematicians to solve comparison word problems as well as 2-step word problems.  Comparison word problems and 2-step word problems are the most challenging word problems we will face all year.  We are learning that it is so important to give help to others when needed and ask for help when needed.  The more we can talk through these problems with each other to fully understand them the more likely we are to solve them accurately and efficiently.  

GROWTH MINDSET:

I can CHANGE my MINDSET with my WORDS!

Instead of-I am not good at this.   I can say-I am not good at this YET, but I will learn!

Instead of-I am great at this.          I can say-I practiced and learned how to do this.

Instead of-This is too hard.             I can say-This will require a bit more time and effort.

Instead of-This is too easy.              I can say-How can I make this more challenging?

Instead of-I am afraid I will make a mistake.

I can say-When I make a mistake, I will learn from it and get better!!! 

A special THANK YOU to the Parent Club for the ice cream party on Friday!  We enjoyed every bite!!!  Also, a huge THANK YOU to you for helping your child raise money for the Walk-a-thon.   Our class was in second place for raising the most amount of money.  What a better way to celebrate than with ICE CREAM!!!

October 13: Newsletter

IMPORTANT DATES:

October 17: Marco's Pizza Night (Don't forget to mention Bauer when ordering.)

October 20: Scholastic Book Order Due (see details below)

October 26: Picture Retake Day/BPC Skating Party 

October 31: Classroom Halloween Party 9:30-10:30

Today you will find a holiday poster in your child's Friday folder.  This is an optional project!  If your child is interested in participating in the Hudsonville Holiday Coloring Contest, they will need to turn the poster back into school by October 24.   All submitted artwork will be displayed throughout town, and the winners from each grade will be displayed at City Hall, receive a special prize bag, and get to ride on the Holiday Trolley in the parade.  Happy decorating!!!

READING:
Just a friendly reminder that the Scholastic book order is due by Friday, October 20.  To order online, use the code HM67V.   Thanks!

I am looking for a handful of parent volunteers to help out in the classroom once a week to work directly with our 2nd graders.   I am hoping to have one parent each morning to work with students on their reading fluency as well as build upon their addition and subtraction fact fluency.   It would work great to have your help from 9:00-9:40.  If this sounds appealing and works for your schedule, please let me know what day works best for you. Also, you will need a cleared background check before volunteering in the classroom.  This is district requirement.  Feel free to contact the office with any questions about starting this process if you haven't done so already.  Thanks!  I am excited to get started and greatly appreciate your help!!! 
I already have a volunteer for Tuesday and Thursday.  I would love your help for Monday, Wednesday, or Friday.  Please see the job description below for more details.

WRITING:

We are moving on to a new unit of study, but will continue to write personal narratives.  We will begin this unit by reading many books by famous authors and will use the authors as our mentors.  We will keep a running list of the writing strategies we enjoy in their writing in order to try the same strategies as we write.  Our main goals is to make sure we are the main characters in our stories and to provide details that help the reader picture each moment.  

MATH:

We started to learn how to solve compare word problems.  These problems are a bit more challenging than the previous ones we have worked with in class.  Compare problems ask students to compare two things by using the words more or fewer.  At this point, many students have a solid understanding of how to solve these type of problems using counters and drawings.  Next week, we will add in an equation to support our thinking and verify our answers.  

GROWTH MINDSET:

This week we watched a short video explaining how our brains works when we face challenges.  The students learned that our brains are filled with neurons that connect by sending electrical signals to one another.  We found out that this happens when we do many things like reading or riding a bike.  We can help our brains make more of these connections when we do challenging things.  After this video, I asked the students to try to overcome a challenge by figuring out a riddle.  As they were brainstorming answers, a student said..."MY BRAIN IS LIGHTING UP!"  I love how the second graders are learning that we can handle difficult things!!! 

Here is a preview of the job assignments for volunteers:
Reading:  You will be working with students one-on-one as they read 12 different sentences.  These sentences are called "fluency strips".  The purpose of these sentences is to help build up blending skills with simple 3-4 letter words as well as high frequency words.  In addition to this, the sentences are short and easily decodable to support fluency practice.  
Math:  You will be working with students one-on-one as they practice an individualized list of addition and subtraction facts.  The purpose of these facts is NOT to have students simply memorize the facts but to strengthen their number sense and provide strategies for solving each fact efficiently.  

Friday, October 13

A few reminders...
*It's an early release day.  School dismisses at 12:15.
*Only sack lunches will be offered. (No lunch at school)
*Please have your child wear his/her "Be Awesome" T-Shirt
*We have a busy morning! We will attend the walk-a-thon assembly, as well as meet with our school families. It should be a fun way to end our week!

Calling all parent volunteers!

I am looking for a handful of parent volunteers to help out in the classroom once a week to work directly with our 2nd graders.   I am hoping to have one parent each morning to work with students on their reading fluency as well as build upon their addition and subtraction fact fluency.   It would work great to have your help from 9:00-9:40.  If this sounds appealing and works for your schedule, please let me know what day works best for you.  Also, you will need a cleared background check before volunteering in the classroom.  This is district requirement.  Feel free to contact the office with any questions about starting this process if you haven't done so already.  Thanks!  I am excited to get started and greatly appreciate your help!!! 

Here is a preview of the job assignments:
Reading:  You will be working with students one-on-one as they read 12 different sentences.  These sentences are called "fluency strips".  The purpose of these sentences is to help build up blending skills with simple 3-4 letter words as well as high frequency words.  In addition to this, the sentences are short and easily decodable to support fluency practice.  
Math:  You will be working with students one-on-one as they practice an individualized list of addition and subtraction facts.  The purpose of these facts is NOT to have students simply memorize the facts but to strengthen their number sense and provide strategies for solving each fact efficiently.  

Great Opportunity

Attention parents!

Please join us for our first Hudsonville Public Schools Parent Connection Night! This event will take place on Tuesday, October 17 from 6:30-8:00 at Baldwin Street Middle School. You will be able to choose 2 different sessions from the following options:

- Screen Time: Impact, Safety and Setting Limits

- Teaching Kids to Get Along: Navigating the Roads of Friendships and Siblings

- Home Organization: Simple Systems to Help Your Entire Family be Successful

- Positive Behavioral Strategies for Younger Kids: Less Words and More Visuals

These sessions will all be run by Hudsonville staff members Lisa Keskitalo, Kate Randall, Carrie Ysseldyke, and Melissa DeGroot.  Child care will be provided for children ages 5 and up.  We will also have desserts and giveaways!

Please sign up using the following link: 

HPS Elementary Parent Connection Night

October 6: Newsletter

IMPORTANT DATES:

October 13: Early Release Day (students dismissed at 12:15)

October 17: Marco's Pizza Night (Don't forget to mention Bauer when ordering.)

October 20: Scholastic Book Order Due (see details below)

October 26: Picture Retake Day/BPC Skating Party 

October 31: Classroom Halloween Party 9:30-10:30

While the calendar says it is fall, the thermometer is hanging on to summer for at least a couple more days.  I hope you have a great weekend and enjoy the beautiful weather ahead!

Don't miss the Parent-Teacher conference form that was sent home in your child's Friday folder.  Please return the form my Friday, October 13.  Thank you!

READING:
Today you will see a Scholastic book order in your child's Friday folder.   If you are interested in ordering any new books for your child, please submit your order online by Friday, October 20 using the classroom code HM67V.  Don't miss the many great books found in this order including...The Boxcar Children, Flat Stanley, Owl Diaries, Puppy Place, and many more!  Happy reading!!!

We have officially completed our first week of SRC.  EVERY 2nd grader took their first quiz this week.  Way to go!!!  In your child's Friday folder, you will find his/her SRC report. On the report you will see a list of the quizzes your child has completed and the score they earned on each quiz.  Students need an 80% or higher in order to pass the quiz.  Please let me know if you have any questions regarding your child's SRC report.  

Please continue to make sure your child reads 5 nights a week for 20 minutes each night.  It is very helpful to have you fill out and sign your child's reading log.  Thank you to the parents that were committed to this reading homework and filling out the reading log this week.  Students will hand in their reading logs each Friday.  

WRITING:

Next week we will learn how to edit and revise our small moment stories.  We will also take time to celebrate our completed stories by having a mini publishing party next Friday.  Students will get the chance to read many other small moments.  We will work on noticing the great writing strategies used in each story.

MATH:

We have spent a great deal of time working on solving word problems using equations and drawings.  Second graders are finding out that they can show their thinking in many different ways and that explaining their strategy to a math partner helps them understand  the concept even more.  

GROWTH MINDSET:

Each day we are mindful of finding our favorite mistake.  You may be asking..."What is a favorite mistake?"  We have found it very empowering when we can celebrate our mistakes.  Therefore, I take time every day to find a mistake that a 2nd grader has made that we can celebrate.  I have often seen students light up when they are given words of praise.  Now I have seen that same sense of pride when we point out one of their mistakes.  They are learning that their mistake is the perfect way to showcase new learning.