Second Grade Update – Week of 10/17

Dear Second Grade Families,

Happy Friday!

This week, one highlight was bean-counting in math as we dove into concepts about place value! Students did a fantastic job estimating, revising estimates as they uncovered additional information, working as a whole class AND working in partners! I was impressed with their collaboration and enthusiasm for learning!

I was also excited to experience some very good listening at our closing circle! The class had talked about what it could mean to the person sharing if you were having a side conversation. While it seems like a little side conversation is not a big deal, it could make the person sharing feel like you really don’t care about what they have to say. I asked them all to imaging having to tell someone, “I don’t care about what you are sharing. My conversation is more important.” That’s a tough but important concept and it got students’ attention. They did a really nice job after that conversation, and I hope they carry the lesson with them.

Next week, we will take our field trip to the library on Monday! Thank you so much to Mr. Le, Mr. Corriveau, Mrs. Watters, and Mrs. Fisher for accompanying us!

On a related note, I applied for the library’s lottery for their Dia de los Muertos performance – “Una Ofrenda Musical – Let’s Build a Musical Altar with Cascada de Flores”. We WON! 🙂 This will be a special event on Wednesday, November 2nd at 11am. If any parent is interested in accompanying us, please let me know. Otherwise, Mrs. Serles and I will take the class. For this day, please send your child with a lunch from home because the timing of the performance makes it tricky for us to get back for our normal lunch time. We will have a special lunchtime in the SPN garden! 🙂

FIRST COMMUNION: Registration forms went home a couple weeks ago. So far, we only have four families registered. Registrations are due to the parish office by October 28th. Please make sure you register your child if you want them to receive First Reconciliation/First Communion in the spring. Attached is Mrs. Bustos’ most recent update – please note the date of the Rite of Enrollment has changed to November 6th at the 9am mass.
Below is our second grade update.

Focus Areas for Our Learning Next Week:

• Reading – 
  • In reading groups, students will continue our book clubs using differentiated texts. Students will focus on identifying the main idea and supporting details, identifying character motivation, and using strategies to determine the meaning of unknown words.
  • At night, students should read aloud to practice fluent reading skills. Please encourage your child to observe punctuation, read at a good pace, and read the words as they appear in the text (no deletions or substitutions).
• Grammar/Spelling – In Superkids, students will decode/encode plurals that end in /s/ or /z/ sounds. We will also practice breaking words into syllables for easier decoding. Students should practice their spelling words for homework so they are prepared for the quiz on Friday.
• Writing – Students will complete their personal narrative plans, focusing on the beginning (who, where, when), the middle (all the details about the event), and the ending (what happened last as well as how the author felt, what they learned, etc.). The goal is a well-written 5-7 sentence paragraph.
• Math – Continuing with place value, we will practice breaking three (and even four) -digit numbers into their expanded form to highlight the true value of each digit. We will test our understanding with some base ten riddles and then have fun making place value robots!
• Religion – We will give special focus to being reverent during prayer and Mass experiences. Students reflect on how the Church helps us come to know and love God through faith and learning about Jesus as our greatest example.
• Science – This week, students deepen their understanding of how water interacts with land structures. The class will explore the phenomenon of flash floods and create an explanation of why these severe weather events are more or less likely in different regions. They specifically attempt to locate and explain a unique region in Texas known as Flash Flood Alley. In the activity, Find Flash Flood Alley, students develop a map to document how land and water interact across the state. Students then use that map to explain how different shapes and kinds of land increase or decrease the chances of rainfall causing a flash flood.
• Social Studies – In our next unit, the class will explore different types of landforms, develop map skills, and think about how we fit into the broader world around us. We now move outward from our families, neighborhoods, and communities to states, countries, continents, world.

Other Updates for this Week:

• First Communion – Please submit all registration forms to the parish office by October 28th. Please also add all of the dates to your calendars. It appears that the Rite of Enrollment will now be held on November 6th.
• Covid Daily Screening – Please continue to do the daily screening. Your diligence is important and appreciated.
• Dates to Remember:
  • Monday, Oct. 17 – 2nd grade trip to the Alameda Free Library
  • Tuesday, Oct. 18 – Free dress October B-days
  • Monday, Oct. 31 – Noon Dismissal – Halloween
  • Tuesday, Nov. 1 – All School Mass
  • Wednesday, Nov. 2 – Una Ofrenda Musical at the library! Please send your child with a lunch from home that day! No hot lunch!

We look forward to seeing our students on Monday!

All the best,
Catherine