Second Grade Update – Week of 4/24

Dear Second Grade Families, 

Happy weekend!

The cherry on top of our week was our trip to the Lawrence Hall of Science.  Students explored the outdoor lab like scientists, constructed hats and flying creations like engineers, and enjoyed a 3-D film highlighting the wonders of the natural world right outside our front doors. If you want to see a smile on your child’s face, play the song “Free Falling” and ask them what happened in the movie. 🙂 Thank you to our chaperones: Mr. Le, Mr. Corriveau, Mrs. Bartlett, Mr. Kennedy, and Mrs. Losk! Without you, this trip would not have been possible!

Next week, students will complete a hero project for homework. Each student will complete a square for our class hero quilt. Don’t worry – no sewing involved – it’s paper. 🙂 Attached is an example of my square, and their paper squares will be in their homework folders on Monday, due Friday.

For background, we have been discussing changemakers in our world throughout our year together. Changemakers are those people who work for positive changes in our communities. They have ideas about how our communities can be better and take action to spread the word, get others inspired and involved, and see their ideas through, even when they face challenges or setbacks. These changemakers are heroes and can be any age, race, religion, social group, etc. 

To help your child with their project, it would be helpful for them to hear about some of your heroes! This is also a great opportunity to share about heroes they may resonate with. Ask them who their heroes are. If they love animals – share about someone like Jane Goodall! If they love sports, share about an inspirational sports figure like Jackie Robinson. If your child is moved to stand up for others, remind them of Rosa Parks. If your child isn’t sure children can be heroes, share about Ruby Bridges. 🙂 If your child loves science or space, share about Galileo. There are so many inspirational people in this world! Please help me expand their knowledge of these individuals.

Below is our second grade learning update.

Focus Areas for Our Learning Next Week:

• Reading – 
  • In reading groups, students will continue their Book Club with a continued focus on plot development and character development. As always, there is a focus on reading fluency and speaking and listening skills as we work together in a small group.
  • 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 practice decoding and encoding /ē/ words as well as long e homonyms. Students should practice their spelling words for a quiz on Friday.
• Writing – Students will practice editing skills using their own and each other’s work. At this point in the year, it is very important that – at the very minimum – they start sentences with capital letters and end them with end marks. Knowing to capitalize proper nouns and important words within titles is also expected. The most important part is not just knowing this, but doing this in all writing exercises and projects.
• Math – Students will continue practice with currency, specifically solving word problems, and making change. We will also review fractions and the connection between 1 whole, halves, fourths, and eighths.
• Religion – Students will review all the parts of the Mass and create a booklet. 
• Social Studies –The class will enjoy a visit from Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft on Monday morning! We will review the three branches of government and students will do a project using the notes they took. 
• Science – We will wrap up our unit about the needs of plants and their adaptations, connecting back to our anchor phenomenon about Death Valley’s superbloom!

Other Updates for this Week:

• AR Reading – Just a reminder – I am encouraging all students to use their AR book for their homework reading time (15 minutes each afternoon/evening).
• Dates to Remember:
  • Tuesday, Apr. 25 – Free dress for April b-days
  • Thursday, Apr. 27 – Class Theme Day -“Vacation Day”
  • Wednesday, May 3 – All School Mass – May Crowning
  • Saturday, May 6 – First Communion Retreat, 10am-12:30pm, Banners DUE
  • Tuesday, May 9 – Fun Run!
  • Thursday, May 11 – Celebration of the Arts & Sprint Concert
  • Friday, May 12 – Emergency Evacuation Drill (see picture below; more information to come)
  • Saturday, May 13 – First Holy Communion, 10am in the church
  • Monday, May 15 – First Communion Brunch after 8:30 Mass
  • Tuesday, May 16 – Free dress for May b-days
  • Friday, May 19 – Sports Awards Night
  • Monday, May 29 – No school – Memorial Day

We look forward to seeing our students on Monday!

All the best,
Catherine