Second Grade Update – Week of 4/29

Dear Second Grade Families, 

Happy Friday!

This week, students created a welcome sign for the Alameda Food Bank! Art is a wonderful gift and can be used to demonstrate kindness, hospitality, and care for others. Our sign was a great way to blend our creative sides with service to others. A special thanks to Ms. Kristen who opened up the maker space to our class for this project and used her own creativity to help lead the effort! A few pictures of the process are attached, and once the final piece is complete, we will share that, too! 🙂

Next week, students will start an informational report about an animal of their choice. They will identify a book on Epic about their animal (within their reading range so that they understand it), research and take notes, and then turn those notes into a well-written, multi-paragraph report.

Finally, a message from Mr. Q about our Spring Concert:

“I have a few items about the upcoming concert that I want to make sure you are aware of.

• The concert is at 7pm on Wednesday, May 8th. Students should arrive at their homerooms between 6:40pm-6:50pm so we can have them ready for the performance. The doors to the church will open at 6:40pm for seating.
• The dress code for students for the concert is the same as in previous years, defined as “Nice Free Dress” in the student handbook. Basically, dressed up nicely as they would for attending church or in lieu of nicer clothes, the school uniform works as well. (The 5th grade class will be wearing green particularly, but no other classes have a special dress code)
• Students will not be released to go home until after the All-School song and the Spring Concert is complete. It will run for about one hour.
• The theme of our concert this year is “A Celebration of Planet Earth.”

Thank you and I hope to have a fun and joyful concert!-Mr. Q.”

Below is our second grade learning update.

Focus Areas for Our Learning Next Week:

• Reading – 
  • In reading groups, students will finish SUPER magazine with a  focus on summarizing main ideas. 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 long “a” words. They will also practice proper capitalization. Students should practice their spelling words for a quiz on Friday.
• Writing – Students will start their informational animal reports by choosing an animal and identifying a book that they can use for research. If they would like to bring a book from home or the library, they can, as long as they can read it themselves.
• Math – The class will also practice with currency – developing fluency counting bills/coins, 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 wrap up our unit about government and then play a game where they will work together to reinforce important vocabulary and earn points as a class. 
• 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:

• Upcoming Field Trip Volunteer Needs:
  • Alameda Library to meet Author, Hannah Moushabeck – Friday, 5/3, 9:15-11:15am – 2 chaperones
  • U.C. Botanical Gardens – Thursday, 5/23, 10:00am-2:00pm – 1 more chaperone
  • Semifreddi’s Bakery – Thursday, 5/30, 10:00am-12:00pm – all set!
• 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:
  • Saturday, Apr. 27 – First Communion Retreat, 10am-12:30pm, Banners DUE
  • Saturday, May 4 – First Holy Communion, 10am in the church
  • Wednesday, May 8 – Spring Concert, 7:00pm; Student attendance is required
  • Friday, May 10 – All School Mass, May Crowning, 10:00am
  • Monday, May 13 – Math Night, 5:00-7:00pm
  • Tuesday, May 14 – Fun Run!
  • Friday, May 17 – SPN Spartan Spirit Day; Sports Awards, 5:30-7:30pm
  • Tuesday, May 21 – Free Dress May AND June Birthdays
  • Friday, May 24 – SPN Olympics, 10:45-11:45am; Noon Dismissal
  • Monday, May 27 – No School, Memorial Day
  • Thursday, Jun 6 – Noon Dismissal, No Share and Care
  • Friday, Jun 7 – Last Day of School, Moving Up Ceremony, Report Card Day, 10:30 a.m. DISMISSAL, No Share and Care

We look forward to seeing our students on Monday!

All the best,
Catherine