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St. Philip Neri Catholic School

Second Grade Update

Dear Second Grade Families,

Good afternoon and happy Friday! 

This week, we continued talking about changemakers in our world. 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. 

In a couple weeks, your children will be doing a project about a hero for homework. It would be helpful for them to hear about some of your heroes, too! 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 update.

Focus Areas for Our Learning Next Week:

  • Reading – Students will continue book club this week. We will focus on answering questions about the text and citing evidence. Students will also attend to the punctuation of dialogue. Fluent reading (reading at an appropriate pace with accuracy and expression) is always a focus for all students. 
  • Grammar/Spelling – In Superkids, students will decode and encode words with letter-sound correspondences ph/f/ and gh/f/ (examples: phone, laugh). Students will also practice with long i and o word families – -īld, -īnd, -ōld, -ōst.
  • Writing – Using the problem/solution plots they developed this week, students will draft their descriptive narratives. We will also start cursive handwriting! I know many students are excited about this. 🙂
  • Math – Students will continue our measurement unit with a focus on why we would use one measuring tool over another and what happens to our measurement if we use a different unit. The class will continue practicing 2-digit subtraction regrouping strategies.
  • Religion – The class will start our chapter, We Worship, with a focus on how the words and actions of Jesus teach us to live our lives and the ways the Church worships God, specifically through celebrating the sacraments.
  • Science – The class will begin our unit on the needs of plants. During the unit, students will conduct hands-on investigations to explore why and how plants disperse their seeds, what those seeds need in order to grow, and what the adult plants need in order to survive and thrive. This week, we will explore the “superbloom” phenomenon in Death Valley. How can huge fields of flowers suddenly grow in one of the hottest, driest places on Earth? 🙂
  • Social Studies – The class will begin our government unit with a focus on why we form governments. We will weave in important figures in our nation’s history through read-alouds

Other Updates for this Week:

  • COVID Safety – Please continue to be vigilant with the daily health screening. If your child happens to test positive, please email Mr. Carter. He will help support you with next steps. He will also let me know so that I know your child will be quarantining and need remote learning support. At that time, I will also reach out to you to let you know the remote learning plan. Thank you for your partnership!
  • Dates to remember:
    • Tuesday, Jan.  25th: Free Dress for January Birthdays
    • Wednesday, Jan. 26th: Wacky Wednesday Spirit Day!
    • Wednesday, Jan. 26th: Noon Dismissal, Teacher PD
    • Jan. 30th-Feb.4th: Catholic Schools Week
    • Friday, Feb. 4th – Noon dismissal, staff work day
    • Monday, Feb. 14th – Red, white, and pink free dress
    • Tuesday, Feb. 15th – Free Dress for February Birthdays
    • Friday, Feb. 18th – Noon dismissal
    • Monday, Feb. 21st – No School, President’s Day
    • Saturday, Feb. 26th – Auction (Crab Feed)

We look forward to seeing our students on Monday!

All the best,

Catherine

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What Our Families are Saying

"The supportive teachers at SPN played a big role in preparing me for high school and helping me understand what to expect. They encouraged me to ask questions and seek help when needed, which made me more confident in my learning. Thanks to them, I entered freshman year already familiar with many concepts and effective study habits that have helped me stay on top of my work. SPN also taught me valuable life skills that I still use today, helping me succeed academically, build strong friendships, and maintain my overall well-being."
— Tibby Horvath, SPN Class of 2022
"We are very satisfied with the SPN community, something that is important to our family. My children feel safe and comfortable with SPN. Our family feels connected with the SPN community from parents and families to the staff and faculty. My children and we as parents have made healthy and positive relationships with other families from school. We share time outside of school with other families which brings a level of connectedness I don't know if we would have elsewhere"
— SPN Parent
"My children are experiencing community in other ways than just friends and playdates. Faith Families is an example of community, interacting with students from all grade levels, and learning and creating for others outside of SPN. Field trips to Kids Against Hunger or the Alameda Food Bank where they work and see firsthand how their efforts help others less fortunate, for those who are in need of support. Community is not just our SPN ‘bubble,’ and that is what SPN demonstrates and provides– opportunity to explore a bigger community."
— SPN Parent since 2016

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