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St. Philip Neri Catholic School

Second Grade Update

Dear Second Grade Families,

Happy Friday!

What a week! Students had the opportunity to participate in choosing their Student Leadership Council (SLC) for the 2022-23 school year. They listened to candidates’ speeches and then we talked about what they enjoyed about them. Our second graders identified some key reasons why they might vote for certain candidates – they connected personally to what the candidate shared, they were excited by the candidate’s plans for the school, they were engaged by how the candidate spoke, they thought the candidate had good experience and would make a good leader. What insightful voters! Finally they voted anonymously with a reminder that it should not matter who your friends choose. 🙂

They also did a water color art project and wrote about how they will make the world a better or more beautiful place. All I can say is that we have some very thoughtful, proactive change makers – all so unique and ready to contribute! Their final products are exquisite!

Next week, students will create a mystery animal haiku for homework. We have reviewed and practiced haikus in class, but I will ask you to please help your child review their haiku before they turn it in. A haiku has three lines. The first line has  5 syllables. The second line has 7 syllables. The third line has 5 syllables. Here is an example:

Leaping and hopping
Green, slimy. Ribbit! Ribbit!
Enjoying its flies

I bet you can guess what it is! 🙂 Children will have an opportunity to present their haiku during the week of 5/30 and their classmates will make guesses to determine their mystery animal! 🙂

Reminder: Second grade will be organizing a money and food drive to support the Alameda Food Bank. It will run from June 1st-14th. Students will participate in this service learning by making posters to hang up in the school, sharing about the drive during morning assembly, and spreading the word with family, friends, and neighbors. Last year, we raised $1,000 plus a few big boxes of food. It was amazing! I believe we can beat that this year! I will ask second graders to raise money and/or collect food donations to support the drive and show leadership! 🙂

Below is our second grade update.

Focus Areas for Our Learning Next Week:

  • Reading – We will wrap up our book club. Students will practice summarizing the key events that drove the plot and identify how the main character may have changed over the course of the story. 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 /ār/ words (for example, hair, bear, scary, care).
  • Writing – Students will create their mystery animal haikus at home. In class, we will discuss effective ways of publicizing ideas and create posters to advertise the upcoming food drive. Students will have the choice to work in groups or individually. We will also incorporate writing into a math project. 🙂
  • Math – The class will review principles of measurement and practice with centimeters. Students will develop an understanding about the relative difference between centimeters, meters, and kilometers. Students will also review the characteristics of different 2-D shapes and create some shape art. They will use math language to write a paragraph describing their art.
  • Religion – In Family Life, we will conclude our unit, God’s Gift of Love and review what it means to make and keep a promise. For Thursday Mass, we continue to focus on participating actively and reverently in the liturgies of the Word and Eucharist. If you attend Mass on the weekend, I encourage you to help your child follow along with readings in the missal as well as the congregational responses on the card in each pew.
  • Science – The class will explore biodiversity using the frogs of North America. Students learn to identify frogs by their unique calls and investigate which of two locations has a greater variety of frogs and discuss potential reasons. For homework, students will create their mystery animal haikus and will have a chance to present and guess during the week of May 30th. 🙂
  • Social Studies – We will continue our economics unit and discuss the resources that many businesses use: natural, human, and capital resources. Students will practice identifying examples of each type. 

Other Updates for this Week:

  • COVID Safety – Please continue to be vigilant with the daily health screening. We appreciate your continued diligence – it keeps us all safe!
  • Dates to remember:
    • Thursday, May 26th – St. Philip Neri Feast Day
    • Friday, May 27th – Noon dismissal
    • Monday, May 30th – No School – Memorial Day
    • Friday, June 3rd – Baccalaureate All School Mass
    • Tuesday, June 14th – Last Day of School – Moving Up Ceremony; 10:30 Dismissal!

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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