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St. Philip Neri Catholic School

Second Grade Update – Week of 1/30

Dear Second Grade Families, 

Happy Friday!

This week, students reflected about what it means to complete quality work and to have pride in your work. They had great thoughts: focusing on what is in front of you, doing your best job, checking your work / rereading / editing, writing in your neatest handwriting, getting better and better by practicing, and making your work nice so that you feel good about it. Awesome! The trick is to actually DO these things. 🙂 At this point in second grade, these are expectations for both classroom work and homework. Thank you for your support at home!

Next week, we celebrate Catholic schools! There are many events throughout the week celebrating our students, our faith, our community and families, and excellence! On Sunday, the 29th, please join us for Mass at 9am and Open House to follow! I look forward to seeing you and sharing our classroom. You are also invited to visit other classrooms as well. 🙂 Please note that students should always be with a parent while at Open House. 

Below is our second grade learning update.

Focus Areas for Our Learning Next Week:

  • Reading – 
    • In reading groups, students will start their new book clubs. They will identify the main characters and setting. We will also discuss genre. 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 practice with decoding and encoding words with -īld, -īnd, -ōld, -ōst (ex. child, find, told, host). Students will also review compound words. They should practice their spelling words for homework so they are prepared for the quiz on Friday.
  • Writing – Students will continue developing the main character for their story with as many details as possible (likes, dislikes, what they look like, where they live, etc.). They will also have an opportunity to share their family tradition paragraphs.
  • Math – The class will work together to create graphs. 🙂 We have been discussing questions that someone might ask to gather information as well as how to display that information in the form of a graph (labels, increments, etc.) to ensure the information presented is clear.
  • Religion – We will finish our chapter about the church and review our unit as well.
  • Social Studies – Students will continue our unit on discovering our past. This week, we will discuss the Civil War and connect to important change makers of that time. As mentioned, conversations will be age appropriate, but we will also address that injustice is also part of our nation’s history and that changemakers were needed then AND now to ensure we always uphold justice, equality, and liberty.
  • Science – Students will review how certain materials can change states between solid and liquid.

Other Updates for this Week:

  • AR Reading – Many students are reading more challenging books these days. I am encouraging all students to use their AR book for their homework reading time (15 minutes each afternoon/evening). This means they can bring their AR book back and forth to school. As soon as students finish reading at home, they should put their book right back in their backpack each evening.
  • Dates to Remember:
    • Tuesday, Jan. 24 – Free dress for January birthdays
    • Wednesday, Jan. 25th – Noon dismissal; teacher professional development
    • Sunday, Jan. 29 – Mass (9am) and Open House (10-11:30am) to kick off Catholic Schools Week
    • Jan. 29 – Feb. 3 – Catholic Schools Week
      • Tuesday, Jan. 31 – Student Appreciation Free Dress
      • Friday, Feb. 3 – Noon dismissal, Share and Care open
    • Thursday, Feb. 9 – 100th Day of School!
    • Tuesday, Feb. 14 – St. Valentine’s Day – red/white/pink free dress
    • Friday, Feb. 17 – Noon dismissal, Share and Care open
    • Monday, Feb. 20 – No School, President’s Day

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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