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St. Philip Neri Catholic School

Second Grade Update – Week of 12/18

Dear Second Grade Families, 

What a great week! The biggest highlight had to be the Christmas Concert – second graders did such a lovely job with their performance! Hard work pays off!

We have a fun week ahead, including building gingerbread houses (out of graham crackers) on Tuesday. Mrs. Serles and I are supplying the graham crackers and sprinkles. Each child needs to bring a can of white frosting (preferably not whipped because it doesn’t stick as well). If you want to send in the frosting on Monday so that there is no chance of forgetting on Tuesday, please do. We can label it with your child’s name.

Also next week, students will be treated to a fun Christmas party on Wednesday! Thank you to our room parents, Mrs. Garcia and Mrs. Bustos, for organizing!

Focus Areas for Our Learning Next Week:

  • Reading – 
    • Reading groups will resume after break. This week, we will enjoy some Christmas read-alouds and compare and contrast them using a Venn diagram.
    • 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 identifying synonyms and antonyms.
  • Math – The class will identify the characteristics of 2-D shapes and make connections about sides, vertices, and angles. They will identify parallel lines and lines of symmetry.
  • Religion – We continue our chapter about Jesus, the Savior and discuss the crucifixion and resurrection.
  • Writing – Students will wrap up their informational continent paragraphs by finishing their final drafts and creating an illustrated title page.
  • Social Studies – Students will complete their map skills practice by using a compass rose, map key, and knowledge of landforms to interpret and answer questions about several types of maps. 
  • Science – The class will connect to our unit focus about the types of materials we use and why with a fun gingerbread house building activity! All students need to bring in their own can of white frosting by Tuesday morning (again, no whipped kinds because they are not strong enough).

Other Updates for this Week:

  • Oratorical Fest – Information about this annual SPN tradition was sent home today. Please make sure your child turns in a printed copy of their 8-12 line selection by Monday, Jan. 8th. (They do not need to have it memorized until the week of Jan. 15th.)
  • November/December Enrichment Newsletter
  • Dates to Remember:
    • Wednesday, Dec. 20 – Christmas Free Dress; Noon Dismissal
    • Dec. 21 – Jan. 3 – Christmas Break
    • Thursday, Jan. 4 – Students return to school
    • Friday, Jan. 5 – Vision screening for all students
    • Monday, Jan. 8 – Oratorical selections due to Mrs. Suer (8-12 lines only; please review rules)
    • Friday, Jan. 12 – No school for students; staff work day
    • Monday, Jan. 15 – No school – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
    • Tuesday, Jan. 23 – Free dress January birthdays
    • Wednesday, Jan. 24 – Noon dismissal, Teacher Professional Development
    • Thursday, Jan. 25 – Spirit Day – Class Theme TBD
    • Sunday, Jan. 28 – Catholic Schools Week kick-off with All School Mass, 9:00 am at SPN; Open House immediately following Mass, 10:00-11:30

We look forward to seeing our students on Monday!

All the best,
Catherine

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