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St. Philip Neri Catholic School

Second Grade Update – Week of 5/22

Dear Second Grade Families, 

Happy Friday!

This week, we enjoyed a beautiful First Communion Brunch put on by the third grade families. Students wrote thank you notes to express their sincere gratitude. The bacon was definitely a hit! 

We also read “Miss Rumphius”! Students reflected on how to make the world a better place, wrote a paragraph about how they will contribute, and then created some beautiful art to go with their writing. We look forward to displaying them in the hall for the rest of the school community to enjoy! 

Next week, we have our field trip to Semifreddi’s. Please review the attire guidelines closely – I will resend my previous email for your easy reference. This is important because Semifreddi’s has refused to take students on the tour due to not being dressed according to their guidelines. If your child is not dressed according to their guidelines they will miss out on the tour. This would be VERY unfortunate, so please read carefully.

Below is our second grade learning update.

Focus Areas for Our Learning Next Week:

  • Reading – 
    • In reading groups, students will wrap up our final SUPER magazine. Students focus on identifying the summarizing ideas and making relevant connections. 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 /ōō/ words. They will also practice with the suffix ‘able. Students should practice their spelling words for a quiz on Friday.
  • Writing – We will finish drafting their animal research reports. This has been a great iterative process where students have had the opportunity to take notes, start drafting, recognize they do not have enough information, and go back to their informational text for additional facts. They are doing a fantastic job sticking with it!
  • Math – Students will practice adding three 3-digit numbers. We will continue reviewing key concepts, including using graphs to display data and interpreting graphs to draw conclusions.
  • Religion – We will start our Family Life Unit – God’s Gift of Love. Students will reflect on how they show love to others in their lives.
  • Social Studies –The class will learn about goods and services and make connections to businesses their families visit.
  • Science – This coming week is jam-packed, but next week students will solve the mystery of why a group of wild bighorn sheep would leave their usual desert habitat to visit a second, very different habitat: a local playground. In our activity, Habitat Scavenger Hunt, students will record observations of the diversity of life found in the desert and the playground, as well as the physical characteristics of each location. Students combine these observations to create an understanding of how the living and nonliving parts of a habitat support the animals that live there.

Other Updates for this Week:

  • Dates to Remember:
    • Friday, May 19 – Sports Awards Night
    • Tuesday, May 23 – Field trip to Semifreddi’s
    • Monday, May 29 – No school – Memorial 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