Terra Nova Tips

St. Ann starts taking the Terra Nova state tests next week (week of March 4th). I know your child may be nervous about these tests, but please remind him/her that it is not for a grade. I want the students to try their very best, but I also want them to relax.

I sent home some helpful hints in preparing to do their best, but here they are again:

1. Get a good night's sleep. (It's hard to focus without enough rest!)

2. Eat a good breakfast. (It's hard to think on an empty stomach!)

3. Keep breathing. (It's hard to concentrate with too many nerves!)

4. Bring a healthy snack. (It's good to refuel!)

There is not any studying they can do to prepare. The best they can do is come to school ready to be a good listener and ready to listen to directions.

Also, your children will not have homework (or a spelling test) the next two weeks to allow for plenty of time to rest their bodies and their brains.

*Reminder* Don't forget to register your child(ren) for next year!

Inferring Detectives

February's reading strategy is Infer (or Making Inferences). The students have been doing just that.

We decided it is sort of like predicting, but you also use clues in the text or from pictures to help you make a good guess...

Miss Foyle's detective hat and magnifying glass

This week we have really focused on inferring characters' thoughts and feelings, and what better way to do that than to write in their thought bubbles?

Thought bubble chalk board and chalk

This student is happy! She would say something like "Yay!" or "Oh goody!" or "I am so happy to be at school!"

Here are some of the books we have visited with inferences. The one on the left is from the Target $1 buckets. The students add words to each cartoon for what the people or animals in the cartoons would say. The top book Pancakes for Breakfast (Tomie de Paola) is a wordless book. The students eagerly discussed what the main character (and even the pet animals) on the farm was thinking at various points in the story. The book on the right is Fireflies (Julie Brinckloe), which we'll read tomorrow (Thursday). It is the story of a child who has a dilemma after he catches fireflies in his jar.

Good books for inferences

Next week we'll focus on inferring the setting of stories and continue our detective work.

*Reminder*

2nd grade is preparing the Children's weekly liturgy this week. Please join us at 8:15 am in the church to see your children read, bring up the gifts, and participate in the mass.

Valentine's Day (in Pictures)

Happy Valentines Day!



How many words can you make out of these letters? Well, 2nd grade made...

over 100 words! They were so proud and excited for a job well done!

The students made Valentines for their families during writing time...

They worked so hard!

They really love their parents and families!

Great job!

They handed out candy and valentines at the end of the day. I hope they share some of it with you. ;)

Enjoy the long weekend! See you Tuesday!

Please remember to take your child to church.

Inferring and Telling Time

We're regular detectives in 2nd Grade...

Today, we put on our thinking caps and used pictures and context clues to predict compound words and infer word meaning in our read aloud. We had words like grasshoppers, sunflowers, stagecoach, rattlesnake, and doghouse, just to name a few. Look below at a compound word match the students did after the read aloud:

Once There Was a Bull... (frog)

Finding the compound word matches

Can you make a compound word?

We'll be working on inferring word meaning the rest of this week, and next week we'll focus on inferring what characters are thinking and feeling.

In other school news, we made special clocks today to help us tell time to the nearest 5 minutes. Check out the clocks below:

It looks like just a normal clock, but...

the hour numbers open to reveal the minutes!

We're off to a great start this week!

*Reminders*
-There is no school this Friday (2/15) or Monday (2/18).
-Our weekly children's liturgy will be on Wednesday (Ash Wednesday) at 8:15am in the church (instead of Friday).

Busy in 2nd Grade

We have had quite a busy week in 2nd grade. We took a break from our normal Math routine to learn about capacity (how much liquid a container can hold) and liquid measurements. Your child should have come home with this guy- Mr. Gallon Man- to help remember how many cups are in a pint, how many quarts are in a gallon, etc.:

 In Reading, we started a new reading strategy- Infer. It is using clues to make an educated guess (or prediction). I brought in a bag of items from my apartment. The students inferred things about me from the items. See the chart below for some good inferences:

Today (Friday) we celebrated with our 2nd Quarter Bee Buck afternoon filled with crafts. The students made Valentines with Miss Snyder, Mardi Gras masks with Miss Longton, snowflakes with Mrs. Afton (Miss Sullivan), and snowmen with me. (I apologize if they came home with a little bit of paint on their hands and/or clothes! They had a good time!)

Thanks for another great week. Here are a few reminders:

1. Family Mass - Sunday, February 10th- 10:30am in the church. Hope to see many of you there. The students will read and bring up the gifts. (We even have altar server helpers from 6th grade!)

2. No School Days - There is no school for students on Friday, February 15th (due to a staff development day). Monday, February 18th, is also a day off of school (for everyone) in honor of President's Day. Enjoy the long weekend.

Many of the students have really become interested in learning about the presidents. Look below at one of the second graders putting all of the presidents in order (during recess)!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Catholic Schools Week

Happy Catholic Schools Week! It has been a full week with lots of activities to help us celebrate how special it is to attend a Catholic school. We made Valentines for Veterans, had breakfast for the parents (and made thank you cards), listened to a visitor who is an architect (he read us a story and did an activity with us), and watched a movie to celebrate the students. We even celebrated the long-awaited 100th day today!

Check out some pictures from the week:

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Happy 100th Day (Thursday)!

2nd Grade in their 100th Day glasses 8)