Correction - 1st Communion Time

I apologize, but I made a mistake with the time of First Communion!

It is Saturday, April 26th, at 10:00am (not 10:30 as previously noted). I am sorry for any inconvenience.

More details to come about practices and what time your child should be at the church.

Thank you!

Art Project and Special Visitors

We had a fabulous Friday. The second graders were on their best behavior at Mass. They knew all of the answers to the questions Fr. Felipe asked them about First Reconciliation (Saturday at 6:30pm). They sculpted animals out of clay during Art class. Also, they were on their best behavior for our school's guests from the University of Notre Dame.

You can watch a short informational video about the bus tour visits at the link below. Additionally, please enjoy some photos from the art projects:

Have a great weekend. Looking forward to seeing many families on Saturday night!

Phonics Syllables and a Special Visitor

We are back from spring break, and we're working hard in these last few months of school.

In Phonics, we have been reviewing all of our syllable types for single syllable and multi-syllable words:

closed (c) - ex. cat
open (o) - ex. she
magic e (v-e) - ex. make
r-controlled (r) - ex. cart
double vowel (d) - ex. coin

On Wednesday, the students used cereal boxes that were marked up according to their syllables to help generate their own lists of each type. I was proud of how well they worked together and of all the words they listed on their charts!

We are still hoping for spring, but we are enjoying indoor recess as best we can while the rain and the snow keep coming...

Also, please ask your child about our special visitor from today (Thursday)- my twin sister came and enjoyed learning with us! A second Miss Foyle for second grade!

*Please remember*

First Reconciliation - 6:30pm - Saturday, April 5th - at St. Ann church

Spring Break and Recent Learning

With Terra Nova testing finished, we resumed our normal routines this week.

Among many wonderful read aloud stories, we read a magazine about Dr. Seuss! We "celebrated" his birthday about a week late (birthday = March 3rd) with goldfish (One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish) and Dr. Seuss erasers.

In Religion, we talked about ways to be peacemakers in our school and in our homes. Our ideas are written on outlines of our hands and are hanging on the door as reminders to us for ways to act like Jesus.

In Science we've been learning about animal habitats. Check out the group posters about the rainforest, forest, desert, and arctic.

We finished our after-lunch read aloud The Tale of Despereaux, and we compared it with the movie- we found some similarities and also quite a few differences. The students were already asking what great book we are going to read next... They'll have to wait and see!

In writing, we finished up our class report about the Statue of Liberty. I was proud of how the students took the chart with notes and transferred it to an outline/paragraphs. They even added some illustrations and made a simple bibliography to cite their sources. After spring break, the students will get a chance to work on their very own research projects about a topic of their choice! (The picture below is the model I made while the students were working on their own papers.)

Please remember:
Next week is spring break (March 17th-21st). I look forward to seeing your children again on March 24th. Enjoy the time off! Please remember to have your child(ren) read every day. It is very important!

Terra Nova testing finished

Terra Nova testing is finished!

Thank you for bringing your students to school on time, sending snacks, getting them to bed early, and encouraging them to do their best.

We'll be back to a "normal" week next week, and then the following week (March 17-21) is spring break.

Aquarium Photos

Don't forget to ask your children about today's field trip to the Shedd Aquarium. We had a wonderful time! There were so many animals to see. We even watched a 4D movie and a Dolphin Show!

Please see some photos below:

"Look! The turtle is following my hand!"

Sting rays

The students were able to pet the fish.

Students waiting to pet the fish

Ready for the 4D movie

Waiting for the 4D movie

Ready for the Dolphin Show!

Please check your children's Thursday folders. There was a note about how to prepare for Terra Nova tests. Here are the main points from the letter:

1.    Go to bed early every night.

This may mean turning off video games or the TV earlier than usual. It is important that they are well-rested so that they can focus. I will send home less homework than usual as well.

2.    Eat breakfast every morning.

Food helps the body and the brain function at their best.

3.    Be prepared.

Help your child arrive to school on time every day (7:45am). Please make sure he or she has pencils and healthy snacks in his or her backpack.

4.    Stay calm. 

      Please make sure your child understands that the results will not affect his or her grades and that he or she may not know every answer. The important thing is to keep breathing, follow ALL directions, and try his or her best.

Recent Math Lessons

This school year is flying by very quickly, and in 2nd grade, time flies when we're having fun...

In the past week, we've been reviewing telling time to the nearest hour, half hour, quarter hour, and five minutes. On Tuesday, we made clocks out of paper plates to help us- see the pictures below:

For help with the minutes, we can peel back the numbers!

We have also been reviewing different ways to write numbers.

Standard form
Word form
Picture form
Expanded form

See the photo below for an example of each:

In other good news, the snow on the plaza area is starting to melt. We hope to be outside for recess soon! In the meantime, another teacher's brother drew us a poster of Olaf from Disney's "Frozen" to help us stay in high spirits.