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.

Thursday - Feb. 13

Just two quick announcements for Thursday, February 13th:

1. Students may bring valentines (cards or snacks) to pass out to the class. (Please note, we have 27 students.) Please do not address each individual card- just have your child write his/her name on them, as this will aid the process of passing out the treats. Thank you!

2. Thursday will be a dress down day to raise money for Kevin's Lemonade Stand. Your child(ren) may bring in $1.00 and wear red, white, or pink with jeans. Thank you for your generous contributions!

Please also remember, there is no school on Friday (teachers have meetings) or Monday (Presidents' Day).

Hooray for the 100th Day!

We have been counting up the days since the start of school!

Today we celebrated the 100th day - wow! We read a book about a girl's first 100 days of school. We also built towers out of 100 cups and enjoyed delicious cake at the end of the day. It's hard to believe the year is more than halfway done. It has been a blessing to work with your children this year, and I look forward to the remaining (hopefully warmer!) months. Thank you for all of your support. Enjoy the weekend, and we'll see you on Monday.

We also celebrated the opening of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics with a special assembly. Each class was assigned a country (2nd grade has Sweden). We are going to keep track of the medal count for the next two weeks. The country with the most medals overall wins a dress down day. Come on Swedish athletes!!