I hope all of you had a wonderful and rested vacation. Please click on the link below to open this week’s newsletter. Newsletter - Jan. 5th to 9th

I will not be at school this week but know that my substitute will do all possible to make it both a rewarding and enjoyable week for our kids. I look forward to seeing everyone next week.

Mrs. Steele

We have many fun activities scheduled for this week including our second grade party on Wednesday and a pajama party (while we watch The Polar Express) on Friday. On Thursday, I will be asking the children to bring in a favorite snack to share so that we can have a little good-bye party for Takatoshi, Sebastian, Grace, and James. We will miss them dearly. Please click on the following link for this week’s newsletter.december-15th.doc  

Many of you will be traveling for this winter vacation and I’d like to wish you a very Happy Holiday and safe travels. 

Second grade students were absolutly wonderful during their performance on Thursday. They have practiced long and hard to achieve this talented result. I am so proud of them.

Throughout the week, students have also participated in various cultural activities to gain knowledge about the many celebrations around the world during this time of year. Yesterday they learned about Diwali (also known as the festival of lights celebrated in India where it is common practice to light small oil lamps, called diyas, and place them around homes). After the presentation, students made a diya out of clay, decorating it with colorful beads. 

Wednesday,  students discovered how the Christmas tree originated. Students are beginning to make connections about the similarieties between various celebrations. For example, how the lights are often an integral part of many celebrations we’ve studied. We are so fortunate to have so many parents  willing to come and share their time and knowledge with our students. Thank you so much.

On Friday, students learned about The Nativity, a Christian holiday, reinacting what they had learned. Below, please enjoy a few photos taken this week.

As a continuation of our social studies unit on Celebrations Around The World, second grade paraded around the school this morning. Afterwards, parents presented the meaning of Santa Lucia and shared some delicious gingerbread cookies.

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We will have a busy week.

On Tuesday, Second Grade will participate in the annual Santa Lucia Parade which is part of our Celebrations Around The World Social Studies Unit. Parents have volunteered to organize this event in which our second grade parade around the elementary school hallways reenacting  Santa Lucia.  Boys are to wear white shirts and jeans while girls will be provided with gowns. Parents are invited to come and watch the parade which begins at 8:30.

On Wednesday, we will visit Santa’s Workshop where your child will have the opportunity to have their own shopping experience. Envelopes were sent in your child’s Friday folder so that parents could provide RMB for this.

Our long awaited Winter Concert is scheduled for Thursday beginning at 10:30. Your children have been practicing for this long awaited event. Come join in the fun.

We are continuing our study of digraphs. The focus this week are words containing ch and wh patterns. 

We are finishing up our Unit 6 in Mathematics- Whole Number Operations and Number Stories. The assessment will be next Monday. You can expect your child’s review sheets in Friday’s folder.

Lastly,  for your enjoyment a few slides from our first parent presentations helping us introduce our Celebrations Around The World Unit. Students learned how to play the draidel game and played with other second grade friends. On Friday, students had the opportunity to hear a presentation about Finnish New Year.

Students completed final Balance and Motion hands-on activities. What will happen if we turn the tube this way? Will the marble be able to travel and reach the bottom? Why, why not?

Happy December! I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend. The weather has certainly been a welcomed treat. We had a quite a full week last week (please view the photos and blog entries below) and this new week proves to have more new events. Please view our newsletter on this blog for more information regarding the week of December 1-5^th. 

Spelling

New spelling focus this week will be words that contain the consonant digraphs sh, like in the words fish and ship, and ph like in words like phone and graph. The digraph ph makes the /f/ sound.

Math

Assessment on unit 5 on polygons (3D and 2D shapes) will be on Monday, December 1^st. We will also begin Unit 6 -Whole Number Operations and Number Stories.

This unit contains:

• Addition of Three or More Numbers,
• Comparison Number Stories,
•  Mixed Addition and Subtraction Stories,
• Exploring Arrays, Coins,
•  Division, Multiples of Equal Groups,
• Multiplication with Arrays and
• Division Stories.

 Students will take a math mid-year assessment before we leave for our Winder break.  

Other Events to Remember:

It is Second Grades’ turn to provide treats for “treat day” this week.  

Thank you for your assistance with the Family Project. It is due December 4^th. 

Giving Tree bags will be collected on December 11th.Thank you all for your generosity and help. 

There will be a clothing drive the week of December 8-12 (The week of Santa’s workshop). Boxes will be at main entrances. Clothing will go to Li Min School. The principal said that they would be happy to receive winter clothing for their students. He also mentioned that many of their students are from areas affected by the earthquake and adult clothing would be welcomed as well.

Today during our EAGLES assembly, second graders viewed other class skits about our EAGLES school philosophy. They also sang an old time favorite, “Turkey In The Straw”.

Thank you all very much for the lovely Thanksgiving feast we had today. As you can see by the photos, the feast was enjoyed by all! We certainly have lots to be thankful for. A special “thank-you to Mrs. Nigh for organizing our day.