The Week in Second Grade

In Second Grade this week, we have been building on the idea of community.  We have identified what things we do to help our class community.

Over the weekend, could you please help your child by taking pictures of your local community and the services that are available?  Please email the photos to your teacher and we will print them off.  Next week, we would like to make posters of the services in our local community.  We will also focus on wants verses needs of a community.

Welcome to Ms Sweis who joined second grade this week while covering Ms Frazier's maternity leave.  Ms Sweis has been with second grade before when Mrs LeBlanc had her baby.  It has been great to have Ms Sweis join us and we know that 2F will be well looked after!

In Math next week, we will be expanding numbers.  For example: 357 is 300 + 50 + 7.  This helps students with their place value understanding and is crucial for the development of addition and subtraction with place value.  If I have a problem like: 357 + 232.  I know that 357 is 300 + 50 + 7 and 232 is 200 + 30 + 2.  I can add the hundreds 300 + 200 = 500.  I can add the tens 50 + 30 = 80 and I can the ones 7 + 2 = 9.  I can then add 500 + 80 + 9 and my answer is 589.  

In Reader's and Writer's workshop, we are learning to 'retell' stories.  We have learned that stories have a beginning, middle and end.  Stories have characters and are set in certain places.  We are using who, what, where, when, how and why to help us retell stories.  

We are learning and having fun in second grade!  Have a great weekend.  Remember to take photos!  Also, please have your child wear YELLOW on Sunday.  We are celebrating Peace One Day and having a whole school photo taken.

Newsletter #1

The first two weeks of school are done, and boy, what a first few weeks, and my, have we been busy!  First of all, I'd like to apologize for the lack of photos this week.  We are so focused right now on routines and building a positive classroom community.  Photos will be a regular feature of our blog as soon as we are smooth sailing in second grade.

We can not let this week go by without paying our deepest respect and sympathies to Mrs El Hadeed and her family who have been part of the ACS community for 20 years.  It is with our broken hearts that we said farewell to her husband, Mr Hadeed who died suddenly earlier this week.  Our wonderful second graders wrote her notes, expressing their sympathy and love.  Today, we received an email from her thanking our lovely students in second grade:

My Dear Second Grade Students,

     I want to thank you for the beautiful letters that you wrote for me. They are truly the most beautiful letters that anyone could ever receive, and they will always be treasured by myself and my family. Your kind words, sympathy and beautiful pictures are giving me comfort and peace in my heart. I can feel your hugs through these wonderful messages. I look forward to being back at school with all of you and getting those hugs in person.

                                                     With Love, Mrs. Hadeed

                                                                       

 Despite our heart ache this week, second graders "kept on swimming" and engaged in some fabulous learning about communities.  We learned how we are part of different communities and the different roles that people have within their community.  

2F had a skype date with Ms Frazier and asked her lots of questions about her new baby boy, Wesley Nolan Berg, who was born on August 19th.  This tied in nicely with our study of unit because the students are learning to 'interview' members of our community to find out about their role and how they contribute to society.  Thank you for your support and willingness to be interviewed this week at home.  Soon, the students will be interviewing someone within our school community.

Today, second grade had a whole second grade meeting and it was lovely to hear our students talk about second grade being a community and a 'family' where we look after each other and are safe at all times.  We ended our meeting with a 'Jump Jam', an aerobic dance that we just love!

In Reader's Workshop, we have been learning how to retell a story.  They students have learned that a retell must have a beginning, middle and end.  They must identify the characters and their traits.  They must also identify the setting.  When they are retelling a story, the use of transition words are very important.  Words like, then, next, before, after that, in the end and finally are all very helpful when retelling a story in sequence.

In Math, we have been learning how to use the independent activities.  We have also started out first Math unit of study, "Number Sense".  We will be looking lots at place value and how place value strategies help us become more efficient mathematicians.

The second grade team would to thank you all so much for your support and kindness during these tough times. Things can only get better and we are going to have an amazing year filled with wonder, learning and fun.

Be sure to subscribe to Mr Gaylord's blog.  Here is the link:  http://acs-esprincipal.blogspot.com/ 

I will also add it to our favourites.  

We hope we see you Saturday at the PTG Welcome Back Picnic!

Eid is approaching fast!  Let's help people in the local Jordanian community by providing them with rice.  Let's be the first Grade in ACS to hand in a bag from EVERY student and teacher.  We can do it!

Second Grade has begun!

Here we are, 2nd graders.  We've just completed one full week of school.  We have been working hard and playing nicely with our new friends and old friends.  We can tell that second grade is going to be a lot of fun.  

Check this blog out once a fortnight for updates with what is going on in Second Grade.  Also, please feel free to leave a comment behind.  It is always nice to see comments from students, parents and family members.