Week of September 25th-29th

Hi Families,
We had another nice week in 2nd grade. It was lovely to learn more about students’ families this week during our morning shares of family photos. We still have half the class to share next week. Remember to send in or email me a family picture.

Important Dates

• Monday, October 9th: No School, Columbus/Indigenous People’s Day
• Wednesday, October 11th: All School Assembly
• Friday, October 20th: PTO Monster Mash (rain date: 10/27).

Important Notes

• Work Home Packet: I sent home a packet of recent student work in the students' Home/School folder. Please review it and discuss some of the assignments with your child to build a school to home connection. Please let me know if you have any questions about any assignments in there!
• Special Guest Mondays: Please consider signing up to be a Special Guest to share something with the class (job-related, hobby-related, a read aloud, science/engineering-based) on our Special Guest Mondays Sign Up Google Doc. If none of the times work for you, please email me and we can find an alternative. Thank you!

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Here are some highlights from this week:

Community Building

• Morning Meeting shares filled with family photos;
• Fun Morning Meeting activities like “Alibi,” and “Make Me Laugh;”
• Class sign-along to “Jeff Will Pass Buzz,” a goofy song I made up to help students remember the “ff, ll, ss, and zz” spelling rule. 

Literacy

• Principal Gallegos read aloud “Enemy Pie” to students;
• Read aloud “Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin” to recognize Hispanic Heritage Month and discussed the story structure;
• Read aloud “Wangari’s Trees of Peace” and discussed interesting language;
• Continued reading aloud “There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom” by Louis Sachar;
• Practiced sustaining independent reading while I conducted reading assessments on students. Students also got assessed by our Reading Specialist, Ms. Gibson.

Phonics and Foundational Skills

• Reviewed double consonant spellings “-ff, -ll, -ss, and -zz,” and practiced reading and spelling words like “fluff,” “smell,” “cross,” and “frizz;”
• Reviewed how “-ll” can change the sound of a, o, or u in a closed syllable, and practiced reading and spelling words like in words like “small,” “troll,” and “full;”
• Reviewed consonant digraphs ch, th, sh, and ck, and practiced reading and spelling words like “chomp,” “moth,” and “shack;”
• Previewed the “long a” spelling pattern, exposing students to words with open syllables, a-consonant-e,  ai, and  ay; sorted words with those patterns, such as “apron,” “place,” “train, “ and “subway.”

Writing

• Wrote sentences with taught phonics patterns;
• Wrote sentences about a short decodable text to practice applying spelling patterns;
• Introduced “Because,” But, So” writing protocol to develop and expand upon ideas; wrote a “Because,” But, So” about going to school and about our “Dear Primo” read aloud;
• Wrote sentences about “Our Favorite Book as a Little Kid.”

Math

• Practiced mental math with 1-digit plus 2-digit numbers, using strategies such as “friends of 10;”
• Practiced adding within 50 and showing our thinking on paper;
• Took a progress check (Section A Checkpoint) on addition and subtraction within 20;
• Created picture graphs and asked and answered questions about the data;
• Created a bar graph and answered questions about the data, such as “How many total kids like spring and summer as their favorite season?” and “How many fewer kids like reading than playing video games in their free time?”

Science

• Practiced being scientists by observing a flower, using a magnifying glass to look closely at the flower, and writing questions about the flower and its parts.

Below, check out some pictures of students in action this week. You'll see students with Principal Gallegos, doing math, observing the rug with a magnifying glass, observing and creating a scientific drawing of a flower, dancing, and sharing a family photo.

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​​Thank you for taking the time to read the update! Please reach out with any questions.