February 29, 2024

LANGUAGE ARTS:  This week we read and discussed the poetry of Margarita Engle called Drum Dream Girl.  Students also watched and discussed a video about Roberto Clemente.  We worked on skills such as decoding words with /oo/ as in "book" and "broom," identifying adjectives that tell how things look, feel, taste, smell, or sound, identifying and using adjectives that are articles (a, an, and the,) identifying and decoding compound words, using story vocabulary in context, and learning ten new high-frequency words.

MATH:  We took the chapter 9 test over numbers to 1,000 and started a new chapter over adding within 1,000 using models and strategies.  So far students have added 10 and 100 using place value blocks and mental math, used an open number line to add three-digit numbers, and added three-digit numbers using place value models.

FIRST EUCHARIST:  Thank you for sending your child's First Eucharist book to school.  We discussed chapter three in class this week.  Please complete chapter 4 with your child and return the book to school on Monday, March 4.

GUIDANCE:  On March 1 we will be discussing lesson 6, "Caring for Life."  In this lesson students will identify things that God has created.  We will discuss the Golden Rule as a way to care for others.

SCIENCE:  Students presented their habitat projects to the class.  Everyone did such a great job! We all learned so much about a variety of habitats.  The at-home projects will be on display in the hallway for you to look at during parent/teacher conferences next week.

SPELLING:  We will not have a spelling pre and post test next week due to the short school week.

TAKE HOME FOLDERS:  I will not be sending take home folders next week due to spring break.  I will also not be posting a second grade newsletter on my blog.  Any important notes from the office, etc. will be sent home in your child's backpack next week.

PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES:  Parent/teacher conferences will take place on Monday, March 4  from 3:20-7:00, Tuesday, March 5 from 3:20-7:00, Wednesday, March 6 from 3:20-5:00, and Thursday, March 7 from 9:00-noon.  Please sign up for a conference time by clicking on the JMC link that was emailed to you if you have not already done so.   I look forward to visiting with you about your child's progress!

February 22, 2024

LANGUAGE ARTS:  This week we read and discussed How to Make a Timeline and The stories He Tells:  The Story of Joseph Bruchac.  How to Make a Timeline is a procedural text while The Stories He Tells:  The Story of Joseph Bruchac is a biography.  We worked on skills such as decoding words with /er,/ /ir,/ and /ur/ as in "serve," "shirt," and "turn," using commas in a series of nouns or verbs, putting sentences in chronological order, decoding words with /air,/ /are,/ and /ear/ as in "pair," "share," and "bear," decoding words with the prefix "pre," using story vocabulary in context, and learning ten new high-frequency words.

MATH:  We used place-value patterns to mentally count by 1's, 5's, and 10's from a given number, skip counted by 5's, 10's, and 100's using a number line, compared numbers using the "greater than," "less than," and "equal to" symbols,  and wrote three-digit numbers that are greater than or less than another three-digit number.

GUIDANCE:  On February 23 we will discuss lesson 5, "New Life."  In this lesson students will discuss how families grow with the addition of a new child.  They will also identify ways in which parents lovingly care for a baby and discuss what parents teach to their children.

FIRST EUCHARIST:  Thank you for sending your child's First Eucharist book to school.  We discussed chapter 2 in class this week.  Please complete chapter 3 with your child and return the book to school on Monday, February 26.

HABITAT AT-HOME PROJECT:  Just a reminder that your child's habitat at-home project is due Monday, February 26.  Students will be giving their presentations about the habitat they chose to the rest of the class next week.

PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES:  Parent/teacher conferences are quickly approaching.  Conferences will take place on Monday, March 4, Tuesday, March 5, Wednesday, March 6, and Thursday, March 7.  An email was send out from the school last week to schedule a conference time.  If you did not receive the email or have questions about signing up, please contact Mrs. Sanchez in the school office.  I look forward to visiting with you about your child's progress!

February 15, 2024

LANGUAGE ARTS:  This week we read and discussed Get to Know Biographies and I Am Helen Keller.  Get to Know Biographies is an opinion essay while I Am Helen Keller is a biography.  We  worked on skills such as decoding words with /or/ and /ore/ as in "for" and "store," using commas in dates, places, and parts of a letter, identifying shades of meaning among closely related words (as in tumble/slide/slip,)  using story vocabulary in context, decoding words with the suffixes "ful" and "less," and learning ten new high- frequency words.

GUIDANCE: On February 16 we will discuss lesson 4 in our guidance book.  Lesson 4 is called "I Can Be Brave."  In this lesson students will identify how they have grown and changed.  They will also develop a strategy for making good choices. 

FIRST EUCHARIST:  Thank you for sending your child's First Eucharist book to school.  We discussed chapter 1 in class this week.  Please complete chapter 2 and return the book to school on Tuesday, February 20.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:  School will not be in session on Monday, February 19 due to teacher professional development.

HABITAT AT-HOME PROJECT:  A note was sent in last week's take home folder about an at-home science assignment for your child.  Please have your child choose one of the four habitat projects listed on the note to complete.  The due date for this assignment will be Monday, February 26.  Please call the school or email if you have any questions concerning this at-home assignment.

BOOK ORDERS:  I have enclosed book orders in the take home folder.  There is also a wide selection of books available to choose from online as well.  If you are interested in ordering, please order online at scholastic.com/bookclubs.  Our classroom code for ordering online is LJWD4.  Book orders are due Friday, February 23.

CHAPTER BOOKS:  In second grade chapter books become a part of a child's reading time for many students.  I look forward to reading to the students each day.  I read various picture books to the class but also enjoy reading chapter book to them as well.  I have already read Ramona the Pest and Henry and the Clubhouse by Beverly Cleary, The Magic Tree House:  Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne, Junie B. Jones Smells Something Fishy by Barbara Parks, Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner.  Right now I am reading No Flying in the House by Betty Brock.  It was a favorite chapter book of mine when I was in elementary school! I am glad to see that students are showing an interest in reading and listening to chapter books.

February 8, 2024

LANGUAGE ARTS:  This week we read and discussed a collection of poems called Whatever the Weather.  We also watched and discussed a video called Rain Cloud in a Jar.   We worked on skills such as decoding words with /ar/ as in "star," using forms of the verb "be" (is, am, are, was, were,) decoding words with inflected endings -ed and -ing, using story vocabulary in context, and learning ten new high-frequency words.

MATH:  We are wrapping up our chapter over time and money and will soon begin chapter 9 over numbers to 1,000.

VALENTINE'S DAY:  We will have our valentine exchange tomorrow February 9.  Students can bring valentines to school tomorrow if they have not already done so.

GUIDANCE:  On February 9 we will discuss lesson 3 in guidance class.  Lesson 3 is called "Who Are You?"  In this lesson we will recognize the special gifts of people with special needs and celebrate the unique talents that each one of us has been given.

HABITAT AT-HOME PROJECT:  A note has been placed in today's take home folder about an at-home science assignment for your child.  Please have your child choose one of the four habitat projects listed on the note to complete.  The due date for this assignment will be Monday, February 26.  Please call the school or email if you have any questions concerning this at-home assignment.

FIRST EUCHARIST:  For those who have children making their First Eucharist in May, you should have received a First Eucharist book at the parent meeting on Sunday, February 4.  Please complete chapter one with your child and send the book to school on Monday, February 12.  We will be discussing chapter one in class next week.  Just a reminder that all work in the book is to be done at home...I am just reinforcing the key objectives in each lesson here at school.

AUTHOR VISIT:  March is National Reading Month.  On Tuesday, March 5, children's author Elizabeth Gilbert Bedia will be visiting St. Malachy School.  Families have the opportunity to purchase books she has written prior to the visit.  An order form has been placed in today's take home folder if you are interested in ordering.  Books can be purchased using cash or check.  Order forms are due back to school by Tuesday, February 20.

February 1, 2024

LANGUAGE ARTS:  This week we read and discussed Cloudette and Get Ready for Weather.  Cloudette is a fantasy while Get Ready for Weather is an informational text.  We worked on skills such as decoding words with the prefixes "un," "dis," and "re," identifying correct subject-verb agreement in sentences,  spelling words with the hard and soft sound of /c/ as in "cage" and "cent" and /g/ as in "goat" and "giant," using story vocabulary in context, and learning ten new high-frequency words.

MATH:  We have been telling and writing time to the nearest 5 minutes, saying the time in different ways such as "quarter past," "half past," and "quarter to," and stating if the time is happening in the A.M. or P.M.

FIRST EUCHARIST:  There will be a parent/student meeting after the 9:00 A.M. Mass on Sunday, February 4 for those who have children making their First Eucharist in May.

VALENTINES:  Since Valentine's Day falls on Ash Wednesday this year, we will have our valentine exchange on Friday, February 9.  Your child may bring valentines to school on or before that day.

SCIENCE:  Students learned about ecologists.  They are scientists that study how plants, animals, and people interact in an environment.  They conduct research on how changes to habitats impacts the plants and animals who live there.

GRANDPARENT/SPECIAL GUEST DAY:  Tomorrow, February 2 is "Grandparent or Special Guest Day/Dress Up Day" at St. Malachy School.  Please have your child's grandparent or special guest pick your child up at the school at 1:00 and go to Holy Spirit Church for Mass at 1:30.