The first month of Grade 2 has gone quickly. Students have worked hard to create a positive learning environment for everyone. Together we have had an opportunity to get-to-know their classmates, celebrate similarities and differences and learn the importance of respect. We will continue to work on being good citizens which I hope will last all year.
Our first literacy focus is learning about choosing just right books. Then the children will be taught to self-monitor: asking themselves who, what, when, where, why and how. The purpose of reading is to get meaning from print so good readers should always be thinking when reading. This is essential for comprehension.
It is my hope that the girls and boys will get hooked on reading this year. The "Top Ten Ways" to become better readers are: 1.read, 2.read, 3.read, 4.read, 5.read, 6.read, 7.read, 8.read,9. read and 10. read. By reading at home, you are being a great role-model for your child.
We have launched into patterning as our first math unit. Our new curriculum is very hands-on where the children learn by doing so I will be sending home math games/activites from time to time.
Your child has an agenda and a homework pouch which should come to school daily. Please use the agenda as a communication book with me. Check it nightly for any assignments or news. I will try my best to update this blog weekly. H.W. will mainly consist of nightly reading with your child, word study and review of such things as math strategies, math facts, sight words, etc. Your child's reading book should be an independent level but it is very important that you sit with your child and listen to his/her reading.
It was wonderful to meet some of you at Parent Night. Thanks for coming.
Homework news:
1. Please sign your child's spelling test on Monday and return the scribbler the next morning.
2. 5 new words will be assigned each Monday to study for the week. Test Fri. Review the old words as well as your child will have a bank of 10 words by the end of the second week.
3. Please send in a clean glass jar, no lid or paper label , for a craft on Wed. Oct. 5
4. Your child will be given letters for word work at home. Please cut them out and keep them in a baggie at home to help your child learn spellings of new words.
5. Since I will be sending things home to aid in homework, it is important that your child have a basket at home for school things (like the letters) that do not have to come back to school each day.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Ms. Harrington
Monday, October 3, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Important dates:
April 22- Earth Day and Good Friday- no classes
April 25- Easter Monday- no classes
April 26- School Development day- no classes
May 6- Area Association PD Day- no classes
May 13 - class photos will be taken
* Litter-less lunch on Thursday, April 21. It would be wonderful to make everyday Earth Day. One way we thought we could make changes is to use reusable lunch containers so the amount of packaging going to the landfills is reduced. The students are very knowledgable about ways to make a difference. Please get on board and support these young Earth Wardens.
* Our class team for the playoffs is Tampa Bay Lightning so you may wish to keep your little one up to date with the scores. (This was a draw and not my personal pick....go Habs!)
* Happy Easter to you and yours!
April 22- Earth Day and Good Friday- no classes
April 25- Easter Monday- no classes
April 26- School Development day- no classes
May 6- Area Association PD Day- no classes
May 13 - class photos will be taken
* Litter-less lunch on Thursday, April 21. It would be wonderful to make everyday Earth Day. One way we thought we could make changes is to use reusable lunch containers so the amount of packaging going to the landfills is reduced. The students are very knowledgable about ways to make a difference. Please get on board and support these young Earth Wardens.
* Our class team for the playoffs is Tampa Bay Lightning so you may wish to keep your little one up to date with the scores. (This was a draw and not my personal pick....go Habs!)
* Happy Easter to you and yours!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
It's French Week at Greenfield Elementary. It has been a lot of fun learning french expressions and participating in the different activities. Merci Beaucoup!
* Ice cream sandwiches are not being sold weekly. Thank You Ms. Bailey for honoring our orders this week. The next sale will be in May.
* Newsletters went home this week with great information and important dates. There is a copy on the school web page.
* As part of Math, we have been working with the calendar. Try asking your child questions about the calendar and not just the months in order ie: the month of a certain holiday, the month that comes 5 months after or the month of a special event like a family birthday. Spelling words for the next few weeks will be the days of the week and the months which are always capitalized. Try www.spelling city.com to practice these spelling words.
We will also be learning to count money which starts with coin identification. Please let your child sort real money at home and practice counting by ones (pennies), fives (nickles), tens (dimes), and combinations of these.
Telling time to the hour and half hour are also real world math skills that should be practiced at home. Asking your child how long until it's 8 p.m. or until bedtime, etc.
* May 13 Class/group pictures.
* Ice cream sandwiches are not being sold weekly. Thank You Ms. Bailey for honoring our orders this week. The next sale will be in May.
* Newsletters went home this week with great information and important dates. There is a copy on the school web page.
* As part of Math, we have been working with the calendar. Try asking your child questions about the calendar and not just the months in order ie: the month of a certain holiday, the month that comes 5 months after or the month of a special event like a family birthday. Spelling words for the next few weeks will be the days of the week and the months which are always capitalized. Try www.spelling city.com to practice these spelling words.
We will also be learning to count money which starts with coin identification. Please let your child sort real money at home and practice counting by ones (pennies), fives (nickles), tens (dimes), and combinations of these.
Telling time to the hour and half hour are also real world math skills that should be practiced at home. Asking your child how long until it's 8 p.m. or until bedtime, etc.
* May 13 Class/group pictures.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Here's some news and upcoming events:
* April 8th: Go Blue for Juvenile Arthritis assembly. Wear BLUE that day to support the arthritis fundraiser.
* “Greater Gators” incentive program. Teachers will be given ballots to use when they see a child around the school doing an act of kindness. The recipient will put it in the ballot box so he/she knows he/she was “caught” doing something kind. There will be a few prize draws made at the end of each month. We will launch this at the assembly on Friday.
* April 11: Around the Block puppet show. This is a play about bullying.
* April 13: Easter Seals Ambassador visit
* Please remind your child to have breakfast as soon as he/she gets to school each morning. Breakfast starts at 8:15 a.m.
* The Grade 6 classes are selling ice cream sandwiches weekly to fund raise for their year end trip. Cost $1.00/each and orders are taken on Wed. for delivery at noon Thurs.
* A dry pair of socks and pants in your child's backpack would be appreciated so we do not have to call home should he/she get wet on the playground.
April 22: Earth Day!
April 22: Good Friday - no school
April 25: Easter Monday - no school
* April 8th: Go Blue for Juvenile Arthritis assembly. Wear BLUE that day to support the arthritis fundraiser.
* “Greater Gators” incentive program. Teachers will be given ballots to use when they see a child around the school doing an act of kindness. The recipient will put it in the ballot box so he/she knows he/she was “caught” doing something kind. There will be a few prize draws made at the end of each month. We will launch this at the assembly on Friday.
* April 11: Around the Block puppet show. This is a play about bullying.
* April 13: Easter Seals Ambassador visit
* Please remind your child to have breakfast as soon as he/she gets to school each morning. Breakfast starts at 8:15 a.m.
* The Grade 6 classes are selling ice cream sandwiches weekly to fund raise for their year end trip. Cost $1.00/each and orders are taken on Wed. for delivery at noon Thurs.
* A dry pair of socks and pants in your child's backpack would be appreciated so we do not have to call home should he/she get wet on the playground.
April 22: Earth Day!
April 22: Good Friday - no school
April 25: Easter Monday - no school
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
I hope everyone and a wonderful break and some memorable adventures.
* It may be Spring on the calendar but our school playground is still snow covered and the air is cold. Please dress your child with winter boots or rubber boots, hats, mittens, snowpants or splash pants. Those wearing sneakers are getting wet feet. Sneakers are not recommended.
* A March Break photograph is needed for tomorrow. Your child should know who, what, where about the photo and be able to answer questions and write about it. If you do not have a March Break photo, a recent one would be fine.
* We read about a class who were "Goodness guerrillas". Guerrilla Goodness is "an intentional, anonymous acts of kindness performed in playful, creative ways for strangers, friends, and family. It is the power of kindness and joy coming alive for all involved, both the giver and recipient. It’s discovering something about yourself and the world that changes everything, it is about believing and standing in kindness." So parents, if you notice your child being extra "kind" and helpful hopefully she/he will like the feeling and want to do more. I hope it will spread throughout our classroom, playground, and into the community.
* We have been reading/singing about character-building (helping others, responsibility, honesty, manners, forgiveness...) Students will bring home the songs and you can read them together at night. These are a wonderful starting points for family discussions too.
*There is no spelling test this Friday.
* It may be Spring on the calendar but our school playground is still snow covered and the air is cold. Please dress your child with winter boots or rubber boots, hats, mittens, snowpants or splash pants. Those wearing sneakers are getting wet feet. Sneakers are not recommended.
* A March Break photograph is needed for tomorrow. Your child should know who, what, where about the photo and be able to answer questions and write about it. If you do not have a March Break photo, a recent one would be fine.
* We read about a class who were "Goodness guerrillas". Guerrilla Goodness is "an intentional, anonymous acts of kindness performed in playful, creative ways for strangers, friends, and family. It is the power of kindness and joy coming alive for all involved, both the giver and recipient. It’s discovering something about yourself and the world that changes everything, it is about believing and standing in kindness." So parents, if you notice your child being extra "kind" and helpful hopefully she/he will like the feeling and want to do more. I hope it will spread throughout our classroom, playground, and into the community.
* We have been reading/singing about character-building (helping others, responsibility, honesty, manners, forgiveness...) Students will bring home the songs and you can read them together at night. These are a wonderful starting points for family discussions too.
*There is no spelling test this Friday.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Well March is here and the snow has begun to melt. Although the first day of Spring is on our March calendar, students are learning that the change of weather associated with Spring will be very gradual.
* The Scholastic Book Fair is happening in our Greenfield Library. Please drop by during interviews. Open Thurs. evening until 8 p.m. and during the day on Fri. until 2 p.m.
* I am still looking for parent volunteers to come to the CUP with us on Mar. 18. Please let me know if you're available. I think our time will be 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. Students will choose between swimming, skating, bowling or a combination of these. More information about Winter Carnival activities will be available soon.
* I am asking for each child to bring in a clean, empty CD case for an activity next week. Thanks!
* Your child should continue to do nightly reading over the March Break. It would be a great time to visit the community library. If you want me to prepare a bag of books for the classroom, I will sign them out in your child's name.
* After March Break, each student needs to bring a photo of themselves doing something on their week off school. It might be an indoor or outdoor activity, home or away. The photo is for a writing activity and it will not be returned. Photos are needed for March 29 please.
*
* The Scholastic Book Fair is happening in our Greenfield Library. Please drop by during interviews. Open Thurs. evening until 8 p.m. and during the day on Fri. until 2 p.m.
* I am still looking for parent volunteers to come to the CUP with us on Mar. 18. Please let me know if you're available. I think our time will be 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. Students will choose between swimming, skating, bowling or a combination of these. More information about Winter Carnival activities will be available soon.
* I am asking for each child to bring in a clean, empty CD case for an activity next week. Thanks!
* Your child should continue to do nightly reading over the March Break. It would be a great time to visit the community library. If you want me to prepare a bag of books for the classroom, I will sign them out in your child's name.
* After March Break, each student needs to bring a photo of themselves doing something on their week off school. It might be an indoor or outdoor activity, home or away. The photo is for a writing activity and it will not be returned. Photos are needed for March 29 please.
*
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
* I am looking forward to meeting with you at parent-teacher interviews next week. I will send home your appointment time tomorrow. Please let me know ASAP if you cannot attend at that time and I will do my best to reschedule you. Thanks!
* The children made an easy math fact egg carton game on Monday. Please use it nightly at home to practice math facts. In pairs, the students used 2 counters and chose addition or subtraction facts. Try using 3 counters for an extra addition challenge. Regular practice will improve your child's recall of the basic math facts.
* As part of our "Winter" theme, students worked on brainstorming winter words, collaboratively shared word attack skills to spell the words (syllabication, compound words, endings, blends, etc.) and made a word search for a partner to solve. Today we were able to talk about the importance of one's neatness and proper letter formation as key to completing the fun activity. I now realize fewer words and bigger squares would have been helpful. Thanks for trying it.
* Please send that extra pair of mittens and socks, as well as dry, warm, snow gear every day so your child can enjoy outdoor fun.
*If your home phone number has changed, please notify myself or the office. It's really important that we have a working contact number.
* Still looking for a few volunteers for our Credit Union Fun Day on March 18. More details to follow. If available for a few hours, I'd very much appreciate your help.
* The children made an easy math fact egg carton game on Monday. Please use it nightly at home to practice math facts. In pairs, the students used 2 counters and chose addition or subtraction facts. Try using 3 counters for an extra addition challenge. Regular practice will improve your child's recall of the basic math facts.
* As part of our "Winter" theme, students worked on brainstorming winter words, collaboratively shared word attack skills to spell the words (syllabication, compound words, endings, blends, etc.) and made a word search for a partner to solve. Today we were able to talk about the importance of one's neatness and proper letter formation as key to completing the fun activity. I now realize fewer words and bigger squares would have been helpful. Thanks for trying it.
* Please send that extra pair of mittens and socks, as well as dry, warm, snow gear every day so your child can enjoy outdoor fun.
*If your home phone number has changed, please notify myself or the office. It's really important that we have a working contact number.
* Still looking for a few volunteers for our Credit Union Fun Day on March 18. More details to follow. If available for a few hours, I'd very much appreciate your help.
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