October 3, 2011

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

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!

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.

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

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.

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.

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* 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.

Welcome more Winter! What was that groundhog thinking....

*A big "Thank You" to all who send in treats for Valentine's Day.

*Students should bring a coat hanger and an empty, clean egg carton as soon as possible for upcoming activities.

*Wear PINK for Anti Bullying Awareness Day will be Thursday, Feb.24 due to the storm.

*On March 18th our school will be going to the Credit Union place for fun activities. I am looking for volunteers to chaperone small groups.I don't know times yet but if interested, please let me know. Thanks!

*A reminder to read with your child every night and to record the title in his/her reading log. We become better readers by reading!

*Scholastic Book Orders due Thurs. Feb. 24.
*Report Cards: March 8.
*Parent-teacher interviews: March 10 (evening)and March 11 (during the day- no school)
*March Break: March 21-25

Upcoming Grade 2B events:

Feb. 14 - Valentine's Day party. Students will participate in a Friendship Valentine Exchange. A note went home a few weeks ago asking that the children prepare the bought or homemade cards themselves. Students are asked to bring an empty cereal box, shoebox or Kleenex box to school on Friday so we can make a "mailbox" to collect the Valentines. Any craft bits of this or that for decorating the boxes are welcome (ribbon, stickers, gift wrap, silk flowers, fun foam shapes, etc.) Healthy snacks and treats are also welcome on Valentine's Day. Students should wear red.

Feb. 21 - Islander Day (no school)

Feb. 23 - Pink shirt day - wear pink to show an awareness for anti-bullying

Students have been evaluating the predictions of Groundhog Day last week and this had led nicely into our Science theme: The Wonders of Winter. We also learned about Chinese New Years and had a great discussion about celebrating the differences in cultures. We also finished our "How important is our skin?" experiment and how germs spread. We used the Canada's Food Guide to show students their daily goals: 5,4,2,1 (daily servings). We read about the importance of breakfast, rest, exercise and good nutrition. Please encourage your child in meal preparations and making healthy food choices ie:choosing some things for his/her lunch box. Please keep the copy of the guide for future use.

Our Friday spelling test this week will be the "No-excuse Grade 2 word list" in your child's study buddy folder. This assessment will help me evaluate how your child is doing and how to help improve your child's writing. Your child has worked at an individual level the past 4 weeks but it is still the core words or little frequently used words that are often misspelled in the child's writing.

A friendly reminder to pack that extra pair of mittens and socks and a plastic bag everyday for wet snow gear.

Happy February!

Here we are starting our 3rd week of school for 2011!

Hopefully you've heard from your child that we've been working on Wellness in our Health Curriculum. Through various activities, we're learning about the importance of making responsible informed choices to maintain health and promote safety. Positive health habits, Canada's Food Guide, daily physical activity and safety behaviours are all part of our learning. Joke Day was enjoyed by all and laughter is important for wellness. Watch for more home activities in weeks to come.

We are ironing out the little kinks of the Study Buddy spelling program. Please read the parent page in your child's red duotang. Each child should have 10 words for the week selected from last weeks test,the word lists and his/her own writing. The plan is that the words lists are made on Mon. and will go home each night for review. Every book and duotang must come back each morning please. There will be a test each Friday. We do daily word work but your child needs support to study these words at home as well. The goal is that the children will apply these learned words in their daily writing.

Please review the math facts with your child each night. This week your child will receive the next strategy: Zero facts. There are new flash cards to add to those you have. To date your child should have: doubles, doubles + 1,and Adding on 1, 2 or 3.
Regular practice will help reinforce the facts that your child should be able to recall.

Mon. Jan. 17
New homework duotangs are being made so students went home with no writtten HW and no homework bag BUT they were asked to read and go to bed early.