Second Grade Happenings October 2-6

What an amazing week of learning we've had. Second graders have settled into our classroom routines and have really started taking charge of their learning. We also had a fun week participating in all the Homecoming dress up days! Please return your field trip permission forms this Friday if you haven't already.

Upcoming Dates to Remember

Monday, October 2 - PSC Meeting
Wednesday, October 4 - Math MAP test - 9:30-10:40 AM 

Sunday, October 8th-Ride to Read-Family Bike Event 10:00 AM-1:00 PM http://www.kaukauna.k12.wi.us/cms_files/resources/Ride%20to%20Read%20Brochure.pdf

Friday, October 13 - 2nd grade field trip to Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary
Tuesday, October 17 - Family Night - Grandparents, Games, and Goodies (more information to come)

Thursday and Friday, October 26 & 27 - No School

October's Family Night is "Grandparents, Goodies and Games". It will be held on October 17th from 6:00-7:00PM. There is NOT a meal this night, but there will be a little snack for students and their grandparents to enjoy. Look for more information to come home soon!

RED RIBBON WEEK

October is Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Abuse Awareness (ATODA) month. October 23rd thru October 31st is National Red Ribbon Week… a week dedicated to celebrating a healthy and drug free life. Kaukauna Elementary Schools have several activities planned during the month to promote awareness. The following is a list of dates and activities planned at school:

    *Kaukauna elementary students will be creating posters and/or grocery bags to share a

     “DRUG FREE/Healthy Living” message. Look for bags at Piggly Wiggly during Red   

      Ribbon Week .

       Dress up Days: Monday, October 23rd -Wednesday October 25th

      *Monday, October 23rd- “Teaming Up Against Drugs is NO SWEAT!”

       Wear your favorite Sweats and/or Team Apparel!

      *Tuesday, October 24th-“My Future is BRIGHT DRUG FREE!”

       Wear BRIGHT or NEON colors!

      *Wednesday, October 25th-“Red Day!” “Be United Against Drugs!”

       Deck yourself out in Red apparel!

Curricular Updates

Reading Workshop:
We are working on noticing when we make mistakes in our reading and fixing them up. We're also marking our thinking with post-its to grow ideas and share our thinking with our partners. Some things we we are post-iting are, I predict...because..., I think....because..., I wonder....

Writing Workshop:
We are continuing to work on elaborating our stories by adding in setting details, dialogue, 
small actions and thinking. We also checked for spelling and punctuation to make sure our 
readers could read our writing!

Word Work:
We will be working on bonus final consonants this week (ff, ll, ss, zz) and the glued sound -all. 
We'll also be focusing on the following punctuation: exclamation points and quotation marks.

Science:
You've probably heard that our caterpillars are chrysalises! We are anxiously awaiting our butterflies to emerge!

We Have Chrysalises!

Students are super excited! In 7-10 days we should have butterflies! Ask you child about molting and silk spinning.

Weekly Updates September 25-29

Sunday, September 24, 2017

This week is Homecoming week for Kaukauna. New Directions will be walking in the parade again this year. The parade is on Wednesday evening starting at Holy Cross School/St. Ignatius. If you are interested, we'll meet at the church parking lot at 4:00. The walk will begin at 4:30.

Other Homecoming activities include:

Monday = Neon or tie dye

Tuesday = Superhero (just a t-shirt or be creative, does not need to be costume superhero)

Wednesday = NDLC Clothing or purple (for the parade)

Thursday =  Sports Team Wear

Friday = Kaukauna Spirit or colors



Upcoming Dates to Remember
Wednesday, September 27 - Homecoming Parade
Tuesday, September 26 - Reading MAP test - 8:15-9:45 AM (see below)
Monday, October 2 - PSC Meeting
Wednesday - October 4 - Math MAP test - 9:30-10:40 AM (see below)

Sunday, October 8th-Ride to Read-Family Bike Event 10:00 AM-1:00 PM
Friday, October 13 - 2nd grade field trip to Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary
Tuesday, October 17 - Family Night - Grandparents, Games, and Goodies (more information to come)
Thursday and Friday, October 26 & 27 - No School

MAP Testing

Students will go to the Computer Lab for MAP testing on September 26 and October 4. MAP is a standardized math and reading test that is nationally normed. All of our 2nd-4th grade students take the MAP assessment three times each year: fall, winter, and spring. Results will be shared with parents at conferences in November. 

Curricular Updates

Reading Workshop:
Partnership talk and writing about our reading have been in the forefront of our learning recently in reading. We will continue to work on these things, along with tackling tricky words, this week.

Writing Workshop:
We continue to work on personal narratives in writing and are focusing on bringing our stories to life by using small actions, dialogue, inner thinking, character feelings, and movement. I am amazed at how far the kids have come already this year!

Word Work:
We are working on the digraphs sh, ch, th, wh, and ck this week.

Math:
We've been busy setting up equations using math mountains, a visual representation of the partners and totals of a number The total (sum) appears at the top and the two partners (addends) that are added to produce the greater number are below to the left and right. These mountains become especially useful as we look at the relationships between addition and subtraction. 

Science:
We've been learning about the body of a caterpillar and are anxiously awaiting them to become chrysalises. Will it be this week? Stay tuned!


Have a great week!

Chromebooks

First time on the Chromebooks in second grade!

Second Grade Happenings September 18-22

There is lots of fun and learning going on in second grade! This is such a fun group of kids and they are SO excited to learn. I can already tell that it is going to be an amazing year!

A few notes:

-Just a reminder that there is no school this Friday, September 22nd. Teachers will be involved in professional development.

-We will be heading to the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary on October 13th. We are excited to participate in their Butterfly Life Cycle program. Permission slips came home last week.

-I am excited that so many of you can make it to our first family night, “Hot Dogs and How to Help”, this Tuesday! Dinner will be at 5:30, followed by informational sessions for parents at 6:05. Teachers will be taking school-aged kids outside. Childcare will be available for younger siblings.

-It is Safety Week in Kaukauna. Throughout the week, we will practice a tornado drill, a fire drill, and a lockdown/evacuation drill. You will receive more information about these drills from the school district.

Book orders are due this Wednesday. Book orders are optional, but are a great way to get books into your child's hands!

Important Dates:

Tuesday, September 12 - PSC Meeting - 6:00
Friday, September 15 - Dot Day - Wear Polka Dots

Tuesday, September 19 - Family Night (5:30-7:00)

Wednesday, September 20 - Picture Day
Wednesday, September 20 - Book Orders Due
Friday, September 22 - No School for Students
Friday, September 22 - Fox Cities Kids Fun Run  Click Here to Register (be sure to specify New Directions in the drop-down when you register)
September 27, 4:30 (4:00 line-up): Homecoming Parade

October 8, 10:00-1:00: Ride to Read bike event (pamphlets with registration information came home last Thursday)

Curricular Update:

-We were excited to welcome Painted Lady caterpillars to our classroom last Wednesday. We enjoy coming to school each day to see how much they have grown. We've spent lots of time observing and recording our observations in class.

Word Study - We will be using a new program called Fundations this year. This program focuses on phonics, grammar and fluency. Look for more information to come home soon!

-Math - I have done fact fluency assessments with each of the children to assess where they are with their fact development. Students will receive 4-8 facts to practice. I will be checking for automaticity on a weekly basis and will replace flash cards as facts are mastered.

In addition to math fact work, we have been learning about the different math tools available to us and how they can support our learning. We have been working on place value using cubes, bead racks, 10-frames, hundreds charts, and base 10 blocks.

-Readers Workshop - We are working on monitoring our comprehension.  One way to do this is by pausing during reading and do a retell of the story so far, as well as retelling at the end of the story.  Prompts to help the reader retell are:

Somebody (the character) wanted______, but_________, so____________. Have your child try this strategy at home with their nightly reading.

We are also working on using strategies to decode tricky words. In second grade, we roll up our sleeves when we get to tricky parts and dig right in!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. :)
Have a great week!

Kathy

Second Grade Happenings September 11-15

We are off to a great start in second grade! Last week we learned and practiced many of our routines. We also learned about how to be safe and respectful in the different areas of our school. We are so excited to be jumping into our regular schedule this week!

Family night notes will be sent home early this week. Our first family night, "Hot Dogs and How to Help", will be Tuesday, September 19th from 5:30-7:00. You only need to return one RSVP per family. 

Scholastic book orders will be sent home monthly this year. The first order will be sent home this week and will be due next Wednesday. Book orders are optional, but are a great way to get books into your child's hands!

Our first service project this school year is Postcards for Seniors. Starting in early October, students will have the opportunity to decorate postcards that will be delivered monthly to Meals on Wheels participants in Kaukauna. We are in need of some supplies for this project:

-New boxes of markers

-Light-colored card stock

-Fun stickers

If you have any of these items at home and would like to donate, please send them to school with your child or drop them off in the office. 

Questions can be directed to Kristin McEneany at kristin.mceneany@gmail.com.

Important Dates:
Tuesday, September 12 - PSC Meeting - 6:00
Friday, September 15 - Dot Day - Wear Polka Dots

Tuesday, September 19 - Family Night (5:30-7:00)

Wednesday, September 20 - Picture Day
Wednesday, September 20 - Book Orders Due
Friday, September 22 - No School for Students
Friday, September 22 - Fox Cities Kids Fun Run

Curriculum Updates:

Student of the Day starts on Monday. If you didn't receive a note with your child's day last week, please let me know and I will send another sheet. This is a great way to get to know our classmates at the beginning of the year.

Readers Workshop: We are working on workshop routines and keeping ourselves reading during independent reading time. We are also working on previewing books and partner conversations.

Writers Workshop: Students are writing true, small moment stories. These are one time stories, such as the time I lost my first tooth or the time I fell off my bike.

Math Workshop: We have been setting up our math routines and learning how to use our math tools. Students are being assessed on addition math facts.

Social Studies: Last week we talked about our hopes and dreams for second grade. This week we will be brainstorming rules to help us reach our hopes and dreams. 

Thanks for all you do to help and support your child. If you have any thoughts, questions, or concerns, please let me know!

Have a great  week!

Kathy