Weekly Update 12/12/16 - 12/16/16

The holiday spirit is alive and well within our classroom and hope the same is true within your homes! Noticing Books are full of stories about elves, Christmas trees, and visits with family, and we know there are more celebrations ahead. As we heard in Chapel last Friday, it is a season for joy and we hope you are each finding that amidst the hustle and bustle. 

This week will be no less busy, so take a look below at what we've got going on before break. 

Reader's -- Our "Nonfiction Nook" is in high demand! Now that we are off and running with nonfiction texts, the class has started to spend a portion of workshop reading non fiction as they search for "gems" to hold onto. The class has taken to this quite easily and is using Reader's Workshop as a time to learn and record new learnings in their Reader's Notebooks. We've discussed the different types of nonfiction books --- some that you pop in and pop out of, and others that are meant to be read in their entirety. This unit is equipping us for some research we will do when we return to school in January.

Writer's/Storypath -- Having published letters to you to share over Thanksgiving, we are using our skills as persuasive writers to advocate for the rainforest. Students are writing letters to various positions within local and national government, as well as to the government of Brazil. We've discussed the many gifts of the rainforest and why it's necessary to advocate that we stop mass destruction of this valuable land. We look forward to mailing these letters before the holidays! Please cross your fingers alongside of us that we get a response! 

Math -- You may have noticed our shift from geometry to numbers through recent homework assignments. The first investigation of Unit 3 has been focused on place value and learning to understand the two digits of a two digit number. We will continue to work on place value and will be using "strips and singles" to better understand the tens place and the ones place. We've learned several new games to help cement this understanding and are very pleased with everyone's work thus far. 

Word Study -- Because we are in the final stretch of school before break, we will be doing an all-class sort this week and into next week. We will be focusing on the "Bossy R" rule, which focuses on r-controlled vowel sounds (-ar, -or, -er). 

To keep things exciting, entertaining, and busy, we have a few additional things on the schedule this week and next. Mark your calendars!

• Thursday, December 15th -- Best Christmas Pageant at the Children's Theater 
• Friday, December 16th -- Holiday Celebration with InReach
• Monday, December 19th -- A visit from Mary Ottley, a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala. 
• Tuesday, December 20th -- Lessons and Carols at 2:00 in the gymnasium. We hope to see you there! 

And finally, please see the following message regarding All Trinity Builds, which will take place January 18th, 19th, and 20th. 

If you have any of the following materials, please send them in with your child or drop them in the ATB collection boxes located near the front desk: toilet paper tubes, paper towel rolls, PVC pipe, cans, milk cartons, old keys, oatmeal canisters, tennis racquet string, plastic cording, shoe boxes, gift wrap tubes, plastic clam shells, old silverware, coffee cans, milk jugs, pie pans, bells, old pots and pans, bamboo, dental floss, straws, or a vibraphone.

Thank you all for your constant support and let us know if you have any questions!

Enrichment Updates

Please see below for updates from our enrichment teachers!

Art
At the end of each trimester students earn skill ratings on their report cards. We take time now to explain what each skill rating looks like in the art room.

Understands Studio Procedures: Students knowing how to enter the room, listen to instructions, use studio materials to create work and clean up and store their work.

Approaches Art with a Collaborative Spirit: Students sharing ideas and materials and working well with each other.

Takes Risks and Embraces Mistakes: Students willingly trying new materials and experimenting with unfamiliar techniques while learning from their explorations.

Exhibits Scholarly Habits and Follows the Honor Code: Students behaving with kindness and respect while making choices that benefit the learning of every student.

Second graders had a busy and creative first trimester. The new sculpture studio is a hit!

Music

Second Grade Music is all about continuing to learn our music basics and have fun with Music! The Second Grade Music Classes have been learning a large spectrum of challenging songs and enjoyable circle games. They have been reviewing eighth notes, quarter notes, half notes and whole notes. The students have been learning about the staff and where pitches land on the staff. We have composed songs using DO, MI and SOL.

During the next month, the second grade class will begin learn more about jazz music. So far, we have learned how to scat and about Ella Fitzgerald. We will be learning about Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong and North Carolina’s own Duke Ellington. We are on our way with our unit on musical theatre. Our 2nd Grade musical “The Jungle Book” will be performed on Wednesday, January 25.

Healthful Living
Second grade has been working on the basic basketball skills of dribbling, passing, and shooting. We spent two weeks working in skill stations and small group work. We are currently playing a basketball game called blitzball. It’s been a big hit! A couple of our classes have been dedicated to “mat” (yoga, pilates, core) work and we will start working with basic cone drills in the coming weeks to work on speed and agility.

Spanish

Second graders have been practicing vocabulary words about festivals in Mexico, such as el festival, la piñata, la comunidad, las flores, la música and la comida.

We continue working on expressions and words about some family members, and reviewing greetings and good byes, using full sentences through short conversations, games and reading and writing exercises. Students are also comparing punctuation in both languages, and they are using question and exclamation marks in written sentences.

We already ended unit 1, Nos Conocemos, so now it would be a great time for you and your children to visit their online accounts (trinityepiscopal.schoology.com) and practice/review some of the skills we have been working on in class. The week 3 and 4 online activities under Unit 1's "Descubre Online" section would be great practice vocabulary words of family members, greetings, some subject pronouns and the verb ser.

Also, you might want to check out the videos embedded in the "U1 eBook" on pages 18, 26, 34, and 42.  They are only 3-5 minutes long and each one reviews one "week/semana" of the program. (Remember that Spanish only meets twice a week, so one week in Santillana is more like 3 weeks for Trinity!)

Faith Studies

We started the month of November learning about Dia de Los Muertos and All Saints Day, and  sharing many of the stories of the saints. We continued our studies in the Old Testament by hearing the stories of Joshua this month. These stories were shared using storytelling, animated video clips, and reading from Children’s Bibles.  Mrs. Williams also led a lesson on the hymn, “Once in Royal David’s City.”  As we enter the season of Advent, students are hearing stories of those who lead the way to Bethlehem.  So far we have met the prophet Isaiah and Mary and Joseph on the way to Bethlehem.  Second grade students will also make ornaments for the Jesse Tree which will be in the lobby through the month of December.  I really enjoy working with your second graders during faith studies.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Grace and peace,

Rev. Lindsey Peery (lpeery@tescharlotte.org)

Wellness

For Wellness this month the 2nd graders engaged in a discussion about what it means to practice kindness and consideration. We examined what that section of the Trinity Honor Code means and then brainstormed ways that we can be kind to each other, kind in the classroom, and kind in the world. We then discussed the definition of the word empathy and engaged in conversation around what it means to “stand in someone else’s shoes”. To conclude we read the book, “Stand in My Shoes” by Bob Sornson which is about a young girl who learns what the word empathy means and as a result makes a conscious effort to notice how other people are feeling. The 2nd graders enjoyed the book and discussed ways that they could be more intentional about noticing other people’s feelings moving forward! I am enjoying teaching Wellness to your 2nd graders and wanted to introduce myself as the new counselor at Trinity. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any comments or questions!  -Kimberly Enicks; kenicks@tescharlotte.org

ImaginOn this Thursday

We will be visiting ImaginOn this Thursday, December 1st. Please send in your children's library books ASAP so that we can return them on time and ensure everyone is able to check out new books. Thanks so much! This will be our last visit to ImaginOn before the holiday break.

Quick Updates and Happy Thanksgiving

As we settle into Thanksgiving break, we'd like to share a brief update on what to expect when we return. The race to Christmas Break will be upon us and we will certainly be staying busy in the classroom. No surprise there!

In Writing, we will use our new skills as persuasive writers to write letters advocating for the rain forest. Having been exposed to the many gifts of the rain forest, the threats to the rain forest, and having built a rain forest right outside our classroom, we look forward to seeing the passion and excitement that your children will pour into these letters -- which we will, in fact, mail to cattle farmers and paper companies! While we cannot promise a response, we can count on students learning that their voice makes a difference and that words can be powerful. Reader's will begin to merge in with our work as writers, given we will shift our focus in nonfiction reading. Generally, this is an exciting unit for students as they learn the different parts of a nonfiction text and it will also help make their writing stronger.

In Math, we will jump into Unit 3 of Investigations which will lead us back into problem solving with numbers. We will be revisiting story problems and efficient strategies to problem solve, as well as continuing work with money and time.

Other things to take note of:

• Continued time with InReach. Stay tuned for more detailed, logistical information!
• Tuesday, December 6th: Hour of Code with Josh Thorton
• Thursday, December 15th: Best Christmas Pageant Ever at the Children's Theater
• Tuesday, December 20th: Lessons and Carols Service 2:00

We will share more post Thanksgiving and as December settles in -- but wanted you to have a blueprint of the direction we're headed. Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving! We hold so much gratitude for you and your families. 

Weekly Update 11/7/16 - 11/11/16

Big things happening this week in Second Grade! Mark your calendars...

Tuesday, November 8th -- Election Day! Many thanks to Mr. Grady Smith for hosting Kids Voting. We'll be taking a trip upstairs tomorrow morning to participate in a voting simulation. Having studied the election process in Social Studies, we're excited to make this learning real. Students will even complete voter registration cards!

Thursday, November 10th -- Dream Makers Luncheon with InReach! Thanks to Jennifer Bankhead for quickly coordinating our volunteer drives for this event and for the many willing volunteers who will join us. We're so excited to participate in this program put on by InReach and look forward to an afternoon singing and celebrating what has been a wonderful beginning to our service learning partnership. During our past visits with InReach, we have been rehearsing "Climb Every Mountain" with Mrs. Brenda and hope to be ready for the stage come Thursday. The program will be held at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral on East Boulevard and we will be sure to take pictures for those who are not joining us by driving. InReach has kindly offered to provide a pizza lunch for students, so if you child will not enjoy a pizza lunch, please send a bagged lunch on Thursday. Please also be sure that your child wear a BLUE Trinity shirt. Let us know if this poses a problem for you.

Wednesday - Thursday, November 9/10th -- We start our rain forest build! The classroom will be abuzz with creative minds as we work together to represent the rain forest and its layers on the windows outside our classroom. Groups have been assigned layers of the rain forest that they are responsible for building and we look forward to seeing the final product come Friday!

Friday, November 11th -- Middle School Musical! All TES will head to Pease Auditorium at 1:00 to see the production of Legally Blonde and we will return right before dismissal. Thank you for your patience on Friday afternoon as we scurry back for carpool!

Outside of these exciting additions to our schedule, we will continue moving forward across subjects and will send a more detailed update regarding curriculum later in the month. Let us know if you have questions, and we'll look forward to seeing many of you this week!

Weekly Update 10/24/16 - 10/28/16

Here we are, the last week of October! While the past two weeks have been short, we have jumped into our new units of study and want to share with you an update on what all that entails.

Reader's Workshop and Writer's Workshop are beginning to cross over a bit, which we always love. Over the past two weeks, students have been closely examining their characters and discussing their findings with a partner. We've asked students to notice the difference between character traits and feelings, and to also note when a character surprises us. We've asked readers to use the question stems, "Why would..." and "Would I..." as they explore the texts. These are great questions to use at home as well. Recently, we have begun looking for the life lesson within texts, a year long theme, but one we're focusing on in particular this week. As young writers, students are trying their hand at persuasive writing. We started with a free write on any topic and are now writing about characters or books we love. These pieces will develop over the coming weeks as students learn to support their opinions with fact as a way to persuade their readers. And along the subject of literacy, we've begun a new word study focus -- plurals. Students are learning when and why to add -es, -s, or -ies to words and we will have an assessment on this sort at the end of the month.

In math, our unit on geometry is in full swing. It's been an exciting unit so far and students have enjoyed the hands-on component. We are learning the difference between 2D and 3D shapes, as well as how to use mathematical language to describe geometric attributes.

Social Studies continues to focus on leaders, both in our community and beyond, and we will take the election into special consideration within our lessons as November begins. We hope you've heard about the exciting science experiment/project that is taking place in our classroom! But in case you haven't, take a look at these pictures from last week when we built our very own composition bins!

It was a loud and exciting lesson! Worms were not the only ones wiggling around, and we will continue observing their behavior in the next few months. Our study of soil will continue through October and if you're interested in seeing the different topics we've covered, take a look at the bulletin board outside our classroom.

This past week, we were lucky enough to have David Matvey, Nicholas's father, join us for the morning to share the origin of our beloved "extra desk" that sits in the back of the classroom. Mr. Matvey gave us a glimpse into classrooms of the past and we loved seeing the surprised faces of our students as Mr. Matvey explained some of the many differences between schools now and then. Thank you, Mr. Matvey, for taking time to visit us and share a special part of your family's history.

This week, we are introducing a new and exciting subject into our schedule. Storypath! We are beginning our study of the rainforest and look forward to learning about its many layers, its plant and animal inhabitants, its importance in our everyday life, and the risks surrounding it. This unit will tie in with both science and writing down the road as students learn how to advocate for the rainforest.

Please read the following updates from enrichment teachers:

Art -- The studio is open and the artists are enthusiastic and LOUD! They love working collaboratively with their peers and negotiating with one another to get their ideas out on paper. Popular trends in second grade are combining drawings together with lots of tape and painting on easels with the messy liquid tempera paint. They frequently use the guided drawing books and tracing paper. Pokemon is a favorite.

Faith Studies -- We started the year reviewing the stories in Genesis and Exodus in second grade faith studies.  We heard the stories of creation, Noah’s Ark, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and the 10 Commandments. The stories were presented in many different ways including hands on materials, colorful children’s books, and animated video clips.  Mrs. Williams taught us a lesson about the saints of God, centered on the hymn, “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God.”  She will do a similar lesson each trimester in second grade. We have read and reflected on some Jewish Children’s Stories around Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot as all three of these Jewish holidays are in October this year.   Second grade students  also read and reflected on the children’s stories, God’s Dream, by Desmond Tutu, and Whoever You Are, by Mem Fox.  Second grade students  helped create the “chain of change,” we used last week during Children’s Sabbath. I am really enjoying teaching second grade faith studies this year.  Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have.  

Grace and peace,

Rev. Lindsey Peery (lpeery@tescharlotte.org)

Music -- We have been reviewing processes and skills in music class. Our 2nd grade music students have been reviewing note values of quarter, eighth, half and whole notes and rests. Additionally, we have been learning how to read out of our first music text of Spotlight on Music! 2nd graders will begin to learn to analyze and further their music skills. Our 2nd graders have been working on learning about the song and characters of the Jungle Book. The Jungle Book is our 2nd grade musical for this year and will be performed on Wednesday, January 25.

Wellness -- The second graders enjoyed learning about bullying prevention during their first wellness lesson. They now have a better understanding of the difference between bullying behavior and individual acts of meanness. They also have the tools to advocate for themselves and their friends if they ever feel they are in a situation where bullying is occurring. We loved seeing them in purple last week! If you are interested in children’s books about bullying, you can find a few here.

Spanish -- Welcome to Spanish at Trinity 2016/17! We are excited to start a new program this school year! Trinity’s K-5 Spanish Language Program explores language and culture through explicit presentation and integration of the five Cs: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities; supporting students, from beginners to heritage speakers. Every level, contains units organized a particular theme: Unit 1: Nos Conocemos - Greetings, and goodbyes, family, and friends; Unit 2: ¿Cómo vivimos? - clothing, colors, homes, people and places in community; Unit 3: Vamos a aprender - games, school, and school activities; Unit 4: Los animales - pets and farm animals, and taking care of pets.  Mexico, Nicaragua, Chile, and Costa Rica.

Children have access to a personal online account that offers several tools such as: El Libro del Estudiante (Student Book), El Cuaderno de Práctica (Practice Book), Descubre Online (Online Activities), Biblioteca Temática (Thematic Library - 3 levels), Letras de canciones (lyrics-Songs), and Vídeos (videos). Each link contains audio for students to read along or just listen to the conversations, and songs. Join your child to use and practice together this amazing resource that supports this great learning experience in a second language! Just follow the steps that are explained in a letter sent home with your child's online account information.

More news coming soon!

Finally, please make note of the following events coming up:

• Tuesday, October 25th is Mix It Up Day at TES. Our lunch time will shift slightlly (11:55 - 12:25) so that we can enjoy eating and conversing with a different group of students than our normal schedule permits. Thanks to Tracy Onze in the MS for coordinating! 
• This Thursday, October 27th, we will visit InReach again. Thank you to Jennifer Bankhead for coordinating our drivers, and we look forward to another exciting visit! So far, this service learning partnership has been a huge success and seeing our friends from InReach again is sure to be a highlight of the week. 
• On Friday, October 28th, we will have Field Day. We will have a regular Friday morning, however will shift into play mode after lunch. We are looking forward to an exciting and energetic afternoon!

We hope that things on your end are going well, and as always, please let us know if you need anything! 

Weekly Update 9/26/16 - 9/30/16

Hello, Second Grade families! With conferences around the corner, we are beginning to wrap up several of units of study. Here's what's happening...

In Writer's, students are working to publish their small moment stories. We have been through the editing process both independently and with peers and students are learning the importance of reading and rereading their work. These stories will be published by conferences and we look forward to sharing their stories with you!

In Reader's, we are shifting into a unit on characters. Students will be learning to understand the differences between character traits, emotions, and actions. As you read with your children at home, we'd love for you to engage in conversation around character behavior as a way mirror what we are learning in the classroom. Tomorrow we will visit ImaginOn as a class to return books and to check out new ones. Please remember to keep track of these books at home!

Our first unit of Math will be wrapping up this week and we'll have a final assessment early next week. This work will be ready by conferences as well. Our next unit will focus on geometry where we will explore the differences between 2-D and 3-D shapes, quadrilaterals, and what constitutes as a half, third, or fourth. Also in regard to math, we've sent home an informational letter about the online Investigations program and how to use this program. We've introduced your children to this program as well and hope you will take the time to explore this new teaching tool.

Our new Word Study sort explores the past tense (-ed) form of verbs and the different sounds an -ed word can make. This sort will continue over the next two weeks. Thank you for your partnership at home as students develop routines with word study homework.

Science and Social Studies, while not scheduled as often, have been a huge hit! We continue to study soil in Science and will begin learning about decomposition this week and different decomposers that make their home in the soil. This is all great preparation for our field trip to Reedy Creek next month. At this point, students are well versed in what "rich" soil is and the benefits it has for plants. We conducted a little experiment last week by planting grass seed in rich soil and also in clay soil. It was an exciting morning yesterday to walk in the classroom and see the grass growing! As predicted, Soil A (the rich soil) is growing more grass than Soil B (clay soil). In Social Studies we have been talking about how people make a difference in a community and about the presidential election. Our discussions have led to some powerful conversations and we've loved hearing your children speak about problems in our community, near and far, that we can work towards solving. We were proud to see students connecting the current conditions in Charlotte to our Social Studies unit by acknowledging that we have an urban problem on our hands. We trust more good conversations are ahead.

I think it is safe to say that the best part of the past two weeks has been our new partnership with InReach. We had two successful visits that left all involved with full hearts. Last week, we welcomed about 10 InReach customers to our campus to sing songs with Mrs. Williams, take a tour around Trinity, and hear one of our favorite stories, Ferdinand. Not a single person left without a smile on there face and the visit certainly came at a needed time. Good things are happening within these classroom walls!

As October draws near, please be sure you have the following dates on your calendar:

• Tuesday, October 4th at 9:45 -- A Year with Frog and Toad at the Children's Theater. 
• Wednesday, October 5th -- School pictures! 
• Thursday and Friday, October 6-7th -- Conferences. If you have not signed up for a time yet, please do so through Good News. We will be sticking to the schedule so please make sure you know when you are scheduled. We are looking forward to spending time with you to talk about your child's growth so far! 
• Monday, October 10th -- No school!
• Tuesday, October 11th -- Reedy Creek Field Trip, 8:30 - 12:30. Stay tuned for more detailed information regarding our departure time and lunch plans. We are planning to eat lunch at Reedy Creek and will touch base with lunch orders beforehand.

Well, that covers the first half of October and clearly we will be quite busy! Please let know us know if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Weekly Update 9/7/16 - 9/9/16

Here we are, in the fourth week of school! Routine has set in and we hope that is true for you as well. As we mentioned at Back to School Night, we will do our best to post classroom update bimonthly. Updates will include a brief overview of what we are learning in the classroom, additional happenings around school, pictures, and reminders for what's ahead. That said, let's jump into our first update!

In Writer's Workshop, small moment stories are coming to fruition. Your children have selected small moments from their Noticing Books to develop into stories and have completed the brainstorming process. We have emphasized the importance of having a beginning, middle, and end and are currently working on adding detail to those sections. Shortly, students will be crafting a good ending to their small moment stories that will lead into our final edits and published stories.

In Reader's Workshop, we are "rolling up our sleeves" and getting comfortable as 2nd Grade readers. Students have grown familiar with what Reader's Workshop should look and sound like and we are starting to think this might be the favorite part of the day! In the coming weeks, we will be carefully reading and conferring with your children in order to best support them as growing readers and to be sure they are choosing "just right" books. Our first visit to ImaginOn was last Thursday, and we received a wonderful introduction to the sections of the library from Ms. Becca. While we did not check out books this go around, we will do so during our next visit this Thursday.

Math, in true Trinity fashion, has been quite hands on and active. We are working closely with coins -- learning to decipher between dimes, nickels, and quarters, and ask that you please partner with us in this at home. The more exposure students have to these everyday math tools, the better! We are beginning to explore time, and will continue this work throughout the course of the year. Unit 1 focuses on primarily on counting and the many strategies we can use to problem solve. This will be done within Story Problems and various classroom games. We encourage students to always, always show their work and to carefully explain their thinking. Please encourage your children to do the same at home whenever homework is assigned. Throughout the year, your children will develop more efficient strategies to solve problems and their comfort and confidence with numbers will also grow.

Word Study routines began last week! A new sort was introduced last week and we will continue to work with this sort for another week. We will be focusing on the "-ck rule." Be on the lookout for a video regarding how to do a "Blind Sort" within the next week. As mentioned at Back to School Night, we have been extremely impressed with the Word Study work of your children! They are applying these new skills during Reader's and Writer's, which is exactly what we hope to see.

Aside from our core subjects, we have been incorporating a variety of activities to our days. STEM activities, Book Buddies, and a touch of gardening. Check out the pictures below!

Happy faces on the first day of school! 

"Saving Fred" -- Our first STEM build.

The grand opening of the library!

Getting to know our Book Buddies from Mr. Merritt's class!

September Reminders:

• Another visit to ImaginOn! This Thursday, September 8th, we will take another trip to ImaginOn. This time, students will be coming home with two books -- a "just right" book as well as a "dessert book" of their choosing! 
• Mark your calendar -- Friday, September 9th is Mrs. Dufresne's birthday!!!
• Wednesday, September 28th is a NUTS Day (No Uniform at Trinity School) and 1/2 day for students. Please plan to pick your children up at 11:30 or to make arrangements with TED in advance. 
• Service Learning will begin next Thursday, September 15th. Our class will visit InReach at both the Baxter Street location as well as at Covenant Presbyterian Church. As mentioned during the Parent Coffee, we will be participating in the Reach In 2 Reach Out Self-Advocacy class. Stay tuned for more information regarding volunteer drivers. 

Chapel Reminders

Hello, Second Grade Families! We wanted to share a bit of information regarding Community Chapel this Friday and in the coming weeks. Because we are getting into the swing of school and learning/relearning routines, we would like to be sure we sit as a class during Chapel. Of course, we welcome you to join us in the gym on Friday at 8:00AM for Chapel, but ask that you please sit separately from your children. Second Grade students sit on the gym floor, around mid-court. We look forward to our first Community Chapel and hope to see you there!

Welcome to Second Grade!

Welcome to second grade! Miss McAlister and I are so excited to meet you next week. We have been working hard to get everything ready for you and we can’t wait for school to start!

Before our year officially begins, I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. This is my sixth year teaching at Trinity and marks my second year teaching second grade. You will hear a lot about my family, especially my two children who both graduated from and loved Trinity. I look forward to learning about your family too!

I feel truly blessed that Miss McAlister will be your other teacher. This year is her third year as a much beloved member of the second grade team and the second year that we have been teaching together. In her spare time, Miss McAlister enjoys running, reading, traveling, and spending time with her family and friends. She has many stories to share with you from her summer adventures in Tanzania.

We would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest second grade Wildcats, Geoffrey Eloge and his parents Sara and Geoff  and Ned Warren and his parents Kathleen and Edward. Geoffrey is in our class, and I know you will join us in greeting him and showing Geoffrey why Trinity is such a special place!

On the first day of school, please bring these 4 things: your Noticing Book, a favorite picture book, the completed “Hopes and Dreams” form from your parents, and a healthy snack. If you are interested, the Dining Hall will offer free lunch for all students during the first week of school!

Here are a few other reminders:

• Wildcat Round-Up is a drop-in event on Monday, August 15 from 11:30-1:00 pm or 4:30-6:00 pm. Students will have a chance to meet their teachers, see their classroom, and visit with friends. Parents are expected to stay with their children at this event.
• The first day of school is Tuesday, August 16. Our classroom doors open every morning at 7:45am, but students may be dropped off as early as 7:15 am for morning care. School starts promptly at 8:00am and pickup is at 3:20pm.
• If your child is planning to go to Trinity Extended Day (TED), please make arrangements with the TED Director, Temekia Morton (tmorton@tescharlotte.org) and let us know as well.
• Lower School Back-to-School Night is Thursday August 25, from 6:00-8:30 (child care provided through TED). K-2 parents will meet in classrooms from 6:00-7:00, all K-5 parents will meet in the Dickson Dining Hall from 7:00-7:30, and 3-5 parents will meet in classroom from 7:30-8:30.
• The 1st and 2nd Grade Parent Coffee is Tuesday August 30,  from 8:00-9:15 in the Cotter Commons. At this event, you will hear more from the Lower School Administrative team about grade-specific curriculum, developmental benchmarks, and more!

Parents, please feel free to contact us throughout the year via email: cdufresne@tescharlotte.org and

mkmcalister@tescharlotte.org. We can’t wait to start the year!

Weekly Update 5/31/16 - 6/3/16

The countdown is on! Only one more Monday left in the school year and not a day goes by without a little something "extra" going on around here. On Monday, we paired up with Third Grade for All Trinity Builds where teams were challenged to find a way to drop a plastic cup of water from the balcony of our classrooms to the courtyard without spilling the water. It was a treat for the teachers to watch creative, problem-solving minds set to work with the limited supplies of fabric, tinfoil, string, and plastic. Most every team attempted to create a parachute of sorts before realizing that the plastic wrap and extra padding was a better route. All Trinity Builds revolves around the Engineering Design Process, which includes a cycle of imagining, planning, creating, improving, and asking.

The other exciting piece of our week came Thursday morning, when we were able to celebrate the year with your families. Not only did everyone enjoy starting their day with donuts, but it was a joy to reflect upon the year, see pictures, read poetry, and be in community. If you'd like to view the slideshow again, please click HERE.

In the classroom, we are squeezing things in! In Writer's Workshop, your students have been working on their realistic fiction stories. This will be our final writing piece of the year and we will work on publishing next week. In Reader's, we end the year by enjoying our just-right books -- and we must say, what is now "just-right" for your children is far different than what we saw in August! Perhaps one of the biggest joys about this time of year is our chance to see all the growth that has happened, and these second graders have truly grown like beanstalks. In case you haven't heard, a new series has taken our class by storm -- Wrenly! Our Unit 8 Assessment from Investigations will be sent home this week and we ask that you please review, sign, and return it by Friday. This will be the last math assessment that comes home. We will begin a new unit on measurement, however will not take an assessment on the material. Aside from these core subjects, our days are filled with end of year activities and as much community time as possible. We love our classroom and we love your children -- we just have no idea where the year went!

Reminders for the upcoming week:

• Please return your the Student Math Handbook that went home at the beginning of the year. We hope this has been a helpful tool for you throughout the year and appreciate your cooperation as we collect these books for next year.
• Monday, June 6th -- 8th Grade Commencement. We will celebrate with 8th Grade next Monday and then gather on the field at our normal lunch time (12:00) for a picnic lunch. 
• Tuesday, June 7th -- Alumni Book Buddy Day! A few weeks ago, students wrote invitation letters to alumni, which we know were well received and we look forward to having a few graduates visit next week!
• Wednesday, June 8th -- Last day of school! Moving Up Chapel will be at 10:30 in the gym and dismissal will be at 11:30 following the service. We hope to see you there!

Weekly Update 5/9/16 - 5/13/16

We all know that May is a busy month and this May is certainly no exception! It is almost hard to know where to begin. The children would undoubtedly pick our recent Grandfriends Day where we were blessed to have so many visitors come and see all that we are doing in our classroom as a highlight. The children were so proud to show off their work and explain all of the different subjects we have been learning as they took their grandfriends on tour of our classroom.

The children would also say that the visit from Calef Brown, our beloved poet, was truly a highlight of these past two weeks. Mr. Brown came to our classroom and showed how he always starts writing a  poem by making a drawing. Once he has the drawing complete, he makes a list of things that come to mind as he looks at his whimsical drawings. Only then does he begin to look for words which rhyme, or nearly rhyme words that are on the list.
Mr. Brown also shared his belief that poems can be fun, but never at he expense of someones feelings. The children were fascinated to learn that he really didn't start writing poetry until he was grown. Mr. Brown started as an illustrator. His visit was inspiring and he left a treasure of his whimsical art which can be found on our classroom door. The children loved trying to use the "Calef Brown" method to create their own poems.

In writing, we have just finished our unit on poetry. Hopefully everyone received their Mother's Day poems this weekend. We will share more of their published poems during our end of the year celebration. We will be creating realistic fiction in our last writing unit. In reading, we have just completed our unit on series book clubs. We celebrated our work by having each book club present what they liked and, in some cases didn't like, about their series. This was a great exercise to get them ready for the work they will do in book clubs next year.

In math we finished up our study of fractions and the End-of-Unit assessments will go home this week. We are now exploring new addition and subtraction concepts as we work to manipulate odd and even numbers.

In science we have learned about the three states of matter and how they change. A highlight was a visit to the middle school science lab where Margaret Rudisill let them examine what happens when you melt an ice cube. The children loved discovering what happens when you mix dry ice into liquid or what happens when you put an object such as a coin on dry ice. Later, we planted various green beans which we are watching grow rapidly on the light cart outside of our classroom.

Finally, in social studies we are studying about how ordinary citizens can make a difference. We will soon share with the children that the persuasive letters they wrote about the rainforest did make a difference as they listen to letters we got back from International Paper and Robertson Lumber. We will end our social studies unit with an exploration of how leaders get elected. Given our election cycle, this material is timely. It was so gratifying to hear the children explain to their grandfriends how they have been tracking the Republican and Democratic nomination process. Ask your child to explain what we have done!

Last but not least, we welcome Mary Kate back from her mission trip to Kenya where she was doing important work at the Renguti School. She was able to Skype with the class which was very exciting. She also wrote letters that we read every day so we knew exactly what she doing. The children loved hearing from her and they are all excited to hear all about her trip!

Reminders for the Upcoming Weeks:

• Discovery Place visit TOMORROW, May 10th, for a lesson on matter. We will have time after the lesson to explore the museum.
• End of Year Celebration! Thursday, May 26th from 8:00 - 9:00. Please meet us outside the classroom for a poetry share, much like the Coral Reef Museum, where we will celebrate the good work of our poets! We will then make our way to the dining hall for a breakfast and slideshow of the many exciting things we've done this year!

Lastly, please use THIS LINK to see an update from Senora Guerrero!

Weekly Update 4/25/16 - 4/29/16

The end of April? We aren't sure how this happened! It seems as though the feeling of fleeting time will never leave us, and we're surely not ready for this class to "graduate." The past week was full of excitement and we hope stories of Daniel Stowe, The Lion King, and the First Grade Parade all made it home to you. A huge thank you to our many parent volunteers who took the time to join us and lend an extra set of hands and eyes during our field trip. You can find all our pictures from Daniel Stowe by clicking THIS LINK. Mrs. Bolding and Mr. Smith also captured some great moments -- so be sure to check out their photos HERE!

Here's what's happening now! Reader's Workshop has continued to focus on Book Clubs, which your children seem to be greatly enjoying. Each club has its own name and spends time discussing and questioning the text at hand. Book Clubs are looking for similarities across texts in regard to character, plot and problems that are encountered. Should you be reading any series books at home, we encourage you to engage in similar conversation at home.

Writing poetry has been a true joy. As we mentioned to you during Student-Led Conferences, poetry brings a certain freedom that is so refreshing and enjoyable for your children. We have learned to use repetition, personification, theme, and change the point of view. Our poetry notebooks are filling up and these will certainly be treasures to keep! Mrs. Lanze has joined us several afternoons to incorporate technology into our writing. Each child has selected a poem to publish digitally, and we will have printed copy of these as well. We look forward to publishing more poetry soon and to celebrating the great work of these young, inspired poets. The next unit will be on realistic fiction, and will carry us through the end of the year.

Should you still have your child's End of Unit Assessment from Unit 6, please send in at your earliest convenience. We are in the midst of a short unit on fractions, which all seem to be very interested in -- especially when we relate it to pizza slices! We will spend another week on fractions and wrap up next week.

In Science, we have been studying matter and the class has enjoyed reading, observing, and experimenting with solids, liquids, and gases. We loved that several students noticed the presence of all three states of matter within their homemade terrariums from Daniel Stowe. This week, we will join Mrs. Rudisill in the science lab to experiment a bit with dry ice. Should be a fun lesson!

Reminders for the Upcoming Weeks:

• This Friday, April 29th we will walk to the Children's Theater to see "The Magic Kite." This will be our last show of the year. 
• Next Thursday, May 5th is the Spring Arts Festival! See Good News for details. As always, Ms. Rankey, Ms. O'Sullivan and your children will have worked very hard (all year!) in preparation for this event and it comes together beautifully. We look forward to celebrating!  
• The Book Fair is back! Next week, May 4th - 6th, we will be having another Book Fair on campus. It will take place on the track and we will go as a class, but also welcome you to go individually with your children. Students are welcome to go with their Grandfriends on Friday as well. 
• Friday, May 6th is our beloved Grandfriends Day. It is a half day, with dismissal at 11:30 following a 10:30 Chapel service in the gym. 

Below you will find an update from the Art Department! Thank you, Mrs. Rankey and Ms. O!

Things have been super exciting in the art studio for our 2nd grade friends!  Although they are learning new things every class, the second grade artists are starting to hone their artistic voices.  From voracious painters to joyful builders, each young artist has found their way towards authentic work, work that represents pure creative joy for the artist and viewer!  Don’t forget, the greatest evening of the year is very close!!  The Spring Arts Festival is May 5th and all the 2nd grade artists will have multiple works of art on display along with all the TES students.  In case you missed it, take a look at the blog post from last month as you prepare to be amazed by the creative powerhouse that is the student body at Trinity.

Thanks for sharing your artist with us.

Jen Rankey and Mary Ann O’Sullivan

P.S.  Don’t forget the subscribe the the Art Department Blog (tesartdepartment.wordpress.com) and follow us on Twitter (@tesarttab1) to keep up with all the wonderful things happening!   Also, we are in the process of creating digital portfolios using the website Artsonia.  For now you can simply search “Find by School” then search your child's name. We are adding new work every day so don’t worry if your child does not have work yet:).

April Updates!

Hello, Second Grade Families!

April is a busy month and we want to draw your attention to a few upcoming dates to have on your calendars. Please take note of the following!

• Next Tuesday, April 13th from 7:00 - 8:00 PM is Trinity's next Parent Education night. The focus of this evening will be Spirituality and Diversity and we'd like to especially encourage you to attend as we know it will be great conversation and discussion.
• Second Grade has a field trip coming up! Mark your calendars for Tuesday, April 19th. We will be going to Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens. We will leave Trinity at 9:15 and return to 1:15. Room parents will be in touch regarding our need for volunteer drives, so please consider joining us for this exciting morning. 
• Monday, April 25th is a Professional Development Day for faculty and staff. There will be no school, however TED will remain open.
• Friday, April 29th marks our last trip to the Children's Theater! We will be seeing the "Magic Kite" and look forward to what will surely be a fantastic production. 

Lastly, I (Miss McAlister speaking) want to share with you all that I will be partaking in a mission trip at the end of this month with Covenant Presbyterian Church. We will be working with several different organizations in Nairobi, Kenya and for those interested I have shared links below. 

Amani Ya Juu

Kazuri Beads

New Life Homes

The mission trip will have three different points of focus -- Teacher Support, Maintenance, and Children. While I will participate in all three, my primary role will be with Teacher Support. I will have the opportunity to observe classrooms authentically, meet and exchange ideas with teachers at The Renguti School, and also to visit the St. Phillips School in Mathare.

I will be leaving for Kenya on the 28th of this month, and returning stateside on May 7th. I feel so incredibly fortunate to be partaking in this experience and am grateful that Trinity friends and families are honoring this opportunity. I have not yet shared with your children that I will be out during this time period, but plan to do so next week so we can begin talking as a class about what I will be doing and who I will be working alongside. My hope and prayer is that through this opportunity of mine, your children will also have an opportunity to experience what a Kenyan classroom looks, sounds, and feels like -- how their learning experience is both universal and uniquely their own. I have a beautiful book of photographs capturing the classrooms, students, and community of The Renguti School and will share this in class to help paint a picture for your children of what my days will be like.

Thank you in advance for your support, from the bottom of my heart, and I can't wait to share the many things I learn upon my return! 

Welcome Back!

Welcome back, Second Grade friends and families! We hope Spring Break treated you as well as it treated us and it certainly feels nice to have had a period of rest. How crazy it is to think we've come to the end of March and that the home stretch of Second Grade awaits us. With warmer weather, a field trip in April, another visit to The Children's Theater and more, we are sure to have an exciting last stretch.

Stay tuned for more information on the aforementioned, but for now we just want to remind you to send in ImaginOn books by tomorrow, Wednesday, March 30th. Books are due Thursday and we will be walking to ImaginOn as a class on Wednesday to make returns and check out new books. Thank you for your cooperation in this.

Hope to see you soon!

Weekly Update 3/14/16 - 3/18/16

Let us begin by saying what a joy it was to sit with you and your children to share and celebrate their many accomplishments this year. It was an opportunity for us to all reflect upon the immense growth that has taken place within these walls since August, and we are so grateful to have been given the time to do so. Please remember to send in your child's math assessment, signed, as well as the completed reflection sheet and their Coral Reef Research Book. We trust their work has been well celebrated at home and know that their hard work will (eventually) make its way to live at home permanently.

While we know most updates were given during conferences last week, we wanted to share a few things via the blog before parting ways for Spring Break.

Poetry has begun and we are excited to begin a "lighter" unit of writing that allows for more creativity and personal expression. In hopes of coming to school equipped with ideas each week, please partner with us in having your children use their Noticing Books to record observations and noticings. We'd like to see five sentences minimum and will collect these on your child's designated Book Day. This will be recorded on their agenda. We will continue to respond to Noticing Books as we did earlier in the year. Poetry will weave it's way into Reader's Workshop as well, and we look forward to having the crossover between Reader's and Writer's in the upcoming weeks.

As you've heard, we are tackling Unit 6 of Investigations in a slightly different format than before. We've joined forces with Mrs. Bolding and Mr. Smith's class and are splitting up each day to be more intentional with our differentiation. In this unit, emphasis will continue to be on solving Story Problems with larger numbers, identifying and manipulating numbers based on place value, and being able to work with the number 100. We will also be taking a closer look at subtraction, which is often trickier for most than addition.

We have no doubt that you heard about our exciting lesson in science on Friday -- a squid dissection! Thank you to Mrs. Rudisill and Mr. Casey for partnering with us in this endeavor and to the middle school students who led the dissection. Take a look at some pictures!

And on that note, Spring Break awaits and we hope you have a restful and fun week ahead! We'll see you back here after Easter!

A few reminders for the upcoming week:

• Palm Sunday Chapel this Friday -- please join us if you can! 
• This Friday, March 18th, is Camp Read a Lot! Similar to the Camp Read a Lot we hosted in fall, please have your child BRING a pair of pajamas to change into following chapel. Each student is allowed one lovie/pillow and please no sleeping bags -- we only have so much room! Thank you for your cooperation in this and we look forward to a day of reading!

Under the Sea!

Thank you all for taking a dive with us last Friday into the Coral Reef. We were and are so proud of your children and the hard work they put into their study of the Coral Reef and the animals under sea. We loved celebrating with you and know every student was grateful to have such support from family and friends. What a special community we are in! Enjoy the pictures and smiles below!

Weekly Update 2/29/2016 - 3/4/2016

It feels as though it has been a while since our last update, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy! Perhaps it means we have been even busier than before. Our most exciting news to share is surely news you already know -- the Coral Reef is right outside our classroom doors! We are so grateful to the many of you who took time to help organize, paint, clean up and supervise for such an important event in Second Grade. We look forward to celebrating with you more on Friday! As a reminder, you can visit the Under Sea Museum between 9 and 10 am.

On that note, we have been hard at work in Writer's Workshop! Our books on the Coral Reef are nearly published, and we thank you for your support at home as we've been pushed for time. We will celebrate all the hard work of your children this Friday, March 4th, at our Coral Reef Museum. Mark your calendars! And come prepared with questions for these "experts." Our 5th Grade Book Buddies will join us in the afternoon to celebrate as well.

In Reader's Workshop, we have been working on our skills as partners within reading. Each child has been given a bookmark as a tool to use during Workshop and we've been focusing on these questions:

1. What's happening so far?
2. What's this mostly about?
3. How is the character changing (or not)?
4. What is the character learning?
5. What is the lesson?

We have been partner reading for 10-15 minutes during Workshop, with breaks for conversation, followed by independent reading. The conversation has been a wonderful aid to comprehension and we encourage you to use these questions at home as well. Some of you may be familiar with RazzKids -- an iPad app with leveled reading. Starting this week, we'll be using this in class for some of our partner reading. 

We have just concluded Unit 5 in Math and instead of sending home the end-of-unit assessment as we usually do, we will save it to review during conferences next week. This will give your child a chance to reflect on their work as a mathematician and explain their problem solving methods out loud. We will be sending home the work pages from Unit 5 as well and ask that you please keep these at home. Students are welcome to complete any unfinished pages for extra practice. Our next unit of Investigations dives back into number sense, place value, and story problems. We will be working closely with the number "100" and differentiating within the classroom to meet each student where they are as mathematicians. Unlike previous units, we will be partnering with Mrs. Bolding and Mr. Smith's class during math in order to generate more intentional small group work.

Word Study continues to take part in small groups, however we also spend a portion of Word Study all together working with our Word Wall Words and different parts of speech. We've exposed the class to nouns, verbs, adjectives, and most recently adverbs. This work will continue and we hope you'll partner with us in asking your children to break apart sentences and identify the various parts of speech.

Aside from our daily subjects, we have added a few additional pieces of learning to our day. As of the past few weeks, our class has started following the Presidential primaries. We are tracking the delegate counts for both the Republican and Democratic parties. We will continue doing this as a class in hopes of giving your children a small (but meaningful!) understanding of what is happening in our country during this Presidential election year. And finally, for Lent, we are reading from Jesus Calling each morning. It has been one of the greatest gifts in our day -- to hear the insights of your children and to learn what resonates with them most. We might just have to carry this routine on well past Lent!

As Spring rolls in, so will trips to ImaginOn, gardening excursions, and much more. Stay tuned for what's to come and be sure to mark your calendars for the following dates:

• Student Led Conferences will be next Monday and Tuesday, March 7th and 8th. Please be sure to sign up for a time via Good News. As you know, these conferences are different than the ones held 1st Trimester in that your children will be leading conversation as they share and celebrate their work.
• Spring Break: March 21 -25