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!