Monday, August 21, 2017
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Quick Update!
Hello, soon-to-be-third-grade-parents! We know it comes as no surprise to you that things are winding down here. Units are wrapping up, portfolios are being assembled, and we can feel summer approaching!
We're looking forward to the last few days of school with your children and with you, and didn't want the week to slip by without sharing this wonderful update from Art -- we are proud!
The second grade artists ROCKED the Spring Arts Festival! Their work reflected the wide scope of their passions and inspiration. From fancy/silly dog painting to still-life paintings, each piece serves as a reflection of the artist at one moment in time. Since summer is quickly approaching Ms. O and Ms. Rankey wanted to give y’all a few tips to keep your artists inspired and motivated over the summer.
•Keep a sketchbook.
This can be a fun family activity. Each member of the family can spend some time reflecting on a day, an activity, or a vacation. Don’t be “adult” worried...follow the joy your child has when sketching, doodling, writing, etc.
•Save your recycling materials.
Many of the young artists building and sculpture materials come right from the recycle bin. Cereal boxes, egg cartons, bottle caps, etc. can all spur your child's imagination at any point of a rainy day. Don’t forget to stock up on tape (btw, the old-school gum-back tape that needs to be moistened is the BEST)!!
•Embrace the mess and mistakes.
We know this can be difficult but letting your young artist make a mess is essential for their growth and development as an artist. Artists take risks and try new things and sometimes it just doesn’t work. As adults, we tend to get frustrated and quit but kids just keep going. When exploring materials the artists can get so immersed that they don’t even see the fabulous mess they just made:). Remind them that even artists have to clean their studio (especially if that studio doubles as your dining room table!).
•Pro “artist” materials are not necessary.
Kid artists have master the “use what you have” technique. Although they may love an organized set of super sharpened colored pencils, they simply don’t need them to make powerful artwork. For your own sanity, just make sure all markers and paint are washable...remember, you are embracing the mess:).
We will be updating our Art Department Blog with a 2016-2017 wrap-up and adding in some more fun summertime tips. It has been a pleasure teaching your child this year and we look forward to new and exciting things in 3rd grade!
Thanks,
Jen Rankey and Mary Ann O’Sullivan
It was great to see everyone this morning at our End of Year Celebration, and we hope to see more of you in the last few days as we wrap up this wonderful year together.
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Weekly Update 4/24/17 - 4/28/17
Hello, 2nd Grade Families! As we near the end of April, we also near the end of many units. Take a look below at what we're wrapping up in the classroom, and also to learn where we are headed for the final month or so (wow!) of school.
Reader's Workshop -- We love this time of year in Reader's Workshop. In class, we've been discussing how to share books with others. Your children have shared the ways in which they do this already -- through the reading of a Birthday Book, by lending books to friends, trading, or sharing plot summaries with one another. Everyone has had a chance to share a book they love and why, which we hope will expose everyone to new series and authors to enjoy in the coming weeks. Before starting our unit on poetry, we will spend a few weeks enjoying just-right books and reinforcing the good habits of a fluent reader.
Writer's Workshop -- Syncing up with Reader's Workshop, we will shift into writing poetry after our realistic fiction stories have been published. Last week was designated to editing and publishing the stories that we have all been working hard to finish, and we look forward to celebrating these stories soon. We are continuing to publish stories through this week, but will be sure to send home books temporarily so you can celebrate your young authors at home! However, we do ask that you return these books to the classroom so students can add them to end of year portfolios.
Word Study -- Last week, we completed a group activity during Word Study that focused on suffixes and how to appropriately add a suffix to a base word. Ask your children about the 1-1-1 Rule, the 1-2-1 Rule, and the 1-1-2 Rule. See if they can explain this spelling strategy to you! This week, we are beginning new sorts across the board. We will work with these sorts for two weeks, and will plan on having an assessment the first week of May.
Math -- We are working with BIG numbers in here, and you will see evidence of this on the End of Unit Assessment coming home at the end of this week. As always, we ask that you review the assessment with your children and return it, signed. Our next unit will focus on measurement, which will be a nice change of pace from story problems and place value.
Science -- We love the excitement everyone has around science! Our unit on matter is off to a good start and soon we'll be incorporating some experiments into our schedule. We are always so grateful to Mrs. Rudisill for welcoming us into the Middle School Science Lab and will post pictures of experiments that take place over the coming weeks. Thus far, we've learned about the three different types of matter and how they behave based on their molecule make up. Next up, we'll be learning about mixing matter and how matter can change states. All of this knowledge will be reinforced with a visit to Discovery Place on Tuesday, May 9th, where we'll participate in a class all about matter.
Social Studies -- Our study of communities lends itself well to conversation about Trinity and Charlotte, and we've discussed rural, urban and suburban communities. We'll soon take a look at maps, which will hopefully prepare your children for wherever summer takes them!
Lastly, take a look at what's in store through the end of April and for the beginning of May -- and as always, let us know if you have any questions or concerns. April showers bring May flowers...
Reminders for the Upcoming Weeks:
Reader's Workshop -- We love this time of year in Reader's Workshop. In class, we've been discussing how to share books with others. Your children have shared the ways in which they do this already -- through the reading of a Birthday Book, by lending books to friends, trading, or sharing plot summaries with one another. Everyone has had a chance to share a book they love and why, which we hope will expose everyone to new series and authors to enjoy in the coming weeks. Before starting our unit on poetry, we will spend a few weeks enjoying just-right books and reinforcing the good habits of a fluent reader.
Writer's Workshop -- Syncing up with Reader's Workshop, we will shift into writing poetry after our realistic fiction stories have been published. Last week was designated to editing and publishing the stories that we have all been working hard to finish, and we look forward to celebrating these stories soon. We are continuing to publish stories through this week, but will be sure to send home books temporarily so you can celebrate your young authors at home! However, we do ask that you return these books to the classroom so students can add them to end of year portfolios.
Word Study -- Last week, we completed a group activity during Word Study that focused on suffixes and how to appropriately add a suffix to a base word. Ask your children about the 1-1-1 Rule, the 1-2-1 Rule, and the 1-1-2 Rule. See if they can explain this spelling strategy to you! This week, we are beginning new sorts across the board. We will work with these sorts for two weeks, and will plan on having an assessment the first week of May.
Math -- We are working with BIG numbers in here, and you will see evidence of this on the End of Unit Assessment coming home at the end of this week. As always, we ask that you review the assessment with your children and return it, signed. Our next unit will focus on measurement, which will be a nice change of pace from story problems and place value.
Science -- We love the excitement everyone has around science! Our unit on matter is off to a good start and soon we'll be incorporating some experiments into our schedule. We are always so grateful to Mrs. Rudisill for welcoming us into the Middle School Science Lab and will post pictures of experiments that take place over the coming weeks. Thus far, we've learned about the three different types of matter and how they behave based on their molecule make up. Next up, we'll be learning about mixing matter and how matter can change states. All of this knowledge will be reinforced with a visit to Discovery Place on Tuesday, May 9th, where we'll participate in a class all about matter.
Social Studies -- Our study of communities lends itself well to conversation about Trinity and Charlotte, and we've discussed rural, urban and suburban communities. We'll soon take a look at maps, which will hopefully prepare your children for wherever summer takes them!
Lastly, take a look at what's in store through the end of April and for the beginning of May -- and as always, let us know if you have any questions or concerns. April showers bring May flowers...
Reminders for the Upcoming Weeks:
- Thursday, April 27th -- All TES to Beauty and the Beast at Pease Auditorium
- Wednesday, May 3rd -- NUTS Day to support Trinity OM Teams!
- Wednesday - Friday, May 10 - 12th -- Spring Book Fair
- Thursday, May 11th -- Spring Arts Festival
- Friday, May 12th -- Grandfriends Day!
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Weekly Update 3/27/17 - 3/31/17
Welcome back, from what we hope was an exciting, restful, and rejuvenating Spring Break! We are grateful to have had the time to re-energize and are just beginning to wrap our heads around the fact that March is ending, April is beginning, and that we are on the home stretch of Second Grade. It's always wonderful to return from a break when you know so much excitement awaits you in the morning and we felt that in surplus yesterday as your children came through the doors.
We first want to share some exciting news that arrived via mail yesterday! After months of waiting for a response, we were starting to think nothing would arrive as a result of our persuasive letters on saving the rain forest. However, much to our surprise, a letter from Adelle Gillen with the U.S. Embassy Brasilia was found in our mailbox! The class was congratulated on their hard work, their beautifully written letters, their passion and concern, and ability to advocate for an important cause. We hope your children came home sharing this exciting news and next time you're in the building, you can check out the letter yourself as we have it posted on the inside of our classroom door. We are so proud of our writers! While on the subject, in Writer's, we've started work on our realistic fiction stories and the creative juices are running wild. Students have been led through the brainstorming process, created characters, and are focusing on developing a problem within their stories that will hold the attention of readers. We will continue this project through April.
In Reader's, the class has been enjoying Book Clubs. Students are split into several reading groups, where they are focused on a particular series so that they can discuss character traits, problems and resolutions, patterns, and other commonalities between texts. This has given workshop a more social aspect and we can tell that everyone is enjoying the opportunity to talk about their reading with friends!
In Math, a new unit is underway and you will begin seeing material dealing with tens and hundreds being sent home. Numbers are getting larger, but we are encouraging students to continue using problem solving strategies they have learned as they begin working with larger numbers. Lately, our focus has been on finding the difference or distance between a particular number and 100. We are using the 100s Chart to do so, as well as coins.
This week, we're beginning new sorts in Word Study and per usual, the brunt of this work will be done in class until before our next assessment. Other subjects like Science and Social Studies will be coming back into play now that our work with the Coral Reef has finished. As scientists, we'll begin studying matter, which always creates some excitement in the building -- especially once we get going with experiments! Stay tuned for updates and pictures. In Social Studies, we'll begin taking a look at maps, and then begin looking at communities, which students already know much about simply by being at Trinity!
We will jump back into our routine of visiting and hosting InReach this Thursday, and a continued "thanks" to Jennifer Bankhead for all the coordinating she has done to make sure our drivers are set. And thank you to so many of you who donate the gift of time and presence to be with us on Thursdays! That should cover it for now, and please take note of the following reminders as we slide into April:
We first want to share some exciting news that arrived via mail yesterday! After months of waiting for a response, we were starting to think nothing would arrive as a result of our persuasive letters on saving the rain forest. However, much to our surprise, a letter from Adelle Gillen with the U.S. Embassy Brasilia was found in our mailbox! The class was congratulated on their hard work, their beautifully written letters, their passion and concern, and ability to advocate for an important cause. We hope your children came home sharing this exciting news and next time you're in the building, you can check out the letter yourself as we have it posted on the inside of our classroom door. We are so proud of our writers! While on the subject, in Writer's, we've started work on our realistic fiction stories and the creative juices are running wild. Students have been led through the brainstorming process, created characters, and are focusing on developing a problem within their stories that will hold the attention of readers. We will continue this project through April.
In Reader's, the class has been enjoying Book Clubs. Students are split into several reading groups, where they are focused on a particular series so that they can discuss character traits, problems and resolutions, patterns, and other commonalities between texts. This has given workshop a more social aspect and we can tell that everyone is enjoying the opportunity to talk about their reading with friends!
In Math, a new unit is underway and you will begin seeing material dealing with tens and hundreds being sent home. Numbers are getting larger, but we are encouraging students to continue using problem solving strategies they have learned as they begin working with larger numbers. Lately, our focus has been on finding the difference or distance between a particular number and 100. We are using the 100s Chart to do so, as well as coins.
This week, we're beginning new sorts in Word Study and per usual, the brunt of this work will be done in class until before our next assessment. Other subjects like Science and Social Studies will be coming back into play now that our work with the Coral Reef has finished. As scientists, we'll begin studying matter, which always creates some excitement in the building -- especially once we get going with experiments! Stay tuned for updates and pictures. In Social Studies, we'll begin taking a look at maps, and then begin looking at communities, which students already know much about simply by being at Trinity!
We will jump back into our routine of visiting and hosting InReach this Thursday, and a continued "thanks" to Jennifer Bankhead for all the coordinating she has done to make sure our drivers are set. And thank you to so many of you who donate the gift of time and presence to be with us on Thursdays! That should cover it for now, and please take note of the following reminders as we slide into April:
- Wednesday, April 5th -- NUTS Day and 1/2 day for students.
- Tuesday, April 11th -- Field Trip to Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens. Stay tuned for more details!
- Friday, April 14th -- No School; Good Friday.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Weekly Update 2/28/17 - 3/3/17
A short but sweet update for you regarding what is happening in the classroom -- it's been busy!
Writer's Workshop/Storypath -- We are in the home stretch of publishing! Having spent the majority of this new year researching, drafting and editing our Coral Reef Research Books, it is almost time to publish and celebrate. Students have continued to learn additional features of non-fiction texts and have been given the opportunity to add these pieces to their writing, which many of you will see this week. This has been an extensive project and we are excited to celebrate. Next up, we will begin a unit on realistic fiction which will be a wonderful change of pace and opportunity to exercise our imaginations.
Reader's Workshop -- Lately, in Reader's, we have been focused in on three main topics. 1) Making our reading more fluent, 2) identifying literary language, and 3) keeping track of our reading as stories grow longer. Students have worked with partners to practice these skills and we've also done several shared readings as a class to practice fluency strategies. We will continue practicing these skills as we enjoy some "just right reading" during the next two weeks, and we students will also be working alongside their reading partners to establish and meet individual goals.
Math -- This week we have been working on conducting surveys and we recently visited other Trinity classrooms to collect data. Students had to brainstorm in teams how to conduct a survey and accurately record information, and soon will be creating a representation for this data. We will wrap up this unit just before conferences and look forward the latest assessment at this point.
Important reminders for the upcoming weeks:
Writer's Workshop/Storypath -- We are in the home stretch of publishing! Having spent the majority of this new year researching, drafting and editing our Coral Reef Research Books, it is almost time to publish and celebrate. Students have continued to learn additional features of non-fiction texts and have been given the opportunity to add these pieces to their writing, which many of you will see this week. This has been an extensive project and we are excited to celebrate. Next up, we will begin a unit on realistic fiction which will be a wonderful change of pace and opportunity to exercise our imaginations.
Reader's Workshop -- Lately, in Reader's, we have been focused in on three main topics. 1) Making our reading more fluent, 2) identifying literary language, and 3) keeping track of our reading as stories grow longer. Students have worked with partners to practice these skills and we've also done several shared readings as a class to practice fluency strategies. We will continue practicing these skills as we enjoy some "just right reading" during the next two weeks, and we students will also be working alongside their reading partners to establish and meet individual goals.
Math -- This week we have been working on conducting surveys and we recently visited other Trinity classrooms to collect data. Students had to brainstorm in teams how to conduct a survey and accurately record information, and soon will be creating a representation for this data. We will wrap up this unit just before conferences and look forward the latest assessment at this point.
Important reminders for the upcoming weeks:
- Wednesday, March 1st: Ash Wednesday Chapel Service, 8:00AM
- Friday, March 3rd: Under the Sea Museum 1:00 - 2:00. Please join us to celebrate the hard work we've been doing in Writer's and Storypath! Students will be eager to share their books, as well as the beautiful window paintings outside our classroom.
- Wednesday, March 8th: 8th Grade vs. Faculty Basketball Game. 2:30
- Thursday and Friday, March 9-10: Student Led Conferences. Don't forget to sign up for a time via Good News!
We'd also like to say a HUGE thank you to the many parent volunteers who took time to join us for the painting of the Coral Reef. We could truly not have done it without your help and so appreciate your gift of time and presence. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Weekly Update 1/30/17 - 2/3/17
Hello, Second Grade Families! Time for a few class updates as we're making a couple shifts within our units of study.
Storypath and Writer's Workshop are still heavily intertwined, and your children have now started the drafting process for their coral reef research books. Because we collected so much research, we have been focusing on how to take this research and reorganize it into meaningful paragraphs, and this is also giving students the opportunity to see where they might need need to do a bit more research. Students have been using both books and the iPads to collect information on their animals, and we've been pleased to see so many checking out books on the coral reef during our recent visits to ImaginOn! In the coming weeks, we'll be covering skills such as topic sentences, pronouns, juicy words, transition sentences and words, among a few other skills. It's a hefty project to undertake, but the result will be a collection of hard work and interesting information that your children will be excited to share with you come March!
In Reader's Workshop, we're transitioned from non-fiction to fluency work, which is a critical part of growing as readers. We are encouraging students to think and notice how they read, and also how an author might be encouraging them to read through their use of dialogue, tone, and literary language. We've recently learned about how to "scoop" our words, dialogue tags, and appropriate pace. As we continue this fluency work in class, it's important that your children are reading out loud at home so please encourage them to do so nightly.
Unit 3 of Math will wrap up this week and we'll take an End of Unit Assessment that will come home to be reviewed, signed and returned. Students are now working with 1s, 10s, and 100s and have begun encountering Story Problems that have unknown change in them, which can often be tricky. Next up will be Unit 4:, and we will send home more information on how to support your children as it becomes necessary.
In Word Study, we've been working as a class on contractions and there will be assessment this Friday.
We were fortunate enough last week to have a schedule packed with exciting events! As you know and celebrated well, The Jungle Book was an absolute hit! Many thanks to you all for coming to support and celebrate the hard work of Second Grade, and we could not be more proud of the effort and energy given to this performance. It was a true success! We were lucky enough to host our friends from InReach that morning for our dress rehearsal, and then had the opportunity the following day to play the roll of audience as they performed a puppet show, "Barnyard News," for us. The play celebrated differences, and aligned so perfectly with John Sharon's messages from the Freedom Fete event. See below for a few pictures from our time with InReach last Thursday!
Storypath and Writer's Workshop are still heavily intertwined, and your children have now started the drafting process for their coral reef research books. Because we collected so much research, we have been focusing on how to take this research and reorganize it into meaningful paragraphs, and this is also giving students the opportunity to see where they might need need to do a bit more research. Students have been using both books and the iPads to collect information on their animals, and we've been pleased to see so many checking out books on the coral reef during our recent visits to ImaginOn! In the coming weeks, we'll be covering skills such as topic sentences, pronouns, juicy words, transition sentences and words, among a few other skills. It's a hefty project to undertake, but the result will be a collection of hard work and interesting information that your children will be excited to share with you come March!
In Reader's Workshop, we're transitioned from non-fiction to fluency work, which is a critical part of growing as readers. We are encouraging students to think and notice how they read, and also how an author might be encouraging them to read through their use of dialogue, tone, and literary language. We've recently learned about how to "scoop" our words, dialogue tags, and appropriate pace. As we continue this fluency work in class, it's important that your children are reading out loud at home so please encourage them to do so nightly.
Unit 3 of Math will wrap up this week and we'll take an End of Unit Assessment that will come home to be reviewed, signed and returned. Students are now working with 1s, 10s, and 100s and have begun encountering Story Problems that have unknown change in them, which can often be tricky. Next up will be Unit 4:, and we will send home more information on how to support your children as it becomes necessary.
In Word Study, we've been working as a class on contractions and there will be assessment this Friday.
We were fortunate enough last week to have a schedule packed with exciting events! As you know and celebrated well, The Jungle Book was an absolute hit! Many thanks to you all for coming to support and celebrate the hard work of Second Grade, and we could not be more proud of the effort and energy given to this performance. It was a true success! We were lucky enough to host our friends from InReach that morning for our dress rehearsal, and then had the opportunity the following day to play the roll of audience as they performed a puppet show, "Barnyard News," for us. The play celebrated differences, and aligned so perfectly with John Sharon's messages from the Freedom Fete event. See below for a few pictures from our time with InReach last Thursday!
We will visit InReach this Thursday, February 2nd, and are looking forward to getting back in the groove with Service Learning. Thanks, in advance, to our volunteer parent drivers!
Other reminders for the upcoming weeks:
- On Friday, February 3rd we will go to our final play at the Children's Theater. We will be seeing Junie B. Jones is Not a Crook," which is sure to be a hit! The show is at 9:30 at ImaginOn and we will go with both Kindergarten and First Grade.
- Next Tuesday, February 7th is our field trip to the Concord Mills Aquarium. This will be our first time taking a trip here, and we're looking forward to seeing what it has to offer. Thank you to our parent drivers!
- Tuesday and Wednesday, February 14-15th will be our designated times to paint the coral reef on our hallway windows. If you have not seen it in previous years, you're in for a treat! Stay tuned for information about how you can volunteer to help.
- Friday, February 17 is a 1/2 day, and the following Monday, February 20th there will be no school. Enjoy a long weekend!
That about covers it for now and we will let you know of any other happenings as they are brought to our attention. Routine has officially set back in, and we hope the same is true in your households!
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Enrichment Updates
See below for a few updates from our enrichment classes! We will share classroom updates next week.
Art: We are halfway through the school year and these students have earned the privilege to use hot glue guns. Even with our supervision they quickly learned that the glue was, well, actually HOT. With this tool they are able to use an infinite number of materials in their sculptures and this delightful benefit is worth the sore fingers. Soon they will get their hands in clay. They are busy painting, drawing on big paper with friends, and caring for supplies and each other. Second graders are prolific artists and love to talk about their work. Ask your child what they have created. Students are excited about using the Artsonia app to store images of their work in their digital portfolios.
Faith Studies: We started the New Year reviewing our Faith Studies Covenant in second grade. The covenant is a list of promises and guidelines we created at the beginning of the school year to guide our behavior during Faith Studies. The guidelines include respecting others, listening to the teacher, and keeping our hands to ourselves. I think the students took the conversation to heart, as both groups have been doing an excellent job in 2017. We moved from the book of Joshua into the book of Judges during our Bible story time in January. The students have learned that judges can be boys and girls, as we heard the story of Deborah and Barak. Then we heard the story of Gideon and the miracle of the fleece. Ask your child about the “science experiment” we did during Faith Studies last week. We also read the story, My Daddy, Martin Luther King Jr. this month, by Martin Luther King III. Your students were very interested in this book and talking about the ways our world has changed since the Civil Rights movement, and the ways we can continue to help his dream today. We will welcome Mrs. Williams to lead a hymn study next week and then we will continue with the book of Ruth. Your students are a joy to teach and I enjoy seeing them each week.
Grace and peace,
Rev. Lindsey Wells Peery
PE: We have been really focusing on our fitness this trimester. We are using our yoga mats on a regular basis, practicing yoga poses, pilates exercises, and strengthening our core. We are moving into a short unit on basic volleyball skills, focusing on proper positioning (“ready”, hand position, proper bump form) and movement. We will finish the trimester with an introduction to kickball.
Spanish: Second graders are working on unit 2 of level B in the Descubre program. In this unit, children are learning culture and exploring some places in Nicaragua. We have been using the student books every week, following and practicing short conversations about types of homes, such as casa (house), apartamento (apartment), and a few vocabulary words related to animal homes such as nido (nest), and telaraña (spiderweb). Students are also studying clothing and foods at the market. We do quick reviews of the practice done in unit 1 about greeting and good byes. Children continue practicing some family members in the conversations such as abuelos (grandparents), and niños (children). Your child's online account is a great tool to repeat the dialogs, vocabulary words, reading, comprehension and pronunciation.
Wellness: This month, the 2nd graders will learn about the difference between tattling and telling/reporting. We will begin with a discussion around the difference between “child-sized” problems and “adult-sized” problems. We will then read a book called “Don’t Squeal Unless It’s a Big Deal” by Jeanie Franz Ransom. This book tells the story of a teacher teaching her students when it is important to tell or report to a teacher what is going on and when it is OK to try and solve the problem on your own first. The teacher in this book really focuses on the point that it is important to let an adult know what is going on when someone is hurt or in danger, hurting you, hurting a pet, or hurting something that does not belong to them. In addition, I will reinforce that if you try and solve the problem on your own first and the student that you asked to stop bothering you keeps bothering you over and over again then this becomes a situation where it is also important to tell an adult. The teacher in the book also discusses that sometimes it can be hard to learn the difference between tattling and telling and that is why it is important for adults to remind children of the difference as well as important for children to practice, practice, practice this new skill! Try talking to your children at home about the difference between tattling and telling.
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