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!