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.