Second Grade in Room 108

Reminders:

If there is a change to your child’s schedule or dismissal plan, please enter it in “Pickup Patrol”.
On Tuesday, September 29th we will have an Open House from 5:00pm until 6:00 pm. The CCS PTO Potluck will be scheduled for another date this year, rather than be combined with the Open House. Potluck Date TBD.
If you would like to volunteer to lead a Pease Mountain hike, please check out the Pease Mountain sign up.
Donation Request: We are in need of tissues and cough drops for our classroom, thank you!
Home School Folders: Please check these when they come home and send them back to school when your child returns the next school day. In your child’s folder this week you will find a copy of their Clever Badge (it is magnetized and can go right on your refrigerator!). This badge will allow them to access platforms such as Lexia and Typing Club when they are home.

Building our Community: In second grade, we focus not only on growing academic skills but also on strengthening independence, curiosity, and kindness. You’ll see your child taking on new challenges, collaborating with classmates, and finding joy in learning each day. The first few weeks are all about creating a strong, supportive classroom community and establishing routines that help every child feel safe, confident, and ready to learn.

Word Study: In Word Study, we began the year by reviewing first-grade Heart Words—high-frequency words where students can sound out many parts of the word, but some parts are “tricky” and need to be remembered by heart. We also launched a handwriting mini-unit, where students are practicing correct letter formations, posture, and pencil grip. So far, we’ve completed all of our uppercase letters and are partway through our lowercase set. This focused practice not only builds accuracy but also helps students develop the stamina they need to write for longer periods with confidence and ease.

Writers Workshop: In Writer’s Workshop, we began with a mini-unit on oral storytelling, where students practiced sharing personal experiences out loud before putting their ideas on paper. This practice helps children develop sentence fluency and strengthen their ability to organize ideas—skills that make the writing process smoother when it’s time to pick up a pencil. We then completed our first on-demand writing assignment, where students wrote a personal narrative all on their own. This important piece of writing gave us a snapshot of each child’s starting point and helped launch our next unit, Small Moment Stories, where writers will zoom in on one meaningful moment and stretch it into a full, detailed narrative.

Math: In Math, we kicked off the year by focusing on developing a growth mindset through Jo Boaler’s YouCubed lessons. These activities encourage students to see mistakes as opportunities for learning, to try multiple strategies when solving problems, and to recognize that everyone can grow as a mathematician with effort and perseverance. By starting with this foundation, we are helping students build confidence, resilience, and a positive attitude toward math that will support them throughout the year.

Community Time: In Community Time, we’ve gathered often as a Second Grade Squad to strengthen our sense of belonging and teamwork. Some highlights from our first week include extra recess on the playground, and a special game of “freeze tag” where students unfroze classmates by finding one way they were the same and one way they were different. This activity tied beautifully to our second-grade mantra: we are all the same, we are all different, we are all unique. These shared experiences are helping students see the value of both individuality and connection as we build a caring classroom community together.

We have now shifted our focus to mindfulness. Together we have been exploring the questions “What is mindfulness?”, “How does mindfulness help me?” And “Why should I use mindfulness?”. Through class discussions, helpful videos that covered the brain science behind mindfulness, and community crafts we have expanded our understanding and practice of mindfulness. If you would like to explore mindfulness at home, here is a link to Mind Yeti’s Youtube channel.

UVM Interns: We are excited to welcome four UVM interns to our squad this fall! Ms. Ella and Ms. Hannah will be with Mrs. Spellman’s class and Ms. Olivia and Ms. Bogie will be with Mrs. Blumen’s class.

NEW GAME ALERT: Below you will find the directions for our new card game, Trash!