Second Grade in Room 108: Friday, September 15th

Reminders:

Thursday, September 21 is the PTO Open House (5-6 PM) and Potluck (5:30-6:30)!
Picture day is Friday, September 22. (Please check your Home-School Folders for order forms.)
No school, Monday, September 25 in observance of Yom Kippur. Want to learn more about the holiday? Check out PBS’ “About the Holiday” webpage.
Important “Have Tos”

Send your child with a water bottle daily.
Ensure your child has an extra set of weather appropriate clothing in their backpacks at all times.
Email Cindy LaWare (claware@cvsdvt.org) AND your child’s teacher with any attendance/dismissal updates.
Home School Folders should return to school the following school day.

Open House-The annual CCS Open House and Potluck will be on Thursday September 21, 2023. The open house will be from 5:00-6:00 pm and the potluck will be 5:30-6:30 pm. You will have an opportunity to visit your child's classroom as well as tour the school. Please sign up for the potluck here to make a food donation. There are also opportunities to help with the setup and/ or cleanup at the bottom of the sign up sheet. Plates, napkins, and utensils are supplied, please bring your own beverage.

Math: Our first unit in math has begun! During this unit, we are exploring brain research about the importance of having a growth mindset in math and then applying this information while doing activities that push our math thinking. For more information about how a growth mindset in mathematics supports learning, please visit youcubed, Dr. Jo Boaler’s organization out of Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education.

Word Study: To start our word study work this year, we are reviewing letter formation through handwriting practice. We are also reviewing ‘heart words’ and ‘flash words’ they worked on in first grade. Soon, we will start our first official second grade word study unit where we will review spelling patterns learned in first grade in order to strengthen this understanding and build onto it with new patterns throughout the year.

Writer’s Workshop: Wow, we have an amazing group of storytellers! Our first unit in writing is small moment narrative. We began this unit by focusing on oral storytelling, sharing the stories of our lives with each other. As a group, we brainstormed what makes a strong story, one that made the listener feel like they were there. We created anchor charts to support our thinking. We are now turning our attention to learning from our mentor authors Jane Yolen and Angela Johnson. As we begin writing our stories, we will explore ways to stretch out our small moments to write them with attention to detail and craft powerful beginnings & endings.

Reader’s Workshop: During reader’s workshop, students are working to establish good reader routines and build stamina. Our first unit, Reading Growth Spurts, is devoted to the idea that, in order to grow as readers, students need to take charge of their growth. Students need to choose not only what to read but also how to read. We will work with the importance of goals and of that magical combination of fluency and comprehension. This unit will build the structure and foundation for the work to come!

SEL/Theme: Our second grade squad explored many important routines and ideas during our first two weeks. We learned about our school wide expectations, our classroom mantra, and the importance of having a growth mindset. Through games, crafts, and our very first whole-school assembly, we came to understand that at CCS we take care of ourselves, others, and this place. In our classroom we know that we are all the same, we are all different, and we are all unique. Building community is one of the most important things we will do this school year. We will help each other grow and learn. We also know that we have the power of yet! There will be many things that we learn this year, as readers, writers, mathematicians, and as members of a community. We are so excited and grateful to go on this journey together!

Quiet Time Vacations: Throughout the year, second graders are heading ‘on vacation’! As students transition from recess back into the classroom, we have Quiet Time. This is a time to fill our water bottles, use the restroom, color, relax, read, unwind from the activity of recess and reset our minds for the classroom. As part of this time, the lights are low and we are ‘on vacation.’ Each week, students ‘go’ to a new country! We ‘go’ there by having a video of ‘flying over’ the country. On Monday, we learn which country we are going, what continent it is on, it’s official language(s) and a few facts about the country. Over the course of the year, our goal is for students to be able to identify the seven continents, understand the difference between continent & country, and to be exposed to this amazing world we live in!

Workboard Menu: Workboard Menu is a time for students to independently practice literacy and math skills that address their individual needs. While students work on completing a literacy practice activity, a math task, and a technology opportunity each day, their classroom teacher and other adults may pull them to work individually and/or in small groups. Workboard Menu offers an element of choice for students. As our goal is to have this time 4 days a week, the menu has 4 literacy activities, 4 math tasks, and 4 technology activities. Students pick one activity from each section working through the menu in a “first, next, then” fashion. An important thing to note is that while the menu has options that could be completed, students may not have the opportunity to complete the menu in its entirety by the end of the week. This is OK as students may have met with an adult during their workboard time or possibly be completing a different task/activity. At the end of the week, their workboard menu will be sent home in your child’s “home-school folder”. They can either complete the packet at home or leave it be, the choice is up to them!

Check out these pictures from our first few weeks of school!

Our whole second grade squad went on an adventure to find our favorite tree at CCS. We found a beauty in the fruit orchard!

This student was struck with an idea for a small moment story. Before heading out the door, she made sure to jot down her idea in her tiny topic notepad.

Penny Celebration! Check out what we brought for show & tell!

Our mathematicians explored new manipulatives this week they then put their flexible thinking skills to the test by building as many different rectangles using 12 square tiles.

Math paper origami challenge! Our squad tried to make a perfect square, a triangle, and the smallest rectangle possible using a single sheet of paper.