November 30th Newsletter

Important Dates:

Friday, November 30th - Midterms come home & Jewlery Sale-Christmas House
Wednesday, December 5th - 2 Hour Delay
Thursday, December 13th - Christmas Concert at 10:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M.
Friday, December 14th - We will be walking to the Senior Center to make a craft and play some Bingo!
Friday, December 21st - Last Day of school before Christmas Break
Thursday, January 3rd - School Resumes

This week in Class:

Math:  reading and analyzing data - finding the range, mode, and median

Reading / Phonics:  long o made by o (cold); ow (snow); oa (toad); compound words; irregular and plural nouns

Science:  force, gravity, and magnets

Social Studies:  Pilgrims, Spanish settlers, Native Americans

Health:  Caring for your teeth and gums

Spelling: long e

read     each

eat      see

keep     teeth

team     clean

Easter    feet

between   feel

Words are also on www.spellingcity.com/ehovest

Book Adventure:

The kids have been reading like crazy!  They are so excited to share how many points they have earned.  This week I spoke with each student individually and showed them the amount of points they have earned, and what there percentage was for passing the quizzes.  I expressed to them the importance of reading slowly so they can understand and remember what they read in order to pass the quizzes the first time, thus earning the most points.

Hat and Mitten Tree:

If able, please donate new hats, mittens, gloves, and scarves to help children in our area stay warm this winter.

Art Supplies:

I am in search of empty toilet paper rolls (or paper towel rolls) and empty egg cartons for an art project I am planning.  If you have any of these items please send them with your child.  I will need a total of 16 toilet paper rolls and 3 egg cartons.  Thank you!  

November 16th Newsletter

Recap of Parent / Teacher Conferences
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with each and everyone of you at Parent/Teacher Conferences.  Based on my conversations with some of you I have done some research and hope you like what I have found. 
Reading -  http://www.bookadventure.com/
 Reading comprehension is a huge part of reading; it involves not only reading the words on the page, but being able to understand what you read.  The topic of Accelerated Reader was discussed.  Although we do not offer this program here at St. Augustine, I did find a free online reading program.  It is called Book Adventure.  Book Adventure is a free online reading program for children in grades K-8, brought to you by the experts at Sylvan Learning.  Their goal is to help kids learn to love reading through interactive tools, games and motivational rewards. They make it easy for children to find a book, take quizzes and win prizes for their reading success.  Their site is also packed with tips and resources for parents to use to boost reading skills and track progress.  I am using this in the classroom and your child has the ability to use it at home. I have signed up all the students with a username and password and I provided these in their assignment pads.  We began using this on Monday, and the students are begging me to let them read so they can take another test....I think it is working! :-)
Math - http://www.ixl.com/math/grade-2
I have discovered a website that has 212 skills to help your child excel in Math.  It lists all the skills your student needs to learn in Math as a second grader. The skills are organized into categories, and you can move your mouse over any skill name to see a sample question. To start practicing, just click on any link. IXL will track your score, and the questions will even increase in difficulty as you improve!

Senior Center
On December, 14th the 2nd and 3rd graders will be walking to the Senior Center to play Bingo with the Senior Citizens and to also do a craft.  Starting in January, we will be reading with the seniors every other month. Mrs. Westfall and I are very excited about this and we think it is a great opportunity for the students.

Upcoming Dates
Thursday, November 22nd & Friday, November 23rd - No School (Thanksgiving Break)
Friday, November 30th - Midterms
Wednesday, December 5th - 2 Hour Delay
Friday, December 21st - Last Day before Christmas Break
Thursday, January 3rd - School Resumes

This week in Class
Math - we completed place value, counting patterns, and ordinal numbers (first, second, etc...)
Reading / Phonics - long i sounds made with i (fire, rice); ie (tie, pie); igh (high, right); and y (sky, cry)
Health - finished up caring for your body
Science - Began learning about heat and light
Social Studies - discussed Thanksgiving
Spelling - Review of  words
get                        getting
presents               tell
them                      when
clock                     have
job                          rock
sat                         spot
that                        bug
gum                       hunt
if                             into
mud                       shut
pick                       walk
walked                  want
watch                    dropped
hug                         running
swim                      swimming

November 2nd Newsletter

Upcoming Dates:

Friday, November 2nd - Report Cards come home today! Please sign and return
Wednesday, November 7th - 2 Hour delay
Thursday, November 8th - No School - Parent / Teacher conferences
Friday, November 9th - No School
Tuesday, November 13th - Picture Retakes
Thursday, November 22nd & Friday, November 23rd - Thanksgiving Break
Friday, November 30th - Midterms

Newspaper will be on sale next week Monday and Tuesday at lunch for 25 cents.

This week in Class:

Math - rounding numbers, even and odd numbers, and counting by 3s and 4s

Reading / Phonics - long a made with ai (rain) and ay (day)

Science - Matter, properties of matter, and states of matter

Social Studies - Caring for Earth, how people change the Earth, and protecting Earth

Health - caring for eyes and ears and importance of product labels and ads

Spelling - more words with -ed and -ing

trip    tripped

run    running

stop   stopping

drop   dropped

hug   hugged

swim   swimming

Note to Parents:

Book it - Please make sure your child is reading for 20 minutes at least 5 days a week.  I know last year the students had to read a certain number of books, but this year I am asking the students to read a given amount of time due to some students reading picture books and others reading chapter books.

Assignment Pad - Please check your students book every night.  If I have written you a note or want you to know something important that happened I will write it in there.  I am asking that you sign the book if I have written you a note to make sure you are up to date on what is going on in the classroom.  Some students have overdue library books that I have wrote in the assignment pad.  Also, some students are not completing homework and I want you to be aware.

See you all on the 8th for conferences!