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