September 26th

Hello Families,

     Can you believe that we have another short week ahead of us.  That's right, WE DO NOT HAVE SCHOOL ON FRIDAY...because it is a Teacher Workday.  All of us teachers will be in school conducting meetings on the new core standards, differentiation, and all that.  This time will also allow us to prepare an Interim Report for your student.  Interims go home on Monday so please be sure to look for them in the Monday folder next week.
     This past week your student read some terrific stories regarding setting.  We read Oscar's Half Birthday, The Best Story Ever, My Napoleon, and Madlenka.  The setting in the stories became more complex as some of the stories covered entire years.  Your student will hopefully remind you that the setting includes both where a story occurs and when it occurs.  We will continue to work on understanding setting this week as well as trying this concept in to how a character changes.  Due to the short week, in our small reading groups we will continue to work on the same books as last week but will practice strategies from The Cafe such as partner reading and echo reading (to build stamina and fluency).  We will also dig a little deeper and begin researching the animals in our stories (pigs, hens, alligators, and cats).  Research may be a third quarter objective but it never hurts to start early! 
     In Science this week we will begin our "Life Cycle" unit.  The fall is a great time as the leaves change to realize the life cycle that is repeating all around us.  Please discuss with your child the cycle of nature as well as the life cycle of any animals that you are interested in.  We will be learning about Butterflies, Spiders, and Frogs but it never hurts to discover the life cycle of other things.  Today we discussed notebook procedures and created our KWL charts for the unit.  We will be trying to activate our higher level thinking skills so if you feel like pushing us at home also that would be great!  The Second Grade will be working through this unit over the entire month of October but don't be surprised if you see a Social Studies sheet come home here and there as we try to keep your hero connected to their History.  Also, don't forget that our Immigration Projects are due on October 7th.  Please turn them in early rather than late.  If you need any supplies I have plenty available so please do not hesitate to ask. 
     Springing off our The Best Story your child has begun writing their "Story from the Heart."  This story is about anything they want and will go through the entire publishing process although it may take until the end of the quarter to complete.  The brainstorming was done last week and this week we will be writing our 1st drafts.  Revisions should come next week and hopefully our final drafts will be ready by the middle of October.  I plan on having these available for you to read during your conference at the end of October.  I'll be sending reminders of those out next week along with the question sheet for you to complete.  Sending in your questions early ensures that I have the answers you want and that we can maximize our time together.  There are usually only Fall and Spring conferences so I would like to be as thorough as possible.
     The final news for this week is that ALL Heroes will be taking their Unit 1 Expressions assessment on Thursday.  The test is twenty questions and covers math mountains, math partners, greater than/less than, and basic addition.  I have targeted all the students and given them as much support as I think they will need to be successful but please feel free to encourage them on Thursday morning.  I should have those tests returned next week.  Also, I would like to give a quick shout-out to Mrs. Medvetz for her help with Math Tiles this past Friday (from 1:40-2:20).  They were a huge success and allowed for the students to work on concepts with money and addition as well as greater than/less than.  Math Tiles will be every Friday that we are at school (not Early Release though) from 1:40 until 2:20 so if you can make it please shoot me an email.  We'd love to have you!
    
      Wrapping Up... 
  
     *The Radical Reader Assembly is tomorrow (Tuesday, September 27th at 9:30 am.)
     *Friday, September 30th is a Teacher Workday so please don't send your student to school.
     *October 13th is the One Hunter Family Fall Picnic at 5:30pm.  It will be unforgettable so please mark it down on your calendar!
     *Don't forget that all Parent Volunteer's should have renewed their volunteer registration by October 31st or you can't chaperon any field-trips.  Please go ahead an renew now!
     *Our Field Trip is coming up (October 12th) to the NC Museum of Life and Science!
     *ITLaPD (International Talk Like a Pirate Day) Literacy Unit and Celebration is coming up the week of October 10th thru the 14th.  Please be checking your email in-boxes for volunteer information/supplies from our amazing room moms Mrs. O'Brian & Mrs. Jones.  It should be a legendary time!