8-8-25
Hello Parents,
The first full week of school was great! Your students are learning our classroom procedures, working on perseverance, and making new friends. Mrs. Brady's Headmaster Update article speaks about resiliency and we encourage you to read it. An example of resiliency in action this week: a student grappling with feeling overtired after a disrupted night of sleep. The student wanted to nap, lay down on the desk, and not attend to the task. In an attempt to build their coping skills, we took a few minutes to listen and validated their experience/feelings of tiredness, but we moved the conversation to what we can do about it in the moment. Napping wasn't an option nor was going home. We decided to write a letter to said sibling who caused the nighttime disruption, explaining the impact on the student and inviting a conversation to brainstorm potential solutions. This conversation & letter was teacher written and largely teacher guided, but it modeled a sample way to cope with the feelings of tiredness. When the student remembered they were still tired -- right now -- we did a few jumping jacks to bring about some fresh energy in the body. This took less than 10 minutes and prevented further task avoidance & escalation of the tiredness.
Another component of resiliency is helping students develop good habits despite obstacles or challenges. We all (teachers & parents) have a huge role in this. A habit we're hoping to build in your students is continuing independence in tracking & completing their homework. Most students are not ready to do this independently...yet. Some need minimal guidance and support & other needs a lot of teacher/parent supervision. Because they are at various points in independence with this task, we still ask for your supervision of checking their homework, yellow folder & agenda. You'll be able to wean off this supervision in time in small stages (them reminding you to check their agenda/homework is a good marker of growth). If we pull back our supports too soon, they might encounter even more hurdles and challenges as the expectations regarding homework & study skills get harder in each forthcoming grade.
Classroom Reminders
-Please make sure your scholar has a snack with them everyday.
-If they are wearing anything with belt loops, a belt is required.
-Shirts need to be tucked in at all times.
-We will begin tracking homework this week for a grade. Scholars will be given a math, Spalding, and reading homework grade. Please sign the bottom of your child's agenda and include the title of the book they read for homework.
-Please send The Boxcar Children if you have not done so already. We will start reading the book this Wednesday, August 13th.
-Curriculum Night is coming up on Wednesday, August 13th, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm. We would love to have you join us to discuss your child's upcoming year of learning. Curriculum Night will begin in the Archway MPR (multi-purpose room). Afterwards, you will join your child's teacher in their classroom for information about our curriculum, parent and student expectations, and classroom procedures. A lot of information is given on Curriculum Night so
please make plans to attend!
Conversation Starters from Week 2 Content
What is a compass rose? What are the four cardinal directions on a compass rose?
Did you make a new friend yet? What games are you playing at recess?
Tell me 5 phonograms! What's your favorite phonogram?
How many continents are there? What continent do we live on?
Week 3 Academics
Poetry: You will find our first poem The Year by Sara
Coleridge in your child's yellow folder. While we do
practice in class each day, it is vital to be practicing at home daily.
Recitation of the whole poem will be the week of August 25th. Students are expected know the whole poem.
Grammar: Students have been learning about different folktales and sayings this week. We have also practiced our poem by reciting the first stanza and illustrating pictures of the first four months in class. Next week, we will
illustrate the next four months in our poem. We will also begin our discussion on the four different types of sentences, starting with declarative sentences!
Math: Students reviewed first grade math concepts to see what they could remember after summer break! They did a lovely job, and we're looking forward to moving on to our 2nd grade concepts. Next week, we will work on
addition within 1,000 without and with regrouping. Students will use manipulatives, read books, learn to spell and match word forms, and work on place value. Students will learn many strategies for adding. Here's a letter explaining some of the activities you can do at home to support this content. Please note: Students will begin bringing home their math homework book and will have specific pages listed in their agenda that need to be completed for homework. Please watch the math homework page numbers carefully as we are starting with unit 2 (we'll return to unit 1 after completing unit 2). Please check their work for accuracy and be sure they completed the assigned pages.
History: Students have been reviewing the continents and oceans and learning how to use maps and cardinal directions. Next week, we will learn about landforms. We have our first assessment on continents and oceans on Monday, August 11th. You will find a map labeled with the continents and oceans on purple paper in your child's yellow folder. Please review the map at your convenience with your scholar in preparation for the quiz.
Spalding: We are reviewing the phonograms. Please dictate and have your child write the phonogram as homework. Thank you. If you are new to phonograms or don't have the sounds memorized, here are some video clips you can use as a resource.
Literature: Students will begin reading The Boxcar Children on Wednesday, August 13th. We will work on
predictions and character analysis!
Science: We are studying Properties of Matter to kick off Science. Students will learn about the three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.
Have a wonderful weekend! Please feel free to reach out to your teacher with questions, concerns, or joys!
Warm Regards,
The 2nd Grade Team
