Saving Sammy Investigation

Week 1

Dear Parents,

         What a wonderful first week we had! We are all getting to know one another and working toward knowing expectations for a successful second grade year. In math we set up our notebooks and began learning our routines. We went over time to the hour, the two names of clocks we have in our room (digital and analog), the hand signs for being a part of number talks (a mental math strategy lesson), and how to independently work on solving word problems by finding multiple ways and tools to get an answer.

          In reading we learned about how to come to our gathering spot and what rug rule expectations. Are.  We read, listened to and discussed a few stories which helped us learn that we think as we read to understand the story. We made our friendship snack and had fun learning more about our classmates as they shared their Me bags.

           During guided reading we practiced read to self and buddy reading. We practiced what it looks like and what it doesn’t look like. We are building our reading stamina. The first try we only stayed focus as a class for two minutes. By Friday we were staying focused for almost nine minutes. As soon as someone looked around, spoke or got off task we would start the timer all over again. We sure had fun practicing!

             In writing we set up our writing notebooks, Wrote from two different prompts, then filled the pieces of a heart shaped puzzle with ideas that are close to our heart that we can write about.

             In science we set up our notebooks, learned the science safety rules, made an emergency plan and discussed what a scientist is and what he/she does. We had our first science investigation on Friday. Ask your child if he/she was able to save Sammy with his/her partner.

• Thank you parents for the wish list items you donated this week to our class as well as the ingredients to make our friendship snack. Your help is greatly appreciated.
• Starting the second week of school, reading logs will be going home  Mon.- Thurs. to be turned in on Friday. Directions are inside the logs. This is their nightly homework. I will provide 1-2 books a week which they can read nightly to help increase their fluency. They may also choose a book from home or the library to read instead. Those who return their logs filled out and initialed by a parent on Friday will receive a sticker for their reward chart.
• PE is on Thursday this week. Please have your child wear gym shoes. 😊

Beginning of the 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR

 Dear Parents,

          It was so wonderful meeting most of you at meet the teacher. I hope to see you all again at  our parent orientation on Thursday Aug. 20^th at 5:00 so you can learn more about second grade. If you are unable to attend, you may find the information covered in a packet that will go home in your child’s blue Coyote Folder on Friday. Please take time to fill out the pages at the back and send them back to school next week. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me and I will answer your questions as soon as I can. This Coyote Folder comes home on Fridays with important flyers, our second grade newsletter and graded papers. Please take everything out and return the folder on Monday. The blue daily folder goes home each night and should also return each morning.

       In math this week we are learning about our daily routines, and IPS. IPS stands for intentional Problem Solving. We have a problem each day that your child solves as many ways as they can. They then share with friends; then the strategies used are shared by students. In writing, we will begin our kick off to writing workshop where we will create play doh creations, add to them, take things away, and compare this to the writing process. We will learn that we write about things close to our heart and make some journal entries.

        In reading we will start the kick off to reading workshop where we will learn our gathering spot, how to turn and talk to a buddy, how to read to self and build stamina during guided reading. We will listen to some wonderful books and have wonderful discussions to check for comprehension.

        In social studies we will discuss our rules, classroom procedures, and begin our review of the Leader in Me program. In Science we will set up our science notebook and learn about what scientists look like, what tools they use and what they do. 

       If you click on the blue link below you will be able to see our class blog. I post all my e-mails to you as well as pictures and videos of activities we do in our class. I will post some of the play doh creations from writing this week as I still have some parents that need to fill out the AUP form in skyward. This allows me to post pictures of your child with projects in the hall as well as share pictures of them on our blog. This form must also be filled out if you would like your child’s picture in our yearbook. If you could respond to this e-mail with just your child’s name and whether his/her picture can be posted on our blog, I can start taking pictures of the children. Example: John, yes you may post his picture on the blog.

• Attached is the weekly letter that was in your folder at Meet the Teacher Night, for those of you who could not attend.

*With technology and the digital world constantly changing, it’s critical Lewisville ISD continues to safeguard student data, and student passwords are a key component to ensuring student information is protected.
On Monday, Aug. 12 (the night before the first day of school), all LISD elementary student passwords will be reset to more complex passwords. Parents and guardians may see what their student’s password will be reset to within their Skyward Family Access account under the Portfolio section (see image below). These passwords will be available to view in Skyward until Friday, Aug. 30.
PLEASE NOTE: If your student forgets or needs help with their password, their teacher will have access to the student password management tool to assist them.

Movie Day Fun! I don't think we had enough snacks!

Week 36

Dear Parents,

     This week in math we practiced all the skills we learned this year. The practice packet went home on Wednesday night and we took our district Math CBA on Thursday. We had a few problems that some students had to finish today. Next week we will be working on more fun math challenges to Unlock Summer!

      In language we focused on prepositions and began filling out our second Grade Memory Book. If these don’t get finished, I hope that they work on them over the summer. They will be great keepsakes! Their Animal reports went home today in your child’s Coyote Folder. Let your child share what a wonderful job they did on this research paper. Poetry books will go home next Tuesday. I wanted to have time for all the children to share their favorite poem with the class. I hope these treasures get placed in their second grade pockets. So much hard work went into both of them.

        We have been finishing up our economics unit in social studies. We all loved using our earned funds to buy snacks and a movie ticket. A lot of valuable lessons have been learned along the way. Hard work paid off. We also learned that being responsible was important. If a time card got misplaced, we lost our wages. Luckily we have some sweet friends who felt that sharing their cash would help even things out. I think everyone had a lot to buy. I actually convinced them to take things home so no one has a tummy ache. Thank you for all the generous donations that made this day special!

         In science we have been watching videos, Brainpop Jr. movies, and doing our talk read, talk, write lessons about how the environment effects both plants and animals.

*Have your children bring their yearbooks on Monday. We meet in the gym for their enrichment time for yearbook signing. We will have autograph books printed and writing utensils for anyone who doesn’t have them.

* I will be sending home some summer skill packets to help you keep your child on track. Lots of reading is a must too! Look for these in your child’s folder next week. 😊

 I really can’t believe this year is almost over! This has been an amazing group of students!

Week 35

Dear Parents,

          In math this week we finished up looking at graphs. We  answered as well as wrote questions, designed our own graphs and created  keys that counted by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, or 10’s. We then learned about deposits and withdraws. This goes right along with our economics unit. We answered questions with partners then checked our answers together. The questions had to be solved using an addition sentence or a subtraction sentence. What type of problem we used  depended on whether a person was depositing or withdrawing money.

         In writing we completed our research papers on our chosen animals. They did a fantastic job over the last two weeks as they planned, revised and edited these papers. They are displayed in the room, but will be going home before the end of school.

         In social studies we read about wants and needs. It was interesting to find out that some of the things we thought were needs, were actually wants! We will be counting our earned money this week and will spend what we earned on a movie ticket, as well as snacks, drinks, and some candy. If you would like to donate any of these items, please have them sent to school by Wednesday so that I can go out to buy whatever I need to, so their Friday movie day is a lot of fun!  

          In science we finished up our unit about insects and have started our next science unit. We are seeing how temperature and precipitation can change animal and plant behavior.  Ask about our cave with hibernating bears.  

          We loved going to the library to get to books in the book swap. Thank you to all who participated and made this possible. There are still six children with library books checked out. If they bring them back by Monday, They will earn a pencil from Mrs. Watts.Be sure to ask your child if he/she has any library books at home. 

           I hope you were able to enjoy Muffins with moms this past Thursday. Your child’s Mother’s Day card and special gift made in art will warm your hearts this weekend! Moms, enjoy your special day. Thank you all for spoiling me last week with cards, flowers, treats and gift cards. Your kind words mean more to me than you know! I love my job and feel extremely lucky to spend each day with your children. You sharing them with me is the best gift of all.

Following are the manager’s choice menu for the next week.

Monday:         Penne Alfredo with Chicken

Tuesday:         Corn Dog

Wednesday:   Waffles with Drumsticks

Thursday:       Chicken CRISPITO with Rice

Friday:            Chicken Caesar Salad with Roll

Week 34

Dear Parents,

      This week in math we finished up our unit on solid and plane shapes, took our assessment on Tuesday, and began our unit on graphing. We will learn how to set up a bar graph as well as a pictograph. We will  learn what it means on a pictograph when a picture means a number more than one.

       In Language we are deep into our researching! We are sifting through all the information and deciding what facts should be included. We will then focus on revising to make our information clear, but use more complex sentences to incorporate  adjectives and adverbs.

       In science we began our life cycle of an insect unit. Since we’ve already witnessed the life cycle of a butterfly and held a Bess Beatle at LISDOLA, we are really excited about this unit.

• This month our habit day will be May 8th: Sharpen the Saw Day- wear orange! The Habbit 7 papers went home today in your coyote folders. They are also attached for your convenience. Please complete the activity with your child, sign it and return it back to school by Wednesday May 8^th. The grade level with the most participation wins a reward!