Week of April 9, 2012

I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful weather we are having. 

Please take note of these VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Thursday, April 12, 2012 – Field Trip

This is a reminder that the second grade classes will be going to see a production of Ellis Island on Thursday.  We will be leaving school at 11:00 and will return at approximately 2:00. 

 ·         PLEASE remember that there will not be hot lunch served to the second graders on the day of the field trip.  They need to have a lunch from home.  We will be eating in the classrooms prior to getting onto the bus. 

 Week of April 16, 2012 – Stanford Testing.

 Yes, next week is the Stanford Testing for your child. 

·         PLEASE  make sure that your child is at school every day ready for his or her testing.  If at all possible, please do not schedule any appointments or time away from school next week.  It is imperative that he or she is at school each and every day.

·         PLEASE make sure that your child arrives at school on time all week.
 
·         PLEASE make sure that your child has a nutritious breakfast every day.
 
·         PLEASE pack water and a healthy snack for your child every day.
 
·         PLEASE make sure your child is well-rested each and every day.
 
I do not yet have an exact testing schedule to tell you the day and time for each test.  I will forward that to you when I get it from the office.

This week:

Language Arts –

·         Reading:  We are enjoying our new literature book Charlotte’s Web and discovering so many rich and exciting vocabulary words.  We would love to have you join us for reading groups on Wednesday or Friday mornings from 8:10 – 8:40 if you are able.  Please go to link to sign up.  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040F45ADAB283-reading1

·         Grammar:  We’ve been practicing sentence diagramming (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, articles).  I will be continuing to assess the students on their ability to diagram sentences throughout the remainder of the year.  Please review parts of speech with your child to reinforce what we do in class.

 
Science –
·         Students are still learning about simple machines.  We are now learning covering pulleys and their uses.  The students are having fun and are recalling so much information.  Keep working on those science projects.  The kids need to bring them to school on Wednesday, April 18^th.  They will present them to the class on Thursday and Friday.

History –

·         We’ve now finished the Civil War unit.  Wow, that was fun.  The kids did a great job recalling information as we went over things.  You should be able to have a great conversation at the dinner table.

·         Our next unit is Immigration and Citizenship.  We will be learning about America as the Land of Opportunity, important American symbols associated with citizenship and freedom, why immigrants came to America, where they settled, how they got here, their time at Ellis Island, etc.  I will be sending home an assignment that will be due on Monday if possible.  The kids will be interviewing a family member (or alternatively, an adult that they know) who came to America as an immigrant.  As I told the kids today, we all have ancestors who came to America at one point.  Many of us have been here for so long, however, that we are unfamiliar with our heritage.  If you are able to answer all of the questions on the interview form, please provide them.  If not, just make a note on the interview sheet that you don’t know.

 
Have a wonderful week!

Mrs. Winkler