Sequencing

In Shared Reading, we have been working on story elements and sequencing. We had a chance on Thursday to work in groups and sequence, The Mixed Up Chameleon. We did really well working together and putting the story into the correct order!

15th Anniversary!

To celebrate Gombert's 15th Anniversary, an all-school photo will be taken on Thursday, October 4th outside of the school.  Students are encouraged to wear blue on this day for the picture!

Picture Day

Picture Day will be Wednesday, October 3rd.  Please remember to send in all forms and money by this date.

www.spellingcity.com

The Happenings of 2B

Thank you to everyone who attended Curriculum Night.  I hope that I enlightened you a little bit about how your child spends their day in second grade.  It was great to meet everyone and see what wonderful parents you all are.  Thank you so much for encouraging your child to be respectful and instilling in them the importance of being a great person and getting a great education. 

I still can find a slot for volunteers to be a mystery reader if you are at all interested. If so, please send me an email about it and I will get back to you with a date.  I would also like to remind parents that the due date for book orders is on Friday, September 28th.

This week children will be concentrating on story elements which will include character, setting, beginning, middle, and end.   We will also continue to focus on sequencing. The launching of  Writer's Workshop  will continue for several more weeks.  

In math, we will be wrapping up unit 1, reviewing  and taking our first test.  Students will also be doing their first transfer activity which is a new part of our curriculum.  Please note that you will begin to see math homework this week.  Remind your children to be responsible by turning in their assignment the following day and, of course, remember  to write their name on their homework. 

During the next several weeks, we will be learning about the water cycle.  Students will be learning about the changing stages of the water cycle while exploring the following essential questions:

• What are the stages of the water cycle?
• What is evaporation?
• What is condensation?
• What is accumulation?
• How do these stages work together in the water cycle?

 Enjoy the fall weather!  Have a wonderful week!

Mystery Reader

On Thursday, we enjoyed another mystery reader. Mrs. Conrad came into the classroom to read some funny poems from, Where The Sidewalk Ends. We thought these poems were very silly and funny. It is always nice to be exposed to different types of literature, like poems. Thank you again to Mrs. Conrad for coming in to be the mystery reader!

Number Scroll Craze

In 2B, during Guided Math, when they have extra time kids can work on their number scrolls. The number scrolls have become a huge craze in 2B. I am thrilled to see kids so excited to keep working on their scrolls. Some of the kiddos are into the 1000's! I hope this craze continues throughout the year.

Writing and writing our numbers

Rolling it out to see how long it is

WOW...that is one long scroll

Keep it up

Working hard on the number scrolls

What number is everyone on?

Culver's Night

Come on out to Culver's on Rte. 59 on Wednesday, September 26 for our first Culver's night of the school year!  Anytime between 10am and 10pm, 20% of all sales will be donated to the Gombert PTA!

Reflections

This year's theme for the 2012-2013 National Reflections Program is "The Magic of a Moment." The Reflections Program is a great way forstudents to challenege themselves creatively and have fun at the same time. Students are encouraged to explore this theme through literature, music composition, photograph, visual arts, dance/choreography, and film/video production. The project submission deadline is October 15, 2012.

For more information and complete rules, see www.ptareflections.org.

Spelling Words

There are many different ways to practice with your spelling words. One website that kids have used before at home is called spellingcity.com. This website has many different games that they can play with their spelling words. We will be using it in the computer lab in the next couple of weeks. It is always nice to have other options. 

CogAt Testing

Next week, all second grade students will be taking the CogAT test on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We will test from 10:45-11:45 each day, which will cause our lunch time to change from 11:25 to 1:05. We will eat on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 1:05, and go to recess from 1:25-1:40. We will snack in the morning on those days instead of in the afternoon.

Please make sure your child gets a good night sleep each night and eats a healthy breakfast each morning before school. Thanks for your support and cooperation!

Curriculum Night

Please plan to attend Gombert Curriculum Night on September 19, 2012 from 6:30 to 8:00pm.

We will have three sessions in order to accommodate families with more than 2 kids as well as visits to specials and special education staff.

6:00 – 6:25 ELL Session, 107; PA Session, 212
6:30 – 6:55 Session I
7:00 - 7:25 Session II
7:30 – 7:55 Session III

Please attend whichever session is most convenient for your schedule! Check out our Olympic-themed bulletin board glyphs while you're there to guess which Olympian is your student! See you then!

Master John

Taylor was star student this week in 2B and she invited Master John to come into the class and teach us some Taekwondo. Each student got to break a board with their foot. We LOVED the visit from Master John!

Taylor with Master John

Practicing our moves

Kick those legs

IPICK Rap

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vv4ux256cm3xump/VID00004.mp4

Yesterday, 2B had the chance to FINALLY film our iPick song. When we shop we think of iPick to make sure the books we are choosing are both interesting and appropriate for our reading abilities!  Enjoy the video!

Curriculum Night

Please plan to attend Gombert Curriculum Night on September 19, 2012 from 6:30 to 8:00pm.

 We will have three sessions in order to accommodate families with more than 2 kids as well as visits to specials and special education staff. 

6:00 – 6:25 ELL Session, 107; PA Session, 212
6:30 – 6:55 Session I
7:00 - 7:25 Session II
7:30 – 7:55 Session III

Please attend whichever session is most convenient for your schedule! Check out our Olympic-themed bulletin board glyphs while you're there to guess which Olympian is your student!  See you then!

Teacher Spin

Today we practiced the steps of the Scientific Method by doing our very first science experiment!  We asked the question, "How can we make the teacher spin?"  We made hypotheses about how to best help her to spin!  We are bringing our teachers home tonight and are going to have our families and friends best guess how to make the teachers spin!

Share it Maybe............

We listened to the song, "Share it Maybe" and OH BOY was it a hit. We decided to make up some dance moves and to get silly!

Practicing Our Spelling Routine

Telling Time Games

This is one of the Math games we have been using in class!

http://www.free-training-tutorial.com/telling-time-games.html

Words Their Way

Okay, buckle your seatbelts!  I know this post is lengthy, but I have some very important information to share with you.  It concerns our new word study program (spelling) that your child will be involved in everyday of the week here at school.  This year I will be using a program called Words Their Way in my classroom.  Words Their Way is phonics, spelling, and vocabulary instruction through daily word study.

Over the past two weeks of second grade, the students have been practicing procedures and routines for spelling and word study at school.  Each day your student will have the opportunity to practice their words in some capacity at school.  Your help is needed in helping them to practice the words at home as well.

One focus of word study is to teach students how to spell and decode new words and to improve their word recognition speed in general.  To accomplish this goal, I will teach the students how to examine words to learn the regularities that exist in the spelling system.  I will also teach them some irregularities of spelling (we call “oddball words”).  The simple process of sorting words into categories is the heart of our word study program.  When students sort words, they are engaged in the active process of searching, comparing, contrasting, and analyzing.  Word sorts help students organize what they know about words and to form generalizations that they can then apply to new words they encounter in their reading.

The best part of a word study is that your child can sort words anywhere!  Yes, anywhere! And I‘d like for him/her to start sorting their weekly spelling words at home.  It’s easy and it’s fun!  It’s a hands-on way to get kids to learn more about our spelling system!

What you can do at home:

1.    Each week I will send home some word cards and various header cards.  Have your child cut out the word cards and the different head cards.

2.    There are directions on the letter that will come home with your child this week that tells you what kinds of activities the kids can do with their word cards.

3.    Let your child sort the word cards.  If he/she makes a mistake, don’t correct it right away.  You’ll have time to do that later.

4.    When your child is finished, go through each column and make sure he/she can pronounce each word and confirm that the word “fits” underneath the header.  This is the time to help them correct any mistakes.

5.    It is extremely important that your child can pronounce each word. Keep reviewing this if you find it is a little difficult.  They should know the meanings of the words as well.

6.    Each week I will try to send home a different type of sort that your child can do.  If students do not pass their weekly spelling test, they will remain on the same list until they have reached 80% mastery of that list.

This is not traditional homework.  Nothing needs to be turned back into me.  I just thought this would be a fun, more productive, and a more meaningful way of studying spelling words with your child.  The days of copying words five or ten times each is gone.

Whew, nothing like information overload!  Please do not hesitate to call or email me if you have ANY questions or concerns on this new program.  Just try it, I think you will like it and so will the kids! 

Fall Fundraiser

Last Thursday, the Gombert PTA kicked off their annual Fall Fundraiser!  Our goal is to raise $7000 for Gombert this year!  We need your help to accomplish this goal!  Please ask your family, friends, and relatives to check out your magazine filled with gifts and treats and to purchase something that they like!  Students who make sales will be eligible to win prizes as well as win raffle drawings!  Help us to reach our goal to support the Gombert PTA!