Ms. Washburn

What wonderful children you have!  The kids were so kind and enthusiastic and they did a great job with listening to directions and being respectful to each other! We had a very full day of learning about our classroom routines, putting away supplies, playing a game, and we even had a math review on number sequence! I am blown away by how well they took in all the new information!

Tonight's homework is titled "Rules" and should be in your child's new Homework folder. Please try to look through and empty out this folder every night.  Please read over the Rules paper with your second grader and discuss some rules that would allow everyone in our class to achieve their hopes and goals for second grade. Where it says, "Class Rules by ______________ and ______________", your second grader should write their name and your name.  Next,  your child should write down their three most important rules and explain why they are important. We will share the rules with one another in class tomorrow.  A few students accidently left their homework in our classroom. If that is the case, please still have the rules discussion tonight and just write down their thoughts on a piece of paper instead.

You will also find two book order forms in your child's homework folder. Please return the book orders and payment by Thursday, September 11th if your child wants to order books.

Also, please remember to send in an over-sized shirt for Art class tomorrow!

Lastly, if you have not returned the Student Information packet (the manilla folder of forms you took home on Parent Orienation Night) please send it in as soon as possible. 

Thanks so much!

Another great day today! The kids were superb and we got a lot accomplished! 

First, we shared and discussed the rules the children thought of for their homework last night and then narrowed them down to three basic behaviors that covered everyone's ideas. I was so impressed with their thoughts and reasons for what they wanted to happen in our classroom!  Your child's homework tonight is to share these three rules with you. Please sign the bottom of their paper to let me know that your child and you had this important discussion. Here are the rules we decided on:

1. Be kind and respectful.

2. Be responsible.

3. Be safe.

Second, the children chose their "Sharing Days".  We will start this next week.  Here it is:

Tues: Chelsea, Samantha, Amber, Lydia, and Emma

Wed: Peter, Zack, Alden, Mikey, and Jack

Thurs: Colby, Savannah, Carter, Miles, and Saami

Fri: Damian, Meg, Eva, Joe, and Tripp

I would like to thank all you wonderful parents for doing a great job on having those important discussions about our classroom rules last night. The children shared some of your comments with me and I am so impressed by how supportive everyone is of our vision for our classroom. Thank you so much!

Just a few quick reminders:

1. Tonight's homework is the "What's In A Name" sheet that you should find in your child's homework folder.

2. Tomorrow we have P.E. with Mrs. Dyer. Please remind your second grader to wear or bring sneakers! 

3. Please send Scholastic book orders in by next Thursday.

4. Please send in the Student Information forms asap, if you haven't already.

Books, books, and more books!  Today the children learned about our classroom library, took some of our books for a test-read, and then answered questions about their books like, "Who were the important characters in the story?" or "What was the conflict in the story?". We also talked about the difference between fiction and non-fiction.  This afternoon we had our first Library class with Mrs. Dixon and she reported that the children did an excellent job!  The last activity of the day was to begin making our Me Bags. The children began designing the outside of their bags and they will finish tomorrow. Later this week we will fill the Me Bags with the items the children brought to school today and share them with one another.

The children's homework tonight is to read for 15 to 20 minutes and fill out the reading log that was sent home on Friday. Please talk with your second grader about where in the house you will keep this important paper so that they will remember to fill it out each night and you can remember to write about something great they did during their reading. Some suggestions for a special spot are on the refrigerator, in your child's homework folder, or even taped to the bathroom mirror! The reading log is due on Thursday.

Tomorrow is our first Early Release Wednesday.  To help everything run smoothly, please helps us with the following:

1. Be sure your second grader knows where he or she is going after school.

2. Please only pack a working snack. We will not have a regular snack time with drinks.

3. Dismissal will begin at 12:00pm tomorrow.

Thank you!

Mrs. Mason came to our classroom today to review the importance of a proper pencil grip, healthy posture, and backpack safety.  Please read the important information your child is bringing home today in their Homework folder and remember to check and empty out those Homework folders every night!

The only homework for tonight and tomorrow night is to continue a good reading routine of 15-20 minutes and then filling out the reading log each night. I made a small change on the due date of the reading logs. Please remind your child to turn their reading log in on Fridays now.  On Thursday, your second grader will bring home their first piece of math homework, called a Home Link. Remember to set a timer for 20 minutes or watch the clock and spend no more than 20 minutes on the math homework.

We have begun our science unit on life cycles and the children are doing a wonderful job of learning all the new vocabulary terms, such as organism, larva, life span, and adult.  Tomorrow we will begin our discussion about generations. Please help your child prepare for this new learning by having a conversation at home about the different generations in your family! This pre-teaching will help them tremendously in tomorrow's lesson!

Please mark your calendars for Thursday, October 2nd, as our second graders will be going on a tour of some businesses in downtown Kennebunk.  This trip aligns with our studies of communities and community workers. During the tour, we will visit the Water Company, Wallingford Farm, Dairy Queen (and hopefully the bank) to learn about community workers, goods and services.  Please be sure to have your child wear comfortable walking shoes on that day!  More information will be provided next week. 

Also, on Tuesday, October 7th, we will have an Emergency Services Trip, during which we will visit the police station and fire station.  At the fire station, we will have presentations by the firefighters and EMT's.  We will learn about ambulances and even sit inside one!  Again, please have your child wear comfortable shoes on this day.  More information to come.

Lastly, we have started our Student of the Week program. Here is a reminder of your child's special week!

Sept. 15-Eva           22-Jack      29-Saami

Oct. 6-Damian       20-Tripp       27-Mikey

Nov. 3-Colby           17-Samantha

Dec. 1-Meg             15-Savannah

Jan. 5-Emma          12-Alden       26-Lydia

Feb. 2-Miles          9-Joe

Mar. 2-Peter         9-Carter           16-Chelsea      23-Zack       30-Amber    

Dear Parents of Second Graders,

I am pleased to inform you that we are hosting a guest speaker tomorrow, September 18, who will be addressing the second graders at an afternoon assembly.

Thom Harnett, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Education and Enforcement and Director of the Civil Rights Team Project, will talk to the students about kindness, respect for others, what makes a healthy school community, what it feels like to be left out or mistreated, how we sometimes hurt others without even meaning to, and simple things we can do as individuals to make things better.

This assembly supports our continuing efforts to promote positive behavior and sustain a culture of caring.

Sincerely,

Sara

1. Homework: Last week we added a second part to the homework rountine, the Home Link. Please make sure your child completes the math Home Link as the first part of their homework routine, when the lesson is freshest in their mind. As soon as they complete the paper, it should go in their homework folder to be turned in the next day. We have set a goal of 100% homework completion this week!  Also, your child's reading log should be returned to school every Friday and a new one will be sent home.  We had many students forget to turn this in last week and again, we have set a goal of 100% for this Friday!

2. Change Keeper- This week the children will begin earning "income" for doing their classroom job each day and doing it well. As I explained in my orientation packet, they children will earn play money that they can then use at our class store at the end of the month. The first store will be in October. Please send your child in with a small change purse or some other small, sturdy container for them to keep at school to hold the money they earn.

3. Thanks for your patience with volunteering. We are still working on learning the routines, understanding expectations, and following rules and once the children are comfortable with those ideas, we will introduce guests into our classroom. I will be organzing a schedule soon and will be in touch with those who signed up for a weekly spot by the first week of October.

4.Word Study-Please look for the Word Study Concepts letter that I will send home tomorrow. It is an overview of the concepts we will be working on in class so that you can reinforce them at home with your second grader and help them make connections to their life outside of the classroom.

5.Math- We are finishing up Unit 1 of Everday Math this week. This unit was mostly a review of the skills taught in first grade. We will begin Unit 2 on Wednesday, which focuses mostly on addition and subtraction facts. The program does not have many opportunties for drill and practice built in so I encourage families to use flash cards at home to help students become quicker and more consistent with their math facts. This will help them tremendously later on in the program!

6.Community-We began our social studies unit on community today. The children were introduced to the following terms: goods, products, and services. Please ask your second grader about the fun sorting activity they did this afternoon!

7. Trees-This week in science, the children will make observations about trees in the fall. We will use terms like bark, branch, bud, leaf, and trunk.

8. Frog and Toad- We are continuing to read Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel. We are focusing on character traits and infering meaning from the text, such as "How do you think Toad is feeling and what about the story told you that?"  We will also look at story elements such as characters, setting, and problem and solution.

9. Thank you!- Several students donated sneakers during PE last Friday and all students arrived wearing them! We earned 4 stars!!!

Calling all volunteers!  We are in need of some parent helpers during our Library time on Mondays from 1:00-1:30.  Mrs. Dixon is our librarian that day and she has her hands full when it is time to check out books for 20 eager readers!  Please email me at kbwashburn@msad71.net if you are interested in reading with the children and helping check books out during our Library class.  (This is a great volunteering option for parents who aren't able to make a weekly volunteering commitment but can come in from time to time when their schedule allows.)  

Thank you!