1. There will be no Home Link tonight. The children are taking the     Trimester 1 math assessment during our regular math time today.

2. Book Bag Projects are due tomorrow as usual. However, your child will not bring home a new Book Bag Project tomorrow. They will select their new book and/or project next Monday and it will be due on Friday, Dec. 5th.

3. Your child WILL bring home a new reading log tomorrow. The reading log is two-sided so that your child can record their reading for next week and the first week of December. Starting with the reading log that is due tomorrow, the children will be creating paper chains in our classroom to show how much they are reading at home. For every 100 minutes your child reads, they will get to add a link to their chain, since reading is the "link"  to learning about the world around us! I know the students will be be so proud when they see what they accomplish each week through this tangible representation of their time spent reading.

On a different note, parent-teacher conferences begin December 1st.  Please check your calendars to be sure you know when your conference is scheduled. It is extremely important that you arrive on time for your conference to insure that we have the full 20 minute block to discuss your child's progress.  Thank you!

Please return order forms and checks to me by Monday, November 17th.

 Thank you!

All five schools in our district will be collecting food items from NOV.3 -10. A small donation from all who are able will combine to make a difference in our community. Please join us in filling our local food pantries for the long winter months. All schools have collection sites so please send in a small donation by Nov. 10th.

**If you have any questions please contact Amy Roy at aroy@msad71.net.

URGENTLY NEEDED ITEMS to help local food pantries get through the winter months!

• Protein items; tuna, canned meats, peanut butter

• Canned soups & stews

• Fruit juices

• Canned fruit, applesauce

• Healthy cereals & snacks

• Pasta, sauces, mac & cheese

• Instant potatoes, rice

• Canned vegetables & beans

• Shelf-stable milk

• Paper products

Tonight your second grader is bringing home my ORANGE parent-conference sign-up sheet.  Please look for it in their Homework Folder tonight! 

 Thanks so much and I look forward to meeting with you!

·        Cardboard tubes from toilet paper or paper towel rolls
·        Different types of fabrics or materials such as       felt, rubber etc. to try and slide objects across (learning about friction or the lack of it!)
·        Paper cups
·        Twine
·        Straws
·        Paper plates
·        Paper cups
·        Tennis balls
·        Other types of round balls – ping-pong, playground, baseballs, etc.

Thank you in advance for all you do to support the students in their quest for knowledge!   

The Second Grade Team

I would also like to remind parents to make sure your second grader is reading 15 minutes everynight and that he/she has started working on his/hook book bag project that is due this Friday.

 Thank you!

 Thanks!

1.      Fresh Herbs (Parsley, cilantro, mint, rosemary, dill, anise, chives, etc)
2.      Cooking Ingredients ( garlic, ginger, horseradish, cloves, etc)
3.      Unfamiliar fruits ( mango, kiwi, passion fruit, pomegranate, guava, star fruit, etc) **Please no strawberries- we have a student with allergies.
4.      Small re-sealable plastic bags

Please label any herbs, ingredients, and/or fruits you send in!
Please send in items on Thursday, October 16th.

Thank you so much!
Katie Washburn

Writing: We are continuing work on writing complete sentences and use adjectives to make our writing more interesting. We are also learning how to organize our writing using a Power Plan. The children are doing a great job of checking their work for uppercase letters at the beginning of sentences and punctuation at the end. Also, every other Friday we have been meeting with our Writing Buddies in Mrs. Roper's class. The children get together with their partner and work on a story that they are co-authoring.

Word Study: The last few weeks we have reviewed long and short vowel sounds (still a bit rusty on those), closed syllables, digraphs, blends, and the three sounds of /k/ (c, k, and ck) and the two sounds of /w/ (w and wh). We also worked on the vowel teams ee and ea.  Ask your child for examples of words that have these features!

Reading: We finished reading Frog and Toad Are Friends today and completed a core assessment on identifying the beginning, middle, and end of a story.  This assessment will go in your child's portfolio here in our classroom. We met with our Book Buddies in Mrs. Goldberg's class for the third time today and the children are already good friends!  The second graders learned how to be helpful reading partners by showing the kindergartners how to hop on top of the words. Mrs. Goldberg reported that her students can't wait for Fridays!

Math: So far in unit 2, the children have practiced solving and telling number stories, were introduced to the difference between ounces and pounds and pan balances and spring scales, and we are working on our "fact power" by practicing domino facts, fact triangles, and making fact families. Today your child is bringing home a set of fact triangles to keep and practice at home!   I should also mentioned that we dabbled in the beginnings of multiplication by adding equal groups together. (Ex. 2+2+2=  is the same as 3x2= )

Social Studies: We continue to learn about goods and services and different types of communities (rural, suburban, and urban). Thanks to all of the parents who could chaperone our two field trips in the community! The children really enjoyed these opportunities to make connections between the content and real life! In celebration of Columbus Day on Monday, we also read a book about Christopher Columbus. We had a fascinating discussion about the different aspects of his important discovery.

Science: We just completed our fall observations and measurements of our class tree and of ourselves!  Ask your second grader to tell you about all the measurements they've been taking and their predictions for the spring!

Homework: The children are doing a great job of completing their homework and returning it to school when it is due. Thank you so much for helping them establish this important routine and teaching them to be more independent. Next Friday, October 17th, we will add a new challenge to the reading homework. We will start our Book Bag projects.  This homework is explained on page 6 of my orientation packet and I will send home an explanation letter with your child's first Book Bag next Friday.

Volunteers:This was our first week of having parent volunteers in the classroom during our literacy centers and everyone did a wonderful job, parents and students alike!  The children were thrilled with the special work they did with you and they really enjoyed the change of pace that a small group setting can offer! Thank you so much for volunteering your time! We are still looking for Library Helpers for our class on Mondays from 1:00-1:30!

Sharing:I need to remind everyone about our sharing rule. The students may only bring in photographs, drawings, or books to share on their sharing day. If there is an item they want to bring that does not fall under these categories, it must be directly related to something we are learning about in class and I ask that the child discusses it with me prior to their sharing day. Thank you for your help with this.

Lastly, if you haven't sent me the name of a "Folder Friend" for your child, please do so when you have a chance. The Folder Friend is explained on page 6 in my parent orientation packet that you received at the start of school. Let me know if you need more information!

Well, I think that about covers it! As you can see, we are very busy here in E109 and the reason we can do so many wonderful things is because of this incredible group of outstanding students. Thanks for all of your hard work!!!  Have a wonderful three-day weekend! 

Arundel/MSAD71 will be sponsoring RSU Informational Meetings to answer questions the public may have on the consolidation process and the RSU Plan. The meetings will be on: Thursday, 10/16/08, 7 PM, Mildred L Day School in Arundel at 7 PM and Saturday ,10/25/08, 9 AM, Consolidated School Gym, Kennebunkport.

2. Because of Early Release Wednesdays all this month, there will be no math homework on Wednesdays. Please encourage your child to use this extra time to practice math facts or do some extra reading!

3.Please only pack dry, non-messy  foods for our "working snacks" in the mornings. Some examples are crackers, pretzels, nuts, and grapes.  Chocolate, Doritoes, fruit cups, yogurt, etc get our classroom books and assignments messy during our working snacks. Remember that on Early Release Wednesdays, we only have a working snack.

4. Book orders are due this Thursday.

5. Columbus Day is Monday, October 13th. There is no school that day.

Thanks everyone!!!

Thank you!