Magic Tree House: Thanksgiving on Thursday Books Needed by 11/1

Hi Parents-

      Beginning on Tuesday, 11/1, we will be reading Magic Tree House: Thanksgiving on Thursday as a class. I currently have only 6 copies of the book,so I will need books to be donated or brought in from the library, home collection, book store etc. If you would like your child to have their own copy to read in class, please send one in with them by 11/1. I do have a few copies to share, but not enough for everyone. If anyone is interested in donating some copies to our classroom for volunteer hours, please let me know! The books are available at Barnes and Noble for approximately $4-$5 each.


Thanks,
Ms. Walker

Fall Festival is Monday, 10/31!!

Our second grade fall festival will be held in our classrooms from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm on Monday, October 31st. We will be doing educational activities for reading, math and science, as well as some crafts and fun "fall" festivities. A pizza lunch will be served and has been paid for by the party fund that you all donated to earlier in the year. If your child does not eat pizza, please pack a lunch!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

I look forward to seeing some of you on Monday for this fun-filled event!

Best,
Ms. Walker

Weekly Update Delay

Hi Parents-

       I wanted to apologize in advance for not sending a weekly update last week or this evening. Between grad school and powering through report cards, I am a little swamped. In any case, it's not an excuse to keep you out of the loop. I will send an update out this weekend outlining the past few weeks.

Thanks,
Ms. Walker :)

At-home Volunteer Needed Again- T-day Headdress Feathers

Hi Parents-
    

        For our Thanksgiving feast, we will be wearing headdresses and I really need paper feathers traced and cut. I have a template and have construction paper. Please let me know if you are interested in helping out and getting some volunteer hours. I need them as soon as possible, as the students are going to earn feathers for their headdress for doing good deeds, good behavior etc.


Thanks,
Ms. Walker

At-home Volunteer Needed

Hi Parents-
        
        Our annual holiday musical is fast approaching. I will be sending home a letter tomorrow from our music instructor, Mr. Smith, outlining dates and details. In the interim, he has provided one CD of the music that the children need to memorize for the performance. He has asked that each classroom have 18 copies burned so that the students can take them home and learn the songs. If anyone is interested in providing and burning 18 copies of the CDs for volunteer hours, please email me ASAP. I need to get these out to the students next week so that they can start singing in the car, shower and in their sleep :)

Thanks so much!

Ms. Walker

Spelling Words Week of 10/24

*Since this is a short week, we will only have one list*

step, nest, club, stone, next, brave, glad, lost, space, storm, frog, slip

Bonus:

*Halloween

*pumpkins

*leaves

*autumn

*costume

Pearson SuccessNet Math Site

Hi Parents--

        Please make sure to check your child's blue communication folder for a light blue sheet of paper with their username and password for Pearson SuccessNet at home math learning. This site is a resource we use in the classroom during math instruction and the same animated video lessons we watch in class can be watched again at home by logging in to this site. This site also has practice sheets, games and much more! I hope everyone will login and explore the options offered through this site!

Please let me know if you have any questions :)

Thanks,
Ms. Walker

Math Enrichment Packet Unit 4- Due FRIDAY 10/21

Math Enrichment packet for Unit 4 went home with your child in their blue communication folder today.  The packet is worth 10 extra credit points to be factored into their math average grade.  The packet is due this Friday, 10/21. By Thursday, we will have learned thru 4-8 so students may need some help on 4-9. Late work will not be accepted.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks,
Ms. Walker

Spelling Words Week of 10/17

List A

chute

slice
globe
excuse
refuse
bathe
blaze
stove
tune
rise
smile
escape
*explode
*quiet
*beautiful
*eagle
*dollar

List B
bone
 close
 those
 goes
 these
  note
 one
hope
 blame
 brake
 huge
 tune
*explode
*quiet
*beautiful
*eagle
*dollar

**Reading Extra Credit Opportunity**

Hi Students and Parents--

Our first marking period will officially end on 10/27. I like to give students an opportunity for extra credit each quarter for reading/language arts. Since this assignment is extra credit, it is OPTIONAL yet highly encouraged. I will be replacing the student's lowest test or assignment score in either reading OR language arts depending on which assignment is the lowest and which grade this opportunity will benefit the most. Please find below a link to the extra credit assignment. Your child is to choose a picture book or chapter book at their appropriate reading level and complete the book review form. They may read a new book or use a book they have read since the school year started. The book review form MUST be in the student's handwriting with word choices and sentences written by the student. Students must write in complete sentences with proper capitalization and punctuation where necessary. Spelling should be to the student's best abilities. Please do not correct their spelling for them. Parents can guide students but this needs to be 2nd grade work done by your child.

This assignment is due on Friday October 21st. Late work WILL NOT be accepted.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/reading/book-review.pdf

Thanks,
Ms. Walker

Chief Meteorologist Tom Sorrells was our Guest today at CCA!!

Chief Meteorologist Tom Sorrells from News Channel 6 visited the 2nd graders today to enhance their excitement and understanding of the weather/storms unit in science. He spoke about how he became interested in his field and about hurricane safety. We even got autographed pictures to keep!

Spelling List Week of 10/10

There will only be one list this week, as we took a pretest today and these words proved to be perfectly challenging for everyone :)

Please note that this week's focus is compound words. I have already let the students know that these words are to be written together e.g. hotdog NOT hot dog. If written separately, the lesson is defeated.

Also, beginning two weeks ago I started a dictation sentence on the test. I have noticed that it can be "easy" to memorize these words, but then they aren't remembered, used or spelled correctly in their actual writing. We will continue to have a dictation sentence for the remainder of quarter 1 and then our tests will slowly evolve to 100% dictation or short stories. These spelling tests are more difficult, but much more effective in the long-run.

pancake, breakfast, bedtime, schoolhouse, hamburger, outside, hotdog, northwest, sidewalk, overcook, peanut, backyard, downpour, sandwich, meatball

Bonus:

*quarter

*courage

*nickel

*explorer

 

 

 

Unit 3 Math Test Results....WOW!!

Comgratulations to our class! Our average test score for unit 3 Math was a 93 :) YAY!!! Keep up the FANTASTIC work!

Scholastic Book Clubs- How to order!

Scholastic Book Clubs: Online Ordering Information
Web address: scholastic.com/bookclubs
Class Activation Code: H7PBH
Dear Parents,

Now it's easier than ever to find the perfect books for your child -- shop our NEW online Book Clubs Web site. Choose from a much-wider selection of books than in the printed flyer. Plus, you can send your orders directly to me online and use your credit card to pay.

Best of all, we earn a FREE book for the classroom library every time a parent places an order online.*

It's so simple! Here's how it works:

• SIGN UP at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. On the parent page, click the "Register" button in the "First Time Here?" section. Register for your own user name and password. When prompted, enter the one-time Class Activation Code shown above. This unique code ensures that your order is sent to me.
  
• SELECT the books you'd like to order -- choose from thousands of titles -- many more than in our monthly flyers.
  
• SEND your order to me online by the due date stated on the site and your child's books will be delivered directly to my classroom.

Ordering online is fast, easy, and secure.

Of course, you can still order using the form from the printed flyer (will go home with your child on 10/10). But why not see for yourself how convenient it is to order online?

PS-- I posted a list of recommended books and a wish list for our classroom library.

Also, many of the books are listed by AR level. Most of our STAR testing is complete, so I will be sending AR levels home this upcoming week.


Thank you,
Ms. Walker

*Excludes eBooks.

Door Decorator Needed!

Hi Parents--
       I would like to know if anyone is interested in decorating my door a few times this school year for the various seasons. I started decorating my door last school year and now apparently everyone has gotten wind of it and has beautiful doors. In any case, I don't have the extra time right now to do it but if you are creative and interested please let me know :) I am thinking I would like to start with a door for fall (leaves, pumpkins, etc.).

Thanks so much :)

Ms. Walker

Spelling List Week of 10/3

*There will only be ONE spelling list this week*


didn't

 I'll

 shouldn't

 won't

 doesn't

 they've

 you'll

 don't

 it's

we're

you're

she'll

 we've

 *precipitation
*thermometer
*drought
*weather