Updates

Dec. 11, 2025

If you need to dismiss your child early or change how they are going home, please fill out this dismissal form to notify the office. *Please note this form is open from 7:30 am to 1:30 pm each day.

Report Cards:

Report cards were sent home today in backpacks. Please keep the report card but return the envelope tomorrow so that it can be used again next term. You should sign the envelope before returning it.

I encourage you to have a conversation with your child about their report card. Talk about their successes and challenges, and keep the focus on EFFORT, not final product. My comments include strengths and areas of growth for all students. Help them set goals for themselves and talk about steps they can take to work towards those goals. We all have things we can work on to continue to grow! There are still have some standards that have not been addressed yet, so there will be more standards graded in the next term.

Math:

We are working hard on strategies for both adding and subtracting 2-digit numbers up to 100. Some of these strategies are challenging! I have shown them the standard algorithm for both adding and subtracting (carrying and borrowing) so have them show you what they know! Don't worry if this strategy isn't solid yet. Other strategies are drawing base 10 blocks, jumping on a 100 grid, using an open number line and jumping to a "friendly number" (multiple of 10). Soon we will be solving problems involving telling time on an analog clock and counting coins, so any additional practice with these skills is always helpful. It's hard to learn telling time and counting money when our worlds are filled with digital clocks and tap to pay! Children need exposure to analog clocks and coins and bills to develop these important skills.

Reading:

We're wrapping up Unit 2, What Patterns Do We See in Nature? We've worked on some vowel teams (ai/ay; ie as long i and long e; ea/ee/y; o/oa/ow) and students are practicing reading words with these sounds in text to build automaticity with these sounds. In this unit, we've read fiction, realistic fiction, and non-fiction, and worked on going back into the text to find evidence to answer questions. Keep up the great reading work you're doing at home! 

Writing:

We are finishing up our first unit, opinion writing. Students have been writing their own essays using the structures taught. They have gone back into their writing to revise and edit, and make sure they are writing in complete sentences. I'm so impressed with how much they have grown as writers during this unit!

Social Studies:

We've had some parents in to share their favorite holiday traditions through stories or activities, and the students are loving it! Thank you so much for your time, and we're looking forward to welcoming more families in the next couple of weeks. Students have also been working to complete a Kindness Bingo board by doing kind things for their classmates. We have had several BINGO's already!

Have a great evening!

Some building challenges on Halloween

Oct. 24, 2025

We've been hard at  work in 2nd grade! Next Friday is Halloween and students are welcome to wear orange and black to celebrate!

Math:

We wrapped up Unit 1, and we've moved into Unit 2. We're now learning strategies for solving 2-digit addition problems. I'm teaching them the standard algorithm (meaning regrouping, or "carrying") as well as other strategies to help build number sense. One common strategy is breaking numbers into tens and ones, and adding each separately, then adding the parts together. We show this with equations and drawing base 10 blocks.

Reading:

We're wrapping up Unit 1, "How do different places affect us?" with a project about building our own communities. This will be next week. I'm sending home our "foldable decodable" story of the week when we finish as well as the story packet and worksheet packet for each story. Many of these phonics pages are not complete as we do a more in depth whole group warm up around the phonics lesson each day. If you're looking for more ways to support this, you can use these phonics pages at home. Our decodable story follows the phonics pattern that we've been practicing all week. So far we've done a short vowel review, blends (st, bl, etc), digraphs (sh, th, ch, ph, wh), and suffixes (-s, -es, -ed, -ing). If you're reading with your child and they are struggling on a work, help them locate any of these patterns in the unknown work, then blend the word together.

Writing:

We are beginning Stage 5 of our Opinion writing genre next week, where students will have an opportunity to plan their own Opinion essays. I'm feeling confident that after an in-depth exploration of the parts of an essay, students are ready to confidently plan and write their own.

Social Studies:

We've discussed "expected" and "unexpected" behaviors, and have been clear about what is expected in different situations at school. Each "team" of desks in the classroom has been earning tallies for demonstrating expected behaviors throughout the week, and the team with the most tallies can have lunch in the classroom with me on Mondays as a reward. They seem very motivated by earning team tallies! It's provided us with lots of opportunities to discuss how to handle unexpected behavior from others (give them the quiet sign, ignore it), and also how our behavior affects those around us (people have negative thoughts about us when we are doing unexpected things). 

Conferences: 

I'll be sending out a Sign Up Genius link on Monday for you to sign up for conferences that will take place on Nov. 19. Afternoon and evening conferences will be available. Please use an afternoon slot if you are able, and save the evening slots for those who cannot do an afternoon time. If none of the available times work for you, let me know and we can set up another time.

Have a wonderful weekend!

SEL curriculum update

Harvest Day 11/18   at 1:30-2:10. Mr. Kelley sent out a sign up for volunteers. Everyone is welcome to come shop at our farmstand during our time!

Conference sign ups. I'm looking forward to meeting with families on Wed. Nov. 19. Just a reminder that these are 15 minute conferences, and I need to do my best to stay on time out of respect for all families. If you are unable to find child care, you may bring your child with an activity to keep them busy, and they can wait in the hallway for you. 

Oct. 3, 2025

Homework logs are being sent home today. You can also access a copy from the Homework tab on my website. Students are expected to read or be read to for at least 15-20 min four times a week, and practice math facts with Reflex, flashcards, games, etc. at least four times a week. Fact fluency to 20 is a 2nd grade expectation and will greatly help students when we begin adding and subtracting 2 and 3 digit numbers with regrouping.

There are some games and flashcards linked in the Homework tab if you would like some resources!

Sept. 24, 2025

Book Fair Oct 6-10

From Mr. Holt:

The eagerly awaited Memorial Fall Book Fair returns, courtesy of our partnership with Scholastic! Mark your calendars for the week of October 6th, when our school library will transform into the book fair.

What is the Book Fair? The Book Fair is more than just a shopping opportunity, it's a gateway to a world of age-appropriate, high-quality books and products, all available at affordable prices. From the latest releases to specially discounted options, there's something for every bookworm in the family. Not only does it ignite a passion for reading among our students, but it also provides essential funds that enhance our school's curriculum. Your child won't want to miss this adventure, and they'll have the chance to explore the Book Fair during a scheduled Library timeslot.

Book Fair Timetable and Flyer

Quick Links & Tips for a Seamless Experience:

• Payment Options - We accept cash, credit, and checks. For added convenience, we highly recommend using eWallets. Find out more about eWallets and how to set one up by visiting our dedicated eWallet section on the book fair website CREATE eWALLET HERE.

• Volunteer - Would you like to be a part of your child's Book Fair experience? SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER HERE to volunteer and assist their class. Please note that Grade 3 and 4 times may be subject to slight changes. Please reach out to your classroom teacher to confirm.

• Donations to Classrooms - You have the option of supporting your child's classroom by contributing to their teacher's or class's eWallet.

• 'Share the Fair' Donations - You'll see an option to "share the Fair." This is an option to make a difference by making a donation.. 100% of donations go towards our book scholarship fund and buying new books for the library for everyone to enjoy DONATE HERE.

• Tax Information - Please note that there will be tax applied at the book fair. Scholastic recently reclassified as a retailer, resulting in tax collection at the register. We will educate our students about this during the fair, helping them understand how tax is a common part of the shopping experience for adults as well.

Explore our dedicated Scholastic Book Fair website for book trailers, online purchases, and setting up an eWallet.

We are thrilled to embark on this literary adventure during the Book Fair Week and deeply appreciate your support in fostering a love for reading among our students.

Picture Day- Oct. 7

We’re excited to share that we’ll be partnering with Medway’s own Tim Rice Photo for this year’s school pictures! Tim has worked with local schools and families, and brings a professional yet personal touch to every photo session. School Picture Day will be held on Tuesday, October 7th.

Important details:

• See the photos before you buy!

• Families recieve a link to view and purchase pictures by October 21st

• Scholarship opportunities are available for any family needing financial support, please reach out to Lisa Messina (Lmessina@medwayschools.org)

• Prints $20 and digital files 35$

• Order within two weeks and get a discount!

Morning Meeting:

We've been developing our classroom rules based on what students felt was important to them. We've decided on 4 top rules, and have discussed what each may look like in the classroom. Our rules are:

1. Be Responsible

2. Be Kind

3. Be Safe

4. Use Appropriate Voices

We'll continue to practice and model what these look like in school!

Reading: 

We are finishing up our second story, Maybe Something Beautiful. At the end of each "week," (which can take longer than a week!), I'll send home the story and the worksheet packet that goes with the story. We do some of the worksheets together as a whole group at this time, so you may see some empty pages. If you're ever looking for additional ways to work with your child, these pages would be a way to do that, especially the phonics practice. We do whole group phonics practice daily during our reading block, but haven't yet done the worksheets. I'll also send home the "foldable decodable" story that contains the phonics skill of the week after students have had a chance to read and practice it in school.

Writing: 

We've been practicing lots of handwriting including letter formation. We've started with the "pull down" letters, and I'm encouraging proper line placement as well (tall letters, small letters, hanging letters), and only using capitals for proper nouns and beginnings of sentences. The writing process is easier for students when lower case letters can be written automatically! We've talked a lot about the writing process and searched through a piece of opinion writing to make sure the author included all of the parts as we get ready to plan our own opinion piece.

Math:

We are continuing strategies for adding and subtracting numbers to 20. We've reviewed doubles and doubles plus one, combinations to 10, counting up, counting back, and making a ten. Their first quiz is coming home today! 

As always, don't hesitate to reach out with any questions you may have.

Sept. 5, 2025

We finished our first week of second grade! We've had a great first few days getting to know our classmates, our new school, and learning new routines. There's a lot to learn! I've been impressed with their willingness to jump in and try new things and to help others. This is going to be a great year with a great class!

I will be sending home website updates approximately twice per month. I will always send you an email with a link when I've updated, so you'll know when to check.

If you ever have questions for me, please reach out via email. We can set up a time to talk on the phone if needed, too.

Community Farm:

I've listed a couple of important dates above, the first of which is our annual visit from the Medway Community Farm on Sept. 12. Volunteers from the farm come to our school and help us plan a garden bed where we can grow vegetables. We'll be responsible for watering and weeding our bed, then volunteers will return on Nov. 18 to help us harvest our veggies and sell them to families. More information on the farmstand will be coming soon! For Sept. 12, encourage your child to wear something that they don't mind getting a little dirty. The farm volunteers bring gardening gloves and tools, so you don't need to provide anything.

Curriculum Night:

This is an adult-only event on Sept. 16 from 5-6 pm. I hope to see you here!

Summer Reading Book Logs:

Several students have already returned their summer reading book logs, and it's not too late for your child to return theirs! Please put first and last names on the logs before returning them.

I hope you enjoy your weekend!

Exploring some math tools

June 5, 2025

The end of the year is approaching quickly! 

We had a really great time on the field trip today and I'm including some pictures below. If any chaperones have pictures they want to send me, I'll post those too! We will be doing some fun activities over the next 2 weeks, some of which will be outside. I'm asking the students to all bring in a beach towel on Monday, June 9, that can be left at school until Tuesday, June 17. Thank you!

May 8, 2025

Heritage Day May 16, 2025

There is a lot of information that is coming home regarding Heritage Day, so I will link it all here so it's in one place!

Heritage Donation Sign up

Artifact letter

Heritage Day Dismissal Form

Final Logistics  (this will be emailed home on Monday as well!)

Hello Families!

Class TShirts: Our class color for the field trip and Field Day is red. Class t shirts have been delivered to students who have ordered and paid for them. Purchasing a class t shirt is not required! Many families chose to send their child in any red shirt for the field trip and for Field Day. Please contact Mrs. Taylor in the office by FRIDAY, MAY 9 if you are still planning to order a shirt.

Field Trip: We are heading to the Ecotarium on Thursday, June 5. Students should wear a red t shirt that day and plan to bring a bagged lunch. We had lots of volunteers to chaperone, and unfortunately can only bring 3. Those chaperones have been contacted. Thanks again for volunteering!

Homework: Please return April homework logs!  May homework logs have been sent home this week. We will not be completing logs in June, but I urge you to continue having your child read and practice math facts as part of their daily routines. 

Reading: We've started our last unit on our changing earth, and will be reading a few informational texts as well as a reader's theater and some poetry. All of these focus on our big question "How does the Earth change?"

Writing: We have been researching, planning, writing, editing, and typing our informational texts about our countries. The students have been doing a wonderful job organizing their facts and turning them into great sentences, then turning those sentences into chapters. I can't wait for you to read their books on Heritage Day!

Math: We have finished a few lessons on identifying and partitioning shapes, and are now beginning to discuss partitioning rectangles. This is a great introduction to beginning multiplication concepts, as we look at how many equal parts are in each row and column, then use repeated addition to add up the rows and columns.

Social Studies: Heritage Day coming soon! See you next Friday!

April 17, 2025

March 24, 2025

Hello Families!

Homework:Homework logs for March will be due next week, at the end of March. If it has been misplaced at home, you can print out another one from the homework tab, just scroll down to find March (April is the first one you'll see in there). Thanks again for your support with this- we're aiming for 100% participation!

Report cards: Report cards will be sent home in backpacks today. Please sign and return the envelope so I know you have received the report card, and so I can reuse the envelope for term 3. 

Reading: We're nearing our unit on community and have been reading a persuasive text about kids being helpers in their own communities. They have some great ideas about ways we can help in our own community! Skills addressed are monitoring ourselves for comprehension and identifying main idea and details.

Writing: We have finished our first personal narrative, and worked on revising and editing our work. Students may have time to plan and write a second personal narrative! At this time, students should be writing in complete sentences, writing letters without reversals, leaving spaces between words, writing all of the sounds they hear in words, spelling high frequency words correctly, and consistently using capitals and end marks. They have shown some nice improvements in their writing! If I notice more reversals, I will be sending home additional handwriting practice pages to help straighten them out.

Math: We'll continue to practice solving 2 and 3-digit addition and subtraction, and have moved onto measuring using inches, feet, yards as well as centimeters and meters. Next, we'll be solving story problems involving measurement.

Social Studies: Save the date for our Heritage Day Celebration on May 16! There will be a program for families in the morning beginning at 9:00 am. In the next couple of weeks we will be beginning our formal research about our countries!

March 7, 2025

Hello Families!

Recess: As the weather turns warmer, then colder, then warmer again... help your child select a jacket that is appropriate for them! Students will be told to wear what was sent from home until the temperature is reasonable for taking jackets off or not wearing them at all. We had some pretty chilly kids at recess today!

Homework: I'm only getting about half of our class returning homework logs each month. We talked today about how homework is their responsibility and returning the homework log is expected every month. We set a goal for 100% returns for the March homework log! They can do it! They all agreed that the reading and math homework is not too hard for them, and they're excited to get it done! The Bingo board is optional, but the reading (either reading on their own or being read to) and math fact practice are required. Thank you for your continued support with this.

Reading: We are reading biographies in this unit and learning lots of great information about important people! Our essential question this week was "How can our creations affect others?" and explored the work of architect Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona, Spain.

Writing: We are working on developing a personal narrative story after reading and exploring other personal narratives. Students have now planned out their main events to tell, and will begin writing their stories next week.

Math: We continue to solve 3 digit addition and subtraction story problems in class, and using strategies to decide if we need to add or subtract. Have your child show you a bar model, and how the big number always goes on the top. With the big number on the top, they can subtract one of the parts to get the missing number on the bottom, or they can add the two bottom parts together to get the big number. I've linked the videos again in case you want to see strategies we're using in addition to the standard algorithm ("carrying" and "borrowing").

3-digit addition  

 3-digit subtraction.

Social Studies: Save the date for our Heritage Day Celebration on May 16! There will be a program for families in the morning beginning around 9:00 am. More info to follow as the date approaches.

Have a great weekend!

February 14, 2025

Valentine's Day fun! 

Hello Families!

Please see the following message from Mr. Holt regarding the Spring Book Fair:

The Spring Book Fair is Coming! 

Dear Families,

The Spring Book Fair is coming the week of March 3rd. Our class is visiting the fair on Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday at _______. 

If you would like to join your student and volunteer at the fair please add your name to the VOLUNTEER SIGNUP. The library is also looking for volunteers to help with setting up and packing away the fair so please, if you're available, feel free to add your name to those slots too.

The fair accepts eWallets, cash, credit cards, and checks. We do recommend to SET UP AN eWallet for its ease of use. If you had set up an eWallet for the Fall book fair you will need to call scholastic (0800.212.281) and have them move any remaining funds onto a new eWallet for the Spring book fair.

There will be lots of amazing new books available for the students to browse and buy, a flyer will be sent home on Monday 24th February for students to browse and you can also look at the BOOK FAIR WEBSITE.

If you have any questions please either email your class teacher or our school librarian Mr Holt at mholt@medwayschools.org.

Have a great February Break!

Happy February Break! I think everyone is ready for some rest!

Recess: Just a reminder about winter gear: boots are required for being ON the snow; boots, snow pants and gloves are required to be playing IN the snow. 

Reading: We are wrapping up our unit about traditions by choosing a tradition that we would like to see in the school and giving reasons why. Check out our posters! They came up with some great ideas!

Writing: We published our final poems using Padlet, then had an opportunity to listen to poems from our classmates. They really seemed to enjoy this unit and have become experts at identifying and using alliteration, rhyming, and figurative language.

Math: We completed our unit on strategies to solve 3-digit addition equations, and are now starting 3-digit subtraction. Click here to see some of the strategies we use in school 

3-digit addition  

 3-digit subtraction.

Social Studies: Thanks so much for returning the country research pages. I'm only missing a few, so please get those in as soon as possible. This information will help your child get started on their in-class country research. You can find it here if you have misplaced it. Save the date for our Heritage Day Celebration on May 16! There will be a program for families in the morning beginning around 9:00 am. More info to follow as the date approaches.

I hope you have a wonderful Februarly break!

January 28, 2025

Hello Families!

We've been busy the last few weeks! We have completed mid year assessments, and results of those will be shared with you shortly. I've been so impressed by their growth! We started Weekly Win Friday, and students have been very thoughtful about the kinds of "wins" they're having during the week. We celebrate all accomplishments, big or small!

Recess: Just a reminder about winter gear: boots are required for being ON the snow; boots, snow pants and gloves are required to be playing IN the snow. 

Reading: We have been exploring traditions through traditional tales such as legends, folktales, and fairy tales.

Writing: We are busy writing and revising poetry, using alliteration, repetition, sensory words, similes, and rhyming. Soon we'll be publishing our final works on Padlet.

Math: We have been exploring 3-digit numbers, and will soon begin to use our learned strategies to add and subtract 3-digit numbers. I recommend continuing to practice counting coins and telling time at home!

Social Studies: I sent home the research worksheet today! You can find it here if you misplace it. Please help your child complete some basic research about their country and return the page by Feb. 10. Also, please save the date for our Heritage Day Celebration on May 16! There will be a program for families in the morning beginning around 9:00 am. More info to follow as the date approaches.

January 10, 2025

Hello Families!

Happy New Year! I hope you had a restful break and that students are recharged and ready for more learning. A new year is a  great time to refocus our goals and set purpose for our learning. Last week, students chose four goals- a health goal, a school goal, a friends goal, and a home goal. This week, we'll be starting to share our "Weekly Win" during Morning Meeting on Fridays. Students can share anything they accomplished during the week, big or small, and can share it whole group or privately with me. Then they can choose a sticker. Stickers can be placed on any of their school folders, or can be taken home for collecting. Students were told they cannot put stickers on water bottles unless they have permission from home to do so. I'm excited for students to share their accomplishments!

We are completing mid-year iReady and DIBELS assessments this week and next week.  Students are only to complete the diagnostic at school. If your child goes on iReady at home, please remind them that they are not to do the diagnostic at home.

Recess: Just a reminder about winter gear when it snows again: Boots are required for being ON the snow; boots, snow pants and gloves are required to be IN the snow. It may be helpful to label your belongings and make sure you child knows what belongs to them!

Reading: We have begun our next unit, and are working to answer the question "What makes a tradition?" During our first week, we started reading traditional tales (folktales, fables, etc) and thinking about the lessons we can learn from them. 

Writing: This unit of writing is Poetry. We've begun exploring types of poetry and will examine what makes a poem. We have begun to plan and write some of our own poetry!

Math: We did a short unit on telling time that we wrapped up this week. I found that students came in with a wide variety of skills related to telling time on an analog clock! While digital clocks are easy to to find and use, if you have any opportunity to have your child practice telling time on an analog clock, it would really help them strengthen these skills! We will continue to practice these skills at school as well. The second grade standard is that students will be able to tell time in 5 minute intervals. Our next unit is working with 3 digit numbers: place value, and adding/subtracting.

Have a great weekend!

December 13, 2024

Fun Family Traditions! Decorating "cookies" with "frosting," decorating gingerbread houses, and making Polish pierogis out of play doh!

Please sign and return the report card envelopes as soon as possible. These will be used again for next term.

Hello Families!

We've been having some fun with learning about family traditions around the holidays. We've decorated "cookies" and made pierogis as well as heard holiday stories. Whatever traditions your family has, I hope you're all enjoying those during this busy time of year. Thanks so much to everyone who has come in already, and we're looking forward to a few more visits next week.

Recess: It's getting colder and jackets are required for recess! It may be a good idea to keep hats and gloves in backpacks just in case they're needed for recess. When it snows again, students will be allowed to play in the snow as long as they have boots, snow pants, and gloves. Students with boots only can go on the snow. Students without boots will have to stay on the hard top. I recommend labeling snow gear as it tends to get dropped and left behind.

Morning Meeting: We continue to build our skills around self-awareness, and learned why it's important to say positive things to ourselves even when things are feeling difficult. Our next unit is about self-management, including calming down techniques, tuning in, and thinking about others.

Reading: We are finishing our unit about patterns in nature, and will be wrapping this up with looking more closely at patterns in seasons. Our last writing prompt of this unit will be writing a list article about the seasons along with a little art project about a tree through the seasons.

Writing: We have completed our animal research list article and sharing our work with our peers! Those printed list articles came home earlier this week along with the rest of the work from their writing folders.

Math: We continue to use strategies for adding and subtracting 2 digit numbers as well as now solving problems with coins. Practicing coin counting can be challenging since we typically don't use coins every day out in the world! Any chance you get to have your child practice some extra coin counting at home would be helpful. Next up is telling time with an analog clock!

Have a great weekend!

November 22, 2024

Garden Harvest and Farm Stand Fun!

Hello Families!

It was so nice to connect with all of you during Conferences this week. The students were excited to come back and tell me what you shared with them. They are working really hard and are making some really great progress! We had a fun day this week harvesting our garden plot and selling our produce to families this week. Thanks for everyone who was able  to support us by helping out or shopping at our farm stand.

Morning Meeting: We have been working on our new SEL curriculum with lessons on Growth Mindset (the power of "yet"), and understanding our emotions. We continue to recognize how we are feeling and thinking about what we may need at the moment to help us regulate (a sip of water, a short walk, some deep breaths).

Reading: We are learning about patterns in nature, and just finished a realistic fiction story about a tree throughout the different seasons. We explored elements of setting and looked for clues in the text that help us understand setting. We also looked for clues that help us visualize, or make a movie in our mind, as we read. We are working on vowel teams in phonics, (ie as in pie and as in field) and next week we'll work on the vowel teams ee and ea.

Writing: We have completed our animal research and graphic organziers for our facts. We are now turning those facts into good sentences to write our list articles. We've spent a lot of time on the process of studying other texts and organizing our own ideas, which made it easier when it came time to do the writing.

Math: We continue to use strategies for adding and subtracting 2 digit numbers. I will be showing them the standard algorithm ("borrowing" and "carrying"), but first we are using strategies that help build number sense, such as jumping on a hundreds grid or on a number line.

Next week is a short week! Early dismissal on Wednesday is at 11:30.

Have a great weekend!

November 8, 2024

Hello Families!

We have a busy month ahead of us with our Harvest, Conferences, and Thanksgiving! Our garden Harvest Day is on Monday, Nov. 18 at 11:10. If you have volunteered to help us out, I'll be contacting you soon with more specific info. 

There is a half day for conferences on Wednesday, Nov. 20, and dismissal will be at 11:30. Please check Sign Up Genius to confirm your conference time, as this is the only reminder I will be sending. You are welcome to bring your child if you do not have child care, and we will find something to keep them busy in the hallway while we talk. This is a brief, 15 minute conference where I can share how your child's transition to second grade has been. Please come prepared with any questions you have so we can make the most of our time. I will be setting a timer to help keep myself on track so I can be respectful of everyone's time.

Class T-Shirts: There is still time to order your class t-shirt by using this link. If you have ordered, please send payment in as soon as possible.

Morning Meeting: We have begun using our new Social Emotional Learning program ("Everyday Speech") and our first lesson was about having a growth mindset. We can't always do everything the first time we try, but we can understand that we just can't do it YET. Having a growth mindset in school is important as students are exposed to new material and skills.

Reading: We have begun unit 2 in our reading program, with our guiding question being "What patterns do we see in nature?" We will read both fiction and non-fiction texts that focus on patterns in nature.  Our spelling pattern that we're working on this week is long a (ai, ay, a_e,  and ea such as in the word great).

Writing: We have started our List Article writing with a class-written piece about penguins. We read a book and jotted down some interesting facts about three specific details: what they eat, what their bodies are like, and their predators. Students will soon be researching their own animal to write their own list article about.

Math: We have been using strategies for subtracting 2-digit numbers in math, including using regrouping. This is a challenging concept, and we've been playing with base ten blocks making trades to regroup. There's a cool website we've used called Number Pieces where we can build a number, then regroup, or break apart, sticks of tens in order to subtract. Encourage your child to show you how it works! 

Homework: Thanks for sending back the October homework logs! I've linked the November log here in case yours gets misplaced. These will be due back in December.  Please make sure book bags are returned to school every day as we use them for independent reading time- we've had a lot of forgotten bags lately!

Have a great weekend!

October 25, 2024

Walk to School Day last week, which involved walking around our school grounds and reading signs about the benefits of walking and getting exercise.

Hello Families!

We've been working hard to reach some class goals, and our first goal was "Be Kind and Respectful." I have seen a big improvement in students helping others, using kind words and a kind tone, and keeping their voice off when others are speaking. We thought we should celebrate so we took a vote! The winner is PJ/Stuffy Day on Monday, Oct. 28. Students are invited to wear pjs or comfy clothes to school, and bring one small stuffy (it should easily fit in a backpack). I'm looking forward to our celebration!

Thank you so much for your quick response to Conference Sign-Ups and volunteering in our garden for Harvest Day on 11/18. I have plenty of volunteers now, but you are all welcome to come and shop for veggies that day between 11:10 and 11:50 am. I'll send another reminder when it gets close.

Reading: We have wrapped up Unit 1 in our reading and writing program, which culminated in thinking about some of our favorite places in Medway. Students chose one place, and wrote a piece telling why that was a great place for our community. Some students wrote about the Medway Village Food Pantry, where our food donations will be going! Thanks so much for all of the donations so far, and keep them coming through next week. It is such a great way for us to help others in our community.

Writing: We have finished up our opinion writing unit and will be moving on to infomation writiing next. Students are using graphic organizers to organize their ideas, and then saying more about those ideas when they write.

Math: We began talking about strategies for adding 2 digit numbers, and I'm so impressed with how quickly they are feeling comfortable using them! While at school we mostly use strategies that focus on number sense over the "rule" for regrouping, I have also shown them the standard algorithm ("carrying the one") as it is another strategy that they will be using eventually.

Homework: Just a reminder to keep working on the homework log linked here and return it on Friday, Nov. 1. I'll be sending out the next one the following Monday. Please make sure book bags are returned to school every day.

Have a great weekend!

October 11, 2024

Hello Families!

We've had a busy week with the Book Fair and Picture Day. Please remember that there is no school on Monday, Oct. 14.

Illnesses have started spreading at school! We will be reviewing important practices for keeping ourselves and others healthy, such as proper hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, and keeping hands out of noses and mouths. If students with hands in noses or mouths at school, we will have them wash their hands!

Reading: We are coming to the end of our unit on how different places affect us. We read some poetry about how people and animals are affected by different places, and this week began a story called You Can't Climb a Cactus where the character gets to experience a place she's never been before. We will be exploring elements of plot and making predictions. 

Writing: We continue to work on revising and editing our opinion writing about an insect. They have come up with some really good reasons to support their thinking!

Math: We did a brief unit on graphing using bar graphs and picture graphs, and are now working on 2 step word problems. I've shown them some organizers for keeping the numbers organized while solving.

Homework: Just a reminder to keep working on the homework log linked here which will be due at the end of the month. Starting next week, I will be sending home blue book bags for students to read from at home. We've spent some time learning about how to choose "just right" books for ourselves, so these bags will have 2-3 books that should be just right. Please make sure book bags are returned to school every day.

Have a great long weekend!

September 27, 2024

Working hard to tend the Grade 2 garden beds this week!

Hello Families!

It was so nice meeting so many of you during Curriculum Night last week! Here's what we've been up to:

Morning Meeting: We have been reading the book You Are a Social Detective during our Morning Meeting and Social Studies time. This book teaches the terms "expected behavior" and "unexpected behavior," and helps kids make connections about how they feel when they are doing what's expected versus doing what's unexpected. We feel good when we do what's expected, and other people feel good being around us! This is an important concept for kids so they begin to see how their actions and behaviors impact other people.

Reading: We continue focusing on the question “How do different places affect us?” This week, we read an informational text about places in our community, and looked for the main idea in each section.

Writing: We began our first piece of writing by planning out an opinion piece about bugs. Students chose one bug and stated their opinion ("Dragonflies are cool" or "Slugs are gross") and began gathering facts about the bug to support their opinion. We began writing our piece today by putting our ideas from our TIDE organizer into good sentences.

Math: We continue to build on strategies for adding and subtracting numbers to 20. This week, we learned about "take apart" problems, and "comparing" problems. Students continue to use old favorite strategies while I continue to encourage them to try some "shortcuts" to phase out tools like cubes and tens frames as they are ready to.

Homework: Homework will begin next week! I will send home the October Homework sheet on Monday that includes the reading log, math fact practice log, and October Bingo Board. Students should bring these back to school completed at the end of the month. I will send home a new one for November. Thank you for your support in helping students complete reading and math fact practice! There is a copy of the homework log linked here, and will be kept on the website under Homework. If you happen to misplace it, you can print a new one or let me know and I can print it for you.

School Pictures will be on Friday Oct. 11. Please see the flyer attached here.

Have a great weekend!

September 16, 2024

Planting Day Fun!

September 13, 2024

Hello Families!
I’ll be sending out a website update about twice a month. I’ll make sure to email you when I have updated the website so you’ll know when to look for it.

We have had a great first couple of weeks in second grade! We’ve done some activities to get to know each other better, and have learned a lot about our school routines. Many routines are similar to routines in first grade, so our transition has gone really smoothly!

Some students are coming to school feeling very tired. It's challenging to adjust to new schedules! Please make sure your child is getting enough sleep and has a plan for breakfast. If you're expecting them to eat breakfast at school, remind them that they go right to the cafeteria to pick it up when they get to school. Sometimes kids are telling me they need breakfast after breakfast distribution is over. The only food I am allowed to provide in the classroom is saltine crackers.

School Garden: On Monday, staff from Medway Community Farm will be here at Memorial helping grades 2 and 3 plant their own garden plot in our school garden. Please have your child wear "garden friendly" clothing, such as closed toes shoes, and save your nicer outfits for another day as we may get a little dirty.

Morning Meeting: We have been learning about each other and our likes and dislikes, and finding out that we have a lot in common! We’ve also begun talking about the Zones of Regulation and strategies we can use to get ourselves back to the “Green Zone” when we’re feeling a little overwhelmed or extra silly. Students were shown the Chill Zone and taught how it is to be used in second grade for self-regulation.

Reading: We started our first unit in our reading curriculum, and focusing on the question “How do different places affect us?” Together, we read a story about counting stars in the sky, and talked about why the setting matters as the characters move to different places trying to see stars. We practiced going back into the story to find examples of setting.

Writing: We are beginning our writing unit with some lessons on building writing stamina. Next week, we’ll introduce our writing process of using POW (Pick and idea, Organize, Write) and TIDE (choose a Topic, decide Important Details, and write and Ending).

Math: We’ve been reviewing strategies for adding numbers up to 20, including counting on, using a number line, making a ten, and looking for doubles or doubles plus one. We just began our review of subtraction and strategies to use to subtract quickly.

Dismissal Procedures: When students need to be dismissed any other way than their regular way, families MUST fill out a dismissal form. I will keep this linked on my website and linked in the signature section of any emails you receive from me. You can also find it on the school website.

School Pictures will be on Friday Oct. 11. Please see the flyer attached here.

Please see this attachment from Mr. Kelly.

Have a great weekend!