2nd Grade Newsletter

November 15 - 19, 2021

Welcome to 2nd Grade

You must call the office, 817-305-4870, by 2:00 p.m. to communicate any change in your child's dismissal.

Please check and initial your child's Great Tiger Folder every evening.

Weekly Learning Objectives

Math- Learners will represent 3-digit numbers on number lines.

ELAR-Learners will look at nonfiction texts and identify the text features.

Social Studies - Learners will identify state symbols.

Science- Learners will identify factors in the environment including temperature and precipitation, that affect growth and behavior.

Fundations (spelling)- Learners will understand multisyllabic and compound words.

Mark Your Calendar


November 17-

Please send an empty cereal/food/tissue box for a fun project that we will work on in class.

November 17- Black Walnut Cafe Spirit Night 4:00-10:00 pm

November 22-26- Thanksgiving Break

November 29-December 17: Holiday Hullabaloo Dress Up Days- The calendar for the dress-up days is listed on the side. The dress-up days are optional but so much fun!



OCT 2021 Holiday Hullabaloo


Nov. 29 Happy Hanukkah (Wear blue and white.)

Nov. 30 Camo Christmas (Wear camo.)

Dec. 1 Diwali Day (Dress in bright clothing.)

Dec. 2 Ramadan Day (Wear stars, moon, or anything that sparkles.)

Dec. 3 Reindeer Day (Wear reindeer ears, any ears, or a hat.)

Dec. 6 Menorah Day (Wear blue and bright or light clothing.)

Dec. 7 Candy Cane Day (Wear red and white.)

Dec. 8 Winter Wonderland (Wear white or snowman attire.)

Dec. 9 Kwanzaa and Krafts (Wear black, red, and green.)

Dec. 10 Chinese New Year (Wear red.)

Dec. 13 Santa is Coming to Town (PTA is providing Santa hats to all!)

Dec. 14 Baby, It’s Cold Outside (Wear a cute or ugly sweater.)

Dec. 15 Las Posadas (Wear red, yellow, white, and/or green.)

Dec. 16 Polar Express Day (Wear pajamas.)

Dec. 17 Holiday Party Day (Wear festive holiday attire.)

Book Bags/Nightly Reading

Your child should bring home a leveled "bag of books" each evening for his/her 20 minutes of nightly reading. We kindly ask that the books, with the table of contents card, stay in your child's backpack. *Bookbags are distributed each Monday and are turned in each Friday.


Nightly reading can take many forms. Your child can read aloud to you, you could read aloud to your child, or you can share the reading. After reading discuss the book by asking questions like "Who was your favorite character? Why?" "What was your favorite part of the story? Why?"


Math at home

Please make sure your child is practicing addition and subtraction facts each night.

Here are some ways to practice in fun ways:

  • Practice math facts orally while you're driving somewhere.

  • Use flashcards and make it a game by trying to race the clock to see how many they can solve in a certain amount of time.

  • They also have many math apps downloaded to their school iPad that they can use at home.


Triple Digit Dare

We played this game during Math Workshop last week and the kids loved it! Try it at home:


Use a standard deck of playing cards with the Jacks, Queens, and Kings removed. Aces count as 1. 10s count as 0. You can even use the Jokers as Wild cards that can be used for any digit.

  1. Deal each player 3 cards.

  2. Players use the cards to create the largest 3-digit number possible.

  3. Players show their cards, and the player with the greatest 3-digit number takes all the cards.

  4. Play continues with 3 more cards for each player.

  5. You could easily vary this game to use 2-digit, 4-digit, or even larger numbers.

Advanced Version

Once the students master the basic version, you can introduce a new version of the game, this one with an added twist of strategy.

  1. Same standard deck of cards with the same cards removed.

  2. Each player still gets 3 cards.

  3. Remaining cards are placed face down in the middle of the table.

  4. After each player looks at their cards and determines their greatest 3-digit number, the fun starts! Taking turns, each player has the option to…

    • Stick–keep their 3 cards

    • Swap–remove one card from their hand and take a new card from the pile in the middle of the table

    • Steal–trade a card from their hand for a card from any other player’s hand (without looking at what card they are picking)

  5. After all players have had a turn to adjust their cards, players show their cards and the greatest 3-digit number wins.



Learning Commons schedule

Please help your child keep his/her library book in the large plastic bag that is labeled with their name. This bag will help protect the book from "all the things" that live in backpacks.

Students will visit the Learning Commons with their homeroom. Students must turn in their books in order to check out another book. *Please have your child bring their library books to school the day before their scheduled day to visit the Learning Commons. Students will be able to turn in their books to allow for ample time for Mrs. Irwin to check them back in. Thank you!

Wednesdays-Rodenberger

Thursdays- Vaughan and Knudson

Fridays- Dagger and Blanchard (Pettit)

Cleaning/Purging?

Now that the children are back in school have you found the urge to purge? Are you cleaning out book shelves and cabinets?

Your second grade teachers will happily accept used picture books, early chapter books, puzzles, and games.

Books help us build classroom libraries and keep collections interesting and relevant. Old puzzles and games help us with cooperation, problem solving, creativity, and indoor recess.

Let us help you with your donation piles!

Birthday Celebrations

Birthdays are special. We will celebrate your child's special day with singing in our classroom. You may send in small treats like pencils, erasers, stickers, etc., if you choose. Please refrain from sending in any food item.