To the children of class B-126 and their grown-ups:
As I sit down to write this final weekly email to you, I am overwhelmed by the support, understanding, patience, care, and love you have showered over me, our class, and school. The thought of packing up the room and the children’s work has only made me sad about saying goodbye to them next week. I will begin sending things home on Monday, so please help your child clean out their backpacks this weekend. It’s also a great time to go through your house for any books belonging to the classroom.
We will have our 2nd-grade End-of-Year Fiesta on Tuesday, May 21 from 1:10-2:10 at school and then a Zoyo meet-up for just our class on the same day at 4:00 pm! Thank you to Amanda Bower, our HRP, for coordinating all of the fun and festivities for our class this year. I can't wait to spend time with you all on Tuesday at Zoyo.
If you ordered a yearbook for your child, they will be coming home with it today. I will allow them to sign yearbooks during Friday Celebration today and again on the last day of school. Students may bring their memory books for signing on the last day if they do not have a yearbook. They do still have some books for sale so you may still use the PATS order form here and it will turn off when they are sold out: https://www.simispats.org/yearbook
Health Office Notice
If you left any medications in the health office this year, they MUST BE PICKED UP by Thursday, 5/23 @ 2:30 PM. Any medications left after this day/time will be discarded. Please contact Nurse Megan at 602-664-7322 or mbefort@madisoned.org with any questions or concerns. Thank you!
The “summer slump” is very real, so I am sharing all the resources I know of to combat it and keep those skills fresh so they can hit the ground running in 3rd grade. In addition, to all of these, there are also resources on my classroom website (hopefully they don’t delete it right away). From the Home page, navigate to the page called, "Summer Slump Busters- 2nd Grade to 3rd Grade" to find reading, writing, and math suggestions for each week of summer break.
In addition, I am attaching a summer work packet for your use if you are interested in continuing to practice math and ELA concepts from this year! It contains 10 weeks of math & ELA lessons, 10-weekend activities, a reading log, a completion certificate, and an answer key. This is completely optional and does not need to be turned in. Unfortunately, it had to be scanned in three parts and there is an answer key at the end. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Here are the remaining June and July handwriting practice pages. Your child will also have a good portion of their cursive handwriting practice pages left to work on as well. Those will be coming home by the last day of school.
2nd Grade Math Summer Learning Opportunities- Ms. Henrikson, our math interventionist has created folders full of math resources for each grade level. I linked 2nd grade because this will show you the skills that should be solid for 2nd graders moving up to 3rd grade. However, I am going to share the other grade levels as well so that you can strengthen skills that need some more attention, or push ahead into more advanced content.
In addition, to maintain gains and/or improve over the summer, continue to utilize differentiated online programs like eSpark, Waggle, Khan Mappers, and Freckle. I will not archive these programs until the end of summer. Maricopa County, the Phoenix Public Library, and most bookstores have summer reading programs for kids. Barnes and Noble have a Summer Reading Program- You can visit your nearest Barnes & Noble store to pick up a printed version of the reading journal or download it here. We all hope that reading will eventually become its own reward for our children, but until then, incentivizing reading can help to establish some good reading habits until they finally find that favorite author or series that hooks them for life. They’re also more likely to read if they see you reading! ;) Here is the Simis Tutoring List for those who are interested in more intense and specific academic support.
I am including all of the summer reading lists to account for a variety of reading levels and siblings in different grades:
Kindergarten to 1st Grade Summer Reading List
1st Grade to 2nd Grade Summer Reading List
2nd Grade to 3rd Grade Summer Reading List
3rd Grade to 4th Grade Summer Reading List
4th Grade to 5th Grade Summer Reading List
The Madison Simis Elementary 2024-2025 school supply sale is online now through June 2. Go to https://www.educationalproducts.com/ShopPacks/. Enter the school ID, MAD034 (3 letters/3 numbers), and follow the directions to complete your order. Keep your online confirmation as a receipt. Packs will be labeled with your child’s name and placed in their classroom prior to the first day of school. For questions, please email supplies@simispats.org.
*For summer planning purposes, here is the link to the 2024-2025 School Year Calendar.
Next week, I will send out one more email with a link to our End-of-Year Slideshow. I hope you enjoy looking back at these precious 2nd-grade memories as much as I do.
Thank you for trusting me to do the best work possible with your child. Have a productive, fun-filled, and healthy summer!
A FEW THINGS from PATS…
Backpack Drive- May 20-22- Donate your old backpacks. Bins will be located outside Simis Front Office and Preschool/CE Office
Click here to register as a school volunteer!
Looking Ahead…
Tuesday, May 21- End of Year Party- 1:00-2:30 pm; Zoyo Meet-Up for families of B-126 @ 4pm
Wednesday, May 22- Student’s Ending Day- 11:00 dismissal
As always, don’t hesitate to reach out with any end-of-year comments, questions, or concerns. Have a happy and safe weekend!
Best,
Jocelyn Harding
General Information:
*Stay updated through social media:
Save the Dates:
Tuesday, May 21- 2nd Grade End of Year Party- 1:00-2:30 pm
Here is the link to the Madison School District #38 2023-2024 School Year Calendar