Weekly Newsletter

February 8, 2026

This week we have our Valentine’s Day celebration on Friday at snack. Please send in cards only (and / or small useful items such as pencils or stickers). No snacks or gifts please. While bringing in cards for 2B is optional, we encourage you to have your child participate. We’ll each make “mailbox” paper bags to hold the Valentines we receive. During our class party students will pass their Valentines out by walking around and distributing their cards into classmates’ “mailbox” bags. Passing them out and feeling like you’re doing something nice for others is really fun. We’re celebrating friendship in 2B and not romantic love of course!

Valentine Class List

Here are some upcoming reminders: 2nd grade morning field trip to the New York Transit Museum is this Thursday, 2/12, Dress Like a Book Character Day is on Friday, 2/27, PolyCultura is Saturday, 2/28. All students are encouraged to participate in the Women’s History Oratory Contest. Help keep dismissal safe! We rely on clear sightlines in front of our building and easy-to-navigate sidewalks. Help us by waiting in front of 53 Prospect Park West if your child is in Nursery or Pre-Kindergarten, and along 1st Street if your child is in Kindergarten or an older grade. 

Please review both Pick Up Patrol and the Lunch Menu with your child. Also, there are new photos on our Photos Page. There are pictures from math, writing, social studies, and reading.

What’s going on in our classroom:

Reading

Second graders returned to leveled reading groups. Ask your child who their reading group teacher is. Groups are reading Stone Fox, A Picture Book of Jesse Owens, Wilma Unlimited, Bunnicula, Pompeii, and Pinky and Rex.

Social Studies

Students enjoyed the hand-on cross curricular project with science and social studies. They made a cutaway diagram of the sand, gravel, and bedrock layers below the city streets. There are pictures of this project on our Photos page. This week they will use this knowledge to understand how engineers needed to know what kind of rock was below the streets to figure out which construction method to use to dig the subway tunnels. We will learn about the cut and cover and deep rock tunneling methods. Click on our Social Studies page for a preview of what we’ll be learning this week. 

Math

We are continuing our work on subtracting three-digit numbers with regrouping. We use manipulatives, Base Ten Blocks, so that students understand conceptually what they are doing while also learning the traditional algorithm. Please continue to practice math facts (15-9, 17 - 8, etc) to support our work with bigger numbers. 

Writing

In poetry writing, students revised and edited two poems last week. This was a chance for them to identify which poetic techniques they had used and to include one they hadn’t used already to make their poems better. Then, they recopied and illustrated them to make a 2B poetry anthology book. This week students will read a poem aloud to each other to celebrate finishing the poetry unit. Ask your child about which poems they chose to publish and which poetic technique they liked the best. Our next unit is graphic novels! 

Fundations

Students continue to learn strategies for spelling and reading multisyllabic words using vowel-consonant-e syllables, such as the words reptile and recognize. The syllables -tile and -nize are  v-consonant-e syllables because the “magic e” makes the vowel i long (or “say its name”).  We also continue to practice Trick Words. Click for our February Trick Words for spelling.

Read Alouds / DEIB / SEL

We’re continuing reading Ramona and Her Father as a class read aloud. Last week we also read The Blizzard, The Red Lollypop, Grandfather Twilight, and How Jelly Roll Morton Invented Jazz.

FEBRUARY

12: Gr 2 Field Trip: New York Transit Museum

16: School Closed: Presidents' Day

17: School Closed: Lunar New Year

18: United Voices - 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

20: Readathon Launch

20: Spring Enrichment Shared in Pulse

21: Readathon Begins (Feb 21 - February 27)

24: Gr 2 Field Trip: Layer the Walls play at Abrons Arts Center

27: Dress Like a Book Character Day

27: Student-led Black History Month Community Time

28: PolyCultura, 1:00 - 3:00 PM