Peek at the Week for November 16

In reading, we are wrapping up our nonfiction unit. This week we will begin to study fiction more closely - looking at characters and their motivation, the setting's role in the story, and problems and solutions.


We will be publishing some of our hard work in writing this week! We can't wait for you to see what we have created in out nonfiction unit!

BIG NEWS IN MATH!
We started a new chapter on Friday with regrouping in addition. This is a brand new concept to most second graders. It involves some abstract thinking and new strategies they aren't very familiar with. The have done a WONDERFUL job so far. This week there will be HOMEWORK coming home on Wednesday. It will be in the form of a worksheet that actually says "My Homework." Since it is early release, I figured this would be a good day to give it a try. This should only take about 5-10 minutes to complete.

Early Release Wednesday!

Dismissal will be at 1:40 pm. Lunch will be served as usual. If your child has a different plan for dismissal, please send a note or email by Wednesday morning.  

It's also Wonder Wednesday, which means we will have Genius hour at the end of the day. Has your child shared their topic with you?

Leadership Binders will also be coming home this Wednesday. Please look at it with your child on Wednesday night and send it back on Thursday! 

Zoo Field Trip

Thank you for sending in your child's permission slip and money for the zoo trip in the spring! I know it's quite a ways off, but they require early reservations and payment when booking. 

Six Flags Read to Succeed Program 

Last week, a yellow packet came home from Six Flags. Your child has the opportunity to earn free tickets to Six Flags St. Louis! They need read at leas 6 hours by February 23rd. They should easily be able to accomplish this with their nightly reading. Their weekly reading log can count towards both their homework minutes and the Six Flags program. 

Dates to Remember:

Tuesday, November 17: PTG Meeting (6:00 Party Planing; 7:00 General Meeting)
Wednesday-Friday, November 25-27: No School, Happy Thanksgiving!

If you have any questions or concerns, let me know! 
Have a great week!

Genius Hour

GENIUS HOUR!!!!

Go to these places to explore new ideas:

www.kidrex.org

http://www.kidzsearch.com/kidztube/

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

Coding in the Classroom

Coding is something we have added to our math workstations. 

You might wonder... what is coding?? How does it benefit my child? 

Here is an excellent article all about it!

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/5-unbeatable-reasons-your-kid-should-coding.html

Interested in coding opportunities for your child outside of school?

Check out these websites and apps:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/daisy-the-dinosaur/id490514278?mt=8

http://www.scratchjr.org/

https://www.kodable.com/

http://www.code.org

Peek at the Week November 8th

Last week, a yellow letter came home about our new adventure in 2nd grade - GENIUS HOUR!

I showed this to the kids - it inspired ideas and they are SO excited!

This is one part of our week where the kids are completely in control of their learning. They are choosing a topic that is important to them, researching, and creating something to share their learning.  Genius Hour is based on Google's 20% time. Here is a video that explains a little bit about where the idea made it's way into the classroom:

Imagination Playground Blocks:

The children are beyond excited about the arrival of the Imagination Playground big blue blocks.  We thank you and the financial support of the PTG for this incredible donation.  These blocks will be available during recess and will be stored in a shed purchased from the iDiscover project.  They promote creativity and collaborative thinking.  

Check them out!

Jammies and Blocks!

We also had inflatables last week! They were a blast!!!

Monday is Library Day!  Please help your child remember to return their books. 

Veteran's Day is this Wednesday! 

Concord is celebrating the veterans in our community! We will share thank you letters, poems, songs, and invite the veterans and their family to breakfast at Concord. Please come celebrate with us!

DOC's Mom's Night Out is happening on Friday, November 13th 6-9PM! Only $5/child. Register here: http://dadsofconcord.org/moms-night-out/

Concord Spirit Wear November 2015 Order Form -- click here!

 Please submit form and make payment by PayPal or by sending money to school.  DEADLINE TO ORDER IS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH. Orders that have not received payment, will not be filled. You should expect to have items come home by the week of December 14th. All orders will be delivered before the holiday break.

Helping Hands 2015:

Concord has had a great start to our Annual Helping Hands Campaign. The program will run through Dec. 11th. All proceeds from the Winter Festival on December 5th also go directly to our families. The money collected during this program will go towards Ameren UE cards and/or grocery gift cards so that the families can buy perishable food items. The Giving Tree will begin on Monday, November 2nd! The tree is an opportunity for you to provide toys, clothing, and gift cards specific to the family’s needs. The Giving Tree will be sent to you through SignUp Genius or you can find the link on the PTG website and the PTG Newsletter. We appreciate your family’s participation in this Concord tradition

This week we are collecting Paper Products. 

 We are so proud of all the amazing donations that students have already sent in.  This week we will be collecting paper products such as toilet paper, napkins, paper towels, plates, etc.  Keep up the great work

Monday, November 9: 7:00 p.m. DOC meeting

Wednesday, November 11: 9:00 a.m. Veterans Day Assembly  

Friday, November 13: Mom's Night Out, 6:00-9:00

Friday, November 13: Picture Retake day

Tuesday, November 17: 6:15 Party Planning Meeting

Tuesday, November 17: 7:00 PTG General Meeting in Library

Wednesday, November 18: Early dismissal and Leader in Me Assembly

If you have any questions or concerns, let me know! 

Have a great week!

Check this out!

Check out the awesome video that was taken during our all-school photo shoot!

Peek at the Week October 25, 2015

Welcome to one of the busiest weeks of second grade!!

 Your child might have shared with you that out class had a sub last week for a couple of days - I was unfortunately at home sick, fighting off pneumonia. But never fear, I am MUCH better now and really glad to be back with the kiddos tomorrow. I missed them!!

There are so many exciting things going on this week, so please take a minute to read through the notes below.

In reading, we are continuing our work with nonfiction texts. We are learning all about the different text features that authors use and how they teach us different information. Readers use a different lens to read diagrams, maps, charts, and photographs. We are working hard to use the text to learn lots of new information!

This week we will be playing catch-up with word study. I missed a few test being sick, so we are going to take this week to catch up.

We are also continuing our work as nonfiction writers by writing as experts. It has been really neat to learn about what the kids are experts at - they have taught me a lot!

In math last week, we skipped ahead to Chapter 5 to study "place value" before we begin more complex addition and subtraction. They are doing a great job working with numbers. We will continue to practice writing numbers in standard form, expanded form, and in word form. We have also been practicing decomposing numbers. This is all setting the foundation for adding and subtracting larger numbers in the weeks to come.

There is a LOT of information this week... please read carefully!

Monday and Wednesday - Parent Teacher Conferences!

I'm thrilled to welcome all parents to our classroom for a conference about your fabulous children! I can't wait to show-off how hard they are working in 2nd grade!

You can check the schedule here online! If you need to reschedule, please contact me by phone at 314-729-2400 ext 3712 or by email ASAP.

You can view the schedule here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BWqZqW7PPqt7rjSeK141o9gyNHx-6TnUXyk0eOl0l2M/edit?usp=sharing

Monday we have LIBRARY with Mrs. Graeff! Please help your child remember to bring back their books. They can't get new books until they are returned. 

This week is Red Ribbon Week!

Mindful Monday - Read Heart face-painting at lunch!

Totally Red Tuesday - Wear ALL red!

Soulful Sock Wednesday - Wear your whacky socks!

Tuesday- Powell Hall Field Trip

On Tuesday, all Lindbergh 2nd Graders will be visiting Powell Hall to see the St. Louis Symphony! It is VERY IMPORTANT that all children arrive to school on time on Tuesday. We leave at 8:45 sharp in order to get downtown for a 9:30 performance time. 

Thursday - Halloween Parties and Fall Festival!

Here is the schedule of events for second grade:

Mad Scientist Assembly -- 10:00

Pumpkin Run -- 12:05 - 12:25  This event is down the street at Sperreng Middle School. We will run the course and enjoy the fresh air!! You are welcome to run with your child! Afterwards, we will come back to the patio for dancing and fun!

Costume Change --1:20 - 1:30 Please send your child's costume to school in their backpack or a separate  bag. They should not wear their costume to school. Please show your child how to dress in their costume independently. There will be a few parents around to help, but it's helpful if the kids know how to get it on by themselves.

Halloween Costume Parade --1:40 - 2:00 Parents are welcome to find a spot around the school to get pictures! Party volunteers will also have access to the classroom to set up at this time.

Classroom Parties -- 2:00 - 3:00 Please check out the sign up genius or contact Megan Boyd if you have any last minute questions about the party. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d44a9a62ca2fd0-2ndgrade 

Friday -- NO SCHOOL!!!

If you have any questions or concerns, let me know! 
Have a great week!

Laptop Friday!

We practiced starting up laptops, logging into the network, and shutting the computer down. We also learned how to log into our Google account to access the drive. 

Peek at the Week for October 12th

Fall is officially here!! I hope you were able to get outside and enjoy this beautiful weather! It was so fun seeing some of the girls at the Girl Scout's troop round up this weekend! I also ran into some boys on the soccer field last week!! I even got to see a few of you at Trivia Night! It was a blast!!!

WELCOME IRIE!!!!

Our class is excited to welcome our new classmate, Irie and her family, to second grade at Concord Elementary! Irie will be coming to visit us this week and join our class next Monday! We are so thrilled to welcome a new friend into our class! Welcome!

This week, every child should have come home with a "Word Study" list of cards.
We have groups Tuesday - Friday working on new spelling patterns and applying this into our writing. While we have a "spelling test" every week, I know they have a full understanding of that spelling pattern when they consistently use it correctly it in their writing. It is really neat to see their understanding of words and how they work "take off" in second grade!


This past week we started learning about all of the brainy work that non-fiction readers do! They may have been digging through the mail, reading the nutrition facts on cereal boxes, and carefully looking at details of a dollar bill. It has been FASCINATING looking at the world around us and learning from things we see all the time.  We learned that non-fiction readers are always reading carefully, noticing details, and asking questions. Reading non-fiction is different than remind fiction, and we are loving it!

In writing this week, we finished up our unit on Personal Narratives. We also did some intense work with technology. We used laptops as a class to log into the network and locate Google Drive! Each student has begun typing on the Drive. Some parents have asked what apps they can download to let their child use this on their own device:

Google Drive
Google Slides
Google Docs
Gmail

 If you'd like more information on their log-in or how it works, visit the parents page of the blog.

This week in math, we took our Chapter 2 test. We will finish up correcting our tests on Monday and they should come home Monday night for you to see. Please be sure to send the test BACK to school so we can put it in their Leadership Binder!
We will continue to work on arrays while we start the next chapter on place value this week! This was a tricky topic! We still needed some practice together. Here is an array, in case that word isn't familiar:

In science, our caterpillars have turn into a chrysalis! This week they will emerge into Painted Lady butterflies! I can't wait for the kids to see!!

Tomorrow we have LIBRARY with Mrs. Graeff! Please help your child remember to bring back their books. They can't get new books until they are returned. 

Starting Monday-RACE FOR RECESS-Box Top Collection

Start collecting those Box Tops from everyone you know! We are holding a grade level competition.   The winning grade will receive an extra recess. All proceeds will go towards the new iDiscover project: http://idiscoverproject.weebly.com/

Monday-Cookie Dough Fundraiser Kick Off: Our fundraiser will start on Monday.  More info coming soon!

Friday is a Half-Day!!!!
Dismissal is at 11:50 - this is different from the typical Early Release. There is no lunch served, but my class is welcome to bring a snack! I'm sure they will be starving at 11:00 ;)
If your child will have a different dismissal plan, please send a note or email by Friday.

Friday we will also have an all-school Assembly and take a school picture! Please have your child wear their purple leadership shirt!!

Monday, October 12: Boxtops and Cookie Dough Fundraisers begin!

Tuesday, October 13: Dad's of Concord Meeting 7:00 p.m.

Friday, October 16: Half-Day {11:50 dismissal}; End of First Quarter 

Monday October 26 & Wednesday October 28: Parent Teacher Conferences 

Tuesday October 27: Field Trip to Powell Hall

Thursday October 29: Fall Festival and Halloween Class Parties
Friday October 30: No School!

If you have any questions or concerns or even just a funny story, I'd love to hear from you! 
Have a great week!

Field Trip {Powell Hall}

Today your child is bringing home a permission slip for Powell Hall. We will be going to see the Symphony on October 27th to see "Hoot and Howl at Powell!" 

Unfortunately, this is not a field trip that parents can attend. There just aren't enough seats available. Please return the permission slip and $5.00  as soon as possible! Scholarships are available if you need assistance with the cost of the field trip.

For more information about Powell Hall, you can visit their website at:

https://www.stlsymphony.org/en/edu/education-concerts/ypc11/

Picture Day!

Check out these 2nd Grade Cuties!!!

Picture Day is Tomorrow!

Don't forget that TOMORROW, Wed. 9/30 is school Picture Day!

Every child will have their picture taken. If you would like to purchase pictures, please return the order form tomorrow! 

Thanks!!

Service Learning Friday!

A need in our neighboring district was brought to the attention of the Service Leadership Committee, and we would like to help! Northwest R-1 is trying to ensure that every student has food by opening a food bank and by sending home backpacks full of food with their students. They are accepting donations of non-perishable items.

The Service-Learning committee would like to have a food drive this Friday, October 2, in conjunction with a Spirit Day. We are encouraging our students and staff to wear their Concord Spirit Wear this Friday and bring a canned good or other non-perishable item. We want our students to be aware of the needs of their neighbors and help however they can. Our retired friend, Carol Stulce, will pick up and deliver our food donations to the schools Friday afternoon.

If you are able, please send in a donation of non-perishable food items on Friday!

Wear your green and gold Concord gear!

Peek at the Week for September 28th!

 

is on Wednesday!!!

I hope you enjoyed your 3-day weekend! I had an excellent day of learning on Friday and I can't wait to use the new things I learned in our classroom!

Each Monday at our Morning Meeting, we share one thing we did over the weekend.  I can't wait to hear their stories tomorrow!

Does your child play a sport? I LOVE to watch my kiddos doing their thing!

I got to see a few kids at soccer on Saturday morning at Truman Middle School! I love seeing them at their games and practices! If you have sent me a schedule, thanks of letting me be a fan!

If your child is in a sport this fall, I'd love to come cheer them on! Send me a schedule of their games and I'll try to make one! My daughter plays LAA soccer every Saturday, so it's really easy to stop by there, but I'm happy to visit other parks and fields as well! My dog Lilly loves to visit a new park!

This week, the fifth choice will be added to our Daily 5 Routine - Work on Words. Throughout the week next week, the kids will be assigned a Work Study Group and their first list of words. Each group of about 5 kids meets one day of the week, so not everyone will bring home a list right away. If I can help it, there is NOT a Monday group - Word Study tests are the first thing we do in the morning, and it's tough to start out Mondays with that for a kiddo. As the year goes on, and if the need arises, I will have that space on Monday to create another group. Each group will be tested on the same day every week.
They will bring home a sheet of "cards" to practice. You are welcome to cut them out or keep them together in one sheet - whatever works for you. They cut them out at school and sort them by the spelling pattern. They are doing tons of activities at school throughout the week as well.


We will also continue our work as Growing Readers by showing our comprehension by talking about  and discussing our books and what we've read. There are lots of ways to talk about books: retelling the events of a story, summarizing a story, and making connections to other things we've read.

This week we are finishing up Chapter 2 - we will dig into something that is typically brand new to students (and parents.) Your child will be learning about a math concept called an "array."
An array is a visual that shows objects in equal groups. This visual example is used to show skip counting, repeated addition, and is an introduction to the foundations of multiplication.
Here is a picture of an array made with cereal :) The repeated addition is shown to the side.
Eventually, they will learn the multiplication that matches (4x5=20)
This is an essential building block to the way kids think about math. Plus it's a lot of fun!

I hope you saw the post about our new classmates! We have 6 caterpillars that have moved into our classroom. They went on vacation to my house this weekend, and this year my dog left them alone (last year she nearly ate them for a snack.)

Watch the blog this week to see how much they have grown!

Tomorrow we have LIBRARY with Mrs. Graeff! Please help your child remember to bring back their books. They can't get new books until they are returned. 

The weather in September can be WhAcKy! I suggest sending a sweatshirt or jacket to school with your child. They are welcome to keep it in their cubbie at school. It looks like this week will start out chilly and be HOT by Thursday! 

Wednesday is PICTURE DAY!

Students will have their school pictures taken on Wednesday. We are very lucky to have our time almost first thing in the morning so start practicing those smiles!

Wednesday, September 30: Picture Day & Be There Day - Do you have your cute outfit??

Friday, October 2: Custodian's Day

Tuesday, October 6: PTG Board Meeting 9:00-11:00 a.m.

Friday, October 9: Family Trivia Night 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Truman Cafeteria

I will be at Family Trivia Night as the score keeper! Hope to see you there!!

Have a great week!

Class Butterflies!

We have 6 new classmates in room 12!

Meet our Painted Lady Caterpillars....

Gumball

Doughnut

Cray Cray

Scream Queen

Big Belly

And Kevin!

(Cray-cray is climbing on the lid, which is why you can't see him in this picture.)

We will observe our caterpillars and watch them grow into a chrysalis and then turn into a butterfly. We will release them in the Concord Butterfly Garden. 

Happy Early Release Day!

Today your child is bringing home their Leadership Binders. Their math tests and past reading logs are inside. The Leadership Binder is a tool we use to see how much we've grown, set goals, and celebrate our accomplishments! Take a minute to celebrate with your child!

Peek at the Week for September 13

The weather this weekend was a beautiful "peek" at fall weather! I hope you got a chance to enjoying being outside this weekend! Our family spent a lot of time walking in the neighborhood and visiting one our favorite spots - the Kitun Dog Park by Truman Middle School. It's really close to our house and we love taking our dog Lilly over there to play! I hope you had fun this weekend too! 

Each Monday at our Morning Meeting, we share one thing we did over the weekend. It has been really fun learning more about the kiddos by sharing what they do on the weekend! I can't wait to hear their stories tomorrow!

Does your child play a sport? I LOVE to watch my kiddos doing their thing!

If your child is in a sport this fall, I'd love to come cheer them on! Send me a schedule of their games and I'll try to make one! My daughter plays LAA soccer every Saturday, so it's really easy to stop by!

This week in reading we will be completing our Daily 5 routine! Miss Tackes, our Literacy Teaching Assistant, will come to our room each day for 40 minutes to meet with small groups and teach Guided Reading. Second Graders will continue to build stamina as growing readers by choosing from four of the Daily 5 choices: Read to Self, Listen to Reading, Read to Someone, and Work on Writing. The fifth choice will be added next week, Work on Words.

We will also continue our work as Growing Readers by connecting our reading and writing. We know that authors choose to write in a certain way on purpose - and growing readers start to notice these things! The author of the Mercy Watson series makes the story funny! But how?? The author of Owl Moon makes the story peaceful, and serious... but how?!? We will answer those questions in our reading this week!

In Writer's Workshop, we will visit some of the same authors we are studying in Reading. We will study their "Craft Moves" and how each writer uses unique "moves" to make their writing interesting.

In math we took our first test on Friday! They did EXCELLENT! I will send home their math tests for you to see and sign - but please send it back to school! They are kept in their leadership binders at school as a portfolio of accomplishments.
This week we will begin Chapter 2, exploring number patterns and reviewing skip counting. We will also begin Math Workshop and adding workstations to our routine! 

In social studies we will continue learning about different types of communities and places people live in the United States. We will begin to talk about the Great American Mail Race this week!

Tomorrow we have LIBRARY with Mrs. Graeff! Please help your child remember to bring back their books. They can't get new books until they are returned. 

The weather in September can be WhAcKy! I suggest sending a sweatshirt or jacket to school with your child. They are welcome to keep it in their cubbie at school. It looks like this week will start out chilly and be HOT by Thursday! 

Wednesday is our first EARLY RELEASE DAY. 

Students will be dismissed at 1:40 pm. If your child will have a different dismissal plan, please send me a note or an email. Even though everyone filled out forms at the beginning of the year, plans can change - please be sure to send a note or email if their dismissal will be different from their regular routine. It helps keep us all on the same page! 

News from PTG!

We are looking forward to seeing you at our first Parent Teacher Group meeting of the year on Tuesday.  The fall party planning will be held from 6:15-7 and the general meeting will begin at 7:00.  You will have a chance to hear from our new principal, Mrs. Angie Moehlmann.

Mon. September 14: Dad's of Concord Meeting (The DOC) {7:00 pm at 026 Pub in Fenton}
Tues. September 15: Halloween Party Planning and PTG Meeting {7:00 pm}
Wed. September 16: Early Release {Dismissal at 1:40}

Fri. September 25: No School {Professional Development Day}

Wed. September 30: Be There Day and School Picture Day! {Go shopping for those cute outfits!}

If you read this entire blog post, leave a comment below and tell me what your favorite book was as a child! I will share these with the kids this week!

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns!

Have a great week!