Newsletter Sept. 14, 2018

Dear Families,

The mystery of the missing markers has been solved! After several of you mentioned that your child's markers were missing I had a funny feeling that I may have stored them away...and I did! They were actually in a large box in the coat room labeled, "MARKERS." Hmmm...anyway all markers have been returned to rightful owners! Whew!

*Curriculum night Thank you for those of you who were able to make it to curriculum night. We hope you have a better understanding of how our year will look! You will find the presentation attached if you were unable to make it, or want to look over some things that were covered.

First 8 Days- The past two weeks we have reviewed the 8 Habits:

Be proactive

Begin with the end in mind

Put first things first

Think win-win

Seek first to understand then to be understood

Synergize

Sharpen the Saw

Find your voice

- Kids spent time thinking, learning about and applying themselves with each habit. We also had two Community Circles to establish a whole school community and share about how we are being leaders with the 8 habits. It really was a great way to start off the new school year. The students are ready to be leaders of their learning! Be sure to ask your child about the 8 habits!

Writing This week we started to think about our first writing unit, Personal Narratives.  Students started brainstorming ideas for writing by creating a heart map.  Next week we are going to continue to brainstorm ideas as well as learn about small moments.

Science Students started to explore in our first Science unit: Pebbles, Sand and Silt.  We started the unit with wonderings about our driving question: What is the Earth's Surface made of and how does it change? 

Throughout the unit, we will be studying rocks, one of the most important earth materials. Our investigations will center on the properties of rocks and the uses of various rock sizes (pebbles, gravel, sand, silt, and clay). Students will be working extensively with materials—observing, comparing, and communicating what they learn through their firsthand experiences with earth materials. We will also be investigating different kinds of soil and comparing soils that we gather from our community. At the end of the unit, students will be introduced to natural sources of fresh and salt water. 

Your child may ask for help finding a rock or two to contribute to our class rock collection. A rock from your yard or neighborhood is fine. As our study continues, your child will be learning more and more about rocks. Try to find opportunities to talk with your child about sand, gravel, soil and water, and ways people use these materials in construction (asphalt, concrete, bricks, mortar, etc.) and landscaping. This is an engaging theme for a family outing. 

We’re looking forward to lots of discoveries and new experiences as we explore the earth materials that can be found all around us. If you have any questions or comments, or have expertise you would like to share with the class, please let me know. You can get more information on this module by going to www.FOSSweb.com.

NWEA This past week your child took the reading NWEA test. Next week we'll do the math portion. Students take these tests in the fall and teachers use the data to inform our instruction. Students will take the test again in the spring to see how much they have grown! 

Next week we are really going to dive into curriculum and our routine. We will being unit 1 in math on Monday and students will start getting their book boxes together.  We are excited to get into our routine and for all the thinking and learning to come! 

Have a great weekend!

The Second Grade Teachers

Attachments area

First Week Fall 2018

Hello Families,

We had a great first week together! It has been so much fun learning about one another and getting back into our school routines. We will continue to do a lot of activities next week to help build our classroom community. Our number one concern at this point, is that your child feels safe, comfortable, and a valuable member of our classroom family.  Thank you for sharing your child with us! We are truly enjoying them and can’t wait to have an awesome year with them.

Important reminders:

*Curriculum night will be Thursday, September 13th. Mrs. Bedford’s presentation for K-2 parents will be from 5:00-5:30. Then you will be able to come down to the second grade wing from 5:30-6:30pm, for our presentation. The 2nd grade team will be giving the presentation together as a team. Our Specials teachers will be holding a session for parents wishing to attend from 6:30 to 7:00. If you are unable to attend, we will be sending home the PowerPoint via email after Curriculum Night.

*Snacks and Water Bottles-We will have two healthy snacks a day.  We will eat them mid-morning and mid-afternoon. These snacks are meant to help nourish the body and brain throughout the day, so we cannot emphasize enough, the importance of them being healthy snacks.  Cookies, chips and candy are great for a treat during lunch, but we will ask students to keep these goodies in their lunch box until then. Some great healthy snack ideas are: fresh fruit, cheese, crackers, hummus, hard boiled eggs, popcorn, veggies & dip, granola, etc.  Some parents feel that their child doesn’t need to eat snacks throughout the day.  This is up to you as the parent, but from our experience, students will get quite hungry throughout the day, especially once they see other students eating around them.

Many students prefer using a water bottle over than the drinking fountains in the classroom.  We are completely fine with this, but ask that students keep their water bottles in a leak-free bottle.  Spills will absolutely happen, but the more we can avoid this with spill-proof bottles, the better! Also, water will be the only drink allowed in the classroom to avoid sticky spills and stains.  Finally, please remind your child that he/she needs to bring the water bottle home daily for washing.  Thank you so much for your support with this!

*Lunch-The 2nd grade has lunch from 11:40-12:20.   This schedule will remain the same for the entire year. Lunch and recess will still each be 20 minutes. Mrs. Armstrong and Mrs. Fox/Maynard's class will be eating lunch together first, and Mrs. Griesinger's and Ms. Alliston's class will play first, then eat lunch.

If your child is buying lunch, it would be helpful if you could go over their options with them before coming to school in the morning. Lunch menus can be found on Deerfield’s website. Here is the September menu :  http://www.novi.k12.mi.us/district/fs/school-menus--nutritional-information/df/

*Everyday Folder- Please be sure to look at any notes in your child’s daily folder and send your child’s daily folder back to school every day.

*Art Shirt and P.E. Shoes- If your child doesn’t have an art shirt at school, please send one in as soon as possible. Also, be sure your child has tennis shoes for P.E. class on our gym day! You can find our class’ specials schedules on the back of your child’s Everyday Folders.

*Dismissal- As a reminder, teachers are not allowed to let children enter the parent pick up line, if they regularly ride the bus (or are CARE) WITHOUT a note from his/her parent. Thank you for understanding! We want to keep your wonderful children safe. If your child has a change in the way they are getting home for that day, please send a written note. If the change happens AFTER your child is already in school, please call the office to let them know.  They will make sure the appropriate teacher gets the message. If you send an email, we don’t always have a chance to check this during the day, so we would not be aware of this change.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your child's teacher.

*Birthdays-At Deerfield, we do birthdays in a unique way.  Instead of the birthday child bringing in a treat to celebrate their special day, they can bring in something to donate to the classroom.  Please note, this is NOT a mandatory thing. It is completely optional to send in something on your child’s birthday. If you do not send in something, we will still have a birthday celebration for your child in a birthday circle. If you would like to have your child open a present for the class, here are some ideas:

1.    Donate a game or book for the students to enjoy throughout the year. We are always in need of games for the students to play during indoor recess!

2.    Donate a toy for outdoor recess.  Students enjoy playing with chalk, balls, hula hoops, etc.

3.    Donate new pencils/checking pens for the students to use.

4.    Donate items for STEM/STEAM activities such as Legos, blocks, brain teaser activities, etc.

It is the school’s policy to not allow food as a birthday treat because of allergies.  Thank you for your understanding!

*Volunteers- We are currently in need of some volunteers to help gather books from the reading room for our reading time.   If you are available next week (anytime) please let your child's teacher know by sending an email!

We are also looking for help putting up borders in our project area.

We really appreciate your help!!!

We will also occasionally be in need  of help tracing, coloring, cutting, gluing etc. and preparing projects for the children. We will  need help with special projects and holiday parties throughout the year. Some of these projects can be done at home, while others are easier to do in our project area at school. Whenever our team needs some assistance, we will send out an email to check for volunteers. Thank you so much in advance!

 

Have a great weekend! We look forward to another fabulous week with your lovely children!

The Second Grade Teachers