This week at a glance...

WOW!!  Can you believe it's already Halloween?  I've been LOVING the warm falls days since I really do not like winter!!!  I enjoyed meeting with everyone last week for conferences.   Thank you for coming in and for continuing to work with your child. 

Today is our Halloween party.  We are carving pumpkins at the end of the day.  Thanks to the parent volunteers for helping and also to those that donated pumpkins.  I really appreciate your help!!!!!

Tomorrow we are heading to UNI to see the play The Frog Prince.  We are leaving promptly at 9:30 so please make sure your child is here on time.  The school is providing a snack and lunch so do not send any food to school with your child.  We are taking Hawkeye Stages busses and we will provide movies.   Please do not send movies or any other electronics to school.  We will eat our lunch at the UNI dome and then head to Gallagher-Bluedorn for the play.  We will return to school right before  dismissal.

In literacy news, we continue to truck along with our new reading series.  These last few weeks the students have learned 2 comprehension strategies: determine important information and determine author's purpose.  These were also introduced to contractions and dictionaries.   We are not doing word study this week due to the short week last week and the field trip this week.  Just a reminder that Book-it is due tomorrow so if your child has read 400 minutes please sign and return the pizza paper with your child.  A new recording sheet will come home tomorrow.

We finished up our 2nd math test last week and this week we began a quick review of place value and money.  We are shopping for fruits and veggies today in math.  It is important that your child can identify and count coins - please practice this at home if needed.  I also hope that all students will achieve fact power this year and won't need to rely completely on fingers or number grids.  Please practice basic facts with your child as well.

We are going to wrap up our butterfly unit in the next week or so.  All of our butterfly friends went from larva to pupae to adults.  This was really exciting for 2A students!!!

I hope everyone has a super week.  Happy Halloween!!!!

Dancing Fever

We have been working soooo hard to earn tickets in 2A!!  In August and September students were earning blue tickets.  All the second graders had to work as a team to earn our reward: a reward recess and dance.  We were having a friendly competition in the school and 2nd grade came in 3rd!!!  During that time we earned 1, 800 tickets.  That's amazing!!!!!!  A lot of kids danced the whole time and I must say we have some excellent dancers in 2A :)  Way to bust a move 2nd graders!

Now, students have to work individually for golden tickets.  I don't give these out quite as often and I give them out for students making excellent Cadet Pride choices.  Each Friday the PBIS team will collect the tickets and draw one winner from the class.  This week Ashley was the winner...congrats!!  I have an extra incentive just for our classroom as well.  Each week I count up the tickets and the top 3 ticket earners are getting a reward from me as well.

I hope 2A students continue to make good Cadet Pride choices!

Helllllooooo Pumpkin Cavers!!

I am searching for volunteers to help out at our Halloween party...I need pumpkin carvers:) The party is on Monday, October 31st from 2:20-3:15. If you are able to help, please send a note with your child and I will get back to you.

Also, in the past I have bought pumpkins for students to carve during our party. However, if you would like to donate a pumpkin to the classroom that would be wonderful!!! Once again, please contact me.

Thanks in advance for your support and help!!

Attention Readers!!!

This post is for families that do not have kids currently bringing home books nightly.

Beginning tonight, your child will bring home a book each night.  They will choose this book from our classroom library.  Please have your child read it and then I would like you to fill out the blue reading log sheet.  Please write the title of the book and decide on the level of the book: too hard, just right, too easy.  Keep this sheet in the plastic bag.

I understand that everyone is busy but please try and have your child read nightly.  This reading time may go towards Book-it.  Once your child has filled up the whole reading log sheet he/she will be able to choose a prize from my classroom prize box.

Thanks for your help and support with this!! 

This week...

We did daily 5.  Jacy
We ran the track.  Emily
We had fun at math.  Brady
We did Lead 21.  Noah
We learned how to stop a sentence with sentence stoppers.  Alyssa
We learned how to weigh things.  Paul
We learned the body parts of an insect.  Landen
We did a buddy test.  Amy
We used sentence stoppers in a sentence.  Hunter
We had a lot of fun in Daily 5.  Travis
We practiced Cadet Pride.  Jasmin
We learned not to burp with our mouth open.  Cole :)
We did lots of learning.  Nathan

Book-It!!!!!

The beginning of October does NOT mean that Halloween is almost here. It doesn't mean we're in the middle of fall. It doesn't mean winter is getting closer..yikes! WHAT????

October means Book-It is starting!!!!!! This is a reading incentive program sponsored by Pizza Hut. Who doesn't like pizza right? A calendar was sent home with your child on October 1st.  Please make sure you keep this calendar in a safe place.   I note went home with the calendar as well.  The second grade teachers decided to ask students to read 400 minutes each month during book-it.  It is recommended that 2nd graders read 20 minutes each night so this goal is achievable for your child.  When your child reads record that amount of time on the pizza crust and then they can color in the pizza slice. 

I do not require your child to participate in this program; however, what better reason to read than to earn pizza??? This is a totally optional activity that runs from October to March. The past few years I have had only a few kids choose to participate in this which makes me really sad. I'm hoping for really good results from this year's class :)

So...now here is the extra special incentive for participating in this program!!!! Those students who  participate all six months will celebrate by having a pizza party with me!!!!! I will be supplying the pizza in April for all the students who reach their reading goal for ALL six months. Those that do not participate, will eat lunch in the cafeteria as usual with a different teacher.

I hope you encourage your child to participate and HAPPY READING!!!