Halloween Greetings 2nd Grade Families! 

Who would have thought that we were already at the end of October?!?! It's hard for me to believe that we are rolling into November this week! These next few holiday-filled months will continue to fly by, I'm sure.

 

This week we have a few extra events:

Monday - HALLOWEEN!  Wear orange and black.  We will be getting together with our Kindergarten buddies for a snack and to read. We will join the rest of NDLC for a few dances and a story.

Tuesday - 2nd grade yoga!  Remember your beach towel and yoga clothing.

Conference dates and times will be coming home Monday. I am looking forward to meeting with all of you to share your child's growth and goals.

Book orders are due on Monday, October 31st. I will put in the order around 10:00 PM, so you can order online up until that time. Thanks!

Curriculum Updates:

Reading ~ We are continuing to grow our knowledge through reading informational texts. Our learning for this unit centers around three main reading goals: identifying the main idea, questioning, and compare and contrast. Throughout this unit we will be practicing these reading skills and learning different ways readers can grow their knowledge by using these skills.  

Writing ~ Our Informational Writing Unit officially begins this week. We will take what we are learning as readers and put many of those same skills into our writing. We will be writing to teach on topics that we are experts on or topics we have researched.  

Math ~ All of the students did very well on the first unit test. They will be shared at conferences. Unit 2, Adding and Subtracting to 200, begins with reviewing numbers to 200. The standard reads: Understand that the three digits of a three digit number represent amounts of hundreds, tens, and ones  In this unit students will have a mix of standard equations and story problems with numbers through 200. 

Content ~ Our content time is going to be a mix of Presidential Election and Space. Our inquiry unit on Space will begin this week and will overlap with our current events topic of the Presidential Election. The Presidential Election topic leads right up to Election Day at New Directions, November 8.  

Word Work ~ Reminder to continue practicing the High Frequency Words stapled in agendas. Our next assessment will be Friday, November 4th.

Have a GREAT week!

Lisa

This week is Red Ribbon Week, a time dedicated to celebrating and committing to a healthy and drug-free lifestyle. District schools will participate in dress up days to raise awareness for the cause.

Monday - I Elect to Be Drug Free - wear red, white, and blue

Tuesday - Stay Active and Be Drug Free - wear active gear or sweats

Wednesday - Unit Against Drugs - wear red

NDLC Updates

NDLC will be opening up the clothing order through Eagle Graphics again from November 1-15. The clothing will arrive in time for Christmas. You can order at https://eaglegraphics.itemorder.com/. The password is NDLCspirit.

NDLC Student Council is helping with the Coats for Kids campaign. Students can donate hats, gloves, mittens, etc. throughout this week to help the campaign.  

Important Dates

10/27 - NDLC at Skate City. PSC sponsored night 5:30 - 8:00 (more info below)

10/27 and 10/28 - No School for Students

10/31 Wear Orange and Black (no costumes)

11/7 PSC Meeting 6:00

11/8 Election Day - Students will be voting at school

11/10 and 11/15 Portfolio Conferences 4:00-7:30 

PSC Updates

The Fall Book Fair is coming! Please sign up to help set up, cashier, or clean up! Slots are only 30 minutes in length to accommodate parent schedules with conferences. Feel free to sign up for more than one slot if you would like. Sign up at...http://signup.com/go/EQHxM2. Email ndlc.psc@gmail.com with questions!

Show appreciation for the NDLC staff by bringing an item or two for their conference meals. We'll be providing for our teachers, support staff, and specialists. Thursday, November 10th will be a Taco Bar and Tuesday, November 15th will be Soup and Sandwiches. Please sign up to contribute at...http://signup.com/go/i1k9Qj

Family Skate Night at Skate City--NDLC has reserved the entire rink for a fun night of skating. Bring your family and friends and join your NDLC friends on Thursday, October 27th from 5:30-8pm at Skate City in Kimberly.

*$5 admission includes skate rental (no discount for bringing your own skates)

*No charge for anyone who comes to observe and doesn't skate

Classroom Updates

Reading - Last week we started our Informational Reading unit. We are learning how to pay close attention to the details. Readers of nonfiction notice, learn, and wonder throughout their readings. This is such a fun genre to teach and to read!

Writing - We published our very first small moment stories last week! This week the students will beginning writing informational books which will mirror the work we are doing in our reading unit.

Math - We will be reviewing different types of story problems this week: put together, take apart, comparison, too much information, not enough information, and two step problems. We will take the Unit 1 assessment on Wednesday. 

Social Studies - Our class, as well as the rest of the school, will be learning a little information about each of the presidential candidates and presidential election. We will be reading books about the presidency and also using student-friendly online resources to learn about this year's candidates. Our school will be holding elections on November 8th.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. 

Have a great week and enjoy the long weekend that is coming!

Lisa 

It is hard for me to believe that we have only been in school for six weeks! People that walk into our class are amazed! This group has quickly learned expectations and SO much learning is happening! What a GREAT group of kids!

What's coming up?

We are excited for our trip to Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary tomorrow! If you are a chaperone, please be here at 9:50. We will leave promptly at 10:00. Unless you ordered a school bag lunch for your child, please send a bag lunch along. Students will have the opportunity to view the animals outside, so please have your child dress for the weather.

Tomorrow night is Grandfriend and Games Night at NDLC from 6:00-7:00. There will NOT be a meal served at this family event, but there will be a light snack. We are excited to meet our students' special grandparents and grandfriends!

Next week is Red Ribbon Week. Special days this week include:

• Monday, October 24 - "I Pledge to Be Drug Free" - Wear Red, White, and Blue
• Tuesday, October 25 - "Stay Active and Be Drug Free" - Wear Active or Sports Wear
• Wednesday, October 26 - "Unite Against Drugs" - Districtwide Wear Red Day

There is no school on Thursday or Friday of next week.

Curricular Notes

Math - We continue to work on solving a mix of word problems, including compare problems, problems with extra information, problems with hidden information, and 2-step problems.

Reading - We will begin reading informational books in reading this week. We will be discussing how we can learn from EVERYTHING on the page - not just the text.

Writing - We are finishing our small moment story unit this week. Students are busy editing, revising, and publishing their best piece. Look for this book to come home soon! We will begin writing informational books next week.

Word Study - Students will bring home new high frequency words on Wednesday. The test on these words will be November 4th. Please spend a couple of minutes each night practicing these words.

Science - Releasing our butterflies last Monday was a highlight of the week. Although it was sad to see them go, we were excited to see them fly free. We are excited to culminate the unit when we attend the butterfly program at the sanctuary tomorrow!


I hope everyone has an awesome week! 

Lisa

With early morning temperatures in the 30s and 40s, I think we can officially say that fall is here! Please remember to send a sweatshirt or coat with your child. Our morning recesses can be a little chilly. 

~Our Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary field trip is next week, Tuesday, October 18. All field trip slips and payments need to be in by Friday. 

~Our next family night, "Grandfriends, Games, and Goodies", is also next week Tuesday. If your family has not already done so, please RSVP by copying and pasting the following link into your browser. You only need to RSVP once per family. Future family night RSVPs will also be through a google form link sent to families. 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyV_Ksq5kugruQU6RPIt5lWo1WLSO3tz0nwfWB-_Fl4VL3WA/viewform

~Upcoming Dates to take note of:
Red Ribbon Week October 24-26
Mon. Oct. 24th:  Wear Red, White, and Blue - "I Elect to be Drug Free!"
Tues. Oct. 25th:  Wear Active Wear/Sweats - "Stay active and be drug free!"
Wed. Oct. 26th: District Wide Wear RED DAY - "Unite against drugs!"
No School for Students October 27-28
Portfolio Conference Thursday, November 10 and Tuesday, November 15 (more information to come)

Curricular Happenings

Word Work
This Friday will be our test for the words that were stapled in agendas last week Monday.  Continue practicing these words. 

Reading
This week we are focusing on the intentions of authors.  Why did the author use specific craft moves? What was the author trying to teach us? Lessons are an important part of 2nd grade reading comprehension. As you read books with your child, be sure to discuss the lesson(s) the author is teaching us. We will also be celebrating the end of our first reading unit this week! It is always an exciting time to reflect on the learning that has taken place in just a short period of time.

Writing
Our writing and reading lessons continue to piggyback one another. We are working on using craft moves of mentor authors to enhance our writing.

Math
You will find that a lot of the second grade math curriculum involves word problems. We continue to work on put together (+) and take away (-) problems with totals through 20.  This week also brings in comparison word problems. For example:  Mrs. O'Brien has 24 cookies. Mrs. Krueger has 16.  How many more cookies does Mrs. O'Brien have than Mrs. Krueger? Students should also notice that they could say this as, "How many fewer cookies does Mrs. Krueger have than Mrs. O'Brien? 

Science
Our butterflies continue to amaze us. We have found that they are more attracted to a pear core than an apple core and they like some types of apples more than others. Our hypothesis for this is that pears are softer and juicier than apples and some apples are sweeter than others. We will have to let our butterflies go in the schoolyard prior to our field trip, as they are in the final stages of their life cycle.

NEWS FROM THE NDLC PSC

Family Skate Night at Skate City--NDLC has reserved the entire rink for a fun night of skating. Bring your family and friends and join your NDLC friends on Thursday, October 27th from 5:30-8pm at Skate City in Kimberly.

*$5 admission includes skate rental (no discount for bringing your own skates)

*No charge for anyone who comes to observe and doesn't skate

Facebook--Don't forget to "Like" the NDLC Facebook page to keep updated on school happenings and events.

NDLC wear coming home soon! Orders should be sent home by the end of this week or the first of next week. 

Save the date 11/17/16, NDLC has reserved Funset Boulevard in Appleton. Family and friends invited to pre-purchase tickets through NDLC and come play games and laser tag. More details to follow.

I hope that you all have had a relaxing weekend and have an enjoyable week!

Lisa

Wow! I can't believe that it's already October! Although September seemed to fly by, I'm amazed at all we've accomplished in just one short month! Now that we have our routines in place and students have built stamina in all areas, I'm excited to see what the month of October will bring! I know it will be filled with lots of fun, learning, and student growth! :)

What's coming up at NDLC?

-Tuesday is a special day! Kristin Mceneany, a second grade parent, will be doing Storytime Yoga with the second graders! She will meet with us monthly, leading us in yoga and sharing a story that goes along with our current learning or with the current time of year. This month's yoga will have a fall theme. How fun! Please send a beach towel to be used as a yoga mat. We will keep the towels at school for the remainder of the year so we have them handy when Mrs. Mceneany comes each month. 

-All permission slips and money for our trip to Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary are due on October 14th. Our trip is on Tuesday, October 18th. If your child plans to eat a cold lunch from Chartwells, we will need to know by October 11th. 

-Our next family event, Grandfriends and Goodies, will be held on October 18th from 6:00-7:00. Students will have the opportunity to share their school with their grandparents (or other special grandfriends), play bingo and board games, do a little art project, and dance in the gym. Dinner will not be served that night, but there will be a light snack for students and their grandfriends to enjoy. Please RSVP using the following link (on RSVP per family): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyV_Ksq5kugruQU6RPIt5lWo1WLSO3tz0nwfWB-_Fl4VL3WA/viewform

-Just a reminder that there is no school for students on Thursday and Friday, October 27th and 28th.

Curricular Update:

-We had some excitement on Friday morning! Our butterflies started to emerge from their chrysalises! We had so much fun watching them crawl out and dry their wings. Because the butterflies are not ready to fly for a few hours after emerging, we were able to take one out to hold and observe up close. We will learn more about the body parts of the Painted Lady Butterflies this coming week.  

-Throughout the coming week, we'll be solving different types of story problems by asking what information we know and what information we are looking for. We have also been working on mastering our addition facts. We are doing this work by using bead racks to structure the numbers. By using the racks and only focusing on a few facts at a time, kids are getting really quick at the facts. The goal for kids is to look at the groups to develop a strategy for solving each fact, rather than just memorizing or counting up by ones.

-We continue to work on small moment stories in writing. We are drawing on the work of several mentor authors to help us write in meaningful ways. We are currently working on strong story leads, endings, and revision techniques.

-Partnership talk and tackling tricky words have been the highlight of our work in reading this past week. This week, we will continue to work on these things, along with looking at author's craft and the lessons we can learn in our books. Thank you for your help with reading each night! Please don't forget to write the name of the book your child read in his/her agenda.

-New high frequency words are being sent home in agendas on Monday. Students will be assessed on these words on Friday, October 14th. Please have your child continue to practice the words at home.

Have a great week!

Lisa