May 28 - 31

Last official academic week of school!

WOW - this is our last official school work week of 2nd grade.  Next week will be a blur of activities. I have copied the note I will be sending home below.  It is a basic outline of all the events for the final week.

LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL - JUNE 3-7

Wow – can you believe it?  We are almost at the last week of 2^nd grade.  It has gone fast.  I am so proud of the improvements and growth the children have made this year.  I can only imagine what exciting things their futures hold.  The last week of school will be filled with chaotic events.  I wanted to brief you on the days times of these happenings.

Monday, June 3 – “Normal Day”  This will be a normal Monday at school.  The students may bring in a board game to share with friends at the end of the day. 

Tuesday, June 4^th – Field Day and Stone Soup dress rehearsal.  We will have a dress rehearsal in the morning before we begin our field day at 10:30 AM.  Mrs. Dunn will be in charge of donations for the snacks and lunch for this day.  She will be sending home a note concerning this.  Make certain students wear sun screen, have a hat and have an extra water bottle.  I will bring a cooler to school that day.  The food offered will be hot dogs.  If your child does not like hot dogs (Carolina Hot Dogs) – then please send in their regular food items that your child will enjoy.  If time permits we may watch a Magic School Bus toward the end of the day.

Wednesday, June 5^th – STONE SOUP production @ 10:00 AM in gymnasium   We will not have much more planned for the afternoon, so if you would like to check your child out after the production you may do so.

Thursday, June 6^th – Awards day/Report Cards @ 11:00 AM  Again, there will not be much planned after awards day, so if you would like to check your child out after the event, you may do so.

Friday, June 7^th – Last Day of School – ½ day.  All students will be counted whether or not they decide to come.  It is up to you!  BUT if Thursday is officially your last day, please make certain I know so I can wish the students a wonderful summer break.

If you have any questions or concerns please e-mail me and I will try to answer your questions.  scabascango@neusecharterschool.org

This week we will . . .

MATH:

I am sending home the summative math assessment for you to see.  Please note the areas in which your child may struggle.  Make a bit of an effort to keep your child current over the summer break.  xtramath.com is a great place to keep the math facts fresh.  Also, if your child is strong in his/her math facts (addition/subtraction), start working on multiplication.

This week we will begin working on multiplication facts of 10's, 5's, and 2's.

READING:

This week we will continue/finish reading the BOX CAR CHILDREN. I would like the students to make their own box car.  Each child will need a small cardboard box to paint.  A shoe box would work great.  Just cut the top off.  I have a few I can spare.  Send these boxes in by Wednesday.  If you have an extra that would be great!

SMALL GROUPS:

We will read a bag book, but there will not be any to take home or a test this week!  Also, we will squeeze in synonyms and antonyms.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

We will continue our unit on our Economy and Needs vs. Wants.

SCIENCE:

Our chicks have hatched.  So far 8 are here.  My boys have been enjoying them very much.  I will be bringing them in this week.  We have until Thursday to enjoy their presence before we must return them to their farmer friend.

Last note:

Friday afternoon we will be watching "RIO" along with Mrs. Frietas/Mrs. Hill's classes.  Bring a towel to sit on.

May 13 - 17

HAPPY MOTHER's DAY!

I truly one of the highest callings is being a mother.  Many of you know me as a teacher, but the most important (and most difficult) job I have is being a wife and a mother.  I am so thankful I have been given this gift through a wonderful supportive husband and three precious treasures - Esteban Miguel, Santiago Felipe, and Cristian Antonio.  

I wish each of you a blessed Mother's Day.

This week in our room. . .

MATH:

This week will be spent reviewing for our Summative 2nd Grade Math Exam that will be give next week over a period of 2-3 days.  Please note the homework and discuss the problems with your child so that he/she has a firm grasp on the various math concepts.  There will be homework each evening that will reflect the review we do in class.

READING:

THE BOX CAR CHILDREN by  Gertrude Chandler Warner

We will end the year with a chapter book.  This is a simple story that I enjoyed as a little girl and hope the students will as well.  Each chapter will have a set of questions that must be answered in COMPLETE SENTENCES.  The Box Car Children answer packet will be one of the last reading grades for the year.  Please make certain to check over your child's answers to ensure spelling is correct as well as sentence structure.  We plan to read a chapter a day.  Some students will have time to complete the questions in school while others may not depending on the day.  Be watchful for this packet as it comes home each evening.

This week we will complete:

Chapter 1 - Monday

Chapter 2 - Tuesday

Chapter 3 - Wednesday

Chapter 4 - Thursday

Chapter 5 - Friday

Each evening the packet will come home with your child with the exception of Friday.  All of the students will complete the questions in school on this day.

SMALL GROUPS:

We will have new set of bag books this week.  I highly encourage the students to read his/her chapter book at least 3X during the week.  This will help ensure a solid "S" on the test given on Friday.

SPELLING:

Last week for WORDS THEIR WAY.  Make certain your child has studied the words sufficiently!

SCIENCE:

We have butterflies!  Three have emerged and I expect the other two will arrive this week.

Also, our eggs will be delivered by the Johnston County 4-H center on Tuesday.  We will incubate the eggs until May 31st.  On May 31st they should begin to hatch - we hope.  

SOCIAL STUDIES:

UNIT 6 PEOPLE AT WORK

We will finish our year learning about goods and services in our community.  

FINAL NOTES:

Thank you so much for all of your notes, gifts and food for Teacher's Appreciation Week.  I enjoyed all of the generous gifts.  Thank you again.

Also - the Multicultural Projects were wonderful.  I have stapled them onto the wall in the Elementary Hallway.  Please come to see the great work our classroom has done.

Finally, We are working on the illustrations for our Fairy Tales.  Thank you parents for all the work you put in towards editing.  Great teamwork!

May 6-10

IT'S FIELD TRIP WEEK!

Wow - can you believe it?  On Tuesday, May 7th we will meet at the Raleigh Science Museum.  If you haven't visited since the new section has opened, you will be in for a grand surprise.  It is fabulous!  Again, please read below for reminders on the schedule of our trip. . .

FIELD TRIP 

The field trip is on next Tuesday, May 7th.  You need to provide your own transportation.  Please simply meet at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences' courtyard @ 9:30 AM.  There are many parking options.  I suggest you take a minute to look up the website on line for specific directions and parking options.

Our class will sign in @ 10:00 AM and then you will be able to roam the museum for about 2 hours.  At 11:45 we will rendezvous on the 3rd floor where our life cycle curiosity class will take place. (About 45 minutes)  Then we will join the rest of 2nd grade in the courtyard of the museum where we will eat our bagged lunch.  At this point we will pass out goody bags filled with small souvenirs.  After lunch the you are free to explore more of the museum.  The teachers will leave the museum around 1:30 to head back to NCS. 

ALSO, I will bring a bin to place lunches in so that you won't need to carry them around the museum - if you wish.  The museum will store these bins in a special room.

THIS WEEK IN OUR ROOM. . .

MATH:

We will continue to work on fractions and review geometric shapes as well.  Next week we will have a test on both math concepts.  NO HOMEWORK THIS WEEK DUE TO WRITING HOMEWORK!

READING:

During whole group reading we will enjoy a non-fiction INSECT book to finish off our life cycle unit.  We will also touch on Antonyms and synonyms in class.  There will be no test on this book, however there will be a small quiz on synonyms and antonyms on Friday.

SMALL GROUPS:

We will have bag books this week that continue to focus on insects, reptiles and amphibians.  There will be a bag book test on Friday.

WRITING:

The students have been working on a Fairy Tale story.  This week the students will bring these tales home for you to peer/parent edit.  I will send a list of expectations for a guideline.  I want you to see where they are at in their writing development.  As I need to remind myself - IT IS A PROCESS!  Take a few nights this week to Peer/Parent edit the writing pieces.  Then, by Friday, please help your child type his/her story.  Send the typed stories in by Friday.  On this day we will share our published pieces and share them with our friends. The students will also be able to add a few illustrations to go along with their writing piece.

SCIENCE:

This is our last week to focus on life cycles - kind of. . .  Wow - we have looked into many living creatures as we have studied this scientific theme.  We officially let our tadpoles/froglets go since we had a few die due to their environment.  Yet, it was exciting to see the transformation from egg to froglet.  Now this week we should have some butterflies!

Some exciting news. . .  we will be able to have some eggs in our room!  The Johnston County 4-H center did not forget us!  Our eggs should arrive next week and they are due to hatch right after Memorial Day.  YEAH!

SO - It should be a busy fun week.  Please e-mail if you have any questions or concerns.  Progress reports go out this week.  some student's grade have fallen a bit.  Encourage the children to keep working strong until the end.  It is almost here!

scabascango@neusecharterschool.org