Thursday, December 12, 2013
Updates
Parents, Thanks you for all the volunteers and candy donations we have gotten! I am still looking for a couple of volunteers for Tuesday, December 17th. If you would be able to help this day please let me know. Also, you may still send candy donations in, and they will be used:) Have a great weekend, next week promises to be very busy, and lots of fun!
Thursday, December 5, 2013
December News:)
Dear Parents, We have a lot going on during the month of December:) Please note that I am sending home hard copy information of this post as well, so please check backpacks when your kiddos get home.
We are going to be celebrating Gingerbread Days on Monday, and Tuesday, December 16th and 17th from 8:15 - 9:30. Students will rotate through 2 of 4 stations each day. They will decorate a gingerbread boy or girl, make a gingerbread ornament, graph gumdrops, and decorate a gingerbread house. We need donations of candy, powdered sugar and gumdrops. We are also looking for volunteers that would be able to work at a station on one or both of these days. These activities tie in with the Gingerbread Unit that we will be studying during our guided reading time next week. We will learn what a folktale is, compare and contrast several different gingerbread stories, study character traits, sequencing and much more!
We are also studying holiday traditions during the month of December. We are including Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa in this unit. If you celebrate any of these holidays at home and would like to share with our class please let me know. Students are invited to write about a holiday tradition that is important to their family on a special piece of paper that is being sent home so they can share this tradition with their class on our traditions day. We will end our Traditions unit with a celebration on Thursday, December 19th.
Students will share with their class a holiday tradition that is important in their family, and if they would like they may bring a dish to share with their class. We currently have 16 students:)
Don't forget, our class party is Friday, December 13th at 2:15:)
We will finish the month of December with a Polar Express day on Friday, December 20th. We will read the book Polar Express, then student will receive tickets to board the train. We will watch the movie, and work on different activities throughout the day. Students may wear their pajamas to school on this day.
If you have any questions about any of these events please let me know.
FYI: There will be no spelling the last week of school before winter break.
We are going to be celebrating Gingerbread Days on Monday, and Tuesday, December 16th and 17th from 8:15 - 9:30. Students will rotate through 2 of 4 stations each day. They will decorate a gingerbread boy or girl, make a gingerbread ornament, graph gumdrops, and decorate a gingerbread house. We need donations of candy, powdered sugar and gumdrops. We are also looking for volunteers that would be able to work at a station on one or both of these days. These activities tie in with the Gingerbread Unit that we will be studying during our guided reading time next week. We will learn what a folktale is, compare and contrast several different gingerbread stories, study character traits, sequencing and much more!
We are also studying holiday traditions during the month of December. We are including Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa in this unit. If you celebrate any of these holidays at home and would like to share with our class please let me know. Students are invited to write about a holiday tradition that is important to their family on a special piece of paper that is being sent home so they can share this tradition with their class on our traditions day. We will end our Traditions unit with a celebration on Thursday, December 19th.
Students will share with their class a holiday tradition that is important in their family, and if they would like they may bring a dish to share with their class. We currently have 16 students:)
Don't forget, our class party is Friday, December 13th at 2:15:)
We will finish the month of December with a Polar Express day on Friday, December 20th. We will read the book Polar Express, then student will receive tickets to board the train. We will watch the movie, and work on different activities throughout the day. Students may wear their pajamas to school on this day.
If you have any questions about any of these events please let me know.
FYI: There will be no spelling the last week of school before winter break.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
November 12, 2013
Good Morning! It was great to see everyone last week for conferences:) Our class had 100% attendance!!
It's hard to believe that we only have 2 full weeks of school before the week of Thanksgiving. We are continuing to move along with guided reading, which is my favorite time of the day. During our reading intervention time we are working on synonyms and antonyms, which will be followed by homonyms and homophones. We just started working on Unit 3 in math which is our measurement and geometry unit. We are currently working on using our centimeter rulers to measure different line segments, and will begin measuring different shapes, and finding the perimeter of those shapes in another day or two. This week and next we will be studying herps in science. This is the study of herpetology including reptiles and amphibians.
Second grade will be having Gingerbread days on December 16th and 17th. Please watch for more information. We will be looking for volunteers and supplies:)
Important dates:
Woodlawn Culvers Fundraiser: November 20th from 5 - 9pm. (I'll be there working from 6 - 7:)
Thanksgiving Break: November 27 - 29th.
Winter Party: December 13th.
Gingerbread Days: December 16 & 17th
Polar Express Day: December 20th.
Winter Break: December 23 - January 3rd.
WOW, lots of fun things coming up!
It's hard to believe that we only have 2 full weeks of school before the week of Thanksgiving. We are continuing to move along with guided reading, which is my favorite time of the day. During our reading intervention time we are working on synonyms and antonyms, which will be followed by homonyms and homophones. We just started working on Unit 3 in math which is our measurement and geometry unit. We are currently working on using our centimeter rulers to measure different line segments, and will begin measuring different shapes, and finding the perimeter of those shapes in another day or two. This week and next we will be studying herps in science. This is the study of herpetology including reptiles and amphibians.
Second grade will be having Gingerbread days on December 16th and 17th. Please watch for more information. We will be looking for volunteers and supplies:)
Important dates:
Woodlawn Culvers Fundraiser: November 20th from 5 - 9pm. (I'll be there working from 6 - 7:)
Thanksgiving Break: November 27 - 29th.
Winter Party: December 13th.
Gingerbread Days: December 16 & 17th
Polar Express Day: December 20th.
Winter Break: December 23 - January 3rd.
WOW, lots of fun things coming up!
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Conference Note Reminder
Parents, I am still missing conference forms from several kiddos. If you have not received your conference form please let me know and I can send you a new one. I am hoping to have my conference schedule finalized by this Thursday, so reminders can go home on Monday. Thank You!
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Conference Update
Parents,
I will be sending home conference notes tomorrow, Thursday, October 24th. Please return them as soon as possible so I can make changes as needed for families that may need a different time. Also, attached to the conference note is a pre-conference form. If you would please fill that out and return it prior to conferences it would be much appreciated. I have found this to be a great way to start conferences in the past.
DON'T FORGET: Due to conferences there is no school on Friday, November 1st, Thursday, November 7th, and Friday, November 8th.
I will be sending home conference notes tomorrow, Thursday, October 24th. Please return them as soon as possible so I can make changes as needed for families that may need a different time. Also, attached to the conference note is a pre-conference form. If you would please fill that out and return it prior to conferences it would be much appreciated. I have found this to be a great way to start conferences in the past.
DON'T FORGET: Due to conferences there is no school on Friday, November 1st, Thursday, November 7th, and Friday, November 8th.
Monday, October 21, 2013
October 20, 2013
It has been a busy month, and one that seems to nearly have flown by! Apologies for not getting a newsletter out sooner, the only excuse I have is being busy, and not realizing how much time had gone by since my last post.
We had a great time on our trip to Pendleton's, and were able to see butterflies in all stages of their life cycle. I was super impressed with the great job all of the kids did answering questions, and sharing the information they had learned during our butterfly unit. We also had a lot of fun the next day with our pumpkin activities. We made predictions about the height, weight, and circumference of our pumpkins, then checked to find the actual measurements. Also, ask your student if pumpkins float or sink, as this ended up being a rather wet experiment I am sure they will remember. Note to self: Next year use a larger bucket:) They do float, but not on top of the water, and if they are larger pumpkins...lets just say, teacher and students can move fast when water spills all over the place!
We have just finished working on parts of speech during our reading intervention time. We worked on nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and interjections. We will continue reviewing the parts of speech throughout the year. We are now working on writing friendly letters, and will be mailing out our first letters next week. Coming up we will be working on homophones, and homonyms, and reviewing synonyms and antonyms. We just finished Unit 1 in math by taking our Unit 1 test over word problems. We are now working on Unit 2 which is double digit addition. Now that we are finished with our butterfly unit we are studying spiders, and comparing them to insects. FYI, students have been told NO LIVE SPECIMENS with this unit, pictures only;)
Fall Party is this upcoming Friday, October 25 at 2:15. Please feel free to join us for the fun.
Also coming up are Parent Teacher conferences on Wednesday and Thursday November 6th and 7th. I will be sending conference times home with your child. Please let me know if you need to schedule a different time, and we will find a time that works.
Have a great week, and enjoy the wonderful fall weather!
We had a great time on our trip to Pendleton's, and were able to see butterflies in all stages of their life cycle. I was super impressed with the great job all of the kids did answering questions, and sharing the information they had learned during our butterfly unit. We also had a lot of fun the next day with our pumpkin activities. We made predictions about the height, weight, and circumference of our pumpkins, then checked to find the actual measurements. Also, ask your student if pumpkins float or sink, as this ended up being a rather wet experiment I am sure they will remember. Note to self: Next year use a larger bucket:) They do float, but not on top of the water, and if they are larger pumpkins...lets just say, teacher and students can move fast when water spills all over the place!
We have just finished working on parts of speech during our reading intervention time. We worked on nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and interjections. We will continue reviewing the parts of speech throughout the year. We are now working on writing friendly letters, and will be mailing out our first letters next week. Coming up we will be working on homophones, and homonyms, and reviewing synonyms and antonyms. We just finished Unit 1 in math by taking our Unit 1 test over word problems. We are now working on Unit 2 which is double digit addition. Now that we are finished with our butterfly unit we are studying spiders, and comparing them to insects. FYI, students have been told NO LIVE SPECIMENS with this unit, pictures only;)
Fall Party is this upcoming Friday, October 25 at 2:15. Please feel free to join us for the fun.
Also coming up are Parent Teacher conferences on Wednesday and Thursday November 6th and 7th. I will be sending conference times home with your child. Please let me know if you need to schedule a different time, and we will find a time that works.
Have a great week, and enjoy the wonderful fall weather!
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
September 25, 2013
I hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather, I certainly know I am!
We are currently on Week 5 for spelling. Next week I will be sending out individualized lists. If you would like to check with me to see what list your child will be bringing home please let me know.
Although we are continuing to study the Monarch Butterfly in Science we have had very poor results with the Monarch Caterpillars in our classroom. Apparently there is a disease that is affecting the caterpillars, and causing them to die:( The good news is that Pendleton Farms has had good luck with their caterpillars, and we have scheduled a trip to visit their butterfly garden for October 8th in the afternoon. Please look for a hard copy letter to come home tomorrow with more information. The cost will be $6.00, which includes picking out a pumpkin. If this is a hardship for anyone please let me know, no one will be excluded from going on the field trip!
In math we are working hard on story problems. Right now the problems we are studying are comparison word problems. This hasn't gotten to difficult yet, but they will get more challenging as we study different kinds of word problems, and they will have to decide how to solve them. Ask your kiddo about the CUBES strategy that we use to help us focus our thinking on how to solve a problem. C=Circle the key numbers, U=Underline the question, B=Box any math action words, E=Evaluate what steps to take, and S=Solve the problem, and check to see if it makes sense.
Also, we have two new students in our class, so we are currently at 16 students:)
Have a great rest of your week!
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
September 10, 2013
If you haven't heard a lot about caterpillars and butterflies by now I'm very surprised! Our butterfly larva came in last week, and have already more than doubled in size. We even had a full grown caterpillar sneak a ride on one of the milkweed plants I purchased, and he has already formed a chrysalis. We should have our first butterfly in less than a week. Ask your kiddo what another name for larva is, hopefully they will be able to tell you caterpillars:) Along with observing our caterpillars we have also been learning about the life cycle of the butterfly, and the body parts of the caterpillar. We just started our communities unit in social studies this past Monday. Hopefully in another week your kiddo will be able to tell you that there are three different types of communities, and what they are (urban, suburban, and rural). We will formally begin guided reading groups on Thursday the 19th of September. Until then, we are continuing to build stamina with our Daily 5 reading program, and practicing our routines for making Daily 5 choices. I can't wait to begin reading with your children on a daily basis - Just ask them what Mrs. Bellavia's FAVORITE thing to do is (aside from spending time with family:)
DON'T FORGET:
Grandparent's Day at Woodlawn Elementary is this Friday, the 13 of September.
Grandparents (or special friends) are encouraged to visit our classroom before eating lunch at 11:50.
Any questions about how this day is organized please contact the office.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Parent Teacher Chat Night
Parents, Don't forget Parent Teacher Chat Night is almost here! I look forward to meeting with you this Wednesday and Thursday:) It will be nice to have a chance to visit with you about your child:)
Also, my first attempt at blended learning has been posted; I hope everyone gets a chance to view my video before we meet. I am hoping to post a link to the video on this blog, though the technology aspect of this is still a work in progress for me. If I have a parent that might be able to help me with this please let me know.
Coming up next week you will begin hearing a lot about butterflies as we begin our butterfly unit in Science. We have butterfly larva being sent that will be here on September 3. This is one of the most exciting science units in second grade. We will be able to watch the larva as it goes through its entire lifecycle, and hopefully will get the chance to see a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis. In social studies we will begin working on our communities unit. Although not as exciting as our butterfly unit it will provide us with the opportunity to learn more about Lawrence, and the North Lawrence community, and to work in groups on a couple of fun projects.
Also, my first attempt at blended learning has been posted; I hope everyone gets a chance to view my video before we meet. I am hoping to post a link to the video on this blog, though the technology aspect of this is still a work in progress for me. If I have a parent that might be able to help me with this please let me know.
Coming up next week you will begin hearing a lot about butterflies as we begin our butterfly unit in Science. We have butterfly larva being sent that will be here on September 3. This is one of the most exciting science units in second grade. We will be able to watch the larva as it goes through its entire lifecycle, and hopefully will get the chance to see a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis. In social studies we will begin working on our communities unit. Although not as exciting as our butterfly unit it will provide us with the opportunity to learn more about Lawrence, and the North Lawrence community, and to work in groups on a couple of fun projects.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Welcome Back to School
Hello second grade families,
In an effort to make communication with parents easier I have created a class blog that I am going to use to post class information. You are receiving a hard copy of the first blog post for the current year. I am also emailing you with the link to view my blog, so please let me know if you do not receive an email with the link so we can work to find out where the problem is.
Please rest assured that I will not be posting any names, or pictures of students. This blog will only be used as a communication tool. When important information is posted onto the blog you will receive an email notice from me. Other occasional posts may be made without notification, so feel free to check for updates at any time. If you have any questions please let me know:)
Also, since I have some very hungry kiddos around 10:30 we will be having snack at this time right after specials. I am going to send home a snack calendar, which will start in September, and assign each student one day a month to bring a healthy snack to share. Ideas would include: Cheese It's, vanilla wafers, graham crackers, grapes etc. Please do not worry if you are unable to bring a snack for any reason. I will keep some extras on hand in the room:) The worst that will happen is we might miss a day or so of snack:) We currently have 14 students, so just about anything you send will provide snack for more than one day.
Don't forget Parent/Teacher Chat Nights are next week, please return your confirmation slip as soon as possible. If you need a different time please let me know, we will find a time that will work for you:)
In an effort to make communication with parents easier I have created a class blog that I am going to use to post class information. You are receiving a hard copy of the first blog post for the current year. I am also emailing you with the link to view my blog, so please let me know if you do not receive an email with the link so we can work to find out where the problem is.
Please rest assured that I will not be posting any names, or pictures of students. This blog will only be used as a communication tool. When important information is posted onto the blog you will receive an email notice from me. Other occasional posts may be made without notification, so feel free to check for updates at any time. If you have any questions please let me know:)
Also, since I have some very hungry kiddos around 10:30 we will be having snack at this time right after specials. I am going to send home a snack calendar, which will start in September, and assign each student one day a month to bring a healthy snack to share. Ideas would include: Cheese It's, vanilla wafers, graham crackers, grapes etc. Please do not worry if you are unable to bring a snack for any reason. I will keep some extras on hand in the room:) The worst that will happen is we might miss a day or so of snack:) We currently have 14 students, so just about anything you send will provide snack for more than one day.
Don't forget Parent/Teacher Chat Nights are next week, please return your confirmation slip as soon as possible. If you need a different time please let me know, we will find a time that will work for you:)
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