Happy Spring and Happy Easter                                                               

                                                                                                               March 21, 2016

Dear Parents.

Thanks for making Parent Teacher Conferences great!!  Friday was definitely a packed day, but it was very fun to meet with so many families to discuss the progress of your student.  I only have a handful of conferences for this week and I am looking forward to visiting with these families as well!

Math

This past week students spent time exploring fractions.  So far students have worked on naming fractions of a whole, recognizing the unit fractions one half, one third, and one fourth.  Students have also worked on identifying, reading, and writing fractions.  

We worked on describing fractions by saying 3/4 of the shape is green.

3/4 is 3 out of the 4 equal parts.

Our work in  fractions will continue this week with an assessment on Thursday.  Here's this week's homework.

Monday	IXL  U.4-Which Shape Illustrates a Fraction?
Tuesday	IXL U.5 & U.9- Order fractions With Like Numerators
Wednesday	Review Worksheets
Thursday	No Homework--Happy Spring Break

Language/Writing

In language students have been working on correctly placing commas in writing.  We practiced writing friendly letters to place commas in the date, greeting, and closing.

Part of our language time was spent working on reciting poetry.  This falls under our speaking standards.  The poem students recited was called "On St. Patrick's Day".  As a class we came up with motions to go with the poem.  On St. Patricks Day we recited the poem to Mrs. Marsh's kindergarten class, Miss Garcia's class, and the front office staff.

Projects

Our new project is focused on plants.  Last week students soaked and planted bean seeds.  Each child planted 3 seeds.  The first seed will receive sun and water, the second seed will receive sun and no water, and the third seed will receive water and no sun.  It will be interesting to see how well the plants grow.

This week will be busy as we count down the days to till Spring Break!!  Wishing you all a safe and fun-filled Easter and Spring Break.

Happy Spring,

Miss Garcia

Quarter 4 Week 1 With Slideshow

Dear Second Grade Families,

Well here we are in the first week of the 4th quarter!  If the first three quarters have seemed to pass in a snap; I can't image how quickly the last quarter will pass!  

Thank you to all families who attended our Animal Presentations!  Remember, there will be a quick presentation for a few families who could not attend.  The students will present tomorrow, March 14th, from 11:00-11:25.  Please check out the pictures below!

Math

As we enter the 4th quarter, students will be exploring fractions.  We will be looking at wholes versus fractions, as well as halves, thirds, fourths, sixths, and eighths.  

Homework for Week 29

Monday	IXL U.1 - Equal Parts
Tuesday	IXL U.2 - Halves, Thirds, Fourths
Wednesday	Fraction worksheet
Thursday	IXL U.3 - Identify the Fraction

Language

In language students are working on 2 very important punctuation marks that are often confused, the comma and the apostrophe.  Students will be learning about where commas are used in dates, letters, lists, and in writing the names of cities with their states.  They will be using apostrophes in contractions and possessive nouns.

Writing/Projects

Writing was all about putting the finishing touches on our research papers about animals and creating our reports and slide show presentations to go along with it!  Although this project took quite a while to complete, I was very pleased with the finished product!  The kids worked remarkably well with each other and were very respectful of their partner's input/opinions.

Slideshow of our presentations

Slideshow design customized with Smilebox

One more chance to see Animal Presentations!

Dear 2nd Grade Families,

We had a fantastic turnout for our Animal Presentations.  However, there were a few families who were out of town or did not get a chance to attend so I am offering one more presentation of the 4 or 5 pairs of students who did not get to present.

These groups will present this Monday, March 14th between 11:00-11:30, right before lunchtime.  Please be prompt, see you Monday!

Miss Garcia and Class

Week 28

Happy Monday!

This is the last week of 3rd Quarter.  Thursday, March 10th, will be the last day of the quarter.  Wow!  The time has been flying by and our learning has gotten deeper and more extensive!  

Over the weekend, I sent out a conference sign up list through Sign Up Genius.  Please sign up for a time that accommodates your schedule.  If you are unable to meet at any of those certain times, then email me and let me know.  If you need to cancel and reschedule, sign back onto Sign Up Genius and delete your time, then reschedule a new time or email me.   At this point in the year, I have already let you know my concerns...most conferences will not take long at all.  I will give you your child’s report card along with work samples in which I used to grade the 3rd Quarter Standards.  Mrs. Rowlett will have also made comments and assigned reading and spelling grades to your 2nd grader.  I look forward to meeting with you all next week!

Our Animal Presentations will be held on Wednesday, March 9th, from 3:15 til 4:00!  We will either meet in our classroom or the lunch room depending on where we get the best internet access!!

Language

Our time in language was spent with producing, expanding, and rearranging complete simple and compound sentences.  Students did a fantastic job taking a very simple sentence and making it more complex by adding adjectives, adverbs, a "where", or a "when".

My dog ate.

Last night, my little dog quickly ate all the dog food in the pen before my bigger dogs could eat.

Students also practiced rearranging sentences.

Last night, before my bigger dogs could eat; my little dog quickly ate all the dog food in the pen.

Math

In math we have been spending lots of time on word problems.  While this is a skill that students have worked on weekly throughout the year, Miss Garcia and myself have been keeping it as our main focus during the past week.  Out of the 26 standards for math there are 3 standards that involve word problems.  Those standards involve word problems that have 2 steps and/or that deal with numbers within 100, use money, and measurement.  

Week 28 Homework

Monday	IXL P.14 Add and subtract money up to $1
Tuesday	Money word problem worksheet
Wednesday	Measurement word problem worksheet
Thursday	IXL G.16 Add four or more numbers up to 2 digits in word problems

Presentations Cancelled!

ATTENTION Parents, 

Our class has NOT had enough prep time to practice their presentations.  A few groups have still not practiced in front of the class due to some absences of their partners.  Also, we have been experiencing a lot of internet problems in which we are unable, depending on the day, to post our Slide Shows that go along with our presentations.  

I will reschedule for one day next week...most likely Wednesday.  I will also update it on the blog and let you know of a new date over the weekend.

Thanks for understanding!

Miss Garcia's Class