Sophia M. reminded me of a really cool website that she has been using at home to help her study her spelling words. This website is called "Spelling City" and it is a free website. You can put your words on it and it will give you a spelling test. It will give you games to play with your spelling words. You can print your words from the computer. Sophia's favorite game is called "Hang Mouse".
The month of December is always a crazy one at school. Kids are excited about their elves and Santa. (I can't believe how naughty some of the elves are!) Schedules get a little off at home and I try to do some fun stuff here besides what HAS to be done. Please help your kiddos remember that we still have learning to do and that it is important for them to still follow the rules to be the best learner they can be.
Achievement records are done and will be available for viewing on Powerschool on Wednesday. If you have misplaced your Powerschool usernames and passwords, you may call the office or email [email protected] for that information.
I do not write comments on the achievement records themselves, but have a google doc for each student that I add to as I grade papers or make observations. You will be getting these comments separately each quarter. Conferences are Wednesday after school and all day Thursday. I am looking forward to meeting with each of you to share about your child's 2nd grade year so far. If you are unable to make your schedule time, please email me or call the office so they can let me know. Next week is one of the best weeks of the year! I get to share your student's progress up to this point of the year AND we get to discuss how working together can help make your student even more successful! Please come with any questions or concerns that you might have!
**There will be no homework due next week! Busy times in 2nd grade! All of the beginning of the year assessments and multiple assessments required by the state are now done! Phew! Now I can really get things going! This week I intend to get Language Arts and Math stations up and running. This will allow me to start working with guided reading and math groups while the other kids work on relevant activities. Please stress the importance of working independently and quietly to your student. This is the only way that stations will run smoothly! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday! We made it through picture day....because we got our pictures taken FIRST this year! All the kids looked great and smiled so nicely!
I had the opportunity to read with the majority of my kids this week. (I still have 5 to go.) I plan on getting book clubs and language arts rotations up and running this week. Math rotations are my goal for the following week after we have finished all of our data and graphing activities. MATH TEST over Chapter 10 will be on Monday. Please use the Standards Practice book to help your child review for the test. Thank you for your continued support! I have been trying to figure out a way to make Read-to-Self time a more enjoyable time for the kids that will encourage them to WANT to read. Several years ago, I allowed my students to bring in pillows that were kept in their lockers and were only brought out during read-to-self time. I have decided to bring this idea back. Kids are welcome to bring their own personal pillows from home that will be kept in lockers and brought out only during read-to-self time. The kids will NOT be permitted to share pillows. This is merely a suggestions and is NOT a requirement. I understand that there may be concerns about germs and lice.
**I have not discussed this idea with the kids because I wanted you, the parents, to make the choice for your family without badgering...ummm...begging....ummm....persuasion from the kiddos. In an effort to make the cafeteria a more pleasant place to be, Mrs. Schone and Mr. Stranges have started to award the "golden spoon" to the quietest, cleanest, most mannerly class in the cafeteria. One class from every grade level wins. Today WE WON!! WOOHOO!!! As a result, Mrs. Schone gave the kids an extra recess this afternoon.
Today we had a district-wide lockdown drill. The kids had questions this morning that I answered to the best of my ability. I hope that I reassured the kids that I will do my darnedest to protect my "kids". (And yes, I do keep a baseball bat behind my desk just for that purpose.) I apologize for any frustrations you and the kids are experiencing logging on to Lexia at home! Clever is supposed to make that easier and they are still working on the glitches. To log on the first time at home, you will need to enter my long email address: [email protected]. Also, I discovered today that the passwords given to me for STAR/AR are wrong. The proper passwords are the same as the kids' google passwords. The kids will take their beginning of the year, benchmark STAR test starting tomorrow. I will be pulling small groups to do this so that I am able to keep the kids focused on the test. This is the test that is used to pinpoint students as 3rd Grade Guarantee kids. RazKids is ready to go! I input the kids' proper levels based on their end of year reading assessment. I hope to begin my reading assessments next week now that our reading stamina is up to nearly 10 minutes. We are still waiting to hear if the teachers will get a day with a sub to get assessments done. Now I am off to do a fair amount of grading! I am looking forward to seeing all of you at curriculum night tomorrow night-Tuesday, August 18 at 6:30. You will have the opportunity to sign up for volunteering and for conferences.
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AuthorThis is my first blog! I will be using it to share fun stuff, important information, or thoughts. Feel free to comment! Archives
December 2015
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