Grade 2

Click here to see an overview of the curriculum of this grade.
Click here to view the School Handbook (general policies for grades K through 8)
Click here to see photos from 2nd Grade
Click here to see the Classroom News of this grade

Parent Information

Welcome to Second Grade

We wish to extend to each and everyone a warm "Hello". After a wonderful summer, it's time to begin again. We hope your child is looking forward to the new school year that lies ahead. They will be going on an exciting adventure called "Second Grade." There are many new and exciting learning experiences they will be partaking in this year. We will try our best to make this adventure both exciting and enjoyable. You have many questions concerning activities that will be happening in the classroom this year. Many of these questions will be addressed on Curriculum Night which is scheduled for September 25th. Included in this newsletter are some of the most commonly asked questions by parents.

BIRTHDAYS

Birthdays are one of the most important events in the life of a young child. We are very aware of food allergies, and for this reason we are asking that only nonfood items be brought in as birthday treats. You are more than welcome to send in a goodie bag (with stickers, pencils, small toys) or non-food item for your child's birthday celebration. On this day your child may be “out of uniform.” You may drop the items off during the morning of their special day. Summer birthdays will be celebrated in June.

SNACKS

There will be morning recess each day. In line with our Life Threatening Allergy Protocol, children will get their snacks and bring them to the cafeteria. We ask that you send in a healthy snack daily, as lunch is not served until 12:00. Recess is from 10:15 to 10:30 daily. Children are also encouraged to bring in water bottles for use during the day. Please fill with water only.

SCHOOL DAY

Students begin entering the building at 8:05 and head to the classroom. Teachers are in the classrooms at that time. During this morning time the children unpack, get ready for the day, and begin morning work. This morning work acts as a review for the students. All students should be in the classroom by 8:25 AM for prayer. Students not in the room by 8:25 will be marked absent. The student must report to the office first if tardy. The children are dismissed at 2:40 PM. They have been assigned to a bus, or maybe they are walkers, extended day or car riders. If there should be change in their normal schedule, please let us know by way of a note. If you need to dismiss your child early, please send along a note in the morning, and be sure to sign your child out at the office before coming down to the classroom.

HOME-SCHOOL JOURNAL

The Home-School Journal is a method of communication that has worked wonderfully over the past years. Either you or we have the opportunity to jot a note or a concern to each other in a form that is not easily lost. There is a more complete description of this concept attached to the journal itself.

ASSESSMENTS

Second graders will be assessed this year in a variety of ways. There are more formal assessments in all content areas. Informal assessments include teachers observations, daily work, writing samples, activities, experiments and projects. Both forms are combined to best assess your child. There may be occasion for work to be corrected or completed during the day. We work with the children to help them understand their mistakes. Our goal is for the child to apply the skills and knowledge they have learned. Portfolios will be kept by each child. These portfolios include writing samples, assessments and “best work”. At the end of each term the children have an opportunity to review their portfolios to see their growth.

HOMEWORK

Homework packets are assigned on Mondays of each week. All homework is to be passed in on Friday unless otherwise stated. Homework assignments will be handed out in written form and explained each week. Homework reinforces classroom lessons, prepares for upcoming lessons and develops independent study skills. Children are also expected to read each night and to record their books and times on a Reading Log.

CLASS RULES

At the beginning of each year the children discuss and decide which rules are necessary for our classroom. These rules are then posted and reviewed whenever necessary. Our guiding principle is that each person in the class has a right to learn. Rules are kept simple, and focus attention on the 4 D’s. Behavior is inappropriate if it is dangerous, disturbing, destructive, or disrespectful. With guidance and reinforcement, the children can better manage their behavior.

CLASSROOM WORK

Second grade is filled with activities that include who class and small group instruction, cooperative groups, computer activities, group work, partnered work and individual work. Each class is made up of a diverse group of students with many different learning styles and needs. Children are encouraged to learn to take responsibility for their learning. We encourage each child to do work that is neat and to the best of their ability. Students are expected to complete their work in class. If a child does not complete an activity, they will be dealt with on an individual basis. Many of these procedures are a carry over from First Grade.

UNIFORMS

Please label your child’s uniforms. Please use the Student Handbook as your guide for seasonal uniform changes.

Our specials this year are:

• Art – Tuesday   
• Music – Thursday     
• Computers, Library, Gym - Friday

If you or you child has a question or concern, do not hesitate to let us know.

Mrs. O’Brien and Mrs. Lukach

Classroom News - December 2008

Such a busy month of all of us here at St. Mary School. We began the month completing our Service Project of creating and selling handmade Christmas ornaments. The ornaments were sold at the Craft Fair with the help of many of the Second Graders. Proceeds went to the Worcester Telegram and Gazette Santa Fund. This year the students were able to donate a record $283 to this program. The children also brought in donations to help the children of the Transitional Housing. All your donations have been truly appreciated.

Once again the Christmas musical was a complete success. The children would often enter the classroom asking that the tape be played so that they could continue to practice as they worked. The second and third graders were obviously the stars of the show.

The Second Grade will meet with their Sixth Grade Buddies before the Christmas break. Our buddies will perform several Readers’ Theaters they are working on. These are bound to entertain the class.

In math we have completed Chapter 10 – addition with regrouping and will continue to fine tune our skills in Chapter 11. The class did a wonderful job with their presentations of their Family Shields. Pictures will be added to the slideshow on the Second grade web page.

In January our author study will be Jan Brett. If there are any copies of her books at home, please have the children bring them in so that we may share them during Book Bin Reading.

Now is a good time to replenish supplies the children may need. These supplies include baby wipes, glue sticks, tissues, pencils, and erasers. Great items for stocking stuffers.

Classroom News - November 2008

Language Arts

Second Graders delved into the lives of the Pilgrims and Native Americans. Sarah Morton’s Day and Samuel Eaton’s Day follow the everyday lives of children from the late 1620’s at Plimoth Plantation. We read Molly’s Pilgrim as our book for Literature Seminar. In Literature Seminar the class discusses unfamiliar vocabulary as a group, and helps each other with meanings. We discussed a variety of questions that were suggested by the students themselves. The students tried to find answers to these questions in the reading, and if not, suggested opinions. One important aspect of Literature Seminar is that no one’s question is insignificant. The other important facet of Literature Seminar is that all students are expected to come prepared and participate in discussion. Participation is a very important part of Literature Seminar. Each student had a packet which includes a place for parent signature, book, vocabulary, discussion question, and an activity.

Each week the children begin their spelling week with a Word Preview. After each word is corrected letter by letter, we as a class look at each word to see if it follows a particular spelling rule or pattern, or if it is a surprise word. During the week, we play with spelling patterns, word families, making generalizations about spelling rules, etc. Usually on Friday the children complete a three-part assessment. In the cloze portion, words are given in the context of a sentence. The second part, skills, asks students to show that they are learning or have mastered general spelling rules. The dictation determines whether the student can now use words of the week in everyday sentences. Not only are words of the week assessed, but also words are reviewed continuously throughout the year. This aspect determines whether the student has mastered the word.

Through the Vocabulary series, the children increase their word background and knowledge of parts of speech. Multiple meaning words are common, and match up with many skills in the Language and Spelling series. Multiple methods for learning spelling are an important part of spelling. Most important is the child becoming the teacher to find misspelled words. Word by word checking is reinforced also in our weekly Oral Language exercises in order to become more adept at editing.

Our book bin reading selections through Christmas are a variety of Christmas books as well as an author study of New Englander Tomie dePaola. With his rich Catholic background, he has written many books that are perfect for this time of year.

Mathematics

Having completed Units 1 and 2 (Number concepts, addition, subtraction, graphing, and numbers through 100), the children are now moving onto Unit 4 (Adding 2 digit numbers). Our use of pretests shows this as an area that many are unfamiliar with, whether in concept or in vocabulary. The regrouping of ones into tens and vice versa will be a skill we will work on. We continue to monitor the children’s immediate knowledge of number facts through 18 by the two minute drills once a month.

Social Studies

Beginning with the creation of our Family Shields, the next few weeks develop the theme of immigration of families and groups to the United States. We learn the reason the Pilgrims chose to settle in the New World, and the hardships they would have had to endure were it not for the Natives. From there we will learn why other groups chose to settle as well. We find where our roots originated through the Family Shield project. And finally through the book Molly’s Pilgrim we learn that immigration and pilgrims continue still.

Religion

As we begin the study of the sacrament of Reconciliation, the children will have many discussions. They will be able to find many examples in their own lives of the times that they have sought forgiveness as well as those times they have forgiven. This is an important sacrament that Second Graders will receive during the month of January. Miss Sue Landry will visit our class and together we will begin to practice the steps involved. The children will need to learn the Act of Contrition before they receive this sacrament.

Upcoming events

• Holly Fair – December 5 and 6. The children are creating ornaments to be sold. The proceeds will go to the Worcester Telegram and Gazette Santa.
• Advent Angel – month of December
• Christmas musical – Wednesday, December 10th

Classroom News - October 2008

Language Arts and Reading

Second grade is wrapping up the first theme of the Storytown literature series – Count On Me. This series allows for frequent comparisons between fiction and nonfiction related stories. Leveled readers offer multiple readers different levels but the same focus skill areas. Our class continues to formally write at least twice a week. Students are writing their second story entitled My Family. Through “Writer’s Companion” and the focus skills, students are learning to develop a main idea and multiple detail sentences.

Spelling, phonics, and phonemic awareness are stressed through our daily group and partnered activities, such as tic-tac-toe, letter cards, sticky note words, and scattergories. We use word study groups, which add to the decoding skills of the children. Our vocabulary workbook has helped the children to use a variety of strategies that additionally help with their reading. Self-Selected Reading Block allows the children the opportunity to choose books of their own levels and interests. As we conference individually, we discuss plot and characters, setting and story problems. Group discussions add to our oral language confidence.

Mathematics

Our first unit combined number concepts, addition, subtraction, and data analysis. The use of correct terminology is expected, with new vocabulary introduced in most lessons. The children are also beginning to develop explanations for how they were able to solve the problems, whether through drawing, number sentences, or logical interpretations.

We are learning about different types of graphs, not only reading graphs but constructing them from tables, tallies, and surveys. And what better time than Halloween to sort, count, and graph some of the treats we have received.

Social Studies

Immigration and the study of our ancestors will begin with Christopher Columbus. By discovering this area of the world, Europeans began to settle. Who are our ancestors? Why did they come to the United States? Where did they come from? What were some of the hardships they overcame in both their journey and their early life here? We will read Molly’s Pilgrim for Literature Seminar to learn that pilgrims are still a part of life today.

Religion

Our main focus will be on two important sacraments: the celebration of the Mass and Eucharist, as well as that of Penance and Reconciliation. When we are welcomed into God’s family through Baptism, we become part of the community. Students learn that being a member of any community has its rights and responsibilities. We need to care for one another through not only our words but our actions as well.

Students are learning that they have choices in life, and through God’s grace we can make good choices. We are also learning that as we ask forgiveness, we also need to forgive others.

Classroom News - September 2008

The second graders continue to adjust to the routines and activities of the classroom. Mornings are filled with spelling and vocabulary, playing partnered games with letter and word cards, making as many words as they can with a given set of letters. In their guided reading the children predict using word and picture clues. Predictions change depending upon new clues as the story unfolds. We practice reading with multiple partners, increasing their fluency and developing their expressive voice.

The students each write in their individual writing notebooks, going through a process which expands their thoughts into clear, yet greater detailed sentences. We are learning to find and write the main idea for each paragraph, as well as the details which expand and clarify the sentences. These finished stories will be saved for each student, and at the end of the year, everyone will bring home a collection of stories. This collection allows the children to see very plainly the progress they have made over the course of a school year.

Math for the most part has been a review of before and after, greater than, less than, as well as simple math facts. New areas such as doubles, doubles plus one, estimating to the nearest ten are concepts from our program that introduces the children to different strategies they may use. The series also includes the development of key vocabulary which enables students to think more as mathematicians.

In Social Studies, the students completed the unit on Communities. Using the text, activity book, leveled readers, as well as “foldables”, the children are able to explain the types of communities, rules for living in communities, and how these can also apply to our own lives in school and at home. Key concepts such as friendship, cooperation, compassion are explored as the children brainstorm ways they exhibit these traits as well as how these traits are shown through the actions of others. What a wonderful way to explore “Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself”.

We look forward to meeting you at Parent’s Night on Thursday, September 25th at 6:30.

Mrs. O’Brien and Mrs. Lukach