The week of February 26

NEWS
This week was full on in 2AL with a beautiful Chinese New Year celebration on Friday morning.  I have uploaded some of the pictures in the shared album.  Here is a quick link to it.  I am also happy to report that the contractors fixed our A/C issues and our room is now cool and comfortable yet again!

As readers we’ve been using all our non-fiction strategies to access information on personal and dental hygiene which is our science focus.  Jotting down new information, making comparisons across texts, and growing our expert vocabulary were some of our mini-lessons this week.

As writers we have been busy editing our two informational writing pieces with a focus on accurate English language conventions, namely simple sentences and punctuation.

As mathematicians we have started our new unit 4 which is all about addition and subtraction using multiple addends and using 3 digit numbers.

As scientists we have now shifted to the third component of our healthy habits unit which is all about hygiene (both personal and dental) and what we can do to keep our bodies and our teeth healthy.

IMPORTANT

Please take note of these wonderful community events coming up in March.

March 3 - Walk for Children (event details here) 

March 15 - Run, Jump & Throw Carnival (details here)
March 23 - Terry Fox Run (details here)

UPCOMING

• February 27 - Mini Academies
• March 7 & 8 - Student Led Conferences (details below)
• March 15 - Run, Jump & Throw Carnival (details here)
• March 23 - Terry Fox Run (details here)

Also, March is very busy with two exciting events.  The first being March Book Madness challenge, which we will be kicking off as a grade level on Monday.  March is also the the start of the Slice of Life challenge which is basically a challenge to write every day for 31 days about a "slice of your life."  This is an optional event that students can choose to participate in but they will need to do the writing at home and then bring the writing to school for me to take a picture of and post (or you can also take a picture and email me a link to it;)

Finally, March 7th and 8th will be our Student Led Conferences.  We have been busily preparing for them this week and I know we will be very excited to share with you how we have grown throughout the course of this year.  Your child should have posted to Seesaw a copy of the letter with the date and time of your SLC conference, and a hard copy of this letter should have also gone home.  

DINNER QUESTIONS
* Why is it important to take care of my teeth?
* What facts have you learned about dental hygiene that surprised you?
* What is one thing this week you did that was challenging? How did you overcome the
challenge?

The Week of February 12th

NEWS
This week is going to be short and full with no school for students on Thursday and Friday.  Also, this past week we have had some technical issues with the air conditioning unit in our classroom.  We spent Thursday and Friday in the spare grade 2 classroom and had fun setting up a new environment very quickly.  The kids were very understanding and flexible.  The contractors were supposed to be coming in to fix the issue this weekend so hopefully we are back in Room 122 as of Monday.

As readers we’ve been busy becoming experts on a topic by reading across books. Students have looked at information in multiple texts and put them together to learn about big ideas authors are
trying to teach on their topic. We will continue to focus on comparing and contrasting information
that is similar and different across books on a similar topic. Also, how to ask and answer questions
and share facts with each other to show that we are experts, especially around the topic of nutrition.

As writers we are continuing to elaborate all we know about our topics with key words, facts and details and are organizing our chapters with good leads and wrap ups. We are excited to share these new books with you soon.

As mathematicians we have been learning about partitioning shapes equally and exploring equal shares.  We are becoming experts on fractions and how to describe them using thirds, halves and fourths.  We will be finishing up our fractions and geometry unit with our post assessment on content and vocabulary this week.

As scientists we are now learning about the importance of nutrition in forming healthy habits.  This week we explored the components of a healthy diet (proteins, grains, etc) and also did a little inquiry into the amount of sugar present in many of the drink choices that we can make everyday.  We will dive deeper into nutrition making a healthy menu and looking at what key nutrients each of the food groups provide.

IMPORTANT
Valentine's day is this coming Wednesday (Feb 14).  We will not be doing official parties on Wednesday, but will be having some fun with fractions and baking! Students are more than welcome to bring in Friendship cards to share as long as there are enough for the whole class (20).

UPCOMING
Here’s a look at our week ahead:
Monday (Day 5)
Tuesday (Day 6)
Wednesday (Day 1) LIBRARY
Thursday (NO SCHOOL)
Friday (NO SCHOOL)

DINNER QUESTIONS
* Do you have a balanced meal on your plate tonight, how do you know? What nutrients
does each food group provide?
* What is an act of kindness you have done for others this week?
* What is one thing this week you did that was challenging? How did you overcome the
challenge?

The Week of February 5th

NEWS

Thank you to all the parents who came to lead the mini academy on Monday! The hat parade on the hundredth day of school was a nice experience for second graders. Thank you for helping your child with their creative hats! 

As readers, students practiced rereading like an expert when they come across words that they are not familiar with. Rereading not only reinforces fluency but it also supports understanding. Summarizing continues with looking at the main topic, heading and key facts and details about the heading.

In writing, students have started a new book with a specific audience in mind. We are learning to use all the features of informational writing with purpose and are working towards writing an introduction to hook readers and a conclusion to wrap it all up.

As mathematicians we continued to practice noticing and describing polygon shapes and their attributes. We also explored cubes, including all of its associated vocabulary like edges, faces, and base. Finally we started exploring partitioning pans as the foundation for equal shares and fractions.

As scientists we are wrapping up our exercise part of our Healthy Choices unit and will be moving into nutrition next week, specifically the different food groups, and how we can make healthy choices regarding the food we eat.

IMPORTANT

After school activities start on Monday, February 5th. Your child should have sent you a picture of their ASA bus (as well as taken home a hard copy of the paper).

DINNER QUESTIONS

*What plane shapes do you see at the dinner table? Can you describe the shapes using their attributes?

* What is your nonfiction book about? What information do you think they want to know?

* How will you maintain a healthy exercise habit?

* Tell me about the book "Mahji Moves a Mountain." What was the author's message?