A December to Remember!

December started with not one but TWO snow days!

Between a total of three snow days and an early release day for professional development, it seemed like December flew by.  

Report cards went online on December 13th. Hopefully you have all had a chance to view your child’s grades. If you are having difficulty viewing the report card, please let the school know. One tip….you should view it on a computer instead of your mobile phone. If you have any concerns about your child’s grades, feel free to contact me.

We studied extended our social studies unit on Traditions and Customs by learning about Holiday Traditions and Customs Around the World. 

The children made holiday ornaments as a gift for their families. The children posed for photos as if they were “stuck in a snowglobe.” These photos were cut out and laminated in a snow globe template which the children signed. I hope you enjoyed this holiday keepsake of your child in second grade.

The children had a great time making “Ice Castles” on December 19th! Thank you to all the parents who sent in frosting and mini-marshmallows for the ice castles. Special thanks to everyone who sent in extra candy and other supplies to make our ice castles so interesting…and yummy. And a HUGE thank you to the mothers (Mrs. Alshihri, Mrs. Barrett, Mrs. Chavez, Mrs. Cunha, and Ms. Demers and my daughter Catie) who volunteered to help make the ice castle activity so successful! I have put the photos of the children proudly holding their ice castles on the 2019-2020 student work page.

We finished December with an all school assembly to watch the Kindergarten holiday show and our classroom holiday party. 

I want to take this opportunity to thank all the families for the special gifts you gave me for Christmas. It was very thoughtful of you to think of me and I truly appreciate it!

It was a December to remember for sure!

What A Busy Week! A recap and some important info about next week!

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What a busy week it was in C8! We had a visit from the Principal to give out first marking period award certificates, Parent-Teacher conferences, and our Grandparent Visit!  I am very proud of my students and was able to share that pride with their parents, grandparents and Principal this week.

openhs2I want to take this opportunity to thank all the parents who took the time to attend Parent-Teacher Conferences. It was nice to have the chance to talk to you about your child’s (or children’s) progress so far.  If you were unable to attend the conferences, please know that you can set up an appointment any typical school day from 9:15 – 9:45 to come in to discuss any concerns you may have. I can also discuss your concerns with a phone conference at that time as well.  Let’s all keep the lines of communication open so we can work together to support your second graders.

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Congratulations to all our students who got a special academic award certificate from our Principal, Ms. Smith. Your success has made us all proud of you. Keep up the good work!

Front row from left to right: Brooklynn, Kamran, Shiwaum, Emily and Gaige 

Back row from left to right: Britney, Brian, Mia, Ms. Smith, Mary , Hannah and Elizabeth                  

Missing from photo but also earning a certificate: Nicholas

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The students welcomed their grandparents and other special guests for their visit with a song called “Family Tree” by Tom Chapin. It is a song that reminds us that while we may have different cultures and traditions, we are all part of the same human family.  They did a nice job performing the song complete with sign language motions for the chorus.  After that, they made an “I am thankful” craft with their grandparents and invited them to share a snack time with them. Finally, the second graders showed off their classroom to the grandparents and posed for photos with them. I hope the grandparents and special guests enjoyed their visit as much as the students and I did!

Next week, we are having a shortened week due to the Thanksgiving holiday.  Our Fundations packet is due on Tuesday and the unit assessment will be given on that day.

Also, I sent home a blank page a while ago for the students to share a recipe as part of their Traditions and Customs Unit in Balanced Literacy and Social Studies.  I realized that I forgot to put the due date on the directions. Please have the printed recipe to school on Tuesday, November 25th. If you need a new copy, please let me know on Monday!

On the half day of school on Wednesday, November 26th, we are having a “Tasting Day” where families can send in samples of the recipe for the students to share with their classmates. We will be doing Tasting Day in the morning in the cafeteria with the other two second grade classes. The students are only allowed to taste food that comes from their own class due to peanut allergies in another classroom. While no one is mandated to send in food, the more food our class has to taste, the richer the experience for them. I hope as many families as possible will choose to participate.

Let me take this opportunity now wish you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving! ~ Mrs. Riordan

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Report Cards, Certificates and Reminders!

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Celebrating two of our Xtramath Superstars!

Today we celebrated two of our second graders who earned their Xtramath certificates for addition for demonstrating mastery of the addition table by answering all basic math addition facts in under 3 seconds per fact.  Tierra accomplished this on October 25th and Danielle completed hers this week on November 12th. They are now working on mastery of subtraction facts. It is important to note that we have another Xtramath superstar, Salvatore who completed both addition and subtraction while still in first grade and is currently working on mastering his multiplication facts!

Our second graders received their first report cards of the year today. Please review the grades with your child and return the signed card as soon as you can. The oral reading grade is graded on a S+, S, S- or U and is based on their Fountas and Pinnell testing and the reading level (1, 2 or 3) indicates if your child’s reading above, on or below grade level. The reading skills grade is based on the written reading assessments/tests. Science and Social Studies is also graded with S or U. I will be happy to discuss any questions or concerns you may have on these or any grades at the Parent-Teacher conferences on Monday, November 18th.

We are currently working on a combined ELA and Social Studies unit on Traditions and Customs. We will be talking about the students’ heritage/family history and the first project is the suitcase assignment which is due tomorrow. The students have to put themselves in the place of immigrants and pack a suitcase or backpack with the objects they would bring if they were immigrating to a new country. I have not assigned math homework tonight to enable the children to have extra time to finish this suitcase assignment. The children will be sharing what they packed tomorrow in class.

A second optional assignment on the Statue of Liberty was sent home today. It involves using the internet and since not all families have access to the Internet, this is not mandatory. The students who choose to do this will get extra credit (and a treat!) Speaking of treats, I sent home “homework passes” today with the eight children who had parents who commented on our class blog/website so far this year. Anyone who comments for the first time is still eligible to receive a homework pass for their child.

Another reminder that the Scholastic Book Club orders are due tomorrow (November 15th) if you plan to order any books by sending paper order forms and paying with cash or checks. If you want to order online, I can keep the online ordering open through Saturday as I probably won’t get around to placing the order until Sunday. Thank you to Hailey, Fatima, Tierra and Katie for their orders!