Volume 5, Edition 8

March Birthdays

Tierzah turned 8 years old this month. Thank you for sharing yummy treats with our class!

Character Counts

Trustworthiness was the Character Counts pillar we focused on for the month of March. Small groups of students practiced "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" in our classroom. Later this week, we will perform the play for our classmates.

Social Studies

Next week we will be beginning a unit on citizenship. This unit will last about a month and the students will be doing a report and sharing it with the other second grade classes.

Interviews

This month we interviewed Mrs. Koletzky, Tyler and his mom, and Miss Vik.

E-Pals

Every other week we check our email and write back to second graders in Centerville. The students are getting very good at replying and composing. If you would like to send an email message to your child you can email him/her at

Science

Weather has been the focus during science. Students made pinwheels and tried them out. We learned about different types of clouds and did a static electricity experiment. Look at the sky with your child. What type of clouds do you see?

Math

We have finished a Unit on Multiplication and Division. We learned key words that describe each type of problem. The students have also been practicing counting by 3's & 4's. At home talk about dividing or sharing snacks with family members.

Opinions/Facts

The students have been learning about the difference between facts and opinions. We have learned about respecting each other's opinions. Each student is writing about his/her opinion on a local district issue.

Coming Up

April 1^st & 2^nd, 2004 – Standford Achievement Test Administered

April 9^th & 12^th, 2003 – No School - Easter Break

April 20^th – Visit Zoomobile @ the Armory (Week of the Young Child)

April 21^st – 1:30 Early Dismissal-Teacher Inservice

February 2004

Volume 5, Edition 7

February Birthdays

No student birthdays this month but we learned that Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rosa Parks had birthdays in February as well as 3 Presidents!

Character Counts

Officer Schnack, the school resource officer, spoke to the students at an assembly about respect.We have been discussing showing respect to others in our classroom by taking turns , raising hands, using manners, and listening to others.

Math

We have just finished a unit on mubers to 1000. We compared numbers using <and >, ordering 3 digit numerals, and addition & subtraction regrouping with 3 digit numerals. We will begin multiplication and division concepts.

Interviews/Guests

This month we had two more interviews - Mackenzie & her foreign exchange sister Kirsten and Crimson & her mom. SSG Tracy A.Fuerst, Tim's dad, also visited with class about Iraq and brought each of us some Iraqi money. SSG. Fuerst returned to Iraq with Valentines for our soldier pals.

Student Teacher

Mrs. Koletzky recently began student teaching in our class. She is a USD student who will spend 12 weeks in our classroom preparing to become a teacher. We welcome her to our classroom!

Health

Mrs. Koletzky has completed a unit on safety. The safety lessons focused on fire safety and stranger dananger. Please talk with your child about their fire safety plan and what to do if approached by strangers.

Black History Month

The second graders have been studying important contributions to our country made by Martin Luther King Jr., Ruby Bridges, and Rosa Parks. All the second graders gathered in the hallway to sing a rap honoring Rosa Parks. We also read books about each of these people.

Social Studies

Our history unit with a focus on laura Ingalls Wilder has come to a close. We enjoyed a variety of activities. Some of our favorite activities included square dancing, learning about bear traps, rope mking, Mrs. Stockland's slides and books, the spelling bee, Mrs. Passsick's antique museum, a classroom picnic, making log cabins, cooking, and old fashioned games.

Coming Up

March 1st & 3rd, 2004 - Conferences

March 10th - 12th, 2004 - Spring Break

March 19th,2004 - End of 3rd Quarter

March 29th, 2004 - 12:30 Dismissal - Teacher Inservice

January 2004

Volume 5, Edition 6

January Birthdays

This was a busy month in the

birthday department. We had 4 January birthdays! Kalli, Kelsey,Tim, and Crimson all celebrated birthdays this month. Jaden celebrated her 1/2 birthday.Thanks for all the yummy treats.

Interviews

This month we interviewed Abby & her dad, Abreaunna & her Aunt, Kelsey & her mom, and Jaden & her mom.

E-Pals

Each o the students has been assigned a second grade student from Centerville as an e-pal. Our first emails arrived last week. We will continue to email our pals throughout the year.

P.E./Music

The students have been learning to square dance with the help of Mrs. Fischbach, Mrs. Burbach, and Mr. Upward. The Red River Valley is our favorite! We will square dance with the entire second grade on February 6th.

Accelerated Reader

The students are required to read 1 Accelerated Reader Book per week. When a student has finished reading a book, s/he takes a quiz. AR books are available in the classroom and in the school libarary. AR books are color coded so students can select the appropriate level.

Heat

We recently finished a science unit focusing on heat. We did many experimants with Dr. Goodman, our Scientist in Residence. We concluded the ubit with a tour of the source of our heat at Austin School - the boiler room. Mr. Hansen explained how the boiler works.

Martin Luther King Jr.

We learned about Martin Luther King Jr. through books, a play and a video. The students performed a play detailing Dr. King's efforts to a first grade class. Each student recited a portion of Dr. King's speech.

Class List (16) for Valentines

Lydia, Austin, Dusk, Tim, Mackenzie, Jayce, Tierzah, Nick, Abby, Sarah, Kalli, James, Jay, Kelsey, Crimson, and Dylan

Coming Up

February 2, 2004 - 100th Day of School

February 6, 2004 - Laura Ingalls Wilder Day (more info.to come)

February 16, 2004 - President's Day (No School)

February 25, 2004 - 1:30 Dismissal - Teacher Inservice

Volume 5, Edition 5

December Birthdays

Happy birthday to Dylan Weidman

who tured 8 on December 19th.

Interviews

This month we interviewed Nick and his grandpa, James and his mom, and Dylan and his mom

Math

We have begun chapter 9 which focuses on subtracting 2 digit numbers with regrouping. C.O.B.S. is a strategy we use to help us decide if regrouping is necessary. Please ack your child about the rest of the pross.

Good Deeds

Caring was the pillar we focused on this month.The students have been doing good deeds for two secret pals. The students then guessed who were their secret pals.

Reading

Students may continue to read throughout the month of December to earn a Book It ! Cerificate.! 1'.;ceeestamp the agendas when we return in January. The goal is to read at least 12 days throughout the month. Happy Reading!

SAT Practice

Each week we focus on math or language arts questions that are similar to those found on the SAT Test. Monday - Thursday the students participate in 20 minute learning lessons. On Friday, the students take an individual test. Some of the tips we have learned are read all the possible answers, take your best guess, and eliminate answers that are not possible.

Classroom Website

The latest addition to our classroom website includes pictures and comments from our field trip to the W.H. Over Museum and our Winter Program. You may access the site by going to @www.lv012.k12.sd.us.

Geography Play

The students performed a caring musical in our classroom this month. A video with the play is available for the students to check out using their Good Time Tickets.

Coming Up

January 5, 2004 – Classes Resume

January 9, 2004 – End of First Semester

January 17, 2004 – Martin Luther King Day (No School)

January 9, 2004 - Dismissal at 12:30 for Inservice

Volume 5, Edition 4

November Birthdays

We had one birthday in November - Abreaunna

Geography Play

We have begun rehearsals for our geography play. the students are learning songs and hspeaking parts that educate os about places all around the world. We hope to see you at the performance next Thursday.

Math

We are currently working in Chapter 8, which has the concepts of predicting and regrouping 2 digit addition problems. The students have been working with base ten blocks. They trade 10 cubes for a tens rod when regrouping is required.

Interviews

We have been meeting more families on Wednesday mornings. Thank you to Mackenzie & her mom, Dusk & his mom, and Tierzah & her mom for allowing our class to interview them.

Veteran's Day

On November 11th we took a walking field trip to the Veteran's Memorial located in the front of the Clay County Court House. Darrel Christopherson met us there and told us about the Veteran's Memorial. We learned that he is a Pearl Harbor survivor. We enjoyed learning about the six flags flying atr the memorial site. Check our pictures on our website @ www.lv012.k12.sd.us

News

Our class has been responsible for the school news broadcast the last 2 weeks in November and will also be in charge for 2 weeks in December. We had Dr. Mayer, Officer Schnack, Mrs. Burbach, Mr. Upward, & Mrs. Fischbach on the news, sharing favorite children's books during National Children's Book Week

W.H. Over Museum

November 25th found our class venturing to the museum to tour a display of flags and veteran's memorabillia. We saw an extremely large flag that flew on the SD Battleship during WW II. The flag had 48 stars.

Character Counts

During November and December, the students will be doing activites focusing on the caring pillar. Please ask your child about Silver Box Words.

Coming Up

December 1, 2002 - Winter Program @ the High School Auditorium @ 8:00 P.M.

December 3, 2002 - Dismissal at 12:20 for teacher inservice

December 20, 2002 - Dismissal at 2:00 for winter break

January 5, 2003 - Classes Resume

Volume 5, Edition 3

October Birthdays

Happy birthday to Sarah and Jayce who both turned 8 this month. Thank you for sharing the delicious treats!!

Make A Difference Day- October 25th

The second grade students wrote letters to SD soldiers serving in Iraq. One of the soldiers is Tim's dad. We plan to write again during the holidays.

Math

We have just completed Chapter 4. We continued to learn strategies to help us add and subtract like fact families and related facts. In chapter 5 we will be working on several concepts such as place value, ordinal numbers, number words, estimating to the nearest 10's, and greatest to least.

Interviews

We have been interviewing many second graders and their guests. Thank you to Lydia & her grandmother, Sarah & her mom, Kalli & her mom, Jayce & his Uncle Rob, Austin and his mom & dad, and Jay and his mom & dad for visiting our classroom.

6+1 Traits

This month we have been focusing on the trait of ideas. We made an idea page in our journals. We listed to music and drew what we saw and felt and then compared the different ideas. Some of the books that we read to study ideas were The Squiggle and Arthur Writes a Story.

Character Counts

Responsibility has been the focus of study this month. The students made a responsibility quilt which is on display outside our classroom. They also participated in an interactive writing activity in which we wrote about several ways to demonstrate responsibility.

Native American Day

Pastor sandy Aakre assisted the second grade classes and teachers in putting up a teepee that was donated by the Aakre family. We learned that the women were in charge of the teepee. We also saw some tools and furs that were used by the Native Americans. Sue Johnson showed some shawls and bead work and shared some Native American stories with us.

Fall/Winter Weather

Cold weather has arrived and with it has come hats, snow pants, boots, mittens, scarves, etc. As many students have the same snow pants and boots, it helps to have outdoor clothing labeled with the appropriate child's name.

P.S.- Don't forget to pack your shoes!!!!

Coming Up

Conferences- November 10th, 11th, & 12th

No School- Thursday & Friday, November 13th & 14th

Teacher Inservice-12:30 Dismissal November 18th

2:00 Dismissal - November 26th

No School (Thanksgiving)- Thursday & Friday, November 27th & 28th

Volume 5, Edition 2

September Birthdays

There were no birthdays in September.

Correction from August - Happy birthday to Nick who turned 8. Thanks for the yummie treats!!

Math

We have completed Chapter 2 in our math book. In Chapter 2 we learned tricks to help us add and subtract - fast 10's, number lines, and turnaround facts.

Character Counts

In September Austin and Jolly School students enjoyed a Character Counts Kickoff assembly at the High School. The elementary staff participated in skits demonstrating the six pillars of character counts. During October, we will be focusing on the pillar of Responsibility. Students can practice this pillar by bringing their agenda to school each day.

Word Work

One of our favorite word work activities is Guess the Covered Word. To help determine the covered word we ask the following questions: does it look right?, does it sound right?, does it make sense?. We transfer the questions from this activity when we are reading and some to a word we don't know.

Science

A variety of animals have been visiting the second grade classroom during are animal unit. We learned about animal classifications.

6 + 1 Traits

This month we have been focusing on the trait of organization. We read books that have attention grabbing beginnings and leave 'em hanging endings. We explored different ways to organize our names and pieced together familiar children stories by beginning, middle, and end.

Agenda

The students should continue to record pages read in the book icon in the agenda month page and have parents initial the book. Students are able to switch Unplugged books daily.

Flag Friday

The students have been trained to lower, raise, and fold the flag by Paster Sandy Aakre. Four 2nd graders are on Flag Duty each day. Recently our class was in charge of Flag Friday. We had flag folders, flag holders, and speakers.

Coming Up

1:30 Dismal - Monday, October 6th Teacher Inservice

Picture Day – Thursday, October 9th – a note has already been sent home with package options and prices

No School – Monday, October 13th – Native American Day Class

Classroom Website - check out our insect T Shirts @ lv012@k12.sd.us

Volume 5, Edition 1

August Birthdays

Happy birthday to Dylan and Dusk. Students may bring in a treat to share on their birthday.

Hall of Fame Interviews

This month we will begin interviewing family members. If you did not sign up at Open House, please come in and sign up on our sheet. Interviews are held Wednesdays at 8:40.

Math

We are working on odd and even numbers, graphs, tally marks, and reading for key words. When we see the words how many – we know we need to write a number. We will also be bringing flashcards home the month of September to practice and tally. Keep these in the agenda.

Reading

The stories in our first theme are centered around silly stories. Dragon Gets By is our current story. The students wrote a character sketch about the main character – Dragon.

Unplugged Reading

Students are asked to read pages in an Unplugged book each night.

The pages should be recorded in the agenda. The September recording form is on page 15. Please initial on one side of the book.

Flag Friday

The students are learning patriotic songs and how to do the pledge in sign language. Each Friday we gather around the flag pole with the entire second grade.

Classroom Website

The student's Dragon Character Sketches will be on display on our website soon. Check it out at http://lv012.k12.sd.us/

Agendas

The agenda should come back and forth to school each day. We have an important message or homework assignment to share with you each day. Students can demonstrate the pillar of responsibility by bringing the agenda.

Coming Up

September 2, 2003 – No School

September 2-4, 2003 – Substitute Mrs. Gamble

September 17, 2003; – No School Inservice