Happy New Year! We are looking forward to seeing all of our favorite second graders back at school on Monday!
We ended the Fall Quarter with several highlights, including birthdays celebrations for Sonali, Sebastian and Ms. Harrison (what a wonderful surprise!). We'd like to thank Lucy's grandma for making latkes with us and to teaching us about Chanukah with a story and some songs.
We also wrapped up our gingerbread man unit. After comparing several versions of this traditional tale, the children decorated gingerbread man cookies. Our study also included a gingerbread man tasting and graphing activity, and discussions/comparisons of story elements (setting, characters, refrain, and story ending). We will also share a reading of one of our favorite versions, The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School, with our video pen pals in India this week.
Finally, we finished our study of the whooping cranes by watching most of the movie Fly Away Home. This movie is roughly inspired by the life of Bill Lishman. As the Operation Migration website describes,
In 1993 Bill Lishman asked Joe Duff to join him in an attempt to conduct the first ever human-led migration of birds. At the time, Duff was a fellow ultralight pilot and a successful commercial photographer. The two artists-turned-biologists imprinted 18 Canada geese and, in the fall, they used two ultralights to lead them from Purple Hill in Ontario, across Lake Ontario, to the Environment Studies Division of Airlie Center in Warrenton, Virginia. Sixteen of those birds survived the winter and thirteen returned on their own the following spring.
In 1994, Bill and Joe founded Operation Migration. You can read more about their story and the making of Fly Away Home here. Fly Away Home makes such a meaningful connection to our study of the migrating and endangered whooping cranes. We skipped over some sensitive parts (such as a car crash at the beginning of the movie that claims the life of the main character's mother) but otherwise it is a lovely family film. You can read a review at Common Sense Media:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/fly-away-home.
WINTER QUARTER
Winter Quarter is a busy one and we have lots of events planned, including Whooping Crane Dance Party, Valentine's Day, Lunar New Year, a field trip to see the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and a trip to the Indiana Dunes to learn about how maple sugar is made. We will send you more details about these events as they approach.
Special classes and the Extended Day Program begins tomorrow. We will receive an updated enrollment list from the Extended Day Office. Please let us know of any other changes in your child's dismissal plans.
WINTER WEATHER TIPS
Just a reminder that we go outside almost everyday and we want your child to be comfortable outside. Winter has arrived and we are bracing for snow and cold temperatures this week. Here are a few tips:
WHOOPING CRANE UPDATE/PARTY
The whooping cranes arrived in Florida right before our Winter Break on December 11th. The seven cranes are now at their winter home at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge and are free-flying and wild! The young cranes will be briefly caught just once again tomorrow to receive their permanent tracking bands/colors on January 5th. Journey North describes their release,
After this first joyful burst of freedom, crew member Colleen led the birds around their expanded world. First she showed them the feed shed and the familiar feeders holding crane chow. They finished their tour at the oyster bar—the causeway of oyster shells covered by a few inches of water reaching one-third of the way across the pond and where the familiar plastic crane decoy was stationed. The oyster bar is where the birds will be called down at roost time each evening by the speaker playing the crane call. Surrounded by shallow water, they would hear the splashes of any approaching predators in time to fly to safety. Colleen and pilot Brooke Pennypacker will check on the cranes twice daily throughout the birds' first winter at St. Marks NWR in Florida.
In honor of the whooping cranes arrival at the winter home in Florida, we will celebrate with a Whooping Crane Dance Party on Friday, January 16th. Please help your second grader think about what black, white and red clothing he/she may have at home to wear for the celebration. We will invite everyone to dress in the colors of the whooping cranes! This can include hats too. Stay tuned for upcoming details about our celebration.
Ms. Harrison also carried several pounds of coins and paper money to the bank for the official total of our Change 4 Cranes fundraiser. We raised just under $1000! Bravo second graders! Tomorrow we will compare this total to our estimate. The children counted all the coins and bills by hand and it is common for their estimate to be different from the total. This wonderful math activity encouraged the children to figure out the most efficient way to sort and count so much money. There was lots of cooperation and problem-solving involved!
MISS CINDY RETURNS
We are happy to announce that Miss Cindy, the graduate student from UIC, will return to our classroom to complete her student teaching. Miss Cindy will be with us through April and she will work with Ms. Harrison to design and co-teach lessons. It will be wonderful to have a third teacher in the room!
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up at the beginning of February (2/6 and 2/12). Look for an email with the link to the online sign-up later this week. Progress Reports will be available online toward the end of February or beginning of March.
Be sure to check out the Gallery for many new photos. Enjoy your week!
We ended the Fall Quarter with several highlights, including birthdays celebrations for Sonali, Sebastian and Ms. Harrison (what a wonderful surprise!). We'd like to thank Lucy's grandma for making latkes with us and to teaching us about Chanukah with a story and some songs.
We also wrapped up our gingerbread man unit. After comparing several versions of this traditional tale, the children decorated gingerbread man cookies. Our study also included a gingerbread man tasting and graphing activity, and discussions/comparisons of story elements (setting, characters, refrain, and story ending). We will also share a reading of one of our favorite versions, The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School, with our video pen pals in India this week.
Finally, we finished our study of the whooping cranes by watching most of the movie Fly Away Home. This movie is roughly inspired by the life of Bill Lishman. As the Operation Migration website describes,
In 1993 Bill Lishman asked Joe Duff to join him in an attempt to conduct the first ever human-led migration of birds. At the time, Duff was a fellow ultralight pilot and a successful commercial photographer. The two artists-turned-biologists imprinted 18 Canada geese and, in the fall, they used two ultralights to lead them from Purple Hill in Ontario, across Lake Ontario, to the Environment Studies Division of Airlie Center in Warrenton, Virginia. Sixteen of those birds survived the winter and thirteen returned on their own the following spring.
In 1994, Bill and Joe founded Operation Migration. You can read more about their story and the making of Fly Away Home here. Fly Away Home makes such a meaningful connection to our study of the migrating and endangered whooping cranes. We skipped over some sensitive parts (such as a car crash at the beginning of the movie that claims the life of the main character's mother) but otherwise it is a lovely family film. You can read a review at Common Sense Media:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/fly-away-home.
WINTER QUARTER
Winter Quarter is a busy one and we have lots of events planned, including Whooping Crane Dance Party, Valentine's Day, Lunar New Year, a field trip to see the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and a trip to the Indiana Dunes to learn about how maple sugar is made. We will send you more details about these events as they approach.
Special classes and the Extended Day Program begins tomorrow. We will receive an updated enrollment list from the Extended Day Office. Please let us know of any other changes in your child's dismissal plans.
WINTER WEATHER TIPS
Just a reminder that we go outside almost everyday and we want your child to be comfortable outside. Winter has arrived and we are bracing for snow and cold temperatures this week. Here are a few tips:
- Children MUST have boots, snow pants, hats, and waterproof gloves or mittens to be able to play outside with us. You should plan on sending these items everyday, even when there isn't snow on the ground so your child can stay warm and dry. We have limited winter clothing items to borrow. Children who are unprepared may have to wait in the office while the rest of the class goes out to recess.
- We recommend that children keep a stick of lip balm in their backpacks for the rest of the season so they can avoid frequent visits to the nurse for chapped lips.
- Send a extra pair of warm, dry socks to keep in your child’s cubby in case his/her feet get wet during recess.
- Make sure your child has other shoes to wear during the day. Boots get too warm and often need time to dry out after recess. Your child needs P.E. shoes everyday except Wednesdays.
- Many children were having a hard time managing their winter clothing before the break. We strongly recommend that each child use a large durable canvas or vinyl bag (like the eco-bags used for grocery shopping) to take snow boots, pants, hats, and mittens/gloves back and forth from home to school. This way they have everything in one place and don’t have to go searching. This will help the children become more independent and responsible for their belongings as well. Please label the bag and everything in it with your child’s name, including boots. If your child loses something, please check the ESH Lost and Found - the closet across from the Security Desk in the Lobby.
WHOOPING CRANE UPDATE/PARTY
The whooping cranes arrived in Florida right before our Winter Break on December 11th. The seven cranes are now at their winter home at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge and are free-flying and wild! The young cranes will be briefly caught just once again tomorrow to receive their permanent tracking bands/colors on January 5th. Journey North describes their release,
After this first joyful burst of freedom, crew member Colleen led the birds around their expanded world. First she showed them the feed shed and the familiar feeders holding crane chow. They finished their tour at the oyster bar—the causeway of oyster shells covered by a few inches of water reaching one-third of the way across the pond and where the familiar plastic crane decoy was stationed. The oyster bar is where the birds will be called down at roost time each evening by the speaker playing the crane call. Surrounded by shallow water, they would hear the splashes of any approaching predators in time to fly to safety. Colleen and pilot Brooke Pennypacker will check on the cranes twice daily throughout the birds' first winter at St. Marks NWR in Florida.
In honor of the whooping cranes arrival at the winter home in Florida, we will celebrate with a Whooping Crane Dance Party on Friday, January 16th. Please help your second grader think about what black, white and red clothing he/she may have at home to wear for the celebration. We will invite everyone to dress in the colors of the whooping cranes! This can include hats too. Stay tuned for upcoming details about our celebration.
Ms. Harrison also carried several pounds of coins and paper money to the bank for the official total of our Change 4 Cranes fundraiser. We raised just under $1000! Bravo second graders! Tomorrow we will compare this total to our estimate. The children counted all the coins and bills by hand and it is common for their estimate to be different from the total. This wonderful math activity encouraged the children to figure out the most efficient way to sort and count so much money. There was lots of cooperation and problem-solving involved!
MISS CINDY RETURNS
We are happy to announce that Miss Cindy, the graduate student from UIC, will return to our classroom to complete her student teaching. Miss Cindy will be with us through April and she will work with Ms. Harrison to design and co-teach lessons. It will be wonderful to have a third teacher in the room!
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up at the beginning of February (2/6 and 2/12). Look for an email with the link to the online sign-up later this week. Progress Reports will be available online toward the end of February or beginning of March.
Be sure to check out the Gallery for many new photos. Enjoy your week!