GREAT BEGINNINGS
It was a wonderful, busy first week in second grade! Last week, your favorite second grader went on a classroom scavenger hunt, completed a Find Someone Who activity that helped us learn a little bit about one another, went to Computer Class with Ms. Putman, began drawing self-portraits, learned about three ways to read a book with The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, celebrated Jayden's birthday and much more.
On the first day of school, many children admitted to having “butterflies in their stomachs.” As the week progressed and we got to know one another, those feeling eased. The children are adjusting nicely to new the routines and responsibilities of second grade. Your children are an eager, imaginative, curious, active group of students and we look forward to all the possibilities of the new year! Be sure to check out the Gallery for the highlights from the first week.
We hope you can join us on Parent Night (Thursday, September 18th) when we will share more about our classroom program and curriculum. The classroom will open at 6:15 p.m. and you will have some time to write a response to your child's letter before the presentation begins promptly at 6:30 p.m. See you then!
DISMISSAL
So far, our dismissal routine has been running smoothly. Thanks for your patience and cooperation and we get familiar with everyone's routine. Here are a few reminders:
MATH TOOLS NEEDED
As a part of your child’s math tool kit, he/she needs a collection of coins. These coins will be used throughout the year during math time as we learn to add coins together or make change. Please send the following coins to school in a small ziplock bag, labeled with your child’s name by Monday, September 22nd. We will return them at the end of the year:
20 pennies 10 dimes 5 nickels 4 quarters
SNACK DONATIONS NEEDED
We always try to have extra snacks on hand for times when a lunchbox is forgotten at home, when food falls on the floor, or when a child is still feeling hungry. If you’d like to help, we could use some granola bars, pretzels, goldfish crackers, etc. that are easy to store. Thank you!
DAYS IN SECOND GRADE
We hope that you have all had the chance to explore our classroom website. Here you will find answers to many general questions, how to contact homeroom and special area teachers, a classroom blog that contains frequent updates about classroom happenings, photo & student work galleries, weekly newsletters, and more!
Because there is so much information to share each week, we invite you check the classroom blog often to learn more about your child’s experience in second grade. We will often include many things that we just cannot fit into our newsletters. You can also use an RSS reader to subscribe to the blog and we invite you to follow us on twitter where we will post news/photos daily.
We welcome feedback on our class webpage and hope to get the children more involved in it as the year progresses. Please know that we will never post names attached to photos. Sensitive information will be password protected, such as our class schedule and directory. All comments on the webpages are moderated by teachers. If you'd like to leave a comment, please do not include your last name. For example, if you are commenting on a classroom project that's described in the blog, you can sign your comment as ____________'s mom or dad. We will share more information about our use of technology and social media later. Please let us know if you have questions or concerns.
FALL SCIENCE COLLECTION
Now that the season is changing, we will invite children to begin adding to our autumn science collection. Soon, the children will start collecting all sorts of beautiful fall leaves. We’d like to add some pumpkins, gourds or other fall plants to our nature collection. If you are at a farmer’s market, pumpkin patch or even just the grocery store, we invite you to pick up a few things to share with the class and bring a little nature indoors.
CULTURAL TRADITIONS
We love to celebrate and learn about different cultural traditions in our classroom. Each year we celebrate some school wide events, such as Halloween. However, other celebrations come from the students and the families in our class. In previous years, parents have volunteered to read stories, teach us how to play games, and make crafts and foods. We’ve learned about Hanukkah, Chinese New Year, Turkish holidays, Northern and Southern India, Irish folktales, Greek mosaic art, Mexican Easter eggs and more! If you have a cultural tradition that you would like to share with us, please let Ms. Harrison know. Our schedule is quite busy, so we’ll have to plan ahead. We hope you’ll participate!
CONFERENCE SIGN-UP
Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on Monday, October 13th and Friday, October 24th. Look for a separate email describing how you can sign up online. The link to the Conference Sign Up can also be found on the For Parents page of this website (password emailed to you). We will not post a sign-up sheet in the classroom. We’re hoping everyone will find the online system easy and convenient.
Be sure to ask your child about our read aloud, Gooseberry Park by Cynthia Rylant.
Enjoy the lovely fall-like weather and have a great weekend!
It was a wonderful, busy first week in second grade! Last week, your favorite second grader went on a classroom scavenger hunt, completed a Find Someone Who activity that helped us learn a little bit about one another, went to Computer Class with Ms. Putman, began drawing self-portraits, learned about three ways to read a book with The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, celebrated Jayden's birthday and much more.
On the first day of school, many children admitted to having “butterflies in their stomachs.” As the week progressed and we got to know one another, those feeling eased. The children are adjusting nicely to new the routines and responsibilities of second grade. Your children are an eager, imaginative, curious, active group of students and we look forward to all the possibilities of the new year! Be sure to check out the Gallery for the highlights from the first week.
We hope you can join us on Parent Night (Thursday, September 18th) when we will share more about our classroom program and curriculum. The classroom will open at 6:15 p.m. and you will have some time to write a response to your child's letter before the presentation begins promptly at 6:30 p.m. See you then!
DISMISSAL
So far, our dismissal routine has been running smoothly. Thanks for your patience and cooperation and we get familiar with everyone's routine. Here are a few reminders:
- If you plan to pick your child up from the classroom, please be there 10 minutes before dismissal (arrive by 3:00 or 2:00 pm). Please wait quietly in the hallway and we will send you child out when we are ready. If you miss us at the classroom, please meet us in the Lobby.
- If there is a change to your child's dismissal plan, simply login into your School Pass account and make the correction. Teachers and Extended Day staff are notified immediately.
- If you cannot make this change in School Pass or do not use it, please call the Primary School Office (773-702-4543) or the Lab Extended Day Office (773-702-9449) with the relevant information. You can also send Ms. Harrison dismissal changes via email no later than the night before.
- Be sure to display the bright blue dismissal sign (with child's and teacher's name) on your dashboard if you use the carline. If you need an additional card made, please let us know.
- Please contact the Registrar, Brent LaRowe at 773-834-8218 or [email protected] with questions or feedback about School Pass.
MATH TOOLS NEEDED
As a part of your child’s math tool kit, he/she needs a collection of coins. These coins will be used throughout the year during math time as we learn to add coins together or make change. Please send the following coins to school in a small ziplock bag, labeled with your child’s name by Monday, September 22nd. We will return them at the end of the year:
20 pennies 10 dimes 5 nickels 4 quarters
SNACK DONATIONS NEEDED
We always try to have extra snacks on hand for times when a lunchbox is forgotten at home, when food falls on the floor, or when a child is still feeling hungry. If you’d like to help, we could use some granola bars, pretzels, goldfish crackers, etc. that are easy to store. Thank you!
DAYS IN SECOND GRADE
We hope that you have all had the chance to explore our classroom website. Here you will find answers to many general questions, how to contact homeroom and special area teachers, a classroom blog that contains frequent updates about classroom happenings, photo & student work galleries, weekly newsletters, and more!
Because there is so much information to share each week, we invite you check the classroom blog often to learn more about your child’s experience in second grade. We will often include many things that we just cannot fit into our newsletters. You can also use an RSS reader to subscribe to the blog and we invite you to follow us on twitter where we will post news/photos daily.
We welcome feedback on our class webpage and hope to get the children more involved in it as the year progresses. Please know that we will never post names attached to photos. Sensitive information will be password protected, such as our class schedule and directory. All comments on the webpages are moderated by teachers. If you'd like to leave a comment, please do not include your last name. For example, if you are commenting on a classroom project that's described in the blog, you can sign your comment as ____________'s mom or dad. We will share more information about our use of technology and social media later. Please let us know if you have questions or concerns.
FALL SCIENCE COLLECTION
Now that the season is changing, we will invite children to begin adding to our autumn science collection. Soon, the children will start collecting all sorts of beautiful fall leaves. We’d like to add some pumpkins, gourds or other fall plants to our nature collection. If you are at a farmer’s market, pumpkin patch or even just the grocery store, we invite you to pick up a few things to share with the class and bring a little nature indoors.
CULTURAL TRADITIONS
We love to celebrate and learn about different cultural traditions in our classroom. Each year we celebrate some school wide events, such as Halloween. However, other celebrations come from the students and the families in our class. In previous years, parents have volunteered to read stories, teach us how to play games, and make crafts and foods. We’ve learned about Hanukkah, Chinese New Year, Turkish holidays, Northern and Southern India, Irish folktales, Greek mosaic art, Mexican Easter eggs and more! If you have a cultural tradition that you would like to share with us, please let Ms. Harrison know. Our schedule is quite busy, so we’ll have to plan ahead. We hope you’ll participate!
CONFERENCE SIGN-UP
Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on Monday, October 13th and Friday, October 24th. Look for a separate email describing how you can sign up online. The link to the Conference Sign Up can also be found on the For Parents page of this website (password emailed to you). We will not post a sign-up sheet in the classroom. We’re hoping everyone will find the online system easy and convenient.
Be sure to ask your child about our read aloud, Gooseberry Park by Cynthia Rylant.
Enjoy the lovely fall-like weather and have a great weekend!