Science Discovery Fair 2009

Today was a busy day for the second grade class here at St. Sylvester School. We began the morning by leading the 8:30 Mass. The second graders have become much better at participating by singing and responding as well as listening during Mass. Please remember that this Sunday is Palm Sunday, so go get your palm branches to honor the last Sunday of Lent and the beginning of Holy Week.

Soon after returning from Mass, we headed down stairs with the rest of grades one through eight to present our discovery fair projects. Every second grade student contributed to both the "Our Solar System" and "Weather Watching" projects in some way. Then, the class was split into two groups to present to the other grades walking around. They were also visited by Mr. Bennett and the science fair judge. Ask your son or daughter which part of the project they were the expert on. Later, we were able to walk around and see the rest of the school's awesome projects. Thanks to the second grade for all of their hard work!


Third quarter report cards went home today. Be sure to look them over and discuss them with your child. Please sign them and send them back next week. Once I note that you have seen them, I will send the copy back home with your child.

St. Patrick's Day Prayer Service

Happy St. Patrick's Day! The second grade did an awesome job today together with the first grade presenting a St. Patrick's Day prayer service to the school. We learned so many interesting things about Saint Patrick this past week including that his birth name was Maewyn, he was kidnapped as a boy, and that he used the shamrock to explain the Blessed Trinity to people in Ireland. Ask your son or daughter about which fact they shared today with the student body. And congratulate them on a job well done!

Terra Nova Testing

The first through eighth grade students at St. Sylvester began Terra Nova testing today. The second grade students did a great job concentrating on their work and trying their best. Please remember that testing will last all week. Your son or daughter should get to bed early, eat a good breakfast, and come to school with three sharpened number two pencils (with usable erasers)! There will be no homework this week, but we will be preparing for April's science fair and beginning our study of cursive in the afternoons after finishing testing. Thanks for your help at home in readying your child for this important week!

Reconciliation: Tuesday, February 24th

Please remember that the celebration of first Reconciliation will be this Tuesday, February 24th at 7:00 PM. Please bring your son or daughter to the church at 6:45 so that the service can start on time. Also, make sure that your child is dressed appropriately for such an important sacramental event (this means no jeans please!). Here are a few key concepts that you should review with your son or daughter:

contrition: being sorry for your sins and promising to not sin again
confession: telling your sins to the priest
penance: a kind act or prayer we do to make up for our sins
absolution: the priest's forgiveness of your sins in God's name

Lastly, practice, practice, practice the Act of Contrition! Each second grader has done a stupendous job readying themselves for this special occasion. I am already so proud of all their hard work! See you on Tuesday night!

Geometry

Here are the winners of our shape making contest! Each group was given seven figure outlines to fill in precisely with pattern blocks. This group of boys won after a lot of teamwork and patience. Everyone did a great job of working together and fitting together these many shapes to make new shapes.

The second grade has also been studying space shapes. These are geometric shapes that basically take up space. It took us three days, lots of glue and patience, but everyone was able to make their own set of space shapes. I hope that they are useful in our continued study of geometry.

Apple Tasting

We celebrated Valentine's Day in many ways today from decorating cookies with our seventh grade buddies to making valentines mailboxes out of old tissue boxes. But one of the most interesting activities we partook in was an apple tasting. Susan Taylor from the Good Food Project came in with several apples for the whole class to try. Ask your son or daughter about the steps to apple tasting: first smell it, then lick it, and finally chew and savor it. Each student chose their favorite variety of apple and wrote it in on the letter sent home. After the tasting, each student was called forward to make an "apple slinky" with a special crank that Susan brought. We all learned a lot about apples and how great they are for us! Look in your son or daughter's folder to find coupons for $3.00 off apples at a local grocery store.

Windsocks!

Today we took advantage of the sixty degree weather by constructing our windsocks and testing them outside. Each student labeled the four cardinal directions on their cardboard pieces and then affixed them to their wooden dowel. Before venturing outside, we checked the weather page in the newspaper to see their prediction. Then, we were ready to test the weatherman's prediction of southwest blowing wind. Overall, most students concluded that the weatherman was partially correct. We recorded mainly south blowing winds - which meant the windsocks were coming right into our faces! Try using your son or daughter's windsock at home with them. Make sure the corner labeled north is facing north and then watch which way the windsock blows!

We will continue to study the weather and seasons over the next couple of weeks. Try to discuss the daily weather at home with your son or daughter. And also ask about any activities or experiments we are doing in school!

Fr. Jose Maria's Classroom Visit

Fr. Jose Maria visited our classroom at the end of the day on Friday. Father took questions from the students about their upcoming celebration of the sacrament of Reconciliation on the evening of February 24th.

Award Winners

There are two awards given in each grade level at the halfway point in the school year and then again at the end of the year. This year our second grade winners are two students who are a great example for their classmates everyday. Congratulations to Nathalia Espinoza and B. J. Antolin! Nathalia was the winner of the Effort Award and B.J. won the Peacemaker Award. Everyone should keep in mind working hard in these important areas of classroom behavior.

P.J. Day!

The students (and even some teachers) were comfortable today! The majority of the students wore pajamas and brought blankets, pillows, and their favorite stuffed animals. We had two periods of D.E.A.R (Drop Everything and Read) during the day. Our first silent reading time was in our classroom after snack time as usual. Then, later in the afternoon, we joined the first grade in their classroom to buddy up for reading all different kinds of books.