100th Day of School!

Yesterday, February 6th, was the one hundredth day of school here at St. Sylvester School. To celebrate this accomplishment, each of the students brought in their own collection of one hundred objects. During math class, we took a break from telling time and used our one hundred collections to see how many ways we could get to one hundred. The students made five groups of twenty, twenty five groups of four, and fifty groups of two! Each child made these and more groups with objects such as toothpicks, crayons, and even rocks! Thank you for assisting your son or daughter in collecting their one hundred objects. Ask them which other equal groups they made with their one hundred collection.

Reminder: Reconciliation Meeting

This is a reminder that there will be a Reconciliation meeting for all of the parents of children making their First Reconciliation on Wednesday, February 1st at 5:30 PM. The meeting will be held in the classroom (Room 205) and we will discuss the steps of Reconciliation along with ideas for helping your son or daughter prepare. See you then!

Author Study: Frank Asch

This week the second grade class is doing an author study of Frank Asch. Mr. Asch is mainly known for his Moonbear stories, but has written over seventy books. Moonbear is a silly character who often is confused by the way things work. He tries to nail down his shadow so it will stop following him and thinks the moon is talking to him when he hears his own voice echoing. After reading several Moonbear books, each of the second graders wrote their own Moonbear story the way they thought Frank Asch would write. Moonbear made some silly mistakes in their stories.

The other activity that the second graders enjoyed was going on Frank Asch website (www.frankasch.com). This websiteoffers information about the author, his books, and even animates a few. Everyone had the chance to explore this website in the computer lab. Be sure to check it out at home too!

Each of the students also made a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting Moonbear and his friend Little Bird. On Friday, we read through some of Frank Asch's poetry and the students illustrated this work in small groups. Both of these projects are hanging in the hallway outside of Room 205 if you would like to take a look!

2011 Christmas Concert

I wanted to say thank you to all of the families who attended yesterday's Christmas concert and potluck dinner! The show was an absolute success and I was so proud of the second graders and all of the work they put into preparing for it. I also am so thankful for our music teacher, Ms. Fox, who really stepped up the magnitude of the performance. All of the students were able to showcase their talents in a show that really got us into the Christmas spirit!

Dinosaur Science Project

The second grade's dinosaur science project was given out today. It is due back on Tuesday, December 13th. Each student was given one dinosaur to read about and research. There are two physical things due on December 13th. First, each student should bring a model representing their dinosaur. This model can be sculpted, painted, or drawn, but should not be just printed off of the computer. The second thing they will need to present is a piece of yarn or string that is the length of their dinosaur.

Every student will have time that week to present their dinosaur to their classmates. During this presentation, they should be able to pronounce their dinosaur's name. Lastly, they will be asked to describe what their dinosaur looked like and also tell three interesting facts about their dinosaur. At the end of the oral presentation, their classmates will have time to ask any questions they have about the dinosaur. Please help your child prepare for this longterm project at home.

Dinosaur Project Due: Tuesday December 13th

iPad Centers

Every Thursday the second grade class works in five centers around the classroom. Centers are small group areas in which each student works on a different skill. A good example of centers that we use are: an individual writing center at desks, listening to books on tape, and reading in a small group with a teacher. For the past few Thursdays, the second graders have been using a new, very exciting center - an iPad center!! Each child gets a chance to work with a partner on building words or connecting sounds to letters. I have been very impressed with how quickly the students in this classroom have learned to use the iPads appropriately and carefully. Ask your son or daughter which iPad app they worked on this week in centers!

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween from the second grade class at St. Sylvester School!

Hispanic Heritage Month!!

Hispanic Heritage month is celebrated from September 15th - October 15th. To culminate our studies of Spanish speaking countries, St. Sylvester School had a cultural touring day last Friday, October 14th. The second grade class studied Chile in South America. Each student made a Chilean flag with tissue paper and compared it to our own flag. Then Ms. Brittany shared a beautiful poem by Chilean poet laureate, Pablo Neruda entitled "Bird." Each student had a different section of the poem that they needed to illustrate. Next, the students made fact maps of Chile. When you lift the flaps, you can find the answers to questions about Chile!

While the first, third, and fourth grade students visited our classroom for ten minutes each, the second graders took a tour of the other classrooms in our wing to learn about three other Spanish speaking countries. Ask your son or daughter about the other countries they "visited" and what they learned about them. Lastly, the first and second grade classes were invited to Senor Hurley's spanish room to learn about many of the other countries in South America. We had a great time learning about Hispanic culture and I think the students learned so much!

Author Study: Arnold Lobel

This week the second grade class has been studying one of my very favorite children's authors - Arnold Lobel. Arnold Lobel is best know for his Frog and Toad book series, but created over one hundred books in his lifetime. We started the week by learning all about Mr. Lobel's life; reading worksheets and even doing research on the computer. Next, each small reading group received a different book from the Frog and Toad series to read at home and in school.

After reading the first couple of stories, the class put together a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the two main characters: Frog and Toad. This a great way to organized comparing information and we will be using them throughout the school year. The last activitiy was a "five finger summary." On this organizer, each child traced their hand and put question words atop each finger. By answering the question words for their favorite Frog and Toad story, they are summarizing the most important information. Be sure to ask your son or daughter which story was their favorite and look for all of their outstanding Arnold Lobel work in the hallway outside our classroom!

Plants

The second grade class just wrapped up their first science unit which focused on plants. A few weeks ago, we went outside and everyone planted soaked lima bean seeds. Three seeds were planted in each cup and then watered and left in the windowsill. As we discussed plant parts, how seeds are scattered, and how people use plants, we observed the changes our own plants undertook. At one point, we noticed all of the plants were leaning towards the window. Ask your son or daughter about why that was happening and what happened when we turned them around.

The science test this week to finish the chapter will focus on new vocabulary, facts about how plants grow, labeling plant parts, and drawing pictures of how seeds are scattered. Please be sure to study hard as there is a lot of important information to remember!!