Wishes and Dreams

Have we really been in school for over a month now? Time flies when you're having fun learning.

Thank you all who came to Open House. It was a pleasure to meet everyone and share our classroom with you. Family members wrote wishes for their 2nd grader on a big poster. Your wishes were touching, sweet, and simple..."to have fun", "enjoy learning", "be a good friend", "do your best", "have a good attitude", "ask good questions". I wish these will continue to come true this year and into the future!

This week we celebrated the 50th anniversary of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech. We had a rich class discussion and watched a clip of the speech. Then students found a comfortable space outside to write their own dreams for the world. They thought about a large-scale problem and how they hoped to make it better. Many of the students shared their writing with the class.

Ms. Holton, a beloved Kamali'i staff member and experienced 2nd grade teacher, came to our class to share her storytelling and writing expertise with us. Students have an exciting assignment for the long weekend: find a small object connected to a memory/story and prepare to share the story with class next week.

In our staff meeting this week we talked about the importance of students being "minds-on" while working hands-on. I witnessed this a lot while students studied Number Concepts in Math class this week.

Fun Friday!

Other notes:
Happy Birthday, Makena! Enjoy skating and pizza!
Mahalo to Grandma Paulette and Aunty Marnie for helping in the classroom.
I am looking for a parent helper to come in 8:30-8:45 each morning to check homework. Thank you!

Getting into the Swing of Things

Another exciting week in A6...

We started Social Studies this week. We learned about Rights, Roles, and Responsibilities.

Mrs. Gervais taught Character Education on Monday. As you can tell, the students adored her!

We started Hawaiiana with Kumu Bonnie! The students learned the Hakalama Oli.

We had another great P.E. class with Uncle Keith.

Students hard at work!

Other notes- Emma's birthday is today...Happy birthday, Emma!

Jacob's birthday is tomorrow...Happy birthday, Jacob!

Open House is on Wednesday evening with an optional spaghetti dinner beforehand. Hope to see you. 

Can Do Day field trip to the MACC is on Thursday, September 12. $8 is due Tuesday, August 27.

Week 2

Week 2 was short and sweet...
We are all getting into the rhythms and procedures of our classroom and school...

Reading-
The children learned our Daily 5 rotations. Each morning, after a mini-lesson students spend about 15 minutes at five of the following "centers": Read to Self, Read to Someone, Read with Teacher, Word Work, Write About Reading, Listen to Reading and Reading with Technology. We read our first story, The Mixed Up Chameleon by Eric Carle, a silly story about being ourselves. Children took their comprehension tests and Spelling tests today.

Math-
Continuing work on various strategies for addition and subtraction. You can practice math facts to 10 with your children at home (3+7=, 10-6,...etc.) They need the practice! We are doing Daily 3 rotations in Math- Math with Self, Math with Others, Math with Technology.

Character Ed-
We talked about our Character Counts traits- respect, caring, trustworthiness, responsibility, fairness, and citizenship. Starting next week our school counselor, Ms. Gervais, will teach the class every other week.

P.E.-
A big mahalo to "Uncle Keith" Zielinski for teaching this week. We had a lot of fun and exercise running, stretching, and playing kickball. We look forward to him coming back!

Library-
The students got an overview of the library's Destiny computer system. Now they know how to find books they are looking for to check out.

Art-
The children painted animals (real or imaginary) in the style of author/artist Eric Carle. They learned about "Roy G. Biv", warm and cool colors, and mixing colors. We have some talented artists in the class!

Other notes-
We celebrated Sophia N.'s birthday- Happy Birthday, Sophia!
Thank you to Joli's sister, June, who helped us in the classroom this week.
I will be asking for parent volunteers in the coming weeks....Stay tuned!
Enjoy the long weekend!

Working on Venn Diagrams:

Library:

Art:

First Week

What a terrific first week of school...
I am thrilled with this class! They definitely have plenty of energy, enthusiasm, and creativity!
We spent the week going over rules and procedures. We got to know each other and familiarized ourselves with many of the classroom tools. We organized our supplies and our desks.
We started Math- practicing basic addition. We made number bond bracelets (tiaras, mustaches, magnifying glasses...) with pipe cleaners and beads.
Students worked on self-portraits and writing about themselves.
We played soccer and tag in P.E. class. P.E. will be on Tuesdays. Please make sure your child has sturdy footwear.
We went to Computer class and Library. Most children checked out books and took them home. Ask  your kids how to take care of library books...they all know how. Our Library day will be on Thursdays, so if they have a book to return, please make sure it comes to school on Thursday mornings.
1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders had an assembly with Principal Otani Friday afternoon to go over school rules and fun facts.
All students were DIBELS tested for reading fluency. We also completed STAR Math and Reading tests in the computer lab.
We started Class Dojo. Your child will bring home info for you to log on and get weekly reports.
If you have not already done so, please turn in your Student Publication/Video Release Form and/or Emergency Card A.S.A.P.!
Thank you for your support.
These kids are super!!

Welcome Back!

Aloha and welcome to 2nd grade!

I look forward to a wonderful 2013-2014 school year. You can periodically check this blog to see what the students have been up to at school. We have a really exciting year planned...field trips, school garden, arts and technology integration, Specials- Character Education, P.E., Computer, Library, Hawaiiana, Dance, Music..., Science, Social Studies, and of course lots of Reading, Math, and Writing. Check the website http://standardstoolkit.k12.hi.us/ to read the Common Core Standards for 2nd grade to learn more about what we will be studying this year. Go to the 'Common Core' tab, chose 'Language Arts' or 'Math', then 'Standards by Grade', then '2nd grade'.

Reading- In class we will be using a big red book called Trophies filled with short stories. Most stories we work on for one week, some stories take two weeks. Usually students will bring the big red book home on Mondays to read for homework. Students will have a Spelling and Vocabulary list that goes with the story. Reading and Spelling tests are on Fridays. Please take care of the big red books. You will be charged $75 if they are lost or damaged- Yikes! Students must read for at least 20 minutes a night. This is so important! We will be reading many other fiction and non-fiction books in class as well. Our main goals are fluency, comprehension, and a love of reading/learning!

Math- Our Math book is called On Core Mathematics. We start the year off with building a strong number sense. We use a lot of math manipulatives, so students can touch, feel, and build with numbers. From that foundation, we move to drawing, and finally algorithms. This year, we will focus on double and triple-digit addition and subtraction, place value, time, money, measurement, geometry and basic fractions. Please practice any and all of these with students at home. We will be using ixl, Xtra Math, and Math Whizz computer programs which can be accessed at home as well. Students will have a Math worksheet for homework M-Th.

Writing- In 2nd grade our focus is narrative, opinion, and informational writing. Students will be writing, editing, and publishing personal stories, opinion pieces, and research reports.

Homework- Students should be able to work on homework independently. Parents can look at the homework to see what we are working on in class. Parents are encouraged to discuss, practice, and answer some questions about the subject matter with the children. However, if the child does not seem to understand the material please write me a note in their Homework Folder. Homework Folders will contain the assignments schedule, computer program website, login, and password information, and any paper/mail for parents. Math worksheets will be in the back. Students will use a composition book for Spelling/Vocabulary homework.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. It's going to be a great year!

Mahalo,
Ms. Lewis