October 4 Winds

Last Wednesday, we had our second 4 Winds! We learned all about life in the dirt. During the puppet show, Wiggle and Woggle worm helped us learn about what worms need to survive, and how they break down organic matter, like leaves and grass, into things that plants can use. Ask your child if they can remember the 4 things worms need to survive. 

Wear Red or Pink

Tomorrow is the Fun Run!!

If your child has something at home that is red or pink, please have them wear it to school tomorrow. Ideally, a sweatshirt, long sleeve, or jacket to wear as an outer layer. This will help me to be able to more easily identify which kids on the field are in Room 8.

Thanks so much,

Ms. Novotny

Busy Week Ahead

Tuesday, October 23rd: Pasta Dinner 

I hope to see you at the pasta dinner and book fair this evening. The book fair will be open all week long in the Learning Center before and after school.

Friday, October 26th: Fun Run 

Friday is our annual Fun Run! Our class will be outside running from 2:00-2:30. If you are able to volunteer to help at the Fun Run, please make sure you have completed the district wide volunteer form as well as the sign up genius. 

Kindness Challenge and Picture Re-Take

Good Afternoon 2nd Grade Families! 

October is National Bullying Prevention Month. Today we read a story about bullying and friendship called Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtenheld. We had a class discussion about the lesson the author is trying to teach us and how we can spread kindness at home, at school, and in the community.  

       
                              

In your child's backpack tonight you will find a "Kind Acts BINGO" game sheet. Students have been asked to complete as many of the acts of kindness on the game board as they can during the month of October. If they bring it back with at least 5 in a row completed by October 31st, they will earn a small prize of their choice. If they get 5 in a row quickly, they are encouraged to complete as many as they can for the remainder of the month. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.  

Wednesday, October 17th is Picture Re-Take day. We will also have our class picture taken on Wednesday. 

I look forward to meeting with all of you at conferences! 

Best,
Ms. Novotny 

Happy Friday!

Curriculum Updates 

In Social Studies, we have been learning all about different types of communities, including urban, rural, and suburban. Today, we began researching community helpers that we would like to be when we grow up!  Ask you child what community helper they chose to research. 

We are wrapping up our first unit in math- all about adding and subtracting within 20, solving word problems and showing our thinking, and identifying numbers as odd or even. 

Coding and Chess 

At Summit Street School we are very fortunate to work with talented and creative staff members who provide us with enrichment opportunities. We had our first day of Coding with Mrs. Duggan and Mr. Davidson today. Ask your child about what Coding is and what they learned how to do. 

We also had our first Chess lesson from Mr. Mills. Two of the most important things to know about Chess is that it is a quiet game and a thinking game. We are already well on our way to becoming Chess masters!  
  

Important Dates

• Picture Retake Day: Wednesday, October 17th 
• Parent Teacher Conferences: October 18th (please reach out if you do not have a time confirmed slot yet) 
• Book Fair Week: October 22nd-October 26th 
• Pasta Dinner: October 23rd 5:30-7:00 

Meet Gerald!

In case you have heard about Gerald and are wondering who he is, he is our take home class pet! Gerald will go home with your child on a Friday and must be returned to school no later than the following Wednesday. Gerald will come in a clear zippered tote bag along with a book and a journal. While Gerald is at your house, your child's job is to read to him and write about all of the adventures they had with him during their time spent together. I have done the first entry as an example of the types of information that might be included in a journal entry. They may write on more than one page. Feel free to add real photographs or your child can draw pictures to accompany their writing. If your child has not signed up for a weekend, they will receive Gerald on the next available date. I will let you know a week or so in advance in case there are conflicts with a particular weekend. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns! 

P.S. Gerald is machine washable and will be washed between visits, however please do your best to help keep him safe while he is in your home.

Friday Updates

4 Winds

This week we had our first 4 Winds! We did some exploration of leaves and worked as detectives to figure out what kind of critter could have eaten each leaf. We also learned about ecosystems and habitats from the characters in the puppet show. After the puppet show, we worked together to figure out who-eats-who in the ecosystem. Thank you Heather for coming in to teach us all about leaf eaters, habitats, and ecosystems!
  

    

 

                

 

Home Reading

Today we visited the library and learned how to shop for books for our reading homework. Each student has a mesh zippered pouch in their backpack with home reading books, a letter explaining reading homework, and a book log. Students will have an opportunity to return books on Monday's, Wednesday's, and Friday's. Please read the letter in your child's book bag and let me know if you have any questions!  

Trash, Compost, Recycling

Today three students from third grade came in to our classroom to talk about what goes in the trash, compost, and recycle bin. We practiced putting our waste into the correct bins at the end of snack and lunch. Ask you child to share with you what types of items belong in each bin. 

Book Orders Due

Book Orders are due tomorrow- Friday, September 27th. You may send in the completed order form(s) on the back page of the book order with payment, or order online. 

To order online, go to scholastic.com/bookclubs and enter our class code. 

Class Code: RBT6P 

Open House and Conferences

Open House 

Please join us for Open House on Tuesday, September 25th from 6:00-7:00. Open visit in the classroom will be from 6:00-6:30, followed by a curriculum presentation from 6:30-7:00. Your child has been working hard to show off all of their great work so far this year! We hope you can join us. 

Conferences 

A confirmation of your conference date and time were sent home on an orange slip of paper in your child's Friday Folder. Please let me know if you signed up for a conference and did not receive a confirmation. I look forward to meeting with you all in October. 

Happy Monday!

Ms. Novotny 

Sunband Celebration Fun

It was the perfect day to celebrate our safe, kind, and responsible behavior with extra recess!

Book Orders and Chromebooks

Book Orders

This year you will have the opportunity to order books through Scholastic every couple of months. The first set of book order flyers went home in your child's backpack this afternoon, along with a letter outlining how to order books online. Every dollar spent also goes towards new books for our classroom library. Happy reading! 

Due: Friday, September 28th  

Chromebooks 

Mr. Davidson will be coming to our classroom on Thursday morning to review with us how to care for the Chromebook computers. Students who have returned the Google Permission form will also be able to practice logging on to the computer. If you have not yet signed and returned the Google Permission letter, please do so so that your child can participate. 

Have a great rest of the week,
Ms. Novotny 

Happy Friday!

We made it through the first FULL week of school- Yay! Thank you for all of your effort to get your child to school on time every day. Seeing your child's smiling face walk through the door is my favorite part of the day. 

Parent Teacher Conferences

In this week's Friday Folder is a form to sign up for parent teacher conferences. Please fill out the form and return it to school ASAP. 

SMART Spots 

Starting this week, students were able to pick their own "SMART Spots" during independent work time. A "SMART Spot" is the work space that helps each of us do our best learning. Everyone has a different learning style and does their best work in spots that are comfortable and distraction free for them. It's not a chance to sit with friends or a time to visit. Ask your child what their favorite "SMART Spot" is in our classroom. 

Share

Starting next week, students will have an assigned day for share. They found out their share day this afternoon. In this weeks Friday Folder is a letter all about Morning Meeting with more information about the purpose of share and what it looks like in 2nd Grade. Students know that share is different from show and tell. For their weekly share, please help them remember that this is not a time to bring in toys or other tangible items from home. We will save those extra special items for show and tell celebrations! 

First Sunband Celebration!! 

Our classroom Sunband Jar is full due to all of the safe, kind, and responsible behavior demonstrated these first few weeks of school. We brainstormed some possible celebrations and took a class vote. Here are the results: 

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	Show and Tell	Extra Recess	Work Outside	Theme Day

We will celebrate our safe, kind, and responsible behavior with Extra Recess on Wednesday. 

Enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend! 

Ms. Novotny    

Welcome!

Welcome to our classroom blog! 

I will be using this blog space as a way to share with you all of the great things that are happening in Room 8. I will also post frequent reminders of important dates and upcoming events. Please feel free to post a comment or send me an e-mail (dnovotny@ewsd.org) if you have any feedback or requests pertaining to the blog. 

What have we been up to?  

Last week we were busy getting to know one another, learning classroom expectations and routines, and having fun. This week we will jump more into our math, reading, and writing units- while still having fun and growing our classroom community of course! 

Starting this week your child will be able to earn Sunbands for demonstrating safe, kind, and responsible behaviors in the classroom. I am excited to see how quickly we can fill our classroom Sunband jar! 

We are very excited to go on our new play structure tomorrow at recess.   

Reminders:

• If you have not yet done so, please return your child's Friday Folder with any important documents that need to be filled out and returned to school (ie. health updates, dismissal form, field trip release, etc.)
• Please review, sign, and return the Google Permission form, as your child will not be able to go on the computer without it. 
• Picture Day is this Thursday, September 6th- please return the picture order form if you would like to purchase copies of your child's school picture.