Happy Holidays !

I wish for all of you a very happy holiday season. I am looking forward to seeing all of you in January. Stay safe, stay healthy, have fun and have a good rest.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so proud of all my students! You have been working so hard and doing wonderful work and it shows. Keep up the great work. Our traditional second grade Thanksgiving play is approaching fast. It will be on Wednesday, November 24th at 9:30 am. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and travel safely.
November is always a very hectic month. There is so much to do and there is never enough time! We have multiple holiday days and we have several practices for the Thanksgiving musical and the big finale. We are also wrapping up the insect unit.
In December we will study about Mexico, the people and their culture. If you have items from Mexico, your child might want to bring it in to share on their sharing day. We will also include some geography, map skills, and volcanoes. Our next science unit will start in January after the holiday break.
I hope you will all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and safe travels where ever you may be going.

Hooray for Butterflies!

Our beautiful butterflies have emerged and are flitting around the butterfly house. What will happen next we wonder? The meal worms are alive and doing well. They are thriving on cornmeal and sweet potato. We are watching and waiting to see what will happen. Next week our milk weed bugs arrive and last we will welcome crickets into our classroom.

Our math unit has been practicing addition and subtracting, learning many different shortcuts. There are 14 lessons in this unit.

We started writing our books about the life cycle of the butterfly. This is the first quarter assessment piece in writing.

During reading we have been focusing on insect themed fiction books and will start non-fiction books next week.

If anyone has holly hock plants, we could use one for our butterflies. Have a great week everyone!

Welcome to Open House!

Welcome to Open House!
The children have worked very hard to have a good sampling of work for you to view. I am looking forward to seeing all of you tonight. There are sign-up sheets for parent conferences on the table as well as some volunteer opportunities. Shortly we will be in desperate need of Milo or Hollyhock leaves for the caterpillars. Please scope out a source now so you will know where to find them. See you tonight!

Home Work Procedure

Today we put all the HW for each day of the week in the planners and all the papers are in the yellow folder. The assignments should be done nightly and returned the next day. If you have a busy evening, the assignments can be done ahead of time, as long as they are completed and turned in on Friday. Once the planner is filled in with the assignments for the week on Monday, the children do not need to bring it back to school until the following Monday. I tried this last year and it worked out very well. With all the activities children are involved in it seemed to work well for families. I hope all goes well. Let me know what you think! Have a good week and remember no school tomorrow.

Off to a Great Start!

Hi all,

We are off to a windy and rainy start thanks to Earl. In the classroom we are settling into our routines and have gotten right down to work. The kids are great and so cooperative! Please help them to remember to bring their planners and homework each morning to school. If you write a note in the planner for me remind your child to show it to me. This is an important organizational skill in second grade. If you ever have any questions or concerns about homework send me an e-mail or note. I try to check my email each morning.

We have started our science unit on insects. If you have any interesting objects, dead insect bodies, or books we would love to see them. In math we have started the first unit and completed the beginning assessment. Formal homework for the units will start by the end of the month. This Monday the children will bring home their first list of spelling words. Each night there will be a spelling assignment to go along with the spelling words. Soon they will bring home a reading folder. In the folder is a book for reading aloud and a signature sheet. please record the pages/chapter read and return each morning to school. They are checked each day. The children should be able to read the book easily and fluently so if they struggle, please let me know. Likewise if the reading is too easy.

I am looking forward to a wonderful year with your children and value the trust you have placed in me. It will be great to meet all of you at open house. Have a good weekend! My best.

Welcome to the School Year 2010-2011

Welcome to second grade Thomas, James, Sadie, Matthew, Adriona, Finn, Justin, Emily, Gutherie, Luke, Dean, Ellie, Samantha, Riley, Kyle, Julia! I am looking forward to meeting all of you very soon. I hope you have had a great vacation time and are ready to settle into second grade. It is very exciting to learn many new things. One of my favorite units is the Insect Unit in science where we watch and observe the insect's behaviors. Have a good night's rest on Wednesday and I will see you all on Thursday.

Parents, please send me your e-mail address to goodyear.lark@jamestownschools.org; thanks. I look forward to meeting all of you too! Our apologies to those of you who mistakenly received supply lists in the first grade report cards. I have given those children the choice of leaving them in school or taking them home. Thanks for your understanding.

Walking Trip!

Tomorrow we will be leaving school at 8:30 and going to see the bee hives and then to the museum to see the farm exhibit. We will be back at school in time for lunch. Please have your child wear sunscreen, sneakers ( no sandals or flip flops), and a hat and sunglasses. Since we will be walking, I have suggested they might want a fanny pack with a small bottle of water and snack to eat while walking ( suggestions, fruit roll up, granola bar, etc.) Thanks!

Hello everyone!

Tomorrow is field day so .... remember proper clothing and sneakers, water, and sunscreen. We will be going outside at 9am. Just a reminder, the kids earned the privilege of not having the formal reading folder each night but they know they are on their honor to read 1 and a half hours a week. Most of them have indicated they are doing so. They still have weekly spelling and should be studying their math facts, telling time and counting money!

We had a wonderful afternoon visiting the 3rd grade. They children toured Mrs. Boothman's room, asked the kids questions and looked at their books. It was lots of fun and I hope this will ease some of the apprehension they may have.

We also had some very exciting news. Each classroom will be getting 4 new computers.

Dates to remember:
June 11th field day
June 14th in school assembly (am)
June 16th walking field trip to museum 8:30-11:30; this date is confirmed
June 18th penny carnival in pm
June 23rd all school assembly 1 pm

Report cards will go home on the 23rd. If your child is not in school on the 23rd the report cards will be mailed.

Good Morning Jamestown Almost 3rd Graders!

Good Morning,
I thought I would give you all some dates:
On Wednesday we will have a visiting teacher from EG for the morning;
Friday, June 11th is field day;
This week we will finish our last assessment - math;
Thursday, June 16th or17th (I'm waiting for a confirmation) we will walk to the museum to see a special exhibit about farming in Jamestown @ 9:00 am;
June 18th is the penny carnival in the afternoon after lunch;
and on our last day, June 23rd there will be an assembly at 1:00 pm!

So much to do and so little time...but we are right on track, chugging along!

Have a great week!

Field Trips This Week!

Tomorrow is our field trip to Watson Farm! Then on Thursday we will be going to RISD and Roger Williams park! It will be a fun week and I am looking forward to seeing some or all of you. Thanks. Please make sure your child is getting enough sleep each night as we will be having some end of the year testing. Have a good week and I hope to see you!

May 17, 2010

Good morning everyone!
It is such a beautiful day out. My meteorologists (I have 14 of them now) are telling me there is rain for tomorrow. If you haven't looked at last week's blog, there are some important dates for you. It's hard to believe that summer is almost here and school will be over. I have enjoyed this year so much with all your children. They are so enthusiastic and love to read and learn. As the school year is coming to a close, if any of you would like to conference about your child's progress, please let me know so I can make an appointment for you between now and the first week in June. It gets a little hectic the last week of school. Have a good week everyone!

Fantastic!

Like Charlotte who leaves clues and messages in her web, I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. We are moving forward with the farm unit and have a couple of field trips planned. Please put the dates on your calendar and join us if you can. On May 14th we will be touring channel 10. This will mostly be inside but if it is nice out we will be eating snacks and lunch outside. The permission slips are in the backpacks today. May 25th is the second grade annual trip to Watson Farm. It is a long and sometimes hot day. Please send plenty of water. Then on May 27th will be a trip for our class only. Thanks to a generous parent we will be going to RISD to look at the artifacts from Asia. Then we will go to the National Park for lunch and a program before returning to school. In the classroom we are moving forward with our studies. We are right on target for finishing all the second grade work. Have a great week!

Welcome Back!

We're back into full swing in the classroom. This week we will finish the unit on Asia. It has been fun learning about China, Japan and Korea. I wish we had more time! The museum artifacts have been sent home today. Our next unit will be the unit on farms and weather. This Friday we will be going to Casey Farm to learn about farm equipment and simple machines and how they help make farming easier. On May 14th we will be visiting channel 10 to investigate how the meteorologists predict and forecast the weather. The permission slips will be coming home next week. Please save the date if you would like to chaperon. We are on time for finishing the math and spelling units. Next week will be our last formal lesson on the 6 Traits but we are never finished writing. It would be fun to have a culminating activity at the end of school. Does anyone have any ideas? It has been such a great year with your children, they have grown up before my eyes and it would be fun to celebrate their accomplishments!

Recall...Recall...Recall...

My apologies for any confusion. Yes, it is true. I asked students to bring in the homework packets I sent home. I will send one home on the Monday after vacation. Have a great week of vacation and remember to keep smiling. My Best.

Dear Families,
The holiday and long weekend has passed but what beautiful days, sunny and warm! I hope everyone has pumped out the water and is nice and dry now. We are starting the week with a new math unit and will be working hard on Asia. The beginning of next week we will start a new science unit on weather. This kit is new to second grade so we will all be learning it together. The homework will be coming home today in a packet for the entire week. Have a great week everyone. LG

OOPS! Forgot to upload.

Happy cold Saturday! It's 22 degrees at my house down in the woods. This week there will only be homework on Monday and Tuesday. It will be review math and grammar worksheets. We had a great afternoon on Friday working on the simple machines building with legos all afternoon. We will try to finish up the writing this week so the students can share with their families over the holiday (if time).
We are getting into Asia and China in our social studies unit. The children have been reading folktales and fables and comparing them. If you have anything you would like to share with the students please send a note. We would love to have you come.
I am looking for someone to read with students on Tuesday and Thursdays first thing in the morning. Please let me know if you have time.
On Tues. or Wed. the children will be taking the math assessment for unit 8. We are right on target with the second grade curriculum. The children are fantastic and eager to learn and experience all the activities.
Have a great weekend and wonderful holiday next week.
My Best to all!

Another nice day! Hooray! A quick reminder to send in enough snack for your child. They seem to be hungry by 9:30 and then are out of snack for the rest of the day. With the weather being so nice they are using a lot of energy. Also if you would like to send in a snack to be shared with the class, that would be OK too! Thanks

Wow! What a warm sunny weekend and day today! We are moving right along in our second grade studies. All the homework for the week will be in their backpacks today. Do it when it fits in with your schedule. The students found another investigation for science they wanted to bring home to do. Sorry for the extra sheet of homework. On another note I need a volunteer who would be able to type some rhymes at home so we can make a class book. Thanks for all your help! Mrs. G

Hi all,
I hope everyone enjoyed their week off as much as I did! Now we are back to a regular routine. I have continued the weekly homework packets. It seems everyone likes everyone likes this for planning. In unit 7 of math it is exploration of many different concepts so you will see a variation in homework assignments.
We are almost finished with the Liquids and Solids in Science and will be starting Simple Machines. The students love this unit and the building of machines with Legos.
Our next Social Studies Unit is Asia - China/Japan/Korea. I hope to have a mini museum in the class. If you have something we could display please send it in but DO NOT send in anything that is valuable. Thanks!
We have almost finished the writing program and I am very proud of the students and how well they are writing. Please keep encouraging your student to check their written work for grammar and conventions.
Have a happy and warm week. Happy Birthday to Dr. Suess! My best.

February

MELROSE SCHOOL SPIRIT WEEK - FEBRUARY 8^TH-12^TH

WHO’S GOT SPIRIT? YOU’VE GOT SPIRIT!

MONDAY- SCHOOL COLOR DAY! WEAR GREEN/WHITE AND SHOW YOUR SCHOOL SPIRIT!

TUESDAY-DRESS AS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK CHARACTER

WEDNESDAY-CRAZY HAT DAY OR CRAZY SOCK DAY! CHOOSE ONE OR WEAR BOTH!

THURSDAY- WEAR SOMETHING FROM YOUR FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM

FRIDAY- PAJAMAS DAY! COME TO SCHOOL IN YOUR PJ’S!

FRIDAY- KNOCK THE PIN…TEACHERS VS. STUDENTS*

*EACH DAY YOU PARTICIPATE IN SCHOOL SPIRIT WEEK YOU WILL RECEIVE A RAFFLE TICKET FOR THE “KNOCK THE PIN…TEACHERS VS. STUDENTS” RAFFLE. STUDENTS WILL BE CHOSEN FROM EACH GRADE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GAME.

Report cards went home last Wednesday. I am so proud of all my students! Next week we will be finishing all our units and have the unit assessment in math. Please let me know if your child will be missing part of the week so I can make sure I send all their work home and they take the assessment before vacation. It is hard to do their best after time has passed.
Have a wonderful vacation. There will not be homework on Wednesday or Thursday except reading and folders will not go home over vacation. Please read books of your choice. Have a wonderful week off!

Hi all,
Sorry if I created confusion in the spelling last week and this week. They are review weeks so we just had a little fun with our words. We have been looking at words that sound the same but are spelled differently. Next week we will be back to the regular routine. Also this week they have had a little break from homework. Every so often families need a break. Several students have been out with strep throat and colds, including me. Just can't seem to get rid of it!
Next week we will be studying and reading about owls. Then the first two weeks in February we will be talking about presidents. We are looking at the properties of liquids in science and working on Unit 6 in math. The introduction to Unit 6 came home last week. We need glue sticks, pencils, kleenex and disinfecting wipes. Thanks.
All is well here in 2-1 and I hope all is well with you too! Have a great weekend everyone.

Welcome back!

School has started and the cold days seem to get colder. We have started learning about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and we are working on social study skills, mapping, time lines and graphs. We will soon start the new science kit, Solids and Liquids.
We have started unit 5 in math. The overview of the unit was sent home on Monday. We are back to the regular homework routine. Remember to sign the reading logs even if the book is not finished. Stay warm!