Updated Newsletter, November 15, 2019

Dear 2B Families,

Thank you to all of you who have signed up for conferences, I am looking forward to meeting with you next week!  In math, we have continued working on place value and are almost ready to move onto the thousands place value.  In religion, we have been discussing heroes and things that we are grateful for.  Yesterday, we celebrated World Kindness Day, by writing a kind note to a classmate.  The students were encouraged to continue their kind acts outside of the classroom, too.  In science, we started our exploration of rocks as geologists and learned various ways to describe rocks through their physical properties.  In writing, we completed our prewriting, rough, and final drafts of our leaf man stories—we’ve been busy writers this week!  I am impressed by the creativity in each story and can’t wait to share them with you at conferences!

Important Information:

Homework and Spelling: A two-week homework packet was sent home with your student last Friday and is due on November 21st.  We are continuing to focus on the phonogram sets of a-e (a consonant e) and ee in spelling.  The spelling test will also be on November 21st.  The Fall Report is due tomorrow, November 15th. 😊

Turkey in Disguise: We need your help!  Next week we will be creating “Turkeys in Disguise.”  If you have any fun craft supplies that your student would like to use in order to decorate their turkey, please send it with them on Monday, 11/18.  Turkeys in disguise in the past have been decorated with gems, fabric, clothes and shoes cut from magazine ads, ribbons, etc. (nothing heavy, though).  We will be decorating these in class and writing a persuasive argument.  Please help the turkey successfully make it to December!

SMM Thanksgiving Food Drive: Tomorrow is the last day to donate!  2nd grade is collecting canned pineapples.

Conferences: Conferences will be held Friday, 11/22, Monday, 11/25, and Tuesday 11/26.  I am looking forward to discussing all the great things your student is doing in class!

Thank you for all your support!  Have a great weekend!

Warm regards,

Addison Borseth

Second Grade Teacher

Weekly Newsletter, November 7, 2019

Dear 2B Families,

November is already flying by and I am truly enjoying each day with the class.  I am looking forward to meeting with you at conferences toward the end of the month!  In math, we have been working on place value up to 100.  In reading, we have been setting individual CAFÉ goals for our reading development and working in small groups.  We added a strategy to the CAFÉ menu for “think of a word that makes sense.”  In science, we wrapped up our unit on matter and will be putting on our geologist hats next week to learn about rocks and minerals.  In religion, we have been discussing prayer and the saints.  In social studies, we discussed the importance of Veterans Day and wrote letters to veterans.

Important Information:

Homework and Spelling: A two-week homework packet will be sent home with your student tomorrow and is due on November 21st.  For the upcoming two weeks, we will be focusing on the phonogram sets of a-e (a consonant e) and ee.  The spelling test will also be on November 21st.  The Fall Report is due November 15th. 😊

Progress Reports: Progress reports will be sent home with your student tomorrow, their MAP results will also be included with their reports.

Veterans Day 11/11: Red, White, and Blue day free dress tomorrow.  There will be no school on Monday, November 11th in observance of Veterans Day.

I hope you have had a wonderful week and a nice long weekend!

Sincerely,

Addison Borseth

Second Grade Teacher

Weekly Newsletter, November 4, 2019

Hello 2B Families,

We had a spook-tastic time in second grade last week incorporating Halloween into many of our learning targets!  In science, we finished out our unit on magnets and will be completing a study and assessment during the upcoming week.  In language arts and spelling, we met the “Cha Cha Chimps” to discuss our “ch” digraph and then “Whitey the Whale” to help us hunt for our “wh” digraph sound.  In religion, we discussed saints as heroes in preparation for All Saints Day on Friday.  In math, we took our assessment on place value and are ready to move on to the hundreds place value!  In social studies, we compared the traditions of Halloween and Día de los Muertos.  We will be visiting an altar in honor of Día de los Muertos to learn more about this tradition.  The students were excited to discuss some new Spanish words, I will be implementing this more in the classroom due to the outstanding interest.

Important Information:

Homework and Spelling: In the upcoming week, we will be focusing on the FLOSS rule in spelling.  This rule states that: when a one-syllable word has a short vowel sound followed by the sound \f\, \l\, \s\, or \z\, it usually is spelled ff, ll, ss, or zz.  Some examples of floss words are: puff, hill, floss, and buzz.

The homework packet is due on November 8th.  The Fall Report is due November 15th. 😊

Mass 11/6: We will be attending mass this Wednesday.  Please make sure you child is in full-uniform this day!

Veterans Day 11/11: There will be no school on Monday, November 11th in observance of Veterans Day.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Addison Borseth

Second Grade Teacher

Weekly Newsletter, October 25, 2019

Dear 2B Families,

In second grade this week, we have been learning about all sorts of exciting things.  In science, we discussed magnets and magnetic attraction.  The students were thrilled to find various objects in our classroom that their magnets were attracted to.  In language arts and spelling, we met “SHeldon the friendly SHeet ghost” to discuss our “sh” digraph and today we met “TooTHy TH” a tooth wizard.  In language arts, we have started drafting our leaf creature stories that we will be sharing with you at conferences in November.  In math, we began discussing place value.  The students are grasping the concepts so quickly that we will be ready to move into the hundreds place value by next week!

Please see below for more information regarding our Halloween festivities beginning tomorrow with the Halloween Carnival and a sign-up for our classroom Halloween Festival!

Homework and Spelling: In the upcoming week, we will be focusing on “wh” and “ch” digraphs in spelling.  The homework packet is due on November 1st.  The Fall Report is due November 15th. 😊

Halloween Carnival (10/25): 6-9:00 p.m.

Join SMM families for this fun-filled event!  Students may wear their costumes for the carnival.

Halloween (10/31): We will have a Halloween gathering for the class next Thursday, October 31st in the 2B classroom from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m.  We are planning to have several activities for the 15 students in the class including: Pumpkin Cookie Decorating, Halloween Bingo with Candy Corn, Toilet Paper Mummy, dancing and more!  In order for our party to be successful, we need some help!  Please use the signup.com link, we are looking for 3 parent volunteers and various items:  https://signup.com/go/SVuHDVx

Halloween and All Saints Day Expectations: (If you dress up for Halloween, you must dress up as a saint on All Saints Day Friday, November 1)

  • Costumes are not mandatory. Participation is optional.
  • No masks
  • No weapons of any kind, including weapon replicas and toys, such as a light saber
  • No Clowns (I know this may seem extreme, but I would rather be cautious with all this scary clown over the past couple years.)
  • Light face paint is O.K. (Please don’t go overboard.)
  • The nature of the costume needs to appropriate for all grade levels. Please be mindful of the fit and length of costumes.
  • No mouth items, such as fake teeth and lips (We do not want to hinder a student’s ability to participate in class.)
  • Students will be participating in classes as normally scheduled. Therefore, if your child has P.E., please choose or alter a costume to allow a student to participate fully in required physical actions.
  • All hair dye, face paint, nail polish, etc. must be removed by the next day or a student will be subject to disciplinary action.

All Saints Day (11/1)-Dressing up for Halloween means dressing up for All Saints Day!  Come as your favorite saint for our Saint Parade in the gym before Mass at 11:00 a.m.  While today is First Friday, it will be FULL uniform if your child does not choose to dress as a saint.

  • Here are some ideas for Saint costumes:

http://www.catholicicing.com/all-saints-day-costume-ideas-for-boys/

http://www.catholicicing.com/all-saints-day-costume-ideas-for-girls/

Thank you in advance for your help and support!

Warmly,

Addison Borseth

Second Grade Teacher

Weekly Newsletter, October 18, 2019

Dear 2B Parents,

It has been a fun-filled fall week in 2B! We had a blast yesterday afternoon creating our STEM Haunted houses for our ghosts based off our read aloud story “Ten Timid Ghosts.” The students worked in pairs to create a haunted house out of toothpicks, candy corn, and candy corn pumpkins. The students, then, filled out a chart on how the activity went. While it may look like just fun, there were a lot of challenges the students experienced. I was hugely impressed at the ingenuity of the students in figuring out how to utilize the broken pieces in their buildings. Please see the attached pictures from our activity!

Thank you to those of you who joined us on our field trip! We had a wonderful time at Carleton Farms on Tuesday, I have also attached a photo from our field trip to this email. Thank you also to everyone who attended Math Night last night, it was fun to see the students teaching our classroom math games to parents and siblings alike!

Homework and Spelling:
In the upcoming week, we will be focusing on “sh” and “th” digraphs in spelling. On Wednesday, we will be learning about magnets in science. You will be receiving a note requesting that you send a refrigerator magnet with your child next week for our lesson. If you do not have one, I have some extras! The homework packet is due on October 25th.

Fall Report:
Your student will be bringing home their Fall Report today! I will make sure to show a sample of a previous project in class. If you have any questions, or would like to see a sample, feel free to stop by! The product is to be student-made, but please assist your student as needed in collecting the materials needed for putting the project together. The Fall Report is due November 15th.

Halloween Carnival:
The Halloween Carnival is next Friday from 6:00-9:00 p.m. Just as a reminder, next Friday is also a half day. 😊

I hope you have a restful weekend!

Warm regards,

Addison Borseth
Second Grade Teacher

Weekly Newsletter, October 11, 2019

Dear 2nd Grade Parents,

We are finished with MAP testing!  The students worked very hard to complete their MAP tests this week.  I was impressed by their focus and effort throughout each test and day this week.  In reading, we have been working in our small groups, learning new vocabulary words, and focusing on stories in our Treasures Readers that include these vocabulary words.  The class has also been picking up on our new vocabulary in our class read alouds, science, and across various subjects.  In writing, we created pumpkin booklets to review our short vowel “u” sound from last week and incorporate other previously learned short vowel sounds.  In math, we are diving into subtraction.  We had an exciting lesson on Monday where we practiced “all or nothing subtraction” by popping balloons.  It was quite the eventful way to jumpstart our work in subtraction!  In science, we are continuing to focus on different states of matter, specifically liquids and gases.  Our lessons next week will include various experiments with liquids and even some popcorn, stay tuned for the exciting things that we are going to discover as physicists!

Important Information:

Vision Testing:

We have vision testing on Monday, October 14th, please make sure your student brings their glasses if they wear them.

Carleton Farm Field Trip:

We are very excited for our field trip to Carleton Farm on Tuesday, October 15th.  Here are a few notes regarding the trip prior to our departure:

  • Free dress for the 2nd grade students, rain boots and a rain jacket are highly recommended.  Students should bring an extra pair of shoes to change into after the field trip.
  • We will be departing from the school for our field trip around 9:45 a.m. and returning no later than 1:00 p.m., the students will be dismissed at 2:45 p.m. from school.
  • Please send a labeled sack lunch and water bottle/beverage with your child, we will be eating lunch at the farm.
  • Please also send a labeled bag for your student to bring their pumpkin home in.
  • If your child requires a booster seat, please send one to school with them labeled with masking tape.
  • There will not be an opportunity for the students to buy food or anything extra at the farm.

**I will send out a note to parent chaperones with further information on Monday afternoon. 😊

 Math Night

Math night is Thursday, October 17th from 5:30-6:30.  We will have an exciting candy corn S.T.E.M. activity and pumpkin investigation in the 2nd grade classrooms!  Hope to see you there. 😊

 Homework and Spelling:

In the upcoming week, we will be focusing on the short vowel “e” sound in spelling.  The homework packet is due Friday, October 18th.

Fall Book Report:

We went over a model of the Scarecrow final product during reading this morning, this is due next Friday, October 18th.

I hope you have a wonderful fall weekend!  Stay warm!

Best,

Addison Borseth

Second Grade Teacher

Weekly Newsletter, October 4, 2019

Dear 2nd Grade Parents,

We have had a week full of learning and are excited to welcome in October!  In math, we started brushing up on our subtraction skills this week by reviewing fact families.  I was extremely impressed with how well the class did on their first math and science assessments—they have been working hard!  We have continued learning about apples and carried that information over to science, social studies, art, math, language arts, and even religion!  We also had our first art docent lesson with Mrs. Peinado on Monday and learned all about the elements of art.  Please see the attached photos from our first art docent lesson.

Important Information:

 Homework and Spelling:

In the upcoming week, we will be focusing on the short vowel “o” sound in spelling.  There is no school next Friday, so the homework packet is due on Thursday, October 10th.

Fall Book Report:

Information regarding our first book report will be sent home tomorrow.  This is due Friday, October 18th.

Carlton Farm Field Trip:

I am very excited to report that we have enough parent chaperones for our field trip on Tuesday, October 15th.  We budgeted for a certain number of parents and have reached the amount.  Thank you for making it possible for us to visit Carlton Farm, it is going to be a fun-filled day!  Just a reminder that the student fee for the field trip is $7.00.  Please ensure this is turned in as cash or a check made out to SMM to the office by this Wednesday, October 9th.  Mrs. Olson will be emailing you if there is anything needed from the office if you have volunteered to drive.

Have a great weekend!

Warmly,

Addison Borseth

Second Grade Teacher

Weekly Newsletter September 30, 2019

Dear 2nd Grade Parents,

We have had a blast celebrating Apple Week in 2B!  Our applesauce turned out very delicious today.  In language arts, we have been discussing adjectives and using them to describe apples and other nouns in our reading groups.  We will be taking our first math test tomorrow and our first science test next week.  Please see the attached pictures of our classroom apple creations!

Homework:
A new packet will be coming home tomorrow.  Next week, we will be having our first science test.  Please keep an eye out for a completed study guide in your student’s folder.  There are some new concepts that we’ve learned in this unit, so any vocabulary review is helpful! 😊

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip: 
Our first field trip form will be coming home tomorrow!  We will be going to the Carlton Farms Pumpkin Patch on Tuesday, October 15th from 9:45 a.m. to around 1:00 p.m.  Please let me know if you are able to drive on the form attached to the field trip form.  The office must have record of Virtus training and car insurance prior to being cleared to drive.

MAP Testing:
We will be MAP Testing in the upcoming couple weeks.  Please ensure your child gets adequate sleep and has a healthy breakfast so they can perform at their best always, but especially during this time.

Our schedule for testing is…

10/2 MAP Language Arts Test
10/7 MAP Math Test
10/9 MAP Reading Test

Have a great weekend!
Warmly,

Addison Borseth

Weekly Newsletter 9/20/19

Dear 2B Families,

September is flying by!  In reading, we started reading groups and have been continuously adding to our CAFÉ menu.  We have also been discussing nouns and had a special lesson with Mrs. Latta on Wednesday (see the attached picture for our fun activity).  In math this week, we have been adding strategies to our addition practice and also working on problem solving.  Tomorrow, we will be meeting “Addition Addison” and “Subtraction Sullivan” to discuss key words that clue us in to whether the problem requires addition or subtraction (more, less, in all, etc.).  In science, we have been continuing to study the properties of matter.  We learned how to describe matter by its material, color, texture, and luster.

Boosterthon and Crazy Sock Day

Tomorrow is the school Boosterthon Fun Run!  Please have your child wear the white shirt they brought home in their backpack to school tomorrow 9/20.  We have almost reached $50 per lap as a class, which is amazing!  We reached our 2B class incentive of a Crazy Sock Day and are celebrating it tomorrow with our white jerseys.  Please remind your student to wear crazy socks with their shirts to school!  It’s bound to be an exciting day!

Apple Week

Next week, we will be celebrating Apple Week.  Our homework for the upcoming week includes an optional project your child may choose to complete, creating an “Apple Pig!”  Please have your child bring this in to share on Thursday, September 26th.  During this week, we will have a variety of in-class projects that have something to do with apples and on Thursday we will make applesauce for the birthday of “Johnny Appleseed.”  Please send one apple with your child by Wednesday, September 25th so that we can make our applesauce. 😊

Happy Apple Week!

Warm regards,

Addison Borseth

Second Grade Teacher

Weekly Newsletter 9/13/19

September 13, 2019

Dear 2B Families,

We had another great week in 2nd grade.  I am continually impressed by the wonderful behavior, kindness, and thoughtfulness of each and every student in our class.  This week learned our first CAFÉ strategy for reading comprehension, which is check for understanding.  In math, we had a race to 100 and have been working on broadening our number sense.  In science, we have started learning about the different ways to describe matter.  I challenge you to ask your child to define matter, you will be quite impressed by their knowledge.  Please see the attached pictures for some of our fun activities from this week!

 Important Information:

Homework: The students have a new homework page and spelling words.  The white form of spelling words will be sent home again on Friday.  The new packet is due Friday, September 20th.

Boosterthon:  The Fun Run is next Friday, September 20th at 1:00 p.m.  Please see the email I am sending out about our school fundraiser.  Our class has already raised $15 per lap, which is AWESOME!  Keep up the great support!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Warm regards,

Addison Borseth

Second Grade Teacher