Dear Parents,

It was so nice seeing most of you at our second grade socials and Art festival. Thank you for bringing your children in for a fun gathering. Thanks for supporting the school. This is the fourth week of our fourth quarter.

Here is a quick look at our 32nd week for the school year:

LANGUAGE ARTS

SPALDING –We will continue our spelling words this week. Encourage your scholars to continue to practice writing their cursive. We will continue practicing in class as well. Students are not mandated to write in cursive now.

List 1: cheap, cheerful, chicken, driving, drive, echoes, echo, fairy, knock, leather

List 2: linen, mixture, nation, pause, peace, permission, rough, social, steal, strange

List 3: trophy, voices, voice, eight, ate, afraid, uncle, rather, comfort

READING – READING STRATEGY: In comprehension, we will focus on Sequencing. Students will retell the order in which a story is told. We will help them make connection to writing paragraphs and the importance of keeping their writing in a logical sequence.

POETRY: Title: “Harriet Tubman” by Eloise Greenfield. Students will do their recitals during the last week of school.

SAYING: Our saying this week is, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks."

GRAMMAR/VOCABULARY – We will focus on Antonyms and the four types of sentences. We will also introduce transitional words. Your child will come home with a list to practice with at home.

WRITING – As we continue working on Writing With Ease, students will continue to develop narration, dictation and copy work skills. Students will review letter writing this week as well. We started writing paragraphs officially this week. Students learned that a paragraph is made up of at least 3-5 sentences. It must have an introductory sentence, three support sentences, and a closing sentence.

LEVELED READERS – Your scholar will bring home a chapter book to read. Please, encourage them to continue to write their reflection logs. Please, have them take care of the book as well.

MATH

This week, we will begin learning how to tell time. This is usually a difficult concept, so we ask for parent support with reinforcing this skill through meaningful use at home. The goal of this week’s lesson will be to tell time to 5 minutes interval, and tell time as minutes after, or minutes past the hour.

SCIENCE

We will continue studying Magnets. The, we will explore magnetic fields, and North and South Pole of magnets. Our focus will be on the vocabulary: attract and repel. Students will learn about compass and its magnetic component.

HISTORY

  In History, We will continue the study of The Civil War. Students will learn about the two war generals: General Lee and General Grant. They will learn about the death of Abraham Lincoln, and also the roles of women during the war.

VIRTUE OF THE MONTH – Responsibility/Humility

To not be proud or arrogant, but to have a modest sense of one’s importance.

Let OTHERS go FIRST.

       

"Humility is royalty without a crown. Humility is greatness in plain cloth.”

                                                                     -Spencer W. Kimball

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• There will be neither reading nor Math groups this week due to the AZ merit testing. Our second graders are not doing this test though.

  Your child went home last week with a brochure that outlines all of the exciting camps being held, here at Archway Arete, during the Great Hearts Summer Academy. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Posner atjposner@archwayarete.org. 

• You are encouraged to try out this wonderful Math Resource KhanAcademy.org
• Current students will need to complete a mandatory re-enrollment packet for the 2015-16 school year. This packet is due back to the front office by April 17th and can be found here. Please direct any questions to the front office manager, Rachele Holcomb.
• The PSO Appreciation Dinner is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29th at 6:00 p.m. The teachers at both Archway and Prep are very excited to show their gratitude toward these incredible volunteers who gave their time during the 2014-15 school year. More details to come.
•  The used uniform drive is underway. If you have any uniforms that you would like to donate or exchange, please fill out this form and drop off your items at the front desk. Please contact Dee Ulano with any questions. T

Have a great week.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Toyin and Ms. Peterson

Dear Parents,

I hope you had a great three-day weekend. This is the third week of our fourth quarter. Every week draws us closer to the end. It’s becoming really hard to write my weekly news letters because they are a constant reminder that the end is near. I am excited though to see our wonderful scholars move on to the next grade level.

Here is a quick look at our 31st week:

LANGUAGE ARTS

SPALDING –We will continue our spelling words this week. Encourage your scholars to continue to practice writing their cursive. We will continue practicing in class as well. Students are not mandated to write in cursive now.

List 1: use, thought, person, nor, or, January, mean vote, court, copy

List 2: act, been, be, yesterday, among, question, quest, doctor, size, December

List 3: dozen, there, tax, number, October, reason, fifth, baking, bake, bowl

READING – READING STRATEGY: In comprehension, we will focus on Sequencing. Students will retell the order in which a story is told.

POETRY: Title: “Lincoln” by Nancy Byrd Turner. We will do a make-up for all those that could not complete their poetry recitals this week.

SAYING: Our saying this week is, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks."

GRAMMAR/VOCABULARY – We will continue learning about prepositions. They will learn the last six prepositions. We will also begin to look at synonyms.

WRITING – As we continue working on Writing With Ease, students will continue to develop narration, dictation and copy work skills. Students will review letter writing this week as well. We started writing paragraphs officially this week. Students learned that a paragraph is made up of at least 3-5 sentences. It must have an introductory sentence, three support sentences, and a closing sentence.

LEVELED READERS – Your scholar will bring home a chapter book to read. Please, encourage them to continue to write their reflection logs. Please, have them take care of the book as well.

MATH

This week, we will continue learning about fractions. Last week, we focused on identifying fractions and comparing fractions. This week, we will focus on identifying fractions within a group.

SCIENCE

We will do a very short quiz to round off our unit on Eating healthy on Tuesday. We will begin studying Magnets. Students will explore the kinds of material that magnets are attracted to. They will explore north and south pole of magnets. Our focus will be on the vocabulary: attract and repel.

HISTORY

  In History, We will begin our study of The Civil War. Students will be able to understand the disagreements between Northern and Southern states over slavery. They will learn about people like: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriete Tubman, and Abraham Lincoln. They will also learn about the story behind Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Underground Railroad.

VIRTUE OF THE MONTH – Responsibility/Humility

To hold yourself morally accountable for actions within your control.

OWN your actions

The price of greatness is responsibility."

— Winston Churchill

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

• We will continue reading and math groups this week.
• Our Fine Arts night is on Wednesday April 8^th.
•  

Your child went home last week with a brochure that outlines all of the exciting camps being held, here at Archway Arete, during the Great Hearts Summer Academy. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Posner atjposner@archwayarete.org. 

• You are encouraged to try out this wonderful Math Resource KhanAcademy.org
• Save the date for our grade wide event on Friday April 10th at 6pm. 
  Come meet other 2nd grade families at Peter Piper Pizza to enjoy some dinner. It will afford the kids a chance to play together too

Thank you for all you do to support our class!

Have a great week.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Toyin and Ms. Peterson

Dear Parents,

I hope you had a restful weekend with your family. This is the second week of our fourth quarter. Our scholars had a wonderful start to the new quarter. Thank you for getting them ready every day.

Here is a quick look at our 30^th week:

LANGUAGE ARTS

SPALDING –We will continue our spelling words this week. Encourage your scholars to continue to practice writing their cursive. We will continue practicing in class as well. Students are not mandated to write in cursive now.

List 1: dollar, evening, plan, broke, feel, sure, sugar, least, sorry, press

List 2: God, god, teacher, November, subject, April, history,  study, himself, matter

READING – READING STRATEGY: In comprehension, we will focus on Main Idea and Details: Students will look for the central ideas or messages in their story. They also find details that best support the main idea. We will make the reading and the writing connection here as we begin writing paragraphs this quarter. We will continue to review all comprehension strategies learned so far. Please, have your child bring in “The Little House in the Big Woods”.

POETRY: Title: “Lincoln” by Nancy Byrd Turner. Students will be assessed this week.

SAYING: Our saying this week is, “Eaten out of house and home."

GRAMMAR/VOCABULARY – We will begin working on dictionary skills for development of word meaning. I will suggest you buy a William Webster’s dictionary for your child to speed the process. I will email the ISBN of the reccomnded dictionary (It’s not compulsory to buy your child a dictionary). Our focus will be on alphabetization. We will continue to practice all parts of speech.

WRITING – As we continue working on Writing With Ease, students will continue to develop narration, dictation and copy work skills. Students will review letter writing this week as well.

LEVELED READERS – Your scholar will bring home a chapter book to read. Please, encourage them to continue to write their reflection logs.

MATH

This week, we will review addition and subtraction of money. We will work more on converting money from dollar to cents and vice versa. We will begin fractions this week. They will focus on identifying halves.

SCIENCE

We will do a review  of the importance of eating healthy. Students will be able to explain the importance of vitamins and minerals to the body. Students will plan a balnced diet meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

HISTORY

  In History, we will review our unit on Westward Expansion. Student will take their test on Wednesday.

VIRTUE OF THE MONTH – Honesty

The quality of being truthful, sincere, upright, and fair; free from deceit or fraud.

Always speak the TRUTH.

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.

                                      - Thomas Jefferson

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• We will resume reading and math groups this week.
• Save the date for our grade wide event on Friday April 10th at 6pm. 
  Come meet other 2nd grade families at Peter Piper Pizza to enjoy some dinner. It will afford the kids a chance to play together too.
• Our wish list is still active:

-       Sani hand wipes

http://www.amazon.com/Sani-hands-instant-sanitizer-wipes/dp/B002TVRO20/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hpc_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=19W974CVZHMDA15NXF0N

Thank you for all you do to support our class!

Have a great week.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Toyin and Ms. Peterson

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to our final quarter! I hope you all had a great spring break. I am so excited to see our scholars tomorrow. Thanks to all the parents that made our field day a success!

Here is a quick look at our 29^th week:

LANGUAGE ARTS

SPALDING –We will resume our spelling words this week. Encourage your scholars to continue to practice writing their cursive. We will continue practicing in class as well.

List 1: wonder, pair, pear, pare, check, prove, heard hear, inspect, itself

List 2: always, something, expect, need, thus, woman, women, young, fair, fare

READING – READING STRATEGY: In comprehension, we will focus on Main Idea and Details: Students will look for the central ideas or messages in a story. They will also find details that best support the main idea. We will continue to review all comprehension strategies learned so far. Please, have your child bring in “The Little House in the Big Woods”.

POETRY: Title: “Lincoln” by Nancy Byrd Turner.

SAYING: Our saying this week is, “Eaten out of house and home."

GRAMMAR/VOCABULARY – We will begin working on dictionary skills for development of word meaning. Our focus will be on alphabetization. We will continue to practice all parts of speech.

WRITING – As we continue working on Writing With Ease, students will continue to develop narration, dictation and copy work skills. Students will review letter writing this week as well.

LEVELED READERS – Your scholar will bring home a chapter book to read. Please, encourage them to continue to write their reflection logs.

MATH

This week, we will review addition and subtraction of money. We will work more on converting money from dollar to cents and vice versa. We will begin fractions this week. They will focus on identifying halves.

SCIENCE

We will learn about the importance of eating healthy. Students will be able to explain the importance of the different food groups. Students will explain the importance of eating a balanced diet, classify foods as healthy or unhealthy, and plan a balanced diet meal.

HISTORY

  In History, we will continue with our unit on Westward Expansion. Students will be able to recognize the challenges faced by cowboys, farmers, and miners in the West. They will also learn about Sequoyah, a native Indian that helped the native Indians write their own language.

VIRTUE OF THE MONTH – Honesty

The quality of being truthful, sincere, upright, and fair; free from deceit or fraud.

Always speak the TRUTH.

We learned about honesty and integrity - that the truth matters... that you don't take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules... and success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square.
                                                                                          - Michelle Obama

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• We do not have reading or math groups this week.
• Save the date for our grade wide event on Friday April 10th at 6pm. 
  Come meet other 2nd grade families at Peter Piper Pizza to enjoy some dinner. It will afford the kids a chance to play together too.
• Our wish list is still active:

           - Sani hand wipes

Thank you for all you do to support our class!

Have a great week.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Toyin and Ms. Peterson

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the final week of our third quarter. I hope we all had a great weekend. Third quarter is ending this week. I wish you and your family a happy spring break.

Here is a quick look at our 28^th week:

LANGUAGE ARTS

SPALDING – We will continue with our cursive practice this week; your scholars will learn how to write cursive letters in upper case. Here is a great article the headmaster shared with us about the importance of learning cursive: http://thefederalist.com/2015/02/25/ten-reasons-people-still-need-cursive/. We will resume our spelling words this week. Encourage your scholars to continue to practice writing their cursive. We will continue practicing in class as well.

READING – READING STRATEGY: In comprehension, we will focus on Nonfiction text features and visual information. Students will look at text features, such as headings and captions, to better understand how all these elements work and their function. They will discover how pictures charts, graphs, and other visual elements expatiate more on a topic. We will continue to review all comprehension strategies learned so far. Please, have your child bring in “The Little House in the Big Woods”.

POETRY: Title: We began a new poem “Lincoln” by Nancy Byrd Turner. Your scholar should memorize this poen and get ready to recite at the end of March.

SAYING: Our saying this week is, “Better late than never”.

GRAMMAR/VOCABULARY – We will continue to practice all parts of speech, the focus will still be on prepositions this week.

WRITING – As we continue working on Writing With Ease, students will continue to develop narration, dictation and copy work skills. Students will review letter writing this week as well.

LEVELED READERS – Your scholar will bring home a chapter book to read. Please, encourage them to continue to write their reflection logs.

MATH

This week, we will continue to learn about money. Our focus will still be on the addition and subtraction of money. We will also review place value; it’s important for them to understand the value of money in dollars as well as cents.

SCIENCE

We will finish our study of the digestive and excretory system. Students will come home with their study guide for Science. Science test will be on Friday.

HISTORY

  In History, we will begin a new unit on Westward Expansion. Students will learn about why the pioneers moved west and how they moved west. We will look at different modes of transportation used to move west.

VIRTUE OF THE MONTH – Honesty

The quality of being truthful, sincere, upright, and fair; free from deceit or fraud.

Always speak the TRUTH.

“Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving.” ― James E. Faust

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• We are pleased to announce that our Greek Olympics-themed athletics field day will be held on Thursday, March 12th! Students should wear athletic clothing for this event. We also recommend athletic shoes (of any color), a hat, sunscreen, and a water bottle. Please see page 59 of the Family Handbook for the full Athletic Practice and Outdoor Field Day Dress Code.
• We will have guided reading on Tuesday, but there will be no guided reading on Wednesday. We will have Math groups as well.
• Class picture order forms must be returned by Tuesday, March 10^th. Please, send your child in their complete school uniform, well groomed.
• Our wish list is still active:

           - Sani hand wipes

Thank you for all you do to support our class!

Have a great week.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Toyin and Ms. Peterson

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the ninth week of our third quarter. I hope we all had a great weekend. The quarter is moving to an end so fast.

Here is a quick look at our 27^th week:

LANGUAGE ARTS

SPALDING – We started our cursive instruction last week, and I am so impressed with the progress our scholars are making. We will resume our spelling words this week. Encourage your scholars to continue to practice writing their cursive. We will continue practicing in class.

READING – READING STRATEGY: In comprehension, we will focus on Nonfiction text features. Students will look at text features, such as headings and captions, to better understand how all these elements work and their function. We will continue to review all comprehension strategies learned so far. We still have scholars missing their: Sarah Plain and Tall.

POETRY: Title: From Monday- Friday this week, students will recite their preamble by heart. Their performance will be graded. We will also be starting a new poem Lincoln by Nancy Byrd Turner.

SAYING: Our saying this week is, “Better late than never”.

GRAMMAR/VOCABULARY – We will continue to practice all parts of speech, the focus will still be on prepositions and verbs this week.

WRITING – As we continue working on Writing With Ease, students will continue to develop narration, dictation and copy work skills.

LEVELED READERS – Your scholar will bring home a chapter book to read this week. Please, encourage them to continue to write their reflection logs. I have observed an admirable love of reading in our class. I am trying as much as possible to create 10mins of independent reading time in the class library, and students are taking advantage of this.

MATH

This week, we will continue to learn about money. Our focus will be on the addition and subtraction of money. We will also review place value; it’s important for them to understand the value of money in dollars as well as cents.

SCIENCE

We will continue our study of the Human body. This week, we will learn about the digestive system and the excretory system. Students will learn about the journey their food takes the moment it get into their mouth to the time it leaves their body as waste.

HISTORY

  In History, We will review the unit on “The War of 1812”. Students will do a unit test on Wednesday. We will begin a new unit on the “Westward Expansion.” Children will learn about various systems of transportation used by the pioneers.

VIRTUE OF THE MONTH

(Will be updated when virtue is announced on Monday)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Special thanks to the Andrade, Everhart, and Thomas family for providing lunch for the four birthdays taking place tomorrow: Ms. Peterson, Adele, Aleena, and Alan.
• Congratulations to Aubrey Antoniello for winning the virtue award for friendship in the month of February.
• We are pleased to announce that our Greek Olympics-themed athletics field day will be held on Thursday, March 12th! Students should wear athletic clothing for this event. We also recommend athletic shoes (of any color), a hat, sunscreen, and a water bottle. Please see page 59 of the Family Handbook for the full Athletic Practice and Outdoor Field Day Dress Code.
• We will continue with guided reading and Math groups this week. I look forward to seeing all our wonderful parent volunteers.
• Students may begin to wear shorts to school this week.
• Our wish list is still active:

           - Sani hand wipes

Thank you for all you do to support our class!

Have a great week.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Toyin and Ms. Peterson