February News...

A day late - the blog locks me out at times. It let me in today.  :) 

Shout outs! 
First things first..... a BIG Congratulations to Gavi Surden, Nick Jannone and Masha Kozhanova  for earning spots in the Tritt Talent Show!! Come out and cheer them on at the Pope Auditorium on February 11th!  Can't wait! 

February Birthdays!  Happy Happy Birthday!! 
Patrick Linton - February 13th
Ansley Hudgins -  February 26th 

another shout out!  - I am extremely proud of these kiddos for their hard work on 2nd grade sentences, chunking words into syllables in order to spell better and just overall better work on their writing. Hard work pays off!  

They will earn extra recess on Friday for the effort they have been showing!!!. I believe in developmentally appropriate expectations. I also think high expectations yield higher results. They are doing GREAT!  Give them an extra hug tonight for working hard! 

Needs: 
We have some upcoming STEM lessons that I need some help with materials for: 

Bottle tops (plastic ones) from water bottles, soda bottles, juice bottles, whatever. When you finish one, wash them and send them in... we'll need at least 25 so the more we have the better.  
ALSO,,,, cardboard. Empty snack, cereal & cracker boxes will work best. I know we all have these laying around. Send them to the classroom before you put them into your recycling can, please. 
Thank you! 

Upcoming: 
Revved up kids this Friday morning - 1st meeting

Next Thursday, February 10th - Field Trip - Performing Arts - Sleeping Beauty

Valentine Centers:  Friday, February 12th  - 11;15-12:00 
Please send in all Valentine cards and your decorated collection box next week but by February 11th

update on MATH GROUPS and READING GROUPS: 
These are going great! I'm able to assess, enrich or help the kids better in my small groups by meeting with them at least 3 times a week. They are getting the hang of the transitions and doing well.  They rotate through a center and independent work while I meet with groups. (about 15-20 minutes each).  Each activity is an extension of something we are working on (math in math rotations and either reading, language arts, vocabulary or something we are working on in Social Studies and Science) during literacy centers. 

 Curriculum up until Winter Break  (Feb 15-19 --- no school)

Math: 
adding up to 4 (2-digit) numbers and
problem solving (one step problems up to 100) Addition and subtraction. This means word problems. Word problems need to be answered in numbers and words. 

Reading: 
Folktales, Fairy Tales  - elements of each kind - comparing and contrasting different kinds.
We will also be reading a lot through our Science Curriculum - 

Writing:  
More Opinion writing 
(sun's position and shadows) 

Language:
we are still working on apostrophes and how they work with language:   ]
contractions and possession or ownership (and what those words mean) 
We will also be working on prefixes 
Shades of meaning verbs and 
Vocabulary will be R influenced vowels (next week) 

Science: 
Sun, Moon and Stars 
~ compare - contrast our sun ( a star) with other stars by using physical attributes (size, brightness, patterns)
~ determine how the shadows of various objects change during the day depending on the position of the sun. 

Hope your week is going well! As always, please send me any questions you may have. 
Leslie Davis