Sunday, December 10th

We've got a really busy week coming up!  Here's a glance:

Monday -  Concert rehearsal from 9-10:30am

Tuesday - 2/3 Concert for the school 9am and then concert for parents 10:30am

                High School A cappella group performing for Ray Students 1:45pm

Thursday - Mrs. Stone and Mrs. Vashel's Holiday Craft Workshop 12:30-1:30
We will make ornaments, decorate cookies, read a holiday story, and listen to holiday music together.  Students are making stockings and have selected a Secret Pal to give one handmade ornament to before vacation. 

Friday - 4/5 Concert for the school 9am and then concert for parents 10:30am
Mrs. Stone and Mrs. Vashel's Holiday Craft Workshop 12:30-1:30
We will make ornaments, decorate cookies, read a holiday story, and listen to holiday music together.

From the Haven -  The Haven is in need of SOUP.  If you are coming to either of the concerts this week, please consider bringing some canned soup to the concert and dropping it in one of the buckets that you will see in the Gym.  The Haven is also happy to take winter clothing donations, new or used condition.

It's finally white outside!  With winter weather now here, PLEASE send your child to school with appropriate outdoor gear.  Boots, a winter jacket, snow pants, a hat and mittens/gloves are a MUST for playing out in the snow on the playground.  Please also try to remember indoor shoes, especially M-W, as they are the days we have PE and Music.  Wet boots are not fun to wear all day, leave a mess on carpets, and make it uncomfortable to sit criss cross on the floor.

The Month of November

We were certainly busy through the month of November.  Despite my absences, the class managed to continue with normal routines for the most part.  If you happen to be in the school and see Mrs. Hanchett in the near future, please thank her for all her hard work and dedication to the classroom and students while I was absent.  Our building project is coming to a close and I want to thank everyone who donated time and supplies.  We really appreciate it.  The benches will be complete before the holiday break.  We'll keep them in the classroom for a while as an alternative seating arrangement for morning meeting and other circle times. 

I hope everyone had a restful Thanksgiving break. 

News and Notes from Around the School

Music - please make sure that your child has shoes to wear in the music room.  Our class has music on Tuesday mornings at 8:10.  If it helps to keep a pair of shoes at school there is space for them on our shoe/boot rack in the hallway.  It is really important to keep wet boots off of the carpeted risers so that other students don't sit on wet spots throughout the day.

Lost and Found - Please make sure to label your children's belongings and check the lost and found down by the Gym doors periodically.  At the end of each month, all items are donated to the Listen.

Holiday Concert - December 12th @ 10:30 is the 2/3 performance for parents.  Please go directly to the gym and not to the classroom.  We will see you after the concert for a gathering in the classroom.  More information to come on that soon.

Sunday, October 29th

 On Friday, we completed our Self Portraits and personal goals projects.  We began by tracing a head shape tracer with pencil and then used cray-pas to shade in skin color.  From there we talked about placement and shape of eyes, colored in the white part of the eye, the eye color and then the iris.  We practiced making different noses and talked about placement and shape of the mouth.  When it came time for adding hair, the children were pretty independent and creative.  At the bottom of each portrait, a set of student generated personal goals are attached.  As we progress through the year, these goals will be a reminder of how we 

 can help each other become even better students and  individuals.  It is amazing to watch these come to life.  When the hair and details of the shirts start to take shape, it is really amazing how accurate these creations are!  Next time you are in the classroom, take a look at these hanging on the short wall near the ceiling in the classroom.  They truly are amazing!

 Kids and Community

We celebrated its conclusion with an assembly on Friday afternoon, led by Ms. Brauch.  Our buddy class joined us in wearing purple and we sat, sang, danced and played volleyball together.  It was great fun!  We are so thankful for the support and dedication from all of the community members featured on this year's cards.  

Junior Rangers Field Trip to Marsh-Billings

Due to the weather forecast for tomorrow, we will NOT be going on the trip.  We have rescheduled for next Monday, November 5th.  You will not have to sign another permission form, we will simply change the date on the ones we already have that you turned in.  I will send a reminder as we get closer to the rescheduled date about packing a lunch for that day.  

Halloween Parade and Party (Parade 1:30, party to follow)

On Tuesday, K-2 students will participate in our annual Halloween Parade.  Parents are welcome to watch and then join us in the classroom afterward for a small party.  Best parade viewing can be done in the gym.  If you volunteered to send in food or drink, feel free to send it with your child first thing in the morning or bring it to the classroom just before the parade.  We hope to see everyone there!

Friday, October 20th

This week we lived amongst the tissue paper!  If you had walked into the classroom, you would have seen an explosion of color all over the floor, across tabletops, and even on skin!  Students wrote Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall poems and created a half summer, half fall scene using a stand alone black tree.  The colors really pop out on the black background.  The goal was to match the order of the poem with the design. Hope you enjoy!

Please be sure to check out the other pages, as there are updates on those as well.  On Monday, October 23rd, I will send home the same reading log for home practice, but now there will be a math practice log on the reverse side.  You will also see a packet titled "Suggestions for Math Practice," along with directions for several games that can be played at home.  Many of these games are ones the children have already played in class and practice addition fact strategies.  Some of the games we will be playing in class next week so they will quickly become familiar and ones that can then be played at home.  Also, please read the update on the Math page on the blog, there is information about a fact fluency app called, "Xtramath."  Directions for how to set your child up with this app at home were sent home today.  It is completely OPTIONAL, but a quick way for second graders to practice fluency also.  

Kids & Community

We will wrap up our 5 week program next week with students receiving the last 5 community member cards and an assembly on Friday afternoon.  Some community members will continue to come in and visit classrooms, read stories, or have lunch, but the bulk of the program will be coming to an end next week.  

Monday, October 9th

Update:  Our Junior Rangers field trip will either be on October 27th or 30th. The director recommended that we attend two classes at a time rather than the whole grade so that students get the most out of the experience.  In order to do this, we needed to push the date out by a couple of weeks, which is good for getting those permission forms signed and returned!  You should expect to see a permission form come home this Friday in your child's folder.

ME Collages:  We have been reading the first book in the Judy Moody series for read aloud this week.  Judy has to make a ME collage for a school project. Basically, Judy creates a large poster with photographs, pictures and words cut from magazines, and other special items that represent who she is.  Then she presents to the class.  This is essentially what each second grader will also do. Each week on Friday, beginning the week of October 27th, one student will have a poster to present to the class.  The poster is completed at home and should be brought into school before, or on the date it is due.  I will send home much more information about this project this Friday.  Have no fear, your child won't be expected to make the poster at the drop of a hat.  Each child will have at least two weeks notice before the poster is due.  You will know when it's your child's turn when you receive a letter in the yellow homework folder stating the due date.

Character Trait of the Month:  COURAGE

This month we are celebrating courage.  Again we will read many books that demonstrate courage and do some writing and art projects.  At the start of each month and new trait, we will do a brainstorm like the one in the picture to the left.  I continue to be amazed at how thoughtful and wise these children are at such a young age.  I enjoy hearing all that they have to say, and celebrating with them when someone demonstrates the things we've talked about.




Hope everyone has had an enjoyable weekend despite the rain!

Sunday, October 1st

First of all, thank you to everyone who came to our Parent Information/Open House night this past Wednesday.  It was great to see many of you there, as well as the children as tour guides.  They really do take pride in their classroom and their accomplishments.  We hope enjoyed your visit.  Please let me know if you have any more specific questions.

We were busy finishing up many projects this week.  Here are some examples:  Our Coat of Arms are now hanging from the ceiling in the classroom.  These highlight unique information about each of the students in the class.  Here are the questions students had to answer in the 
form of drawings.  What is something you do well or are really proud of? What is one of your favorite places?  What is something you've tried but would like to get better at?  What is something you've never tried? 

As we continue to build a community of care and trust in the classroom, it is important to hold each 
other to agreed upon expectations.  Students generated these two wordles.  When asked what makes a great second grader, and also what makes a great teacher, second graders had amazingly thoughtful and important character traits to share. These visuals serve as our promises to each other this year. 




Home Practice (AKA Homework)
I will be making a conscious effort to refer to reading and math work done at home as, "home practice," rather than "homework."  Although the concept of homework can be exciting for many incoming second graders, it can also feel overwhelming and stressful for some.  The work that students do at home should simply be some additional practice with building stamina in reading and fluency in math facts.  Once the children have gotten into the habit of weekly reading and math home practice, I will evaluate with students how the home practice is going.  I will follow up with students and parents before November conferences to ask how the home practice is going.  At that point, if students and parents are interested in additional, OPTIONAL work, we can talk further about putting that into place.

Please look for a reading calendar in your child's YELLOW folder.  Although I'll be using the term, "home practice," the folder says, "Homework," as it was a standard company's folder that was ordered.  I will be talking with the class tomorrow about the reading calendar (expectations, how to fill it out, etc.) Please ask your child to explain how the calendar works.  If you still have questions after, please let me know.  Two things to note about the reading calendar: 
1.  Each day that your child reads, he or she should mark what type of reading (were they read to, read with someone, or read on their own).
2.  At the bottom of the page are some prompts for you to use when reading with your child. When it looks like your child might need help with a word, these should help.

Math Games for home practice will not go home this week, but look for them to start coming home soon.

Kids and Community, Fire Safety & Walk to School Day
Tomorrow we will gather as a whole school for our Fire Safety assembly. Members of the Hanover Fire Department will visit and talk with students. Second graders are looking forward to an upcoming presentation by the Concord, NH 911 dispatcher, Wanda Bowes on October 24th.  

Walk to School Day is Wednesday, October 4th.  Please see the RAYS of SUNSHINE for drop off spots and walking routes. 


Wednesday, October 18th - Field trip to Lebanon Opera House to see the play called, "The Money Tree."  Thanks to everyone for getting permission forms back so soon! 

Tuesday, October 27th or 30th - 2nd graders will be experiencing something for the first time in our grade's history.  We will take part in a Super Junior Rangers program that is related to our Forest habitat studies.  Stay tuned for more!

Outdoor Seating Project - please look for more information on this in the next week or two.  We would like to get going on this project as soon as possible, and in order to do that we need volunteers who are willing and able to assist students in measuring, cutting, hammering, and assembling.   

Sunday, September 23rd

We certainly were busy this past week!  We began with picture day on Tuesday, continued with another guest reader on Wednesday, and rounded out the week with a great visit from author/illustrator Katherine Roy.  She shared with us her research adventure to Africa, where she learned about elephants in order to write her most recent non-fiction book.  The children were enamored with the videos she showed of different elephant families.  One of the things the children learned was how to tell the difference between males and females.  
What a great opportunity for our students!  Thanks to our school librarian, Joanne Sergeant for arranging this for our second and third graders.