Mrs. Macchia's Second Grade

January 20, 2012

melissamacchia — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:39:03 +0000

Catholic Schools’ Week will be celebrated the week of January 30 – February 3. Please see the green note in this week’s folder detailing the exciting events we have planned.

There are no math papers this week because we have been using our base ten blocks and our white boards to work on our new 2 digit subtraction skills. This lets me easily catch mistakes as the children learn this new concept.

Please remember to have your child be practicing to give a demonstration next Tuesday to go along with the How-To articles we are writing in class. Remember, this must be simple, quick, and something your child can easily do independently.

HOMEWORK

Monday: Read “Life Cycle of a Pumpkin”.

Tuesday: Practice for “How–To” demonstration.

Wednesday: Complete math worksheet.

Thursday: Read your book in a bag and study for tomorrow’s spelling test.

Spelling Words

put cook full

stood wood July

shook push pull

brook hook hood

Challenge Words

pudding cushion

footprint

Vocabulary Words

Children should be able to read these words and explain their meanings.

root smooth soil harvest

bumpy vine

January 13, 2012

melissamacchia — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:23:30 +0000

We have begun cursive writing instruction. Although I encourage you to help your child practice our new skills at home, please DO NOT have him or her work on letters that we have not learned together in class! Cursive styles change over the years and by trying to help your child you may inadvertently teach him or her the wrong way to make a letter. I still believe in the value of good penmanship, and my goal is to help your child learn to write cursive as neatly and correctly as possible. Thank you so much for your support in this matter!

The children did very well on their second quarter report cards! I am proud of their progress.

HOMEWORK

Monday: No school.

Tuesday: Read A Quilt Story in your reading book.

Wednesday: Complete math worksheet.

Thursday: Read your “book-in-a-bag” and study for tomorrow’s spelling test.

Spelling Words

ankle title

apple cable

purple able

bugle bundle

bubble giggle

sparkle tickle

Challenge Words

mumble scramble

twinkle

Vocabulary Words

quilt unpacked

pretended wrapped

trunks blanket

Children should be able to read these words and explain their meanings.

January 6, 2012

melissamacchia — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:43:11 +0000

For homework on Tuesday night the children are supposed to come up with an idea for a “How To” paper. The actual paper will be written in class, but I am letting each child do a class demonstration of their topic to go along with their paper. The demonstrations will be done TUESDAY January 31st. The demonstration should be VERY simple, with only a few steps, and something your child can do independently. Examples of topics include:

how to jump rope
how to dribble a basketball
how to mold something from clay
how to make a sandwich
how to draw a star

Please be creative as you help your child choose his or her topic!

HOMEWORK

Monday: Read A Weed is a Flower in your reading book.

Tuesday: Complete English worksheet.

Wednesday: Complete math worksheet.

Thursday: Read your “book-in-a-bag” and study for tomorrow’s spelling test.

Spelling Words

sooner soonest

hotter hottest

busier busiest

happier happiest

smaller smallest

fatter fattest

Challenge Words

angrier angriest

straighter straightest

Vocabulary Words

agriculture laboratory

question greenhouse

neighbor hours

Children should be able to read these words and explain their meanings.

Have a great week!

January 4, 2012

melissamacchia — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:16:56 +0000

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break!

I would like to thank all of you for the generous and thoughtful Christmas gifts. How kind of you to think of me! Each gift was very appreciated.

Many of the children are in need of new crayons, markers and colored pencils. If you are able to replace these, that’d be great!

Report cards will come home soon. Be sure to contact me if you have any questions regarding your child’s progress so far this year.

Have a great week!

HOMEWORK

Monday: No school.

Tuesday: No school.

Wednesday: Complete math worksheet.

Thursday: Complete math worksheet.

December 9, 2011

melissamacchia — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:46:35 +0000

Our First Penance is THIS SATURDAY at 10:00. This is a time for the whole family to go to Confession and set a wonderful example for your child of living our faith. There will be a number of priests available and once you have finished you are free to go. PLEASE help your child go through an examination of conscience tonight. I have told them they can write down their sins if they are worried they will forget them. I look forward to seeing you all there.

Our field trip to Seaton Haven is this Tuesday. We will leave the school by 9:45. The children need to be in blue jeans, a Christmas shirt (or plain red, green, or white), and tennis shoes. If you signed up to drive, please send me a note on Monday in your child’s zipper pouch indicating how many seat belted children you can take in your car. Please also double check your insurance to see that it has not expired. If it has, you will need to bring an updated form to the office ASAP.

HOMEWORK

Monday: Read Rosa and Blanco in your reading book.

Tuesday: Write each vocabulary word in a sentence.

Wednesday: Complete math worksheet.

Thursday: Study for spelling test.

Spelling Words

find child sky

bright wild fly

right flight spider

cry blind myself

Challenge Words

identify frighten arrival

Vocabulary Words

daughters chilies

luckiest alone

their youngest

half buy

Children should be able to read these words and explain their meanings.

December 2, 2011

melissamacchia — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:14:49 +0000

Don’t forget that our First Penance Retreat is THIS SATURDAY at 9:00. Parents will need to stay at the beginning, but may leave soon after we start. The children will rotate through three activities led by myself, Mrs. Bender, and Mrs. Starrett. We will conclude with a short movie about Confession and a small snack. We will dismiss by 11:30. Please continue working through the book with your child. They are so excited for this upcoming sacrament!

Please work nightly on all addition facts. We will move on to subtraction timed tests after Christmas. Memorization of all facts is a critical part of the second grade math curriculum! Practice at home is necessary for mastery of these skills.

HOMEWORK

Monday: Read for 20 minutes.

Tuesday: Complete math worksheet.

Wednesday: Complete math worksheet.

Thursday: Read your “book-in-a-bag” .

November 4, 2011

melissamacchia — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:01:15 +0000

I am sending home a list of the ten commandments. Your child needs to have these memorized, in order, by next month. We will be studying each commandment thoroughly in class, as well as practicing our memorization. Each child will need to work at home on these also. This will help us prepare for our First Penance.

I will also be testing children on their Act of Contrition prayer in two weeks. I believe most of the children already know this prayer, as we say it daily at school. Check with your child, just to be sure.

The Thursday before we get out for Thanksgiving break ( Nov. 17th) the second grade will perform a brief Reader’s Theater presentation in the cafeteria at 8:20. We invite you to attend the performance as well on that day. Please make plans to attend.

HOMEWORK

Monday: Read Pearl and Wagner in your reading book.

Tuesday: Complete math worksheet.

Wednesday: Practice saying the 10 Commandments.

Thursday: No school on Friday! We will test on these spelling words on

Monday the 14th.

Spelling Words

read feel easy wheel leave windy deep sleep seat teeth party team

Challenge Words

wreath season eagle

Vocabulary Words

guess pretty village

watch science

Children should be able to read these words and explain their meanings.

October 28, 2011

melissamacchia — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:32:12 +0000

This Thursday the children should have their saint report completed and ready to share! All children should hand their report in on that day and arrive wearing their costumes. They MUST have uniforms to change into later!

We will share our reports at 8:20. Each child will present his or her information to the class. They may simply read their report or they may choose to talk about what they learned.

I invite all parents to attend on that day. I do request, however, that you come into the classroom only when we are ready to begin. The children will be excited and I would like to get them settled and ready before our audience arrives. Thank you for your cooperation.

Also, I invite each girl to bring a baby doll to school this Friday for a pretend baptism. We are learning about baptism in religion and we can’t wait to role play this special sacrament!

HOMEWORK

Monday: Work on Saint project.

Tuesday: Complete math worksheet.

Wednesday: Work on Saint project.

Thursday: Read for twenty minutes.

melissamacchia — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:59:54 +0000

This week we have two half days. The first is on Monday for a teacher in-service. The second is on Wednesday to provide time for parent teacher conferences. I look forward to meeting with each of you. Please come prepared with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your child’s progress so far in second grade. It is important to be prompt so that we may keep the day flowing smoothly. I also ask that you knock on the door at your appointed time. This lets us know that we need to wrap things up so that we may begin your conference on time.

I would like to give a little information in advance regarding the grading scale in the primary grades. We use a 4,3,2,1 scale. This is NOT to be interpreted as A,B,C,D. A child that is meeting all grade level expectations will have a 3. Children going above and beyond will have a 4. Children that need continuing assistance to meet expectations will have a 2. Children that are below grade level and not meeting basic standards will have a 1. I hope this helps you understand the report cards.

HOMEWORK

Monday: Read A Turkey for Thanksgiving in your reading book.

Tuesday: Practice addition facts.

Wednesday: Complete math worksheet.

Thursday: Read your “book in a bag” and study for tomorrow’s spelling test.

Spelling Words

tail main wait say away play

raise brain paint stay today tray

Challenge Words

holiday daily raisin

Vocabulary Words

hooves riverbank promise

minute brought behind

October 14, 2011

melissamacchia — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:35:46 +0000

I am assigning a project in honor of the saints we celebrate next month. The directions are as follows:

1. Choose a saint to research.

2. Find information about your saint either in a book or on the internet.

3. Read and study this information with a parent.

4. Write five to seven sentences, in your own words and handwriting, about your saint.

(Please note: I really do want the children’s own work! Please do not let them go over seven sentences and make sure they understand what they are writing about.)

5. Draw and color a picture of your saint.

6. Projects are due November 3rd. On that day come prepared to talk about your saint to the class.

HOMEWORK

Monday: Read The Breman Town Musicians in your reading book.

Tuesday: Write a sentence for each VOCABULARY word (a total of 5

sentences).

Wednesday: Complete math worksheet.

Thursday: Read your “book in a bag” and study for tomorrow’s spelling test.

Spelling Words

note notes lunch

lunches story stories

tune tunes switch

switches baby babies

Challenge Words

supplies centuries crumbs

Vocabulary Words

Children should be able to read these words and explain their meanings.

scared probably pleasant

bought excitement

3. You may choose to dress up as your saint and/or bring items associated with your saint, (i.e. keys for St. Peter).

Please contact me with any questions.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Macchia