Weekly Newsletter 11/20

THE HOOT -  News from Ms. Lavoie’s Second Grade - 11/20/15
Dates To Remember:
November
11/23 - P/T Conferences
11/25 - 11/27 - Thanksgiving Break
December
12/2 - PTA Meeting
12/4 - First Trimester Ends
12/5 - Breakfast with Santa
12/7 - 12/11 - Children’s Stage Adventure (Mahoosuc Arts)
Hi Everyone,
Gobble, gobble from second grade!  In writing, the turkeys are all on strike.  We have made beautiful turkeys with signs that state….”Save a Turkey!  Eat more__________!”   In addition to creating these fabulous birds, we also stated the top reasons why we should eat other things on Thanksgiving.  Second graders are writing up a storm and loving it!!!  This writing activity is a great introduction to one of our Common Core Writing Standards, (CCSS.W.2.1) where students write opinion pieces on a topic and give reasons to support their opinions.
In addition, we watched an amazing documentary about a man named John Hutto who raised turkeys when a local farmer left eggs on his front porch.  He put them in an incubator and waited for them to hatch.  When the chicks emerged from their shells, they thought John was their mother.  John became an unusual, but dedicated parent to these turkeys.  
Please make sure your child comes to school prepared to play outside even on cold days.  Second graders need that lunch recess - the fresh air and exercise does a world of good for the mind and body!
Thank you to all the parents who conferenced on Thursday evening, and I look forward to seeing you on Monday if you are scheduled at that time.  The teacher - parent connection is so important for your child’s progress.  Thank you for discussing accomplishments and setting goals to help your child reach his/her potential.  
Next week is a short week.  I will not send home a new spelling list.  Please have your child READ, READ, READ over the Thanksgiving break.  If you need books, the Bethel Town Library is free to Bethel residents and open Tuesday 1 - 5 and Wednesday 1 - 8.
 Please remember that we are asking K-2 parents to donate pumpkin baked goods for our Coyote Coupon Celebration on next Tuesday the 24th.  Donations may be dropped off in the office before noon on Tuesday.  Thank you for making these celebrations special for our CPS students!
Happy Thanksgiving,
Gina Lavoie

Weekly Newsletter 11/13/15

THE HOOT -  News from Ms. Lavoie’s Second Grade - 11/13/15
Hi Everyone,
Second grade is such a busy place, even on the short weeks!  Everyone is working hard on mastering second grade skills in all areas. The reading focus this week has been on retelling a story in writing to include, characters, setting, problem, solution, beginning middle and end.  The children have also begun using sticky notes during independent reading time and sharing about what they read about with the group or a partner.  Second graders know that good readers think about what they are reading and I am very pleased with the effort I am seeing!
In math, as we work on double digit addition and subtraction, we are finding that many students are having difficulty still with their basic math facts.  It is crucial that these math facts are mastered!  Please, please practice!  We do have a few mathematicians who are on top of their math facts, and they are certainly finding success in their daily math practice.  
At our conference you will be receiving your child’s fall NWEA scores in the area or math, reading, and language arts.  Keep in mind that the tests your second grader took this fall were very different from the tests in grade one.  The grade one tests are audio and they need to mark their answers.  The second grade assessment are done on their own.  Each second grader was responsible for reading the questions, text, and their answer choices.  Sometimes we find a “big” difference in the spring to fall scores, particularly from grade one to grade two; perhaps due to the difference in the format of the test.  Each student’s goal is to increase their RIT (Rasch Unit) score.  
Spelling - Next week is a review lesson in spelling.  There will still be ten words which each second grader will know what they will be tested on.  The homework is a bit different for a review week.  There will only be one homework assignment, but it is a project and they have three choices to pick from.  If you want a sneak preview of the words and the homework project, the blog has all the information you will need.   I can’t wait to see the what everyone creates.
Please make sure the conference time that you have been given works for you.  If you need to make a change, please call the office and Tammy can reschedule you for a time that fits my schedule.  I am looking forward to meeting with all of you.


Enjoy the weekend!
Gina Lavoie
Dates To Remember:
November
11/16 - Tooth Fairies
11/16 - Photo Retake Day!
11/19 - P/T Conferences
11/23 - P/T Conferences
11/25 - 11/27 - Thanksgiving Break
December
12/2 - PTA Meeting
12/4 - First Trimester Ends
12/5 - Breakfast with Santa
12/7 - 12/11 - Children’s Stage Adventure (Mahoosuc Arts)

Weekly Newsletter 11/6

THE HOOT -  News from Ms. Lavoie’s Second Grade - 10/30/15
Hi Everyone,
Wow,  November looks like a short, but very busy month!  We have a lot of important days/holidays to learn about; Veterans Day, National Smoke-Out, and Thanksgiving.  These important events will be woven into our ELA (English, Language Arts) blocks.  We have also been learning about Veteran’s Day through books, videos and our Scholastic News magazine.
Math groups are sailing along working on a lot of important concepts: odd/even, number patterns, place value and number sense, rounding, greater than and less than.  We are in the process of assessing where our mathematicians are in demonstrating their understand of these second grade concepts.  Our next focus will be on addition and subtraction and we will quickly jump into regrouping.  
Conference Sign Ups - If you have not yet sent in your conference paper requesting a certain day and time, please send it in on Monday so that the office ladies have time to fill out and get appointment cards back to you.  
       
Have a beautiful weekend!
Gina Lavoie
Dates To Remember:
November
11/11 - No School - Veteran’s Day
11/12, 11/13 & 11/16 - Tooth Fairies
11/16 - Photo Retake Day!
11/19 - P/T Conferences
11/25 - 11/27 - Thanksgiving Break
12/2 - PTA Meeting
12/5 - Breakfast with Santa
12/7 - 12/11 - Childrens Stage Adventure (Mahoosuc Arts)

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