Curriculum News

As we look ahead to the new year, there will definitely be a period of “resettling” back into the routine of school.  With that in mind and because this is a bit far off, some of the material which will be covered that first week is uncertain.  What I do know is that we will be revisiting a lot of the things which we are ending the semester with.  We will be continuing with cursive letters and wrapping up all lower case letters soon.  During our Literacy time we will be reviewing story elements and wrapping up Charlotte’s Web.  One thing that will be starting up that first week is our unit on the 7 Continents.  Students always enjoy this opportunity to explore some of the fascinating places found on our planet.  Another important topic that we will continue with is our lessons that go along with the CATCH program which will help remind us of the importance of making good choices when it comes to our health!

Here are the spelling words for our first week back!

change       off          play        spell          air          bend         send        mind        offend      sand         land        draw      label     steps

Challenge Words:       feature          object

Reminders

There is no school on Monday, January 4th for students.  School resumes on Tuesday, January 5th!

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday with their friends and families!  See everyone in the New Year-2016!

Mrs. Johnson

Curriculum News

Exciting News:  We have already had 3 students pass all of their addition timed tests and are “rocketing” on to subtraction!  There are also several who are just steps away from meeting that goal!  The students who are already working on their subtraction facts are Morgan, Peyton, and Celia!  Way to go!  We may actually make it into multiplication!!!!  There have also been numerous students who are continuing to “READ READ READ”!  There are some very enthusiastic and fluent readers in this class!  Keep reading and getting those reading logs turned in!  I will not hand out a reading log for this next week because of Christmas break but if you catch your child doing some extra reading please let me know and we will celebrate that too!

As far as actual curriculum news…. we will be spending quite a bit of time focusing on the upcoming holiday.  With that in mind, we will be spending quite a bit of time during our Reading/Literacy Block focusing on the book “The Polar Express”.  This will include a list of words from this story, however, there will NOT be a spelling test on Friday.  We have too many other fun and exciting things to do on our last day of school in 2015!  During Math we will even be taking a look at some Christmas story problems as we continue to sharpen our math fact skills!

We are looking forward to a busy but fun week of school!

Reminders/Upcoming Events

16th- Vision and Hearing Rescreening in the AM

16th- Elementary Christmas Program @6:30/  Please be at the High School Cafeteria by 6:15

17th & 18th- 2:00 Dismissal

18th- Elementary Students’ Movie at the Arlee in Mason City/ Bus leaves at 8:45 and will return around 12:00 Noon

Dec. 19th-Jan. 3rd-  Christmas Break

I hope that you and your family have a wonderful and safe holiday!

Mele Kalikimaka!  (Merry Christmas!)

Mrs. Johnson

 

Curriculum News

As we get closer and closer to our Christmas break, it seems that there are more and more distractions to divert our attention!  This week we will be continuing our reading and discussion of “Charlotte’s Web”.  Students are also learning about a variety of genres that are available for them to enjoy during their reading time as well as discussing the idea of making connections to their own life as they are reading.  This class is full of some excellent readers but the more that they are able to do this, the more meaningful their book selections will be for them!  It is wonderful to see this excitement for reading continue to grow as the year progresses!  Please keep up with the reading at home as well, boys and girls!  It is great seeing all of the extra time that you are reading as you turn in your Reading Logs to me each week! Way to go!  During our social studies time we are exploring numerous geography terms as they better understand the many features of this planet that help make it so special!  Our Math time will be spent introducing the idea of 2-digit subtraction without regrouping and the many strategies that can be used.  With only 10 days left after this week, we still have a lot to cover before the end of the semester!

Spelling Words:  try     kind     hand      picture      again      fast      past      last      blast      cast     oral     science     data     record

Challenge:    contrast       magnify

Upcoming Events/ Announcements

The elementary Christmas program is Monday, December 7th at 6:30 PM.  Students need to be at the high school by 6:15 and will meet in the cafeteria.  Teachers will need to get students organized and in line for the program so please try to be there on time!  This is always a fun and very festive evening which helps get everyone in the Christmas spirit!

Also, I am very sad to say that we will soon be saying “Aloha” to another very special 2nd grade student!  Ella Davis and her family are moving and our last day with her is on Friday, December 11th!  We wish her and her family the best of luck but you will definitely be missed by everyone!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Johnson