September 8th Week with Grades 2/3

Hello Parents and Students,

Our second week has been awesome!!! We continue to get into a school routine, as a Grade 2/3 classroom. Please remember to send your child to school with his/her agenda on a daily basis.  Today, there are 3 notes to review:  Open House/BBQ (date has been changed to Sept. 25th), green monthly SCHOOL newsletter and PICTURE DAY brochure.   Thank you for your Terry Fox donations, this week, as well.  Feel free to send a donation next week, if you would like to and have not already done so.  Friendly reminder, to pay for your child’s agenda, on-line, if you prefer, rather than cash or cheque.  The on-line payment is accessible through Power School.

This week’s photos feature a writing  /  drawing  activity with the focus on getting to know each other better. 

The math word of the week for the Grade 2s was  ATTRIBUTE.  Ask your child to explain different attributes of patterning (colour, shape, size, direction).  We explored attributes this week using pattern blocks. The children created patterns using 2 attributes AT ONCE.  Example:  size and colour. . . big red square, little black square. . . The Grade 3 focus was increasing patterns.  Example:  Start a pattern using the same starting point, but increase it in different ways.  The children had to explain their pattern rule for each increasing pattern.

We also began our very first PWIM POSTER.  PWIM = Picture Word Inductive Model.  For Social Studies we continued to brainstorm about BELONGING.  How do we belong in the classroom?  How can I help others feel like they belong? How can my teacher help me to feel like I belong?  Our Writing Traits focus was about “topics.”  How do we make a topic clear and interesting?

On Tuesday we began our first SPELLING LESSON, focusing on the “ar” pattern for Gr. 2 and the “a – e” pattern for Gr. 3.  The first test will be on Monday, 15th. 

On Thursday afternoon, we met our Grade 4 Learning Buddies (Mrs. Pritchard’s class), who read books with us. Next Friday, we will be making paper mache turkeys with them. 

PLEASE send Leader Post NEWSPAPERS you would normally recycle to school ASAP for this paper mache project.  NO FLYERS PLEASE!!

Ask your children to explain the SHIP GAME, SITTING GAME and LOG ROLL activity we played during gym class mid-week.  There were many smiling faces.

Many of you have explored raz_kids.com with your children.  It is an excellent reading program and I hope you are able to spend some time reading the books on-line with your children.  They will also be expected to exchange their daily reading books (in ziplockbags) for new classroom books.  RECORD their minutes in the RED DUO-TANGS.  I will be collecting the RED DUO-TANGS on Tuesday, September 30th.  It is a HUGE help when you TOTAL the minutes read, for me.  We had the opportunity to use a class set of computers mid-week, and each child explored raz_kids.

Finally, the Grade 3s involved with CROSS COUNTRY will practice in “the bowl” at 8:30 on Tuesday.  We will be taking a bus with kids from Gr. 3 to Gr. 8 (70 are participating in the meet at Douglas Park) on Wed. 17th.  Come out and cheer Grant Road School!  We will leave with the participants, by bus, at around 4:15 from the school and will be back by 5:45 or so.

Have a GREAT weekend everyone!


Ms Selimos