Samaritans on the digital road

This week we have been learning how to be good digital citizens. 

We started by using Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan to discuss how we can be a good neighbour. We then discussed how we can be kind to others while online. We also discussed how to be safe on the Internet by keeping our personal information private and to ask a trusted adult like a teacher or parent if we see something that makes us feel uncomfortable. Just like if we were walking in our neighbourhood we don't talk to strangers on the Internet either. 

There were also some excellent tie ins to media literacy as we learned how to identify an advertisement on the Internet and the he purpose of Internet advertising. 

In keeping with helping us to be safe online students received the use of technology form that parents are to review with their child and return signed by both parent and student. This is a pledge that students will keep themselves safe online and allow others to be safe as well. 

In Math we continued to explore representing numbers using a variety of strategies such as a ten frame, hundreds chart, number line and place value chart. We are also learning how to represent addition and subtraction using these strategies. 

In Science we continued to learn about simple machines. Students should have received a note home detailing there assignment to bring in an example of something that moves and to be prepared to talk about it by describing what the object is and how it moves. Students are to bring in an object for this coming Monday. 

Thank you again for all the parent support so far. 

Busy bodies

We have begun our Physical Education program by exploring the gym and learning how to be safe in the gym space. We will continue to develop basic movement skills as we work towards playing in more complex games. 

Bean bag balance relay. 

We also are exploring addition using the hundreds chart and practicing our skip counting to discover addition patterns in Math. A review of basic addition facts at home would be helpful. 

In language we began working on making sentences by first brainstorming what exactly makes a sentence and how do we identify the part of a sentence. 

Today is also Character Day. Our students watched a brief video and were asked the question what kind of person do I want to be? The video can be found here. https://vimeo.com/79444520 Please discuss with your child. Use the chart below to help discussion. 

It was also great to see all of the parents of our students at our Open House last week. It's great to see parents who are actively involved in their children's education. Keep reading to and with your child everyday. 

Student verification sheets

Student verification sheets went home today. Parents please check to make sure that all the information is accurate. If there is an error please correct it. All Please make sure to sign and return the form by this Friday.

We also started our research today using chromebooks and working in groups to discover basic information about the weasel through text and video websites. Please feel free to discuss and review the information with your child.

http://easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-weasels/
http://www.dkfindout.com/uk/animals-and-nature/weasels/weasels/
http://www.arkive.org/weasel/mustela-nivalis/video-00.html

Wild about weasels

We began our week inquiring about weasels as an introduction to some science concepts that we will be looking at in our growth and living things unit. We will return to this unit in the spring but we were presented with a unique opportunity to begin an inquiry now. We also used it as an exercise in following directions in Visual Arts. 

In Math we continued to work at various introductory centres. We also worked through some more review for me to get a better sense of where the students are at in their Math journey. 

We did an introductory gym class on Monday and began our library circulation Tuesday. grade 2 students are allowed to take out one French book and one English book for the week. The books are due every Tuesday although there may be an option to renew. 

There was an error in my previous post regarding the welcome back BBQ. The date is this Thursday September 15 but the times are from 5-7 instead of 4:30-6:30. I look forward to seeing everyone there. 

End of Week 1

We have successfully finished our first week of school. Thank you to all the students who helped make this such a great first week. There are always adjustments when there is a new school year and new teacher but they did great. Next week we will continue to look at where we are in our learning and how much further we can improve his year. 

Today we completed some math venters involving pattern blocks, tangrams, counting with money, creating numbers using base 10 blocks and examining the properties of 3D shapes. We also finished up our work in language including writing about our safe space design which we did yesterday and writing about our summer vacation. We also completed our reading of the Andrea Beatty bookset "Iggy Peck, Architect", "Rosie Revere, Engineer", and "Ada Twist, Scientist" which highlight the joy of following your dreams as well as the idea that failures can be part of our greatest successes and that the most important thing in learning is to ask questions like a scientist. I encourage parents to follow up with their children about the ideas in these books. 

In the afternoon we explored the living things in the peace garden (plants and insects) and did some inquiry learning inside about the living things we could see right outside our classroom window. 

Thank you to all parents who returned the media consent form. There will be more forms going out next week.

Have a great weekend. 

Discovering "blue" leaves from a tree (and looking for insects in the background.)

Tangrams

Can you count to $0.47 in three different ways?

Finishing up our working with words. 

BBQ forms

A quick reminder that Forms for our Welcome back BBQ and Open Housewent home today. The forms are due tomorrow to be able to place your order for the BBQ. The welcome back BBQ is on Thursday September 15. If you wish to attend the welcome back night but do not wish to purchase from the BBQ you are most welcome to attend. I look forward to seeing everyone at the BBQ. 

Day 2

This was another busy day of getting to know each other and the classroom routines. We began our day writing math sentences on our personal whiteboards. We then worked on a math sheet where we got to show what math we know. 

After recess we read "How full is my bucket" and discussed how we can fill each other's buckets by saying kind words and doing kind things for each other. We then rotated through language centres working on words endings, reading to our classmates, and writing about our summer vacation. 

After lunch we went to our welcome back assembly where our principal Ms. Campbell spoke to us about how to have a great year at our school. 

Our class also practiced what to do when we hear the fire alarm by walking out quietly in a line and sitting down quietly on the pavement. 

For the fourth block, Mme Sarah introduced the class to the French program for the year. 

Welcome to Grade 2

Welcome to Grade 2! I am so excited to be your child's this year! This is my 3rd year at St. Anne and my 11th year of teaching.

This blog will be used to communicate about what we are learning in our class as well as keep you informed about upcoming events.

Homework will be assigned through a shared calendar developed with the entire grade 2 team at St. Anne. It is recommended that each child complete the homework tasks each day to complement what is happening in the classroom. There are also a variety of programs and apps that we will use to help students practice their Math and Language skills. There will be more information about these apps in the next few weeks.

We had a very eventful day on our first day of school. We started by creating shapes out of playdough, drawing a picture of it in our scrapbook and then writing about our shape. We also sorted out the supplies and did a scavenger hunt of the classroom. The school supplies will be kept at school. The Kleenex, ziploc and glues sticks will be shared and the students will keep their pencils, pencil crayons, erasers, and highlighters in their desk. Those who brought earphones can also keep them in their desk as well. 

In the afternoon we collaborated to create structures out of pipe cleaners and paper clips. Students were asked to describe their structures. 

I made a springy thing. I made a snail.

We made a zip line together.

This is a tree

I made a caterpillar. I twisted them together. 

This is a spring but I did more. I made a connection on it. 

We also finished the afternoon by reading the story "In my Heart" and drew how our heart felt on the first day as well as write a sentence about how we feel right now. It was great to see the children express the variety of emotions they felt from sad to excited to happy to silly. It was a great first day and I know there will be more to come.