Dear Parents and Guardians, 

Another week has come and gone here in second grade! We were very busy this week after our snow day last Friday! In math, we began our new unit on money and time! One thing I like to do is give students a little background on money before we even begin the unit. I do this by making them make the number of days we have been in school using coins. Before the unit even began they knew the names of the coins, and their values, and also how to add them together to come up with a total. This is extremely important because believe it or not, our money and time unit is the shortest unit out of all the units they will learn this year. At the beginning of the week, we practiced how to identify the coins in a given amount, and how to skip count and add them together to get a final total. We then were given problems where we needed to figure out how much change we would receive if we paid a certain way using only change. We then learned all about bills, and the different kinds of bills that we have in the US. Then we learned how to identify the bills in a given amount, and how to skip count and add them together to get a final total. We then were given problems where we needed to figure out how much change we would receive if we paid a certain way using bills. Lastly, we created Money Snowmen that will go up in our classroom! Students rolled a dice three times to come up with a dollar amount, and a 2-digit change amount. The students wrote this in standard form, and then picture form on their snowmen! In reading, we began by exchanging our independent reading books that we have finished, and caught up on any reading work that we had not yet finished from last week. In addition, we learned all about what a main topic of a nonfiction book is and what key details are, and how they support the main topic of the nonfiction book. We practiced identifying the main topic and key details by reading a National Geographic book about owls! We also learned how we as readers of nonfiction books can gain knowledge from reading other nonfiction books about the same topics. This allows us to relate the information that's already been learned to new information that is given in a different book. We also learned about different types of r- controlled vowels and words that use er, ir, and ur for phonics. In writing, we learned new strategies to hook readers into our nonfiction mini books. One way we did this was by posing a question to the reader and then explaining the topic of our mini books, and what the book is going to teach them. We also began editing our finished mini books and learned the specific symbols used when making corrections to our writing. Lastly, we got brand new January Nothing Books, and wrote all about our week! In spelling, we took our spelling test- one of the BEST in terms of grades we have taken thus far! We then got new spelling sorts which are focused on long and short i. We then got a chance to begin practicing our spelling words with spelling activities. In religion, Dan, our Youth Minister came in and taught us that we need to listen when God speaks to us and how to do so. We also discussed the story of Israel’s Testing in the Wilderness, A Prophet to Come, The Law of Charity, and the Nearness of God’s Word. In addition, in our 2nd Grade Religion Books, we learned all about how Jesus Promised the Gift of Himself. In science, we watched a Mystery Doug, and learned how some animals survive in very cold temperatures. We also continued to learn about pitch and how we hear what we do. 

It seems as though our classroom drops in temperature in the afternoon, why, I have no idea! I told the students that it is perfectly okay with me that if they find themselves getting cold, they can bring in extra clothes (sweatshirt/ Saint Paul sweatpants) to keep warm! Up to this point some have, but some are wearing their winter jackets to keep warm (including myself). Also, if you are interested in tutoring after school, our 5th grade teacher, Ms. Tessier, is offering tutoring in all subject areas! Her email is: a.tessier@stpaulkensington.org. 

Reminders:

• 1/15- 1/16: MLK Jr. Basketball Tournament 
• 1/17: No School- Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Have a great weekend,
Ms. Mappa

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

I hope everyone had a wonderful time at last night's concert! Our students did an amazing job with their performance! In math this week, we learned our last subtraction strategy which was subtraction with regrouping with magic boxes. This allowed students to have somewhere to put numbers after they regrouped to make them more organized while solving. We also spent a few days reviewing all of the subtraction strategies we have learned thus far in order to remind ourselves of them before the test. We then looked at all of the addition and subtraction strategies and used them to complete the review packet for the test on Friday. Lastly, we showed all that we learned about 2-digit addition and subtraction and took our test. In reading, we began by exchanging our independent reading books that we have finished, and caught up on any reading work that we had not yet finished. We also learned how to use the context of a nonfiction book to help us understand the tricky words in the text. We also learned that nonfiction books have tools that allow us to use strategic and flexible thinking while reading them. We then read a nonfiction text about an arctic fox, and answered questions all about what we read. We also learned about the differences between singular and plural tenses. After, we practiced deciding when to use es and s endings with specific words. In writing, we continued talking about goals and set our own goals to hold ourselves accountable for what we wanted to get done in writing for the day. We also talked about what descriptive language is and how we could identify it in our nonfiction mini books, or add it to our nonfiction mini books.  Lastly, we wrote all about our week in our December Nothing Books. In spelling, we practiced our spelling words with new activities to help us memorize how to spell them! In religion, our Youth Minister Dan came in and made Christmas Cards with us for those in need. We also discussed the story of The 12 Spies, The Poisonous Serpents, Balak and Balaam, and The New Generation Receives the Law. In science, we discussed the human ear and the pitch of sound. In social studies, we discussed all about how the United Kingdom celebrates Christmas! 

Reminders:

• 12/22: Early Dismissal- Christmas Break (No Aftercare) 
• 12/23- 12/31: Christmas Break
• 1/3: Return to School from Break

Have a great weekend,
Ms. Mappa

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

I want to begin by saying thank you so much for the donation made to CCMC! I am so happy students could have fun dressing in their PJ’s while also donating to a great cause! In math this week, we began learning another subtraction strategy. This strategy is modeling to subtract! With modeling to subtract, students began by subtracting a two-digit number by a one digit number. The first thing that students needed to do was model the bigger number using tens and ones place value blocks. Then, students looked at the ones places of each number. If the one's place in the bigger number was smaller than the one's place of the second number, the student knew that they needed to regroup. To regroup students crossed out a ten rod, drew an arrow toward the one's place, and drew ten ones cubes. Then they were able to cross out the second numbers ones place and subtract. This process was then repeated the next day, when students were asked to subtract two-digit minus a two-digit number. We also learned another strategy called partial differences. This mirrors what we learned for partial sums for addition, but instead of adding, you subtract. Students were asked to identify the tens and ones of their two-digit numbers. Then make a tens equation, ones equation, and final sum equation. Just like the break apart strategy the final sum equation needs to be added together to get a final two-digit answer of the tens and ones place combined. In reading, we began by exchanging our independent reading books that we have finished, and caught up on any reading work that we had not yet finished. We also learned how we show and inform someone what we have learned in nonfiction texts. We also learned how nonfiction texts have certain “lingo” and how that lingo differs from those used in fiction texts. We also discussed specific adjectives that end with y as well as how to decode and encode words with s and z. In writing, we continued elaborating and actually writing our pages in our nonfiction minibooks! We then began adding nonfiction text features into our books such as a table of contents, vocabulary words, bolded text, labels, and even definitions! We then learned what setting goals are, and set our own goals to hold ourselves accountable for what we wanted to get done in writing for the day. Lastly, we wrote all about our week in our December Nothing Books. In spelling, we practiced our spelling words with new activities to help us memorize how to spell them! We then took our spelling test on Wednesday. Then, we got brand new spelling words that help us practice spelling words with long and short a. In religion, we discussed the story of Leaving Sinai, Psalms of Individual Thanks, Good Men and Women, and The Appointment of 70 Elders. We also discussed how we become better persons in our second grade religion books. In science, we discussed soundwaves and how we as humans hear sounds. In social studies, we discussed how Mexico and Australia celebrate Christmas! 

Reminders:

• 12/15: Christmas Shopping Spree (School Gym)
• 12/16: Christmas Concert Grades 1-8
• 12/17: Math Test

Have a great weekend,
Ms. Mappa

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

I just want to begin by saying thank you for all your help at home, especially with those who were remote! I truly could not do my job without all of your help and support at home! In math this week we learned how to subtract using the break apart strategy. For the break apart strategy, just like addition you break the two- digit numbers into their tens and ones places. Instead of adding, you subtract the tens place first, then the ones, and then you add the sum of the tens and ones places to get your final two-digit answer. We also practiced the compensation strategy which allowed students to balance an equation by making a 0 or a 5 in one of the two-digit numbers ones place to make it easier for them to subtract. Before moving on and learning even more strategies in subtraction, we stopped and practiced the strategies that we learned thus far. Then, we began learning how to solve one and two-step word problems for subtraction. In reading, we began by exchanging our independent reading books that we have finished, and caught up on any reading work that we had not yet finished. We also learned about what the jobs of nonfiction books are, and what they are trying to teach us as we read them. We also looked at the text features in nonfiction books, and discussed what they are, and what their job is in nonfiction books. Some of the features we discussed were the table of contents, vocabulary words, bolded text, labels, and definitions. We also reviewed long and short vowels, and how to identify the long and short sounds of vowels in a word when more than one vowel is present. In writing, we brainstormed even more  topics that we were experts at, and started planning our new nonfiction books. One of the strategies we used was the say, say say, sketch, sketch sketch, write, write, write strategy. This allowed students to use their brainstorm to say the order in which their book is going to be written. Then students sketch an image on each page of the book that could help them write even more detail about the topic. Lasly, students wrote each sentence from their brainstorm on the bottom of each page, so they knew what was going to be written on what page. We then moved on to elaborating and actually writing our pages in our nonfiction minibooks! Lastly, we got new December Nothing Books, and wrote all about our week! In spelling, we then practiced our spelling words with new activities to help us memorize how to spell them! In religion, we discussed the story of The Holiness Code and Law of Love, The Sabbatical and Jubilee Years, The Tribes of Israel, The Nazirite Vow, Leaving Sinai, and Psalms of Individual Thanks. We also discussed how we meet Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In science, we finished up our unit on simple machines and moved on to exploring sound and light! We also started our new social studies unit which is Christmas Around the World!

Reminders:

• 12/8: All School Mass (Dress Uniforms Required)
• 12/10: PJ Fundraiser for CCMC 

Have a great weekend,
Ms. Mappa

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families! For a short week, we sure got a lot done! In math, we learned how to add to subtract on an open number line. This meant that we placed the smaller number on the left side of the number line, and made 10’s and 1’s jumps until they landed on the bigger number in the equation. To get their final answer, they counted the jumps that they made! We also had a Thanksgiving themed math day, where students solved addition and subtraction Thanksgiving dinner word problems. We also completed a solve and color for a Thanksgiving turkey! In reading, we began by exchanging our independent reading books that we have finished, and caught up on any reading work that we had not yet finished. We also learned about thick and thin questions that we will begin asking ourselves when we read nonfiction books. Thin questions are questions that can be answered with one word, and thick questions need an explanation to be answered. Lastly, we looked at nonfiction books and learned how to notice, learn, and question as we read them. In writing, we began brainstorming topics that we were experts at, and started planning our new nonfiction books. Lastly, we wrote about our week in our November Nothing Books! In spelling, we then practiced our spelling words with new activities to help us memorize how to spell them! In religion, our Youth Minister Dan came in and discussed the story of Moses and The Burning Bush. We also discussed how Jesus gives us his peace. Lastly, in social studies, we continued reading If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 and completed activities  in our Mayflower Activity Booklet!

If you are interested in tutoring after school, our 5th grade teacher, Ms. Tessier, is offering tutoring in all subject areas! Her email is: a.tessier@stpaulkensington.org. 

Reminders:

• 11/19: End of Trimester 1
• 11/24: Half Day (No Aftercare)
• 11/25: Thanksgiving Break- No School
• 11/26: Thanksgiving Break- No School

Have a great Thanksgiving,
Ms. Mappa

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

I just want to begin by saying thank you for all the kind emails that were sent to me during my absence, I really appreciated them! I am so excited to be back! In math this week, we reviewed all of the addition strategies taught in the unit thus far. Those included open number line, break apart, partial sums, the up and down strategy, and finally addition one and two- step word problems. We then moved on to the subtraction portion of our unit! We began by learning how to count back to subtract on the open number line. In reading this week, we began our new unit which is a nonfiction unit! We began by exchanging our independent reading books that we have finished, and caught up on any reading work that we had not yet finished. Students had an opportunity to now read nonfiction books as independent reading books with the start of the unit. Students also brainstormed and discussed the differences between fiction and nonfiction. We also learned about different types of statements and questions, and how to discriminate between the two in nonfiction books. We also learned about nouns and verbs, and practiced identifying nouns and verbs in different sentences. Lastly, we read Chomp! How Snakes Eat Reading. In writing, students got one more opportunity to finish editing using their checklist, and make final copies of their small moment stories! One will go in their portfolio for next year, and the rest came home for you to see! Students then wrote a writing prompt on “our class went on a hike to collect leaves, but you’ll never believe what happened next..” In addition, students also wrote a writing prompt on what they love about Fall. We also began our new writing unit which is nonfiction writing! In this unit, our second graders will be writing about topics that they are experts in! Lastly, we wrote about our week in our November Nothing Books! In spelling, we got brand new spelling sorts! We then practiced our spelling words with new activities to help us memorize how to spell them! In religion, students learned about the biblical stories of Crossing the Red Sea, Manna and Quails, The Ten Commandments, The Golden Calf, Moses’ Shining Face, and The Tabernacle. We also learned how Jesus Leads us to his Peace, in our second grade religion books. In science, we continued our physics unit, learning all about simple machines! This week, we learned about pulleys. In social studies, we continued reading If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 and completed activities  in our Mayflower Activity Booklet!

Reminders:

• 11/19: End of Trimester 1
• 11/24: Half Day (No Aftercare)
• 11/25: Thanksgiving Break- No School
• 11/26: Thanksgiving Break- No School

Have a great weekend,
Ms. Mappa

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

It was a pleasure to meet with you all Parent/Teacher Conferences over the past two weeks, and to discuss your students progress in 2nd grade thus far! I also want to wish our veterans a Happy Veterans Day, and to thank them for their service! In math this week, we continued to add two-digit numbers using base ten blocks as models. In addition, we reviewed the partial sums strategy, and the break apart strategy, as well as what to do when we add more than three numbers at a time. Next week, we will be heading on over to two-digit subtraction! In reading this week, we were able to exchange the independent reading books that we have finished, and caught up on any reading work that we had not yet finished. We also discussed what homophones are and completed an activity to practice identifying them. After learning about homophones we began learning about homonyms and discussed how they are different from homophones. In addition, we discussed how to decode and encode words that include “le” and “ng”. Lastly, to practice testing our reading comprehension skills, we read a short story called The Storm, and answered comprehension questions after we were done reading. In writing this week, students were given a small moment story checklist, and edited every single one of their small moment stories that they have written. This checklist allowed them to look at their sentences (making sure they are superstar), if their story had a beginning, middle, and end, and lastly, if it included the specific detail that we discussed and focused on throughout the unit. Once students finished editing using their checklist, they were able to make final copies of their small moment stories! One will go in their portfolio for next year, and the rest will be coming home for you to see! We also spent a day sharing our small moment stories with partners to show all the hard work we put in this unit. Lastly,  we wrote about our week in our November Nothing Books! In spelling, we continued to practice our spelling words with new activities to help us memorize how to spell them! We then took our first spelling test! In religion, our youth minister Dan came in, and taught us all about trust. We also  learned about the biblical stories of The Birth of Joseph, The Call of Moses, Moses and Aaron Meet with Pharaoh, and The Passover. We also learned how Jesus Leads us to his Peace, in our second grade religion books. In science, we continued our physics unit, learning all about simple machines! This week, we learned about levers, wheels, and axles! In social studies, we began reading If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 and completed a page in our activity booklet!

I am going to post the new set of spelling words on my webpage on the school website instead of printing so you can access it at any time! I will also attach a copy in an email on Monday after they receive them. Also, if you are interested in tutoring after school, our 5th grade teacher, Ms. Tessier, is offering tutoring in all subject areas! Her email is: a.tessier@stpaulkensington.org. 

Reminders:

• 11/19: End of Trimester 1

Have a great weekend,
Ms. Mappa

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Hello November! I feel like these past few months have been flying by! We have been busy bees here in second grade this week! It was a pleasure to meet with some of you at Parent/Teacher Conferences, and I can't wait to meet with more of you for more on Tuesday! In math this week we learned how to identify one and two step addition word problems. Students learned that the way to identify if the problem is a one step or a two step problem is by identifying how many numbers are in the problem. If there are two numbers, it is a one step, and if there are three or more numbers, it is a two step problem. We also learned that when solving these word problems, the key words found in the question allow us to identify if the problem is asking us to add or subtract. We also learned another way to add two-digit numbers, which is the use of modeling. By modeling both numbers in an equation, students can actually see the tens and ones places visually, and visually see how to regroup by exchanging ten ones cubes for one ten rod. Lastly, we took down our Halloween Monsters, and put up our Place Value Turkeys! In reading, we were able to exchange the independent reading books that we have finished, and caught up on any reading work that we had not yet finished. In addition, we focused on dialogue in our books. We discussed what dialogue means, what it can look like, and how to identify it when reading independently. When reading independently, or in our groups, we completed the dialogue worksheet, which asked us to identify six pieces of dialogue in our books. We also worked on a long e reading worksheet about Freddy Frog, and answered questions about the story after we were done reading it. Lastly, to practice testing our reading comprehension skills, we read a short story called The New Hat, and answered comprehension questions after we were done reading. We were very busy in writing this week because believe it or not, our first writing unit is coming to a close! This week, we spent a lot of time editing the beginning portion, middle portion, and endings of our small moment stories. We also picked our favorite small moment story, and were able to share it with a partner using our Partner Share Worksheets. Lastly, we began writing about our week in our brand new November Nothing Books! In spelling, we continued to practice our spelling words with new activities to help us memorize how to spell them! Believe it or not, we are ready to take our first spelling test next week on Thursday, 11/11. In religion, we learned about the biblical stories of Joseph’s Brothers In Egypt, and Joseph Meets His Brothers, Jacob’s Family in Egypt, and The Deaths of Jacob and Joseph. We also learned how Our Friend Jesus Forgives Us, in our second grade religion books. In science, we continued our physics unit, learning all about simple machines! This week, we learned about inclined planes, wedges, and screws!

Reminders:

• 11/5: Christmas Boutique @ 6pm
• 11/9: Picture Retakes 
• 11/9: Parent Teacher Conferences (After Normal School Day)

Have a great weekend,
Ms. Mappa

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

We had an exciting Halloween themed week here in grade two! In math this week, we learned how to solve two-digit addition problems using the regrouping strategy. We also learned how to construct arguments after solving two-digit addition problems, to prove why the answer we got is correct. Lastly, we completed Halloween themed math activities that allowed us to review all of the strategies that we have learned in math this year thus far. In reading this week, we learned how to identify the who, when, where, and what in our independent reading books by completing the 4 W’s Worksheet. We also learned all about onomatopoeia. We learned what it is, and how to identify it when reading. We also learned all about what contractions are, and how to identify and write them. We also read all about the Halloween holiday by reading a Halloween Comprehension Story. We learned that when working on our comprehension, we need to really pay attention to the text that is in front of us, so that we can answer the questions that are at the end of the story. If we cannot remember what we read, we learned that we need to go back and reread to make sure we understand what we are reading, and are able to answer the questions about the reading. Lastly, we read Spookley the Square Pumpkin, and retold it using a special Halloween Retell Worksheet. For writing this week, we learned how to add transition words into our small moment stories to make the timing of those stories flow better. We also learned how to add dialogue into our small moment stories to make our characters come alive. When I was absent on Thursday, students read Mrs. Nelson Is Missing, and students wrote about where they thought I was, and created a “missing poster.” In spelling, we continued to practice our spelling words with new activities to help us memorize how to spell them! In religion, our Youth Minister, Dan came in and taught us all about the biblical story of Ester. We also learned about the biblical stories of Joseph Interprets Dreams, Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dreams, Joseph’s Brothers In Egypt, and Joseph Meets His Brothers. We also learned how Jesus calls us to love in our second grade religion books. In social studies, we read a National Geographic on Mummies! In science this week, we learned about work, wheels, and conducted a pumpkin experiment! The pumpkin experiment asked students to describe the outside of the pumpkin, then we opened up the pumpkin, and each student got to dissect and describe the insides of a pumpkin.

Reminders:

• 10/29: Boo Bash
• 11/1: All School Mass (Dress Uniforms Required)
• 11/3: Parent Teacher Conferences (Early Dismissal @ 12:30pm)
• 11/4: Christmas Boutique @ 6pm

Have a great weekend,
Ms. Mappa

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

We have gotten SO much done this week in second grade! In math this week, we continued to learn how to break apart numbers into their tens and ones places, and add them together to get a final sum. We also learned a strategy called the compensation strategy. The compensation strategy asks students to look at a problem and make it easier to add by creating a 0 or a 5 in the ones place of one of the numbers. For example, if the problem was originally 42 + 38, the student would look at the problem and subtract 2 from 42, and add 2 to 38, making the problem 40 + 40. We also reviewed the partial sums strategy which asks students to add the tens place of the two addends, then the ones place of the two addends, and then add the sums of the tens and ones places together to get a final sum. In reading this week, we spent a lot of time on sequencing. We practiced this by completing a S’mores Sequencing Worksheet that allowed them to read a chapter in their independent reading books and write down what happened, first, second, third, and last in that chapter. We took this a step further and completed a Beginning, Middle, and End Worksheet, which allowed students to again read and identify those specific parts of their book and or chapter of their books. In writing this week, we learned even more ways to hook our readers into reading our small moment stories by reading and using the Stupendous Leads Worksheet. We then had some fun, and students wrote me an opinion piece on what I should be for Halloween this year, and to say the least, they were VERY funny and creative! In addition, we also learned how to stretch our sentences, and fill them with more interesting details. Lastly, we wrote all about our week in the fourth page of our October Nothing Books! We also began spelling this week! To get students comfortable with the way I run spelling, we are all beginning with the same spelling words. When learning these words, we have a bunch of different activities that will get students familiar with these words, and the spelling patterns of them. I let students have time with their spelling words because I truly want them to learn how to spell them, and not just memorize them for a test to further down the road, forget them. I sent a copy of the words we are working on in the classroom daily home. If you want to review them at home with your students you can, just by reading the word and testing them little by little each night, however, it is not a homework assignment/ requirement. In religion, we learned about the biblical stories of Jacob Bargains with Laban, Jacob Leaves Labans Land, Jacob Wrestles with an Angel, and Jacob and Esau Meet Again. We also learned how we give love to others in our second grade religion books. In science, we went outside and went on a leaf hunt! We discussed why the leaves change into different colors in the fall, and collected leaves for a future project! We also moved on from our unit on geology and moved into physics. To start off our unit, we discussed force and gravity!

Boo Bash: Classroom parties with food will not be held due to COVID. HSA will provide ICEES at a table during the Boo Bash as a special treat. This will be a substitute to avoid any snacks or homemade goods coming into the classrooms. Our annual costume parade will take place next Friday before the Boo Bash. The parade will start at 8:45. Students in Grades K-2 will walk through the school in their Halloween costumes and the other grades will cheer them on. Please see the Halloween Costume/Attire attached for this day.

Conferences will be held on Wednesday, November 3rd, which will be an early dismissal for students, again at 12:30. The second day of conferences will be held on Tuesday, November 9th. The 9th’s conferences will be held after school, and will be a full day of school, with a regular dismissal. You will soon be getting a link from the school to sign up for the conference day and times. If your student missed school pictures, retakes will be on November 9th as well! Also, if you are interested in tutoring after school, our 5th grade teacher, Ms. Tessier, is offering tutoring in all subject areas! Her email is: a.tessier@stpaulkensington.org. 

• 10/23: Trunk or Treat
• 10/29: Boo Bash