We have a fun, and exciting week ahead of us  Monday should be a fairly typical day.  However, that will probably be the only day of the week.

Tuesday – Halloween – We will participate in the parade at one o’clock.  We will have a small snack after, if time allows.  My apologies for not getting a sign-up out earlier for the after-parade time.  Last week, I was so focused on rescheduling/planning for our field trip, that Halloween snuck up on me.  I have had several parents ask, so I will attach a sign-up genius, in case anyone wants to bring a treat.  You are more than welcome to join us before the parade, to help prep your second grader, or walk with us during the parade.  We will have a quick snack when we return to the room, that you are welcome to join us for, as well.  I plan to have a drink and snack for the kiddos.  However, we don’t usually have a lot of time after the parade.  Thanks again for the amazing offers to help

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/30E094EAEA92AA6FB6-halloween

Wednesday – We plan to have our walking field trip.  Thank you for getting those permission slips in so quickly.  Fingers crossed that the weather holds, and we have a nice day.  It is a such a fun learning experience for the kids.

Thursday – We have the Eyes on Owls presentation.  This is such a great experience that is sponsored by our PTA.  It is so amazing to see such magnificent creatures up close, and learn so much about them, first hand.  Stay tuned for some pictures of this great experience.

Friday – Phew… What a fun and busy week.  This should be a fairly low-key Friday.

This should be a pretty amazing week, filled with some great learning experiences.  However, we are going to attempt to stay on track with both Wonders and math.  So, you should expect to see spelling words Monday afternoon, and some home links when we are able to squeeze in a math lesson.

As always, thank you for your continued support, and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Sorry for any confusion.  Due to the upcoming weather forecast, we will have to postpone our field trip.  We have been trying to coordinate with all of the wonderful people that have offered to help us with this field trip, to find a day to reschedule.  We thought we were set to go for Friday, but we had a scheduling conflict, and were unable to make it happen.  It looks like we will be postponing until next week.  Please be on the lookout for a new permission slip coming home.  Again, we would love to have some of you join us!  Thank you, for your understanding, and continued support!

We were very lucky to participate in a fire safety demonstration held by the NBFD.  We discussed fire safety in our homes, and the children practiced calling 911, stop-drop-and-roll, and evacuating a building that was beginning to fill with (simulated) smoke.  The fire department walked us through the tools they use.  I was lucky enough to try on the full uniform that the fire fighters would wear to a fire.  Yikes!  It is VERY heavy, and VERY hot!  I can’t imagine having to wear that in the middle of the summer!  The kids ended this experience by touring and sitting in a fire truck and ambulance!  So exciting!

Some reminders that your 2nd graders may have shared with you:

• Smoke detectors should be checked (vacuumed out and batteries replaced) twice a year.  They suggest daylight savings times, which is right around the corner.
• It is always good to practice fire drills at home, so that children can hear what a smoke detector sounds like, at home.  It is good for them to practice this, even  when they don’t suspect it – so it simulates what it would be like if there was an actual fire.
• Make sure your family has a meeting place outside, in case of a fire in your home.

A huge thank you to the New Boston Fire Department for taking the time, and being so patient with our children!

Rain, rain, go away!

As of right now, it is looking pretty rainy for our field trip on Wednesday…as well as our rain date on Thursday.  We will make a final decision tomorrow, based on the latest forecast.  Hopefully there will be some shift, and we will be able to go, as scheduled.

Oh, what fun we had!  Friday turned out to be a super fun day in second grade!  The Michaelmas Fair was tons of fun, and I’m sure you saw some of the treasures that the children came home with.  The third graders worked hard creating such fun things for all of us to buy.

For our movie day, we watched a seasonal movie called “Spookley”.  The kids seemed to really enjoy the movie, and the treats that we had with it.

PJ Day and a MOVIE!

Hooray!!! Our class has earned a reward for having some GREAT behavior!  We took a vote, and decided on a movie/pjs for a reward!  The children are allowed to bring a small stuffed animal and wear pajamas to school, as well!  It should be a fun way to celebrate some great classroom behavior.

MICHAELMAS FAIR

Also, tomorrow is the MICHAELMAS fair! The third graders have been working hard on creating some wonderful treasures that will be available for purchase tomorrow.  Our class will be visiting the fair at 10AM tomorrow.  The children are allowed to bring money to school, if they would like to purchase anything from the fair.  It is a good idea to have a conversation at home, about choosing a safe place to keep, and put their money, (for example; a secure pocket or a secret place in their backpack).  I will remind the children that it is their responsibility to keep their money safe and secure throughout the day.

As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you should have any questions or concerns.

Just a reminder/heads-up…  The children have brought home two permission slips.  Both need to be signed and returned to school.

Orange – this is a permission slip for the children to participate in a Fire Prevention/Safety Week presentation.

Blue – this is a permission slip for the children to participate in a walking field trip in town.  This will be a three part field trip.

We will depart from New Boston Central School at approximately 8:15. Combining both science and social studies curriculum, as we take a three-part walking tour of parts of our beautiful town. For the first part, volunteers form the Historical Society will lead a short presentation at the Historical Society, then guide us on a walking tour of several sites, including the Historical Society, Nan’s House, The Northeast Café, Parker Mill, the site of the old Ice House, and the town library, where they will receive a tour. Students will learn the rich history of these sites, and compare that to life in our town, now. Another component of our tour will be exploring the woodland habitat along the Mill Pond trail, across the new footbridge, and ending at the Whipple Free Library. Children will explore and observe the rich plant and animal life along the trail, as well as the changes that have occurred due to weather and man. Children will enjoy a brief snack.
We will then return to New Boston Central School, on foot, in time for lunch by 11:20.

We would love to have several chaperones for this trip.  If you are able to come, please indicate this on the permission slip.  This should be an amazing trip for the second graders.  Please keep your fingers crossed for nice weather!

If you have any questions about either of these activities, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

Since this week is a review week in Wonders, there are no new spelling words.  I would like to take this opportunity to practice some pretty important skills.  By the end of the week, I would like the children to all know, and be able to write their full name, address, phone number and birthday.

I had the children take a pretest today to determine what parts of the above they will need to practice this week.  I have corrected their pretests with the information that I had, and have sent them home.  If any of that information is incorrect, please send it back to school, corrected.  I have asked the children to talk with someone at home to determine what phone number is the most important for them to know.  This is the number that they should practice throughout the week.

I have included four practice pages, for the children to practice this information throughout the week.  If you have an alternative method of practice, you are more than welcome to have them practice a different way.  These pages can stay at home.  They do not have to be returned, but please monitor to make sure the children are practicing the correct information.  I will reassess the children at the end of the week to see if we will need to take some additional time to practice this information.

Thank you all for your support with this!  I know this is a break from routine, but it is my belief that this is important information for the children to know.  We will have some conversations throughout the week, to discuss some foreign concepts to the children, like geographical regions, zip codes and area codes, etc.

This week in Wonders, we are in week 6 of Unit 1.  Week six is a week to review and assess.  This week, we will be reviewing the concepts, skills and strategies from unit 1.  We will also be practicing taking a unit assessment.  This is a lengthy process, and we will be reviewing how to take an assessment like this, and building some test-taking stamina.  We know that this is a challenging process for the children, and we don’t always get the most valid scores on a first attempt.  Therefore, we use the first assessment we take as a teaching tool.  We will work through this process together, and talking a lot about test taking skills and strategies.  If you have any questions about this process, please let me know.