Things for the Rest of the Year! PLEASE READ! Pet Show, Talent Show, Super Kid Things etc.

Can you believe it's finally Spring Time? It's been such a strange time for everyone. I truly appreciate all of the efforts that you've done at home to help your child. This has been hard from both ends. I miss my sweet class. I miss telling them stories and them sharing jokes with me. I miss seeing that light in their eyes when they understand a new concept. There is so much we're missing out on right now. 

Along with this, I feel that we are all learning and growing: the class, and myself. I think everyone is learning that we can do hard things. That we need to do our best and not give up. We're all learning how to do things differently and still getting things accomplished each day. I look at all of us as a piece of bread dough. If you peter out and don't knead your dough enough by hand, or if you don't allow it enough time in your mixer, the dough will lack strength. The dough may even fall back onto itself and collapse as the gases produced by the yeast escapes. Once baked, an under-kneaded bread loaf will be flat and dense in texture. I don't want us to be like the dough that isn't kneaded. As we do difficult and divergent things from our norm, we have to decide to either do something or just sit and wait it out. I'm hoping that my students will rise stronger and stand taller when they come back to school next year. 

Again, thanks so much for helping your child meet these challenges and better themselves. 

ZOOM Virtual Pet Show: 

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Today is the pet show at 1:00 p.m. My class has talked about having our pet show all year long. I tried to think of a way that we could still do this at home. Thank goodness for technology and ZOOM. I'm so excited about this. I sent out an email last night, but I'm going to re-share here on the blog what the email said with all of the directions in case you missed the email.

Dear Parents,

In 2^nd grade, we always have an end of year pet show. I decided that we will do our pet show

during our Zoom get together. It will start tomorrow at 1:00 on Thursday. I’ll send out the link for the ZOOM chat 5 minutes before and I’ll also put up the information on our Google Classroom stream.

Please talk to your child about how we’ll be taking turns and need to not shout so we don’t spook our pets. Make sure ahead of time to have your child fill out a piece of paper with information about their pet. ( Paper is attached to email)  This way they’ll know what to say when it’s their turn. This is the same thing we would have done if we were back in regular school. We’ll also be letting kids have their turns in their numerical order with the number they were assigned at the beginning of the year. They should all know what their number is. :)(I attached a sheet with the numerical order)

This should be a lot of fun. Even if you don’t have a pet at your house, have your child color a picture of a pet they wish they could have. This way everyone can participate.

Thanks so much!

Ms. Staley

Here are the questions that the children need to answer before we start, so when it's their turn, they'll be ready to introduce their pet.

Questions to answer about your Pet for Ms. Staley’s Pet show

1.                  What is your pet’s name? What breed?

2.                  How old is your pet?

3.                  Where did you get your pet?

4.                  What things do you like to do with your pet?

ZOOM Talent Show: Coming in a Few Weeks

In a few weeks (I'll let you know the real date soon!) we will have a class talent show on ZOOM. I wanted to give you and your child plenty of time to choose a talent they want to show and practice. 

Everyone has different talents from dancing, singing, karate, playing an instrument, art, a sport, reciting poetry, etc. But, go ahead and start working on something. I'll even be doing something! 

SUPER KID: If your child hasn't had a chance to be Super Kid this year yet, I'm working on some fun things that they'll get to do so we can highlight your child. I'll email parents directly when we will do some fun things for your child. Thanks!!

Picking Up Items From School

 I wanted to talk about your child's items still at school. I will be going to school a few days next week to start sorting through things and getting them ready for you to come and pick up. There are many things I need to take down off walls, put in portfolios, and making sure everything I normally send home at the end of the year is put on their desk.  I ask that you please wait until Mrs. Williams gives you the go-ahead to when it's time to pick up your child's things and turn in the Chromebook that you borrowed. I promise that I will have everything that belongs to your child will be returned to them. Thanks for your patience with this process. 

Due Dates, Missing Assignments, and Last Day Work Will Be Assigned. 

Hopefully, you noticed that I've not been putting due dates on most assignments. I did this mainly so as to not put a lot of pressure on my students. I felt that having no due dates would allow you and your child to decide when to do work. If you need to skip a day and do something fun, that's OK. All I ask is that you try to go back and finish as many things as possible. Go to Google Classroom and check each day to see how your child has been doing. Jordan School District sent out yesterday all information about grading for the end of the year. Please make sure to read what it said. If you didn't receive the email, you can find it on their website.

The last day that work will be assigned is May 22nd. Please hang in there with me and continue helping your child get their work done. I'm trying my best to get everything taught before then. I will be supplying a list at the end of the year things your child can work on over the summer to get ready for 3rd grade.

Sorry that this was so long, but I wanted to make sure that you had this information. There may be another blog post, but if not, I'll keep sending out emails often.

Happy New Year 2020: Shoebox Book Report, Spelling Bee, Valentines Party, and Math

Happy New Year! 2020 has started and we are busy back at work here in room 115. Here are some of the things happening at school.

Spelling Bee

The classroom spelling bee is taking place on Friday, January 24th, 2020. I will let the parents of the two winners know by email. I'll also let the parents of the runner up know as they will need to be ready in case one of the other two won't be able to be at the school spelling bee.

Valentines Party Leader Needed

The class Valentines Party will take place on Friday, February 14th at 12:30. This party is the easiest one for the year. If someone would like to be the lead parent for the party, please let me know. We will only need about 4 parents total to help with the party. Please email me if you'd like to help. Thank you.

Shoebox Book Report: Due Wednesday, January 29th, 2020

Here is the note that was originally sent home

about the report:

January 10, 2020
Dear Parents,
All of the Second Grade will be participating in a fun project this month. The
students will be doing a Peephole Shoebox Book Report that will be done at
home. Here is what needs to be done to complete the project. Students will choose any book on their reading level and read the book. Find any size shoebox and start working on putting together a scene from
your book. If you don’t have a shoebox at home, places like Target, Kohl’s
Walmart, etc. will often give you a free shoebox if you tell them it’s for a
school project. (All of the directions of how to put this together are found
on the back of this paper.) You can use anything such as toys, pictures from magazines, pictures
printed off the net, etc. to help create the scene. You also can use any
kind of paper: white copy paper, brown paper, gift wrap, or construction
paper to decorate the outside of the box. All students need to be done with their book report andbring it back to
school by Wednesday, January 29th, 2020 Parents are invited to come to their child’s classroom on Friday, January
31st, 2020 at 1:15 to view the book reports done by the class. Student’s
may be checked out early that day when the class is done “showing” their
reports. The students will show them all at the same time, very similar to
the Science Fair. Parents are invited to go view other classrooms if you
wish but the students need to stay in their own classrooms. (They will be
showing their reports to each other the day before.)This comprehension project will be graded by each individual teacher. If
you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher.

Thanks for your support in helping your child with this project.
Sincerely,
The Second Grade Teachers 

Math: 2 & 3 Digit Subtraction 

We have been learning about 2 & 3 digit subtraction with ungrouping (Borrowing).

Many of the children are struggling with this concept. If you feel that your child needs extra work on subtraction at home, please let me know and I will send some practice pages with your child. This is one of the most difficult math concepts that we will work on in 2nd grade. I wish I had the time to work individually each day with each child. Since that usually doesn't happen because of so much that needs to be covered during the day, extra help from parents would be appreciated. Send me an email and I will put together a packet of extra materials for your child. Thanks so much for your help.

As always, please email me with any concerns that you may have. I appreciate working with all of you and your children this year.

Sincerely,

Ms. Staley

 

Things to Know on Our Last Week Before Christmas Break!{Polar Express Party/Singing Performance/No Spelling}

There are many things happening this last week  before Christmas break and I wanted to make sure you were aware of all of them.

 

Ms. Staley's Annual Polar Express Party!!!
Coming THIS Tuesday, December 17th!

 We are all so excited for this fun day. It is the best party of the year! Here are some tips to help make the day run smoothly.

• Your child can wear pajamas or a robe, but make sure they are appropriate for the weather. They can be worn over regular clothing if they wish.
• The children can bring slippers to change into once they get to class and the party starts. Make sure they have good shoes to wear coming to school and going home at the end of the day.
• If your child wants to bring a pillow and a blanket, please put it in a large garbage bag with their name on it. They can also bring a stuffed animal friend but it needs to be small enough to fit in their backpack or the garbage bag. They can also bring treats to eat while watching the movie and snuggling with their animal in the afternoon.
• Please make sure your child brings a small gift, $5.00 and under, for the gift exchange. It's best if you can send something that would work for either a girl or a boy. 

 This Wednesday, December 18th, is Eastlake's Christmas Performance for the Parents. We have learned a fun trio of songs for you. 2nd grade will be performing around 2:30 p.m. The gym is very crowded for this as all of the grades will be performing. If you want to listen to all of the grades it will start at 1:45: 

Times are as follows: 5th grade @ 1:45; 4th grade @ 2:00; 6th grade @ 2:15; 2nd grade @ 2:30; Kindergarten @ 2:45; 3rd grade @ 3:00; 1st grade @ 3:15.   

 Guess what? My Christmas Gift to you is that:

• There is NO December Book Report
• There will be NO spelling or Fluency this last week of school!! Yay for all of us!

I hope all of your families have a wonderful 2-week Christmas break. I am so looking forward to spending time with my mom and kids. We love to watch Christmas movies and play games. I hope you have fun doing the family things you enjoy. School will start back up on January 6th!

Important Blog Post about Turkey Trot, Math 36 Club, Christmas Book Orders & Other Things! :)

Sorry, this first blog post is so late coming. I can't believe how busy this year has been so far. There is a lot of information that I wanted to relay to you.

1.Turkey Trot 

The annual 2nd grade Turkey trot will be next Tuesday, November 26th at 3:15 p.m. BTW, next Tuesday will be a full day of school before Thanksgiving Break. We will be trotting through the hallways in our Turkey Hats with our little turkeys' Gobbling! You can watch our parade from any of the hallways but more space will be available in the school entryway.

2. Math 36 Club

I hope that all of my students are excited to get practicing their math facts and joining the Math 36 club. If your child practices every night for 5 or 10 minutes this will help them so much! We have parents now coming that will be testing the students weekly. 

3. No Poke'mon Cards

 

I wanted to make sure that you knew that the students may not bring Poke'mon cards to schools. There have been many problems with fighting amongst students and cards being stolen, so the rule is to not bring them to school at all. Please help us with this by making sure your child is not bringing their cards to school.

4.Polar Express Party: Looking Ahead

The BEST party of the year is coming up in December!!

The Polar Express party will be on Tuesday, Dec. 17th, 2019. I know the kids are getting very excited and more information will be coming home soon. Laura Alvord is the mom that will be in charge of this party. She will have the sheet that many of you signed up on in August to help with the party. If you don't remember if you signed up or didn't get a chance to sign up, please email Laura here

@alvord.laura@gmail.com.

5.Scholastic Book Orders

The book order forms for Scholastic came home today in your child's Take Home Folder. This is the BIGGEST book order of the year. Just as I said in the note attached to the forms, if you want to order books for Christmas for your child, PLEASE let me know ahead of time whether you send the order to school or order them online. I will secretly keep the books in my closet until you want to come and pick them up. Every year parents take advantage of this sweet deal that I love getting to help you with.

6.Weather

Whether we like it or not, Winter is heading our way. This week starting on Wednesday, the weather will be getting chilly again. Please make sure that your child comes to school with a warm coat, hat, and mittens. If the temperature permits we really like to let the students go outside at recess time but I want to see them dressed appropriately. I hate to see kids coming in so cold after recess. Thanks for your help with this!

That's all for now! Sorry, this was so long and I hope to be able to keep up with this for the rest of the year. Most nights I spend correcting and entering grades in several places(Mastery Connect and Skyward etc.) I'd much rather be making these fun blog posts. Thanks for your support and for working with me to help your child succeed this year! Remember that you can always reach me at sheila.staley@jordandistrict.org

 

Polar Express Christmas Party, Christmas Book Orders, & Keep Reading!

Dear Parents! 

The time seems to be flying by so quickly! December is almost here! We are finishing the 15th week of school and we have made such great progress. Let's keep helping all children continue to learn through this busy holiday season. Make sure that your child continues to read every night/day or do the Lexia computer program for 20 minutes a day. Remember that doing Lexia will count on the monthly reading charts for the BOOK-IT reading program.

-November Book Report is due 

tomorrow: Nov. 30th.

JUST A REMINDER:

Christmas Book Orders are due tomorrow if you are planning on sending the order to school. If you plan to order books online, you can do that through Saturday evening(Dec.1st) at scholastic.com/bookclubs

You can order from the Nov. or Dec. book order forms. If you are ordering gifts, please send me an email and I won't send the books home with your child when they come in. I'll keep them in my closet until you can arrange a time to pick them up. Remember my special teacher code at scholastic is: HLCVM

I just wanted to send out a reminder that our classroom is a nut free zone. We have three children in our class with nut allergies. I've noticed that several children have been bringing things with nuts or peanut butter for snack time. Please make sure that this doesn't happen any more. I'd hate to have any child not get to eat their snack because it has nuts in it, but I can't have any children getting sick from being around the nuts either. So I ask for your help and cooperation in helping our classroom stay nut free.

Guess what is coming soon on Dec. 19th? 

Ms. Staley's Annual Polar Express Party!!!

We need more parent volunteers to help us that day or this party doesn't work well. Tara Ashby, Crew's mom, is leading this fun party for us but needs more parent volunteers or people to bring things. If you are willing to help, please e-mail Tara @ bluishandco@gmail.com

 We are all so excited for this fun day. Here are some tips to help make the day run smoothly. I'll send out a reminder email a few days before the party too.

• Your child can wear pajamas or a robe, but make sure they are appropriate for the weather. They can be worn over regular clothing if they wish.
• The children can bring slippers to change into once they get to class and the party starts. Make sure they have good shoes to wear coming to school and going home at the end of the day.
• If your child wants to bring a pillow and a blanket, please put it in a large garbage bag with their name on it. They can also bring a stuffed animal friend but it needs to be small enough to fit in their backpack or the garbage bag. They can also bring treats to eat while watching the movie and snuggling with their animal in the afternoon.
• Please make sure your child brings a small gift, $5.00 and under, for the gift exchange. It's best if you can send something that would work for either a girl or a boy.

*******************************************************************************

One last reminder, when Christmas is over and school hasn't started back yet, please take the time to help your child practice their Math 36 club facts.  There are so many kids that are so close to passing off addition, but need just a little extra practice. Let's make 2019 a great year by having everyone pass off their addition and subtraction math facts.

More Information for Parents: Book Orders...Take Home Reading...New Incentive Program at School

Believe it or not? Here's another blog post! Hopefully this one won't be as long.

I sent October Book orders home on Friday. They are due this Friday, October 12th. If you send the order back to school, please don't send cash. It's truly easier to order your books online at scholastic.com. I want to get the order sent off this weekend so any Halloween books you order will be back in time for Halloween. When you order books, we get free books for our classroom. Thanks!

At school we've been trying to work really hard at not talking so much during work time. I've told the children we can whisper to our neighbors, but not be too loud so other's can get their work done. There has also been a problem where many students are talking while I'm teaching. I really want your children to learn as much as they can during 2nd grade so I can get them ready for 3rd grade. Please have a little chat with your child to encourage him/her to be good listeners. One of the things we've talked about to help us, is the saying...

"I Believe I Can Do It!"

I've told them they can do anything they set their mind to, whether it's math, spelling, or being great listeners. I would appreciate any and all help with speaking to your child about this.

I've also started a new incentive program in the classroom. They can earn Dragon Bucks by following classroom rules, including being a good listener. They have a card at their desk. If they have no X's on their weekly card by end of Friday, they will receive a $5 Dragon Buck that they'll be able to use at the class store at the end of the month. If they get no more than 3 X's by the end of the week, they'll earn 1 Dragon Buck. I think the children are excited about doing their best. 

Take Home Reading Books

Please make sure after your child has read their Take Home Reading Book that you initial next to the book they have just read. If there is no initial, they will not receive a new book. It's so important that each child reads every day. The Take Home Reading Program was started to help your child achieve this goal. Along with the Lexia Computer Program done at school and at home, this will help your child develop their reading skills and achieve the success in reading this year. Thanks for your help with this!

Finally: The First Blog Post...The Staley Review: Homework, Take Home Reading and Picture Day

What happened to the month of September? It came and went so fast. Now here we are already in October. I must apologize for not getting the first blog post up until now. It's been a busy start to school doing so many other things to get my classroom up and running. In this post I have many things to share with you, so I hope you stay to read it all. 

 Take Home Reading Program

{I just wanted to remind you about some important things concerning the Take Home Reading Program.}

• Make sure to sign/initial your name on the white sheet next to the book your child has read. If there is no initial, your child won't be given a new book.
•  When you return the book back to school, please remember to send it back in the gallon size baggy with your child's name on it along with the white paper.
• If you lose a book, you will need to send $6.00 to school before another book is sent home.
• Books are traded out every Monday and Thursday. 
• Your child can do the monthly Book Report on one of their Take Home Reading books. 

The Book It Reading Program 

A Note was sent home today about the Book It Reading Program. This is a program that your child can do if they want. If they meet the reading goal each month, then I will send home a certificate to take to your local Pizza Hut for a free Personal Pan size Pizza! We will also be keeping track with a big poster at school on how all of the children are doing. In your child's Homework Folder I placed 9 months of reading calendars for you to log the minutes your child reads. Please just leave it there for the whole year. I will check the calendar at the end of the month. I would appreciate it if you'd help me out by totally up the minutes read by your child. You can do this weekly or at the end of the month and write it down on the reading calendar. This is a fun program that children have been doing for years and most kids love it. If you have any questions, please email me. 

 Here are some things to remember about homework and why it's being sent home and the amount of time it should take.

1. Monthly Book Report:(10 points toward their Reading Grade) The Book Report is sent home to work hand in hand with The Take Home Reading Program. The big goal for 2nd graders is to not only move up in reading levels, but learn how to comprehend what they are reading. Children will not be moved to the next guided reading level unless the teacher, after testing, can see your child is truly understanding and comprehending what they are reading. Part of comprehending what is read is being able to Re-Tell what they just read. The book reports help your child in thinking about and remembering what they read. I'm also including an incentive of rewarding a $5 Dragon Buck for finishing and returning their Book Report along with a big certificate. This report should not take very long to complete. My suggestion is to complete it early in the month and sending it back to school sooner rather than later.
2. Word of the Week:(10 points toward the Vocabulary grade) I've really liked the Word of the Weeks that have been coming back. It has been fun seeing how the children have learned the new words and are using them here in class. Keep up the good work! Please remember to have your child either color a picture, print out a picture, or bring an item to go along with their word. This should take about 15 minutes.
3. Fluency:(8 points toward their Reading grade) It has been great to see so many doing their Fluency practice at home. I can assure you, those children that do their Fluency Homework will make the most progress in reading. Along with the Fluency, doing the Lexia computer program at school and at home will bring about some amazing results in second grade this year.
4. Math: As you can see, I'm not sending a lot of math homework home; only when I feel it is needed. I would like your children to do the math Prodigy Program that we are now starting. I sent home today in the folder all of the log-in information. You can decide how many minutes and when your child does this program. The Weekend might be a great time. Please explore Prodigy with your child. Also, don't forget to have your child practice their Math 36 Club facts. This shouldn't take up too much time if you practice it for 5-10 minutes daily or every other day. We've already had a few students pass off Addition.

 Don't forget that this Wednesday, October 3rd, is school Picture Day. Even if you are not ordering pictures for your child, your child's picture will still be taken to be included in the class composite. A form was sent home last week. You can either send a check to school or pay for pictures online.

One Last Thing...I Promise!!!

Our class Halloween Party will take place at 12:30 on October 31st, after our lunch time. Kim Fjelstrom volunteered to be in charge of this party. Many of you signed up at Back to School Night to help in some way. If you did not get the chance to sign up and would still like to help, please send me an email and I will forward your information to Kim. The school-wide Halloween Parade will take place at 2:30 on the same day. Please remember that your child cannot wear a mask at school, but they can wear face paint.

Thanks for sticking with me reading this VERY long blog post. I'll try harder to send out shorter posts more often!  

If you have any questions about anything...please email me at

sheila.staley@jordandistrict.org

School Year is Almost Over: What's Happening the Last Week!

It's hard to believe that this is the last week of school! The year has gone by so fast. I wanted to do one last blog post to let you know what will be happening during this last week.

Tuesday: May 29th
-We will have a fun Pep Assembly with South Jordan Mayor Ramsey.

-W Day: We will be writing a letter to next year's 1st graders that will be coming to 2nd grade in August.

-Today will be our LAST class store where your child will get to use their Dragon Bucks they've earned.

-We will have our last Fire Drill today.

-We will be working on our Math Notebooks, ELA notebooks and some other fun things to keep learning going in our classroom.

Wednesday: May 30th
-Today is the school wide Field Day. 2nd grade will be going out to our Field Day from 9:20-10:30. If you would like to come and help by rotating around the stations with me and the class, that would be most helpful! Thanks! Have your child dress appropriately to go out and participate in some fun activities.

-X Day: We will be having an Xtra long recess during the day.

-We will be doing several Wildlife Wednesdays today leaning about more animals. This has been such a fun thing for us to do this year. Ask your child what animals we learned about that day.

Thursday: May 31st 
-Y Day: We will be doing some Year-End cleaning of our desks and Tote Trays today.

-Salt Lake County Library Assembly: This will be from 12:30-1:00 for 2nd graders. They will be telling the children about the Summer Reading Program to get them excited about reading during the summer.

-CLASS PARTY??? This all depends on what help parents want to give in helping us have an end of year party. I know that some parents have shown an interest in helping us celebrate the end of year and the beginning of summer. Here's what we need:

• A parent to be in charge of emailing the details and pulling things together.
• Parents willing to come and run the party.
• Parents that can buy and donate supplies needed.

If you are interested in helping with the party or have any ideas about what we should do, please email Ms. Staley here at school. The students feel that they have worked really hard this year and really want to celebrate with a party. We could start the party at 1:40 until the end of school.

June 1st: The Last Day!!

• No lunch will be served today. Please send extra snacks with your child to help them make it until school is out at 1:00.
• Recess will be at 10:30.
• 11:00-11:15: Each 2nd grade class will sign memory books in their own room. Then from 11:15-11:45 all 2nd graders will sign each others Memory Books.
• Last Day Celebration for the whole school: This will start at 12:30. The whole school will go out to the field to celebrate the end of school and the 6th graders going to Middle School. We will all stay outside until the bell rings at 1:00. Students will be dismissed from the field.

Have a great summer and keep reading with your child. Also, have your child practice their adding and subtraction facts. It would also be helpful to start working on basic multiplication before the beginning of 3rd grade.

Thanks for a great Year!!