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Welcome to 2nd Grade with Mrs. Macdonald!

I am a Florida native and received my BA in Psychology with a minor in Spanish from the University of South Florida. After graduation, I pursued my Masters of Education through the University of Notre Dame’s ACE Service through Teaching Program and have been an educator for the last fourteen years. Additionally, I earned my English as a New Language endorsement through the University of Notre Dame in 2012. I taught at a Catholic school in Kansas City, Kansas for two years, and I then moved to Chicago in 2010 where I spent eight years teaching second grade at a Catholic school in Pilsen. I am excited to be back for my eighth year of teaching in this beautiful school community. I am also looking forward to my third year of coaching the Cross Country teams.

In my free time, I enjoy running, reading, baking, watching Broadway musicals, traveling, and spending quality time with my family and friends. I could not imagine teaching anywhere else but a Catholic school, where I can share my faith with my students and watch them grow in their own relationships with God. I am especially looking forward to preparing my students for the sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Communion.

Posts

Tuesday, 3/31/26, Notes

Happy Tuesday of Holy Week!

Homework:

*If your child missed days before the break, please note s/he will be bringing home missing assignments today. Please return these by Thursday, 4/2, if possible. (This way there won't be any extra work over Easter weekend.)

1. Read 20 minutes (or more)

2. Phonics:

practice words with ou, ow
practice trick words = Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday

3. Math 9.2 homework page (picture graphs/pictographs)

Additional Reminders:

Please check out the parish website for information about special services for Holy Week to help us enter more fully into Jesus' Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
No School Good Friday (4/3) or Easter Monday (4/6)
Library books → bring back Wednesday (no school Friday, 4/3)

Bears/Blue + Orange Dress Down

Tuesday = Bears Dress Down (in honor of the guest speaker visiting)

Students may dress down, following the handbook guidelines.

Please note that if your child dresses down, s/he must be in either Bears clothes or in blue and orange. Otherwise your child can wear his/her Gym uniform.

Monday, 3/30/26, Notes

Welcome back! I hope you have had a blessed start to Holy Week. This is the high point of our liturgical year, and our parish has many prayer opportunities to help enter into this week more fully. Please see the parish website for details. Please also pray for those going through the OCIA process to fully enter the church at the Easter Vigil.

Homework:

1. Read 20 minutes (or more)

2. Phonics:

new skill = ou (e.g. trout), ow (e.g., plow)
new trick words = Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday

3. Math (We started our new chapter on graphing and data) - "Interesting Insects" tally chart HW page

Additional Reminders:

All School Mass = Tuesday
Please check out the parish website for information about special services for Holy Week:
- Holy Thursday evening Mass
- Good Friday morning prayer
- Good Friday communion service
- Easter Vigil Mass (Our parish will welcome 20+ people into the catholic church, including our very own Mrs. Swift, who helps out with recess daily!)
- Easter Sunday Masses
No School Good Friday (4/3) or Easter Monday (4/6)
Library books → bring back Wednesday (no school Friday, 4/3)

Week at a Glance 3/30/26-4/3/26

Week at a Glance

Week of March 30-April 3, 2026

Holy Week

Math: We will start a new unit on data collection and analysis. This upcoming week we will practice reading and drawing tally charts, picture graphs (also called “pictographs”), and bar graphs. We will ask and answer questions about the data in these different graphs.

Phonics (FUNdations): Our unit will work on words with ou (like trout) and ow (like plow) syllables. Students will read and write monosyllabic and multisyllabic words with these spelling patterns. They will also learn new trick words: Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Reading and Writing (Wit & Wisdom): We are starting our third module of learning after the break: Civil Rights. We will start with books about Ruby Bridges and Martin Luther King Jr. We will work to define unknown words and to ask and answer questions about nonfiction texts.

Science/Social Studies: What does a good citizen do? That is the question we will look at this upcoming week. We will identify ways to be good citizens and decide whether specific actions are those of a good citizen. We will brainstorm ways that individuals can be good citizens in their communities.

Religion: We are taking a break from our First Communion books to spend time learning about Holy Week. We will review the events of Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday as we prepare to celebrate the most important holiday in our liturgical year. 🙂

Tests and Quizzes: None

Additional Reminders:

Please take your children to Mass over the weekend. We will celebrate Palm Sunday, and there are special parts that are added to the regular Mass, including a procession and a blessing of the palms.

Please check out the parish website for information about special services for Holy Week:

Holy Thursday evening Mass
Good Friday morning prayer
Good Friday communion service
Easter Vigil Mass (Our parish will welcome 20+ people into the catholic church, including our very own Mrs. Swift, who helps out with recess daily!)
Easter Sunday Masses

No School Good Friday (4/3) or Easter Monday (4/6)
Library books → bring back Wednesday (no school Friday, 4/3)

Happy Spring Break!

I will post the week at a glance notes closer to when we return to school.

In the meantime, I hope everyone has a rejuvenating and relaxing time away from school.

Be safe. Be well. :)

Thursday, 3/19/26, Notes

Happy Feast of St. Joseph!

Homework:

1. Read 20 minutes

2. Phonics - Practice oa, oe, ow syllables, along with trick words (lose, beautiful, tomorrow, Monday, Tuesday, cousin) --> No assessment this week!

3. No Math Homework --> We did not have an official Math lesson today, due to Mass, watching 3rd grade skits, etc.

Reminders:

No Friday folders this week
Friday = Library books due
Spring break = next week - Thank you to those who informed me and Mrs. Lentino if your child is missing any days around the break. Have a safe and relaxing spring break! When we return it's full steam ahead toward First Communion and the end of the school year (~2 months! Wow!)

Wednesday, 3/18/26, Notes

Homework:

1. Read 20 minutes or more

2. Phonics

- Practice words with oa, oe, ow

- Practice trick words: Monday, Tuesday, cousin, lose, beautiful, tomorrow

3. Math - Baseball Bar Graph page

We used today to introduce data collection and analysis, as that will be the chapter we start after the break.
Please note this HW page is on the back of a page we did together in class.

Additional Reminders:

If your child is missing any days around Spring Break, please email me and Mrs. Lentino. 🙂
All School Mass = Thursday → Feast of St. Joseph
- Students should wear their red polo shirts with their uniforms.
- Students are encouraged to bring a red flower to school to leave by the statue of St. Joseph.
Library books = due Friday

Tuesday, 3/17/26, Notes

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Please note your child is bringing home his/her leprechaun trap today. We also read Tomie de Paola's version of the story of St. Patrick.

Homework:

1. Read 20 minutes or more

2. Phonics

- Practice words with oa, oe, ow

- Practice trick words: Monday, Tuesday, cousin, lose, beautiful, tomorrow

3. Math - Measuring Capacity (Students can/should use their "Mr. Gallon Man" to help with this paper.)

Additional Reminders:

Thank you again for all of the beautiful birthday cards/notes. It was the sweetest surprise last week!
Spring Break is on the horizon!
- If your child is missing any days around Spring Break, please email me and Mrs. Lentino. 🙂
All School Mass = Thursday → Feast of St. Joseph
- Students should wear their red polo shirts with their uniforms.
- Students are encouraged to bring a red flower to school to leave by the statue of St. Joseph.
Please see the church website to sign up for the FREE St. Joseph feast on Thursday, 3/19.

No Dress Down Tuesday

Please note that Tuesday is not a dress down.

This was a school-wide decision.

Thank you for understanding.

Monday, 3/16/26, Notes

Homework:

1. Read 20 minutes or more - We have been enjoying St. Patrick's Day books and books about Ireland these past couple of weeks!

2. Math --> Practice with measuring capacity and temperature --> Choose one side to complete:

Matching Measurements (this one has word problems)
Exploring Measurement (write the measurement and color the picture)

3. Phonics

Practice words with oa, oe, ow
Practice last week's trick words: Monday, Tuesday, cousin
Practice new trick words: lose, tomorrow, beautiful --> I will try to post a short video on Seesaw with how we practiced these trickier than usual trick words. :)

Additional Reminders:

If your child is missing any days around Spring Break, please email me and Mrs. Lentino. (Thank you to those who have already reached out!) Any missed work can be made up upon their return. 🙂
No All School Mass on Tuesday
All School Mass = Thursday → Feast of St. Joseph
- Students should wear their red polo shirts with their uniforms.
- Students are encouraged to bring a red flower to school to leave by the statue of St. Joseph.
Please see the church website to sign up for the FREE St. Joseph feast on Thursday, 3/19.
Students left their Leprechaun traps here tonight to see if they could catch a leprechaun. They will be bringing home extra materials, etc. tomorrow.

Library books = Due Friday --> Please send back books on Wednesday if your child is missing Friday's class.

Stay and Chat POSTPONED

The Monday Stay and Chat was postponed due to the weather forecast. Stay tuned for an update. :)

Week at a Glance 3/16/26-3/20/26

Week at a Glance

Week of March 16-20, 2026

Math: We took our Measurement assessment this past week, so before we start our unit on data collection and graphing, we will learn a little bit about measuring capacity (How much is a cup? A pint? A quart? A gallon?). We will complete activities to give us a basic understanding of these concepts, as your children will go more in depth with these concepts in third grade.

Phonics (FUNdations): We will finish up our unit on long o syllables → oa, oe, ow. Please continue to practice the trick words from this past week (Monday, Tuesday, cousin) and the new trick words for next week (lose, beautiful, tomorrow).

Reading and Writing (Wit & Wisdom): Having finished our Module on the American West, we will wait to start our next module on Civil Rights until after spring break. Instead, we will turn our attention to St. Patrick’s Day books and activities. We will also complete a journal to accompany our leprechaun trap projects.

Science/Social Studies: Our focusing question this upcoming week is how do leaders help their communities? We will learn about what leaders do, how elections are held, and how people come up with solutions to problems.

Religion: As we continue learning about First Communion, our sessions will focus on gathering together and creating a quiet space in our minds and hearts for reflection. We will also learn about the story of Moses and the burning bush and how he listened to God.

Tests and Quizzes: None

Additional Reminders:

Please try to take your children to Mass this weekend. We are less than two months away from First Communion, and this is the best way to prepare our hearts to receive Jesus!
If your child is missing any days around Spring Break, please email me and Mrs. Lentino. (Thank you to those who have already reached out!) Any missed work can be made up upon their return. 🙂
No All School Mass on Tuesday
All School Mass = Thursday → Feast of St. Joseph

Students should wear their red polo shirts with their uniforms.
Students are encouraged to bring a red flower to school to leave by the statue of St. Joseph.

Please see the church website to sign up for the FREE St. Joseph feast on Thursday, 3/19.
If your child has not yet brought in a shoe box (or box of similar size) for the leprechaun trap project, please send one in next week. Thanks! Any additional items from the list are appreciated (e.g., paper towel tubes, popsicle sticks, stickers, etc.).

Thursday, 3/12/26, Notes

Homework:

1. Read 20 minutes (or more!)

2. Phonics - Practice words with oa, oe, ow (long o syllables) and trick words: Monday, Tuesday, cousin

3. Math - No written homework

Assessment = Tomorrow (We will take this assessment in the morning before Mass so that it does not interfere with any grandparent visits.)

Additional Reminders:

Grandparents' Day Mass = Friday
Library books = due Friday
FREE St. Joseph Feast Dinner on Thursday, March 19th --> Please see this link for information and be sure to RSVP if you plan to attend.
Mass next week = Thursday --> Feast of St. Joseph --> Students should wear their red polos with their uniforms and can bring a red flower to school to place at the statue of St. Joseph. :)
Please return your child's report card envelope to school. The report card is yours to keep!
Stay and Chat about the new parish center = Monday, 3/16 --> Please attend if you are able!
Please have your child bring in a shoebox or similar sized box to build a leprechaun trap next week. Thank you! Any extra materials from the list are much appreciated too! :)
If your child is going to miss any days before or after spring break, please email me and Mrs. Lentino. Any missed work can be made up upon their return. Thanks and safe travels!

Dear Parents, I hope you will consider coming to the Stay & Chat on Monday morning to learn more about what's in store for our school with the new St. Joseph Parish Center. This new school space will impact every St. Joe's student, and I'm excited for what's in store for your children.

Wednesday, 3/11/26, Notes

Homework:

1. Read 20 minutes (or more!)

2. Phonics - Practice words with oa, oe, ow (long o syllables) and trick words: Monday, Tuesday, cousin

3. Math - "Check for Understanding" (4 measurement word problems)

Assessment = Friday (We'll take it right after announcements so we don't interfere with any of the Grandparents' Day events.)

Additional Reminders:

Grandparents' Day Mass = Friday
Library books = due Friday
FREE St. Joseph Feast Dinner on Thursday, March 19th --> Please see this link for information and be sure to RSVP if you plan to attend.
Mass next week = Thursday --> Feast of St. Joseph --> Students should wear their red polos with their uniforms and can bring a red flower to school to place at the statue of St. Joseph. :)
Please return your child's report card envelope to school. The report card is yours to keep!
Please have your child bring in a shoebox or similar sized box to build a leprechaun trap next week. Thank you! Any extra materials from the list are much appreciated too! :)

If your child is going to miss any days before or after spring break, please email me and Mrs. Lentino. Any missed work can be made up upon their return. Thanks and safe travels!