• The new packet with information and practice pages went home today.
• Note: There will not be an official assessment on this unit until after Christmas break, as it is a 3-week unit.

• Chapter 12 Quiz = Tuesday, 12/12
• The review sheet went home in your child's Friday folder

Week at a Glance

Week of December 4-8, 2023

Math: As we start our week we will review faces, edges, and vertices of 3D shapes. We will also compare 2D and 3D shapes, and students will divide 2D shapes into equal shares (halves, thirds, and fourths). We will wrap up the chapter with a lesson on finding the area of a 2D shape by counting unit squares. The chapter 12 test will be the following Tuesday (12/12). Your child should have a review sheet in his/her Friday folder.

Phonics (Fundations): We will move into words with open syllables next week. Students will also combine open syllables with other syllable types to form multisyllabic words. Students will practice words with the letter y having a long /i/ sound vs a long /e/ sound. Finally, students will practice adding suffixes -ly and -ty to base words.

Reading and Writing (Wit & Wisdom): Students will express understanding for how Native Americans and early Americans impacted the prairie in the early American West. They will compose informational paragraphs with topic sentences, evidence, and concluding sentences, and they will try to incorporate topic-specific vocabulary terms that we have been reviewing in class. For grammar practice, they will form and use frequently occurring irregular plural nouns (e.g., children). 

Science: Students learned about erosion and weathering this past week, so next week they will discuss ways to prevent erosion. They will explain why landslides happen and work as a class to plan models for ways to prevent erosion due to landslides.

Social Studies: None - see Science

Religion: As we journey through Advent, we will take time to pray throughout the week as we build our manger scene on our prayer table. We will also move on to Session 12 in our Finding God books, which gives us a good overview of the sacrament of Reconciliation. We will spend the following weeks (and after Christmas break) going into more depth on this sacrament, and we will practice the Act of Contrition prayer daily in class. Please also practice praying this prayer at home with your second grader so that s/he feels comfortable saying it for First Reconciliation in February. We will send home a copy next week.

Tests and Quizzes:

• No tests this upcoming week
• Math - Chapter 12 Test = Tuesday, 12/12

Additional Reminders:

• Please join us in praying for Mrs. Applegate and her family. She had her baby this past week, so everything is new and exciting for them! 🙂

• Please try to attend Mass over the weekend. We will start the liturgical season of Advent. We have talked a lot in class about making room in our hearts for Jesus during the Advent season, and attending Mass is a beautiful opportunity to do that.

• Second grade CFF and school families are hosting the 9am Mass on Sunday. If you want to attend that Mass, you will probably see lots of school families!
• No All School Mass on Tuesday
• All School Mass → Please join us Friday, 12/8, at 8:30 am to celebrate the Immaculate Conception (a holy day of obligation)
• Please check your child's Kiddos hot lunch orders to make sure your child has a lunch each day.
• Please send your child with a coat and proper outerwear for outdoor recess in the colder temperatures.
• If you send your child to school in boots, please send additional shoes for your child to wear during the day.
• Food Pantry Collection = Thursday, December 14th → 2nd grade should bring cereal. Please be generous as we approach the Christmas holidays, and please keep those who visit the Food Pantry in your prayers.

• Unit 6 Assessment = Friday, 12/1

• Unit 6 Assessment = Friday, 12/1

Week at a Glance

Thanksgiving Week → 11/20/23-11/24/23

Math: We will wrap up Chapter 3 with our assessment on Monday. The review sheet has several examples of the types of problems your child will see on the assessment. Then we will spend a day reviewing concepts of addition and subtraction, and we will move on to the chapter on Geometry after Thanksgiving break.

Phonics (Fundations): We will continue reading and spelling VCE words. Additionally we will review compound words, closed syllables, glued sounds, and adding suffixes to base words.

Reading and Writing: We have wrapped up Module 1 on change in Wit & Wisdom, and we will move on to Module 2 after Thanksgiving break. This next week we will read Balloons Over Broadway about the man who invented the first Thanksgiving day parade balloons. We will also design and build our own balloons and complete accompanying writing activities.

Science: None (short week)

Social Studies: We will learn about the Wampanoag Native Americans and their influence on the Pilgrims.

Religion: We will focus on the relationship between Thanksgiving and the Eucharist (which means “thanksgiving”). We will also start learning about the church season of Advent, which will begin December 3rd.

Tests and Quizzes:

• Math Chapter 3 Assessment = Monday, 11/20 → Review sheet can be found here. 

Additional Reminders:

• Please try to take your children to Mass over the weekend.
• All School Mass = Tuesday, 11/21, at 8:30 am in the church - All are welcome to attend!
• Thanksgiving break = Wednesday, 11/22 - Sunday, 11/26
• St. Joe’s next Community Dinner = Monday, 11/27, 6:00-7:00 pm → All are invited to attend. My husband and I went to the last one, and we met some really nice people. This is a wonderful opportunity to build community and break bread together. More information and a link to RSVP can be found here. (Please RSVP if you plan to attend for a proper count for food.)