October Is Here!

 Hello Second Grade Families,

October has arrived and there is a feeling of Fall in the air!

Did you know that October is a sacred month where the church honors our blessed mother, Mary?   The month of May is another sacred month for honoring our Blessed Mother.

On Monday, October 4th, your children will all attend our school wide Rosary inside St. Gabriel's Catholic Church at 2:15 p.m.  Every child may use one of our classroom rosaries, or they are welcome to bring their own rosary from home.  Inside our classroom, the second graders will be learning all about how to correctly pray the rosary and why Catholics believe Mary is "The Blessed Mother" to us all.

Also note, that this Friday, October 8th, there will be no school because all Catholic school teachers within the Diocese of Phoenix will be attending an in service.  There is also no school on Monday, October 11th due to Columbus Day.  Enjoy the extended Fall weekend!

Please continue reading to discover all that will be transpiring within the second grade classroom and right here at ACS.

ELA

Essential Question:  What can you learn from planting a garden?

Grammar:  Proper Nouns

Spelling:  Double Consonants and ck

Phonics:  Double Consonants and ck

Writing:  Informative Writing

Please note, all of the students are expected to have their weekly list of Spelling words written inside their "Agendas/Planners."  This skill will best prepare your students as they navigate into every grade level at ACS.  It is a skill that promotes being organized and responsible for keeping track of their homework.

Here are this week's list of words:

rock

black

trick

kick

full

dress

neck

add

spell

stuck

class

doll

will

off

across

pocket

 

Math

The students have moved into addition and subtraction concepts and are hard at work practicing their basic addition and subtraction facts.  

Please know that the students are expected to become fluent in adding to 20 and subtracting from 20.

Social Studies

The students will continue growing their map skills!

Here's what the students are currently learning in order to assist them in better understanding the purpose of maps, how maps work, and how maps allow us to better understand the world around us.  Below you will discover the key concepts that will be taught in the second grade classroom.

The students will be able to:

• Identify and Recognize the seven continents (concept has been taught)
• Identify and Recognize the five oceans (concept has been taught)
• Understand and Demonstrate the 4 cardinal directions (concept has been taught)
• Identify a Compass Rose (concept has been taught)
• Read a Map (concept has been taught and will be continually practiced)
• Create a Map(this concept was taught last week!)
  
• Identify and Understand what a natural landform is (Examples:  mountains, lakes, rivers, hills, plateaus, peninsula, plains, etc.)  This is what the second graders will be focusing on now.

Religion

The student's week will begin by attending our all school Rosary inside St. Gabriel's Catholic Church at 2:20 p.m.

• The students will be learning all about the blessed mother and how to properly pray the rosary.

• The students will attend an all school Mass on Wednesday, October 6th at 8:15 a.m. inside St. Gabriel's Catholic Church.

Homework

This week your child will have reading and spelling homework.  The second graders are expected to read nightly, and fill out their reading log.  Please sign your child's homework on Wednesday for this week.  Every second grader will need to hand in their homework on Thursday because there's no school this Friday due to a teacher in service.  Also note, that explicit directions are given in class to the students.  Research shows that students that read nightly for a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes, and then log their reading,  typically show the most gains in the area of reading fluency.

All of the students will need to prepare and study their list of Spelling words.  This week, the Spelling Test will take place on Thursday.

Here are the Second Grade Specials:

Monday ~ Art at 12:10

Tuesday ~ Spanish at 12:30 p.m. P.E. at 1:45 p.m. 

Wednesday ~ Mass Day at 8:15 a.m. 

                        Spanish 9:40 and Music at 1:00

Thursday ~    P.E. at 1:45 p.m.

Friday ~ There is no school this coming Friday!  Enjoy the time off!

Upcoming Events

Date change:  October 17, Sunday:  ACS Family Mass at 8:30 am at St. Gabriel’s.  All are welcome.  Students are encouraged to wear their school uniform.  (formerly on October 10)

What’s Happening?

October 4, Monday:  Monthly Rosary at 2:20pm  Luminous Mysteries led by 7th grade .  All are welcome to attend.

October 5, Tuesday:  Praying with the Saints:  An evening with moms discussing about Saints and concluding with adoration.  Please join us at 6:30pm led by Mrs. Jennie Cullen.

October 6, Wednesday:Dine Out Fundraiser.  Chipotle on Carefree Hwy.   Dine in or Order online to make it a family night!  33% of sales comes back to ACS!  Use the Chipotle Flyer  Thank you for your support.  

October 8,11 Friday and Monday:No School.  Educator’s Day and Columbus Day, respectively. 

October 15 Friday: Fun Run fundraising event. Students will have class in the morning followed with the Fun Run in the afternoon. on ACS/St.Gabriel campus at 1 pm .  All are welcome to volunteer and cheer on the students.