Welcome to 2022!

 

Welcome Back Second Grade Families,

I hope this message finds you rested, relaxed, and well after our Christmas vacation!

This week your students are going to be introduced to a new behavioral/social/emotional web based program called Class Dojo!  I utilize Class Dojo every year for the second half of the school year in lieu of our behavioral clip up/down chart.   Your child will be given a Class Dojo handout in class to take home with them on Monday. The handout will relay information to you on what Class Dojo is and how to login to the program from home.  Class Dojo is also used in the third and fourth grades at ACS.  I'm certain that when your child arrives home on Monday,  they will be talking all about the Class Dojo website!  This site is engaging, meaningful, and helpful in assisting children in their social/emotional development and in promoting positive behavioral choices.  Also note, that the second graders will also be receiving a little surprise sometime in the near future...shhhh...it's a desk pet!  The desk pets will further promote responsibility and positive decision making,  and the students will be earning points through the Class Dojo website in order to purchase items for their desk pets.  Our class desk pets activity will not be implemented until Friday of this week,  as long as time permits it.  The desk pets will serve two purposes.  First, they will foster responsibility and good decision making.  Secondly, learning about the classification of animals and understanding their habitats is a huge science standard within the second grade curriculum.  The desk pets will be an engaging way to further learn about animals and the homes in which they live.

Please know that this week will be filled with reviewing rules and school wide policies/expectations.  The students will also be focusing on cleaning and organizing their materials.  By the end of this week, the expectation is that the second grade students will fully understand the behavioral expectations for the second half of the school year, so that we can continue our learning and preparing to become future third graders for the next school year!  Here's to a wonderful second half of the school year up ahead!

ELA

 

Essential Question:  Why is it important to follow safety rules?

Grammar:  Abbreviations

Spelling:  Compound Words

Phonics:  The Schwa Vowel Sound

Writing:  Opinion Writing - Persuasive Essay

Spelling List: 

cannot 

pancake

maybe 

baseball  

playground 

 someone 

myself 

classroom 

sunshine 

outside 

upon 

nothing  

into (review word)

inside (review word)

 nobody (challenge word)

everywhere(challenge word)

Math 

The students will wrap up their double digit subtraction unit, and will then move into place value concepts. 

 

Science

The students will begin their lessons on animals and their habitats.

Religion

• The students will attend an all school Rosary on Monday, January 3rd at 2:20 inside St. Gabriel's Catholic Church.
• The students will attend Mass on Wednesday, January 5th at 8:10 a.m.
• The students will utilize their Jesus Our Life textbooks to focus on "The Holy Family" this week. 
  

 

Don't forget that every second grader has access to the following websites to assist them in the areas of Reading and Math

• RAZ Kids (the students may use this site to complete their nightly reading homework)
• Splash Math Learning (This site will assist your child in mastering mathematical concepts that are taught inside our second grade classroom.)

Homework

The students will have a January "Engage It" for their homework this month!  This specific homework will assignment will be due on Friday, January 21st.  Please don't forget that there is a writing activity that your child will need to complete on the back of the "Engage It" prior to turning it in on January 21st.

 

The children will also need to study and prepare for their weekly Spelling test which will take place on Friday.

 

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 are no specials on Friday!

Upcoming Events

January 11, Tuesday: Saints and Sacraments led by Mrs. Cullen for 12 sessions.  See the attached flyer on the acsphx.org website for details.  Sign up on Mobile serve and receive 1 hour of volunteer service.

January 28, Friday:  ACS Night at the Phoenix Suns Game! ACS tickets for the Suns vs. Timberwolves game is SOLD OUT. To join the waiting list for tickets should any more become available, please send an email to Mike Scagnoli at mscagnoli@gmail.com. More details about the event will be sent to attendees as the game date approaches.