The Fantastic Four

Dear Room 230 Families,

We had another wonderful week, filled with enthusiasm, kindness and increased community cohesion. 

Thanks to all who participated in Back to School Night. The second grade team is working to compose answers to your questions and will send those home soon. I also plan add a tab to my website with Back to School night info, including the thoughtful ideas shared that night regarding what families are doing and what the school can do to help students achieve their hopes and dreams. I will let you know when you can access this information. 

IMPORTANT NEW INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES:

Fall conferences: Please sign up for a fall conference at your earliest convenience. At this conference, we will discuss your child's transition to second grade, look at work together and plan for a successful second grade year. Click HERE to to go to our fall conference sign up on the sign-ups page on my website.

Wishlist: I’ll be posting items to our classroom wish list when there is a specific need or wish that would help enhance learning in our classroom. The items posted will likely change throughout the year, but for now they are mostly books that will enrich our classroom’s independent reading and read aloud libraries. If you are curious, you’ll always be able to find it through our classroom’s Sign Ups page. Click HERE to go there.

IMPORTANT DATES FOR FAMILIES TO REMEMBER:

Tuesday, 10/3: Flu clinic coming to Memorial-Spaulding. Click HERE for more information.

Saturday 10/7: Triple Threat Obstacle Challenge Click HERE  for more information.

Monday 10/9: NO SCHOOL - Columbus Day


Tuesday, 10/10: Picture Day. Coffee Pond will be at Memorial-Spaulding on 10/10 for picture day. Our class is signed up to have our individual and class pictures taken at 10:30. If you would like to pre-pay for an individual picture, please use either the order form sent home in your child's folder or you can order directly online. Click HERE to order directly online. All children receive a complimentary class picture.

REMINDERS:

YOUR CHILD CAME HOME TALKING ABOUT DIFFICULT MOMENTS AT SCHOOL…

now what?  Check out this helpful resource for families.  Click HERE

ASK ME ABOUTS:

Ask me about...

• some things readers should do before opening a book to get ready to read (look at the cover, read and think about the title, think about what you already know about the topic/book)...model these things when you are reading together  
• what I can do when I come to a word in my reading that I don't know...have your child show you how they do this, just as Daria demonstrated in class.
• what I know about seeds (we dissected seeds this week and learned about the different parts) and how seeds travel (seed dispersal). 
• my ideas for small moment stories that give me strong feelings. Also, please help me remember more of these moments so that I have lots of ideas to choose from for my small moment story writing. Some students brought home their heart maps in their folders to work on over the weekend. They should think about small moments that they have experienced that gave them string feelings. For a list of these strong feelings that be brainstormed as a class, click HERE. 
• what is a glued sound and what are bonus letters. Click HERE for the family fundations letters. We are working in unit 2.
• how we work with partners at school
• what I know about a number grid. Click HERE for some printable number grid puzzles to work on together. 
• my first math assessment...what I felt comfortable with and what was more challenging for me...help me with the parts that were more challenging

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue to learn more about one another and develop routines around how we will cooperatively work together this year.
• learn new ways to use post-its while reading, such as to mark times when we are using our reading moves (such as making predictions, connections, or word solving skills)...up until this point we have only used post-its to mark parts that are interesting to us and we want to share.
• learn how to grow our tiny topics into whole stories during writer's workshop. 
• collect and sort seeds by how we think they travel...begin to develop ideas around what makes certain seeds suitable for different methods of travel
• practice our addition and subtraction within 20...2nd grade students are expected to be fluent in facts to 10 now and to 20 by the end of the year. In this case, fluent means that students can flexibly, accurately, efficiently and appropriately apply calculation skills to arrive at the answer. Click HERE if you would like more information about fluency and what it means.  
  
  

Have a great weekend! 

Yippee! We loved week 3!

Dear Room 230 Families,

We were back at it again this week and we hit it out of the park for the third week in a row! Thank you for sharing your kind and engaged children with us everyday. We are so lucky have them all as part of this amazing community!     

IMPORTANT DATES FOR FAMILIES TO REMEMBER:

Monday 9/25: ASCA begins

Please notify me in writing if you decide to enroll your child in the PTO's After School Creative Arts Program (ASCA) as this will affect dismissal plans. Please visit the ASCA site if you are interested in learning more or registering for classes.

Tuesday, 9/26: Flu clinic coming to Memorial-Spaulding. Click HERE for more information.

Wednesday 9/27: EARLY RELEASE DAY - 12:30 dismissal

Wednesday 9/27: Back to School Night/Open House - Click HERE for more information. The second grade team will be presenting second grade curriculum as a team in the auditorium after the PTO/Principal presentation. We will move to our classroom to discuss classroom specifics after the team presentation. Please note that this evening is for adults only.

Saturday 10/7: Triple Threat Obstacle Challenge Click HERE  for more information.

Monday 10/9: NO SCHOOL - Columbus Day

IMPORTANT NEW INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES:

YOUR CHILD CAME HOME TALKING ABOUT DIFFICULT MOMENTS AT SCHOOL…

now what?  Check out this helpful resource for families.  Click HERE

REMINDERS:

CLASSROOM DIRECTORY:

A list of contacts is often requested by families who wish to organize play dates or whole class gatherings (e.g., picnics, birthday parties) for students in our classroom. Unfortunately, teachers are not permitted to share families' contact information with other families. Instead, please use the PTO's family directory. 

NOTIFICATION OF ABSENCE OR TARDINESS:

Please email me (sarah_ekholm@newton.k12.ma.us) if you know that your child will be late or will be absent on any given day. Thanks!

THE TREE NEAR OUR ART ROOM DISMISSAL DOOR:

The tree near the art room is not for children to climb after school. The tree is sustaining damage from children climbing – and we have had a few children injured. The school is not liable for any injuries sustained while climbing the tree.

BUS BEHAVIOR CONTRACT:

All bus riders should complete the Bus Behavior Contract.  Each bus rider was given a copy of the contract to read and sign. If your child rides the bus and has not yet completed the contract. Please click HERE to download – and send to school with your child.

EXTRA BUS RIDERS:

Our afternoon buses are nearly full. Therefore there is no room for additional “hop on” riders. If your child is planning a play date with a friend and s/he does not normally ride on the same bus as your child, please make sure you arrange for transportation – other than the school bus.

EXTRA CLOTHES:

Please send in a full change of labeled clothes (pants, shirt, underwear, and socks) in a labeled plastic bag that will be kept in your child’s locker. Accidents happen (once, I spilled an ENTIRE bottle of pain on myself!) and it's so helpful to have a quick solution without having to search the building for some extra clothes. Thanks!   

LUNCH, SNACK AND RECESS:

This year, your child eats lunch at the early hour of 11 a.m., so we will eat our snack in the afternoon. The once exception to this is on Tuesday when we will eat snack in the morning because lunch is not served at school. Our daily schedule allows 15 minutes for snack + recess each day. Fresh air and exercise are as important as food and water for everyone so my goal is to have snack outdoors as many days as possible. Our class will sit together for the first minutes to eat, then after they clean up their space, we will play! Please send in a simple snack in a snack bag each day. One example of a simple snack = water + a piece of fruit + a granola bar. Also, only send in water to drink. Juice, Gatorade, soda will not be permitted as snack beverages in our classroom. If your child brings in something to drink other than water, they will take it home, unopened. Thank you for your cooperation as we work together to make this short break in our academic day as healthy as possible.

ASK ME ABOUTS:

Ask me about...

• school tools- what are they and how can they help me learn?
• what are students and teachers doing during reading workshop...ask me to tell you what it looks like and sounds like in my classroom during this time so that everyone can do their jobs
• how scientists make observations - what senses I used and how I recorded my observation
• my small moment story I wrote this week
• what a closed syllable is. What is important about the vowel (# and short/long) and the what comes after the vowel? Please read pages 1-5 to learn about what fundations is and our work in the orientation section and unit 1.
• what vowels we use k before (We sang a song called "K comes before...")
• what I know about calendars and clocks 
• any fun games or songs I learned/played/sang this week.
• some things I learned about my new classmates, my teachers or any new friends I have made this week through our brown bag shares 
• what my most important rule is.

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue to learn more about one another and develop routines around how we will cooperatively work together this year.
• write and sign our Classroom Constitution.
• continue to launch Reader's Workshop by continuing to learn more workshop routines and READING!
• continue writing small moment stories (true stories that capture a moment in time that gave us strong feelings) and trying out new writing moves.
• explore how seeds grow and dissect seeds to discover what is inside seeds 
• continue reviewing first grade math concepts, such as different names for numbers ways you might see addition and subtraction problems. 

Enjoy the weekend!

Woohoo! We rocked week 2!

Dear Room 230 Families,

We had a wonderful second week of second grade. This week's focus was on continuing to learn routines while becoming exposed to early second grade curriculum. We also worked to write our hopes and dreams for second grade.  

IMPORTANT DATES FOR FAMILIES TO REMEMBER:

Thursday, 9/21: NO SCHOOL - Rosh Hoshana

Monday 9/25: ASCA begins

Please notify me in writing if you decide to enroll your child in the PTO's After School Creative Arts Program (ASCA) as this will affect dismissal plans. Please visit the ASCA site if you are interested in learning more or registering for classes.

Tuesday, 9/26: Flu clinic coming to Memorial-Spaulding. Click HERE for more information.

Wednesday 9/27: EARLY RELEASE DAY - 12:30 dismissal

Wednesday 9/27: Back to School Night/Open House - more information TBA. 

Saturday 10/7: Triple Threat Obstacle Challenge Click HERE  for more information.

IMPORTANT NEW INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES:

CLASSROOM DIRECTORY:

A list of contacts is often requested by families who wish to organize play dates or whole class gatherings (e.g., picnics, birthday parties) for students in our classroom. Unfortunately, teachers are not permitted to share families' contact information with other families. Instead, please use the PTO's family directory. 

NOTIFICATION OF ABSENCE OR TARDINESS:

Please email me (sarah_ekholm@newton.k12.ma.us) if you know that your child will be late or will be absent on any given day. Thanks!

THE TREE NEAR OUR ART ROOM DISMISSAL DOOR:

The tree near the art room is not for children to climb after school. The tree is sustaining damage from children climbing – and we have had a few children injured. The school is not liable for any injuries sustained while climbing the tree.

BUS BEHAVIOR CONTRACT:

All bus riders should complete the Bus Behavior Contract.  Each bus rider was given a copy of the contract to read and sign. If your child rides the bus and has not yet completed the contract. Please click HERE to download – and send to school with your child.

EXTRA BUS RIDERS:

Our afternoon buses are nearly full. Therefore there is no room for additional “hop on” riders. If your child is planning a play date with a friend and s/he does not normally ride on the same bus as your child, please make sure you arrange for transportation – other than the school bus.

EXTRA CLOTHES:

Please send in a full change of labeled clothes (pants, shirt, underwear, and socks) in a labeled plastic bag that will be kept in your child’s locker. Accidents happen (once, I spilled an ENTIRE bottle of pain on myself!) and it's so helpful to have a quick solution without having to search the building for some extra clothes. Thanks!   

REMINDERS:

In this section, I will include information from previous weeks that it appears not all families have read and understood. If you ever have any questions about anything found in this newsletter, please ask! The best way to reach me is through email: sarah_ekholm@newton.k12.ma.us.

LUNCH, SNACK AND RECESS:

This year, your child eats lunch at the early hour of 11 a.m., so we will eat our snack in the afternoon. The once exception to this is on Tuesday when we will eat snack in the morning because lunch is not served at school. Our daily schedule allows 15 minutes for snack + recess each day. Fresh air and exercise are as important as food and water for everyone so my goal is to have snack outdoors as many days as possible. Our class will sit together for the first minutes to eat, then after they clean up their space, we will play! Please send in a simple snack in a snack bag each day. One example of a simple snack = water + a piece of fruit + a granola bar. Also, only send in water to drink. Juice, Gatorade, soda will not be permitted as snack beverages in our classroom. If your child brings in something to drink other than water, they will take it home, unopened. Thank you for your cooperation as we work together to make this short break in our academic day as healthy as possible.

ASK ME ABOUTS:

Ask me about...

• my hope and dream(s) for second grade.
• how I feel about my reading stamina. 
• what is my favorite reading spot in my classroom and are there any others that I would like to try out.
• my favorite reading memory (and share your's too!).
• digraphs and blends - How are they similar and how are they different? Click HERE to read our Fundations family letters. Please read pages 1-5 to learn about what fundations is and our work in the orientation section and unit 1.
• what we did with coins. For more information about counting money, click HERE for an article about teaching your child to count money and HERE for an online game that your child can play to practice counting money.
• what I learned about my brain when we read Your Fantastic Elastic Brain.
• any fun games or songs we learned/played/sang this week.
• some things I learned about my new classmates, my teachers or any new friends I have made this week through our brown bag shares and fortune teller scavenger hunt.
• my volcano - What does it mean to erupt and what can I do to help prevent an eruption?

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue to learn more about one another and develop routines around how we will cooperatively work together this year.
• use our hopes and dreams and a conversation about the Constitution (If you are interested in leanring more about Constitution Day on 9/17, click HERE). 
• continue to launch Reader's Workshop by learning workshop routines, learning how to choose just right books and learning some expected reading behaviors.
• begin our first writing unit about small moment stories, which as true stories that capture a moment in time that gave us strong feelings.
• begin our first science unit - how seeds travel.
• continue reviewing first grade math concepts, such as grouping by 10s and how to use a number grid. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Our first week is complete!

Dear Room 230 Families,

All of your children have successfully completed week 1 of Sensational Second Grader Training and what an AMAZING week it was! This week, our focus was on learning more about each other, our classroom and our routines in order to begin creating a cooperative and cohesive learning community. Each full week of school, you will receive a newsletter in your mailbox sometime between Friday afternoon and Sunday. You can also connect to this newsletter through our classroom website. Please read this newsletter each week and use it to: 1. Stay informed about what your child is learning and doing at school 2. Know and take any action that is required, such as sending back permission forms and 3. Communicate with your child about his/her school experience. This demonstrates to your child that what s/he is doing all day is IMPORTANT and you value education. In the beginning, these newsletters may be   L O N G  , however there is so much new information to relay right now. I promise that they will shorten as we get more into the year. Thank you in advance for staying connected to the happenings of our classroom community.

Also, thank you for sharing your kind and enthusiastic children with me every day. I truly look forward to seeing their smiling faces every morning! 

IMPORTANT DATES FOR FAMILIES TO REMEMBER:

Monday, 9/11: Back to School Brown Bag homework due.

Thursday, 9/21: NO SCHOOL - Rosh Hoshana

Monday 9/25: ASCA begins

Please notify me in writing if you decide to enroll your child in the PTO's After School Creative Arts Program (ASCA) as this will affect dismissal plans. Please visit the ASCA site if you are interested in learning more or registering for classes.

Wednesday 9/27: EARLY RELEASE DAY - 12:30 dismissal

Wednesday 9/27: Back to School Night/Open House - more information TBA. 

IMPORTANT NEW INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES:

WHEN TO KEEP YOUR CHILD HOME WHEN SICK: 

We have a student in our class with a suppressed immune system, meaning that this student gets sick quite easily. We ask that you strictly adhere to the Newton Public School's policy on keeping your child at home when s/he is sick. Although this protocol states that the school nurse will determine if your child should stay home, we ask that you keep your child home in the morning if any of the conditions in the protocol are true for your child at that time. Thank you in advance for helping to keep our community safe. The policy is outlined below:

 EXCLUSION FROM SCHOOL FOR SUSPECTED COMMUNICABLE CONDITIONS 

POLICY: 

Students suspected to have a contagious health condition can be excluded from school at the discretion of the school nurse. The purpose of this exclusion is to prevent the spread of disease that can cause absence and discomfort for other students and staff. Some conditions may require immediate dismissal. Written documentation by a health care provider may be required for school re-entry. 

PROTOCOL: 

The school nurse will assess each presenting condition on an individual basis. 

A student will be excluded from school if he/she has: 

 A fever of 100 or greater in the past 24 hours 

 A communicable disease diagnosis 

 A cold in the active stages – coughing, sneezing, nasal drainage 

 A sore throat and/or swollen neck glands 

 Vomiting or diarrhea in the past 24 hours 

 Acute pain that requires relief by narcotic medication 

 An undiagnosed rash or skin eruption 

 Head lice that have not been chemically treated 

Parents should make every effort to pick up children as soon as possible when notified by the school nurse. 

Emergency contact information must be up-to-date.

ATTENDANCE: 

While we ask that you do not send your child to school when s/he is sick, we do ask that you send him/her to us every other day when s/he is not sick. Each day, our curriculum builds upon the previous day and when there is an extended absence, your child misses a lot of academic content. Here is the NPS Attendance Policy from the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook :

B. Regular Attendance

Regular attendance in school is required by Massachusetts’ law (G.L. c.76, §1) for all persons between the ages of 6 and 16. It is the shared responsibility of each student, his or her family, and the school to ensure that the student attends school each day that he or she is not sick. Failure to attend school, except under extraordinary circumstances, will require school personnel to seek help for the student and the student's family through court action and/or through the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.

When a student reaches the age of 16, he or she may withdraw from school with the

permission of his or her parent or guardian. The parent(s) or guardian(s) may meet with the Superintendent or his or her designated representative prior to the student's withdrawal from school for the purpose of discussing the reason for the student's withdrawal and the alternative educational programs available to the student. The student will be told that he or she may resume his or her education even if he or she has withdrawn from school pursuant to this procedure. When a student permanently leaves school, the administrator of the school must send notice to the student/parent/guardian and hold an exit interview in accordance with G.L. c. 76, § 18. For more information on High School Exit Intervention, go to http://www.doe.mass.edu/dropout/2014-05ExitProtocol.pdf

A student may be re-enrolled in school after an extended absence, but academic credits and promotion to the next grade are likely to be seriously jeopardized by the student’s lack of academic progress during the extended absence. Therefore, lengthy absences for extended trips are strongly discouraged by the Newton Public Schools, as teachers cannot provide the advance assignments or study aides a child would need over long periods of time to maintain the pace of learning in his or her classroom.

LUNCH, SNACK AND RECESS:

This year, your child eats lunch at the early hour of 11 a.m., so we will eat our snack in the afternoon. Our daily schedule allows 15 minutes for snack + recess each day.  Fresh air and exercise are as important as food and water for everyone so my goal is to have snack outdoors as many days as possible. Our class will sit together for the first minutes to eat, then after they clean up their space, we will play! Please send in a simple snack in a snack bag each day. One example of a simple snack = water + a piece of fruit + a granola bar.  Also, only send in water to drink. Juice, Gatorade, soda will not be permitted as snack beverages in our classroom. If your child brings in something to drink other than water, they will take it home, unopened. Thank you for your cooperation as we work together to make this short break in our academic day as healthy as possible.

ASK ME ABOUTS:

Each week in our newsletter, I will provide you with these conversation starters so that you can connect with your child about the many happenings at school. When talking about school, remember that this is always a 2 way street; You can surely add more to your child's knowledge base and understanding during these conversations.  

Ask me about...

• my favorites this week
• reading stamina (What is it and how did you practice it?)
• what we did with our letter trays this week 
• where all our letters start (and maybe you could even ask your child to sing "Where do we start our letters?")
• smart lunch choices
• what's math?
• the card game that I played 
• any fun games or songs we learned this week
• some things I learned about my new classmates, my teachers or any new friends I have made this week

LOOKING FORWARD:

In this section, you will see a bit about what we will be working on next week. You should begin conversations with your children at home about these topics as well.

Looking forward, we will:

• continue to learn more about one another and develop routines around how we will cooperatively work together this year
• set learning goals for ourselves for second grade
• determine what students need from each other and their teachers to be successful this year in order to begin drafting our classroom constitution
• continue to launch Reader's Workshop by learning routines and increasing our reading stamina
• begin work in our math journals as we review material from first grade

Have a great weekend!