The First Day of School!

Tomorow, August 29th, is the first day of school and I am so excited!  I have so many fun things planned for our first three days together!  We will take time this week to get used to being back in school, learn some new routines, and practice being respectful.  It was so wonderful to see many familiar faces during Open House this morning. I definitely feel less nervous now that I can put a face with each name.  Enjoy your last day of summer and I will see you tomorrow!

Time To Think About School

School is just around the corner so I hope you and your family have enjoyed a relaxing and fun summer!  I have been busy getting our classroom ready for an amazing year!  I wanted to take the time to remind you of two second grade activities happening soon!

1.  Second Grade Curriculum Night for Parents :  The Second Grade Team (Tammy Davis, Debbie Howard, Sherry Thibault, and myself) is hosting a curriculum night on Thursday, August 23rd at 6:30 p.m.  Please meet in my classroom, Room 9.  There will be a brief power point presentation on the curriculum requirements of second grade and then there will be a chance for parents to ask questions.  This is an informal evening for parents, there is no childcare available.  If you can not make it, I will be sending home the same information in your child's green folder on the first day of school.

2.  Second Grade Open House for Students:  On Tuesday, August 28th, there will be an Open House for all incoming second graders. It is from 8:00-9:00 in the morning. This is a very relaxed event. Students can come to our classroom (Room 9) and find their seat, hug friends, and get a little gift!  This is a chance for the students to get familiar with their classroom before the first day of school, which is Wednesday, August 29th!  Hope to see everyone there!

Enjoy the last few days of summer and I look forward to seeing everyone soon!

UMS Field Days

On Wednesday, June 6^th, the entire school will be traveling to Airport Park for our annual UMS Field Day!  We will leave school at 8:45 a.m. and return after lunch.  We will play lots of games and have a picnic lunch.  Parents and siblings are welcome to attend.  Please make sure that your child is dressed appropriately for this event. I recommend sneakers, sunscreen, a sweatshirt, a bottle full of water, and a bag to put it all in! Your child can also bring a towel to sit on if he/she would like.  Many parents bring their child home after this event, and that is fine.  If you plan on bringing your child home after Field Days, please just send me a note!

Second Grade Ice Cream

The second graders will be walking to the Village Scoop on Monday, June 4^th.  The students will have a choice of a small cone with vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, or vanilla/chocolate twist with sprinkles.  There is no cost to you! Yummy!

Fly Up Day at MBS

On Friday, June 1^st, your child will be traveling to MBS to meet his/her new teacher!The second grade classes are leaving UMS at 8:45 a.m. for MBS.  When we get there, everyone will spend some time in their new classroom with their new classmates and teacher.   A note from MBS will be going home with your child on Friday afternoon.  We will return to UMS in time for lunch. This is an exciting day full of new friends and experiences!

Four Winds Day

Last Friday, we had an amazing day!  Laura Labrie and many volunteers created a special science day for the students at UMS!  Each class had the opportunity to rotate through 4 stations that taught us all about ferns! I have never realized how interesting a fern can be!!  Check out our pictures from this fun morning!

 We are learning that there are three types of ferns: once cut, twice cut, and thrice cut ferns!

Everyone had a fern to examine and decide which kind of cut it was.

 We learned a great song about fiddleheads (new fern plants) that goes to the tune of "5 Little Pumpkins".

 Everyone cut a part of a fern and we put them all together to make a beautiful big fern!

Watch the dedication as her fern piece is carefully cut out!

 Everyone is working hard to cut out his/her fern piece.

Then we took a "hike" through the trees behind UMS looking for ferns. 

We found lots of ferns!

 Here is a tiny baby fern, called a fiddlehead!

 Our last station involved painting ferns!

 Everyone is hard at work!

I love how amazing these prints came out! Everyone's print look so different and unique!

Lots of testing

We have been so busy in Room 9 taking tests and writing papers from our third grade teachers! We took a break earlier in the week and just played. Here are some super creative pattern block designs that students created!

 A symmetrical dancing man

 Symmetry

A T-Rex (he's even labeled)