It is hard to believe that we are down to our final weeks of the ’17-’18 school year! Many fun activities will keep us busy these next couple of weeks!

A few notes...

We are heavy into end-of-year assessments at this point. So far, we've done MAP and I am excited to say that the kids did amazing! I am astounded by the growth made by the entire class and I'm so proud of the hard work each child has put into this year. I am excited to share the results with you soon!!!

Please return your permission slips for our last field trip if you haven't done so.

If your child still has books from the school library, please have him/her turn them in as soon as possible so the library can take inventory. Also, please check your bookshelves for books that go with our classroom library as well. Thank you!

What's coming up?

Tuesday, May 22 – NDLC Family Fun Night from 6-7 pm at the NDLC Playground - Come join us in celebrating a great school year! Socialize with other families, play on the equipment, have a few snacks, and learn about the summer library program. Bring up to ten books to swap if you'd like!

Friday, May 25 – No school for students

Monday, May 28  – No school for students and staff - Happy Memorial Day

Wednesday, May 30 - Field trip to Grignon Home, Kaukauna Public Library, and City Hall

Curriculum Updates –

We will continue to wrap our writing and reading units through the study of nonfiction. Students are working on a second topic book club and are beginning to write books based on what they are learning in science. We'll take our last unit test in math on Tuesday and will take the end-of-year math test later this week. 

It is sure to be a fun-filled, quick week!

Lisa

Second graders did an amazing job at their concert! It was a proud moment to see them shine!

Upcoming Events:

Turesday, May 15 - Math MAP 8:15-9:25 AM

Wednesday, May 16 - Reading MAP 12:20-1:30 PM

Our next family night will be on Tuesday, May 22nd, from 6:00 PM-7:00 PM. Notes went home on Friday.

There is no school on Friday, May 25th or Monday, May 28th. Happy Memorial Day!

We'll have our last field trip on Wednesday, May 30th. We'll be visiting the Grignon Home, Kaukauna Public Library, and City Hall. Please return your permission slips when you get a chance.

Curriculum Updates:

Reading:

We are finishing up our research on our first topic and will be creating and presenting Google Slideshows before digging into a new topic.

Writing:

We're continuing to work on our nonfiction All About books. Students are experts on so many topics!

Math:
We'll be wrapping up Unit 6 this week. We'll be spending a couple days solving mixed 3 digit addition and subtraction word problems, and then be taking the test at the end of the week.

Content:
As we continue our Works of Water unit, we'll be exploring the question, "How can you stop a landslide?" Ask your child about Mystery Dug and what they have been learning in science!

Have a GREAT week!

Lisa

What a beautiful weekend! I hope you were able to enjoy some outdoor fun and family time.  It was great to see that some of our running club members were able to run the Kaukauna Strong 5K on Sunday. Great job to all who participated!

Do you have a Facebook account? If so, you should follow NDLC at https://www.facebook.com/NDLCCharter/. It is a great way to keep informed. You will often see photos of different class and school activities that your child is involved in.

This weekly update is filled with quite a few reminders. Please be sure to read it carefully and if there are any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.  

It's that time of year! We are organizing the classroom library and have noticed that many books are missing. Please check through your bookshelves at home to see if you have any NDLC books and send them back to school. Also, please remember that if you ever decide to donate books, we'd love to take them off your hands. Thank you! We appreciate it!

Important Dates to Remember:

Thursday is our Second Grade Spring Concert! Mrs. Krueger will send home some last minute reminders on Monday.

Our first MAP test (for math) was supposed to be Wednesday, but the date will be changed due to our spring concert rehearsals that day. I will let you know when that test is rescheduled for. Our second MAP test (for reading) will be on Tuesday, May 15th at 8:15.

Our next family night will be on Tuesday, May 22nd. Notes will be coming home soon.

There is no school on Friday, May 25th or Monday, May 28th. Happy Memorial Day!

We'll have our last field trip on Wednesday, May 30th. We'll be visiting the Grignon Home, Kaukauna Public Library, and City Hall. Permission slips will come home this week.

Book orders are due on Friday.

Curriculum Updates:

Reading and Writing ~ We are reading from nonfiction during our Readers Workshop time. Students are working on analyzing all the parts of their nonfiction books to see how they go together. They are also working on comparing and contrasting two different books or two different parts of a single book and determining what is important in their reading. 

Writing ~ Students continue to write nonfiction books. They are working hard to teach their readers about something they are an expert on using facts, details, observations, steps, and tips.

Math ~ This week we will continue learning about 3-digit subtraction. We will be wrapping up our last math unit, Unit 6, and will take the unit test late next week.  We will then begin reviewing information that was learned throughout the year, as well as using those skills in different ways. The end of the year math work will be taught through rotations, games, partner work, etc. It will be a great way to use all of our 2^nd grade math skills!

Science ~ Second graders are studying Erosion, Earth’s Surface, & Landforms. Last week, they answered the question "What's strong enough to make a canyon?" by conducting an experiment. Ask your child what he/she learned!

Have a great week! See you on Thursday at the concert!

Lisa

Welcome to the month of May! It's nice to see the temperatures are starting to warm up! Hopefully they will become more consistent.

I will be out for a math conference on Thursday and Friday. The kids will be in good hands with Mrs. Vanderloop, but I will also be checking my email frequently so feel free to reach me that way if needed. If it's something urgent, please call Mrs. Mitchell in the office.

Timber Rattlers Reading Program-If your child completed the reading for this program, a note came home on Friday with ticket information. Please return this note as soon as you can. Thanks!

A reminder that the Second Grade Spring Concert is coming up on Thursday, May 10th at 6:30.



Curriculum Updates:

Reading-We are continuing to read informational books. Students are digging into topics and learning and growing so many new ideas! We are also trying to notice what the authors in our nonfiction books are doing that we can try in our writing.

Writing-We also continue to work on writing our informational books. We are working hard to add details to teach our readers and making sure our books have all the parts. 

Math- Unit 6 continues to grow our mathematical thinking. We are reviewing what we know about 2-digit subtraction and using those skills for 3-digit subtraction. We will be working on this throughout the week.

Content-Students are very engaged in our Work of Water study. We've been studying the mystery, "Why do beaches have sand?" Ask your child what he/she has learned so far!

Have a GREAT week!

Lisa

What a beautiful weekend! I hope you were able to enjoy some outdoor fun and family time. 

Our end-of-the-year assessments are right around the corner. We will take our Reading MAP test on May 9th at 9:30 and the Math MAP test on May 15th at 8:15. All results will be sent home at the end of the year.

The last bases for the Timber Rattler Reading Program were due on Friday. If your child is involved, please return them by this coming Friday. Tickets will be here sometime in May.

This Thursday is Movie Star Day. Students can feel free to dress the part! :)

This is an exciting week in 2^nd grade. We are starting new units in Reading and Writing!

Reading ~ This week we switch genres to nonfiction. In this upcoming unit, we will continue our work with book clubs. However, students will be in clubs based on topics instead of reading levels. Students will use the talking skills they learned from the previous unit to share new learning with their clubs.  

Writing ~ We'll return to nonfiction writing this week. We'll spend time reviewing strategies we learned earlier this year and will build upon them. 

Math ~ We started our last unit late last week. In this unit, students will work toward building fluency with addition and subtraction within 1,000 and mastering all addition and subtraction word problem sub-types. Visual models and real world situations are used throughout the unit to help children understand the meaning of addition and subtraction.

Content ~ We started our final science unit last week: Work of Water. This unit helps students develop the idea that water is a powerful force that reshapes the earth's surface. Students will see that water isn't just something we drink. It carries sand to make beaches, carves out canyons and valleys and, as ice, scrapes entire areas flat.

Enjoy the last full week of April!

The KAT is quickly approaching. See below for a reminder of everything happening next week. More information and the questions can also be found in the yellow envelopes that were previously sent home. Another copy of the questions can be found here.

The knowledge-a-thon is this Friday, April 13! That means we will have dress up days this week! Student council came up with days that spelled out KAT! 

Monday, April 9= K- "Kozy" day- wear PJs or comfy clothes

(there is no school Tuesday)

Wednesday, April 11= A- "Answer" - dress like an answer to a KAT question

Thursday, April 12= T- "Teacher" -dress like a teacher 

Friday, April 13= Dress like your grade's assigned Olympic color-Black for 2nd grade. (the theme is Olympics so student council assigned a color of the Olympic rings per grade level. 

It is not too late to sign up to volunteer at the KAT next Friday!

2018 Knowledge-A-Thon (KAT) Day

The KAT dance will be this Friday from 6:00-8:00 in the school gym. Please consider signing up to serve popcorn and juice. You can sign up for as little as 15 minutes or longer if you'd like: http://signup.com/go/SVDqrWT

A few reminders:

Tuesday, April 10th-No School for Students

Thursday, April 19th-Family Night: Science, Social Studies and Subs 5:30-7:00 PM

Running club starts this Thursday from 3:10-3:50. If your child would still like to join and you need a permission slip, please let me know!

Curriculum Updates:

Reading & Writing:  We are continuing to work on learning about characters from reading and using that to help guide our opinion letter writing. The more that we learn about characters, the more we are able to formulate strong opinions for our writing. We are also studying author's craft in reading.

Math: We will be working on length word problems and number line diagrams. We will be finishing up our unit at the end of this week.

Content: We will continue exploring Kaukauna government through centers. 

Welcome back! I hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekend! I know I did! I am excited to see the kids and get back into the swing of things!

A few reminders:

• Tuesday is "Wear Wacky/Silly Clothes Day".
• There is no school next Tuesday, April 10th. Teachers will be involved in staff development that day.
• April 19th is our next family night. 

Curricular Updates:

• Reading - We will continue our series book clubs this week by learning as much as we can about characters across a series. Studying what characters do and say, as well as how they react to problems, tell us a lot about the characters.
• Writing ~ We are continuing to work on learning about characters from reading and using that to help guide our opinion letter writing. The more that we learn about characters, the more we are able to formulate strong opinions for our writing. 
• In our next math unit, students will "... learn about arrays and equal shares and solve problems involving the addition and subtraction of lengths. Visual models and real world situations are used throughout the unit to help children understand important fraction and measurement concepts." (Math Expressions)
• We'll continue to study city government in social studies.

Have a GREAT week!

Lisa