Well On Our Way!

I can't believe I haven't posted since the end of August. I apologize! Please know I will be better about posting regularly. It has been a busy month of establishing procedures, routines and classroom rules. Your kiddos are a sweet bunch and I LOVE working with them. Ask your child about our class rules. Here they are:

Rule #1 Raise your hand before you speak.
Rule #2 Follow directions quickly.
Rule #3 Make smart choices
Rule #4 Use Time wisely.
Rule #5 Use the school listening look.
Rule #6 Stay in your seat.
Rule #7 Keep your hands to your self.

Your children are doing GREAT! While establishing classroom routines, the class has been working on building stamina for reading. Last week, I taught the children how to pick a "good fit" book. I shared with them the I PICK strategy.

I Pick not you, I Pick my book.

I Pick a book with a Purpose: why am I reading?
I Pick an Interesting book.
I Pick a book I Comprehend (understand).
I Pick a book where I Know most of the words.

Check out a class video here. It is a catchy tune and reminds them of the strategy to support picking a "good fit" book. At the end of this blog post I will post pics of the class READING TO SELF and READING TO SOMEONE as part of the Daily 5. You can find out more information about the Daily5 and CAFE at their website. The research tells us to develop stronger strategic readers the children need to be given more time to read. Please watch for Parent Pipeline letters attached to the first grade weebly for further details on how to practice these reading strategies at home. I sent a hard copy home last week about reminding your child to look at the pictures when reading. I will send another Parent Pipeline home this week about "good-fit" books.

Enjoy the fall festivities and cooler temperatures. We are rapping up our apple talk and focusing on Christopher Columbus this week. Columbus did not discover America but he was a great explorer and brought the exploration of the Americas to the for front.

Enjoy these photos of your kiddos reading and stay tuned for more photos next week.
Happy Fall!

We Survived!!

It was a wonderful day! The sun was shining, everyone was smiling and we all made it without any tears. Yahoo! It was a wonderful day! The children wanted to learn about everything in the classroom and what they will learn this year. I forget how much you talk on the first day of school. All is well and they all told me they would be back tomorrow. (Hehehehe)

On Thursday, I will take the kiddos on a tour of the building and show them the dining hall. The lunch ladies will show them how to buy lunch and where they will sit. (Half day K students and new students have never experienced it.) The tour will be after a special reading as we hunt for the main character throughout the school. When we get back we will have a snack and then do a craft focusing on our main character.

Over the next few days much time will be spent on routines and procedures. I will do a lot of talking and kids will do a lot of listening. If I take the baby steps now and carefully explain everything, the rest of the year will run very smoothly. Ask your child about what routines they learned so far.

Open House is Wednesday, September 7. I hope to see you all there. If you can't make it, the information will be on the First Grade Weebly which you can access from EDLINE. (Please activate your account if you haven't done so as we will be posting all assignments and projects there.)

So cheers to a great year! I look forward with anticipation to a year filled with enthusiasm and fun!

Welcome To Room 14

Welcome Families to Room 14! I am looking forward to a fabulous year in first grade. As many of you may know I spent a terrific year in grade two last year but I feel fortunate to return to the joys and challenges that first grade has in store. I can't wait to get started!

Please see EDLINE if you did not receive a letter at the end of the school year with the supply list. All supplies are listed there. Thank you in advance for having your children prepared for the first day of school.

Your children should come with a snack on the first day. I will meet the children at the back of the building at 8:15. Dismissal on Wednesday and Thusday will be 11:00 AM. Please have patience for the first few weeks at dismissal time as I get used to the faces of those who will be picking up your child. If there is a change in pick-up at anytime...PLEASE PUT IT IN WRITING. I will send home a form at the beginning of school so that you may list days, pick-up, and bus schedules. If it's in writing, everything wshoould run smoothly.

So enjoy the last few days, I know I will. Please give a hello and BIG hug to your children and let them know I can't wait to see them.

End Of The Year Wrap-up and Summer Fun Ahead

Well here we are at the final week of second grade. Was it just me or did this year just fly by? So many memories and new learning experiences to recall. I have compiled a CD of most of the memories of the year. It will come home the last day of school so be on the look out! I hope you enjoy watching it with your child!






Posted here are the fabulous insect projects that came in last week. Incredible!

I wish all my second (third) grade friends and their families a terrific summer filled with fun and frolic! Please remember to encourage your children to READ, READ, READ so they won't get "rusty"! I am attaching some links of online game sites to practice literacy and math skills. It will be a fun way to have your child work on a variety of skills in a fun way! Here is another for comprehension and one for math. Another site for all skills is Toon University. Have fun and keep the learning alive!

Finally, I want to thank you all for your support through out the year. You are all incredible families to work with and are a fine tribute to the Killam community. I will miss you all and wish you well in your future endeavors. A special thanks to Ava and Jessica's moms for coordinating many events, goodies and supplies. It was very much appreciated.

That's all folks! Have a great summer and good luck to all in Third Grade! In Friendship, Deb Dellovo!

Insects and Things

Our butterflies are arriving this week. Have your children squealed with excitement as they share their enthusiasm with you? We will watch the "metamorphosis" of a caterpillar into a butterfly. This observation is timely and a fabulous way to learn more about life cycles. This process is beautiful in its own way and leads into more learning of the insect community which the children love. There will be an enrichment program and a culminating project in June so stay tuned for more information.

The committee for Understanding Disabilities will presenting a workshop for all second graders on Friday of this week. There will be an hour long workshop with hands and participatory activities for each class. This will be followed up with a discussion of what the children learned from the workshop on understanding disabilities. Students will be put in situations to make them aware of what it might be like to live without sight or hearing. They also will get to experience using crutches and a wheel chair. Understanding Disabilities gives students the opportunity to learn what it might be like to live in someone elses shoes. Thank you to all parents who have volunteered to bring this progam to us.


Thank you for those who particiapated in making "Teacher Appreciation" Week so wonderful. Thank you for the flowers, notes and treats. The luncheon was fabulous and to win a raffle prize was a total surprise. Please know that it has been such a pleasure to work with your students this year. I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience in second grade. Your children have grown and matured so much this year. You should all be proud of their accomplishments. I thank you for all you do! With your continued support, my job is so much easier.

Beginning Monday, the students will be bringing home Writing Portfolios. Each portfolio is stocked with writing supplies and suggestions of writing ideas. All portfolios will rotate through out the classroom till the end of the year. There are four and hopefully every child will get to each one. The portfolio can stay at home for TWO days. I will not send them home on the weekend. The kids seemed excited and are so interested in writing. I hope you get caught up in their enthusiasm!

With 22 days of learning to go, I look forward to more exciting and funfilled days!
I hope the sun comes out this week and may you all have an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend!

Thirty Days and Counting

Well can you believe the year is coming to a close. Your children have worked so hard and have learned so much this year. As I relflect on the year I see a group of amazing readers, writers, scientist, and mathematicians. These kiddos have grown and experienced presenting native american and biography projects. They have worked in partnership to explore, discover and problem solve. In the weeks ahead we will complete our heritage projects and witness the life cycle of a butterfly. You should be very proud of your second graders!

In the final weeks we will be learning about life cycles and insects. The children are always very excited about this unit. Each child will harvest and observe the cycle transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly. As I stated earlier, we will be working to complete our heritage projects and the children will share what they learned about their country of heritage with their classmates. During our library media time the class has been exploring websites to assist with the project such as National Geographic and Time for Kids. Everyone is learning a lot about the capitals, important landforms, population, language, currency and celebrations of their country. It is an interesting social studies project that connects with what they've learned about the continents.


In math, second graders have begun unit 11 and have two more units after that. We will be pushing to get them done by the end of the year. Please remember that your students may be learning and teaching you new strategies to help solve problems. Use these straegies to support them in their learning and with their homework. Counting change continues to be a challenge for many so practice with them when you can. Fact power should always be practiced. Students should have facts to 20 down. Please keep the "fever" going! Play these online math games for fun!

April was poetry month and many kiddos are still trying their skills at poetry. We have written cinquain and acrostic poems so far. Next week we will attempt haiku which is a poem about nature. Have your children share some with you.

We our down to our final two lessons of Fundations. Last week we did unit 16. New spelling words will come home this week. The skill is still double vowels as you know (au, aw). Next week our last unit will be on words with _ble, _le, _dle endings. Words such as table, cradle, little will be learned. In grammer, we are learning about tenses of verbs. Spelling is an important part of grammar in the next few weeks as students must learn when to change the "y" to "i" and add es, or double the consonant in a short vowel word such as running, batted, or when to drop the e and add ed like in smiled.

I hope eveyone had a great Mother's Day weekend. I know there are lots of First Communion celebrations and dance recitals as well. It is a busy time for all when you have to fit in a T-ball or soccer game as well. Spring is full of busy schedules but please try to keep routines and bed times consistent. There's still learning much to do!

The "WOW" Factor!

Do you recognize any of these amazing characters? On Wednesday, April 13 many interesting, creative and incredible people showed up in Room 14. The stories they had to share were remarkable and impressive. I congratulate all of these participants on a job well done. Of course I am talking about your children. All were eager and enthusiastic about sharing what they with Miss Carlow's 4th Grade students and each other. The second graders were surprised to find a twin at lunch or walking the halls that look alike. Thank you to all families who made this possible.

It was great to see so many families at the Learning Fair. Your kiddos were pleased to share their class and projects with all of you. They have been working so hard and as you can see there's a lot that goes into each day. Thanks again for visiting!

Our next big project is our Heritage project that we will begin work on next week. Killam has students and families from many different backgrounds. All second graders will research their heritage in books and online with the support of Miss Simopolous in the library. It will take several weeks to compile the information so stay tuned!

Incase you didn't know it, there are only 39 days left of school. It's so hard to believe. We are looking forward to the days ahead. The second graders will be finishing up the Science unit on Weights and Balances. In the coming weeks math will continue to focus on place value to the ten thousands and multiplication as we complete the last units of the Everyday Math program. Fundations will wrap up the last of the double vowel rules and grammar rules include possessive nouns and adding endings to verbs. So, don't think we are winding down....we still have LOTS to do!
It will be the WOW FACTOR!