Hear Us Roar

     Looking at the deer in my front yard last week,made me think of some students who have a difficult time learning new academic material. They are like deer in the headlights not knowing which way to turn. As educators, we try to assist all students and coach them to ask questions and seek out clarity when they are trying to learn new material. Most kiddos are VERY comfortable asking for help but others sit quietly trying to make sense of it all. In time, all will feel comfortable and safe to take a risk or ask for help from a buddy, helper or teacher. When they "get it"...hear them ROAR, I've GOT IT!

     All second graders have started the social studies unit on communities. There will be a couple of homework assignments associated with this unit. The children are asked to interview a family member about their community growing up. Another assignment is to write some questions that they may want to ask a fireman, policeman or a town worker. finally, after our visit down town, the children will be asked to write a thank you note to one of the departments visited. There will be a very exciting field trip to the local public departments. Again, stay tuned for the date to be announced soon.

     In Math, the children have begun switiching classes for math. All classes are working on place value with our new In Focus Math Program. Homework will be coming home this week from your child's math teacher. All students still need to practice their facts and will be assessed weekly. Kiddos are enjoying their new materials and playing games.

     This week we will begin Unit 3 in our Fundations program. This unit is only one week and will teach the closed syllable exception. A closed syllable has one vowel closed in by one or more consonants. The vowel is short and is marked with a breve. The closed syllable exception involves the spelling of the glued sounds: ost(post), olt (colt), ild (wild), ind (find), and old (cold). The children should be practicing all words that come home on Fundations worksheets and word families. For instance, if the word on the worksheet is cold, the children should also know bold, fold and gold. If the word is wild, they need to know child and mild. These are spelling pattern strategies. We practicing the sounds and spelling with magnest boards, white boards, smartboard lessons and workbooks. On Monday, the Unit 2 Dictation will come home. Your child is assessed on how well they carry over the lesson learned. These Dictation assessments will improve as the year progresses. I f you have other questions, there are Fundation's parent letters on EDLINE as a resource or you can always email me.

     Finally, the children in our class are working together trying to fill each others buckets. We are trying to be fair, taking turns, helping others, being kind and a good friend. Most important, we strive for EXCELLENT EFFORT in all we do. When we have a problem, we work on strategies to solve those problems like CALM BREATHING, TALKING CALMLY, WALKING AWAY or ASKING FOR HELP. We learn crying doesn't solve anything. Also, Students should be RESPECTFUL of all others. Laughing at others is never acceptable. Please encourage your child to remember these strategies each day.

Enjoy the week! We will continue to ROAR down the road of success.
Thanks,
Deb Dellovo

Eleven Days and Counting

Hello Friends, Well as of today, we have been in school eleven whole days. Rules and routines are getting better but still need review and reminders. This week I am holding the kiddos accountable and reminding them about classroom/school expectations. We are also trying to transition from one activity to another quickly and efficiently. Please discuss this with your children so that when we begin to switich classes for reading and math, time won't be lost. They are all cute little chatter bugs. Hopefully everyone received the spelling and Calendar activities packets that went home today. First spelling, as you could see from the scores most kiddos need to practice the first grade trick words often. At open house I had a handout in the packet with suggested ideas to do with spelling/trick words. Please continue to practice these with your child. A great way is to put the words on index cards and put the cards on a ring. Keep the ring in the card to practice when in the car for short or long rides. Quick and easy! Keep the list I sent home in the back outside packet of their homework folder for easy reference. The first list of second grade trick words will come home on Tuesday (spelling day). Here's an opportunity to start a second spelling ring. The Calendar Activities packet will come home on Friday or Monday as I said in my note. Many of you will find some pages incomplete. Hopefully this will improve in a short time. For now, I told the children these pages "could be" done at home so they can become "experts" at school. No need to return the packets to school. The time spent on them can be recorded as part of math practice on the "LOG" that came home today. Lastly, your child should have had a copy of their Math and Reading LOG. Please encourage them to keep it in their homework folder. Assist them with filling it out or model for them for several days before they attempt it. Thank you to all those who attended Curriculum Night. It is very important for you all to hear about procedures and routines to help our class run smoothly. Have a great week. Deb

Here We Go!

Wow! Our first week of school was absolutely wonderful! We spent a lot of time getting to know each other and learning about our classroom community and new school rules (ask your kiddos about them). During the first couple of days we talked about what makes a great learner and a great classroom. We read several books to help guide our discussions about behavior and excellent efforts. In addition to learning about classroom rules and procedures we also began our Daily 5 Reading To Self. We are learning about the importance of having stamina (the ability to do something for a long time) and endurance (the ability to do something for a long time even when it is hard) during Read To Self. In order to grow as readers we must work hard and read a lot. Students have found that choosing a "good fit book" and a comfortable spot helps with their stamina. Kiddos are trying out different spots throughout the room. Soon, grade two will begin switiching for reading. All students will be benchmarked to find their instructional reading level and grouped with other kiidos at their level. It seems like everyone enjoys reading and looks forward to this reading time. In writing, the children wrote about a time when they had a strong feeling about something. We brainstromed strong feelings such as thrilled, excited, frustrated, embarassed or worried. They then would "turn and talk" about a feeling with a buddy before they stat their writing. This was to be their first narrative piece for the year which seemed to go pretty well. Every Monday, the kiddos will also write their weekend. In their "Personal Pad" they can reflect on their weekend and share small moments familiar to them in a narrative form. Each week I will choose a few students to share their writing as the class learns from each other. We have a new math program this year called Math In Focus. It is aligned with the new Massachusetts Frameworks (common core). It looks great and came with lots of new materials so stay tuned for mor information about it. Well, I need to go greet my friends for the opening bell. I look forward to a great year! I hope it is fun, safe and productive for all.

Technical Difficulties But Time Moves On

Hi Families, I know it has been awhile since I have written a post but technical difficulties on this site have frustrated me and I have postponed returning to the blog. However, I have many cute pictures I want to share and hopefully I will have some success. Our work with the Native Americans is coming to a close. Your kiddos will be coming home with a portfolio of projects and information. They all did such a wonderful job on their projects. Each proudly presented their work and it has been on display in the 2/3 HI/D. Please make a plan with your child to pick-up or have them take their projects home over the next few days. Our Native American research and activities were highlighted by a visit of a real Native American, Dan Krips, and by the exciting field trip to The Peabody Musuem at Harvard University. The children shared their knowledge and impressed the guides with they knew of all the regions. We also had opportunity to explore other areas of the museum such as rocks, minerals, insects, glass flowers, fossils, crustesans and other areas of the world such as the Phillipines and South America. It was a great day for all!

So here we are, the first weekend in March. It came in like a lamb thankfully but time is moving on. Report cards will be released in the next few weeks. The children have been working very hard reading, writing, spelling, researching, exploring and problem solving. Many areas on the report card will show continued progression towards meeting the end of the year goals. We will be assessing over the next week and beginning new units of study for the final term. In Science, we will beging a unit on Weights and Balances. In Math we begin work with money reviewing the counting of dollars and coins being able to write the totals in two ways ($__.__ and __Cents). Learning to make change will also be explored. In grammar, our next unit is writing and the use of contractions. Please keep your children practicing their math facts, reading and don't forget SUPER SLIPPER SPELLING DAY on Tuesday. Happy Spring! Deb Dellovo

Happy New Year

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday break. I was very busy entertaining and visiting with family and friends. I look forward to going into Boston for First Night festivities on New Year's Eve and two more parties to host on the weekend. It truly is a "wonderful" time of the year.

Curriculum planning was on my mind as well and I did spend some time at school. It is hard to believe we are returning in 2013. Happy New Year to all! May you all find good health and happiness awaiting in the new year. Grade 2 will be very busy learning about Native Americans in January. This is an exciting journey for the kiddos. We will be exploring the area of Eastern Woodlands, Plains, Southwest, and the Pacific Northwest areas. The team has many exciting activities planned. Stay tuned for a take home project at the end of January. You can visit an older post for some project ideas.

Mathematically speaking, grade 2 continues with addition and subtraction strategies. The goal is to fluently add and subtract double digit numbers to 100 using strategies such as place value or addition and subtraction relationships. I hope you are using the websites posted on this blog to assist your kiddos and to give them practice time.

Our next unit in Fundations, Unit 8, teaches the "R-controlled" syllable in words such as barn, horn and party. There is one vowel followed by "r". The vowel is neither long or short.

In writing the children will continue to explain, define, describe and inform their audience through expository writing. Their first writing piece of the new year will be their New Year's Resolution. They will explain to their audience what they will change or do better in 2013. These will be posted for the New Year.

Finally, as we step into the New Year, I want to spend more time sharing and being aware of "bucket-filling" behaviors. The Killam community is a "bucket-filling" community and Room 14 plays a big part in the community. Each day as part of our new morning routines, a "bucket-filling" quote will be posted and discussed. An example might be "be the first to say hello". Discussion could be that when you see someone you know be the first to say hello. When you enter the classroom in the morning, be the first to say "good-morning". These are good behaviors and bucket filling behaviors. Students will be reminded to be "bucket-fillers" not "bucket-dippers" in the new year.

Well, in closing, again may I wish you all Happy New Year with many blessings to follow. I look forward with excitement to the days ahead. PS: These pictures were taken on Compound Word Day.

Warmly, Deb

Holiday Reflection

It was wonderful seeing all of you during conferences and chatting about your wonderful children. These special children are your precious babies and enlight of what happened in Newtown, Ct let me reassure you, your children are safe and secure at the Killam School. It is with a heavy heart I write this post. It is very hard to see the faces of those children and know they are the ages of your children, my charges. Please know, I care deeply for each and everyone of your children and would do anything to keep them safe. I can tell you that there was no discussion in class today. Everything was normal (as normal can be around Christmas time). Everyone was happily skipping, chatting and singing as all second graders should be. It was a very normal day. This doesn't mean that the "talk" won't happen. If I do hear chatter, I will reassure the kiddos that they are very safe at Killam with lots of adults who care about them and love them very much. We have many procedures in place that I will remind them of. If you have any further questions or concerns please contact Jess Ostuni our school psychologist. She would be happy to chat with you. Let's all count our blessings and reflect on all the good things we have this holiday season. May you all enjoy this time with family and friends. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a fun-filled holiday break. I wish you all the best for the New Year. Fondly, Deb

Halloween Wrap-up and Report Card Check

Thank you to all the moms who helped out for our Halloween Centers. Thank you to Ms Serrao and Mrs. Aguja for organizing volunteers, food and supplies for the activities. The children had a great time and enjoyed their morning. Check out some of the activities throughout this post.

Over the next couple of weeks Killam students will be finishing up projects, being assessed on the unit standards and participating in grade level activities that will put closure to term one. Marks close soon and report cards will be distributed by email the first week in December. It is amazing to think we are at the end of the term even though we really have a longer term than in the past. Conference day is scheduled for Friday, December 7 with December 5 and 6 as alternative dates. I will send home reminders after Thanksgiving.

Please remember that when you look at your child's report card you are looking at grades that reflect where your child is in relation to the end of the year. Most standards are end of the year standards and your child is beginning or progressing towards that end of the year standard. You may see a few meeting of the standard at this point in the year but it is rare. All of these standards are in progress or cover the whole year.

The children should continue to read, read, read "good-fit" books EVERYnight . They should also practice their math facts to 20 and practice all of their trick words from first and second grade. Two more great websites for math and spelling practice are: aaa.math.com and enchantedlearning.com .

I am looking forward to seeing you all and discussing your child's progress but most of all chatting with you about their transition into to grade two. Each and everyone is a hardworking trooper putting their best foot forward each and everyday. At times, they may hit a bump in the road but they perservere and move on. I am so proud of them.

Finally, to all of my grade two families, may you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends. Count your many blessings and enjoy all that you have.

As always, in friendship, Happy Thanksgiving, Deb