Mrs. Merrill's Second Grade Class : December 2016

Friday, December 30, 2016

1/2 - 1/6 Week at a Glance

Monday, January 2, 2017
No School

Tuesday, January 3, 2017 (Day 6)
School Resumes
- P.E. (final day of skating)
- Spanish

Wednesday, January 4, 2017 (Day 1)
- Community Meeting (non-uniform day - wear C.A.R.E. t-shirt)
- Spanish
- Music

Thursday, January 5, 2017 (Day 2)
- STEAM (in place of Library through March 17), please continue to bring in Library books to renew or return
- Spanish
- P.E.

Friday, January 6, 2017 (Day 3)
- P.E.
- Music

Looking Ahead:
- Monday, January 9: Special performance by Macalester College's African Music Ensemble with a guest dancer from Ghana.The program will involve performance, demonstration and audience participation.
- Thursday, January 12: Zoom in on Plants (on-campus field trip)

Writer's Workshop Publishing Celebration

Friday, December 16th was a fun-filled day for a variety of reasons:

The final day of Advent was hosted by Mrs. Bailey, Mrs. Preissing and Mrs. Wright, where plenty of holiday cheer and spirit was in the air!
All of second grade had their Winter Holiday Party! Students played games, made an ornament and were invited into the Holiday Cafe where they were seated for delicious treats like latkes, hot cocoa and a peppermint stick while listening to the story of Hanukkah!
Second graders published their first Small Moments book! All classes came together so students could read their books to one another. See photos below (some with students from other classes and then many in our own room to keep the celebration going).

Lower School Holiday Program

It seems like so long ago, but on December 15th, all Lower School students gave the most wonderful Holiday Program performance. I can't help but smile non-stop throughout the show ... but especially when watching the students of Room 16. They did amazing!!

Below is the only photo I took ... back at the room after the program was over while we waited for parents. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Bulbs and Blossoms

Yesterday we were lucky enough to have the MN Landscape Arboretum's Plantmobile visit for an on-campus field trip. The program presented was "Bulbs & Blossoms" and students learned about a bulb's life-cycle, compared and contrasted different bulbs (there are only two kinds of bulbs that you can eat: onion and garlic!) and we planted Paperwhite bulbs. We also dissected a tulip bulb to find the food storage areas, baby bulbs and the forming of leaves and flowers inside.

Students had a blast, especially since earlier this year we planted Tulip bulbs, so they had plenty of background knowledge! We have two additional times this year when the Plantmobile visits second grade and we are already looking forward to it!

Dissecting tulip bulbs to find food storage and more!

Explaining how a tulip bulb changes through the seasons.

Planting Paperwhites!

Placing their Paperwhites under the Grow Lab until it was time to take them home!

Sunday, December 11, 2016

12/12-12/18 Week at a Glance

Monday, December 12, 2016 (Day 1)
- Spanish
- Bulbs & Blossoms (on-campus field trip)
- Music

Tuesday, December 13, 2016 (Day 2)
- LS Holiday Program rehearsal
- Coding (please bring library books to renew or return)
- Spanish
- P.E.

Wednesday, December 14, 2016 (Day 3)
- Advent
- LS Holiday Program rehearsal
- P.E. (no skating)
- Religion

Thursday, December 15, 2016 (Day 4)
- LS Holiday Program rehearsal
- Art
- Spanish

* LS Holiday Program, 6:30, Chapel. Please drop off your child in Room 16 at 6:15.

Friday, December 16, 2016 (Day 5)
- Winter Holiday Party
- Writer's Workshop Publishing Celebration
- P.E. (no skating)

Looking Ahead:
- Holiday Break, December 19, 2016 - January 2, 2017
- School reconvenes, January 3, 2017

Room 16's Visit to Sunrise Senior Living

Last Friday, our class performed with Mrs. Thorne's class at Sunrise Senior Living. They shared part of their holiday program with the residents to spread holiday cheer. They also read to the residents and did SO WELL! The joy, love, and excitement the children shared warmed the hearts of many. The children in Room 16 amaze me every day. I love to learn with them, share stories, and see them bring joy to the community. What a gift they shared this holiday season!

Singing beautifully!!

If you look closely, you'll see Benji the Therapy Dog!

A Note from Mrs. Bailey

Dear Parents:

At the end of this week, your child's first semester progress report will arrive in your homes. It's always a great time to reflect on all that our student's have accomplished ... both as learners, friends, and classroom citizens. You may notice that there are several markers in the Mathematics section of the report that are marked as "Not Introduced." As you know, we've shifted our curriculum to Math In Focus (MIF), which has a different emphasis in content and sequence. We will be revising the math section of our progress report for next year, giving us this year to implement MIF and identify our priority learning objectives in the curriculum. Please refer to the narrative comments to gauge your child's progress in math this year.

Advent

Room 16 and Mrs. Power's class will be hosting an Advent service Wednesday (12/14) morning from

8:45-9:05am. This is an informal service. Please do not feel the need to rearrange your schedule, however, if your schedule does allow, join us in the 1-2 Commons for praise and songs.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

The Landing Field Trip

Last Thursday, second graders visited The Landing to learn about the rich holiday traditions from ethnic groups who settled in the Minnesota River Valley in the 19th century. Do you have any family traditions?

Do you receive an orange in your stocking?

Maybe your eldest daughter throws a boot over her shoulder to determine whether or not she may be married in the upcoming year?

On Christmas Eve, do the children in your family sleep on hay under the Christmas tree?

Do you play dreidel?

Ask your child about the different traditions he/she learned about. Discuss your own traditions and why they are important to your family.

We had a great time and learned so much!