May 23, 2012
I can't believe we are down to the last three days of school.  I am going to miss your child and know I'm getting old when I am not exactly elated that school is out!  I'm sure I'll get over it, hee hee!
Thursday/Pet Day/Last Day Schedule:  At the last minute, a couple of us decided to have that special day for our classes so I'm sorry for not getting this out sooner.  With packing and the short days, I didn't think we would have time.  However, I hated not to have it for the children.  Our schedule that last day will be:
8:00-9:30  Open for children to share pets....please return the blue form so I can schedule pets to be shown one at a time.
9:30-10:15  Class Celebration
10:30  Farewell Walk for 5th Grade
...Cleaning our classroom
...Lunch and Kick Ball
...Storytime with Mrs. Hosey
    Dismissal at 12:20

May 6, 2012
Tomorrow, please wear red, white, and blue for our very, very special visitor!

Friday night's patriotic program was fantastic...and you parents are amazing.  It was crowded, hot, and yet you turned out, endured, and had smiles on your faces.  Hope you got your keep sake pictures.  I want to thank Bonnie Kolesar for her time and talent for decorating our stage.  She is amazing!  She came up everyday last week, adding more details to make it perfect!  We will keep it up a few days next week so if you did not get a picture of your child and friends, you are welcome to come up and do it.  Thank you Bonnie!  What a gift of time!

Spelling Homework:  We're done!  No more spelling homework or tests for second grade.  YEA!

Needed:   1.Volunteer for Georgia Day, 8:00-10:30.
            2. Parents to plan our end of the year celebration which will be May 23.  We don't have our room mother on board for this due to surgery.  I know many of you are willing to step up for this event.  Let me know if you would like to plan this special hour.  I'm open for anything!  Just send me a note if you are willing.  Krystle...no mam!  You cannot do this....teacher's orders!
            3.  We need clorox wipes.

Georgia Day Presenter:  We will be having a speaker about local bees in Georgia.  Please see the form below if you are interested in purchasing an autographed book and send in your check and form by Wednesday.                                                   Student’s Name/Phone # Teacher’s Name/Grade
ORDER FORM FOR:Buzz on Honeybees(May 8 Event)Author Cathy Kaemmerlenwill visit your child’s school on May 8 to talk about herwonderful book,The Buzz on Honeybees. Itty Bitty Betty, the Storytelling Honeybee, takes children on an educational adventure. With Betty as a guide, children learn that one out of every three mouthfuls of food we eat is a direct result of bee pollination--pretty heavy stuff for such tiny little insects! Betty's stories are illustrated with meticulously detailed and beautifully painted representations of bees and their habits. Filled with interesting facts, this story from the littlest of bees gives us plenty to think about.Autographed books make wonderful gifts for children. Please return payment to your child’s teacher. Make Checks Payable to: FoxTale Book Shoppe∙ 
Number of Copies ofBuzz on Honeybees $18.00 (includes tax)________ TOTAL

Summer Reading Program

Information was sent home with a password. If you did not keep this information, please check the school site for information.

Book Fair The Spring Book Fair is set up and ready for customers! It will be open from 7:15 – 3:00 for students to shop every day next week. Students may shop online until May 14^th. A percentage of the proceeds directly benefit our Library Media Center – buy lots of books for summer reading.  If you send some money with your child for books, we can send children down to the book fair this year.  If not, feel free to drop by and come get your child to shop for summer books.  If you are able to volunteer in the book fair anytime next week, please give Megan Robinson, our librarian, a call at the school.  (770-916-7085, ext 230)

Next Week:
Math-We will review three digit subtraction with and without regrouping and counting large money bills, counting change and begin our review for end of year tests.  Those will take place the week of May 14.  We will continue to work on subtraction facts.
Reading-We will continue to work on reading skills and take reading assessments.  Additionally, we will rehearse each day next week for our class play on May 17.  Remember that parts should be memorized by May 10.
Writing:  We are busy writing All About Me in "bare books" so you will have a great rememberance of second grade.

Special Events:  Monday-Senator Johnny Isakson will be speaking to second grade.  Wear patriotic clothes again on Monday.
                               Tuesday-  GA on My Mind:  Ms. Noodlehead:  The PTA is providing a fantastic one person theatrical presentation about Georgia.  We have learned so much about our state this year and the children will love this presentation.
                              ***** Wednesday:  Georgia Day:  We will have a full day of fantastic rotations about Georgia.  I need one parent to volunteer from 8:00 to 10:30 to take our class through the rotations.  I will be doing a special reading of Tar Baby, by Joel Chandler Harris to all of the children.  If you can help out please send me a note.
                              Friday:  Field Day:  Be sure your child wears our class shirt, put on sun block and have on tennis shoes.  We will be outside all day.

Krystle Barrett:  Our wonderful room mother is having surgery on Friday, May 11.  Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.  I will be taking her dinner on Saturday...(spaghetti, salad, brownies) so if you would like to send something in for her, I will send it home with Sophie.  She will be out of work for 4 weeks!  Yikes.  She has a lot of physical therapy a head of her.  I pray she does as well as I did with mine! 

Miss Tisher has completed her time with us.  Thank you so much for treating her today with special gift cards, notes, and all your children's loving hugs.  She learned so much from your children and fell in love with them.  I know they children gained a lot from having two teachers in the classroom with them all the time.  Four hands are always better than one.  We were blessed to have such a caring young lady that literally worked seven days a week, 12 hours at least each day, to be the best she could be.  I even learned a few new tricks from her!  We will miss her, but hey....I get all the hugs now!  Remember the play next Saturday, May 12.  I am so thrilled that many of you will be joining us there. 

*************************************************************************


April 30, 2012
Wow....the end is in sight...but, we have much to do.  This week, we are finishing the great story, How To Be Cool in Third Grade, adding and subtracting three digit numbers, writing a book called All About Me, working on our play parts, and wrapping up our science unit on life cycles of plants and animals.  We have butterflies that will be coming out of their pupa's this week!  We are loving that observation.

This week we will work hard to be prepared for our patriotic musical for Friday night.  Please be sure to have your Hound or Pooch in the classroom by 6:00, dressed in jeans, and a red, white, or blue shirt.

Some of you have made arrangements to join us for the play downtown, Miss Nelson is Missing with Miss Tisher!  I can't wait and know it will be a wonderful exposure for the children since we are having a play ourselves.  Seeing a production, listening to actors speaking...wow, it will be great for the children!  We have enjoyed the book and we will read it again next week.

Miss Tisher's last day will be this Friday and we want to celebrate her on that day.  I thought it would be nice for those of you who are able, to send in either school items she may use, or gift cards to one of the school stores, or a card to wish her well.  I will have a basket to put things in.  She has gone way beyond the requirements to teach our children and has been so generous, spending her own money too often for the extras.  She is giving them little things with messages on them this week.  She has sacraficed way beyond what we would expect to see from an unemployed student teacher.  She has grown and appreciated the time with your children.  I am so proud of that journey we have all had together.  I know she has learned so much from your children and will take this experience with her forever.

We have a seriously busy calendar.  Please check it to keep posted of all that is happening here!

Science Projects!  Wow...they were all 3+!  I was totally impressed and they did an awesome job presenting.  It was a super social studies review of all our Georgia Heroes.  Thank you for helping.

Krystle Barrett-  Krystle, our room mother, is having major surgery on her leg.  She had a serious injury from snow skiing.  Please remember her and her family next week.  If you are interested in doing meals, sending cards, or giving her a call....let me know.  She did an awesome job putting together our auction basket.  You also did a great job sending items in for to include.  I hope you had a chance to see it this weekend at the Fun Run.

Subtraction Facts:  We are drilling daily on these this week because we will be subtracting very large numbers next week. 

Have a super week.  Stay tuned for more updates!



April 20, 2012

As you know, you have all been invited to attend the play "Miss Nelson is Missing" as a goodbye/graduation party for Miss Tisher. The play is on Saturday, May 12 at 2:00pm. You recieved a green letter that was sent home with the invitations, and at the bottom of that letter is an RSVP card that you need to return to school with your child. We are so excited that so many students and parents are coming out with us to watch the play, and we want to remind you to send that RSVP card back if you haven't done so already. We would just like to figure out who is attending, so we know who to look for on the day of the play. Even if you are not attending please place check the "I will not be attending" box. and send it back in.

Don't forget:
-This Monday we will be going to the Fire Safety Village. Please wear your yellow Hosey Hound Dogs shirt to school.
-The Social Studies project is due next Thursday, April 26.

We want to give a big thank you to all the parents for enforcing the "no toys at school" rule. We have not had any incidents lately, and we are so grateful for all your help!

April 11, 2012

Yesterday your Hound or Pooch received directions for a social studies project on a Famous Georgian that we have studied.  The corrected date the project will be due and presented is on Thursday, April 26.  I am putting the project directions here in case your child did not show it to you yesterday.  We drew names for the person your child will research. 
                 Famous Sons of Georgia Project

          Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia who became the president of the United States of America. We have learned that an ordinary person can do extraordinary things.  Character traits have directed actions.    We have studied several other special people in Georgia’s history.  Each time, we focused on their character traits and how they helped them accomplish great things in their lives.

We would like to feature each of these people from Georgia this last 9 weeks with a project.  Each student will draw as a lottery one of the people we have studied this year and do a presentation to the class on Thursday, April 26.  It could be a power point, a poster, a timeline, or an exhibit with some artifacts from the time period when that person lived.  As accomplishments are featured, the life skills, lifelong guidelines and talents the person demonstrated will need to be included. 

      The person you drew was _______________________________.The projectwill be due on Thursday, April 26 and presented that day to the classs.
 
The projects were assigned as following:  JO-James Oglethorpe, JC-Jimmy Carter,
MM-Mary Musgrove, T-Tomochichi, MLK-Martin Luther King, JR-Jackie Robinson

Madison-JR, Sophie-MM, Rett-JO, Liam-JC, Rowan-T, Oston-JC, Graham-JO, Allyson-MM, Kailyn-MM, Joseph-JC, Shanee-T, Kavin-JO, Anna Grace-JR,
Emily-Jr, Jenna-MLK, Alexandra-MLK, Nate-MLK

For research, we have our social studies book and a biography that we read earlier this year if you need it.  Help your child begin by brainstorming things they remember about their person.  Further research can be done online and at the public library. 

 

 

 

March 30, 2012
We had a fantastic Art Day today! The students got to see comedians, a juggler, a magician, and they got to act in class. We also made some stained glass art projects. We hope that you have a safe and exciting Spring Break! 
Please do not forget to write your child back in the parent letters. Also, please do not forget to sign and return your child's behavior report for this week. When we come back we will be learning about:

Math: We will finish up our multiplication unit, and we will start division. The multiplication test will be on Tuesday. In second grade,we focus on what the multiplication problem means, how to make an array out of a multiplication problem, and what the repeated addition problem for a multiplication sentence is. For example, 2x3=6 is the same as  3+3=6. This is a good time to get multiplication cards and start working on those facts. We will start division during the middle of the week.

Reading: We will start reading Gooseberry Park.

Social Studies: We will begin a unit on spending and saving money. This will be a fun one! The students will be creating an in class project and writing about the costs and benefits of spending and saving.

Parents: There has been a lot of students bringing in toys and trinkets that are very distracting during the day. Please do not let your students bring in toys. They will be taken up and a note will be going home if the students bring toys to school.


Have a wonderful spring break!
Erica & Kay

March 28, 2012

Career Day is around the corner, on Wednesday May 16^th.  We are still seeking speakers for 
 
the day. If you are interested and available that morning, please contact your grade level counselor for further information by Friday, April 13^th!

Jennifer.Frederick@cobbk12.org

Sarajane.Lombardi@cobbk12.org

Claire.Murphy@cobbk12.org

Art Day:  This Friday is the big day!  Please send your child wearing our class shirt!  Fun, fun, fun! 

Multiplication:  We are working hard to understand that multiplication is simply repeated addition.  We have been drawing arays to show what multiplication means.  The third grade teachers want us to introduce it for a foundation of what's to come.  We will not be memorizing facts.  Third grade spends a lot of time on this.  They DO NOT spend time on addition and subtraction.  We HAVE TO GET THOSE MEMORIZED THIS YEAR!
So, soon we will go back to facts.  That is what they will need to do this summer to keep skills sharp.  Some of us do not have them memorized, especially subtraction.  The timed tests simply let you know how well they are memorized. 

READING:  Tomorrow we will finish a fantastic book called The Trouble with Chickens by Doreen Cronin.  It is a great story about a rescue dog named J.J. and a family of chickens.  Have your child tell you the story next week...on the way to spring vacation would be a great way to pass the time.  We need to learn to retell the stories we read.  I think this one will be perfect for retelling!  It's very entertaining!
You may want to look for other books by that author for summer reading!  :>)

Spring Break!  Have a wonderful time next week with your family.  Be safe and see you in April!

March 19, 2012
Volunteer Lunch

 

 

:  Today I hope to see many of you today for lunch.  Remember to meet me in the library at 12:20.  We have a big group!  10!  We will grab a table so we can sit together.  Thank you for all you do for our class.  I can always count on you. 
Can you believe that we have only two weeks left for the spring vacation?  Wow it is going fast!  We have so many things planned during that last seven weeks that it will zoom by and the summer will be here. (Feels like it's already here!) 
Math:  This week we begin a study that lays the foundation for multiplication.  Our job in second grade is to help children understand what multiplication is...how to find the answers, when it is helpful to solve problems.  The unti begins with skip counting, which helps when we begin to work on facts.  We will eventually work on facts through the 5 tables. However, third grade teachers have stressed the importance of the children to have addition and subtraction facts memorized.  Last week we sent home a timed test for addition and subtraction so you would know how your child is doing.  With multiplication...we will teach them how to draw an aray that shows columns and rows.  This week we will ask them to bring in an example of an aray from home...examples are egg carton and muffin pins.  Hopefully you can find something interesting to send.
Writing:  This quarter, we will focus on writing to persuade and writing stories.  Today we are editing our stories about leprechauns.  Editing is a big deal because we have to train the eye to look for mistakes.  Of course this takes time and you know how fast this age is when it comes to anything.  Rush, rush, rush!  So, we will be trying to slow that down and get them to revise, look for interesting adjectives, and check for punctuation and capitalization errors.
Reading:  We will be having guided reading groups twice this week as well as reading a biography of Jimmy Carter. 
Don't forget to encourage your child to bring home AR books and get busy for that AR Store for next week.
Reading Logs for March will be due on the 31st.  If you are suppose to send in the reading prize, please send it in by March 30.  That way I can get something if necessary. 
Social Studies:  Of course, you know we are studying Jimmy Carter as a person in Georgia History.  We will focus on character traits and life experiences, things he did in his childhood, and steps to the White House.  Why do we study Jimmy Carter?  Well, the standards for second grade social studies cover famous Americans from Georgia.  We have studied James Oglethorpe, Tomochichi, Mary Musgrove, Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King, Jr, and now we finish with Jimmy Carter.  I assure you it has no political implecations.
Field Trip:  Remember we go to the Carter Center this Friday!  Please get the class tee shirt out and ready to wear on Friday.  We will eat lunch at school as usual.  We will leave around 9:00 and be back around 12:00.
Pictures:  Please return your picture money this week or the pictures.  You may want to get a class picture even if you don't want the individual pictures.  Those that have not ordered a year book would perhaps want to go that route.  In any case, we want to wrap the picture collection up before spring break.  Thank you for your cooperation.
Main Events Posted On The Calendar:  Please check the calendar and update your calendar.  There are a lot of events during the last three months and I have posted everything there for you.  There are two dates we want you to come to the classroom and both are in the same week.  May 15 will be Author Celebration Event:  Every class at Sope Creek will be having this, but not on the same day.  You will sit down with your child and read pieces that was written this year.  This notebook will be sent to the next grade and you will be invited to review it each year.  This is a new school-wide effort to strengthen Sope Creek Writers.  It will also provide a collection of favorite writing (4 a year) from every grade.  Eventually, you will get these when your child graduates from Sope Creek.
The other event will be May 17....our final class play and Awards Day.  It will be first thing in the morning so you can get to work no later than 9:30.  Please make plans to attend...if you need to, share the occasions with your spouse or grandparents.  It will be important to each child to have a family member present.  I am sensitive to your work requirements (as a former working mom) but I am hoping with this much notice you will be able to make some arrangements.  We will begin our practice for the play April 24.  Bunny Rabid is a fantastic play...it is even better than the Thanksgiving Play so invite all your family for that! 


March 7, 2012
We are off to a super start this week and making great progress.  We are finishing the quarter and will review for our benchmarks next week.  The curriculum has gotten more demanding, requiring several steps often.  However, we are seeing most children meet the challenge. 

 

Math lessons have been about counting change, solving subtractions problems with dollars and cents, counting change back, and we will end the week with graphs and data. This week would be a perfect week and weekend to have your child spend lots of time on IXL reviewing subtraction, money, measurement, fractions, graphing and data.  We have the end of the quarter test next week.

The phonics and spelling continue to study r controlled vowel sounds.  These are challenging because ur, er, and ir make the same sounds.  The more we read, write, and notice these words, the easier it gets to remember how the words should look.  Please check carefully your child's spelling homework.  Some are writing the words incorrectly!  Yikes!

Reading Logs:  This month we did not receive a prizes for the reading logs so that is the delay.  I will take care of this over the weekend....I have NO time during the week to shop!  hee hee!  Don't forget to encourage nightly reading and logging on the reading log.  If you have lost your log for this month, please request another one.

SCARCITY is a very hard concept that we are learning in social studies.  When you have a chance to bring that into light, please point it out.  (Examples:  lots of houses for sale, the prices are reduced....  less gasoline, higher the cost)

Volunteer Luncheon:  I hope you are able to attend the volunteer lunch on Monday, March 19 at 12:20.  I would love to have you eat a catered lunch with Miss Tisher and me that day.  It will be very good and you have done so much for us this year that I sincerely would be honored to have you as my guests.  If you have not returned your invitation, please jot me a note so I can be sure we have enough food ordered.  We have changed it up a bit this year.  Any parent who has donated items, been a story parent, served with PTA, helped at a holiday party, contributed to AR Store, volunteered in anyway behind the scene is welcomed!

-Writing:  We are working on writing that gives directions and using transition words such as first, finally, next, or any others from a long list in our writing notebooks.  The topic and closing sentences have really improved. 

                                                                              Help Help Help
                   We are almost out of pencils.  Please send in a pack of pencils next week.  Thank you so much!


-Feb. 24, 1212
We had a super week at the Creek this week. The Hound Dogs celebrated reading shopping in the AR Store on Thursday. Make sure you ask your child for that monthly report so you can see how the reading is going. Let's make reading more AR books a goal for March. Mrs. Lillis has done an awesome job stocking our store and pricing all the items. We will need lots of donations for March and April, our last two big AR Stores so do your spring cleaning and get rid of items you think another child would love. I hope you had show and tell last night so you could see what was purchased. They learn so much about hard work paying off through this event.
Remember that reading improves with practice. Once skills are taught, practice must happen. Another resource is reading Scholastic News each week. We get exposure to non-fiction features and current news. Ask to see the latest one. Please return all SIX FLAG READING LOGS. I must have them to mail in so you can qualify for a free ticket. If you have lost your reading log, I can send you another one but I have to put the info in next week so be sure you get your log turned in no later than Tuesday. Regular Reading Logs will be due the last day in the month as usual.
Math: This week we completed the study of solids and took a pretest for measurement. Now we are busy learning units of measurement of inches, feet and yards. Additionally, we will cover the metric measurements. During the last three weeks of the quarter, we will study making change, interpretation of graphs, and venn diagrams. We hope to spend a few days reviewing befor the quarter benchmark. This quarter has been quite busy. Can you believe our class has worked 45,000 problems on IXL. Most students are meeting the goal of a minimum of 10 minutes daily. We will add some money and graphs next week to the list of activities to practice.
Spelling: Did you know you can get the list of words from Spelling City? Some busy folks have figured out they can get to the next list at speingcity.com and do most of the homework over the weekend. This may help chidren who are busy during the week with sports and /or afternoon activities. Go for it! Each week, we look at a certain vowel pattern so be sure you point that out if your chid is working ahead.
Science: We are still observing moon phases. Each student has a chart to document each day's moon phases. If a night is missed, you can find online sites to observe the moon phases for any date. The class had a great time with oreo moon phases this week. Yum, too! I hope you got to see the oreo moon phases. We have some up in the classroom. Also, the projects were shared and they were awesome! We will be sending them home as we finish featuring them in the classroom. Next week, we will take a walk and observe the trees during winter and compare seasonal changes. We also are learning what causes seasonal changes, the tilting and orbiting of the earth.
Writing: This week, we continued informational writing and learned some skills to help editing our work. We went through the entire writing process with the topic of Stars. We will be putting their work on display in the hall. One of our school goals is to improve writing skills and to write about what we are learning. I am proud of the student progress. We polished up our skills for using quotation marks this week, also.
Social Studies:Second grade studies Georgia Heroes so we will study President Carter and take a trip to the Carter Center. You will be getting a permission form and a request for $5 donation to pay for the gas and bus driver. We need one chaperone to go with us. If you are interested, please note that when you return the permission form.
Cursive Writing: We have a deal going that once we have 5 fabulous behavior days, we will begin! The class really wants to begin. It is one of those skills we have the option to cover but not required. I know it will help them and they are so anxious to start. I hope we make it soon! I'm making a practice workbook for them.

Items We Need: We need pencils and an electric pencil sharpener. I guess we have worn out our old ones from all the writing we are doing! Hee Hee! Good/bad problem to have.

Have a wonderful weekend and keep moon watching!



Feb. 15, 2012

Thank you for all the wonderful cards, candy, and flowers. I have not had a chance to read them fully with such a busy week. However, I plan to partake and cherish them on Saturday. Savor the moment!

I wanted to tell you that we have an outbreak of stomach flu here recently. Our class has had three that have been sick over the past few days. Please remember to keep your child home for 24 hours after symptons are gone. Let's keep the Hound Dogs and Pooches well.

Picture day is next week. Spring pictures will have several choices for background and that came home today in your child's binder. Please select which you prefer or I will have to do it for you, even if you don't plan on making a purchase. Our time and date is next Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 10:45. (Before specials, YEA) The class group picture will also be taken at this time. If you did not order a year book for your child, consider getting a class group picture.

Valentine's Day was terrific for the children. We enjoyed our boxes and candy. It is time to settle down and get busy, with only four more weeks of instruction during this grading period, and that last week will have lots of assessment. Please remind your second grader that school is their workplace, we are here to learn and work. Ask questions about what they are learning about the moon, solid shapes, and the story-Midnight on The Moon. Specific topics are better than "What did you do today?" It demonstrates to the child that a parent knows what we are doing and you have high expectations of me and the children to focus on the Essential Questions (the main idea of the instruction for each subject). When you see sloppy or unfinished work, have them copy it over for the principle of doing personal best on the weekend a few times. We need your reinforcement to raise the bar.

Thank you again for all you do to support the children and me. Miss Tisher will be teaching full time but I am here, involved completely, overseeing, supporting her, and she is doing an outstanding job. The children love her and her style. I am learning some great ideas from the young blood! Hee hee! Also, it gives me extra time to pull children who need reteaching, more individual help. It makes it possible for us to reach all levels in the classroom. I am doing some reading assessment now to be certain we are on the right track.

Have a great end of the week and weekend!
Kay and Erica

 

February 12, 2012
We had a wonderul trip to Tellus Museum and the children learned a lot about stars and constellations. I hope you will take a night opportunity to go outside and look at the sky, searching for constellations. We will begin to do some moon watching and learn about the moon phases this week. We will also read a fiction story, Midnight on the Moon, which is a Magic Tree House story in that famous serious. Hopefully many will get excited about that series and read many more on their own. It is a popular second grade series and you can find them all on Scholastic.com for a reasonable price. We will complete our study of solids this week in math.

Valentine's Day is this week and we will deliver valentines on Tuesday morning to our boxes. I hope to see lots of beautiful boxes tomorrow.

We continue to work on informational writing and work on writing with sequence and transition words.

This week our spelling words will highlight the -er vowel sounds. R controlled vowels are in many words and change the sound of the vowels. I hope you had a chance to review the spelling test that came home on Friday that focused on -ar words.

Please remember to initial the behavior report and set goals for the next week.

I am so proud with our class report on IXL. WE have collectively worked over 40,000 problems! That is quite a number!

Please encourage your child to read and test AR stories for the next couple of weeks because we will be having the AR store the last Thursday of February. Thank you for your generous contributions to our AR Store.

Have a great week and enjoy the celebration of love on Valentine's Day.


February 5, 2012
We have an exciting week ahead with a field trip on Tuesday to the Tellus Museum. Be sure your child wears our class shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. If you choose not to pack a lunch, we can order a bag lunch from the cafeteria.
Math: This week, we complete fractions and begin a geometry unit on solid shapes. Be sure you check the homework sheet for IXL exercises to support our math standards this week. Also, many still need to work on those subtraction facts. Third grade teachers expect them to be memorized this year.
Reading: We will complete Mr. Popper's Penguins this week and celebrate this with black and white day on Friday. Please have your child dress in black and white. We will enjoy some of our Oreo Cookies for a special snack during the movie we will watch on Friday. We will compare and contrast the book and the movie. Additionally, in small guided reading, we continue to read nonfiction books and learn about special text features with nonfiction.
Writing: We are working on how to do informational writing. Last week we had a great session with lap tops. The children did an awesome job learning how to select a font, color, insert clip art, and print as we wrote about Mrs. Lombardik, our guidance counselor. Next week will be Counselor Appreciation Week so we hope to honor her especially.
Science: We will begin to study the moon and phanses of the moon this week. The children have had many wonderful experiences with the study of stars, constellations, the sun and will get a chance to enhance that at the Tellus Museum.

Thank you for all the Oreos. We will be using them for a great activity about the moon phases as well as enjoy eating some on Friday. We have plenty for both activities. We will even write about How To Eat An Oreo, giving instructions on the favorite way to enjoy them. You are awesome.

We sent home directions for a science project, the valentine box, and class names in preparation for our Valentine's Day celebration. Please check the binder and sign the science project form so we know you have received it.

Have a great week.
January 29, 2012




Last week was a super week and we have an exciting week ahead. Thank you for sending in trail mix items Friday as we celebrated the 100th day. This week we will celebrate Ground Hog Day by studying about shadows and the sun, which goes along with our Science Performance Standards. Be sure to send in a baking potato and a picture of your child. Miss Tissure has several great lessons planned for science this week as we continue our study of the sun, stars, shadows, what causes day and night and the moon. We will also be observing the phases of the moon.
Math: We will begin a unit on fractions this week and will learn the vocabulary: numerator, denominator, equal parts, whole, and compare fractions.
Reading: I hope you have found the book Mr. Popper's Penguins and will be sending it on Monday as we begin the study of this award winning book. We will be reading it for two weeks and will celebrate that literature unit with Black and White Day and see the movie. If someone has a copy of the latest movie, please consider loaning it to us Feb. 10. We do have a few extra copies we can share for those who have not gotten their personal copies. This study is rich in vocabulary and all second graders love this study. We will do a little research on penguins to combine this with our writing, informational writing. Also, we have a great lesson planned in the media center on research, which will help the children become familiar with how to find information in a nonfiction text without reading the entire book. In our small reading groups we will be reading non-fiction books.
Spelling this week will be about long vowels patterns, a review.
Writing: This quarter, we will learn how to write informational pieces. Last week we studied how to use a thesaurus so we can enrich our writing with interesting words and not repeat the use of words in the piece.
Reading Logs are due this Tuesday for the month of January. Please remember to total your child's minutes and sign it. Also, whenever your child has completed the Six Flags Reading, you may send that log in as well. It is not due yet.

I am so pleased with the progress the children are making at this time. Of course expectations have risen and it requires more use of our time. When you see incomplete work come home, please talk about staying focused and completing work on time. We are more than half way towards third grade and we are working hard to be prepared for that giant leap. Thank you for all you do to support us.

Items Needed: 5 packages of Oreo Cookies, more pencil erasers, pencil. Thank you again for your generocity.



Valentine's Day is fastly approaching and I wanted to let you know our plans. Each child should decorate a shoe box for a Valentine's Day Box that the children will deliver the valetines in. Please be sure the top will be easily lifted, a slot on the lid to drop candy and valentines, and be sure there is a name on top to identify the box. We will want those boxes on Feb. 13 and we will celebrate friendship on Feb. 14. You will receive a new class list this week for your child to use when addressing the valentines. Be sure to have your child write the name of the classmates on the cards/envelpes and their own
name. A small piece of candy can be attached if you like. We will deliver them on the morning of Feb. 14. It will be a great time for the children since their reading skills are much better than in first grade. We will have a wonderful time with all the riddles.
January 15, 2012
Hope you had a great holiday weekend. We had a fantastic week and the children came back, settled down and ready to work. They welcomed Miss Tisher, our KSU student teacher. We are so fortunate to have her because she is dedicated and works hard with the children. She has a sweet spirit and connected well with each child. We will have her everyday until May 4. We will be team teaching and working to have exciting lessons for the class. She is currently planning an exciting unit on the sun, moon and stars that will begin Jan. 22.

This week will be a full one, even though a short one again.
Math: We will continue to practice three digit addtion with and without regrouping as we explore four digit numbers and review place value for the larger numbers.
Language Arts: We will have guided reading groups twice this week on individual reading levels. For large group reading, we will be finishing our chapter book, Jake. For writing, we will be writing an informational piece on MLK, Jr. who we have studied in social studies.
Social Studies: This week we will be learning about Jackie Robinson and focus mainly on his character traits.

We are in need of a couple of things if you would like to help. We are out of hand sanitizer and would like to have 4 to keep one in each learning club. Also, we are going to collect baby food jars for a project later in the year. If you have any or know someone who may have some, please send them in with the lids. We also continue to need eraser tops for our pencils.

The AR Store will be the last Thursday of the month so if you see any great deals on items to donate, please think about us. We received a few items last week and so appreciate them.

Don't forget to look for our next chapter book, Mr. Popper's Penguins and you may send it in for me to keep. Please put your child's name in it.

Also, please have your child continue that nightly reading of 20 minutes and 10 minutes on IXL.

As always, thank you so much for your daily support and setting high expectations. We worked on improving handwriting some this week and I was quite impressed with the improvement with the spelling tests.

Best wishes for a great week.
Kay Hosey




December 28, 2011
Happy New Year to each of you and hope you had great time with family and friends. I am excited to think of returning Jan. 9 (workday for me) and see the children Jan. 10. I am doing so well and am back up on my feet almost 100%! One more week and and I will be just like new. I wanted to remind you to keep reading and work on IXL to keep your skills sharp. I got last week's report and want to congratulate those of you who are working hard.

Please remember to look for Mr. Popper's Penguins and save it for us to read towards the end of January. I have a chapter book for the children for their holiday gift when we return for our first book club. Can't wait.

Also, don't forget to think of a resolution to share with the class and we will write about them for the hall display our first day back, Jan. 10.

Be safe and stay healthy!
Mrs. Hosey

December 17. 2011
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Many of you may be celebrating this weekend with families and I wish you many great times and memory makers. This will be my last blog for December but I will back online the first week in 2012. Please help you little ones make a good resolution that we can share in January.

Thank you for the cards and the gift card! What a beautiful moment it was for me to receive the children's cards. One even gave me a homework assignment! The gift card was a real surprise and John and I decided to use it for our Christmas Ham and Roast! You will be a part of our family celebrations here. I'm looking forward to letting my daughters do the cooking and serving this year! They are coming here for Christmas so I can continue to recover and get ready to return to Sope Creek. This will be interesting! I will be taking pictures and letting the grandsons (ranging from 14 to 20) wait on me. I am no longer in charge around here for now and I'm trying to like it...not so easy. At least I'm practicing the life skills of patience and flexibility!

Next week will be a review and a few assessments. We will be assessing time, money and subtraction with and without regrouping. Ms. Nelson is sending home their work and you will be getting a set of papers hopefully on Monday with a letter from me to sign so we know you have them. I still have about five sets here from Thursday and Friday and hope to get them to you towards the end of the week. Ms. Nelson and I have frequent communication and I am so grateful for her determination to move the class forward.

Good News! We are getting a student from Kennesaw State, along with several other classes at Sope Creek, in the coming weeks to join the class. She will be putting into practice what she is learning and gaining hands-on exprience with children. But more importantly, we will have another adult in our classroom to assist and provide additional support for the children. Of course I will be teaching myself, however, she will get to work with small groups and individuals who need extra support. I am thrilled to be honored to assist a future educator but excited that we will have that kind of support. I will let you know more about that when January comes.

Homework: Many students will not have homework next week which was a priviledge earned for good classroom behavior last week. Others will be getting a homework assignment sheet and may earn some nights off. You will know once your child shows you a pass....so without a pass...homework is on. I came up with this to encourage good behavior and cooperation while I am away.

Next week, students will be reading Too Many Tamolies, reviewing math skills, and complete their science unit on
Energy: Heat, Light, and Motion.

The holiday party this week will be lots of fun for the children with games, food, and making a gift for needy students in Cobb County Schools, as well as a craft. Thank you to each of you who have stepped up to make this possible. This is the first class party in 36 years I have missed so I feel terribly sad about not participating with the class. Krystle Barrett and I have touched bases and I know she has you guys all organized by now.

Story Parents: Thank you to all of you who have signed up to read in 2012. That calendar looks almost filled so if you have not signed up yet and would like to do so, please grab a spot.

Mr. Popper's Penguins We will be reading this classic during the last half of January. Please consider making a purchase for your child to have a personal copy. We do have some but they have seen better times so to speak. It is traditionnaly read during January and often is hard to find for that reason. Hopefully you can get it and hold on to it until we begin the story in class. This book will be an oppourtunity for us to accelerate our learning and offer a challenge to many of our advanced readers. Additionally, it is rich with vocabulary. Students who are not typically reading on that level get so enthrolled in the story that they amazingly zoom forward with their reading skills, also. Scholastic does publish this book so you can go online and order it if you like. If you order from the Book Club site, don't forget to identify yourself so our class will get credit and points. I'd prefer it if you would save it until I let you know when, rather than allowing your child to read ahead. It will prevent us from making predictions and looking for inferences. Also, if any of you have the movie that came out recently, please let me know. I hope to show it when we conclude the reading so they can compare the differences between the movie and the book. There are a lot of them and most children realize that the book is actually better than the movie. This is HUGE because it encourages reading.

What can you do for us? During the holiday season, children experience the joy and wonder of the season. Please take time for yourselves to just be together and celebrate your family traditions. Take some time to reflect on what your goals are for your family and especially your children. I will be available for conferences and will make plans to meet with you but hope to have a few days with the children before we meet. Typically, second graders come back to school in January differently. They suddenly begin to mature and get more serious about learning. It's exciting to see that transformation but it does happen during January, February, and March. I am planning for them and looking forward to it. Students who continue to read those 20 minutes and work on IXL for 10 minutes each day will continue to grow, even during that time off. Please have your child take just that 30 minutes each day to practice what they are learning.
Sincerely,
Kay Hosey
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December 10, 2011
I hope you are having a great weekend. Thank you so much for the beautiful flowers. They arrived yesterday and are beautiful. It was so sweet of all of you to remember me....they certainly provided me with cheer and I think of you every time I walk pass them. My surgery went very well and I got immediate relief from the nerve pain that has plagued me for the past few weeks. I am trying hard to be a good patient so that I will be in perfect health by January 10, when all the Hounds and Pooches return from the winter holidays.

All the plans have been made to wind up the month of December and I know the children will be in good hands. If you have not had a chance to sign up to help with the holiday party, please sign up because I see that we still need some help. I don't want the children to miss out on having a good holiday party and we have made plans for a good party. We just need a few more things at this time.

Next week, the children will begin a science unit on energy and motion. We will also complete the quarter of math skills with money and time. For reading, we are working on how to have a book club, learning each job. In January, we will do a book study and I am working on that over the holidays. Each child will be getting their own copy of the book from me for their holiday gift at the class party. Don't forget to have your little one to continue to read daily during the busy holidays.

I will stay in touch through the blog and please feel free to email me anytime. I will be getting all the work to grade and therefore stay in touch with their progress during these last two weeks. Please tell your child that I am enjoying the class flowers and am looking forward to seeing their work.

One thing....please do not let the children bring Santa hats or other distractions to school. This is an exciting time for them with all the celebrations of the seasions, but we do need to stay on track and maintain good order. Remind them to do their personal best each day and to follow our classroom procedures each day. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Kay Hosey

December 5, 2011
Only three more weeks for this grading period! This week we will be working on the following:
Math: We are finishing up and assessing the unit on plane shapes and angles. You may want to review that tonight on IXL. Tomorrow we will review. Then we will move on to telling time. The last unit will be money. Reading:

We will begin Literacy Clubs this week with the story Bears on Hemlock Mountain, an award winning chapter book. Literacy Clubs have jobs for each member in the group, usually 6 people. They are the Connector, The Artist, Word Finder, Passage Picker, Summarizer, and Discussion Director. We will learn these roles this week and then use this often when we read chapter books. Social Studies:

This week we will finish our study of Georgia Heroes this quarter with the biographies of Mary Musgrove and Tomochichi. As we read about their accomplishments, we look for their character traits and how they helped them with their special contribution to the beginning of Georgia.Writing:

Writing: We are writing responses to literature, which is a short summary and connections, opinions. We wrote one together today and will write another one each day this week....to holiday stories. Supply Teacher: We are so excited to have

Supply Teacher: Lessie Nelson, who has just completed her student teaching in second grade in Mrs. DeFore and Mrs. Bradley's classroom, across the hall from us. The administrators interviewed several candidates and chose her. She is well connected to second grade and has a huge support system. She will spend the day with us on Wednesday. I am certain it will be a good experience for both her and the children. She is very excited about coming back for this time.

Thank you for all your good wishes and prayers. My surgery will be Thursday around 10:45 and I will be in surgery for 2 to 3 hours. I will spend one night in the hospital and then at home recoving. So, I will be on the phone with Ms. Nelson, getting papers to grade, and staying in touch with you through this blog. Thank you for taking the time to read this and stay updated. I am looking forward to returning in January with a much better back!

Sincerely,
Kay Hosey







November 29, 2011
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and rested up to face the big rush in December. Can't believe it is here.
It was wonderful to see the children yesterday...and between the weather and excitement of returning, we had a high energy day, especially with recess in the classroom.

As you know, I had a procedure just before Thanksgiving to help with nerve/back pain and it was not successful. There are no other options left to fix my back other that surgery. I will be having that operation on Dec. 8 and will not return until January 9. Since I will be out for 11 days, we will have a certified teacher with the children. Administration has approached someone and is waiting for an answer. I will keep you posted. I want to assure you that I am working hard to have everyday planned so that your child's education will not be interrupted and that we stay on track. I also will be available to talk to you on the phone at home and will want you to call me with any concerns you have while I am out. I certainly will have time to talk on the phone and will consider it entertainment and recovery therapy!!

This week with the Hound Dogs and Pooches
Math: We still have to review and finish addition/subtraction with and without regrouping. Towards the end of the week, we begin our study of two dementional shapes. Please look at the top of the homework sheet to see the IXL activities. Note that the geometry is on the first grade level. For some reason, what we are doing at this time is not listed on the second grade level. The three dementional shapes will be taught in the third quarter. Please remember to have your child go on the IXL site and work each day for a minimum of 10 minutes. I get a weekly report of who is working and I can see that it is making a difference with those students who have logged in daily. We will be having quarterly benchmarks in December plus mid-year checkpoints so the daily routine of homework is important to your child.
Reading: Reading Logs are due tomorrow. Please remember to total the minutes and send logs in for the reading contest....one for most minutes and one for most improved. Thursday, we will have the AR Store again and we need items so send in items that are gently used from home. This would be a great time to have your child clean out to get ready for new holiday gifts. Give your child the task of finding a four or five items they don't need or want anymore that another child may enjoy. Reading skills this week include inference skills, and identifying main elements such as characters, setting, problem, and solution. Other skills include homonymns, adjectives, and plural nouns.
Writng: We will be responding to literature through our writing, learning to write summaries.
Social Studies: We are reading about the beginning of Georgia as a colony and the important people in Georgia's history. This week the two are James Oglethorpe and Mary Musgrove.

The Nutcracker: Next week we will be going to see the Nutcracker. It is funded by Performing Arts donations. Most of you have sent in the form that was given in August. If you have not sent it in, I will send home another form. There is no requirement to make a donation but I must get permission to take your child off campus. Please return that form as soon as you receive it. Thanks!

November 14, 2011

Play: We are excited and getting close to ready for our performance. We hope to see you Thursday morning at 8:30 in the classroom. We will be finished by 9:00 and hope to have a brunch we'd love you to enjoy following the play. Please feel free to leave as you need for work. We have the following for the burnch: paper supplies, water, muffins, munchkins, cheese. We will plan for 40 people (children and families)
Needed: Juice, egg casserole, ham buscuits, fruit, coffee and set ups
Math: We continue to work on subtraction this week and will have assessments on Friday. Many children need to memorize subtraction facts still and so we will be working daily on short timed tests to help. There are drills on IXL on subtraction so check that out for daily work on IXL. We will have to move on right after Thanksgiving to Geometry: planes, attributes, quadrilaterals, and angles.
Social Studies: We will complete our study of how we get goods and services this week and begin to study biographies of James Oglethorpe and other important people in Georgia's history.
Spelling: We will have a spelling unit but will cover that in class this week to allow children time to rehearse those play parts at home. Please concentrate on helping your child slow down and project the voice.
Reading: We will work on how to retell a story and summarizing stories for the next few weeks. This includes the main characters, setting, problem, resolution and opinion of the story. Eventually, they have to learn to write a summary independently. Remember we have many books in the classroom to take home that are for your child's reading level and are tested for comprehension by the Accelerated Reader Program. Encourage your child to bring home at least one or two of these books weekly.
Writing: This week we are descriptive poems called cinquains about Autumn. Check them out when you come for the play.
Thanksgiving: I am so thankful for all of your help. You are amazing and have been so supportive. I can't believe we are three weeks short of being half done! I look forward to see each of you on Thursday
Needed: We still are looking for a volunteer for alternating Mondays for reading with small groups for 90 minutes. I would have the complete lesson prepared for you. All you need to do is show up. We have one mother that does this on alternating Mondays and it is a wonderful asset for our classroom reading.
Unfortunately, I will be out on Tuesday for curriculum writing with all the second grade teachers and again on Friday for a nerve block. I have been suffering with a pinched nerve for the past few weeks and am desperate for relief. I have put this off until after the play but I am looking forward to that procedure Friday. Pray for relief for me. Please talk with your child about being on best behavior for the substitutes.

October 15, 2011
We have finished our first quarter and have made amazing progress with learning stamina, focus, following routines, and general classroom behavior. The accademic progress has been good and we have a cohesive classroom community. Thank you for your help and support.

Curriculum: Math-We will begin our next unit reviewing subtraction strateiges such as counting backwards for the smaller numbers, counting on for larger numbers, fact families, and more timed tests. Next, we will work on subtracting two digit number that require "borrowing" but we call it regrouping now. The IXL activities should focus on the subtraction section for the next couple of weeks and this section is listed on top of the homework assignment sheet weekly. You may want to invest in flash cards if you see timed tests that show slow progress.
Reading: We will work on learning how to tell and write summaries of the stories we read that include character analysis (traits), setting, main idea, cause/effect, problem and resoution. The AR Program is working well and most were amazed with our first store and are excited to read and take the comprehension tests. Your child has access to a large library of books in our classroom so encourage him/her to bring home books to read. Be sure to write down these books on the reading log. Reading logs are due October 31 and you will need to total the minutes yourself and initial the total. Thank you for sending items for the store. Look for bargins and keep the good junk coming in! Remember to look for good used items you have around the house that are no longer cherished. We take it all because one man's junk is another man's dream come true!
Social Studies: We will study James Oglethorpe, the founding father for the colony of Georgia. As we study characters in our state's history, we will focus on charater traits and their contributions.
Writing: This quarter, we will be challenged to stretch our sentences, using more interesting adjectives and details. Please insist on this when writing spelling sentences. We will learn how to use a thesaurus to find new words to describe. I hope you are seeing improvement in the parent letters each week. If so, please compliment the changes because it will help them feel proud of their progress.
Seasonal Changes: We study the seasons all year to meet the needs of our science standards. What a perfect time for you to be part of the learning process, drawing the our learning into your world. As you notice the changes, discuss this at home. (Leaves changing and dropping, squirrels busy with storing food, birds in flight for migration, fewer hours of daylight. When daylight savings comes, please talk with your child about what happened to the hour. This is quite a difficult concept for them. At least the darker evenings will help us get to bed earlier. It is amazing how a good sleep affects your child. It provides them with more focus, self control, sharper concentration, emotional stability...all that comes with sleep. For me, too!
Class Play: We will begin reading our play this week, assign parts, and you will get ideas about costumes. Please do not feel pressure to purchase the costume but some always do. I hope you will find costume parts when Halloween costumes go on sale. I will send home ways you can make the costumes yourself, cutting the cost.
The play, on Nov. 17 will begin at 8:30, seating at 8:25, on time so parents who need to get to work can get away quickly. You will be invited to stay for the brunch with the children so start thinking of what you would like to bring. Please remember to mark your food if you have meat or nuts for those who may have diet restrictions.
I need a few volunteers: 2 for helping with the backdrop around Nov. 10, 2 for receiving food and help with costume challenges at 7:45 on the 17th, and 3 to help with clean-up while I take the children outside to run off their "joy." Some children are shy about speaking in front of an audience. One of our goals for children in second grade is fluency, commication, and building self-confidence. I promise that I will help prepare your child for this. You can help by encouraging them, helping with the costume, and letting them practice their lines at home. By the time you will begin to work on memorizing, we will practically have them memorized by the daily reading at school.
Halloween: We are not having a party or costumes in second grade. However, we are celebrating the seasonal change and holiday with learning centers that have the holiday themes with math, reading, and writing centers on the 31st. Our room mother, Krystle Barrett, has a list of needs so you may contact her if you would like to help. We also would like the have 3 pumpkins of different sizes to measure, compare, and estimate.
Erasers: If you run across some pencil topper erasers, we seem to go through erasers like crazy these days.
Conferences: I am looking forward to meeting you to celebrate your child soon. I have saved some of their work so we will have something to look at together when we set goals for the next quarter. Remember that it is early dismissal that week. Also, try to be on time because we have some conferences back to back so parents can attend sibling conferences on time. Write down your concerns and send them in if you like so I can be ready to answer your questions. Please let me know if you have to cancel and I will be happy to reschedule.
Attendance and Absentee Notes: Please remember if your child is absent, you need to send in a written note to me the day he/she returns so I can get the absent excused. Otherwise, it counts as unexcused and after 5 of those, I have to send you a letter about the importance of attending school. Phone calls and emails do not take the place of the written note.
Reading Volunteer Needed: We have a mom who comes in every other Monday to help with small reading groups by reading the Scholastic News and doing comprehension activites. We would love to have another mom to alternate the Mondays. I prepare for the lesson. All you have to do is show up. We do this from 9:30 to 10:45. If you are interested, please contact me. It's really a lot of fun and you will help our classroom during guided reading time so that I am better able to meet the needs of individual differences.

Enjoy this beautiful weekend and I look forward to seeing you soon!

PTA Reflections Contest:
Deadline Approaching Soon!
Wanted, Hound Dogs and Pooches to Enter!
Unleash your artistic talents through the 2011-12 PTA Reflections program! The National PTA believes all children deserve a quality arts education and encourages students to pursue artistic expression through participation in its annual arts Reflections program. The program offers students the opportunity to create works of art for fun and recognition. The Reflections deadline for this year is

October 7th! Entry forms and Reflections rules are available at ptareflections.org/cs/rules_and_documents. For questions or more information, please contact Deb Papenhagen (papenhagendeb@yahoo.com) or Wendy Walden, (wendywalden@hotmail.com)

This week was much better! Thank you, Parents, for your support. We covered everything we had to cover and then some! We still are working on building our work stamina and taking brain breaks to get through the morning work hours. The afternoons are easy because there is much movement.
Books: We have had lots of great books donated for the second grade in North Georgia who lost most books from storm damage. Thank you for your support. All books will be taken tomorrow. If you still have not sent them in, please do so first thing in the morning.

Hope you enjoy the fall weekend weather and have time to get to Octoberfest. The pumpkins are fabulous this year. Thanks for the Doke Family for providing our Hound Dog. I hope one of you bids on it and can enjoy it for the season.

Math: We will finish our addition unit in math and review counting coins. Be sure to check out the top of our homework assignment sheet for specific activities to do on IXL next week because it changes.

Science: We begin our study of the types of Matter, its properties, and how matter changes. Please help your child find pictures of examples of solids, liquids, and gases.
High Touch/High Tech will be here Tuesday morning for lots of experiments.

Writing: We are working hard on types of sentences. We have covered statements, questions, exclamations and commands so I will be asking for each kind in the spelling sentences in the future. We are working on how to write personal narratives, telling about something from first person point of view.

Reading: Large group reading will be a fiction story, Swamp Monsters. We will work on character traits, connections, and fluency. Small group reading will be non-fiction reading about Matter, meeting the needs of different levels.

Spelling and Phonics will center around long and short vowel patterns for "e."

Graded Work: I will be sending home several graded papers so look for them in the binder this weekend.

AR Store! We will have our first AR Store this week on Oct. 6 at 10:30. You will get a printed report on tests your child has taken so far and how well the comprehension is going for those stories. Look for it on Thursday. We still need lots of items for the store so keep sending in your items. Thank you for those who have already contributed.

Sept. 24, 2011
Hope you and your family are enjoying this beautiful fall weather. Next week will be a busy one, with only three more weeks in this quarter. We will cover the Creeks and Cherokee Indians of Georgia history, comparing life styles, the natural resources, and history. Then we will move on to science with a study of Matter: solids, liquids, and gas. Additionally, we will learn about the scientific method. In math, we will work hard on the addition, with regrouping and have an assessment towards the end of the week. Please encourage your child to use IXL this week and focus on addition of two digit problems, with and without regrouping. In writing, we are working on types of sentences, and how to write personal narratives. We will also have small reading groups on Monday and Tuesday, and large group readingWednesday, Thursday and Friday.

As you can see, we have many standards left to cover these last three weeks of the quarter, so it is important to maintain good classroom behavior and procedures. We have worked hard to learn and set expectations but had a challenging week, as you already know. Our class is made of bright, capable children who are ready to learn but many have a difficult time keeping focus and self-control. We will incorporate brain breaks that are opportunities to exercise, release energy, and then settle down for working. If can be a challenging adjustment for second graders during the fall, but eventually children mature with their work habits. We will remain positive, encouraging them to practice appropriate behavior. My job is to carefully choose strategies to engage them in an appropriate way that is fun and yet not too much stimulation that provokes excitement beyond self-control. This is a hard task and a fine line for teaching. I promise to do my personal best to meet their needs. Remember that a healthy diet and a good night's sleep are both important to your child. Research I've read says that second graders should get 11 hours of sleep to maximize their physical and emotional needs. That is hard to manage with early school times and afternoon activities. I know you do the best you can.

Thank you in advance for sending in books for the school in North Georgia. We will be collecting new and gently used books this week to send on Friday.

Scholastic Book order will need to be in by Friday, also.

Volunteers are still needed for Octoberfest. Please visit the sign up website at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/octoberfest8 to select an activity and time you prefer. We need your help to make this a great day for our students!

Conference week will be here soon. I want to meet with each parent and not make it difficult for your busy schedules. I'd prefer not to meet in the morning if possible, but will if necessary. Please let me know what days and times are best for you if you have limited schedules or plan to be out of time. Phone conferences are not as fulfilling as face to face meetings. Also, I'll coordinate conferences with other teachers for those who have more than one child at Sope Creek. We have a short time together for these conferences so if you have some immediate concerns, feel free to send them to me and I will plan to encorporate them into the time we have. I want to make this time together worth your time and at the same time stay on schedule.

Legos: We are still looking for donations. If not, I'll get some with Boosterthon funds....but donations will enable me to purchase other items.

AR Store: Please look through all your junk drawers, your children's toy boxes and crates for gently used toys, games, stuffed animals, collecting items and send them in this week. Also, a trip to the dollar aisle at Target will be a great motivator for your child to get to pick out a couple of items for the AR Store...plus they know what kids love. The dollar stores are also wonderful places for finds. Kids love stuff! Thanks for your support. I will be donating $50 of Boosterthon funds for the AR Store, also.

Sept. 22, 2011
Building Brains is our theme this year for Sope Creek. One activity that is excellent for developing problem solving and creativity is Legos. So, I am looking for Legos for our classroom. If you have them and are no longer using them, please consider donating them to our classroom. If there are no freebies out there or donations, I will use some of the Boosterthon Money for this, but I am hoping someone can find us some since they are expensive to build a good variety of blocks. You may even have a neighbor or relative that has them and would be willing to donate them to the class. As always, thanks for all you do.

We have AR Program in full swing now. We are ready to begin collecting items for the store which will be on October 6, a week later than usual. Thanks to the folks that have already begun to send in items. The children see them and are excited already. However, I need to allow the children more time to earn points for shopping. Plus we need time for you to gather items for the store. Sorry for the delay for getting started but I had some technical challenges that took time to solve. On that day, I will send you a report that shows your child's progress each month.

The not so great news is that the behavior in the cafeteria was unsatisfactory today. During our recess time, we wrote about TAME behavior in the cafeteria and an apology to the cafeteria worker, Mr. Terry. I will sit with them for tomorrow and they will have silent lunch. Please discuss with your child appropriate behavior at the table during lunch. Anything you can do at home to help is appreciated.

Thanks again for your support at home. It makes a huge difference.


September 21, 2011 Good News! I cannot tell you how proud I am of the class! We took another 100 problem timed test today and you would not believe the progress they have made with these facts during these six weeks! Wow. Every child made gains except the few who already knew their facts....bless them! We will celebrate with 5 poochy tails tomorrow!

Tomorrow we will begin to "regroup" with numbers for addition. We did it today with linking cubes to get an understanding of what happens when you add and there are too many ones....you have to regroup and make a ten. We'll do it with numbers tomorrow.

This is a link for you to see the school where we are sending the reading books. I promised the class I would send it to you. You can see the destruction of their school. The good news is that they have moved into a school and the state has provided the basics of text books. What we want to provide, is classroom collections of books and books for the teachers to have for their children to take home. I imagine that few of them have books at home to read. Please remember that you can send in gently used books that your family has already read. The books should be something a second grader would want to read. Thank you for opening your hears and wallets for these neighbors in Georgia.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Carie Buchanan at thebuchananfamily@comcast.net.Any parents who want to help collect and organize the books on Friday, September 30th from 8-9am, please e-mail carie.a.buchanan@accenture.com.

September 21, 2011

Hey Hound Dog and Pooch Moms and Dads! We need your help to collect books for a school that lost all their books when North Georgia experienced terrible storms last spring. Read about our service project for this year because next week is the big week for collections. All donated books will be delivered to the school at the end of next week.

Get Ready for the Upcoming Second Grade Service Project - New & Gently Used Books Drive for Ringgold Primary School (K-2)
September 26th - 30th, 2011
Mark your calendars! Second Grade will be collecting new and gently used books for Ringgold Primary School. Ringgold's roof was lost during the tornado last spring and many books were lost. The school is in desperate need for books. Please bring your donations to your classroom throughout the week of September 26th. Items will be collected at the beginning of the day on Friday, September 30th.

There are many series that are great for second grade at this time of the year. Titles include: Henry and Mudge, Poppleton, Mr. Putter and Tabby, Frog and Toad, Amelia Bedelia, Magic Tree House, or anything the children have read and enjoyed and would like to give to a good cause.

I hope you received your graded papers yesterday as well as the reading range promised to you. Also, you received pictures. Today I am sending home book orders, also. Yes, I agree it is alot at one time. Yikes...will do better next time. So, I will extend the book order until the end of the month. t

September 18, 2011


As we begin our sixth week, we will conclude the geography of Georgia, learn about Sequoyah, a Cherokee who invented an alphabet and started a newspaper for the Cherokee Nation in Georgia. Then we will go on to study the Creeks and Cherokees to learn about their cultures, comparing and contrasting them. In math, we will work on addition strategies to learn those facts and begin the regrouping towards the middle of the week. Don't be alarmed if it is challenging at first because it takes a few days for us to learn that not all addition problems need regrouping. When checking the homework, if you see there is a problem, pick two and work on those together. I will want to see the kind of errors they make on the other problems so I'll know how to reteach. You will be getting more graded papers Monday which will include some reading packets. Most of the packet is done with me, whole group at this time. We will gradually move to more independent work once I feel we are ready for that. I hope you send home a range for reading AR books this week, also. It usually is a broad range that covers several months. For example, you may see 2.3 to 2.8. That means second grade, third month to second grade 8 month. Once you get the range, encourage your child to bring home one library book each week in that range. The other book should be anything your child is wanting to check out, including easier or more challenging material. The general rule is if your child misses more than 5 words on the page, it is too hard for good comprehension. However, you can read it and both of you can enjoy it together. You can ask questions for listening comprehension. (who, what, where, why, and when)

Please mark the calendar for our class play for November 17 at 8:30 AM in our classroom. It's too early for us to begin the play but I will get to that mid-October so you will have plenty of time to get a costume ready. I hope to see each of you as well as grandparents. Brothers and sisters are welcome if their teachers are ok with it. You will hear much more about this in the coming weeks.

If you would like to take care of a Scholastic Book order for the class, please send me an email. I hope to send home an order this week and place an order at the end of September. These books are leveled and are the best deal for getting children their own books. Now that Borders is not available, I hope you will consider letting your child order. They get so excited when the books come in and are eager to read. I suggest that you tell them to order books only, rather than some of the other materials since our goal is to get them to read. However, that's totally up to you.

We have had to make some changes in our recess schedule due to the beginning of construction which is temporary. On the days we do not go to PE, our children will have 20 minutes of recess around the bus lanes and that green space. On the other days, we will have some kind of recess inside, which includes games, dancing, and exercising. Unfortunately, we have to share that space with the entire student body so we are given a specific time and days to go outside. Please be patient while we are under construction. Safety is of upmost importance to us and I tried to explain the the children that it is worth the inconvenience because they will have a brand new classroom when they begin third grade. Thank you for your support in this matter.

I hope you will support the Octoberfest by signing up to help, bid on the pumpkins, and sending in baked goods. I know your schedules are very busy with sports at this time of the year so I hope you will find a way to participate.

Enjoy your last week of summer! Fall begins Friday and we are going to enjoy watching the changes of the season, the shorter hours of daylight, and a gradual change in our deciduous trees. I hope you will find time to take a drive and enjoy the seasonal changes in North Georgia sometime this fall. Since it is one of our standards, this is a teachable moment for all second graders.

OCTOBERFEST - 3 weeks to go

You don't want to miss this year's awesome inflatables and rides at Octoberfest!! New this year is the Blazing Mechanical Bull! Come try your hand at hanging on! Back again is the Terrific Titanic Slide, Mutiny on the Bouncer, the Ultimate Obstacle Challenge, Pirate 5-in-1 and the Justice League Double Challenge! Enjoy the train ride, lots of games and an all-time favorite, the Spider Jump!

Parents! We are ready to schedule volunteers to help make Octoberfest a great day! We need your help! Please see the link below to view all activities and times where volunteers are needed. We hope to sign up all volunteers via this website without having the Room Reps recruit you from each class. Please find your favorite activity and preferred time to sign up and help us fill these positions ASAP. Octoberfest is a great success because of you! Thank you for your support!

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/octoberfest8

Questions? Contact Sandy Sweeney at sandyhsweeney@comcast.net.

Don't miss this great family fun event!
Saturday, October 1st from 2pm - 6pm

Don't miss this great family fun event! Saturday, October 1st, 2pm - 6pm. We are counting down the minutes until this FAMILY FUN event.

September 11, 2011
Fall is on its way and cooler temps with it. Let me suggest that this fall, you take your second grader on a trip to the mountains to see the fall changes because we are going to observe these changes as we approach a new season. We have adopted two trees, a deciduous and evergreen, to observe through all four seasons. Additionally, we are learning about the different landforms and regions of Georgia. Spending a day in North Georgia would give a real experience to see the beauty of the different regions from the beauty of our Piedmont.

I am thrilled to have the new math program, IXL, for our children. The PTA has provided this fabulous tool as a tremendous online support for our math program. We suggest that each second grader spend 10 minutes a day on this site. I will try to suggest which parts coordinate with what we are studying in class: however, you can almost determine this for yourself as you examine the homework. Feel free to use your own judgement. The wonderful part is that I can go online and see how much time your child is working on IXL, see what strands are being practiced, and then determine if I need to reteach or remediate for your child in class. Right now, we have covered place value, skip counting, numeration to 1000 and addition facts to 18. Towards the end of next week, we will begin to review addition strategies such as doubles (4+4), fast tens (10+4), fast nines (9+4), and doubles plus 1 (4+5) to support us as we begin the study of adding two digit numbers with and without regrouping. (carrying over the the tens) Those strategies help many children memorize the facts. Please set aside time daily for your child to get onboard. Last week, we went online in the computer lab and began this journey so most children will be familiar and able to get right online. You were given a username and a password. Let me know if you are unable to get online. We have four computers in the classroom which are available during times when the children finish their work early or arrive to school early. Notice the top of the homework sheet will have suggested parts of the IXL program for practice.

Next week, the children will write their own letters. We will review the parts of a letter and brainstorm ideas for writing their personal letters. We love sharing your letters by reading them in class to each other. Thank you for modeling the good letter and handwriting skills.

Monday, I am sending home the spelling test and two math tests for you to see so be on the look out and ask to see them in case they are left in the desks. I do a quick look to see that all papers are pulled out of their desks, but asking for those graded papers will let them know you are aware of them and that you are interested in that progress. I will send home a reading quiz later in the week.

We are looking forward to seeing the children's projects on Wednesday. We continue our study this week with the rivers of Georgia and the resources we get from those rivers. Please help your child become familiar with the rivers that pass through their region. Don't forget to put the rubric on the back of the project. I sent home lined paper and construction paper for the project with the directions. Anyone who needs additional materials should email me Monday.

Boosterthon was a total success and I am so appreciative of your support. Our class had pledges of
$2600 so we will possibly get $260 for our classroom immediately. I will use this for th AR Store, instructional games and materials as soon as the money comes to me. Please be sure your pledges are paid by Tuesday so we will get the full 10% for individual classrooms. Of course our classroom is smaller than some, but we did as well as some of the larger classrooms. I attribute that to the fantastic parents we have! Now all we have left to do is send those pledges in either Monday or Tuesday.

Our class has begun to settle down and behavior has drastically improved. You receive a behavior report weekly and hopefully you see improvement from the first one. Please continue to talk to your child about any areas that I checked. We have fully implemented all accademic areas except for small group reading and AR Reading program. I have planned for that this week so we can work on different levels to meet individual needs. I continue to learn about the children and feel we have bonded and established good classroom procedures. Homework binders have become automatic and that routine is working well. Thank you for checking homework, providing time for reading and keeping up the reading logs. We are well on our way for a fabulous year. I see so much potention in this class of children and am excited to be a part of their growth and progress. Remember that you are free to request a conference with me now if you like. We will have conference week in October for certain during the week of early release. Never hesitate calling or emailing for time to discuss your child because I am always available for you.

Be sure your child has many opportunities to get outside and play. The fresh air and exercise is stimulating and will help prepare them for learning in school. Tell them the being bored is an opportunity to create their own fun...it's freedom and brain building time. Love this time of the year when outdoor activities are comfortable. Hope you are having a wonderful, relaxing time this weekend.

 

August 31, 2011
Parents....The great news is that I will not be absent tomorrow. Our plans have changed due to the terrible cold that I have passed on to my husband! He is way too ill to go and I am not going without him, especially on such a big day for the children and Sope Creek. So....I will see you and the children tomorrow for the FUN RUN.

A few reminders for tomorrow:

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August 27, 2011
Good Morning Parents!
Hope you are enjoying this Saturday Morning! Know many are off to soccer game, football, or running around town. I'm at home recovering from a great but busy week with your child! Hope your child gets time to play outside today.

Each day we are getting closer, I am learning more about each child, and we get more accomplished. This is going to be a great year. We have wonderful, smart kids....supportive parents, and my experience. How can we go wrong? Thanks so much for the volunteers who came in for our meeting on Tuesday. Wow! We had a crowd and everyone that saw us parading around were impressed!

I'll be back at you in a couple days for regular updates on classroom academics and activities with reminders. I just wanted to get in touch and plead a tiny bit for your Boosterthon support.
Thanks again for whatever, big or small, you can do for us.
Kay Hosey
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August 12, 2011
Welcome to the Hound Dogs and Pooches. It was so exciting to meet you at Meet and Greet. We have a great group of students in our room and your child will make many new friends, and keep special buddies from first grade. We will be having recess everyday at 1:00 with all the other second grade classes so friends from last year will get to play with each other, also.

Monday, our first day, you should send a healthy snack for your child to eat around 9:30. Please send in only one snack and a water bottle. Avoid snacks such as cookies, sweets, chocolate. Snacks with protien, vegetables, cheese and crackers or fruit help children stay focused and energized for the long morning. We go to lunch at 12:17. We will go to PE the first day so please make sure your child either wears tennis shoes or brings them in the bookbag.

This is our classroom web site and you will be receiving lots of emails from me during the year. It would be a good idea to bookmark it in your favorites. I will use this tool to keep you reminded of important events, our newsletter, last minute changes, reminders, websites for practice, classroom needs through the wish list, and homework assignments. Please check each week to see the latest information. This tool replaces the need for newsletters and cuts down on flyers and paper. It will keep you informed and you can do it at your leisure. If you have any ideas or feedback regarding the website, please feel free to send me an email at kay.hosey@cobbk12org.

Each day, your child will bring home a white binder. The homework will appear in the left pocket Monday thru Friday, and should be returned daily in that same pocket. Papers in the right pocket should be taken out and kept or disposed of as you like. Check your child's binder daily to receive notes, homework, and returned papers which may be graded by myself or self-checked in large group time. There will be a clear sheet protector where I will send home occasional notes, information about field trips, or things that are important and time sensitive. If you have a note or a transportation change, you should put it in that sheet protector. I quickly check the binders every morning. Additionally, the cover will have a homework assignment sheet for you to initial when you have looked over and checked it for quality. This will give you an idea how your child is doing in class. If you would email me at kay.hosey@cobbk12.org. once you have read this email today, I will know I have entered you correctly in this address book.

Please make plans to attend Open House on August 16, Tuesday night. at 7:00PM in our classroom. The PTA will have a short meeting at 6:45. I will go over important procedures with parents (no children, please). This is an important time that explains how the year works: classroom management, homework, grades, curriculum and ways you can help your child be successful. I look forward to seeing you Tuesday night

During the next three weeks, we will be learning how to function as a learning community and I will observe how each child learns best, where we are at this point in achievement, and making plans to meet individual needs. It will take that long for me to get familiar with each student, so I'd prefer to wait until the end of August to have requests for conferences. If you need to speak to me for clarification of ordinary procedures, please email me and I will get back to you ASAP. If there is an urgent situation that is important to you or your child, you can give me a phone call after school or in the evenings. I encourage you to call if your child is upset or anxious about school so that I can take care of those kinds of issues in order for your child to be happy and eager to come to school. There is always an adjustment period so don't be too concerned if your child is tired and not confident at first. We will work through all of those feelings together. Even I am anxious and nervous in the beginning of the year so please give us time to get to aquainted.

My contact information at home is khosey@bellsouth.net and 678-795-0984. You can call me between 7 and 9 in the evenings. If your situation involves more that a few minutes, please request a conference with me.

Parents who are willing to volunteer should meet with me at 11:20 for thirty-five minutes on Tuesday morning, August 23. We will get organized and make plans for how we will work together. Those who cannot make that time, but want to work with us, will get minutes from the meeting.

Thursday, August 18th, at 8:30AM, we will have a Getting to Know You Time. Each student will introduce himself to the class and share a little information. I will send home more information about how this will work and how you can help prepare your child for this event. It is a fun way to get to know the other children in our classroom. Parents are not expected to attend but those who would like to join us are welcomed and encouraged to come. We will be finished by 9:00 AM. This is an opportunity for you to meet your child's classmates

It will take time to get to know all of the children so I will most likely be moving students around to create learning clubs that work well together. This sometimes Takes several moves before we get it right. Do not be concerned if your child is moved. It only means I am still learning where, how, and who each student works with best.

Second grade is the best year for most children when fond memories, independence, and bonds of friendship are formed. It is exciting to see second graders evolve. During the first two weeks, we will focus on procedures, routines, classroom management, and building a community of learners. You will be amazed at the maturing that happens this year. Many of the skills that have been taught in kindergarten and first grade come together and blossom. I am honored and excited to begin this journey with you. I promise to give you my personal best, love your child as my own, and provide a classroom culture that promotes learning in a safe environment where there is support, help, encouragement, and a variety of methods that meets individual needs. I look forward to being part of your family this year.
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