Mrs. O'Hagan - Grade 2

November 20009

I am happy to report that while October proved to be a very "unhealthy" month for our second grade class, we are beginning this new month with everyone back on board. Many thanks for the continuous supply of tissues, hand sanitizer and disinfectant spray and cleaners. We've been putting them to good use. I am hoping that we will all stay as healthy as possible for the remainder of the year. On that note, please remind the children to wear/bring jackets, hats, mittens and even extra socks (those little feet are like metal draw to magnets when it comes to puddles) in the upcoming months. As we head into November, here are some upcoming dates to keep in mind...

Wednesday, Nov. 4th - Parent Meeting for the Sacrament of Reconciliation

Wednesday, Nov. 11th - Veterans' Day - No School

Tuesday, November 17th - Grandparents' Day (1:30 - 2:30)

Monday, November 23rd - Turkey Drop Off and/or Drive to Lazarus House

*THE SECOND GRADERS ARE COLLECTING SOUP AND PASTA*

Here's what we've got planned for the month...

MATH - Students will continue to practice addition and subtraction facts. One minute timed practices are now a part of our weekly routine. For children who need improvement in this area, extra practice at home would be helpful. I am encouraging each child to try to improve his/her own time with every practice. Our goal is to have everyone complete at least 25 problems in a minute. Place value, fractions, coin counting, and measurement are some of the other concepts we will be working on this month. As always, we will continue to develop problem solving skills as well.

LANGUAGE - Comprehension skills will focus on sequencing, summarizing, and drawing conclusions. Fluency skills will include reading with expression/intonation, and attending to punctuation. The children's spelling lessons will focus on adding endings, plurals, r-controlled vowels, and contractions. Children will be practicing how to write reports and friendly letters. Grammar skills will include a review of verbs, nouns and adjectives, and an introduction of possessive nouns. In preparation for a special homework assignment involving our favorite people from past generations, the focus of our independent reading activities this month will be to compare past and present people, activities and things.

RELIGION - As a follow up to our visits by some impressive sixth grade saints, the second graders have set a goal to be more "saint - like" themselves. Towards this end, we will be "spying for saints" this month. Included in the many admirable characteristics demonstrated by the saints is the desire to be forgiven as well as the ability to forgive. During the month of November the children will learn that the greatest model of forgiveness is Jesus. e will discuss examples in the scripture of Jesus' great capacity for forgiveness and learn how we can experience this demonstration of God's love for ourselves through the sacrament of Reconciliation. We will also be putting the teachings of the ten commandments into practice as we participate in the school wide food drive to help those less fortunate to have what they need to live. Please help your second graders remember to bring in their contributions.

SCIENCE - The children did a great job on our plant unit, and enjoyed sharing their experiences with their lima seed experiments. Some had more success than others, but they all enjoyed watching our class seeds sprout and carefully monitored the changes of Michael Bettencourt's (the boy with the green thumb) seeds as they turned into thriving plants! We ended October with an exciting presentation by Mr. Anderson on the topic of Static Electricity. The children also had some hands on discovery time, exploring the powers of magnets and their properties. This month we will begin a unit on Animals. The children will learn to identify the distinguishing characteristics of mammals, birds, amphibians and fish. We will also be studying animal life cycles.

SOCIAL STUDIES - Please visit Mrs. Hemeon's Web Page for details.

Have a great month!

Mrs. O'Hagan - Grade 2

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