Today in folders you will find our second grade reading chart. We have filled out our beginning of the year level and where they ended up when I tested them in November. Each grade level is between the black lines to help you understand where they should be. All students should be at a 28 by the end of this school year.

Some things to understand:

The levels go up not just based on reading! They have to retell the story (beginning, middle, end details, characters, setting, main idea, problem, solution), identify words and meanings, and in the levels above 24 they have to have WRITTEN responses to the text! So it is much harder to go up levels the higher they get. That is why you will see Kindergarten and first grade are required to pass 5 levels each where in second grade we only have 4 to master, third grade has 3 and so on.

I can tell you all of the students stopped at their particular reading level because of story retell, comprehension and writing responses. This is why this is a part of our daily Montessori work time and a big part of our small group time. The more we practice the better we will get at it.

Congrats to all my little readers! I am so proud of you and your progress this year so far… I reminded them also.. Keep reading! We want to get as far as we can at the end of the year! 🙂

We go outside if the feels like is above 20. So remember to wear big/warm coats, hats, gloves, scarves, snow pants, and boots! Even with no snow the snow pants might help keep them warm when the temperature is in the 20s. All of these things can be kept in lockers. (Do not wear snow pants in…. Send them in a bag).

Also remember gym shoes! We work on the floors so we change out of boots as soon as we get to school each morning.

I hope everyone had a great long weekend and holiday <3

Hello All! Quick week = quick updates!

Last week I sent home next weeks words. Spelling test will be on Friday, December 6th. We begin Unit 4 when we come back on Monday. Eureka math continues with subtraction for the next few weeks and we finish module 2 right before winter break.

Today I am collecting reading book bags. After break they will have new reading groups because I have tested them the last few weeks. So proud of their growth! They all have moved up reading levels and the groups will be switched up. They will get new book bags next Monday when we return from break. They can read books from home or you can visit the library this week.

NEED– we are out of paper towel rolls! If you are able to send in any I would be appreciative!

Happy Thanksgiving- I am so thankful for you all as parents and this group of kids…. It has been a blessing to be back with your families and teach them again. I love the gains, laughs, fun, and work we get done each day. I count my blessings each day and your children are 20 of them on my list <3

Enjoy, relax, and have the best family time this long weekend!

What a busy week! We ended the week with our star jar reward party- bagel and donut breakfast. I am so proud of how hard they have been working! Great job friends! They already chose their next reward they are working towards—- slime party. I will be watching and awarding stars as they continue to shine.

You will notice in folders today I have sent home Unit 4 Week 1 fliers and the next spelling choice board papers however we will not be starting this until December. With next week being only a 2 day week and the sickness continuing to spread I figured better to be safe and just send home with all of you. It is in folders and we begin that until on Monday, December 2nd. The choice board and spelling test will be on Friday, December 6th. Just hang on your fridge until needed 🙂

Reminder that each child has their own locker! I encouraged them to keep a pair of gym shoes, hat, gloves, and snow pants in their locker for the winter season. These will of course come home over long breaks but just keeping them at school helps with the morning chaos. They can always be available when needed if left here. Just please remember to label them with your child’s name.

ALSO some may not know…. we work on our floors during our Montessori work time! I do not want boots in the classroom. Please send in gym shoes to keep in lockers for the winter months. We change our shoes when we go outside for recess then change back. This helps keep our floors clean and dry so we can continue our flexible seating options during work times.

For eureka math we worked on lessons 14- 18 this week.

I hope you have a great weekend <3

What a busy week! It was so nice to see all of you for conferences. So many things to discuss but thank you all for being patient and respectful as I tried to keep on pace the best as I could. I also thank you for being timely and keeping to the schedule. It was great to hear all the positive stories and how some of you see the growth as well. I am blown away at how well they are doing. It has been a great first marking period and I can not wait to see the growth by the end of the year. With your support we will surely soar this year!

In Benchmark we will head into our last week of Unit 3 next week. Benchmark ends the unit with a historical fiction story about George Washington.

This will also wrap up our Social Studies Government unit. We will shift our focus from national government to the local government and specifically discuss Dearborn.

This week we worked on lesson 9-13 in Eureka squared. I know many of you would like to keep up with the apply lessons which is very helpful for them. Lesson 13 starts subtraction and this will be a work in progress… so please font stress this weekend. It was rough today with this lesson. We will work more on it next week.

Lastly, we are two stars away from earning our class incentive for positive behavior! Our bagels/donuts breakfast with Mrs. Angela will most likely happen next week. We earned stars based on working hard, trying our best, being good role models in the hallway and during lunch/recess, and making good choices. I am excited to celebrate our successes together! I will let you know when they have earned this.

Have a great weekend.

***Repost from Howe School Blog***

Hello families!

We are excited to welcome you into the school today and Thursday for parent teacher conferences. These are by appointment for the Montessori and Special Education teachers. Below is some helpful information.

*Please ARRIVE EARLY for your appointment time. You can enter at Door 15 by the playground. Those doors will be unlocked for you. Out of respect for the appointments we will be keeping a timely schedule so if you arrive late your conference time will only go until your scheduled time is over.

*Visit the Lost and Found located in the hallway between the office and the cafeteria. Things not taken by next week will be donated before thanksgiving.

*Book fair will be open tonight from 2:30- 6pm & Thursday from 3:45- 6 pm. the book fair is set up in Room 185. This is at the other end of the building. You walk the front main hallway straight to the other side and then it is the third door on the left. Signs will be posted.

*All specials teachers and ancillary staff (speech, OT, PT, social workers) will be available if you would like to speak with them. Please visit the office and they can help direct you to their locations.

*Lastly, Ms. Sparkle, Our Communities In School person will have a table set up to answer questions and tell you about her involvement in our school. Her table will be located outside the main office.

Looking forward to meeting with you all this week… Please let the office know if you have any additional questions. 🙂

Lots of questions about the Ms. Sparkle form. All students were given the consent form from Ms. Sparkle. Other grades have done this as well. Many grades are apparently having recess and lunch problems and she is with them during that time. So the idea was to send the form to all of the students that way when conflict arises she can take care of it and pull them for social groups later to reinforce feelings and talk them through things if needed. This was the idea behind sending it to the whole class.

So sorry I forgot to post on Friday. I have been busy getting things ready for conferences this week! With that note reminder to please ARRIVE EARLY for your scheduled conference time! We have lots to go over in a short amount of time and need to be respectful of everyone’s times. The doors by the playground are where you will enter the building.

Today we previewed at the book fair. We will be purchasing on Wednesday morning. Please remember to add tax to the dollar amount total and send in the money in yellow folders.

Please sign up to help with the book fair next week!

(Teachers earn SO MANY free books and scholastic dollars from this event. Please help if you can!)

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0F4FA5AD2FA1F85-52908295-howe#

Reminder for popcorn tomorrow- please send the money in the morning and it needs to be in a labeled bag or envelope in yellow folders! Popcorn is sent home at the end of the day. Thanks! 🙂