Week of November 28 - December 2

2nd Grade Parent Update

Week of November 28 - December 2

I hope everyone enjoyed a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday!

Announcements for this Week:

Report Cards

Report cards for the first trimester will be sent home in the Family Envelopes on Tuesday, November 29. If you have questions or concerns beyond what we discussed at Parent-Teacher Conferences, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Higher-Level Thinking Questions

Over the past few weeks, I have been talking with the students a bit about thinking critically and problem-solving. I also had the opportunity to speak with some parents about this idea at our conferences. You can help support your child’s critical thinking at home by asking higher-level thinking questions when reading or studying together. Attached to this Parent Update, I have included some sample questions based on Bloom’s Taxonomy that may help guide you in challenging your child to think about what he or she is learning in a deeper way.

Advent Season

The Church season of Advent begins on Sunday, November 27, and in the coming weeks, we will join together as a parish community to prepare for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. We will be learning about this joyous season in our religion class and keeping track of its progress with our own Advent wreath and paper candles in the classroom.

Holy Childhood Association

On Thursday, December 1, students will be attending an assembly with Fr. Ken Deasy from the Holy Childhood Association. The mission of the HCA is “to bring the love of Jesus to the world’s children”. One of the ways they accomplish this mission is through children helping children - our students will be given small boxes that they can use to collect money for the HCA during Advent. The Advent season is all about preparing for the coming of Jesus by offering prayers and sacrifices, so we encourage children not to ask for money but to donate a part of their allowance or do chores around the house to earn money. This helps them learn the meaning and the value of a “sacrifice”.

Looking Ahead:

Immaculate Conception Mass

There will be a special Mass next Thursday, December 8 at 8:00 AM in honor of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. This special Mass will take the place of our usual Friday Mass for next week. As always, you are welcome to join us at our school Mass!

December Assembly

The Awards Assembly for the month of December will take place next Thursday, December 15 at 8:00 AM in the front yard. At the assembly, we will celebrate December birthdays and honor the Virtue Award winners for this month. This month’s virtue is: Trustworthiness. Students are encouraged to be honest, dependable, and responsible.

Christmas Program

Save the date! The St. Jerome Christmas Program will be held on the evening of Thursday, December 15 at 7:00 PM in the church. More information will be forthcoming regarding students’ apparel and preparation for their performance.

Christmas Vacation

Mark your calendars! Our Christmas break will begin Monday, December 19 and continue through Monday, January 2. School will resume on Tuesday, January 3, 2012!

Curriculum Update:

Phonics: The Sound of “ou” and “ow”, Words with “-ed” and “-ing” Endings

Reading: Theme: Teamwork, Skill: Summarizing, Main Idea

Math: Problem Solving with Graphs, Chapter 3 Review, Test on Thursday

Religion: Loving God and Others, Commandments, Advent

Social Studies: Intermediate Directions, Weather and Climate, Unit Test 12/13

Science: Animal Adaptations (Birds, Fish, Reptiles, Amphibians), Test 12/15

Homework for this Week:

Monday

ABC Spelling

Teamwork Assignment

Math p. 41

Social Studies p. 11

Tuesday

Spelling Sentences

Practice Book p. 174

Math p. 42

Social Studies p. 12

Wednesday

Rainbow Words

Practice Book p. 180

Math Review Sheet

Science p. 20 - 21 A

Thursday - HCA Assembly, Math Test

Spelling Scramble

Practice Book p. 167 - 168

Science p. 22 - 23 A

English p. 22

Friday - Mass at 8:00 AM

Spelling and Phonics Test

Vocabulary and Comprehension Quiz

Reading Logs Due

Spelling Words

hugged

hugging

nodded

nodding

skipped

skipping

been

friends

show

since

those

crown

shout