I’m sure most have you have already gotten the message, but school has been closed. Please bring Homework Notebooks and reading logs to school on Monday. Have a great three day weekend!

For Christmas I gave the students a free homework pass. This means that they can skip a weeks worth of homework (AS LONG AS THEIR GUARDIAN APPROVES IT). They simply submit their homework folder on Friday with the “Homework Pass”, and they still get a credit for that week. They still need to read EVERY NIGHT!

SIGHT WORD LIST: important, give, life, whole, dome Word Study Homework: Daily practice of lessons is critical to your child’s academic success. Children need to be completing their homework daily. All of the spelling (word work) assignments are the same weekly, only the word lists change. The new words can be found here on the blog on Monday, therefore you are able to complete assignments as it fits your schedule. Your child’s Word Sorts are specific to their learning needs. Passing word sorts with a proficiency level of 80% is required. If your child did not pass their word sort test last week, they will continue to work on their previous sort until it is mastered. Tests will be passed back on Mondays, a sticker on their test indicates a passing grade, please continue on to the next sort. Yellow 1 Yellow 24 Yellow 27 Yellow 45 Green Sort 19 Click on the link below for a nightly schedule your child should follow for word sorts practice. Weekly Word Work Homework Choose 2 items from the spelling menu this week Choose 3 Math Activity this week Practice sorts each night Read 20 minutes each night Spelling

• Write each spelling word. Next, to each word, write a word that means the same thing (synonyms)
• Type it up! Type each of your words on the computer. Make each word a different size, font, color.
• Use all five of your words to create a creative story.
• Collage- cut individual letter from magazines to spell out your words.

• Create a Wordle using your spelling words (Use the 5 High frequency words for this week)

Go to wordle.net, Have your child type in all of their spelling words and print off a cool wordle!

• Go to SpellingCity.com and practice your spelling words, practice tests and play games. The username is your first initial, then last name @quest (no space). The password is rams. ex:acashin@quest. Accounts have been set up!

  Math

• IXL MATH: Go to 2nd grade-This week we are doing addition and subtraction with regrouping. Have your child practice the following on IXL Math: Subtraction H.3-H.12. Addition G.3, G.5. You can view the blog for a video demonstration on how we are learning to add and subtract with re-grouping. The username is your first initial, then last name @quest (no space). The password is rams. ex:acashin@quest. Accounts have been set up!
• Keep Practicing addition drills! Your kiddos are doing so well with their math drills!

Addition Drills to 18– 100 problems per page. Includes horizontal and                                              vertical format

• Practice math on these printable math worksheets on tlsbooks.com
• Math Magician- Practice addition drills http://resources.oswego.org/games/mathmagician/cathymath.html It is so important for students to know their math facts (adding or subtracting 5+3 quickly, flash cards). As we get into more ways to add and subtract, having this skill mastered helps them with all aspects of math. So please, help your child with their math facts!

Since we are approaching the middle of the school year (WOW!) I have re-tested the students for their sorts. They may have leveled up, or stayed right where they left off. Either way, they are placed right where they need to be for their individual needs and growth. I have grouped them accordingly and you can see what sort they are on for this week. Yellow 1: Tanner, Jonathan, Dylan, Kessler, Cameron, Brodee, Samantha, Tyson Yellow 24: Preston, Adrianna, Taylee, Zayne, Jordan Yellow 27: Jacqueline, Rylei, Londyn, Bennett Yellow 45: Spencer, Ana, Taylor, Adam, Star Green 19: Seneca, Kylee, Gerry, Brooklyn Have a great week! We are excited to start the new year!

I miss you already! Here’s a fun video for you to watch! Have a safe Holiday and I will see you January 7, 2013!

Slideshow generated with Smilebox

Our class has been working very hard towards a 30 minute read-a-thon. They finished earning points for it today, so we thought we’d add one more thing to our fun week here at school! We will have it tomorrow, Thursday, Dec 20. They may bring extra books (please make sure they are labeled) and a pillow for this special time tomorrow!

Way to go class!! We earned a free dress down for moving silently through the hallways! Please feel free to have your child dress down on Thursday Dec 20! And as a bonus, Friday is Free dress down as well! Happy Holidays!!

As part of our Social Studies curriculum, we have continued to learn about other country’s Christmas traditions. Here are a few more we have learned about this week. Do you know where Christmas Trees originated? Well, ask your child..they know!! Christmas Trees are very important in Germany. They were first used in Germany during the Middle Ages. If there are young children in the house, the trees are usually secretly decorated by the Mother of the family. The Christmas tree was traditionally brought into the house on Christmas eve, and during that evening the family would read the Bible and sing Christmas songs such as O Tannenbaum and Ihr Kinderlein Kommet.           The legend of the poinsettia comes from Mexico. It tells of a girl named Maria and her little brother Pablo. They were very poor but always looked forward to the Christmas festival. Each year a large manger scene was set up in the village church, and the days before Christmas were filled with parades and parties. The two children loved Christmas, but were always saddened because they had no money to buy presents. They especially wished that they could give something to the church for the Baby Jesus. But they had nothing. One Christmas Eve, Maria and Pablo set out for church to attend the service. On their way they picked some weeds growing along the roadside and decided to take them as their gift to the Baby Jesus in the manger scene. Of course they were teased by other children when they arrived with their gift, but they said nothing for they knew they had given what they could. Maria and Pablo began placing the green plants around the manger and miraculously, the green top leaves turned into bright red petals, and soon the manger was surrounded by beautiful star-like flowers and so we see them today.

We are learning so many ways to subtract to help us understand regrouping. Here is another way that the kids are learning how to regroup. Check it out! Im and so proud of how well the students are picking this up and working so hard! Way to go kids!!

Bennett got 40 math facts in 1-minute! Way to go!