Good afternoon parents, 
      Today's field trip was wonderful. Sorry to those parents who wanted to volunteer but this field trip was teachers only, because it was filled with many schools and they had little room to accommodate everyone. Your students did wonderful today and I only needed to remind some students about their behavior. As you may already know we had an outbreak of lice in the classroom. I am happy to report that we are still lice free since last Thursday. The nurse came in last Thursday and checked all the students. Please continue to check your students the rest of this week and the weekend. If we are still lice free then I can unroll the carpets and possibly even take the bag off my cloth chair!!!!
        We are currently on week 23 of our spelling tests. In math we are working with fractions. It is a rather difficult topic for many students to master. We are working on equivalent fractions and fractions of number (1/3 of 9). I have not given homework this week because students have not mastered the topic yet. In writing we just finished poetry and you can expect a poetry journal coming home soon. We are now working on fiction writing and your students are REALLY excited to write great imaginative stories. We are also writing friendly letters to our fifth grade students at Logan elementary. 
         Report cards went home on Monday. Please send the envelope back to school with your student, we need to use them for the end of the year report cards. I am currently working really hard to make sure that each of your students are ready for the transition to third grade. I am doing this both academically and behaviorally. One key topic that I am discussing with the students is how to persevere in school and in life it self. I am using many examples of how I needed to persevere in order to accomplish things in my life. As a school we identified this as a big goal for the rest of the year to concentrate on. Please talk to your student about perseverance and how it is very important in their lives.

Hello 2nd Grade Parents,
     The spelling words for this week are still on even though we had a day off yesterday because of the storms. We are currently on week 11. We will not have spelling words next week. Your students are doing very well with keeping up on their spelling words and it really shows in their writing. This week I am doing reading assessments and math assessments for the report cards that will be going home next week.
     This week will be the last cycle of the small moments and we will move onto "How To" stories after the Thanksgiving break. I am very pleased with the amount of detail and length that your students are achieving in their small moments. In math we are starting on Unit 5 which will look at two and three dimensional shapes. We are reading The BFG by Roald Dahl for the past two weeks and will be viewing the movie before the break.
     We are running low on snacks! If you would like to donate snacks please send them with your student to school. I always encourage a healthy snack of fruits and vegetables.

Hello parents! I would first like to thank the parents that came to the field trip last Friday. The students were wonderful and they received a tiger paw from the naturalist for being so well behaved. We are having a harvest party tomorrow in the afternoon starting around 2:45. If you can, please join us in the celebration. There was a google drive that was emailed a few days ago from Kellie if you would like to donate some snacks. Your students have been doing a wonderful job on their writing. In second grade we really are looking for the details in there writing and your students are giving me great detail in their writing. In math we just finished unit 3 and we started on unit 4. Unit 4 is working with addition. We will be doing around the world with flash cards daily. Please! Please! work with your students at home with their addition facts. It will make it much easier for them to quickly complete subtraction and multiplication facts later in the year. Lastly, please vote for Bryant! There is a contest through Bank of Ann Arbor, and the winners will receive $3,000 toward the arts. We are currently in 2nd Place. 

https://www.facebook.com/bankofannarbor/app_235044149882274

Here is a parent letter for the field trip next Friday. It has instructions for the milk jug that your student needs to bring for the field trip. 

http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/ins.environed/files/2nd_gravel_parent.pdf

If you are chaperoning the field trip please make sure that you completed the background check. Also please make sure that your students are there at 9:00 a.m. as well as the chaperones. 

I hope everyone had an enjoyable week. I was away from the classroom this past Tuesday and Wednesday because of the passing of my Grandmother. For the last three years I have had the help from Mr. Helm to fill in and substitute in my classroom when I am gone. He did a wonderful job in my absence.

In Math we are learning about shortcuts when it comes to addition and subtraction. We are also working on "frames and arrow" and the function machines for addition and subtraction. In writing we are continuing to develop our small moments. We had a small moment celebration last Friday and all the students read their small moment to their peers and Mrs. Heyward. In Grammar we are working on adjectives. We have completed the lessons on nouns and action verbs already and will soon move onto adverbs. 

Currently we are running low on snacks. If you could please send in some snack with your student that would be greatly appreciated. We are also in need of skinny dry erase markers. These dry erase markers are used by your students during their spelling tests and they are used three times a week. 

REMINDER: Field Trip on October 25 at 9:00 a.m. to Fox Nature Preserve

 

I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. This weeks spelling words from spellingcity.com will be week 4. We will be having our first field trip to the gravel pit on Friday, October 25th. We will be leaving Bryant at 9:00. If you would like to volunteer to chaperone please email me at kinasza@aaps.k12.mi.us. Here is the website http://www.ewashtenaw.org/government/departments/parks_recreation/napp/preserves/fox.html if you would like more information about the field trip.

Hello parents!!! Today is the first homework assignment! Finally! There is math homework today that your students will bring home. It is an addition math assignment. By the end of second grade all students will need to know their addition facts up to 9+9. We will be working daily on math flash cards in the classroom with many different games. Please have your students also practice their addition facts by using xtramath.com. This will greatly help your students this year with their multiplication which will be introduced after the holiday break. Students have two days to finish their math homework, but it is encouraged to have them complete it and turned in the next day.