100th Day of School

Yesterday was our 100th day of school.  The students enjoyed working with fractions, measurements, and graphing. I can't believe we have been in school for 100 days!

Class Captain Videos

This month we have been learning about the government.  We have identified leaders such as the mayor, governor, and president.  We also discussed that all the leaders have to be elected by people.  To help create a real-life connection for voting/elections, the students organized campaigns and ran for the Class Captain.  Each person running for the Captain had to give a speech and create a poster to tell how they would give leadership,  provide a service, and solve problems.  Below are short videos from some the class speeches. Enjoy.

Homework 2-14/2-18

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Homework will be due on Thursday since we don't have school on Friday. Thank you

Homework Calendar

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Valentine's Day

Please remember to send in your child's Valentine's Day cards on Monday.  We will not be having a party but the children will get a treat bag and pass out their cards to their classmates.  Happy early Valentine's Day!

Out of the building!

I will be out of the building tomorrow in the PM and all day on Monday.  My twin sister and dad are running their first marathon in LA.  :)

Poetry Race Winner

Congratulations to our Great Poetry Race winner from last week! Remember that even if you don't have many people to read the poem to, you can write tally marks next to the person's name for each time you read the poem. Reading and rereading has been shown to improve fluency for students. This will help the overall ability to read new words quickly and fluently.

Extra Literacy Practice Going Digital!

With West Clermont's new reading program, Reading Street, we are lucky to have an online site for our students to visit.  I will be posting weekly readings, games, and activities for your child to practice at home.  When your child has finished their reading, game, or activity please remind them to click "I'm Done" so that I can give them credit for completing their assignment.  If internet access is limited for your family, please let me know and I can make other arrangements for additional reading practice at home. 

*For My Readers scroll to the bottom of the page and for  Games and Activities click "To Do"*

Pearson Reading Site: http://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/

Student Log In Information:
Username- first and last name ( all 1 word)
Password- reading

Dog Ate Your Homework? No worries...

 I will now be uploading all homework to the blog so that you and your child can have access to additional copies. 

Homework Calendar

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We are in the middle of a poetry unit, and this week your children wrote some amazing poems! They wrote acrostic poems using the letters of their names, which will be hanging in our classroom soon on the writing wall. Be sure to take a look the next time you stop by! They also wrote some fantastic Cinquain poems. Cinquain poems are very structured poems which allow the poet to focus on using descriptive words in their poetry writing. Take a look below at some of the Cinquain poems your children wrote:

Puppies
cute, huggable
playing, running, hopping
They explore a lot
Mammals

By Sarah


Cats
furry, cute
eating, sleeping, killing
Cats are fast
Mammals

By Brayden


Rhino
strong, mad
smashing, hiding, charging
It's horn is strong
Mammal

By Xander


Animals
big, small
swinging, running, crawling
Animals are cute
Animals

by Kaylee

Our Favorite Song!

Out Tomorrow!

I will be out of the building tomorrow at a technology conference. I can't wait to see you all on Friday when I return.  Happy learning while I am gone. :)

Moon Site

Today you will get to visit the Moon Research Site.  Enjoy your searching and learning about the moon.  Don't forget to write your learning on the slip from Mrs. Hoffman.  Happy Searching. :)

Click here for the Moon Research Page

Researching Continents

The learners of 115 have been hard at work researching the seven continents. They have spent the last two days pouring through a mountain of books, looking for fascinating facts about the continent of their choice. They have begun making posters complete with pictures and facts about the continent. Be sure to ask your child which continent they're researching.... You just might be surprised what they have discovered!

Conference Times!

Last week your child brought home a conference request form.  Due to the missed school days on Thursday and Friday, I only received a few back today.  If you would like a conference please send me an email vaneman_l@westcler.org or add a comment to this post with your requested day.  The conference days are Feb. 2 and Feb. 9 from 5:00-8:30. I look forward to showing you your child's work and progress from 2nd quarter.

Snow Day Work Make-Up

I hope you and your child enjoyed your time in the snow last week.  Due to the missed school days, Mrs. Hoffman will be giving the spelling test for last week tomorrow and the spelling for this week on Friday.  I have cut down the amount of spelling words for the test on Friday.  Please continue to work on the homework packet throughout the week and help your child with the long i spelling patterns for this week.  Thank you so much for your support at home!

Animal Fantasy Writing

Last week, the students finished and published their animal fantasy stories.  The students brainstormed possible writing ideas, used a web to gather their thoughts, and practiced using voice in their writing.  After their books were finished, the students wrote a letter to a student in Mrs. Van Eman's 3rd grade class at Mercer Elementary to tell why and how they created their story.  The students Skyped with Mrs. Van Eman's class on Friday to tell them the stories were on the way.  Mrs. Van Eman's class read through the stories and letters yesterday and are going to write their author a letter back with their thoughts about the story.  

The Great Poetry Race Returns!

  This week in your child's homework packet you will see the selected poem for the poetry race. Please encourage your child to read the poem aloud to as many people as possible and record the names on the back of the poem. The student who has read the poem the most will be recorded and posted on the blog.  Let the race begin! :)

Creative ways to Communicate

This week, we have been learning about creative ways to communicate. I showed the class some pictures of some friends from the University of Cincinnati who visited Africa recently. While they were there, they spent some time with children in a school in Otho Abao near Kenya. While there, the children wanted to send drawings to America of their daily life or what they wanted to be when they grow up. I brought in these drawings for the children in our class to see. The learners in 115 decided to draw pictures to send back to Africa about their life and what they want to be when they grow up. I will take these drawings back to my friends at UC who will take them to the children in Africa in March. Below are pictures of the artwork from the learners in 115.

Last week your children began a geometry unit. We have been reviewing shape names and learning about lines and points. This week we will continue to work with shapes and begin exploring 3-dimensional shapes.

I am currently in the classroom 5 days a week and will continue to increase the amount of time teaching until I begin teaching full time beginning on January 18th, so you may hear your child talking more about me teaching. I am enjoying every minute of working with your children. They are such a wonderful group of second graders!

Getting back into the swing of things!

Wow, what a great week! I was so happy to see everyone this week and get back to learning.  Please continue to keep up with the homework and nightly reading.  Your child will be taking their DIBELS fluency assessment on Thursday.  Reading every night will help your child be successful on this assessment.  If you need books or support with the nightly reading please let me know.