Dear Families,
Happy Sunday! We hope you all had a wonderful Halloween and that each of you were successful in collecting Halloween candy!
We would like to thank our wonderful parents for a wonderful Halloween celebration this past Friday! Grade 2/3 is incredibly fortunate to have such dynamic parents that contribute to our classroom community. We kicked off the fun holiday early Friday morning as the children were greeted by spooky decorations in our classroom. Many were "freaked out" by the huge spider hanging from the curtain branch as well as all of the cobwebs displayed around the rooms! We continued the celebration in the afternoon as we enjoyed yummy Halloween treats and games outside. A special thank you to Katie Pottinger, Lynette O'Brien (our classroom moms), Christy Stier, Fakhra Asghar, Michele Aldin, Emma Vonwiller, Nina Illi, and Melissa Tudor for organzing, decorating, and helping out during the party. We are grateful!
Hear 'round the classroom about our celebration:
I liked the cupcakes, the pizza and the game!
~Eliza
I really liked the cupcakes! It was fun!
~ Linn
Happy Sunday! We hope you all had a wonderful Halloween and that each of you were successful in collecting Halloween candy!
We would like to thank our wonderful parents for a wonderful Halloween celebration this past Friday! Grade 2/3 is incredibly fortunate to have such dynamic parents that contribute to our classroom community. We kicked off the fun holiday early Friday morning as the children were greeted by spooky decorations in our classroom. Many were "freaked out" by the huge spider hanging from the curtain branch as well as all of the cobwebs displayed around the rooms! We continued the celebration in the afternoon as we enjoyed yummy Halloween treats and games outside. A special thank you to Katie Pottinger, Lynette O'Brien (our classroom moms), Christy Stier, Fakhra Asghar, Michele Aldin, Emma Vonwiller, Nina Illi, and Melissa Tudor for organzing, decorating, and helping out during the party. We are grateful!
Hear 'round the classroom about our celebration:
I liked the cupcakes, the pizza and the game!
~Eliza
I really liked the cupcakes! It was fun!
~ Linn
Readers Workshop:
In Readers Workshop, we discovered that the most important part of reading a book is understanding what we are reading. When something doesn't make sense, we need to use strategies to make sense of our reading and to be aware of the parts of a book where we do not understand what is happening. One of our strategies to help us is to place a "thinking note" (post-it note) at a place where we get stuck, then think about what we can do to help us get through that part. We also continued to set reading goals for ourselves. Some of the goals included were, building our reading stamina, finding a Just Right Book, and really thinking about the chapter headlines before we read to help us predict what will happen in the book. We invite you to talk with your child about their reading goals as they read their Just Right book at home and read with them at home. We encourage you to get in touch to discuss your child's reading, and let me know how it's going at home. If you need book recommendations, we are happy to send some books home with your child.
Things heard 'round the classroom:
I really like posting my thinking notes in my book about Mr Putter and Tabby. This helps me think about what I am reading.
~Myla
I really like reading the Magic Tree House series as it is a good fit for me!
~Lily
In Readers Workshop, we discovered that the most important part of reading a book is understanding what we are reading. When something doesn't make sense, we need to use strategies to make sense of our reading and to be aware of the parts of a book where we do not understand what is happening. One of our strategies to help us is to place a "thinking note" (post-it note) at a place where we get stuck, then think about what we can do to help us get through that part. We also continued to set reading goals for ourselves. Some of the goals included were, building our reading stamina, finding a Just Right Book, and really thinking about the chapter headlines before we read to help us predict what will happen in the book. We invite you to talk with your child about their reading goals as they read their Just Right book at home and read with them at home. We encourage you to get in touch to discuss your child's reading, and let me know how it's going at home. If you need book recommendations, we are happy to send some books home with your child.
Things heard 'round the classroom:
I really like posting my thinking notes in my book about Mr Putter and Tabby. This helps me think about what I am reading.
~Myla
I really like reading the Magic Tree House series as it is a good fit for me!
~Lily
Writers Workshop:
In Writers Workshop, we began a new unit entitled, Authors as Mentors. Together we explored author, Kevin Henkes and noticed that we learn a lot about authors by not only looking at their writing style but who they are as people. Through researching the life of Kevin Henkes, the children discoverd that who we are, where we live and what we do each day influences what we do as writers.
Kevin Henkes is famous for his mice!
~Grace
Kevin Henkes doesn't always draw mice or have mice for the main characters as I found out in his books about birds. He uses different things in his writing.
~Kyle
In Writers Workshop, we began a new unit entitled, Authors as Mentors. Together we explored author, Kevin Henkes and noticed that we learn a lot about authors by not only looking at their writing style but who they are as people. Through researching the life of Kevin Henkes, the children discoverd that who we are, where we live and what we do each day influences what we do as writers.
Kevin Henkes is famous for his mice!
~Grace
Kevin Henkes doesn't always draw mice or have mice for the main characters as I found out in his books about birds. He uses different things in his writing.
~Kyle
Math Workshop:
In Math Workshop, the children continued constructing their number sense knowledge by comparing numbers: greater than, equal to or less than. By examining and playing with numbers ranging from the Tens place to the Thousands, each child was invited to continue exploring this concept independently by building their understanding of where numbers belongs.
Things heard 'round the classroom:
I liked how we played the game trying with Mrs. Gallagher.
~Brodie
I liked figuring out where the numbers go.
~Myla
In Math Workshop, the children continued constructing their number sense knowledge by comparing numbers: greater than, equal to or less than. By examining and playing with numbers ranging from the Tens place to the Thousands, each child was invited to continue exploring this concept independently by building their understanding of where numbers belongs.
Things heard 'round the classroom:
I liked how we played the game trying with Mrs. Gallagher.
~Brodie
I liked figuring out where the numbers go.
~Myla
New IB Unit of Study: How We Organize Ourselves:
This week we launched our new unit of study, Communities require essential elements in order to thrive. To provoke the children's curiosity and thinking we read the book, The Lost Colony of Roanoke: A Mystery from History by Jane Yolen. Through much discussion, the children shared their knowledge of what a community is, what breaks a community apart and wondered if every community has rules, if there are other parts of a community that include more than just people, and what makes a community friendly. As the weeks continue, we will investigate how communities interact positively and negatively, and ask ourselves what elements are necessary to strengthen a community as it relates to our own classroom and the PJS community at large.
This past week we also enjoyed the beautiful fall weather as we raked leaves with a large branch and jumped in the pile!
This week we launched our new unit of study, Communities require essential elements in order to thrive. To provoke the children's curiosity and thinking we read the book, The Lost Colony of Roanoke: A Mystery from History by Jane Yolen. Through much discussion, the children shared their knowledge of what a community is, what breaks a community apart and wondered if every community has rules, if there are other parts of a community that include more than just people, and what makes a community friendly. As the weeks continue, we will investigate how communities interact positively and negatively, and ask ourselves what elements are necessary to strengthen a community as it relates to our own classroom and the PJS community at large.
This past week we also enjoyed the beautiful fall weather as we raked leaves with a large branch and jumped in the pile!
Stay tuned for another wonderful week of learning...
As always, please let us know if you have any thoughts, questions or concerns.
Warmly,
The 2/3 Team
As always, please let us know if you have any thoughts, questions or concerns.
Warmly,
The 2/3 Team