Dear Students and Families,

I hope you had a great spring break…BUT, where is the sun? I enjoyed a little bit of the nice weather that we had last week… but now that the weather has turned back… we are ready to get back to things. We will be starting a new insect unit, and will be creating some great bug projects in the coming weeks! I am really going to be pushing the kids to be doing their best work all of the time… I say that like it is something new… but really it isn’t. We have a lot of curriculum to be covering that is really fun and interesting, but it will require them to work extra hard. They can do it! I have so much confidence in their abilities and I can’t wait to see how much they grow in the next couple of months. J

The Treasure Island play field trip is coming up on April 25, 2008. We will be leaving first thing in the morning and returning after lunch. Students will need to bring a sack lunch as we will miss the school lunches that day. If you paid to go as a chaperone I will be contacting you with more information as the time gets a little closer.

OF MICE AND MOZART… The second grade is presenting Of Mice and Mozart the play. It will take place at 2:30pm on Friday, May 2^nd. All parents and families are invited. The kids are working very hard practicing the songs and parts. It will be great! Mark your calendars for this important date!

Calling all PARENT VOLUNTEERS… We are much in need of help in the next couple of weeks! We will be working on several projects that could use a helping hand. If you are available or have a little time to spare, please let me know! We love to have our parents in the room working with us… please contact me at lisa.foster@camas.wednet.edu or 360.833.5720 ext. 2316.

Homework: Homework is back and due every Friday. Please remind your kids that part of homework is reading at home at least 4 times a week for 20 minutes! Again, it is a great opportunity to be involved in your child’s reading, whether you are simply asking them questions about what they are reading or reading along with them. You are an integral part of your child’s reading success! Keep up the good work, both kids and parents!

As for a preview of some of the exciting things that are coming up for your second graders… Here they are… I can’t wait to get started!

Science: We got a new science kit it is all about insects and bugs! We will be working on lifecycles, identifying body parts, creating habitats and much, much more! Stop by the classroom and check out some of the evidence from our learning! It will be so much fun!

Math: Regrouping and Measurement with a refresher on Time and Money! We are going to be working very hard to make sure that we have mastered these concepts.

Writing and Reading: Bugs, Bugs, and more Bugs, we will be primarily working on writing in the expository format with lifecycles, with a little refresher in narrative as well. We will be using the knowledge that we gain from science to really guide our writing!

We will also begin cursive handwriting, learning about our world through the use of our Atlas on a consistent basis, and much, much more.

Art:

We will also be working on several insect art projects which will be integrated into our curriculum and provide inspiration for our writing projects. The next home work project is a research report about one particular type of insect. We will talk about the details later, but just wanted you to be aware that this project is coming up soon.

Preview:

Also, we will be having Mother’s and Father’s day celebrations in the classroom in the coming months. Keep these in mind as you are looking ahead at your schedule. We would love to have you into the classroom for these events… watch for more details.

Chicken Pox in Room 16 please look for the flyer in your child’s backpack to read about the details of this notice.

As always…if you have any questions or concerns or if you would like to schedule a conference, or volunteer to help out, you can contact me at lisa.foster@camas.wednet.edu or

360.833.5720 Ext. 2316.  Thank you, Lisa Foster

2nd Grade Reading Corner Please remember to read with your kids. The second grade expectation at all reading levels is that students read a minimum of 20 minutes 4 times per week. This not only reinforces skills that we are working on at school but also improves their reading confidence. Thank you for your support!

Book Suggestions: Bugs … Bugs… Read all about: Bugs… Bugs… Bugs!!! Ahhh!