Catch me if you can!!

  It's chilly out there! For Tucson, anyway. We will keep warm inside this week and have a fun time, too.
  We will continue our study of Jan Brett's books. This week we will be reading two of her Gingerbread books along with the original story. We will compare and contrast the stories.  Next week, we will be making Gingerbread houses and we are in need of donations such as candy, grahmn crackers and white icing. Send them in if you can.
  Last week we learned about Rescue workers and dogs. We will be having a police dog visit us on Wednesday. The kids are very excited about it.
  This week's spelling words are can't, it's, he's, I'm, didn't, who's, she's, aren't, isn't, haven't, hadn't, I'll, great, worst.
  Have a super week and keep warm!
     Mrs. Nye
 
 

Jan Brett Author Study

  This week we will begin our 3 week author study of Jan Brett. She has written some wonderful "winter" books and she is an awesome illustrator of children's literature. This week we will start by comparing 'The Mitten" and "The Hat".
   We will be back to our normal routine of homework on Monday and spelling test on Friday. As far as the holidays go...we will not be having a gift exchange in our class. We will be making gingerbread houses the last week of school and could use some candy donations of any kind as well as Graham crackers. We will need a few volunteers, too. More on that later!

   It's going to be a great and super fast 3 weeks! Bring it, December!!                                                        
 Spelling Words for this week:  hard, born, horse, before, more, smart, farm, porch, corn, chore, score, part, pull, break.

Rain, Rain.....you can stay!

Loving the rain this weekend! I could enjoy another day or so.But because I love my students I will not wish another rainy day schedule on them! Little critters went stir crazy on Friday. I can't blame them. In the end we just drew pictures and relaxed.
  This week will likely be just as relaxing.  We will work on math and writing as well as reading. There are no official spelling words. But Mrs. Nye has some surprise words to have fun with.
  Tuesday, we have been invited down to Mrs. Dupray's third grade classroom for a play. We are excited about that! We have been learning about dramas and how they are written. We will be viewing two videos this week. Monday, a Charlie Brown's Mayflower video about the history of the Pilgrims and their relationship with the Native Americans the first year in America. Tuesday afternoon we will watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving wherein Snoopy creates a feast of his own. We will spend some time crafting a turkey of our own this week and writing about how to cook a turkey.
   There will be no classroom feast or party. However, our lunch staff is making us all a wonderful feast on Tuesday and I will be joining the kids in the cafeteria.
    I hope you have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. We are all indeed very blessed to be living in the land we do.
  Mrs. Nye

Pilgrims Rock!

 We recently read a book about the Pilgrims and their journey on the Mayflower. We talked about liberty and the reasons the Pilgrims left England. Hopefully, your child will share with you what they learned.
  This week we will  probably indulge in a few more Thanksgiving topics.
   Speaking of which, the entire school is celebrating service this week. Here is a list of the daily ideas for service that we have.

Participate in any way that you can.

Monday- Write letters to the troops

Tuesday- personal items for Typhoon survivors

Wednesday-Thanksgiving food drive

Thursday- Pick up trash

Friday-$1 dress down for turkey fund

     Here are the spelling words.  I will try to keep them in the post so you don't have to scroll so much.

Spelling Word List

   that, wish, patch, when, what, math,  them, shape, whale, itch, chase, bunch, gone, often.

    Progress reports will go home today. Please check for them and schedule a conference if you would like.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Nye

I'm back on-line!!

   Yay!! My laptop works again! This week we start the trek to Thanksgiving. We will be working hard to get as much done as we can with our new reading and math curriculum. I hope you have had a chance to look at it.
   I want to apologize for the lack of spelling word lists last week. We still had 75% perfect scores!! I bet this week will be better. We have a class goal of 100% at 100% The words will be found on my newsletter and my white board in class. I will make sure they have them tomorrow with any luck.
I have posted the picture here with the little ones because of the season of thanks. I suppose, it should always be the season of thanks and gratitude. I just want you to know that I am thankful to you everyday for letting me take care of your little ones and I hope I am of some help to you in some small way. Let's keep working together to help them progress in whatever way we can.
          Have a super week!
             Mrs. Nye
 

Week 5

  I hope you are having an awesome 3 day weekend! I know I am still working on it, and it is fabulous!
   We spent a lot of time on odd and even numbers this week. We played a game called Even Steven/Odd Todd. It was a hit and I am sure we will do it again.
   This Friday, you should receive your child's progress report. Yes, the first quarter is half over. If you would like a conference with me, please contact me via email momenye@msn.com or sign up on the bulletin board outside of our classroom.
   Have a super week!

Week 4!!! What?!!!!

  Yes, it is the 4th week of school!! I can't believe it, either. It has gone so fast and we are having such a good time that it just flew by us!
  Last week we successfully finished our Galileo testing. All of our students did a fabulous job and I am happy with our general scoring. We have a lot of work to do, but we know exactly which standards we need to focus on to increase our knowledge!
 This week we will continue working on maps in the classroom. Discuss with your child where they are on the map. It is a difficult concept for children. We start at our school, recognize our town, state, country, continent, and finally the entire earth. We should have a lot of fun working on this. Ask your child the easy way they have learned to remember the directions. Hint:  it's a breakfast food!
    Scholastic Book Fair is all of this week. You can check it out before and after school with your child. Please continue sending in McKinney-Veto forms and t-shirt  money. We will need to place that order soon.
  Squirt is doing great! Thanks for all the comments and help with him.
  We had all but 3 students complete their homework packets this week. That is awesome. Remember to have your child read and sign their logs for them. Unsigned logs result in not being able to participate in Fun Friday. :(
  Have a super week!
Mrs. Nye

Week 3

  Welcome to Squirt! Squirt is a Red Eared Slider. He is a water turtle. Squirt has an awesome habitat in our room now. Thanks to all of the parents who helped make it possible, and Ms. Beebe, who has been very helpful with all of her knowledge!
  We had a great week and got a lot of things done in class. This week we will continue our Daily 5 practice. We will be adding our "Word Work" center which will help students learn more about words, phonics, spelling and grammar.
   Monday and Tuesday will be our Galileo pre-testing.  These tests help us to chart where our class and students are progressing and also where we need to focus on helping them more.  It is an awesome tool. We will take four of these tests this year.
   We have discussed bullying a lot this week. We are learning the difference between being bullied and just being treated unkindly. It is hard to recognize and we are still working on it. Basically, bullying is a repetitive unkind behavior towards the same student. Please report to me any suspect treatment you believe your child is receiving and I will research it for you. Afterschool problems are more difficult for me to look into as I am not the teacher at that time. However, please contact Ms. Roberts if there are any problems during that time.
   Please send in water bottles for your children for afternoon recess and a small snack if you can. We eat lunch at 10:45 . It is very early. Our 2nd recess is at 2p.m. and they are hungry by then!
Have a great week!
Mrs. Nye
 

Week 2

   What a great week! We had perfect attendance and we are only 3 days away from earning a popcorn party. Such a great group of kids. This week we began learning how to properly "read to self" and "read to a buddy".  Ms. Barnhardt's 5th grade class came in and helped us read our favorite books. They will be visiting every Friday. It is a great experience for both age groups
    We are hoping to adopt a red eared slider turtle very soon. Ms. Beebe donated a tank to us. I have the rocks and a lamp. We only need the little guy and a good filter. If you can send in a dollar or two to help our cause that would be great.
    Thanks so much to all of the parents who have donated extra supplies and other items we have needed.
    Here are few reminders for the week....


                                                                        Field Trip Shirts

Please continue sending in field trip t-shirt orders with money. Our first trip is a few months away but we want to get those shirts ordered in time.

Box Tops

Our school will be collecting box tops through out the year.  Please save all of your box tops- and get all of your friends and family to save theirs too!  Last year our class raised $85  worth of box tops which allowed me to purchase supplies and curriculum for our classroom.

NED

August 14- Students will be attending an assembly to learn how to be better citizens! Look for more on that in their folders.

Aug 30- $1 dress down day

Scholastic Book Fair is coming soon!!

Week 1

This is our first full week and we will be keeping busy.  This week we will continue focusing on getting to know one another and our "working together" skills. We will also begin working on our daily math as well as begin to introduce the concept of Daily 5 center work. You will find the spelling words listed to the left side of this blog and any important dates, as well. Our spelling test will be on Friday. Please practice with your child. We work with our words in class everyday.  Check out the Common Core button on the right. This will give you an idea of what your child will be learning this year. Please continue sending in the forms that were sent home and any field trip t-shirt money.
   There are a few policies I forgot to cover in my newsletter. One of them is snacks.  If possible, please send in a healthy snack. Crackers, fruits, etc. Please do not send Hot Cheetos, Takis or sugary snacks. These snacks are very messy and require sending students to the bathroom to clean up after recess which takes away from teaching time.
   If your child brings a toy to school or any other item that distracts from learning, I will keep it in my classroom until the last day of school or you may come in and pick it up at any time.
   Again, if you have any questions or if you would like to email me your concerns, please feel free to do so.
   Have a great week!

And we're off!!

   We had a wonderful Open House tonight! Thanks to all of you that stopped by to meet me and visit our newly floored and decorated classroom.  I am overwhelmed by the awesome parental support offered and the great students I will be working with this year.
   Please check your child's backpack tomorrow night. They will be receiving an info packet for you as well as a little "getting to know you activity" they might need some help with.
   After I receive everyone's email addresses I will email you the newest blog posts as soon as they become available.
   Finally, I forgot to mention in the info packet that you most certainly can and should send a snack to school for your child. We will have it during our afternoon recess break. Water is always a good idea as well.
   Have a great week and welcome to 2nd grade!
   
           Mrs. Nye


       

School is Out! School is Coming!

  Well another school year has come and gone. Yet, another is just around the corner. If you are a past student or parent, thank you for a fabulous year. What great parents we have had to help us with treats, field trips and volunteering. Thanks for a great year!
   If you are new to Mrs. Nye's class for the 2013-14 school year, I am so excited to meet you. We will have a wonderful time getting to know each other. Please check back regularly for updates about the new year.
     Mrs. Nye

See Ya Later, Fab February!!

                      

 We had a great last week and a half! A lot of celebrations. Grandparents day was so fun and we are so appreciative of our grandparents that came and those that we remembered on our special day. We loved the stories and getting to know all of you.

 This week we will be getting back to some serious learning as well as having some fun on Thursday at the Sonoran Desert Museum. Please remember it is free. Send your child in a red La Paloma shirt if you have one and jeans. A hat, water bottle and sack lunch would be awesome. Try to avoid large lunch boxes. They are difficult to pack up.

  We are back to homework packets this week. I want to assure you that I know how hard it can be to get this work finished. If you feel that it is to taxing upon you or your child
or both, right me a note on the homework that they did finish and I will definitely consider that. We have added to the homework because most of our students stay in afterschool where they have plenty of time work on it as well as help. Let me know if there is a problem.  
  

Thanks to all of you for the wonderful Valentine's gifts. I love them all and wish I had time to write a thank you to all of you. It is always appreciated. Have a fabulous week and let's get on to March Madness!!

Love of Reading Week!!!!

  Our Science Fair was a great success! Thanks to all the parents and students who worked so hard to make it happen. We had everything from volcanoes to rockets to floating candy and sinking eggs! It was so much fun.  I have posted a few of the pictures I took here on the blog. If anyone objects to their child's picture being here, please let me know. I will remove it immediately.
   This is Love of Reading Week! We are having all kinds of fun this week including reading a lot. To celebrate we are having a spirit week. Monday-Crazy Hair Day, Tuesday-Professional dress day, Wednesday-Pajama Day and Read-in!, Thursday-Red,Pink,White Day, Friday-Storybook Character day. Thursday is also our party. Please send in fruits and veggies. I have enough drinks. Chips are okay too. Students can start bringing in their Valentines on Wednesday.

      

Hurray! The Blog is Back!

   Let's try it again!

  Saturday was Groundhog's Day and Phil didn't see his shadow! Ask your child what that means. We spent a lot of time on Groundhogs and their habits. They are cute as can be.
  February is a seriously busy, busy month for 2nd grade! First of all the entire month is "Love of Reading Month". We will be reading as many books as we can in class and charting our progress with a multitude of hearts posted in our window. Don't forget Science Projects are due on the 8th. We will be presenting them all day.  We are also having a contest to see who can read the most minutes at home in the lower grade levels.  The prize is an awesome little bike.
 We will be having a Valentine's Party at the end of the day on the 14th. Healthy fruits and snacks only. Remember, Rodeo Weekend starts on the 21st. The 20th is Grandparent's Day. Please invite Grandmas and Grandpas in that day. Finally, February 28th is our field trip to the Sonoran Desert Museum. We love volunteers and need them. Please return field trip forms as soon as possible.
  Because Love of Reading Week is soon( Feb10-15), I could use some readers! Please email me to set up a time to come and read to our class if you would like. Bring your own book or use one of mine!
  So take a deep breath and get ready for a busy and short 2nd grade month