The Second Grade “Scoop”

Date: January 22
For the Week of: January 25-29

Reminders:
*Jan. 22: Book orders were due. They will be sent off shortly.
*Feb. 1: Book It calendars due.
*Feb. 5: Early release at 2:00PM for the basketball tournament.
*Feb. 10th: Skating Party for Valentines Day! We will be taking buses after lunch to the Wagon Wheel Skating Rink. More information and permission forms will be coming from the school office. Students may get skates at the rink, or bring their own--(skates will be inspected by the employees of the rink). Also, there is a snack bar and game machines for those students who don’t wish to skate.
*Feb. 11th: New Tentative Date for Field Trip to the Museum of Nature and Science: Sorry—they double-booked us and asked us to change dates. This should be the “for sure” date. More information coming…just a “heads up”—we will be limited in the number of chaperones we can take. Please don’t be offended if I am unable to ask you to drive! We don’t like having to choose, but it is the nature of our situation!
*Feb. 12th: Third quarter mid-term.
*Feb. 12th: Teacher In-service; early release at 11:30AM; also, we will take the last hour of this short day to pass out valentines! Enclosed is a class list for students who would like to bring valentines/goodies on this date. Just as in the past, our “party” will be a school-wide skating party. More information will be coming from the office….
*Feb. 15: No school—Presidents’ Day
*Feb. 16: President projects due.
*Feb. 16-26: ITBS (Iowa Tests of Basic Skills)
*Feb. 17: Mid-term reports go home.

Spelling:
We will be on the book list unit 22, and the challenge list 13. The pretests will be Monday, Jan. 25, and the final tests will be Friday, January 29.

Memory Work:
Memory work for this week is enclosed. Students may say their memory work any morning of this week.

Math:
We continue to work on 100 addition facts. We continue working on subtraction facts (5s and 6s). I do have both addition and subtraction flashcards to loan out for extra practice!

Reading:
*Also, the BookIt program continues this month. January calendars were given out before Christmas break. Our goal is 15 minutes of reading a day, or 465 total minutes for the month of January. All January calendars are due Monday, Feb. 1. Students who do complete their reading goal for January will get a certificate for a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut! Have your child let me know if he/she needs a new calendar.


English/Language Arts:
We continue to work on irregular verbs, contractions, and apostrophes, as well as comparative writing.

Science:
We have begun our unit about weather and space. We also will be taking a field trip to the Museum of Nature and Science to visit the expedition health exhibit as well as the IMAX. This field trip will fit with a nutrition/body unit we will do at the end of the year. More information will be coming….

Social Studies:
We are studying about our government, and how it works at the city, state, and national levels. Students will do a special president project in February. Students will research one President and design a brochure about him. The details of this project are enclosed. I did my best to give your child one of his/her top three picks; however, several students had the same top three, and I had to have them pick again. If you find that your child is having a difficult time researching his/her President and needs to pick another, please let me know! Thanks!

On a final note…
*Please continue to check your child’s HOME folder and assignment book each evening.
*Just a reminder that you can access our class blog by going to http://www.zionmrsbrewer.blogspot.com/ OR by going to the school website (http://www.brightonzionlutheran.org/), clicking on School, Class Pages, and Mrs. Brewer’s name.
*Beginning in the second half of our school year, each student will have a chance to be our Student of the Week. When it is your child’s turn, he/she will bring home a form to fill out. Please help your child fill out the form by Wednesday of his/her week. On that day, he/she will share his/her answers with us and also have the opportunity to share one special item. More information will be sent when it is your child’s week.
*Because we are preparing for third grade, and because we are half-way through second grade, we will begin using the Missing-Incomplete-Late Assignment Notice blue slips. Students have been doing a great job getting homework done and turned in. These slips will continue to help students stay organized. An example of the slip was enclosed in last week’s newsletter. Students who forget/do not complete homework (including memory work) will receive this slip to take home. It does need to be signed and returned the following school day. I do not anticipate having to use these very often, but I did want you to be aware of this school-wide policy. Thanks for your help in this area!
*Do you shop at Walmart? Do you enjoy Subway? Consider buying gift cards from our school! This is the scrip fundraiser! Simply shop where you normally do, but consider buying a gift card first. Zion receives funds from the purchase of the cards. A list of vendors was sent in an email to all school families, and there is also a list in the school office. It may mean planning ahead a little, but you will spend the same amount as you normally would at these particular vendors. Orders do need to be turned in Tuesday of each week, and the cards will be handed out Friday each week.
God’s blessings on your week!
In Christ,
Mrs. Brewer
Spelling Words—Unit 22
For the week of Jan. 25-29

zoo
food
look
moon
book
soon
took
good
room
foot
you
who

Review
clap
like

Challenge
hoof
moose


Spelling Words—Challenge List 13
For the week of Jan. 25-29

chairs
beach
faces
giving
fence
canning
driveway
seemed
money
stage
himself
soda
dare
able

Challenge:
wonderful
garage

Memory Work
For the week of Jan. 25-29

If we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and
just, will forgive us our sins. 1 John 1:9


January 22, 2009

Dear parents/guardians,

In social studies, we are studying our government. We are discussing the 3 branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. We are expanding on the executive branch by researching a president. Your child will be researching (see your child's hard copy)_____________________________. Your child may need some assistance in researching his/her president.
Your child’s assignment is to design a brochure telling about the president they have chosen. This is to be a tri-fold brochure. It can be written or typed. If your child chooses to type it, he/she may want to use the following procedure: Open a word document and click on “file.” Go to “page set up” and you should see two choices under the heading orientation. Choose the landscape option. Then go to “format” and click on “columns.” Choose the option for 3 columns. At this point, your child may get started. I ask that students use complete sentences. Using bullets is a great way to keep it organized and easy to follow. (I’m sure you are more computer savvy than me, so feel free to explore other options.)
The appearance of the brochure is very important. I suggest that students include at least one picture. Students can make it colorful by using pictures, stickers, color pencils, etc. I have included a rubric on the back side of this sheet which explains the requirements. It shows exactly how many points each student will receive based on the appearance of the brochure and the information included. Students may add anything else they feel is interesting or appropriate.
Students will be given three weeks to complete this project. The brochure is due on Tuesday, February 16. The students will present them to the class that week. I expect them to know the information concerning their president. They will have their brochure with them for the presentation but I do not want them to simply read it. The presentation is a small part of their overall grade. I encourage parents/guardians to support their children in the project, especially the research part of it. The students seem very excited about the project! Have your child ask if he/she has any questions along the way. I am excited to see how the brochures turn out! Have fun!!

In Christ,
Mrs. Brewer