January 27-31

Archway Cicero Second Grade Newsletter

Week of January 27, 2020

Greetings, parents of second grade!

IMPORTANT DATES

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Reading Groups		War of 1812 Test Addition and subtraction Quiz	Reading Groups	Tutoring Invites go out this weekend! Be on the lookout!

Announcements:

Please review the Simple Machine project packet with your child.  It is due Thursday, February 20th.

Please have your student read aloud each night. They should read their leveled book from the red book bag as well as read from their Science and History notes to review them. They must bring their books back each day. You should see the books being changed about once a week. Students may have their books longer if they forget to bring their book on a reading group day.

We are still in great need of reading volunteers. The reading groups program cannot work without your volunteers

As the weather (and our classrooms) becomes cool, school dress code states that students may wear a Cicero uniform sweater/sweatshirt or a solid navy sweater inside (no hoodies, please).  They may wear other types of jackets and sweatshirts outside at recess.  We will be enforcing this dress code policy more strictly beginning this week. Please make sure your scholar has a dress-code appropriate sweater as the classrooms get chilly during the day.

Please send your student with a healthy snack and lunch to help him or her be successful throughout the day in the classroom.  We have noticed that students who have highly-processed and sugary meals have difficulty concentrating in class and regulating behavior, especially in the afternoon.

Academics

Math	This week we will continue with mental addition and subtraction with a quiz on Wednesday. We will pick up on Thursday with multiplication and division by 5’s and 10’s
Reading	We will continue reading Little House in The Big Woods
Poetry	This week we will begin our new poem,  “The Hayloft.”
Language Arts	The students will continue to learn about pronouns. In writing, we will be writing our own topic sentences and identifying the parts of a paragraph. Students are now encouraged to spell all their words correctly in dictation, as many of the words are those we have covered in Spalding.
Spalding	We will be learning 10 new words on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We will review all 30 words on Thursday, and test on Friday. We will continue our practice with cursive. This week you will begin to see some cursive words as part of the nightly homework - students should write these words in cursive rather than in print on their homework page.
Science	This week we will continue our science unit on Simple Machines. Please continue to help your scholar with their Simple Machine Projects due 2/20/2020
History & Geography	This week we will do a review of the War of 1812 on Tuesday and have a test on Wednesday.

Best,

The Second Grade Team

The Hayloft

The Hayloft

By Robert Louis Stevenson

Through all the pleasant meadow-side
      

The grass grew shoulder-high,


Till the shining scythes went far and wide
      

And cut it down to dry.



Those green and sweetly smelling crops
      

They led in wagons home;


And they piled them here in mountain tops
      

For mountaineers to roam.



Here is Mount Clear, Mount Rusty-Nail,
      

Mount Eagle and Mount High;—


The mice that in these mountains dwell,
      

No happier are than I!



Oh, what a joy to clamber there,
      

Oh, what a place for play,


With the sweet, the dim, the dusty air,
      

The happy hills of hay!

January 20-24

Archway Cicero Second Grade Newsletter

Week of January 20, 2020

Greetings, parents of second grade!

IMPORTANT DATES

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
No School	Bring fun run envelopes back to school Library Books Due	Library	Reading Groups	Fun Run! Wear field day shirts Old Ironsides Poem Recitations

Announcements:

Fun Run/Prizes/Donations:   Funds raised will go toward security for our school. Prizes will be handed out every other day. Money will be collected in the envelopes every other day until January 27th.

Simple Machine Project: The simple machine project packet went home last week. This project will be due on February 20th. It has a written and oral component. Please see the packet for instructions and the project rubric.

Academics

Math	This week we will continue our unit of Mental Math. We will focus on subtraction of numbers close to 100.
Reading	We will continue reading Little House in the Big Woods.
Poetry	This week we will finish memorizing “Old Ironsides” by Oliver Wendell Holmes, in conjunction with our War of 1812 unit in history.
Language Arts	This week we will continue practicing identifying and generating pronouns. In writing we will learn more about topic sentences.
Spalding	This week we will be learning 10 new words daily in Spalding, and will have cursive handwriting practice. Please encourage your student to take his or her time with writing!
Science	We will  continue our unit on simple machines. Please see the project packet that went home last week!
History & Geography	This week in history we will continue learning about the War of 1812.

Best,

The Second Grade Team

Old Ironsides

Old Ironsides

BY Oliver Wendell Holmes

Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!

Long has it waved on high,

And many an eye has danced to see

That banner in the sky;

Beneath it rung the battle shout,

And burst the cannon’s roar;—

The meteor of the ocean air

Shall sweep the clouds no more!

Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood

Where knelt the vanquished foe,

When winds were hurrying o’er the flood

And waves were white below,

No more shall feel the victor’s tread,

Or know the conquered knee;—

The harpies of the shore shall pluck

The eagle of the sea!

O, better that her shattered hulk

Should sink beneath the wave;

Her thunders shook the mighty deep,

And there should be her grave;

Nail to the mast her holy flag,

Set every thread-bare sail,

And give her to the god of storms,—

The lightning and the gale!

January 13 - 17

Archway Cicero Second Grade Newsletter

Week of January 13, 2020

Greetings, parents of second grade!

IMPORTANT DATES

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Reading Groups Little House in The Big Woods must come to school! Scholars need their 2B math workbook.		Early Release 1:40	Reading Groups	½ Half Day 12:10 Release

Announcements:

Cicero’s 2nd annual Fun Run is upon us!  The money collection days are 1/14, 1/16, 1/21, 1/23, 1/27.

Please see the PSO newsletter for additional information regarding the Fun Run!

Please have your student read aloud each night. They should read their leveled book from the red book bag as well as read from their Science and History notes to review them the night before assessments. They must bring their books back each day. You should see the books being changed about once a week. Students may have their books longer if they forget to bring their book on a reading group day.

As the weather (and our classrooms) continues to be cool, school dress code states that students may wear a Cicero uniform sweater/sweatshirt or a solid navy sweater inside (no hoodies, please).  They may wear other types of jackets and sweatshirts outside at recess.  We will be enforcing this dress code policy more strictly beginning this week. Please make sure your scholar has a dress-code appropriate sweater as the classrooms get chilly during the day.

Please send your student with a healthy snack and lunch to help him or her be successful throughout the day in the classroom.  We have noticed that students who have highly-processed and sugary meals have difficulty concentrating in class and regulating behavior, especially in the afternoon.

Academics

Math	This week we will be starting mental math. We will use our mental math strategies to add and subtract numbers close to 100.
Reading	This week we will begin reading Little House in the Big Woods.
Poetry	This week we begin our new poem, Old Ironsides.
Language Arts	The students will learn about prounds in grammar. In writing, we will start learning about the structure of a paragraph and focus on topic sentences and main ideas.
Spalding	We will be learning 10 new words on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We will review all 30 words on Thursday, and test on Friday. We will also start learning cursive lowercase letters.
Science	This week we will continue our unit on Simple Machines. Please be sure to point out any example you see of levers, pulleys, wheels with axles, wedges, screws and ramps in real life.
History & Geography	In History this week we will begin our unit on the War of 1812.

Best,

The Second Grade Team