What do we believe?

Who do we choose to be?

What do we want to show others?

When do we choose to be the best that we can be?

How do we want to feel about ourselves?

 

 

LIFE IN A GRASSLAND

Our field trip to Fort Whyte Alive was a spectacular fall morning of hands on exploration. Listen as Morley and Connor share some of their exciting learning with you.

listen to ‘Life in the grassland’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Life in a grassland’ on Audioboo

Thank you to our wonderful parent volunteers who made this trip a success! A special thanks to Mrs. Zajac who also shared her photos with the class! HALLOWEEN SPELLS SPOOKTACULAR FUN AND LEARNING! Halloween pumpkin measurement centers and party treats were the highlight of our October festivities. Thanks Mrs. Njegovan and Mrs. Regehr for helping us measure, count, weigh and decorate our pumpkins. Anna, Isabella, Ella, Sebin, and Jake were given a big hand to say thank you for all the wonderful snacks their families provided. Merci!!

Do you have a small problem? Here's what Kelso would do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrpG8Tk9f8o&safe=active

Our 21st Day of School!

1. Time flies when you're having fun! And we have been having fun becoming a community of learners in Grade 2. Every day at Linden Meadows, we work together, learn together and play together. The sunshine and warm breezes have called us outdoors on more than one occasion, making wind observations, sketching Linden Meadows, and showing all our ways to make 10 with sidewalk chalk. The outdoors as always makes a magnificent classroom! So what else have we been up to these past weeks? Let's have a look at READING. We have been increasing our reading stamina. Stamina is doing anything for a long period of time without getting tired or giving up. The recipe for developing stamina is choosing a good fit book. We call it I PICK. I-I look at the book P-Purpose- Why do I want to read the book? I-Interest- Is the book about a topic I am interested in? C-Comprehend- Do I understand what I am reading? K-Know words- Can I read most of the words? We have also been using our check marks to check for understanding when listening to reading. Our Home Reading Program has begun. Emphasis is placed on promoting oral fluency and expression while reading Just Right Books aloud. The October reading goal is 200 minutes. Don't forget to record your minutes on the calendar provided. Home Reading duotangs will be due the first day of each month. Keep turning those pages! Let's have a look at MATH We have been estimating and counting collections in fast and easy counting groups. The Grade 2 target is I can count from 0-100 BY 2'S, 5'S and 10's forwards and backwards starting from any multiple of 2, 5, and 10. Extra practise at home, in the car, at the skating rink, at the dance studio, ANYWHERE will help build this skill. *I can show a number at least 8 different ways We have been using everything we know about number Number Talks is our daily math warm up. Students are expected to work with a set of number facts that they can solve mentally. A variety of efficient strategies are highlighted. Wonderful teaching opportunities arise as students share and defend their mental math strategies.

HOPPING FROM ONE GREAT IDEA TO THE NEXT.......

Ah summer... you can never get enough of it! The heat, the sun, the water...it's all too perfect. But wait, in the midst of many lazy summery moments a definite theme took form late this August

. Frogs in the grass, frogs on the pebbles and frogs in the water. Was this a sign? Was it time to LEAP BACK INTO LEARNING? YOU BET IT WAS! And so I began hopping from one great idea to the next! Ms. Stewart, Mrs. Jordan and I were hopping with excitement as we trained on the new ActivTable, for an entire day! I hopped to it with the cleaning, scrubbing, planning, pasting, stapling, arranging and rearranging! But the classroom wasn't perfect yet! Why not you ask? Because I was still waiting for my FABULOUS, NEW 24 GRADE 2 STUDENTS! AND I'M STILL WAITING! LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!

COUNTINGDOWNTO.COM

JUNE UPDATE

Here we are having fun on the third last day of Grade 2.  What a fabulous year it has been from beginning to end!  I would like to take a moment to thank our volunteer co-ordinator Lisa Kroeker, our weekly in class helper Nancy Palles, our helpful field trip, Super lunch, and at home volunteers.  You! Yes, you have made a difference.   Thank you also to all our parents, for your at home support.  It has been much appreciated! As always, we couldn't do it without you!!  Thank you, for your many kind words, cards and gifts this past week. Your generosity and thoughtfulness means so much and has been truly overwhelming!  It has been such a privledge and an honor to teach this class.  They remind me each day of why I love coming to work each day!
 

Dreambox

2J has worked with great determination in Dreambox this year and have developed confidence in their abilities as mathematicians. The good news is that Dreambox accounts will remain active until September. Students can visit the site and continue in their individualized math studies throughout the summer holidays! Just click on the link below.
Dreambox


http://play.dreambox.com/login/ms8g/lindenm

Students Dreambox passwords will be in their agenda pockets today. HAVE LOTS OF MATH FUN!!!

Manitoba Wildlife Haven

We gathered all our grade 2 classes to listen to an extremely knowledgeable speaker from Manitoba Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. She brought along two special guests, Luna, a beautiful barn owl and Max, a majestic grey horned owl. The students were spell bound as they listened and full of scientific questions about these birds of prey.

 

Our Glorious Painted Lady Butterflies

During the month of June we all became keen scientists, observing the miracle of the Painted Lady Butterfly.  We had over 60 larvae who took their jobs very seriously.  They ATE and ATE and ATE until they entered the pupa stage.  Things quieted down as we patiently WAITED and WAITED and WAITED until one exciting morning when they began to emerge from their chrysalis'.  We observed this metamorphosis many times over and never failed to delight in the wonder of these beautiful adult butterflies and their first sips of Gatorade(nectar).  After 3 days we carried our butterfly cage to the park beside the flowering lilacs and released them one by one.  This was truly a magical moment.

 

APRIL NEWS FLASH!

Did you know that we are building our learning stamina in EVERY subject???

We are...

...using our mental math strategies to learn our addition and subtraction facts 1-18 JUST LIKE THAT!!!
...putting on the final touches on our HOW TO BOOKS and sharing them with our friends on Friday.
...learning how to use matter SAFELY!
...building our printing stamina and becoming POWERFUL PRINTERS!
...doing a daily edit to make sure our writing LOOKS right, SOUNDS right, and MAKES SENSE!
...being VORACIOUS readers with EXTRAORDINARY stamina!
...learning about safety strategies such as CODE WORD, BUDDY SYSTEM, TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS and WHEN ASKED TO GO AND YOUR PARENTS DON'T KNOW, SHOUT NO!
Yes indeed, we are doing all this and more because that's THE KIND OF LEARNERS we have in 2J.

BE PROUD BOYS AND GIRLS!

 

Welcome to 2015!! I hope all our families enjoyed a wonderful start to the new year. Thank you to for you support during the busy month of December! A special thank you to our parent volunteers who helped with super lunch supervision and preparation of holiday treats for our holiday celebration. 
I would also like to take a moment to express my sincerest thanks for your many thoughtful words, wishes, cards and gifts during the month of December. Thank you for the kindness you show each day and your continued support. It is much appreciated!

So, what's new and exciting in 2J? Let's have a look!

READING AND WRITING TARGETS
Novel Study



Reading Targets

*Chunking letters and sounds together
*Blending sounds; stretch and reread

Writing Targets

*I use my planning sheet for small moment writing
*I am a writer and can write for 20-30 minutes
*I always reread my work before I begin writing
*I am using some interesting story telling language

MATH TARGETS


I use my mental math strategies when I play What's My Value?

I can create and solve addition and subtraction problems using my mental math strategies.

BEHAVIOR TARGET

***TEAMWORK***