Odds and Ends!

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walkathon

Hi Fourth Graders and Families,

We are off to a great start! I have lots to talk to you about in this post, and let me begin by thanking you, parents! Thank you for sending me the nicest, kindest, most loving learners in the world! Also, thank you for sending in all of those fabulous supplies that will last in our classroom the year through. I KNOW without a doubt that this will be a terrific year!

Walkathon!

Our ONE school fundraiser will be held this coming Thursday, Sept. 24th. Your fourth grader came home with a packet for raising donations. Our goal this year is for each student to contribute $25! Get out there, Mrs. Q’s class, and let’s see if we can win the limo ride!! Be sure to wear comfy clothes (ninja eagles, right guys?!) and tennis shoes on Thursday and bring a water bottle for the walkathon.

Pictures on Monday 9/21

Put your best shirt on and do your hair for your fourth grade picture! We will have them taken sometime in the morning this coming Monday.

Homework

Your fourth grader will be coming home with math homework MOST Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It is always due the next day. Reading for 30 minutes, five nights a week is a must as well. Check the twitter feed on the left side of this page for homework assignments. Students should be writing down their reading times at night on sticky notes to bring to school, so they can write their times on their book logs here at school.

I think that is everything for right now! Have a great weekend! -Mrs. Q

Brrr! It’s Cold Outside!!

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IMG_4637 (Photos from a Christmas activity with our bus-buddies!)
Hi Everyone!
Just a quick update since we have returned from holiday break. We had a great day yesterday with our technology/game day! Students did such a good job following our game time parameters and they really took good care of their expensive devices that they were allowed to bring to school. Thanks parents for trusting your fourth graders. They were very responsible.

We are currently working on writing personal/persuasive essays. Your student may be coming home with topics that are fresh and interesting to them. I have been using some debate prompts that make them think about what they think and feel about these subjects. They are being encouraged here to write their opinions about them. Please encourage them to talk with you about some of these topics (they will know what they are hopefully!) to get your opinion as well.

In math we are working on story problems and determining what operation to use when solving them. Now, we are using all four operations (+,-,/,x) and it can be tricky to decide what the problem is asking you to do to solve it. Please have a look at your student’s homework when they are finished to see how they are doing. Often reading the story problem out loud to them and discussing it, helps to determine what operation to use.

I also want to remind students (and parents too) that they should be reading for at least 15-20 minutes every night out of a chapter book or nonfiction book and recording it on their book log. I took a look at those (book logs) recently and found that many students were not recording their books and/or their times any more. Some students have 0 books recorded. Please encourage your readers to stay organized and focused on keeping track of their reading.

Finally, our Valentine’s Party will be Friday, February 13th, from 2-3 pm. Remember, if you are helping with the party, you may attend. Someone should be contacting you soon with what to bring or help with. If you did not put your name on the party sign-up sheet on Open House night and want to help, let me know and I will put you in touch with the Mom who is our lead parent for the party.

Thanks for a great bunch of kids and for all you do to keep our classroom going!
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Class Blogger – Avery!!

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IMG_3886Hi!  My name is Avery!  Last week was the book fair for us and I got some books!  I am going to Florida for spring break!  I am in Mrs. Ray’s class for math and she is the best math teacher ever!!!  In reading, we are making posters of an animal that my group and I are studying.  My group is doing elephants.  We are learning a lot about them!  Bye!  And one more thing!  Being the classroom blogger is the best!!!

Math Switch

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Inline image 1               Second Grade Math Switch!

 

Now that we have finished up our first unit of math, we are ready to start some new learning!  To prepare for our new unit of study, each second grader completed a pre-test for Unit 2 last week.  Our Unit 2 will cover double digit addition strategies, place value, adding up to four 2 digit numbers, and continue on with addition fluency.   As a second grade staff, we are always striving to meet the needs of each and every individual student.  In order to do this, we studied the data from our students’ pre-tests, and used this information to group together students with similar areas of expertise and areas of need.

When we begin our Unit 2 on Monday, many of our students will be taking part in a “math switch” in which they may be traveling to a different classroom, so that they are able to work in the group that will help them reach their full potential as a math learner for this unit.  Each group of math learners will be working on the same math concepts each day, but the pace and practice may look a little different.  We are very excited about this opportunity for your child and can’t wait to dig in!   Please feel free to e-mail us if you have an questions or concerns.

Thanks!

Mrs. Greenlund, Mrs. Kuieck, Mrs. Quigley, Mrs. Ray

It’s Back to School – Only 9 Weeks Left!!

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Hi Everyone!

Hope your Spring Break was terrific!  Mine was great!  My husband and I hiked Superstition Mountain in Arizona!  For three days, we hiked in the area known as the Superstition Wilderness and had a great time!  I climbed to the top of this mountain!

So as our next science unit begins on Landforms, I will have plenty to share about that!!  I sure hope that everyone had a restful break and is now ready to come back to school and wrap up the year!  I can hardly believe that we have so little time left.  And we have a lot we have to do yet!

Parents, we will be taking a field trip on Thursday, May 9, from 9 – 11:00 am approximately.  We are going to DeGraaf Nature Center for their wildflower class!  I will be picking a few parent chaperones to ride the bus, however, I am sure that if you want to drive yourself, that will not be a problem!  I will ask you to leave other siblings at home so that this will be a special time for you and your child.  A form will be coming home in a week or so to ask if you would like to chaperone!

Our math unit will continue to get more challenging for students as we get into triple digit addition and subtraction.  Most students now understand the re-grouping and un-grouping concepts and can hopefully see that they just keep on going across the problem to add or subtract.  Any extra help at home is so appreciated, as well as, checking over the homework packets to see if your child has done it correctly.  That will give you instant feedback as to where their misunderstandings are.

Reading Counts will wrap up in mid-May and so will Chapter Book Club.  We will no longer have any more Book It calendars (ends at the end of March).  Please, please keep reading with your children!  This is so important, especially over the summer.  Also, now is the time to arrange for a tutor if you haven’t already done so (if you feel your child may need the extra help).  In a previous post, I listed the teachers available for tutoring.  If you can’t find it, shoot me an email.

It’s wonderful to hear the birds singing to us on our way into school now!  I am really looking forward to spring and the warmer weather!  The kids and I will make the most of it!

Happy Spring!   Love, Mrs. Q

2 Q Update!

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Hi Everyone!

It will be a wonderful 2 weeks here before Christmas break!  We have a few exciting things coming up!  Everything from snow cones to Diversity Day, another writing celebration and holiday party!!  I love this time of year!  The children’s energy is charged with anticipation.

Just a couple of things to be aware of:

1.  Many students are complaining that their gym shoes are too small and don’t want to wear them to gym.  Unfortunately, this poses a safety issue for the gym teachers, as once the floor has lots of mud and dirt on it, it becomes very unsafe to run around on and students slip, fall down, and get hurt.  We would like to ask you to please replace their tennis shoes with larger ones that they may keep in their lockers.  If your family is struggling with financial hardship right now, please let us know and we will find a way to provide shoes for your child.  Thank you!

Your student is writing an “All About” book right now and may ask to bring something in for our next Writing Celebration on Dec. 20th.  We are putting on a “All About Museum” for the first graders and they may want something for their exhibit.  The students will mainly be teaching the first graders from their books and this is purely “optional” to have something to go along with their books.  All live animals would have to be checked out with me, and possibly accompanied by an adult.  🙂  Please remember this is purely optional!  A stuffed animal is perfect too!!  lol

Unit 3 in math is all about measuring.  If you need a centimeter ruler at home, let us know, we do have some paper ones to send home.  We are learning the difference between centimeters and inches.  🙂

This week we are on Unit 11 for spelling.  Remember all words can be found here on the blog under the spelling tab.  Next week (Dec. 17th), we will not have spelling words, we will just review all words we’ve had thus far.  We will not have a homework packet next week either.  My gift to you!!

And last of all, our Holiday Party will be Friday, Dec. 21st at 12:40 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.  Let me know if anyone needs help with Christmas stocking items.  I will surely be glad to help!

I am so grateful for these beautiful children you entrust in my care every week!  I wish everyone a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!   Love, Mrs. Q

 

2 Q Update! 10/12/12

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Hi Everyone!

Wow!  We are off to a great start!  The kids are doing a great job of learning every day!  I have a few things to mention:

Limo Ride and Pizza Party!  This will be this Thursday, Oct. 18th!  The limo will arrive at school around 11:10 a.m.!  Parents are welcome to come and snap a picture or two of us getting in the limo!  We will also post some pictures on the blog too!!  Please have your child dress up a little for this experience as we want to feel special for our limo ride!!  We will be going to Pizza Ranch and having our lunch and then returning back to school.  I will have a special movie for fun that day too!  It’s going to be a fantastic day!!

Reading Counts- We are off to a strong start!  Students are reading every night and taking quizzes!  Great job!  We also have volunteers coming in to help guide the students with their quizzes and make sure that they are getting new books.  Remember, we only have small snatches of time during the day to get our books and if we can’t get down there, your student can always read a book from home, bring it in, take a quiz, and then bring the book back home.

Math- This next week will be taking our Unit 1 Assessment over story problems.  If you notice your student has been coming home with 1’s or 2’s on their morning math sheets, it would be great if you could go over story problems with them.  I have some great math sites here on the blog that your student can go to and also get additional practice.  Just get them to the site (like IXL math), find the addition/subtraction story problem section, and have them practice.

Reading Levels-You may have noticed that your student has come home with Reading Counts books that seem to be at an easy level for your student.  This is because their level for Reading Counts was set at their last level in first grade.  This is to insure success as these kiddos get used to taking Reading Counts quizzes.  This next week, I will be beginning to individually test each student to see how much new progress they have made.  Their new level will be boosted for Reading Counts right after we finish testing!

Have a great week!

GVSU Michigan Statistics Poster Winners!!!

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In Mrs. Kuieck’s second grade math class, students created posters for the GVSU Michigan Statistics Poster competition. The boys and girls worked in groups and decided upon a topic of interest. They then created a survey, compiled their data and created a poster complete with graphs, the results of their study and the steps they took in the process.  The posters were submitted earlier this month in the state wide competition and the children have been anxiously awaiting the results.

We received exciting news this week from GVSU……

I would like to introduce you to  a top five finalist group…..  Joanna ( Mrs. Quigley’s class),          Isabel ( Mrs. Quigley’s class) and Elise ( Mr. Jurewicz’s class)

AND… drum roll please…..  The 3rd place winners of the Michigan Statistics Competition….. Mikayla ( Mrs. Greenlund’s class), Marissa ( Mrs. Kuieck’s class) and Olivia (Mrs. Greenlund’s class)!!!!

Each groups’ poster will go on into the National Statistics Poster Competition later in the spring.  Our third place winner’s poster will be on display at the GVSU Fieldhouse on Saturday March 24  (beginning approximately mid morning).  They also will be receiving a plaque acknowledging their success as well as a monetary award.   WE ARE SO VERY PROUD OF YOU!!!!!!!

Classroom Blogger – Isabel!!

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Math Poster Contest!

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Isabel W.

We have just recently finished up math in Mrs.Kuieck’s challenge math class.  And  we have started a poster contest!  What we do is send surveys to all the second grade classes.  When they are filled out, they will be sent back to Mrs.Kuieck’s room.  Each group will get their surveys, and they will get the results.  After that, students will pick a topic to make their posters on.  Then students will go to the computer lab and print out their topic.  Then students will paste their pictures on their poster.  Then they will decorate.  THE WINER GETS 72 DOLLARS!   2ND PLACE GETS 48!  AND $3RD WILL GET 35$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2G Summary 1/16/12

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Hello Everyone!  It’s been a great couple of weeks back at school!

 

Your students did a great job with their “How To” writings here at school!  I have videoed them and currently I am working on getting them posted to our blog!  🙂

 

This week, we will be testing over Unit 5 in math.  Next week we start TIME.  Your student will need to know time in 5 minute intervals.  Today we have so many digital clocks that students can have a hard time understanding how this works on an analog clock.  Please help your student begin to understand how to read time on an analog clock!  Thank you!

 

We have gotten a bit behind on taking our Reading Counts quizzes.  We’ll do our best to catch up this week!  Please remind your student that they can take Raz Kids quizzes online too!

 

Please be sure to make sure your student has plenty of snow gear and that it is labeled!  This helps us immensely!!  🙂

 

As always, don’t hesitate to call or email with any questions or concerns!  Thanks!

-Mrs. Q

Math Assessments

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This coming week will be a big week for your second grader.  We will have our assessment for Unit 1 (on Tuesday) this week and then we will begin our skill assessment.  This assessment will help us determine your student’s placement in math.  This year your student will receive math instruction according to their specific needs.  This placement is made based on 3 criteria:  first grade teacher’s recommendation, this year teacher’s recommendation, and the skill assessment.  Support math (taught by Mrs. Greenlund) will be for those students who need a slower pace and more direct one to one or small group instruction.  On Grade Level math (taught by Mrs. Q) will be for those students who are right on grade level and do well under normal classroom conditions. Challenge math (taught by Mrs. Kuieck) will be for students who need more advanced challenges in math and can work at a quicker pace.  Please be sure your student gets plenty of sleep this week (skill testing begins on Wednesday) and eats a good breakfast.  Watch for a note coming home this week with more explanation!