Winter Wonderland

Hello Parents!

It always amazes us how fast time flies when you are having fun! It is hard to believe the holidays are almost upon us.

A couple of things to note first; since it is almost the holidays, our Christmas store is now opening up for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Students who bring in some money will be given the chance to buy gifts for their friends and families if they so desire. Everyone did their walk-through last week and are very excited to explore the store once again.

As the first half of our year winds down, report cards have been sent home and as many of you may have noticed, the grading scale has been changed this year. We are now grading on a 4 point scale rather than a 5 point scale. As a result, grade level has now been determined to be at a 2. Although your child may have grades which appear to be lower than last year, this is not the case. The basic overview for each assigned number is listed below:

1 - The student demonstrates limited and insufficient understanding.

       The student struggles to use knowledge and skills to engage in learning tasks.
       The student can experience success when learning situations are rehearsed and highly
       structured 

2 - The student demonstrates an adequate and simplistic understanding.

      The student uses knowledge and skills to engage in common learning tasks.
      The student experiences success in familiar learning situations. 

3 - The student demonstrates an in-depth and well-developed understanding.

       The student uses knowledge and skills to engage in a variety of learning tasks.
       The student experiences success in familiar and new learning situations. 

4 -The student demonstrates a subtle and thorough understanding.

      The student uses knowledge and skills to engage in complex learning tasks. 

      The student experiences success in novel, diverse, and unique learning situations. 

If you still have questions about your child's report card then please let us know! We would be happy to answer any questions. 

Now on to what we have been working so hard on in class!

During our writing periods, students have been working hard on writing their own stories in order to create a class library. They have recently chosen what they believe to be their best story, made sure it was nice and tidy, and submitted it to be laminated for display! We are going to be holding an open house in our classroom on Wednesday, December 15th from 10:45 am - 11:45 am in which teachers and parents can come and explore our books and ask our authors questions. Everyone is very excited to share what they have done!

In Science, students have been put into their own navies and have been experimenting with building their own boats. In one of our biggest challenges, we tested how heavy of a load each groups boat could carry. The boat which carried the heaviest load was able to support 7 pieces of plasticine cargo (about 7 small cubes). Everyone was very supportive of each other in their groups and all in all did a great job!

Creating our boating hats for the navies!

During Social, we have moved right along into our Inuit unit. We have learned about how the land in Nunavut is vastly different from our own, how people travel, what they wear as well as how they create some of their pieces of art. We had the chance to have an in-class field trip where we made our own soapstone polar bears to take home. The class worked hard and they turned out fantastic! We would also like to give a big THANK YOU to our volunteers who were able to come in and help us out! We would also like to thank TPet and our wonderful guides Twila and Kimberly for teaching us about Polar Bears and how to make them out of soapstone! 

We would also like to take this time as we finish up our final week to wish everyone a very happy holiday! We can't wait to see all of our Monkeys and Frogs when we return on January 7th!

 - Miss Code and Ms. Gloge

November Update

          It is hard to believe we are only 4 weeks away from the Winter Break! We have been busy in our classroom in the last few weeks as we have wrapped up many units and embarked on new learning journeys. In Math, we recently had a Math test and many students were very successful. We are continuing to learn different strategies for single digit addition and subtraction! 

         In Language Arts, our story writing is continuing on in full force. Miss Code and Ms. Gloge are amazed every day by the imagination and writing skills of our students. They have so many interesting and unique ideas and are very creative and imaginative.                 In Science, we have finished our Liquids Unit and moved onto applying those concepts in our Boats and Buoyancy Unit. Students have been placed into their own Navies and each has created an amazing name and flag to represent them. We are working on experimenting with different materials and seeing their different buoyancies. Soon we will be moving onto building our very own boat designs! 

Our Navy Flags 

         The first unit in Social Studies has also finished; the students did very well on their Prairie Unit Exam. We have now moved to the Canadian Far North and we have begun to learn about the Inuit in Nunavut. On Thursday, we learned about the Northern Lights! Everyone was very impressed by the video footage of the Northern Lights, especially those students who have never had the opportunity to experience it in person. We began an Art project using water, paint, salt and pastels to create our very own views of the Lights. We cannot wait to see how they turn out this week!

The start of our beautiful Northern Lights Art Project

Even though it is still a few weeks away, the Holiday concert is on December 11^th and there will be two showings, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. More information will be sent home soon! The students have been hard at work in Music class and it promises to be a great production that shouldn’t be missed!

Pizza Lunch is on December 12^th and forms and money are due by Friday, November 28^th.

Report cards will also be sent home on December 12^th. 

These past couple of weeks have just flown by for all of us! We have started some new and exciting activities in class to further everybody’s learning. In Daily 5, students are just beginning to work on developing specific reading goals with Miss Code and Ms Gloge to enhance their skills. We are also working on creating our own stories to develop a personal library of books students can be proud of!

We are all ready for our pre-Halloween celebration on Thursday afternoon in school. We will all be dressing up for the afternoon only, so please be sure that your child is able to get dressed and add any finishing touches on their own if he/she stays at school over the lunch period. We will be doing a Parade of Costumes for all the students to see what everyone has chosen to be this year, as well as some fun activities to get them ready for the weekend.

We are so excited to be able to meet so many of our students families this Thursday night and Friday! The students have been working hard and have so much to share. In addition to their work books, there will be stations set up around the classroom for you to explore and to see just what your child can do! 

Just a friendly reminder that if you haven’t booked your conference yet for either Thursday evening or Friday morning, then please do by tomorrow. We would love to see you!

Miss Code and Ms Gloge

Welcome Back!

  Hello Grade 2s! We hope that everyone enjoyed the fall break! Over the last few weeks, we have been finishing up some final assignments in Science as well as continuing with the prairies in Social, number sense in Math and our Daily 5 routine. Before the break, our Read to Self Daily 5 record was 25 minutes and 10 seconds! We couldn’t believe it and are so proud of all the frogs and monkeys!

We also had pajama day on the last day of school, Friday October 10. Everyone looked fabulous and we had a great, comfortable day. We also made posters saying what we were each thankful for and turkey fingerprint cards.

Over the break, some of our students have been sent home with folders. These folders are used to store unfinished work that either needs to be completed or needs to be corrected. If your child did bring a folder home, please remind them to work for little while on their assignments as well as to return the folder on Monday, October 20^th or Tuesday, October 21^st.

Please make sure that your child has their completed medical form and media release form completed and handed in to the office. If you require additional copies, please feel free to call the school or email Miss Code or Ms. Gloge.

-Miss Code and Ms. Gloge 

A Day at Heritage Park

The blackboard in the Old School House complete with lessons from 1910.

Making bannock for all to try.

         During Social Studies, we have been learning about the first settlers of the prairies. We have learned about the land, the climate, the resources, and the schools of 1910. As a class, we have explored how our communities came to be and people learned to work together. We have also worked together on piecing together the past through comparing our own lives today with those of kids 100 years ago.
         A week ago, all Grade 2's and a few Grade 3's were given the chance to visit and explore Heritage Park in order to make history come alive. At Heritage Park, the Weedon school stands with many of the original school supplies inside. It was originally built for two families in the town of Weedon where 18 students between grades 1 and 8 were educated. The school contains books with original lessons, slate boards, a pump organ and a wood burning stove which is still used.
        Ms Gloge and Miss Code dressed the part as schoolteachers from 1910 in order to make the experience more memorable. First, students were able to park their ponies (which we had made the week before) in the barn behind the school. We learned about and practiced some of the old school routines and got the chance to use some of the slate boards. We also learned a couple of outdoor games, such as Red Lion, which were played by children who attended school there.
         During the day, we were also given the chance to learn about daily life at home by two of our wonderful guides. Students explored the Livingston House and were given the challenge of finding various objects that would have been different than what we use today such as a closet, toys, a stove, and a sink. They then passed out some of the toys that were popular at that time (Jacob's Ladder, tops, and ball in a cup) to play with and share.
        Finally, we were taken through the fur trading fort. We discovered what was traded at the post, learned a traditional dance, and tasted some bannock which was made fresh in front of our eyes. We also talked about how different communities were formed when the Europeans came to the prairies and how life changed over time.
       We all had a fantastic time at Heritage Park and are grateful to our guides! The entire class certainly learned quite a bit and gained an appreciation for our community's past.

Enjoy this recipe and video for making Bannock if you wish to try it!
http://www.canadianliving.com/food/bannock.php

Welcome to Miss Code and Ms. Gloge's Grade 2 Class!

Hello and welcome to Miss Code and Ms. Gloge’s Grade 2 Blog! We are very excited to have this opportunity to communicate with you as well as to show you the fun activities we do in our classroom! There are two grade 2 classes however we share a space and engage in team-teaching. In Math and Language Arts, we teach together while Ms. Gloge runs Social and Miss Code teaches Science. The students are divided into 2 classes for Gym and Music and these classes have both been assigned animals. Ms. Gloge has her monkeys and Miss Code’s class is the frogs. We are very excited for this collaboration!

 We are just over 4 weeks into the school year and we have been busy getting to know each other and learning the routines that will carry us the entire year. As your child may have mentioned, we use marbles in a jar to work towards prizes! Marbles are awarded for great listening skills, hard work and respectful behavior. We are currently only 10 marbles away from our first prize- a class-wide PJ day!

To start off the year, we all decorated our own individual puzzle pieces. They are currently displayed at the entrance to our classroom. This art piece demonstrates how unique and special every single individual in our classroom is but how we all work together to achieve great things!

In Math, we are currently finishing up review from Grade 1 and working on single digit addition and subtraction. In Language Arts, we are learning our high frequency words and working on journaling about our own personal experiences. The students really enjoyed writing all about their summer vacations. In Social, we have started learning about Life in the Prairies and cannot wait to explore the life of early settlers and the history of our own home! In Science, we have begun our Liquids unit and are having fun observing different liquids and how they interact in our world. We are also learning all about Kelso and his choices in Health. Kelso is a frog and he teaches students not only the difference between big problems and small problems. He also teaches solutions to small problems and how to interact with others in a positive way. Our students are amazing and are truly taking these messages of kindness and respect to heart. Ask your child about Kelso’s wheel!

We could not be more excited to begin the engaging journey of Grade 2 with all of our awesome students! Please feel free to email us at any time or respond to the blog posts. Also, your child writes messages in their agenda almost every day and that will remain our primary means of communication!

Have a great fall!

Miss Code and Ms. Gloge