Thanks to Whitney lab for some fun hands-on learning!

Professor Zinnia gave us an excellent science presentation with an erupting volcano!  

Thank you to Zinnia’s dad for being our Mystery Reader today!  He just returned from San Francisco, Japan, and the Philippines!  We enjoyed reading “The Secret Shortcut ” by Mark Teague.  We loved discussing languages, surfing, the military, iguanas, etc!  He has also volunteered to build our class some raised flower beds and  Mrs. Fernandez is going to give us lessons on gardening!  We are incredibly grateful!  Keep your eye out for a sign-up genius to contribute! 

What LEARNING and GROWING went on in room 217 this week:

Academics

ELA:  Class Novel:  The Mushy Gushy Valentine by Barbara Park; sounds and meanings in stories; base words and prefixes -pre

Writing:  Continued nonfiction writing on Abraham Lincoln

Math:  vertices, angles, and polygons

Social Studies:  Native Americans in Florida

Science:  Whitney Lab

Students of the week:

Tibor and Alsea

Thank you for having GRIT and a passion problem solving!

Important Dates:

• 2/14:  Valentines Day!  Don’t forget to send in your Valentines! 
• 2/17:  President’s Day – No school
• 2/24:  Biography Projects due 
• 2/25:  Social Media Presentation – 6pm in the Media Center.  Be sure to RSVP with the front office!

• Don’t forget to send in Valentines for each child in class!

So much fun dressing up for Literacy Week!

Happy birthday to our ZEALOUS Zeva!  

What LEARNING and GROWING went on in room 217 this week:

Academics

ELA:  Class Novel:  How to Eat Fried Worms (A new class FAVE!); How Authors use reasons to support their ideas; base words and prefixes -un

Writing:  Continued nonfiction writing on WORMS

Math:  Graphing

Social Studies:  Map skills

Students of the week:

Maddox and Kalilah

Thank you for showing integrity and compassion this week!

Important Dates:

• 2/4:  Whitney Lab Traveling Zoo (in-school field trip)
• 2/7:  Zinnia’s mom Mystery Reader 
• 2/14:  Valentines Day!  Don’t forget to send in your Valentines! 
• 2/17:  President’s Day – No school
• 2/24:  Biography Projects due 
• 2/25:  Social Media Presentation – 6pm in the Media Center.  Be sure to RSVP with the front office!

Fun with calculator games and riddles!

Congratulations to these students for having perfect attendance during November and December!

16/17 students in spirit wear or red – 94%!  Let’s see if we can get 100% next time!

What LEARNING and GROWING went on in room 217 this week:

Academics

ELA:  Class Novel:  Cam Jansen and the Snowy Day Mystery; Connections between STEPS; base words and suffixes -ful and-less

Writing:  Continued nonfiction writing

Math:  Graphing

Social Studies:  Map skills

Students of the week:

Zeva and Sam

Thank you for being resilient and determined this week!

Important Dates:

• 1/27-1/30:  LITERACY WEEK!  Don’t forget to dress up!  Specifics are listed below.
• 1/31:  Teacher Inservice – no school for students
• 2/4:  Whitney Lab Traveling Zoo (in-school field trip)
• 2/7:  Zinnia’s mom Mystery Reader – don’t forget to email me your 3 clues!
• 2/14:  Valentines Day!  More info to come!
• 2/17:  President’s Day – No school
• 2/24:  Biography Projects due (info going home today)
• 2/25:  Social Media Presentation – 6pm in the Media Center.  Be sure to RSVP with the front office!

Celebrate Literacy Week

January 27-31

Book Your Trip. We are going on a reading adventure!

Monday: Destination T-shirts (wear a t-shirt with words or pictures of a place you like to travel)

Tuesday: Tacky Tourist Tuesday (wear your wackiest tourist outfit)

Wednesday:  “Oh the Places You’ll Go”(wear your school (middle/high/college) spirit wear)

Thursday: Walk the runway dressed in this season’s latest SSYRA character (8:35 cafeteria)*

Happy Birthday, Phoebe!  We LOVED your chocolate and sprinkle covered strawberries to celebrate!  YUM!

What LEARNING and GROWING went on in room 217 this week:

Academics

ELA:  Class Novel:  The Snowy Day from the Black Lagoon; Connections between scientific ideas; base words and suffixes

Writing:  Continued nonfiction writing

Math:  Line Plots

Social Studies:  MLK

Students of the week:

Maddy and Layla

Thank you for being kind and fair this week!

Important Dates:

• 1/20:  MLK – NO SCHOOL
• 1/24:  Maddox’s Dad – Mystery Reader *Don’t forget to email me your 3 clues!*
• 1/31:  Teacher Inservice – no school for students

• • Don’t forget to return your travelling zoo permission slip and money!

Celebrate Literacy Week

January 27-31

Book Your Trip. We are going on a reading adventure!

Monday: Destination T-shirts (wear a t-shirt with words or pictures of a place you like to travel)

Tuesday: Tacky Tourist Tuesday (wear your wackiest tourist outfit)

Wednesday:  “Oh the Places You’ll Go”(wear your school (middle/high/college) spirit wear)

Thursday: Walk the runway dressed in this season’s latest SSYRA character (8:35 cafeteria)*

Welcome back and HAPPY NEW YEAR!  This week we discussed being INTENTIONAL while creating individual goals for 2020.  Intentions are displayed on mobiles above each student’s desk as a reminder for the next few weeks.  Ask your child what they came up with!

Going along with being our BEST SELVES, we read the novel “How to be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days” by Stephen Manes.  This book has a GREAT message and we had HILARIOUS results attempting some of the main character’s challenges… including wearing a broccoli necklace for 24 hours straight!

Thank you to Maddy’s dad for being our MYSTERY READER today!  He read the book “HIGH FIVE” by Adam Rubin.  We never knew there were so many COOL versions of this greeting!   Students enjoyed learning about what it is like to be a doctor and work in a hospital.  A lot of new vocab words were introduced today!  We appreciate the surgical bouffants and masks.  Thanks for coming in!

What LEARNING and GROWING went on in room 217 this week:

Academics

ELA:  Class Novel:  How to be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days by Stephen Manes; Author’s Purpose; suffixes -er and -est

Writing:  Non-fiction writing and interviewing partners

Math:  Balanced Equations

Social Studies:  Primary and Secondary Resources

Students of the week:

Phoebe and Declan

Thank you for being respectful and attentive this week!

Important Dates:

• 1/20:  MLK – NO SCHOOL
• 1/24:  Maddox’s Dad – Mystery Reader *Don’t forget to email me your 3 clues!*
• 1/31:  Teacher Inservice – no school for students

• The first semester has come to an end!  One of my goals this next semester will be to prepare your child for THIRD grade.  We’ll be working very hard on student responsibility and independence.  It is always beneficial to the student when we work together as a team.  Please continue to reinforce these behaviors at home.  Thank you for your unconditional support!
• MOST students have completed the i-Ready Reading test this week.  We will take the STAR reading test next week- this test determines your child’s reading level or ZPD.  Results from i-Ready Reading, Math, and STAR Reading will be sent home once ALL students are finished.  
• Ready reading passages will continue to get harder as the year progresses.  The entire first semester the passages were read to the students first.  The students will now be expected to read the passage independently and then answer the questions without guidance.  Please continue to remind your child to take their time, go back into the passage to find text evidence, and write using complete sentences.  

And to ALL a GOOD NIGHT!

We packed it in this week!  Between holidays around the world rotations, ornament making, birthday celebrations, 12 days of Christmas YOGA, Polar Express, and a holiday breakfast… I think we are FILLED with Christmas cheer! 

Thank you for the donations for our breakfast and to the parent volunteers who set up, cooked, and cleaned!  Wow!  This was the easiest day for me all week! 🙂

I greatly appreciate the gifts and kind cards.  I adore each and every one of your children and feel very blessed to be their teacher.  A bonus about teaching wonderful kids is that they usually come with wonderful parents.  😉  Wishing you a R-E-S-T-F-U-L, joyous, and safe holiday season with family!  I look forward to seeing you in the new year!

Class Picture Day! Love this crew! We missed you Zeva! 

Happy Birthday Kalilah and Alsea!  We enjoyed celebrating you!

Thank you to Alsea’s mom for being our MYSTERY READER this week!  She is a MARINE BIOLOGIST at Whitney Lab and taught us SO much about what she researches –  hydractinia!  Look it up!  What a cool job!  She also brought us some AWESOME prizes for our class!  Thank you!  We are so grateful!  

What LEARNING and GROWING went on in room 217 this week:

Academics

ELA:  Class Novel:  Miss Holly is Too Jolly by Dan Gutman; connections between historical events; words ending with -er and -est

Writing:  Publishing favorite story from 2nd quarter

Math:  Number Patterns

Social Studies:  Holidays around the World

Students of the week:

Zinnia and Noah

Thank you for being FOCUSED and THOUGHTFUL this week.

Important Dates:

• 12/14:  Breakfast with Santa
• 12/19:  POLAR EXPRESS DAY!  Wear your jammies!
• 12/20:  Class Holiday Breakfast – 9:15-10:00 – LAST DAY – early RELEASE!
• 1/6:  Classes Resume
• 1/10:  Maddy’s Mom – Mystery Reader
• 1/20:  MLK Jr. Day – No school
• 1/24:  Maddox’s Dad – Mystery Reader
• 1/31:  Teacher In-service – no school for students

Reminders:

• Don’t forget to send in items for our Holiday Breakfast Friday morning!  If they are non-perishable feel free to send them early.  Thank you for your generosity!

5th grade STEM Fair! Students enjoyed listening to 5th graders explain the scientific process with their experiments. We have quite a few siblings in our class as well!  

Thank you to Noah’s Mom for being our MYSTERY READER Thursday!  We loved reading “Clark the Shark loves Christmas” and the yummy GUMMY sharks!  She also brought every student a light up Christmas light bulb necklace that students will wear the day of our holiday breakfast!

Thank you to Ellie’s dad for being our MYSTERY READER today!  We enjoyed reading a few chapters from “Way of the Warrior Kid” and looking forward to continuing to read it.  Students were thrilled about getting the INSIDE SCOOP about being an Operation Chief for SJCFD!  What a courageous job!

What LEARNING and GROWING went on in room 217 this week:

Academics

ELA:  Class Novel:  The Christmas Genie by Dan Gutman; comparing/contrasting stories; words ending with -er and -est

Writing:  Continued fictional animal stories focusing on elaboration

Math:  Place Value

Students of the week:

Maddox and Isabela

Thank you for being hard workers and optimistic this week!

Important Dates:

• 12/9:  i-Ready Math assessment
• 12/10:  Class Pics – Be sure to look your best!
• 12/12:  i-Ready Math assessment
• 12/13:  Mystery Reader:  Christine Schnitzler
• 12/14:  Breakfast with Santa
• 12/20:  Class Holiday Breakfast – 9:15-10:00 – early RELEASE!

Reminders:

• THANK YOU to Heather Beidle for putting together our PRECIOUS food truck tree!  I sincerely appreciate all parents who donated gift cards, ornaments, and CASH!  Go check them out!  There are some winners!

I was completely floored by the students’ country research presentations!  We learned so much and tasted some DELICIOUS and NOT so delicious (Vegemite!  Ha!) foods.  It was truly an international feast!  Graded rubrics are stapled to the back on student reports that are displayed in the hallway.  Way to go, 2nd graders!  

Wishing everyone a restful and joyful Thanksgiving.  I am so blessed to teach your children each and every day.  They work hard and keep me on my toes!  Thank you for instilling the importance of education and kindness in your family!  

Important Dates:

• 11/27 – 11/29 – THANKSGIVING BREAK!  Gobble!  Gobble!
• 12/6:  Mystery Reader:  Chris Pacetti – email me your three clues!
• 12/6:  Food truck ornament and gift card donations for our class tree due!  Thank you for all your support!
• 12/13:  Mystery Reader:  Christine Schnitzler – 2:15 pm
• 12/14:  Breakfast with Santa
• 12/20:  Class Holiday Breakfast – 9:15-10:00… SAVE THE DATE!  More info to come soon!

Reminders:

• Don’t forget to hit up some food trucks for donations for our class tree over Thanksgiving break!  Hopefully, they will feel very generous at this time!

Game, SET, Match!  

You can practice this fun game at home!  https://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle

Happy Birthday, Maddox!

We are in desperate need of donations for our Food Truck themed Holiday Tree.  Please send anything you are able to contribute – gift certificates to food trucks, small food ornaments, cash, etc.  Thank you for your support!  This is our last big fundraiser!  

http://nalusstaugustine.com/

cravestaug.com

http://villagegardenftp.com/

https://www.thefriedchickenkitchen.com/

https://funkadelicfoodtruck.wixsite.com/funkadelicfoodtruck

http://bigislandbowls.com/

What LEARNING and GROWING went on in room 217 this week:

Academics

ELA:  Class Novel:  The Trouble with Chickens by Doreen Cronin; explaining how images support text; guided spelling with words ending in -le.

Writing:  Fictional animal stories

Math:  Money

Students of the week:

N/A – Short week!

Important Dates:

• 11/25:  COUNTRY RESEARCH PROJECTS DUE
• – Presentation Schedule  
• Monday (10:00-11:00):  Phoebe, Alsea, George, Isabela, Tibor, Zinnia, Maddy, Ellie, Declan
• Tuesday (10:00 – 11:00):  Kalilah, Eleanor, Layla, Sam, Maddox, Zeva, Perry, Nolen, Noah
• I
• 11/27 – 11/29 – THANKSGIVING BREAK!  Gobble!  Gobble!
• 12/6:  Mystery Reader:  Chris Pacetti – email me your three clues!
• 12/6:  Ornament and gift card donations for our class tree due!  Thank you for all your support!
• 12/13:  Mystery Reader:  Christine Schnitzler – email me your three clues!
• 12/14:  Breakfast with Santa
• 12/20:  Class Holiday Breakfast – 9:15-10:00… SAVE THE DATE!  More info to come soon!

Reminders:

• We are collecting loose change for the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum with the monies going to continue research and save the World War II stories for an upcoming exhibit!  Thank you!