Newsletter

Dear Second Grade Families,
 
Thank you all for being patient with us and helping your child through these tough times. With summer right around the corner, and due to the shelter in place, we will be finishing our final months of school through distance learning. This pandemic has been hard on all of us. One thing that I am proud of, is that Second Grade adapted very well to distance learning. The students have shown that they are quite responsible and able to learn independently. I know that parenting is tough so I want to extend a big thank you to all of you who are at home helping your child. You truly do make a difference in their lives.
 
As the year ends, Second Grade will continue their scheduled routines and online lessons. Students seem to really enjoy daily Zoom lessons. They love interacting and seeing their friends and have shown me that they can be respectful to their peers online. We recently began using one of Zoom’s features called “breakout rooms” where students work in private with one or two friends rather than with the whole class. The kids are having a lot of fun working together.

In Math, we have just finished learning about measuring length, both in imperial and metric units (inches and centimeters). We will be beginning data where we will practice reading and even creating graphs. Finally, we will complete the year studying shapes. Mathletics has been quite fun for the kids and I recently added multiplication to their lessons. I highly recommend introducing their multiplication tables to them so that they can prepare for next year.

 
Each child is at a different Lexia level but most just have two or three levels to go. Please continue using Lexia for thirty minutes daily and doing the Lexia spelling packets. If your child finishes their packet, please let me know and I can email you their new packet for them to work on each day. Several students continue to use ReadingA-Z at home. This is a great resource with some excellent books. I have increased all students reading levels so please ask them to continue ready daily and to use ReadingA-Z if they need a book.

 
We will continue using Mystery Science where we will explore different topics each week. In Social Studies, Second Grade has started learning about work and how people earn money. At school, students earn ClassDojo points for working hard, behaving well, and completing their class jobs. I highly recommend giving your child an allowance and ways to earn that allowance such as daily chores. This is a great way to teach a child about saving money and being responsible.

 
Religion with Ms. Martinez has been going well. Even though we cannot go to church, you can always watch St. Leander Church’s mass through the Facebook feed. Music is now every Wednesday afternoon and Art will continue to be on Fridays but it will be moved to the morning.
 
It is truly a blessing that we can all still connect through video and continue learning together. I thank you all for continuing to check your child’s work at home. If they are struggling with a new concept and need extra support please let me know and I can work with them individually. While this has been a tough few months for us all, thankfully our school prepared as best as it could. Teachers, parents, and students have all adapted quickly. We were able to shelter in place quickly and safely. And we have excellent resources for our kids to use at home. I am so thankful that we are all fine and pray that we get through the next few months safely.
 
Thank you all for your hard work this year. Your children are lucky to have you and I am lucky to have you as Second Grade parents. Please stay safe and remember to wash your hands.
 
Sincerely,
Mr. Reddell