Celebrations

Our K-4 Winter Concert is Monday, December 22 at 1:00 pm. Please join us as our students celebrate winter with song.

On Tuesday, December 23, we will have a classroom party. You do not need to bring anything in – I will provide a small snack.

I hope you all have a happy and safe Christmas!

Dates to Remember

Newsletters and other notices have come home, but December is a busy month so I want to remind families of some important dates:

Tuesday, December 16 - 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
                                        book celebration day
                                        (students may wear pajamas)

Monday, December 22 - Winter Concert for grades K-4 at 1:00

Tuesday, December 23 - Noon dismissal

Car Ramps and Catapults

Writing Workshop is looking a lot like science class these days! Working with the concepts of simple machines and forces and motion, we are learning to write like scientists.  Instead of stories, we are writing "Lab Reports".  We are using scientific ideas such as question, hypothesis, procedure, results, and conclusion to write in a way that will inform our readers.  

In order to write like a scientist, we need to be scientists!  So far we have performed experiments that involve the distance a toy car will travel off a ramp on tile floor and on carpet; and the distances a ping-pong ball and cotton ball will travel when shot out of a catapult.

It is a shared opinion in our class that science and writing are fun!

Book Fair

The school library will be transformed into a Scholastic Book Fair from November 17 - 26.  A flyer has come home today that gives a little peek into the book fair.  The flyer is not the same thing as a monthly book order form (it is larger and says "Book Fair" on the front page).  Students will have an opportunity next week to browse the Book Fair and it will be open for families during Parent/Teacher conferences.

November News

I cannot believe that it is November already!  I am blown away by how much we have learned together so far!

In Writing Workshop, our Narrative unit has come to and end and we are about to learn all about writing Informational Texts.  I am really looking forward to this unit.  I have seen so much growth in our young writers as they apply narrative writing strategies in their own writing; using mentor texts as inspiration.  I am sure that we will see several experts writing about what they know the most about - including using features such as a Table of Contents, bold print, and captions under pictures.

In math we have just ended a unit in geometry and are now re-visiting the number system.  We will learn more efficient strategies for adding and subtracting two digit numbers, become familiar with mental math strategies when adding several addends together, explore even and odd numbers, and work with skip counting (an early introduction to "multiples").

*Report Card Notice*

Please note that Report Cards will not be available until November 12.  Although you will still receive a paper copy, we want to make sure that our on-line reporting system is up and running for you to use.

*Mark Your Calendars*

There will be no school Tuesday, November 11.
There will be noon dismissal on Tuesday, November 25.
Parent/Teacher Conferences are on Tuesday, November 25 and Wednesday, November 26. Please refer to your November School Newsletter for details on signing up!

Here are a few photos from October:

A visit from Orrington Fire & Rescue

Sharing our Book Responses

Working with 2-dimensional rectangles

 to create 3-dimensional rectangular prisms (boxes)

Headphones

Students will be using headphones in the computer lab throughout the year.  If your child had headphones last year, most likely Mrs. Stone kept them over the summer.  If you are new to the school, you might not have sent any in yet. 

Please have a conversation with your child to see if they have headphones at school.  If your child does not have headphones at school, and if you are able to supply a pair, please send them in as soon as you can.  We do have extra headphones in the computer lab, if needed.

Book Order

The order forms for October's Book Order are coming home today.  The Book Order is due Friday, October 10.  Remember to please send in a check or money order if you are ordering - do not send cash.  You may also order online.  Our classroom code is FZY46.

Publishing Party!!!

Our class has spent the last 20 school days learning all about the structure of Writing Workshop.  We have been focusing on writing narratives - telling a true story of one moment in our lives.  Skills we have learned include: generating ideas, writing good leads and endings, having a beginning, middle, and end, using end punctuation, and making our writing more interesting by adding details and dialogue.

We also went through the process of revising and editing.  Today our class had a Publishing Party!  Students had the opportunity to self-assess their work, and made note of what they can do well as a writer and what they were able to do to improve their writing by comparing "before" and "after" revision pieces of their work.

We then put our work on display for the whole class to enjoy.  We had an opportunity to report out what kinds of things we noticed in others' writing that we would like to try in our own writing.

What's a party without party favors?!?  You will see our students sporting stretchy band bracelets - because "writing stretches your learning"!

Now that we have been through the entire process, we are going to start one more unit on narrative writing on Monday.  It is so exciting to watch second graders grow as writers!

Cooperative Learning

What kinds of things is your child exploring in second grade so far?

We have been busy learning how to work with a partner or small group in ways that enhance our learning.  We all share the responsibilities of both teacher and learner as we work together to explore new ideas.  This class has such great ways of thinking!  It's exciting to see how they share their thoughts and support each other while learning new things!

Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of some of the activities we have been doing:

Using math cubes to help with adding and subtracting story problems.

Creating compound words and dividing words into syllables.

Playing math games like "Make 10"

Students are learning that being able to work with others, listening to different ideas, and explaining your thinking with evidence are important parts of the learning process.  

Don't forget that we have one more session of NWEA testing on Tuesday, September 23.

A Great First Week!

Wow!  What a busy and exciting first week we had!  Thank you so much for those who were able to visit us at Open House, for those who made donations to the classroom, and for all of the ways that you support your child's education!

This week we have been busy getting to know each other and becoming familiar with classroom and school rules and routines.  Next week we will continue to learn more about the structure of our classroom as we review concepts from last year.  It is important to have this time of review so that I can get to know each of your children's strengths and begin to plan learning goals.  One goal that all students in our room will work on next week is thinking of themselves as both a learner and a teacher.  They will explore various learning styles and learn to identify in what ways they learn best.  Students will also learn more about working effectively with a partner and within a small learning group.

I look forward to a year full of fun and growth!

Reminder:  There is no school on 

Monday, September 1

Welcome Back!

Welcome to the new school year!  If you are visiting this blog for the first time - thank you for checking it out!  If you have read this blog before - welcome back!  This is our classroom blog and it will be used to tell families about current events in the classroom, reminders, upcoming activities, and other announcements.  

How can you make sure that you are aware of all new postings?

Simply enter your email address in the bar above this post and click "submit".  You will then receive an email from a company called "Feedburner" which will prompt you to enter a code.  This will activate your account.  Once your account is activated, you will receive an email notification every time I create a new a post on the classroom blog.  This is SO MUCH easier than trying to remember to check in once in a while!

You can also become a "follower" of this blog (see bar on right).  This will not give you notifications of new posts, but it's fun to see who is reading the blog.

School Supply List

If you haven't already, you will soon receive a letter in the mail from me indicating what kinds of things your child will need for school.  Retail stores began their "back to school" sales in June; making everyone eager to start their shopping!  

Contact Me

If you have any questions or concerns about the upcoming school year, feel free to contact me through email at s.pelkey@cdsedu.org .  I will be happy to have a conversation with you!  Please be patient as there will be several notices coming home once the school year begins that will help you navigate second grade.  I cannot stress enough, though, that it is ALWAYS best to ask me if you have any questions throughout the year!

OPEN HOUSE

Open House will be on Monday, August 25 from 6:00-7:00 pm.  I look forward to meeting new people and seeing familiar faces!

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Dress for the Weather!

Field Day Notice:

Although we have two plans for Field Day (an outside plan and an inside plan), my last check of the weather only says "light rain" for tomorrow.  Staff will not make a final decision until Friday morning.  

This is a reminder to dress for the weather!!  Please be sure your child has layers (sweatshirt, rain coat, windbreaker, etc) and extra socks in the event that we hold Field Day outside with wet grass or "light rain".  It's better to be prepared and end up with inside activities than to not be prepared and end up wet and cold all day!

This Week in Pictures

Wow!  What an eventful week!  Two field trips brought us plenty of excitement!  I would like to take a moment to thank all of the volunteers that helped make our field trips a success.  We could not experience our field trips in such an amazing way without all of your help!  Also, families of Mrs. Pelkey's room, if there was an award for the MOST volunteers - I'm sure our class would win!  What a turn out!

Another Thank You goes to the Center Drive School PTG.  The PTG funded our trip to the Abbe Museum as well as paid for ice cream in Bar Harbor!

Here are a few photos of our adventures this week:

Listening to traditional Penobscot stories.

Learning some traditional Wabenaki dances.

Scratch art designs inspired by the etching that Maine Native Americans have done on birch bark.

All of us at Moose Point State Park.

Finding "treasures" in the tide pools.

Lunch break!

Playing games in the field.

Volunteer Thank You Coffee & Dessert Night

The PTG is hosting a Thank You Coffee & Dessert Night 

on Thursday, June 12 from 6:00 to 7:00 pm.  

This event is to say "Thank You" to all who have volunteered at Center Drive School.  If you have volunteered your time, your talents, or made a donation this school year please join us on Thursday night for an opportunity to mingle with other volunteers and win raffle prizes.

Please "like" the Center Drive PTG Facebook page to learn more about the PTG.  While there, an RSVP is appreciated for this event, but not required to attend.

Moose Point

The Moose Point Field Trip IS scheduled for

Thursday, June 5.

A paper with more details has come home with your child today.

All chaperons - please meet in our classroom at 8:20 am.  We will board the bus and leave school around 8:45 am.

Let's hope we dodge the raindrops!!!

Watch out for...

Parents - Please keep an eye out for a notice going home with your child on Wednesday, June 4.  School staff will make a final decision on the date for the Moose Point field trip.  It is scheduled for Thursday, but we do have a rain date for Friday. Stay tuned....

Puppet Show

Today the entire school was treated to a puppet show by a group called the Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers.  They performed an adaptation of the Headless Horseman, including lots of humor and modern music.  We had the opportunity for a question and answer session after the show, and learned some of their behind-the-scenes tricks.
  

Thank you to Mrs. Kathy Johnson for bringing the puppeteers to our school!

Also, thank you to Center Drive School PTG for funding this fantastic show!

A fun time was had by all!!!

Hot Lunch May 30

The lunch menu for Friday, May 30 says "Cook's Choice".  For planning purposes, I have found out that 

Choice #1 will be baked ham and 

Choice #2 will be pulled pork sandwich.

Bon Appetit!

Dates to Know

It's that busy time of the year when there are so many things filling our schedule!  I will do my best to keep you posted through this Blog.  Please check out the following dates and mark your calendars!

Dates to Know:

Friday, May 23 - NO SCHOOL - Teacher In Service Day

Monday, May 26 - NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day

Friday, May 30 - 1:00 pm - K-4 Spring Concert

Tuesday, June 3 - FIELD TRIP - Abbe Museum

A letter and volunteer sign-up went home.  More information to come.

Thursday, June 5 - FIELD TRIP - Moose Point (rain date June 6)

Look for more information to come home soon.

Friday, June 13 - FIELD DAY 

An information sheet and volunteer sign-up came home today.

Monday, June 16 - Last Day of School - Noon Dismissal - Reports Cards 

Field Trip

Abbe Museum Field Trip

On Tuesday, June 3 Mrs. Pelkey, Mrs. Lent, and Mrs. Wright's classes will be going on a field trip to the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor.  This trip will reinforce our Maine Native American studies through the use of traditional story telling and art, and possibly a scavenger hunt.  

Volunteers are needed and welcome!  All volunteers must have filled out the paper work and attended a volunteer training this school year.  Please check with the office if you are unsure about your volunteer status.  Volunteers will also be asked to provide their own transportation (carpooling is encouraged), however students will be required to ride the bus.
  
More information on what to expect for the day, as well as a sign up form for volunteers, will come home next week.

Book Order, Fractions, and Thank You!

Book Orders

Book Order forms went home at the beginning of the week.  There is no due date written on them!  Book Orders are due Tuesday, May 13.  This will be the last Book Order that I send home for the school year.

Fractions

We have been working hard in our classroom exploring fractions.  Students have been working with half, thirds, and quarters of an object or a set of objects.  We have learned that fractions are equal parts of a whole.

Working on proving that quarters of the same size paper, in different shapes, are the same size:

Thank You!

This week was Teacher Appreciation week.  A big "Thank you" goes out to the Center Drive School PTG and parent volunteers who worked so hard to provide staff with a breakfast, lunch, and other tokens of appreciation.  Also, "Thank you" to the families of my classroom who go above and beyond to show support for your child's education.  I appreciate all that you do for me and the school!

Upcoming Happenings

Thank you!

First of all - a BIG thank you to Mrs. Tara Smith for being such a wonderful substitute teacher!  I was out the entire week before vacation, and Mrs. Smith stepped right in to keep things going.

Thank you, Mrs. Smith!

NWEA Testing

Just a reminder that NWEA testing will be taking place the next three weeks.  Please make sure that your child is well rested and has had a relaxing start to the day, including a good breakfast.  One way to help your child feel ready for testing is to send in a short note of encouragement written to your child on the day of testing. This is just a suggestion that many have liked in the past.

Testing dates for Mrs. Pelkey's class are:

Wednesday, April 30

Wednesday, May 7

Wednesday, May 14

Our class will be testing from 8:45 - 9:45 each session.  Although we are assigned a time slot, this is not a timed test.  Your child is encouraged to take his/her time and will be allowed extra time if needed.

What else are we up to?

In math, we are about to begin a unit on fractions.  Our goal is to understand that a fraction is an equal portion of an object or of a set.  For example: one half can mean "one half of a cookie" (an object) or "one half of the class" (a set).  A parent letter with more information on our fraction unit will be sent home this week.

We are just putting the finishing touches on our biographies, which will soon be on display on our hallway bulletin board.  We are also in the middle of writing an informational text.  Using Earth Day as a springboard, students are going through the writing process to inform readers of ways to protect our planet.  We are applying what we know about introductions, examples and details, and conclusions.  We are also using peer conferencing and self-assessment to create a finished piece to be proud of.

Our mapping unit will soon begin to focus specifically on the geography of Maine.  This will help introduce our unit on Maine Native Americans.  In this unit, we will learn about Maine Native Americans of the past and present, as well as explore the use of traditional tales and Wabenaki art.

Magic Tree House

Ella, one of our classmates, came across a great website that she wanted to share.  For all of you "Magic Tree House" fans (and there are a lot of you), check out the following website:

http://www.magictreehouse.com/

Ella has had a lot of fun exploring all of the website's features, and hopes that you will enjoy it as well.

Thank you, Ella!

Current Events

Welcome, Miss Pacheco!

Mrs. Pelkey's Second Grade welcomes Miss Pacheco to our classroom!  Miss Pacheco is a first year Education student at Eastern Maine Community College.  She will be visiting our room one or two days each week, for the next several weeks, for field observation.  

Book Fair

The Center Drive School library has transformed yet again into an exciting selection of books for our Spring Book Fair!  As a result, we will not have our regular library time this Monday, March 10.  Our classroom will visit the Book Fair on Monday, March 17.  At that time your child may bring in money for purchasing books, or they may choose to make a "wish list", in case you needed suggestions for what to buy ;)

The Book Fair will be open during Parent/Teacher Conferences.
Our regular library time will resume on Monday, March 24.

What's Keeping Us Busy...

The cold weather certainly has not frozen the desire for learning in our classroom!  In math we have been working with patterns and ratios.  We have used linking cubes and pattern blocks to help us see the relationship between numbers in patterns.  We have also practiced filling in charts called "tables" and learned how to interpret the data that we have.  We continue to re-visit addition and subtraction strategies, as well as working with coins and telling time.  In the next couple of weeks we will focus more on adding and subtracting -- this time within 100.  We will spend more time on looking at numbers as ones, tens, and hundreds.

One of the new things we are trying as a part of our Reading Workshop is really focusing in on a "good fit" book (choosing it as an "Independent Read" book), and using a Reader's Notebook to record our thoughts, comments, questions, connections, and any other idea that comes to mind as we read.  This has really helped us to think about our reading and make good use of our reading time!  We have explored several biographies this month, and I cannot wait to see the students' presentations that they have done for their Reading Response.  Your child will bring home directions next week for conducting an interview.  We will then use the information from the interview to become authors of a biography!  This is a great way to participate in the connection between reading and writing.

Our main focus in Social Studies has been around Presidents Lincoln and Washington.  Once we wrap up our unit on concepts around our government and leaders, we will move on to a mapping and geography unit.  Specifically it will be our goal to look at the influence of geography on communities and the relationship between geography and industry or trade.

The month of March will also be a time for beginning a physical science unit on the movement of the earth and moon, water, air, and weather.  These concepts will also be explored throughout April.

Don't forget, Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up in March.  Please be sure to sign up for a time for March 20 or 21.  I look forward to seeing you all then!

Valentine News

A paper was sent home last week, but I just want to remind families that Mrs. Pelkey's class will be having our Valentine's Day celebration on Thursday, February 13. Remember to please send in a card for everyone in the class, if you choose to participate in the optional card exchange.  A class list can be found on the back side of the Valentine notice that went home last week. 

Parents, please encourage your child to complete as much of the card writing as they can on their own.

I will bring in sugar cookies and juice.  Students will have the opportunity to frost and decorate their own cookies!

A student asked me if they can make their own Valentine holder at home to bring in.  The answer is : Yes, but it is not an assignment.  Please do not feel rushed to create a Valentine holder at home.  If you do make one, you can bring it in any time by Thursday.  Please make sure your name is printed clearly in a place where your friends can see it.

* For those who choose not to create a Valentine holder at home, we will have time and supplies available at school to decorate simple Valentine holders.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone enjoyed some much needed family time together over vacation.  I am sure that our students will have several stories to tell about Christmas traditions, exciting activities, and power outages when I see them on Thursday.

Here's a look at some of our upcoming classroom units of study:

Math -- In math, we are continuing with Unit 3, which is the second of four units that focuses on addition, subtraction, and the number system.  We have already explored story problems with various unknowns, as well as odd and even numbers.  Now we will take a look at number patterns and develop fluency in skip-counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's.  We will also learn how to write a number in expanded form up to the hundreds place.  For example:  256 can be written 200 + 50 + 6.  We continue to work on becoming fluent in addition facts, now adding Plus 10 combinations to our studies (such as 23+10; 9 +10; and so on).  We are also continuing to work with telling time on an analog clock, figuring elapsed time, and working with adding coins and coin equivalencies.

Science -- In science we will briefly finish up an inquiry unit on magnets and will perform some experiments and apply new learning to observations we have made while exploring magnets; and then we will move into a unit on simple machines.  In this unit, students will learn about simple machines and use appropriate materials and tools to solve a problem or design a product.  We will also take a look at real world inventions and judge how well the product works.  

Social Studies --  We will be surrounded by the biographies of important people in the history of our country!  We begin with a study of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and ideas.  Then we will move on to take a basic look at our country's government, democratic ideals, important symbols of our country, as well as being able to recognize key government leaders.  We will also study the lives of Presidents Washington and Lincoln.  People and events that we study this month will be added to our classroom Time Line.  All of our exposure to biographies will lead us into writing a biography of someone we know next month.

Writing -- In Writing Workshop, we will continue to improve our writing and apply concepts taught by using the writing process.  This includes drafting, conferencing, revising and editing.  Specially chosen pieces are honored through some form of publishing and/or sharing.  This month, students will work on writing opinion pieces which includes stating an opinion about a chosen topic in an introduction, and then adding supporting details.  Students will also work on creating a conclusion for their opinion piece.

Reading -- Reading is, of course, occurring throughout all areas of the day, including Reading Workshop.  Students continue to receive small group guided reading, as they learn to apply reading comprehension and decoding strategies.  As students make their way through second grade, it is important to point out that just reading words does not make a good reader.  Students are challenged to really think about the reading by connecting, responding, and discussing texts.  Second graders are always noticing vocabulary, phonics, and grammar concepts taught throughout the weeks in their own reading.  We are also thinking about the connection between reading and writing, as we take a look at author's craft and purpose for writing.

As you can see, we have so much ahead of us this month!  While I certainly enjoyed relaxing over vacation, I am eager to get back to school and work with your kiddos.

Some dates to keep in mind:

January Reading Responses will be due Friday, January 17 and Friday, January 31 (more information will be sent home on Monday 1/06)

No School (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) -- Monday, January 20.