January 27 - 31

Dear Families,

We've had a wonderful week of learning in second grade. This week we welcomed Retaj Fadel to our classroom.  She is a great addition to our class!

Wednesday's field trip to the UVM Women's Basketball game was a lot of fun.  The children were so well behaved and were great fans!

This week we learned:
~The rules for changing y to -ies when making words plural.
~Writers use transition words between reasons.

This week we experienced:
~Subtracting two-digit numbers on an open number line.
~Readers search for common grounds with their characters.
~Looking at physical maps and locating national parks on a political map.

Other Things to Ask Your Child About:
~Flora & Ulysses
~Fifty Nifty United States song
~Library

Did you know??

On February 13th we are going to the Flynn theater to see The Rainbow Fish.  A wonderful story of friendship at a wonderful time of year!

Our wonderful room mother's are planning a pancake breakfast for Valentine's Day!  If your child would like to make valentines for their classmates, I have provided a class list in their folder.

Have a great weekend,
Katie & Casey

January 21 - 24

Dear Families,

Even though it was a short week, it seemed very busy! 

In this month's Farm to School lesson, the children helped prepare a delicious squash & apple dish.  Everyone was able to participate in the preparation and enjoyed the final product.

This week we learned:
~To identify states on a political map.
~Readers notice what characters say and do.

This week we experienced:
~Playing Get Close to Zero with Six Rolls.
~Listening to Stella Writes and Opinion and planning opinion letters.
~Using state abbreviations to label states on a political map.
~Going on a Camouflaged consonant hunt in phonics.

Other Things to Ask Your Child About:
~My Mouth is a Volcano
~Jotting questions about characters on a post-it
~Cross country skiing in P.E.

Have a great weekend,
Katie & Casey

January 13 - 17

Dear Families,

The children were very excited about all the snow on Thursday, as they were able to go cross country skiing in P.E.  Another exciting event this week was earning a class celebration!  We celebrated today with a picnic lunch in the classroom while enjoying stories from Vooks books.

Today, members of the SBHS Diversity Union joined our school for a celebration of MLK Jr. day.  They taught us this important message from Amelia Boynton Robinson & Dr Martin Luther King Jr. "Keep your eyes on the prize."

This week we learned:
~To subtract multiples of 10 using an open number line.
~Readers get to know characters before they even start to read.

This week we experienced:
~Writing and mailing Flat Stanley letters.
~Reading words with the hard & soft sounds of C & G.
~Publishing a nonfiction book. 

Other things to ask your child about:
~Pinky and Rex and the Bully.
~8th Century Day page in Number Corner
~The ankle shake greeting at Morning Meeting

Have a great weekend,
Katie & Casey

January 6 - 10

Dear Families,

This week we read One Word for Kids, based on the work of Jon Gordon: https://getoneword.com/.
Students are challenged to have "one word" that will help them have their best year.  What's your word?

This week we completed our Nonfiction reading unit.  The children chose a topic they read a lot about, and shared an expert fact for a fun hallway display!  Did you know that tigers are the biggest cats in the world?

Meet Mr. Lee!

My name is Casey Lee (Mr. Lee) and I am Student Teaching in Mrs. Ransom's 2nd grade classroom this spring.  I am originally from New Hampshire but have lived in Vermont for the past 13 years.  I live in Shelburne with my wife, 13 year old stepson and our Goldendoodle.  I am a Master's of Arts in Teaching student at St. Michael's College and have a concentration in Elementary Education. I will be graduating in May and will be looking to teach in my own classroom in the fall.  I have spent the last 10+ years working for the Howard Center in a variety of capacities.  I am also actively involved in organizing and coaching youth sports in Shelburne.  I have enjoyed the time I have spent teaching your children so far, and look forward to spending every school day with them until April break. 


Other Things to Ask Your Child About:
~Fact Strategy game
~Flat Stanley
~ABC & Question & Answer books in Writing Workshop
~Breaking words into parts between two consonants in the middle

Next week we begin the winter creative arts schedule.  Hopefully we will get more snow!  The children will be going outside on Thursdays for an hour of cross country skiing.  Please make sure they have winter gear every Thursday.

Have a great weekend,
Katie & Casey

January 2-3

Dear Families,

Welcome back and Happy New Year!

Today your child should have brought home a letter outlining our sharing for January - Kindness Counts! Today we took time to make a homemade gift to give away! 

This week we enjoyed two winter themed Engineering tasks - The Snowman challenge and Sledding Hill challenge. Ask your child about it!

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Other Things to Ask Your Child About:
~A new calendar pattern
~Energizers on Go Noodle during Mindfulness
~The snowball greeting
~The Whoppers math task

Have a great weekend!
Katie