Learning Links

Thursday, November 17, 2016

November 18, 2016

                                                                        Friday, November 18, 2016

Dear Second Grade Families,

            It was nice to meet everyone and speak with you at conferences.  Please keep in mind that if you ever have any questions or concerns about your child’s progress or about anything happening at school or in the classroom, you can contact me through email, phone call, or a note sent in with your child. It has been a great start to the new second grade classroom, and I am enjoying working with each and every student. They are a great group of kids!
            Please check out my blog under “Elementary Teacher Pages” on the school website. You can email me from that page. Anytime you email me, I will always email you back even if it is just to say that I got the email. Occasionally the emails don’t come through. If you don’t hear back from me, I didn’t get the email. Also, please sign up on the right side of the page to “follow my blog by email.” That way you will get an email every time I update the blog.
            Attached you will find information for our new Language Arts unit that we are beginning on Monday. I am planning on sending this type of information home every time we start a new unit. The units generally last between one and two weeks.
            Please let me know if you have any questions!

                                          Mrs. Kathy Green

Second Grade News:  November 18-December 1, 2016

Here is a peek at the upcoming two weeks.

Reading:  Our genre is narrative non-fiction. This type of text is written in story form, but gives true information about a topic. We will be reading a variety of narrative non-fiction texts about animal habitats.

Spelling:  Words with soft c and soft g. Our next spelling test will be on Thursday, December 1.

trace                 place                 badge                cage                  
space                ice                      bulge                 range
barge                 mice                 mule                  huge                 
out                     wash                 saw

High Frequency Words (sight words):  By the end of the unit, your child should be able to read these words quickly and easily. Please post this letter in a handy spot (on the fridge, etc.) and have your child practice reading through these words a couple of times each day.

almost          buy          food              out                     pull
saw                 sky          straight            under       wash 

Vocabulary: We are learning the meaning of these words. Please use these words in conversation with your child and ask him/her to tell you what they mean.

buried          escape          habitat          journey         
nature          peeks           restless          spies

Math: We continue to work on subtraction facts with differences up to 18. This is a great time to get out the flashcards and help your child review at home. We have also learned several subtraction games that could easily be played at home with a regular deck of cards with the face cards removed. Two good ones are Subtraction Top-It and Salute.

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Michigan DNR Turkey Patch Design Contest


Statewide DNR News

Nov. 16, 2016
Contact: Hannah Schauer517-284-6218

K-12 students, remember to enter your turkey patch designs in annual contest by Dec. 15

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, November is a great time to talk about wild turkeys.
The comeback of the wild turkey is one of the greatest wildlife conservation stories. At one time in Michigan’s history, turkeys were very plentiful, although over time they vanished from every county in the state because of unregulated take and loss of habitat. Many efforts to re-establish the population were made from 1919 through late 1980s. Today, there are over 200,000 wild turkeys in Michigan, and they can be found in parts of every county in the Lower Peninsula as well as areas of the Upper Peninsula.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources works with the National Wild Turkey Federation to share conservation education opportunities with teachers and students. One such opportunity is the annual Michigan Wild Turkey Management Cooperator Patch Design Contest.
K-12 students attending public, private or home schools in Michigan are eligible to enter. First-, second- and third-place winners will receive cash awards of $100, $50 and $25, respectively. The winning design will be the basis for the following year's Michigan wild turkey management cooperator patch. In addition, the winner and his/her parents or guardians will be invited to the Michigan National Wild Turkey Federation State Chapter banquet and the Natural Resources Commission meeting when the patch is released to the public.
Designs should be simple and unique, and easily reproduced as a patch. The design should include the eastern wild turkey or characteristics of the turkey (such as feathers or tracks). All entries must be submitted on 8.5-inch x 11-inch paper and submitted without mat, glass, frame, or cover sheet (spray chalk with fixative).
The following text must be included in the patch design:
  • "Wild Turkey Management Cooperator"
  • "2017" (the year following contest submission)
  • "Michigan Department of Natural Resources"
All 2017 entries should be mailed to: Turkey Patch Contest, P.O. Box 8, Orleans, MI 48865, and must be received no later than Dec. 15, 2016.
For complete contest rules, visit mi.gov/michiganprojectwild and scroll to the bottom of the page.
Teachers can find additional wild turkey information and resources at mi.gov/turkey and at nwtf.org.
Find additional DNR education and outreach opportunities and resources at mi.gov/dnreducation.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.

Friday, October 28, 2016

Second Grade Page!

Dear Second Grade Parents,

I am so excited to have the opportunity to teach the new second grade class! I am excited to be working with your child this year! The first two weeks have flown by, and I have had the chance to really get to know the children. They are a great group and I am really enjoying them! If you ever have any questions for me, please feel free to contact me at any time by email, note sent in with your child, or phone call! I am looking forward to working with you as well this year!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Kathy Green

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Picture Retakes

Picture Retakes will be on Tuesday, October 18th, first thing in the morning.

Sunday, September 25, 2016

September 25, 2016

Mrs. Green’s Newsletter
 September 26-30, 2016                      




Dear Parents,

I am happy to share with you that the children are really getting into the routine of school!  I have a delightful class of very nice little people!  I hope that your child is enjoying school as much as I am.

Snacks
If you have not sent in your boxed snack for the snack cupboard for the month of September, please do so. We have some really hungry kids in the afternoon!  Some ideas for snack cupboard items would be: cookies, fruit snacks, fruit roll-ups, crackers, rice crispy treats, etc. 

Teacher Blog
I have found the blog site to be an easy and convenient way to post quick messages and reminders.  You can access my blog by going to www.mcbain.orgAt the top of the page, click on “Elementary Teacher Pages”.  Then click on my name and you will be directed to my blog.  If you click on the “Subscribe” button on my page and then enter your email address, you will receive an email each time I post something on the blog.  I would like for everyone to be able to access this information, so if you do not have access to a computer, please let me know and I will send home a printed copy to you each time I update the blog.

Box Tops for Education
Don’t forget to send in your box tops and labels.  You should have received a sheet from the PTO indicating which ones we collect.  I am always amazed by how many items have box tops on them! Thanks for helping out by saving those and sending them in to school!

Book Orders
I have sent in the September book orders. If you ordered online, your order will be sent to the classroom along with the rest of the orders. I am sending home the October book orders today with a due date of October 7. There are many Halloween books available and I want to be sure to get the order placed in time for your child’s books to arrive before Halloween. September book orders should arrive before the end of two weeks.
                                                                                                                             Over >

Academic Updates:
Language Arts:  We have quickly reviewed all 26 letters of the alphabet, uppercase and lowercase. I know it seems like a lot, but at this point your child is expected to be able to recognize and name all the letters when presented in random order. This is a review because current Kindergarten expectations are that students will come in knowing most of these letters already. Since many of the students do know all the letters, we have also introduced the sound each letter makes and how to correctly form the letters (i.e. handwriting). We will now begin a slower trip through the alphabet (one letter a week), focusing more on the different sounds the letters make and perfecting our handwriting technique. Keep in mind that when writing letters, it is correct form to always start at the top of the letter and move in a left to right progression, with circles being formed counterclockwise. Please be sure to instill this correct form in your child, especially when you help them practice writing their name. Not only does it make their handwriting more legible, but it helps to “train” the brain to move in the direction in which we read and write in our language. Another important language skill we are focusing on is rhyming. Rhyming helps children to hear and see patterns in words. We have also introduced two sight words, which your child should be able to recognize in any context:  I and can.  Our new sight word this week is the. There are 51 sight words that your child will be responsible for reading in Kindergarten. Please plan to attend our Title 1 Parent Night on October 11. You will get a list of the 51 sight words along with other important academic information that night.

Math: Number recognition, writing numbers, and counting sets to 10, sorting, patterning, and recognizing basic shapes.

Science: Living and Non-Living, Butterfly Life Cycle


Saturday, September 17, 2016

Delayed Start

Just a reminder that Monday, September 19 is a delayed start. School will begin at 10:00 am. Breakfast is NOT served on delayed start days. Please be sure your child eats breakfast at home Monday morning!

Saturday, September 10, 2016

September 10, 2016

Well, we have made it through the first two weeks! The heat and humidity was certainly a challenge, but we still had a lot of fun making new friends and learning new things! Here is what we have been working on:

Language Arts: recognizing and writing our names
                          understanding that names begin with a capital letter
                          understanding that words are made up of letters, and sentences are made of words
                          learning to identify capital and lower-case letters A-F
                          learning the sounds that the letters A-F make
                          enjoyment of books and stories

Math:  calendar concepts (day, date, month, year, today, September, seven days of the week)
            recognizing and identifying numbers 0-8
            counting objects to 10
            sorting objects
            AB patterns
            concept of "one more"
            comparing lengths

Social Studies:  Making friends
                          School rules and routines
                          Everyone is special and unique

Remember to contact me if you ever have any questions or concerns!
Picture Day is this Tuesday, September 13!
Be sure to check out the McBain Elementary Facebook page. This is updated frequently with pictures and information from school. If you do not want your child's picture to appear on Facebook, please notify the office in writing and they will be sure to honor your request.
                         

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Welcome to Kindergarten!

Welcome to Mrs. Green's Kindergarten! I am looking forward to an awesome year! Classroom and school information will frequently be shared on this page. You can sign up to receive this information via email by clicking the "Follow this blog by e-mail" option to the right of the page and entering your email information.

Friday, June 3, 2016

Track and Field Day


Just a reminder- The K-2nd grade Track and Field Day is this Friday, June 10! This year we are having a Summer Olympics theme for Track and Field Day. Your child is encouraged to wear RED, WHITE, AND BLUE for this event! Please be sure they are dressed appropriately for the weather- we will be outside all afternoon. Your child MUST wear tennis shoes for this event!!!!! Please send a water bottle for your child- plain water only, no sport drinks etc.- labeled with their name. Thank  you!