Mrs. Martin

Month of May

Congratulations!!!  The CRCT is completed with great success and no stress.                               

Thanks to everyone who helped to prepare for last week.  The children loved having breakfast, goodie-bags and especially cards from you. They didn't seem to mind the test at all. :]

As you already know we are going to be pretty busy the last 3 weeks of school.

* Please send in your Tiger Publishing as soon as you can.  I received only about 7 this morning.

* The children will not have a homework packet this week.  However please have your child read at least 20 minutes each day at home and keep working on Tiger Publishing.

*May 14- Field Day from 12:00 - 2:00

*May 16- Lunch in the Nature Nook (Please pack a special sack lunch for your child this Friday)

* May 19- Tiger Publishing Tea from 7:30 - 8:30

*May 21- Second Grade Beach Day from 11:00 - 1:00 (Please pack a beach towel and a water bottle)

*May 22- Ice Cream Sunday AR Celebration from 1:00 - 2:00

*May 23- (No Back Packs Allowed)  Movie and Snack (Please allow your child to bring a special snack to share)

Happy Spring

Dear Parents,

I can't believe it is April 1st already.  I realize that April is going to also go by quickly.  The children are very excited about Spring Break.  They are working hard and staying focused.  I am very proud of them. I just wanted to give you an overview of this very important month.

* Thursday, April 3 - Australian Olympics ( this may have to be rescheduled due to rain)

* Friday, April 4 - I am sending home a final CRCT study guide for math.  It does not have to be returned until April 18.   This will give your child two full weeks to complete this homework and review.

* April  7 - 11  Spring Break

* April  14 - 18  This will be a review week for CRCT

* April 21 -  Send in three cards for your child labeled Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  I will give these cards of encouragement to your child before the CRCT each morning.  The children love hearing from you at this time, and it make a tremendous difference in our testing "atmosphere". I will send a note reminding you to send in your "parent survey " with a brown envelope to place the cards. Please try to get these to me by Monday morning.  I don't want anyone to feel left out.

* April  21 - 25    CRCT testing week  NO HOMEWORK !!!!  (We will test on Wed., Thurs., and Fri.)

*April  28 - May 1     Make-up CRCT testing   NO HOMEWORK!!!!!

Please keep in mind that even though we have two weeks without homework your child needs to read at least 20 minutes a day.  They are doing a fabulous job meeting their AR goals.

We are working on our Tiger Publishing papers now.  I will send more information home next week about Tiger Publishing.  I will also sent a date for the Author's Tea.

We will also have "encouraging goodie bags" prepared each morning of testing for the children.  We are in great need of volunteers to help us get these together.  If you would like to help please email me or Lee Best. These small gestures really do make a difference for the children. :]

Thebestfamily@comcast.net   or  deborah.martin@cobbk12.org

I hope you have a fantastic Spring Break!!!

Debbie

February 26, 2080

Dear Parents,

I hope you enjoyed hearing all about Art-n-Ed Day at Tritt.  The children had a wonderful day exploring the arts around the world. 

Tonight is Technology Night at Tritt.  Come on out at 6:30 and experience what your child can do using new and fun technology.

Mark your calendar for March 4th.  This is an Early Release Day.

Tuesday, March 11 will be Class Picture Day.

Thursday, February 28, is a day of celebration for our class.  We have two positive discipline plans in our class.  I am sure you have heard about "shells" and "hearts".  We will celebrate by having "Game Day". The children have worked very hard to earn this special day. Your child has a hand written letter in his/her red folder explaining "Game Day".  Please make sure your child actually understands the rules and directions of the game he/she chooses to bring to class.  It cannot be a game that requires batteries or plugs-in, and we should be able to play in an hour or less.  Anyone who wants to send in a special snack for the class on Thursday is very welcome to do so.

I will be sending home directions and I.D. numbers for the CRCT on-line practice assessment today. Please make sure to keep this information in a safe place for study time with your child.

We have begun a unit study of Money in math.  It will probably last through next week.  Please practice counting money and making change with your child at home.

As you can see from last week's papers, we have also begun a unit study on Space in science.  If you have any interesting materials about our Solar System to share, please feel free to send them in. If you want to come in and visit the class to share about Space, just email me.  We would be delighted to have you. I hope you are having fun charting the phases of the moon with your child.

In writing we are learning about "Word Choice".  Ask you child how to make a story more interesting by using better word choice and to name 5 synonyms for "good".  Also, ask your child why we should use a Thesaurus.

Spring is just around the corner!  :]                                                                                 

Thanks for everything, Debbie

February

February 5, 2008

Dear Parents,

I hope your child was able to share with you his/her treasures from our own "Japan Day" last Thursday.  Toko's mom, Mrs. Nomura, came and shared about her country with our class.  This was such a wonderful event.  The children were presented with a beautiful, personalized bookmark. They were also allowed to try on a kimono and actually draw their own name in Japanese.  The children played Japanese games and had a Japanese snack. Mrs. Nomura was so generous to share her culture with us in such an authentic way.  Her time with us has certainly enhanced our study of Japan. We deeply appreciate her contributions to our curriculum.

Some Dates to Remember :

Tomorrow, February 6th is Early Release.  Dismissal will be at 12:30 p.m.

Friday, February 8th we will have our Tritt Second Grade "Japan Day".  Please allow your child to wear his/her green t-shirt on Friday.

Also on Friday, February 8th from 6:00-8:15 is the Tritt Family Barn Dance.  All pre-orders for tickets must be received by Wednesday. You can get tickets at the door. Usually the children want to stay for both sessions. :}  Supper will be available from the Varsity.

Valentine's Day !! - We will NOT  have a party, but we will have a "Valentine Exchange" and a special snack.  Please send in cards and a decorated shoe box by next Thursday, February 14th. I will send home a complete class list on Friday for your Valentines.

February, 18th and 19th there will be no school.  Have a wonderful holiday!

Our next chapter book will be TALES OF A FOURTH GRADE NOTHING by Judy Blume.  We hope to begin this book by February 12th.  We have had a great time reading MR. POPPER'S PENGUINS.  Please encourage your child to tell you all about the great adventures in this book.

I hope to see you all at the dance on Friday!

Debbie

Happy New Year

Dear Parents,

I hope you each have begun 2008 healthy and refreshed. It seems we have a lot to look forward to in January.   First, thank you for setting a new AR reading goal with your child last weekend.  Setting a realistic goal is a life skill.  We want the children to reach their reading goals and experience success.  If your child has not returned his/her AR goal, I will put an additional sheet in the red communication folder. This helps to build self-confidence and independence in our children.  Next, please remember to return your child's permission slip and money for our guest speaker on January 16th.  This will begin our Social Studies unit on Japan.  If you have any materials and/or information to share about Japan please email me. We would love for you to bring your experiences to us. This unit of study is so informational and fun for the children.  We will complete STONE FOX  by this Friday and I will send the books home with your child.  Next week we will begin MR. POPPER'S PENGUINS.  During this time the second graders will also be learning about penguins and Antarctica.  Please check today's homework folder for a special penguin project.  We will use the penguins for a special writing assignment on January 24th. Last, please keep in mind that next week will be very different.  Inconsistency can sometimes be difficult for our children.  We have Monday off (Jan.21) for MLK Holiday, and the rest of the week is 12:30 dismissal for conferences. Thanks for turning in all your conference sheets so quickly.  I have everyone scheduled.  If for some reason you need to make a change just send me an email.  Otherwise, I will see you each next week to talk about what an awesome job your child is doing is second grade.

Sincerely, Debbie

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays !!!

*  Yesterday we had our third "Shell Celebration"for excellent behavior ! ! ! We took this opportunity to have an Appreciation/Good-bye Party for Emily. We all had lunch in the class. Then we shared cake, cards, and gifts with Emily. We are going to miss her next semester.

* Next week we will try to remain on a normal schedule. Our Holiday Party and Book Exchange will be on Thursday.  We will have our book exchange in the morning and the party in the afternoon.

* I hope you each received the letter I sent home explaining your child's homework assignment for next week.  The children are very excited about sharing their book with the class.  I hope you have fun helping your child prepare for this event.  We will begin sharing on Monday.  Send in the book and souvenir whenever your child is ready.

Have a safe and healthy holiday !!!!    Debbie

Happy Thanksgiving

It's hard to believe next week is Thanksgiving.  WOW !!

Salvation Army Stockings- We have two stockings to fill (one for a girl and one for a boy). So far, we have not received any donations. Please remember this when you are out shopping for the holidays. It would be greatly appreciated!! The children ALWAYS love to give!

I will not be here on Monday, November 19th.  I will be in a staff development class.

November 30th is Colonial Day.  We are in the process of working out the details for this now,and I will give you an update after Thanksgiving.

I will not give homework next week, but I will send home subtraction sheets.  You can make copies of these and continue to practice for accuracy and speed.  Also, please have your child continue to read each day for a minimum of 20 minutes.

Please keep in mind that book reports are due November 30th.

* In math we will continue with subtraction of 2 digit numbers with regrouping and checking with addition.  Then, we will review 2 digit addition with regrouping and hopefully master both concepts together. In December we will cover geometric shapes and time.

* We are just finishing up our study of Pilgrims and the Mayflower.  After that, we will begin a more detailed, integrated study of Colonial times.

* Most of our writing and reading will be integrated around these topics. We will also continue with writing friendly letters with all the second graders at Tritt.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!!

salvation army stockings

We have 2 empty stockings to fill up for the Salvation Army as Christmas donations. One is for a girl and the other is for a boy.  We will be filling these up as a class project. We will accept donations until November 30th.  Some nice donation items could be crayons, markers, pencils, small toys, books, toothbrush, etc.  If we have an overflow of items, we will just fill up a third and fourth stocking.

Thanks,  Debbie

Excellent Behavior

Dear Parents,

Yesterday's Field Trip was so much fun. The children had a great time

learning about Native Americans.  I just wanted to let you know how proud

I am of my class.  They were the most well-behaved class I have EVER taken

on a field trip.  It always makes me feel happy to plan special activities

because the children are so enjoyable and kind.  Thanks for your support

and encouragement.   Sincerely,  Debbie