Elmwood's Second Graders will "Capture a Learning Adventure" this year as we study our community, city, state, country, and all the continents. We will take a closer look at Rocks & Soil first quarter, Animal Adaptations second quarter, Health, Nutrition, & Digestion third quarter, and Natural Resources & the 3 R's (reduce, reuse, recycle) during the fourth quarter. We plan many fun-filled learning experiences in 2nd Grade, both in school and out! Click on the "albums" below to see some photos from our field trips.
Two of our wonderful librarians, Ms. Mary & Ms. Melissa, answered all of our questions about the New Berlin Public Library and what it's like to be a librarian.
We liked looking for good books in the Youth Area.
Elmwood's 2nd Graders study "community" throughout the year. In October we had tours of New Berlin's Police Department/Safety Building and Fire Station, met Mayor Jack Chiovatero at City Hall, and visited the New Berlin Public Library.
The school is open to students at 8:25 and our day begins at 8:35. The school day ends at 3:05. Notify the school office as early as possible if your child will not be in school on any given day: 262-789-6581. When you do drop off your child after 8:35 or pick her/him up before 2:55, you will need to sign her/him out in the school office.
In general, please let us know in writing (e-mail is fine) at least a week before any known or lengthy absence such as a vacation. Please try to schedule appointments and other absences outside of school hours whenever possible. If you are sending an e-mail to your child's teacher about an absence, please also include our school secretary.
Children always enjoy celebrating their birthdays with classmates, and we do too!You may send a treat for the class, if you wish, on your child's special day.July and August birthdays will be celebrated as "half-birthdays" in January and February.June birthdays will be celebrated near the end of the school year.If you choose to send treats for the class, please ask your child's teacher about known food allergies.Also, you should know that there are:
Mrs. Jeske's class: 18 students & 1 teacher
Mrs. Karolek and Mrs. Slaby's class: 19 students & 2 teachers
Mrs. Oswald's class: 19 students & 1 teacher
To avoid hurt feelings, we ask that unless you are inviting all the students (or all boys or all girls) to a party for your child, PLEASE do not pass out invitations or thank you notes at school.Thank you for your understanding. Also, if you or your child do distribute anything at school, it is VERY helpful to have the recipient's name on the note/card (in case it gets dropped).
Periodically your children will have an opportunity to order books from various book clubs.We find these an inexpensive and easy way to provide a variety of literature.Ordering is, of course, optional.If you do decide to order, please send a check made out to the book company (SCHOLASTIC BOOKS in most cases) and order form, including your child's name, to your child's teacher in a clearly marked envelope.Your child's teacher will let you know if online ordering is an option.
Children will write about their school day in a Reflection Log each afternoon.It is your child's responsibility to share this with you each evening.Please sign or initial the Reflection Log each day.We will also use it as a means to communicate with you at home.If you have any questions, concerns, or reminders, please feel free to use the Reflection Log to communicate with us.
Please note that district-wide "Friday Folder" flyers and announcements are only available online. This includes NBAA information and sign-up sheets. You may use this link to access them: http://www.nbexcellence.org/parents/do_friday_folder.cfm
Mondays through Fridays your child will bring home a Home Folder with class work and occasional notes from the teachers.Please be sure to ask your child if there's anything important in the Home Folder for you to see each night.Please return the Home Folders daily.
Contributions, Problem Solving, Responsibility, & Respect
are the Heart of Elmwood.
In Second Grade, we live the Heart of Elmwood by working together within our learning community.We will use and talk about contributions, problem solving, responsibility, & respect, along with many other life skills such as:cooperation, flexibility, integrity, initiative, sense of humor, friendship, creativity, caring, compassion, peacefulness, attentiveness, common sense, curiosity, perseverance, effort, organization, appreciation, sportsmanship, acceptance, confidence, manners, and patience . . . to name a few.:)
Second Graders will bring home monthly calendars to guide them on our 2nd Grade Learning Adventure. Our Learning Adventure will begin in New Berlin, Wisconsin (September), then take us to: United States of America (October), North America (November), Antarctica (December), South America (January), Africa (February), Europe (March), Asia (April), Australia (May), and back home to New Berlin (June). We look forward to a special “Welcome Home Celebration” for all our successful world travelers near the end of the school year!
On the front of the calendar students will keep track of the minutes they read each day. Our goal for 2nd Graders is to read about 20 minutes per day about 5 days per week, which would be at least 400 minutes per month. Please have your child keep track of the minutes they read each day and total the amount each week, then please initial at the end of each week. Also, please help your child add their total minutes for the month before turning the calendar in.
The calendar will also remind students to practice Math Facts at home regularly. Ideas for practicing math facts include but are not limited to: traditional flash cards, triangular flash cards, practicing fact families, using dice, playing cards, dominoes, computer games (focused on math facts), writing the facts on a piece of paper, or simply saying the facts aloud. When your child masters the basic addition and subtraction facts s/he should begin to practice multiplication and division. Our goal is for all students to become fluent (accurate & automatic) with addition and subtraction facts and be introduced to the fact families for multiplication and division by the end of 2nd Grade.
Learning Adventure calendars will be sent home with students on Fridays prior to the beginning of a new month. Please have your child turn in the calendar within 2 school days after the last day of a month. Your signature or initials on the calendar indicate that your child has successfully completed their reading and math homework described above.
On the back of each calendar there will be questions for the students to research during the month. Each student should try their best to answer as many of the questions as they can before turning in the calendar. We will give ideas for resources, both print and electronic, to assist the students in locating their answers. Please allow your child to locate the answers as best s/he can independently. Our goal is for the students to practice research skills as they learn about each of the places we “visit” on our Learning Adventure.
The Everyday Math Family Letter and HomeLinks for each unit will be sent home in Friday Folders as we begin a new unit in class. The Family Letter will give you an overview of the concepts, skills, and vocabulary for the unit. The HomeLinks will provide practice pages for your child if desired. Please refer to our Math page for more information about EM HomeLinks.
In 2nd Grade we enjoy monthly presentations from each student. In September each student presents “Me in a Bag” to introduce themselves to their classmates and teacher. Throughout the rest of the school year students give “Book Talks”. We will provide more information and directions for these presentations each month. The due dates for individual students will be on the monthly Learning Adventure calendar. The Scoring Rubrics (scoring guides) for the presentations are on the website for your reference.
We have time each afternoon for a snack.If s/he would like one, each child should bring her/his own snack.This snack may be any healthy food that your child enjoys.Fruits, vegetables, pretzels, cheese, crackers, cereal, granola bars, yogurt, pudding, and applesauce are some examples.If your child brings something that requires a spoon, please send one along.If your child brings salty chips (Fritos, Cheetos, etc.) or dessert (cookies, candy, etc.), we will ask her/him to have it with lunch rather than in the classroom.
Class Snacks
For any class snack that you may send (birthday treats, food for class parties, etc.) our district policy is to discourage foods that contain nuts and/or nut oils, due to the severe allergic reaction some people may experience.Please keep this in mind when providing a snack for the class.You may contact the district nurse (Pam Jesse) with any questions you may have regarding this policy.Thank you for your understanding.
When you send payments to school with your child for any reason, please put it in an envelope clearly marked with the teacher's name, the child's name, and the purpose.Please use only checks for payments to school, such as lunch money, field trips, or for book orders.Any cash for Home & School expenses, such as Cart Mart or Book Fair, should be in clearly marked envelopes as well.
Volunteers are always welcome in our classrooms!Let us know if you can come in to help.We appreciate parents interested in helping students in the classroom with Reading, Writing, Math, Spelling, and Research.Also, we would welcome parents who can assist students with computer use. It is also helpful to have parent volunteers for stuffing Friday Folders, being room parents, as well as clerical help (copying, cutting, stapling, etc.), and displaying student work. Each classroom would also appreciate a parent volunteer to lead Junior Achievement lessons. Please let us know if you have time or a talent you wish to share!
