2nd

Special Person’s Day is always such a magical day on campus.  The sunbutter apple dip was a hit!  It was also so fun watching everyone get creative making clothespin people.  We love seeing the little ones spend quality time with the people they love most.

One of the highlights from this week was the children starting their Halloween spooky writings! This is alway a favorite! As the month progresses, we will sit around the “campfire” and share our stories aloud! The kiddos have also been working hard on their Flat Stanley books.  Soon they will begin their paper bag book reports!

In math this week we started working on place value.  We are using base ten blocks to build two-digit numbers and show their values.  It’s important to be able to see a number quickly with a skill called subitizing, so there was a specific way the children learned to organize their blocks.  We were already on to identifying numbers with just the representations of the blocks on paper and drawing them ourselves.  Next week we will be comparing, ordering, and adding those two-digit numbers together.  

Deep Dive allowed us another opportunity to talk about severe weather, disasters, and how to stay safe taking a look at landslides.  The students created their own “tiny towns” with a hill of dirt, small rocks, sticks, and leaves.  They tried their best to pack it all tightly, similar to how either tree and plant roots or a manmade structure can hold the land together, before ‘rain’ fell from the watering can.  It’s amazing watching them think and work together.

We hope you have the best long fall weekend!  See you soon!

Laura, Carly, and Bekah

Important Dates:

October 3 – Special Person’s Day

October 4 – 11:30 am Early Dismissal (No aftercare provided)

October 7 – No school, Fall long weekend

October 8 – 10:00 School starts with regular beforecare at 7:30 am before care ends at 9:00. Regular drop off begins at 9:00. Classrooms will open at 9:20. Instruction will begin at 10 am. 

We are all loving life in second grade!  This week we enjoyed our first rainy days on campus!  Speaking of rain, the students completed their flood barriers! We poured one cup of water at a time to see whose barrier could withstand the most water! It was a highlight this week for sure!

Another highlight was starting our Flat Stanley book reports!  Each child chose their own Flat Stanley chapter book and will be reading it over the next couple of weeks!  In phonics, we learned the /ar/ sound. We call it the pirate sound! Everyone did great!

We worked on fact families in math and mixed both addition and subtraction.  We are going to start cranking up the heat and learning new things next week!

We made protein balls for kids in the kitchen, and the children loved them! We are gearing up for another great week!

See you Monday!

Important Dates: 

• September 21st- Boots for Buses! 
• Save the Date:  Ya’ll are invited to a rootin’ tootin’ good time! Country Roads: Boots for Buses from 6 pm -9 pm at WCDS Main Campus! Join us for an evening of BBQ, Boots, and Boogyin’.  It’s the perfect chance for parents to mingle, get to know each other, and kick up their heels!  More details to come, so mark your calendars now.  Yee Haw!
• September 23rd- School pictures
• September 26th: Join us on the main campus for Coffee Conversations @ 2:00 pm! (This is a time to chat with the Head of School, faculty, and other families and discuss parenting, education, and current trends. A short article will be shared beforehand via Talking Points, if interested.)

• September 27th: Freedom Friday for SK – 5th grade (Casual dress and pizza for lunch!)
• October 3rd, Save the Date for Grandparents’ Day!

In phonics, we focused on the sound ee, which can be found anywhere in a word! The children’s fiction writings are coming together nicely as well.  It’s fun to see their imaginations run wild!

In math we worked more with subtraction, related facts, and fact families.  Building and fine-tuning these foundational skills are preparing us for the more complex skills that are ahead!

We hope you took a peek at their recipe cards this week! The kiddos made frozen yogurt bark packed with berries and antioxidants! They loved this frozen treat on a hot day! We ate it two days in a row!

In deep dive, we started studying severe weather! We talked about what is considered “severe weather” and focused on floods this week.  The kiddos were shocked to learn that floods really come from the ground, not the sky. The children were then put into groups where they had to work together to build a flood barrier for their paper homes.  It took a lot of problem-solving and teamwork! We will continue these next week!

Have a great weekend!

Carly, Laura, and Bekah

Important Dates: 

• September 21st- Boots for Buses! 
• Save the Date:  Ya’ll are invited to a rootin’ tootin’ good time! Country Roads: Boots for Buses from  6pm-9pm at WCDS Main Campus! Join us for an evening of BBQ, Boots, and Boogyin’.  It’s the perfect chance for parents to mingle, get to know each other, and kick up their heels!  More details to come, so mark your calendars now.  Yee Haw!

• September 20th- 11:30 dismissal- Aftercare until 3:00
• September 23rd- School pictures
• September 26th: Join Mrs. B on the main campus for Coffee Conversations @ 2:00 pm
• September 27th: Freedom Friday (Casual dress and pizza for lunch!)
• October 3rd: Save the Date for Grandparents’ Day!

It was a fun and exciting week in second grade. We enjoyed getting to chat with so many of you on Tuesday.  If you have not signed up for conferences yet, please do so here.  We highly suggest every family signs up as we discuss your child’s strengths and weaknesses and touch on AIMs web scores!

Our new phonics sound was -dge making the /j/ sound.  This can be a tricky one for kiddos, but with lots of practice, they’re doing quite well.  In writing, we started a fictional piece in order to let their imaginations soar! We read Corduroy to break down the skill of a strong beginning, middle, and end.

Math this week focused on more fact practice! We focused on doubles plus one as well as incorporating three addends.  The kiddos worked with partners and did some independent work as well.

This week in Kids in the Kitchen, we made roasted red pepper hummus and talked about how chickpeas are a great source of protein. Over half the class came back for seconds and thirds!  In deep dive, we continued studying weather and the four types of clouds.  The children were broken into small groups and assigned a cloud type.  They had to work together to describe the cloud and then create those clouds and a scene to follow.  It’s showcased in our classroom. Stop on Friday mornings and check it out!

Have a great weekend! 

Let’s go…..Mountaineers!

Carly, Laura, Bekah

Important Dates:

• September 10th- Parent night 6:30
• September 20th- 11:30 dismissal- Aftercare until 3:00
• September 21st- Boots for Buses! 
• Save the Date:  Ya’ll are invited to a rootin’ tootin’ good time! Country Roads: Boots for Buses from 6 pm-9 pm at WCDS Main Campus! Join us for an evening of BBQ, Boots, and Boogyin’.  It’s the perfect chance for parents to mingle, get to know each other, and kick up their heels!  More details to come, so mark your calendars now.  Yee Haw!

A short but busy week in the books!  We completed the first round of our Aims Web benchmark assessment.  We were proud of how hard they worked! Be on the lookout for a chance to sign up for parent partnership meetings where we will talk more about these assessments!

A lot of friends wrapped up their summer writing and are beginning their first free writing.  We are excited to see where their imaginations take us!  Book boxes were a hit this week as well! We spent time outside reading to ourselves as well as with friends.

In math, we worked on ten partners, doubles, and doubles plus one.  Next week we will cover three addends.  Reviewing these crucial skills will help tremendously as we move on to more advanced skills.  Any fact practice you can do at home is encouraged!

Kids in the kitchen and deep dive were fan favorites! We picked fresh basil from the garden and whipped up a batch of pesto pasta! Almost every kid was so shocked at how much they loved it!  In deep dive, we learned about the water cycle, the layers of the atmosphere, and the different types of clouds.  All of this background knowledge is going to build upon types of extreme weather and natural disasters!

See you next week!

Carly, Laura, Bekah

Upcoming Dates & Important Information 

• MONDAY – September 2 – Labor Day – NO SCHOOL
• September 3 – Delayed Start at 10:00 am
• September 10 – Parent Night 2nd-8th Grade
• September 20 – Early Dismissal at 11:30 am
• September 21 – Boots for Buses Save the Date: Ya’ll are invited to a rootin’ tootin’ good time! Country Roads: Boots for Buses September 21, 2024, 6-9 pm WCDS Main Campus Join us for an evening of BBQ, Boots, and Boogyin’.  It’s the perfect chance for parents to mingle, get to know each other, and kick up their heels! More details to come, so mark your calendars now.  Yee Haw!
• October 3rd – Grandparents Day (more information to come)

It feels great to be back in the routine this week, though it’s been quite a sweaty start! In phonics, we introduced the -ck and -tch sounds. The students have been working hard in writing, reflecting on their summer activities. The writing process is a big jump from first to second grade, but they’re tackling it with determination!

In math, we reviewed basic addition and focused on building number sense and fluency. The kids have been learning how to navigate a hundred chart and are starting to recognize patterns.

The students have shown a strong interest in extreme weather, so our first deep dive will be into studying weather and natural disasters. This week, we explored where weather comes from, how it forms, and the people who study it.

Enjoy your long weekend!

Carly, Laura, and Bekah

Important Dates: 

September 2nd- No School

September 3rd- 10 am start

September 21st- Boots for Buses! 

Save the Date:  Ya’ll are invited to a rootin’ tootin’ good time! Country Roads: Boots for Buses from 6 pm -9 pm at WCDS Main Campus! Join us for an evening of BBQ, Boots, and Boogyin’.  It’s the perfect chance for parents to mingle, get to know each other, and kick up their heels!  More details to come, so mark your calendars now.  Yee Haw!

Scholastic magazines went home this week. If you’re interested in ordering books for home please use this link https://orders.scholastic.com/TL79N. It helps us earn books for the classroom. Thanks!

What a great first week back! We spent time getting comfortable in our new spaces and catching up with friends.  It’s always so special to see how excited the kiddos are to be back on campus with their friends.  

This week we decorated our classroom and belongings to make our space feel like home!  We went book shopping and enjoyed reading with friends.  We did some math centers to get our brains warmed up to working with numbers again.  In deep dive, we spent some time studying birds and then made our very own bird feeders to hang around campus.

We are so grateful to announce we have a student teacher joining us this year! Miss Bekah will be here three days a week through Christmas and then five days a week after that! 

We can’t wait to see what next week has in store for us!

Carly, Laura, and Bekah