Newsletter for the week of September 24, 2018

Memory work:  God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Exodus 34:6

September 24, 2018

Dear Parents,

            We certainly enjoyed our trip to the apple orchard last week, even though it was very warm!  On Wednesday we will cook with our apples. Hopefully, you found something yummy to make with your apples.

            It is Carnival week!  This year because of the construction at Concordia, the carnival will be held at Lutheran High School South. The carnival starts on Friday at 5:00, is open until 10 that night and then continues on Saturday from 11-9.  The best ride deal for kiddos is the wrist band.  Children with the wrist band can ride all of the rides an unlimited number of times on Saturday from 11-6.  The wristbands are $27 if purchased ahead of time and $30 on Saturday.  Then there are games and food that you also need tickets in order to purchase or play.  Those tickets will be available for purchase at the carnival.  Hope to see you all there!

            Please continue to review addition and subtraction flash cards to strengthen the math skills. The timed fact tests are becoming a little more challenging for many of the children.  This week we will continue working on the 9 and start talking about the “doubles plus one” facts.  

Friday, October 12^th, is  the last day of the first quarter.  The service project forms along with the church and Sunday school attendance forms are due on or before that day.

Our harvest party is scheduled for Friday, October 19th. The plans are being put together for this event.  A big thank you goes to Christina Stackle for organizing all of the teams for the special events throughout the year. Please let me know if you need any supplies for your event. We have lots of construction paper and other art supplies.

In a few weeks, it will be time for conferences.  The dates for the conferences are October 25^th and October 26^th.  This year, we will be using a blended approach to the conferences.  This means that the first part of the conference will be student-led (your child will be involved with this part of the conference).  Then, about halfway through the conference time, we will excuse the student and meet as parents and teachers to address any concerns that the parents may have.  Each week I will be sharing a little information with you about the conference. Here is the first tidbit.

The Student-Led Conference is an opportunity for our children to take the lead in providing evidence of their academic growth. Conference preparations and experiences allow our children to take responsibility for their learning and deepen their understanding of their work.

WHY PROMOTE STUDENT-LED CONFERENCES?

· SLCs focus on a student’s success in school and at home.

· SLCs promote three-way communication among students, teachers, and parents.

· SLCs foster student pride in reaching learning goals.

· SLCs establish clear targets for the school year.

We are very excited about these conferences. More information will come in next week’s newsletter.

Thanks for reading this note!  Have a great week!     

Yours in Christ, 

Janet Leet

Newsletter for the week of September 17

Memory work:  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all you mind.   Matthew 22:37

September 17, 2018

Dear Parents,

It is another busy, exciting week of second grade!  Friday is our field trip to the apple orchard.  Please let me know if you are able to join us.  (Any adults coming with us will be charged a $6.00 entry fee.  Please bring that fee in cash with you to the orchard.) We will leave at 9:45 and return before 2:30. Also, everyone needs to bring a lunch and a couple of drinks (lunchboxes are fine). If your child would like a school sack lunch, please let me know that by Wednesday. Right now the weather looks like it will be sunny and warm.  It is a Casual for a Cause day, so if your child is participating by bringing items or cash donations for the Uganda team, then he or she may choose to wear a non-uniform outfit.  Otherwise, any Friday CCLS t-shirt would be fine.

Last week your child brought home a film container with his/her name on it. If you have not done so, would you please fill it with 10 dimes and 20 pennies?  We will be using these in math class all year long.  The money will be returned to you at the end of the year.  In a few weeks, another container will be coming home for quarters and nickels.  Thanks so much for your help. 

In math we will practice the plus nine addition facts. These are a little tricky for some of the children. We talked about a little trick for the plus nines that the answer has a number one smaller than the addend (the number that is not a nine) in the ones place.  (That is 9 + 3 = 12.)  The children are doing well on their Friday fact assessments.  Keep using those fact cards to practice.

We started our science unit about pebbles, sand and silt last week.  Later this week we will go collect rocks from the playground and start a classroom rock collection.  We could use a few egg cartons for the collection, so if you have one you could spare, would you send it to school?

On next Wednesday afternoon (the 26^th) we will do some cooking with our apples. We could use a couple bags of apples. If you could donate a bag, just let me know. It would be great to have a couple of parent helpers join us for this project.  If you are available from 12:45-1:45 on Wednesday, the 26^th, to help, please let me know.

Have a great week! 

Yours in Christ,

Janet Leet

Newsletter for the week of September 10th

Memory work:  Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. 

  Psalm 143:10 

(Since we do not have school on Friday, Memory work is due on THURSDAY.)

September 10, 2018

Dear Parents,

            Welcome to another four day week!  Remember that we do not have school this Friday as our teachers have a professional development day. 

            Tomorrow, Tuesday, is our first Social Studies test for the year.  Your child brought home his/her social studies notebook last Thursday.  In that you will find a review page, a study guide and all of the activities we worked on to learn about maps and our world. Thanks for taking the time this evening to review this with your second grader.

Friday, September 21st, is our field trip to the apple orchard.  We will leave around 9:45 and return before 2:30. Everyone should bring a lunch (lunchboxes are OK) and a drink or two. Does anyone want to order a school lunch?  If so, please let me know by next Wednesday morning (email message is fine)! If you (or a grandparent, aunt, uncle, etc.) are planning to join us, please let me know if you haven’t already done so. The admission cost for adults is $6.00 (Please bring $6.00 cash with you.) There will be room on the bus or you may choose to drive to the orchard. The children will be bringing home a small bag of apples.  Any parents who go with us are welcome to purchase bags at the orchard to fill with apples. The children may wear their Friday spirit t-shirts or their normal uniforms for the field trip.

Speaking of apples, on Wednesday afternoon, September 26^th, we will do some cooking with apples.  If anyone would like to send in a bag of apples, that would be awesome.  Also, if anyone is available to help in the classroom on that Wednesday from 12:45-1:45, I could use an extra set of hands for the apple centers. Just let me know.

            This week in math we will be focusing on adding 2 to numbers.  The students brought home a bag of fact cards last Thursday.  Please encourage a review of those facts as these are a little more challenging than the previous week’s facts. Today your child is bringing home a film container with his/her name on it. At your earliest convenience, would you please fill it with 10 dimes and 20 pennies?  We will be using these in math class all year long.  The money will be returned to you at the end of the year.  In a few weeks, another container will be coming home for quarters and nickels.  Thanks so much for your help.

            In religion we will focus on the stories of Joseph and Moses leading God’s people. We are starting our first science unit this week.  The unit focuses on “Pebbles, Sand and Silt.”  We are ready to get our hands dirty with lots of fun experiments. Oh the things we will learn!

             Have a great week!

Yours in Christ,

Janet Leet

Newsletter for the week of September 4th

Memory Work:

Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go.  Genesis 28:15

September 4, 2018

Dear Parents,

             Welcome back from the three-day weekend!  I hope that everyone found a little time to relax and enjoy their families.

Here we are in the fourth week of second grade!  That means we are getting close to the halfway point of the quarter.  Has your child decided on a service project for the quarter?  Remember to turn in the form by October 8^th.  If you need another copy of the form, they are in a slot by the office.

Scholastic Book Orders are due tomorrow, the 5^th.  You may either order online (our class code is GL4JP for your first time on the site and then you can set up your own password) or send in the paper order with a check payable to Scholastic.  Take some time to look through their website (www.scholastic.com).  There are many more books than you see on the paper flyers.

            Mrs. Klug and I are beginning to post some grades on Educate. Your Educate user name and password are the same as last year. If you need help in accessing your Educate account, please contact Mrs. Morelan in the school office (mmorelan@ccls-stlouis.org or 314-961-6595)and she will be happy to assist you.

             In our handwriting books, we are working on practicing all of the manuscript letters.  Some second graders develop incorrect letter formation habits that need to be undone before we begin cursive writing in January. I will be also watching for those children who need to work on holding their pencils correctly.  Please remind your child to use the lines and spaces on the paper correctly and to put spaces between the words. Playing with play dough, using Legos and doing other small motor tasks all help to strengthen those writing fingers.  Thanks for your encouragement at home.

            Next Tuesday, we will have our first Social Studies test.  A study sheet will be coming home in a Social Studies folder with the activities that we have worked on. (This will come home on Thursday or Friday.) We have been working on these ideas in class, so there should not be any surprises.  We will also complete a review sheet together.  That will serve as a study guide as well.  Please be sure that your child knows one phone number for your household. 

            Friday, September 21st, is our field trip to the apple orchard.  We will leave around 9:45 and return by 2:30. We are going to the Eckert’s Orchard in Millstadt, Illinois.  Everyone should bring a lunch (lunchboxes are OK) and a drink or two. If your child would like to purchase a school sack lunch, I need to know that by Wednesday, September 19th^th.  If you would like to join us, please send me a note or an e-mail letting me know that you are coming with us. Parents are welcome to ride the bus or to drive and meet us there. The admission cost for the adults is $6.00.  (If you could have cash with you that day, that would be a big help.) Then, the adults may pay for a bag to use to pick their apples. It would be great to have at least five adults join us.  The children will be bringing home a small bag of apples.  (The next field trip will be on Tuesday, October 16th.  We will go to Powell Hall in the morning to hear the St. Louis Symphony.)

            Have a great week!

Yours in Christ,

Janet Leet