Last Post from Mrs. Chmura

It is with mixed emotions that I write this last post.  I am sad to be leaving this group, but very proud of what they have accomplished so far this year.  I am excited for all that Mrs. Hills will teach this group, and know that she will be a wonderful teacher for them.

Here is what we did this past week:

• Math: We took our unit 3 test and started on unit 4.  We have reviewed money and started subtraction from 100 and ungrouping in subtraction.  
• Writing:  Students made a web to organize their informational writing topics and headings, and organized the headings into chapters.  Students wrote introductions for their informational books and started drafting.
• Reading:  Students continued to read non-fiction, and have learned how to use a glossary and an index.

Spelling words: get, through, back, much, go

Homework:   A math worksheet on shapes went home in homework folders this week.  Please send it back to school completed in your child's homework folder by Friday.

Christmas Program:  Is the 16th.  2nd grade is in the first program at 6:30.  A sheet went home this past week with lots of details.  Please ask if you have any questions.

Christmas Party:  It will be on Friday at the end of the day.

Book It!: Don't forget to keep filling in the December charts.  Reading 20 minutes a day and turning in the chart at the end of the month will earn your reader a personal pizza certificate.

THANK YOU:  I was surprised on Friday by a fun going-away party put on by Mrs. Hills.  Thanks to those who came!  Thank you also for all the generous gifts that you gave me.  I truly feel that getting to teach in your child's class has been a huge gift for me, and to be showered with such thoughtful gifts was beyond any expectations.  Thank you, sincerely!

All correspondence should be directed to Mrs. Hills moving forward, and you can expect all posts to come from her from now on.  Thanks again for sharing your child with me for the last 3 months!  

Mrs. Hills' e-mail:  ehills@hpseagles.net

Mrs. Chmura

mchmura@hpseagles.net

Long-Term Substitute for Mrs. Hills

2nd Grade

Park Elementary  

2nd to the Last Post from Mrs. Chmura

Yep, you read correctly.  This is my last week with this spectacular group of 2nd graders, so next week will be my last post before Mrs. Hills comes back.  I can't believe how fast the time went. I guess time flies when you are having fun!  Here's how we spent our time this past week:

• Math: We continued learning about measuring and learned about line plots.  We will be having our test on Monday for unit 3.
• Social Studies: This week we finished our unit on Economics. 
• Writing:  We have been talking about informational writing.  We have looked ways authors use different text features to enhance their writing.  We have also started to talk about choosing good topics for our writing.
• Reading:  We are currently reading non-fiction, and learning how to draw out information from our non-fiction books.

Spelling words: called, just, where, most, know

Homework:   A math review sheet went home in this week.  Please have your child complete both sides and turn it in on Friday (in the purple homework folder).  There is a question that requires a ruler, but if you don't have one at home, feel free to skip it.

Christmas Program:  Is the 16th.  2nd grade is in the first program at 6:30.  More details will come this week.

Book It!: Don't forget to keep filling in the December charts.  Reading 20 minutes a day and turning in the chart at the end of the month will earn your reader a personal pizza certificate.

Santa's Workshop: It will be during class this Thursday.  Be looking for what your child made in his/her backpack.

Top 10 Things about Mrs. Hills:  In order to get to know Mrs. Hills a little as we anticipate her return on December 15th, we have been learning one thing about her everyday.  Here's what we learned so far:

    1.  Her daughter, Emily, is 5 months old.

    2.  This is her 11th year teaching.

    3.  She lived in Florida after college, but came back to teach in Michigan.

    4.  Her favorite candy is Almond Joy (but she loves chocolate in general.

    5.  Her favorite food is chicken, and she loves Mexican food.

We are excited for her return, and she is excited to be coming back soon!  

Mrs. Chmura

mchmura@hpseagles.net

Long-Term Substitute for Mrs. Hills

2nd Grade

Park Elementary  

Super Short Post for a Super Short Week

The week before Thanksgiving was a short one, so this post will be a little shorter than usual.  Here are the highlights, and some things to keep in mind for this week.

Spelling words: (they are new this week) long, little, very, after, words

Homework:   No homework this week. New homework will come home Friday, and will be due the following Friday (the 12th).

Assembly on Tuesday: It was fun!  Mr. Field and other teachers talked about our theme of "being the one" this year.  Examples of students who were caught being the one were shared, and the video of our staff doing the ALS ice bucket challenge was shown.

Book It!: Don't forget to turn in November charts.  December charts should have come home today.  Reading 20 minutes a day and turning in the chart at the end of the month will earn your reader a personal pizza certificate.

Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving Break!

Mrs. Chmura

mchmura@hpseagles.net

Long-Term Substitute for Mrs. Hills

2nd Grade

Park Elementary  

November 21st Update

Hard to believe we have 2 snow days on the books and it isn't even Thanksgiving!  Here is what we did while we were in school this past week:

• Math: We continued learning about measuring, and have been learning about shapes.
• Social Studies: This week we learned about natural resources, human resources, and capital resources.
• Writing:  We continued to look at the work of published authors to find things that we can work on in our own writing.  We are practicing all that we have learned to write another small moment story.
• Reading:  We continued to talk about characters in our reading. 

Spelling words: Because of the snow days and the short week, we will have our spelling test on Tuesday.  Continue to study last week's words: way, find, use, may, water.

Homework:   No homework this week.

Assembly on Tuesday:  We'll be having an assembly on our "Be the One" school-wide theme on Tuesday.  Please send your child to school wearing his/her "Be the One" shirt.

Book It!: Don't forget to keep filling in the November charts.  Reading 20 minutes a day and turning in the chart at the end of the month will earn your reader a personal pizza certificate.

Reminder:  No school on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Happy Thanksgiving!

PE Can Drive:  The PE department is collecting canned goods to donate to families in need.  If you have any extra non-perishable items at home, please consider donating. The can drive ends on Monday.

Mrs. Chmura

mchmura@hpseagles.net

Long-Term Substitute for Mrs. Hills

2nd Grade

Park Elementary  

Snow and Other Exciting Things

What an exciting week with the first snow of the season!  We also had another great week of learning.

• Math: We had our test on Wednesday, and started a new math unit.  We have talked about measuring with centimeters, and have looked at different shapes.  
• Social Studies: This week we learned about wants/needs, goods/services, and scarcity.
• Writing:  We have looked at the work of published authors to find things that we can work on in our own writing.  We worked on: dialogue, transition words, and writing a strong ending.
• Reading:  We continued to talk about characters in our reading. 

Spelling words: way, find, use, may, water

Homework:   A math worksheet went home in folders this week.  Please be sure your child does both the homework and remembering side before returning it to school by Friday.

Book It!: Don't forget to keep filling in the November charts.  Reading 20 minutes a day and turning in the chart at the end of the month will earn your reader a personal pizza certificate.

Reminder:  With snowy weather already here (I can't believe it!), please be sure that your child is dressed appropriately. 

PE Can Drive:  The PE department is collecting canned goods to donate to families in need.  If you have any extra non-perishable items at home, please consider donating.

Mrs. Chmura

mchmura@hpseagles.net

Long-Term Substitute for Mrs. Hills

2nd Grade

Park Elementary  

Weekly Update

We have worked hard and have seen through another week!  Here is what we did:

• Math: This week we continued practicing 2-digit addition.  We have continued working on money addition.  We will be having our review and test this week.
• Social Studies: We reviewed how communities work, and talked about personal responsibility. 
• Writing:  Students worked on "showing, not telling" in their writing, but using verbs that make their writing come alive. 
• Reading:  This week we started talking about characters in our books.  

Spelling words: made, over, did, down, only

Homework:  A worksheet on adding 2-digit numbers went home in homework folders this week.  Please be sure your child returns their completed homework in the folder by Friday.  Feel free to use Mobymax to practice math by clicking here.  Use the username, password, and school code that was on the letter you received previously.  Please work on the app labeled "fact master."

Book It!: Don't forget to keep filling in the November charts.  Reading 20 minutes a day and turning in the chart at the end of the month will earn your reader a personal pizza certificate.

7 Habits of Happy Kids:  We took some time this week to talk about the 2nd Habit:  Begin with the End in Mind.  

Thank you for taking the time to conference with me this past week!  It is a pleasure to be your child's teacher. As always, if you have any question, please let me know.

Mrs. Chmura

mchmura@hpseagles.net

Long-Term Substitute for Mrs. Hills

2nd Grade

Park Elementary  

Hello, November!

Hard to believe, but November is here.  We had a great last week of October, with a writing celebration, Halloween parade, and Halloween Party.  Read on to see what else we did.

• Math: This week we continued practicing 2-digit addition.  Adding money was introduced.
• Social Studies: We reviewed our unit on Government and took the test.  
• Writing:  Students finished their final copies of their small moment stories.  We celebrated on Thursday by reading each other's stories and leaving positive comments.
• Reading:  This week we read with our partners and worked on strategies for solving problems.  On Thursday, students were able to read with their 5th grade partners from Mrs. Higgs's class.

Spelling words: its, who, now, people, my 

Homework:  No homework went home this week.  Please have your child read everyday and try out MobyMax to practice math at home.  Click here for the link to MobyMax, and enter the school code, username, and password that are on the letter that came home last week.

Book It!: Look for new November calendars in your child's folder.  Please turn in completed October forms for a pizza certificate.

Conferences and Report Cards: Report cards will be coming home on Monday.  Please check your child's folder for his/hers.  I am looking forward to meeting with you during your conference time!  Please be sure to come on time, as we have a tight schedule.  

Thanks to everyone who donated items and helped at the Halloween Party.  We had a great time! 

Here are some pictures of our reading time and the parade.

 

Here are the specials schedules for November and December.

Mrs. Chmura

mchmura@hpseagles.net

Long-Term Substitute for Mrs. Hills

2nd Grade

Park Elementary