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  

Farewell to October

This is the last update for the month of October.  How did that happen already?  I guess time flies when you are rocking it, and we definitely are in 2nd grade.  Read more to hear what we did this past week.

• Math: This week we worked on using 3 different methods to help solve 2-digit addition problems.  
• Social Studies: We talked about local government, diversity in communities, patriotism, personal and civic responsibility.  We will have our test on Unit 2 on Tuesday.
• Writing:  Students worked hard on editing their Small Moment stories this week.  We will be working on our final copies this week.
• Reading:  This week we reviewed strategies that were used in 1st grade to help solve problems while reading.  We will continue to talk about how to solve problems while reading with an emphasis on context and comprehension.

Spelling words:  been, first, no, make, than

Homework:  A worksheet with number comparisons using <, >, and = went home in homework folders this week.  Don't forget to turn it in by Friday.

Book It!: October is almost over! Please send completed calendars to school when they are filled out and signed.

Our classroom Halloween Party is Thursday at 2:30pm.  If you signed up to bring something for our Halloween Party, please don't forget to send it in or bring it in on the day of the party.   I am still in need of 1 or 2 more parents to help out with the party.  If you are available and have filled out a volunteer form,  please contact me.  Thanks to everyone who is contributing!

Conference forms:  A paper with your conference time should have come home on Friday.  Please return it as soon as possible.  I am looking forward to meeting with you!  

Don't forget that there is no school for students on Friday. 

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Mrs. Chmura

mchmura@hpseagles.net

Long-Term Substitute for Mrs. Hills

2nd Grade

Park Elementary  

Pumpkin Painting, PJs, and New T-Shirts

What a fun and productive week we've had in 2nd grade!  Check out what we did:

• Math: We took our test on unit 1 on Monday.  You should have gotten the test back with a progress report noting how your child has scored on all math quizzes and tests so far.  I am so proud of our hard work on unit 1!  We have started a unit on place value and will be working on 2-digit addition this week.
• Social Studies: So far in our Government unit, we have talked about why people form governments, diversity in communities, individual rights, and common good.
• Writing: We have been working hard on editing our Small Moment stories.  We will continue to edit this week, every child will conference with me, and then we will start our final drafts.
• Reading:  Students have been working with their partners by celebrating with them, helping each other, and recommending books to each other.  Next week, we will continue to work with our partners and will review strategies for solving problems while reading.

Spelling words:  like, him, see, time, could

Homework:  A math paper on place value went home with students on Friday in their purple homework folders.

Book It!: Don't forget to keep filling in those October 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.  

We had a fun time on Friday wearing our pajamas and "Be the One" t-shirts.  You may have noticed that our t-shirts ended up being blue instead of purple.  The company who printed the shirts ran out of purple, so we have blue instead.  

Mrs. Higgs' class did a great job of hosting our class for our Can Drive Party on Friday.  Students were able to paint pumpkins with a 5th grade buddy and enjoy a snack afterward.  Both 5th and 2nd grade students had a great time.

Our classroom Halloween Party is on Thursday, October 30th at 2:30.  If you signed up to bring something for our Halloween Party, please check your child's take-home folder on Monday.  I will be sending home a reminder.  I could also use 2 more parents to help out with the party.  If you are available and have filled out a volunteer form,  please contact me.

Check out this picture that was taken of the whole school wearing our new shirts...

  

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Mrs. Chmura

mchmura@hpseagles.net

Long-Term Substitute for Mrs. Hills

2nd Grade

Park Elementary  

This Week's Update

We have another week of learning under our belts!  Here's what your child accomplished this week:

• Math: As promised, we worked on those tricky 2-step word problems.  We also reviewed other types of word problems, and are ready for our unit 1 test on Monday. We will start a new unit on Tuesday. 
• Social Studies: We finished up our map unit.  As our assessment for this unit, students drew a map of their own town and included both physical and human features represented on a map key and their own compass rose.  Our unit on Government will be starting this week.
• Writing:  Students are moving right along with our rough draft for our small moment stories.  We will be editing our stories this week.
• Reading:  Students worked on preparing to read with partners.  They used post-it notes to mark pages during their read-to-self time so that they could share the marked pages during partner reading time.  

Spelling words:  into, has, more, her, two

Homework:  A review on word problems went home for homework this week.  Please be sure your child does both sides.  Homework should be turned in Friday or earlier in the purple homework folder. 

Book It!: Don't forget to keep filling in those October 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.  

I am grateful for every day I get to spend in our classroom.  Thank you for sharing your child with our class!

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Mrs. Chmura

mchmura@hpseagles.net

Long-Term Substitute for Mrs. Hills

2nd Grade

Park Elementary  

October is Upon Us!

And we are happy it is here, chilly weather and all....
Here is what your child learned this week:

• Math: We continued to work hard on word problems.  We studied comparison word problems and word problems with extra, hidden, or not enough information.  This week, 2-step word problems are on the schedule.  These can be very tricky, but I have been impressed with how well all the students have done so far.  We will most likely have our test at the end of this week.
• Social Studies:  Students learned about different types of maps and how to use a compass rose.  
• Writing:  We started writing our first drafts of our small moment stories.  We will continue to write them this week and will add details and dialogue.
• Reading:  Students worked on asking who, what, when, why and where while we read to better understand what we are reading.  

Our new spelling words this week are:  some, so, would, these and other.  We will be talking about them all week and practicing them, but feel free to practice spelling them at home as well.  

Homework:  More word problems went home on Friday for homework.  Please send them back in by Friday.

We are the Champions!  Our class won the can drive fundraiser for 5th grade camp!   Students cheered (LOUDLY) when they heard our class announced as the winners.  Our victory has earned us a special party with Mrs. Higgs' class, the winners from 5th grade.  Thanks to all who brought in cans!  

7 Habits for Happy Kids:  Click here for a song that we heard to encourage the 7 habits.  Careful, it can get stuck in your head!

Book It!: October Book It calendars went home.  If students read 20 minutes a day for the month of October and turn in the completed calendars, they will win a personal pizza from Pizza Hut.  

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Mrs. Chmura

mchmura@hpseagles.net

Long-Term Substitute for Mrs. Hills

2nd Grade

Park Elementary  

October Specials

Here is the calendar with one mistake.  Students don't have school on October 31st, so obviously we won't have music!

Working Hard in 2nd Grade

We have had another wonderful week in 2nd grade.  This week we learned the following:

• Math:  Word problems.  Lots and lots of word problems.  We will continue with studying word problems again this week (we are getting good!).  
• Social Studies: We took our quiz on communities.  This week we start on our map unit.
• Writing:  We have been planning and organizing our small moment stories.  First drafts will be started this week.
• Reading:  Reading with our minds on fire has been our focus this week.  Students tried their best to focus on the book they are reading by predicting, asking questions, and re-telling what has happened.

Our new spelling words this week are:  out, them, then, she, and many.  We will be talking about them all week and practicing them, but feel free to practice spelling them at home as well.  

Homework:  The homework that went home on Friday is not math!  Hopefully you noticed the spelling worksheet.  Please send it in by Friday.

7 Habits for Happy Kids:  This week, we started talking about the first habit for happy kids:  be proactive.  We talked about how to do the right thing at the right time, and how to be responsible for our actions.  We will continue to emphasize this for the next few weeks.  We even mentioned being proactive at home!

Look for the Specials Schedule for October coming home in your child's take home folder.  I'll send another post via e-mail with the schedule in it early this week.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Mrs. Chmura

mchmura@hpseagles.net

Long-Term Substitute for Mrs. Hills

2nd Grade

Park Elementary  

Homecoming Assembly and Other Things from Week 3

The third week of school is officially over!  Seems like time is flying, especially because we have been learning so much.  Including:

• Math:  Using doubles (ex. 4+4) to help us with addition and subtraction, adding a chain equation, and using 10 pairs (ex. 8+2).  We started word problems on Thursday and will continue to work on different types for the next week or two.
• Social Studies: Communities - comparing and contrasting rural, suburban, and urban communities.
• Writing:  Narrowing down story ideas, choosing one, and planning small moment stories.
• Reading:  Staying in a book, reading smoothly, and identifying the problem and solution in a story.

On Friday we got to cheer on the football team in an assembly with the superfans, cheerleaders, band members, the eagle, and a few football players.  It was a blast.

Our new spelling words this week are:  will, each, about, how, and, up.  We will be talking about them all week and practicing them, but feel free to practice spelling them at home as well.  

Word problem homework went home on Friday in your child's purple homework folder.  Please have your child do both sides.  Homework is due on Friday, but it can come back anytime before if you finish early.  

I am proud of how much growth I have seen already in our class!  We are working hard and it shows.  

Mrs. Chmura

Long-Term Substitute for Mrs. Hills

2nd Grade

Park Elementary  

 

Second Week Update

Things are running smoothly in the classroom.  We seem to be getting our routines down and are becoming more comfortable each day.  Here's what we did this week:

Writing:  Students were introduced to the idea of writing about small moments.  We read a book to show us what a small moment story looks like, talked about all the things that are included in a small moment story, and started brainstorming ideas for our own small moment stories.

Social Studies:  We started a unit on communities.  We talked about features of a community and talked about the ways the government helps communities.

Math:  Math mountains have helped students figure out the missing partner in an equation.  Odds and evens were introduced on Friday.

Reading:  Students have been working on building stamina by setting reading goals and making sure we pick good-fit books.

On Friday, we will be having a pep rally that will include the super fans.  Go Eagles!

Homework for this week should have come home on Friday in the purple homework folder.  Students are only required to do the page marked "homework."  If your child would like to do both sides, he or she may, but it is not required.  Please send completed homework back to school in your child's homework folder by Friday.

As you may know, "Be the One" is the theme for this school year.  Our class talks everyday about how we can be the one by caring for each other.  We are diligently working on caring for our classmates by helping out, taking care of our classroom, and by not talking when we shouldn't.  These are the challenges that we will be working on this month.  Any encouragement at home would be greatly appreciated!

Looking forward to another great week.

**DON'T FORGET-PICTURE DAY TOMORROW!

Meagan Chmura
Long-Term Substitute for Erin Hills
2nd Grade
Park Elementary

Successful First Week!

Good Morning!

We had a wonderful first week in our room.  We got to know each other a little bit, practiced some math skills, read, listened, wrote, and learned lots of routines.   You may have noticed that the first homework page was sent home in the homework folder.  It is a math page that reinforces what we are doing in class and can be done anytime this week.  Your child is only required to do the page marked 'Homework,' but some may want to do both sides.  Please send completed homework back to school by  Friday in your child's homework folder.

We are going to start our behavior charts this week; please read more about this in the paper that will be sent home in your child's take home folder.  If you have any questions regarding behavior please send me a note or e-mail.

Thanks to all who donated items to the classroom!  At this moment, we have everything we need.

Volunteers: We will not use any volunteers until all volunteer forms have been filled out, and until classroom routines are set.  This will probably take several weeks.  I will contact you as we get settled.

Reminder: If you haven't sent in all the forms in the red folder, please complete them and send them in.      If you missed the open house, and I do not have your e-mail address, please send it to me.
Thanks!

Looking forward to another fabulous week!

Mrs. Chmura
2nd Grade - Long-term substitute for Mrs. Hills
Park Elementary
mchmura@hpseagles.net

First day details and Specials for September

Thanks to all who attended the Open House.  It was great to meet all of you.  I will be contacting those who signed up to volunteer in the weeks ahead to set up times to work in the classroom.   Don't forget to fill out the volunteer form and send it back in the red folder. Thank you for being willing to help!

A few things to remember to send to school with your child:

• red folder with completed forms
• Read All About Me poster
• Green Information sheet

Lastly, here is our Specials calendar for the month of September (a copy is also going home in your child's take home folder).