Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

I hope you have had a wonderful week! We are down to 6 more days which is absolutely crazy!  The end of the school year is always bittersweet.  We know the students are ready for 3rd grade and we want to continue to see them grow, but it's also sad to see them go.  This year has been amazing!

Thank yo to everyone who attended our Lunch Bunch and Writing Celebration.  Wow!  We had such a great turn out.  These kids are lucky to have such supportive family and friends!  Be sure to check out Twitter to see pictures from the event.  We will be sending their book home next week. 

Rock Bridge State Park Hike

• We will be walking to Rock Bridge State Park on Wednesday, May 22.  
• Please make sure your student wear tennis shoes.  
• If you would like to apply bug spray before they come to school, you may, but we can't apply bug spray at school.
• If you would like to walk with us or meet us at the park, please let me know.

Variety Show

• The Variety Show is Thursday, May 23.
• We will be attending the Variety Show at 9:30.
• Parents, guardians, family and friends are welcome to attend.

Memory Books/Yearbooks

• We will be creating Memory Books at school next week.
• It is always fun to see what memories stand out the most to the students.  
• If your student ordered a yearbook, it will come home on Tuesday or Wednesday (depending on the day they get delivered).  Please have them bring them back on Friday so they can sign them.  
• We will sign yearbooks and memory book on Friday, May 24.  

Last Day of School

• The last day of school is Tuesday, May 28.
• We will dismiss at 12:10 p.m.  Please let me know if your child is going home a different way than normal.
• If your student will not be at school this day, please let me know.  
• We will me watching the movie Matilda this day.  It is rated PG.  We will be comparing it to the book which we are reading right now. 

Our Learning Next Week

• Reading
• We will be working on reading non-fiction text as we learn about different body systems.
• Writing
• We will be reflecting on our school year as we create our memory books.  It's so fun to see what they choose to write about and also how much they have grown this year as writers!
• Math
• We will be reviewing concepts next week.  We will work on time, money, addition and subtraction.
• Health
• We will be learning about body systems next week.  We will learn about a different body system each day.  Be sure to ask your student what system they learned about each day.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Field Trip Friday!

What an amazing field trip that we had today!  Thank you to parent chaperones and donations of water and ice cream money.  The kiddos had a blast!!  Check out Twitter for pictures-I am still getting pictures from parent chaperones - so as I get more I will be making new videos. :)

On Thursday, we met as a grade level, with administration, to look at our reading and math data.  The students have grown SO incredibly much!!!!  The growth that we have seen has been AMAZING and we hope that you are able to see this growth when reading and talking with your child at home!

Important Upcoming Events

• Field Day: May 15
• Lunch Bunch and Writing Celebration: May 17
• All Library Books Due: May 17
• Crazy Hair Day: May 17
• Variety Show: May 23
• Last Day of School: May 28, dismiss at 12:10

Field Day

• Field Day is May 15.  
• 2nd grade will participate in the afternoon session.
• Please send in a FULL change of clothes (including underwear and socks) for your student as they may get wet during Field Day.
• Here is the link for supplies if you would like to donate anything for Field Day.
• Ms. Moore would like all the supplies by Monday.  Below is a list of items that are still needed.  Please sign up if you can!  Field Day is always so much fun & one of the kiddos favorite memories!! :)
• Water balloons – the kind you can fill up 100 at a time – (20+)
• Watermelons – small  (45+)
• Cheetos – puffs  (20+ bags)
• Baby shampoo  (15+)
• Whip cream – in a can  (20+)
• Gummy worms  (lots)
• If you would like to volunteer for Field Day, here is the link.

Which is Better Project

• The students have worked extremely hard to publish their Which is Better writing.  All writing should be completed on Thursday - check in with your child on how s/he is doing.
• On Monday, the students will be writing their Which is Better presentation and practicing.
• On Tuesday, the students who are finished with publishing their book and presentation will start their projects.  We will continue to work on these Wednesday and Thursday.
• We will be sharing this writing at our writing celebration on May 17.
• Students will get to create a project to accompany their book.  The projects will be created at school.
• If students would like to bring in supplies from home, they are welcome to do so, but IT IS NOT REQUIRED.  We will have tissue paper and construction paper for students to use at school.
• Here is the information sheet sent home with some ideas of the projects they can create.

Lunch Bunch/Writing Celebration - Friday, May 17

• We will be celebrating all the students and their hard work on Friday, May 17 during a Lunch Bunch/Writing Celebration.
• Parents or special guests are welcome!! :)
• We will be eating lunch in the pavilion on Friday from 11:00-11:30.
• You are more than welcome to go with your child to recess 11:30-11:45.
• 11:45-12:15 we will have an open house style of our Which is Better books and projects.
• An information sheet came home last week but if you need additional information - please ask!

Library Books

• Our final library check out of the year was yesterday.  All library books are due on May 17.  As soon as your child is finished with his/her library book, we will start turning them in.  We will appreciate any help that you can give us in getting 100% of the books returned by next Friday!

Next Week's Learning

• Math
• We are finishing up our last math unit.  This is a review from year, and introducing subtraction with stacking (borrowing) and multiplication.  We will be taking our last end of the unit math test next week, and then we will focus on areas that we feel the students need a little extra reinforcement.
• Writing
• This week, we finished publishing our Which is Better book
• Next week, we will be writing our presentation and then making our Which is Better projects.
• Fundations
• Next week, we continued to work on the /ou/ sound with the vowel teams "ow" and "ou".  The students have a good understanding of this concept and we will test over the long o and the /ou/ sound. 
• Reading
• This week, we talked about author's purpose for writing.  An author might choose to write to persuade, inform or entertain (PIE).  The students have a great understanding of this!!  It is important for the students to be able to explain why they chose whether the book is to persuade, inform or entertain using evidence from text.
• Science
• This week, we talked about how plants and animals protect themselves and then reviewed food chains/webs.  The students are doing great with this concepts and were able to show off at Runge today!
• Next week, we will review at erosion and how to set up experiments.  

You spoiled me for Teacher Appreciation Week!  Thank you so much for the kind notes and gifts!  I cannot believe that the school year is almost over.  I have loved having each and one of your children in my class and I am looking forward to a wonderful last 11 days with each and everyone of them!

Have a fabulous weekend!

April Showers,,,May Showers...Oh My!

Happy Rainy Friday!  To say the least I'm about done with the rain!  I am hoping that Friday for our Runge field trip the rain stays away and the trails aren't too muddy!

We have had a wonderful week in Moss World!  It is crazy to think we only have 3 more Friday blog posts this year.  There is a lot of important information in this post, so please make sure to read it.  :)

We have been working on end of the year assessments and to say we are blown away by the progress the students have made would be an understatement.  We are so proud of how hard they have worked and how much the students have grown this year!

Important Upcoming Events

• Final Library Check Out: May 9
• Runge Field Trip: May 10
• Field Day: May 15
• Lunch Bunch and Writing Celebration: May 17
• All Library Books Due: May 17
• Crazy Hair Day: May 17
• Variety Show: May 23
• Last Day of School: May 28, dismiss at 12:10

Final Library Check Out

• Our final library check out of the year is next Thursday.  Note the day change due to our field trip.  Please help remind students to bring in their library books on May 9 so they can get new ones.  All library books are due on May 17.

Runge Field Trip

• Our Runge Field trip is next Friday!  We will send home a reminder next week, but below is important information to remember.  
• Your student will need to bring a lunch from home, if they didn't sign up to get one from the cafeteria.
• All lunches need to be in all disposable containers.  We will not be bringing anything back to school, so please pack their lunch accordingly.  
• We will be providing a snack for your student, so they do not need to bring a snack for the field trip.
• Please check the weather and have your student dress appropriately.  Currently the forecast is for temperatures between 50-60.  We will be outside for the majority of the day, so they will probably want a light jacket.  Also, there is more rain in the forecast (not on Friday, thankfully), so it may be muddy at Runge.  Your student may wear boots or tennis shoes. Please make sure they wear shoes that can get dirty.
• We will leave school around 8:30, please make sure your student is on time so they do not miss the field trip.
• If you are chaperoning and would like to take your student home, you will need to sign them out with Ms. Mottaz or Mrs. Ross. We ask that you stay with us until your group gets to look through the museum/exhibits.

Field Day

• Field Day is May 15.  
• 2nd grade will participate in the afternoon session.
• Please send in a FULL change of clothes (including underwear and socks) for your student as they may get wet during Field Day.
• Here is the link for supplies if you would like to donate anything for Field Day.
• If you would like to volunteer for Field Day, here is the link.

Which is Better Project

• The students are working hard to publish their Which is Better writing.
• We will be sharing this writing at our writing celebration on May 17.
• Students will get to create a project to accompany their book.  The projects will be created at school.
• If students would like to bring in supplies from home, they are welcome to do so, but IT IS NOT REQUIRED.  We will have tissue paper and construction paper for students to use at school.
• Here is the information sheet sent home with some ideas of the projects they can create.

Next Week's Learning

• Math
• This week, we started to review 3-digit subtraction.  We used place value blocks to show how to exchange a ten for 10 ones, or a hundred for 10 tens.  After students understood the reason for borrowing, we also taught students how to stack and borrow.  This is a hard concept.
• Next week, we will
• Writing
• This week, we started publishing our Which is Better writing.  We looked a text feature examples of strong and weak work.  The students developed a list of what text features should have and they worked EXTREMELY hard on publishing their text features.
• Next week, we will publish the words in our book.
• Fundations
• This week, we focused on the /ou/ sound using "ow" and "ou".  We learned that the vowel team of "ou" only comes in the middle of a word.  The vowel team of "ow" comes at the end of a word and sometimes in the middle.
• Next week, we will do a mixed review of /ow/ and long o sound.
• Reading
• This week, we identified the main idea of a book or section of a book and the supporting details in a nonfiction book.  We compared the main idea and supporting details to a table.  The main idea is the table top and the supporting details are the legs.  A table top without legs would not have a purpose and vice versa.
• Next week, we be talking about author's purpose for writing.  An author might choose to write to persuade, inform or entertain (PIE).
• Science
• This week, we continued to learn about food chains and introduced food webs.  We also made conclusions on our marigold experiment.  Ask your kiddo what s/he learned about what a plant needs and what is most important!
• Next week, we will continue to focus on living organism.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Friday

We hope that you had a wonderful week!  Continue to be checking out Twitter or the sidebar on the blog page for pictures of what happened this week.

Upcoming Events

• May 10: Runge Field Trip 
• Sack lunch needed
• We will get ice cream at the end of the field trip.
• May 15: Field Day
• Please send clothes for your child to change into after Field Day.
• Here is the link for field day donations:  ttps://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0548AFA922A13-field1
• Here is the link for field day volunteers: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0548afa922a13-field
• May 17: Family Lunch Bunch
• 11:00 - eat lunch with child in pavilion
• 11:30 - recess with child on playground
• 11:45 - writing celebration in the classroom
• May 17: Crazy Hair Day
• May 23: Variety Show
• May 27: No School- Memorial Day
• May 28: Last day of school
• Dismissal at 12:10

Lots of Learning!

Math

• Your child brought home his/her geometry test on Monday.  If you have not already reviewed, signed and returned this test please do so.  We have you sign and return to make sure that you are aware of how your child is doing in math.
• This week, we started our last math unit - I can't believe how quickly this year is coming to an end.  We talked more in depth with fractions.  Your child is expected to be able to partition a shape into halves, thirds and fourths, and be able to identify what a shape is partitioned into.
• Next week, we will continue to reinforce fractions, learning about subtracting multiple digit numbers, and reviewing counting coins.

Writing

• This week, the students worked EXTREMELY hard on editing and revising their Which is Better writing.  We worked on adding voice to our writing - this is something that we are going to continue to work on for the rest of the school year.
• Next week, we will start publishing our 10 page book!!!!  This is typically is our students favorite piece of writing and they will be super excited to share it with you at the Lunch Bunch/Writing Celebration on May 17.

Reading

• This week, students were introduced to dramas (no no the drama that sometimes happens in second grade but reading plays).  Students are expected to be able to identify the setting and characters in a drama, and how the dialogue advances the plot of the story.  We also talked about what an Act is versus a Scene.  We discussed the idea if math is the act then stations are like the scenes.  We started with a drama that is familiar ("The Three Little Pigs").
• Next week, we will be continue to reading dramas but in a less familiar story.  We will then move into identifying the main idea and supporting details of a nonfiction text.

Fundations

• We started talking about long o vowel team of oa, oe, and ow.  We learned that "oa" comes when the long o sound is in the middle of a word and the "oe" & "ow" comes at the end of a word.  We also discovered that "ow" also can be in the middle of a word like grown or thrown.  Today, the students made a up a rule about when "ow" can be found in the middle of the word - ask your child about it!!
• Next week, we will continue to talk about the long o vowel teams and have our end of the unit test.  We took a checkup today to see how the students are doing with this skill and they made goals based on what they need to work on.  Ask your child what they need to focus on for the test (some students got a 100% on this checkup and did not make a goal).

Science

• We continued to work on food chains.  We know that all food chains start with the sun and then a producer (plant, nut or seed).  Then, comes the primary and secondary consumers.  This week, we added decomposers and scavengers to our food chains.  Mrs. Ross taught the students a fancy word for decomposer - ask your child what it is!! 
• Next week, students are making their very own food chain based on an ecosystem and then moving into learning about food webs.

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend and please let me know if you have any questions! :)

Happy Friday!

We have had an an amazing week!  Make sure to checkout Twitter or the sidebar on the blog for pictures from the week!

Art Walk & Museum Field Trip

What an amazing field trip that we had on Tuesday!  This field trip was planned by Mrs. Clark (RBE's art teacher) and paid for by CPS's Fine Art Department-we are so lucky that the arts are so supported by CPS!!  The morning started off at the Court House and then we traveled down 8th Street looking at the art work.  If you haven't had a chance to look at all the art work - take this walk with your child and have him/her be the travel guide!  We ended on MU campus and took in some iconic sites and art.  We ate lunch on the Quad and then we sketched what we saw.  Our last stop was the Museum of Art and Archaeology at MU North.

Runge Field Trip

Our next field trip is to Runge on May 10.  Funding for this field trip is through Missouri Department of Conservation grant that RBE writes each year.  We are preparing for this field trip by our final science unit on plants and animals.

There is permission slip coming home in your child's Friday Folder today.  You can click here to view the permission slip and timeline.  Please review, fill out and return this permission slip by Monday, April 29.  We are also going to have a new addition of enjoying Central Dairy ice cream at the end of the field trip!  A small ice cream cost $2.00 and we are asking for this money when you return your child's permission slip.

RBE Eat Out at Panera

Don't have a plan for dinner on Tuesday?  Let us help you out!  Come eat at Panera from 4:00-8:00 pm!  If you are eating at Panera make sure to show the flyer below.  You can also order online for rapid pickup, but make sure that you use the code "PRFUND".  Come and enjoy dinner at Panera!

Upcoming Events

• April 23: RBE Family Eat-Out Fundraiser at Panera
• May 10: Runge Field Trip (Permission Slip coming home today)
• Sack lunch needed
• We will get ice cream at the end of the field trip, so $2 will be needed. We will ask for this to be sent in with the permission slip that will come home in a few weeks.
• May 15: Field Day
• May 17: Family Lunch Bunch
• 11:00 - eat lunch with child in pavilion
• 11:30 - recess with child on playground
• 11:45 - writing celebration in the classroom
• May 17: Crazy Hair Day
• May 23: Variety Dhow
• May 27: No school- Memorial Day
• May 28: Last day of school
• Dismissal at 12:10

Lots of Learning!

Math

• We finished up our geometry unit yesterday and took our post-test.  We learned about 2-D shape characteristics (triangle, quadrilateral, pentagon, hexagon and octagon) and also 3-D shapes.  Your child should know how to draw arrays and write a number model that represents the array.  This test will be coming home on Monday after your child has a chance to look over it.  Please review with your child, sign and return next week.
• Today, we started Unit 9.  This unit is a review of many math concepts that we have taught throughout the year and going more in depth with partitioning shapes.  Coming home in your child's Friday Folder is the Parent Letter and HomeLinks for this unit.  
• We had a conversation today about halves, thirds, and fourths.  We learned that when partitioning the parts must be equal.

Writing

• This week we went back to our Which is Better writing.  On Monday, we wrote our conclusion paragraph that included our opinion on which of the researched items we thought was better, we would want to meet or which would win in a battle.  Then, we came up with creative headings for all of our paragraphs, and decided which text feature is best for each paragraph.
• Next week, we will edit our Which is Better writing and then start publishing!!

Reading

• This week, we worked on making connections.  Connections are important to make as readers.  By making connections we are able to understand more of how the character feels or what the character is going through.  We can make text-to-self connections, text-to-text connections and text-to-world connections. 
• Next week, we will be discussing dramas.  Students will need to be able to identify the characters, setting, acts and scenes in plays.  We will also be discussing the dialogue in drama and what the purpose of it is.

Fundations

• This week, we learned about when to use "oi" versus "oy".  The students took an end of the unit Fundations test today and these will be coming home with your child next week.  We talked about the importance of using our resources (Monster book - spelling options & trick word section) to make sure that words are spelled correctly.
• Next week, we will be learning about the vowel teams that make up the long o sound (oa, oe & ow).  

Science

• Our last science unit of the year is organism needs.  We will be talking about what animals and plants need.  We will be learning about how animals help plants reproduce.  
• We started an experiment last week on putting marigolds in different conditions to see what happens to the plants.  Today, we observed the plants and discovered that water is more important to plants that are in the sun than plants that have no light.  We will continue to be observing our plants for 2 more weeks.
• We have been learning about food chains.  All food chains start with the sun because the sun gives energy to the producers (plants), a primary consumer eats the plants and then a secondary consumer eats the primary consumer.  We will also be learning about decomposers and scavengers next week.

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend and please let me know if you have any questions! :)

Happy Loren Long Day!

We had a great time this week with the warm weather and a lot of learning! Check out Twitter to see pictures from this week.  Make sure to ask your kiddo about Shelly (a frozen baby turtle we rescued from the mulch on the playground).

Loren Long

• Today, we were able to see Loren Long; the author of the "Otis" books! We used his writing as mentor texts to write our own Otis books, so it was very cool to meet him in person. The students always have such amazing questions for visiting authors, and it was great to hear the questions that stemmed from our class readings of Loren Long books and our writing.  

Seesaw

• Today, we introduced an interactive website Seesaw.  We are going to use this for students to complete assignments and for us to be able to give feedback.  Their first assignment was to take a picture of their new Fundation passage called "Surprise" and then read it fluently.  Ask you kiddo about it.  Once 

Friday Folders

• In Friday folders this week, you will find a Fundations test. This test was pretty difficult because we had a lot of options for our long /e/ sounds and none of them had rules. We practiced using our Monster Book (mini dictionary) during the unit, and when it comes to applying that to a test it can be difficult. When looking over the test with your child, please talk to them about using our resources to help use spell.

Upcoming Events

• April 16: Field trip to the Art and Archaeology Museum
• Sack lunch needed
• April 23: RBE Family Eat-Out Fundraiser at Panera
• May 10: Runge field trip
• Sack lunch needed
• We will get ice cream at the end of the field trip, so $2 will be needed. We will ask for this to be sent in with the permission slip that will come home in a few weeks.
• May 15: Field Day
• May 17: Family Lunch Bunch
• 11:00 - eat lunch with child in pavilion
• 11:30 - recess with child on playground
• 11:45 - writing celebration in the classroom
• May 17: Crazy Hair Day
• May 23: Variety Dhow
• May 27: No school- Memorial Day
• May 28: Last day of school
• Dismissal at 12:10

Look at All This Learning!

Math

• In math this week, we have been reviewing our geometry vocab and been working on using equal parts both with partitioning shapes and arrays. On Monday, we will be taking our cumulative test that goes over what we have learned so far in math. On Wednesday, we will be taking our Unit 8 test and Unit 9 pretest. We will then be starting an introductory unit on fractions.

Writing

• This week, we worked on using Loren Long's books as mentor texts to create our own Otis books. Next week, we will finish up our "Which is Better" opinion writing. 

Fundations

• In Fundations this week, we finished up our unit on the /e/ sound. We took a test on Tuesday over Unit 11. On Thursday, we started a new unit over oi and oy. Next week, we will finish up this short unit and take our Unit 12 test on Friday.

Reading

• In reading this week, we worked on finding character's point of view in a book. We talked about how point of view can be different between characters and how one character can change another's point of view. Next week, we will begin making connections: text to self, text to text, and text to world.

Science

• In science this week, we finished up our unit on Earth's changes. Next week, we will start a unit on food chains and life cycles. Today, we started a experiment to go along with this unit that focuses on what plants need to survive. We made hypotheses and decided which plants we think will grow the most and which ones we think will not survive.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know. Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday!

We have had a wonderful week and it was so nice to have warm weather!!!  Be sure to check out Twitter for pictures from the week.

Chaperones for Runge

• Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to chaperone our Runge Field Trip and also for filling out the background check and volunteer application forms.  
• If you have not filled out the forms and are interested in chaperoning, please let me know and I will send home a form.

How I Became a Pirate Play

• The students really enjoyed going to see the TRYPS production of  How I Became a Pirate on Thursday.
• A HUGE thank you to PTA for purchasing the tickets for us.
• Another HUGE thank you to the Missouri Arts Council for providing the funding for our transportation.  

Friday Folder

• Art and Archaeology Field Trip Information
• Mrs. Clark, our art teacher, has planned a field trip to explore downtown art as well as go to the Art and Archaeology Museum at Mizzou North on April 16.
• In the Friday folder, is a slip regarding lunch for that day.  Please fill out the bottom portion regarding lunch and return it to school.  We just need to know if your student will be bringing a lunch from home or is purchasing a sack lunch from the cafeteria.
• CPS Fine Arts department is funding this field trip so we will not be taking chaperones.
• Loren Long book order form
• Loren Long is coming to RBE (we are really excited) on April 12.  If you would like to order books, there is an order form in your student's Friday folder.  Any books purchased will be signed by Loren Long.
• Unit 12 Fundations Packet
• We will be wrapping up Unit 11 next week in Fundations, so we have put the Unit 12 information letter in the Friday folder.  As always, please continue practicing trick words at home.
• Unit 8 Math Packet
• The practice pages for Unit 8 are in the Friday folder.  As always, these are not required, but students can do them if they want some extra practice.  
• Field Day Sign Up
• If you would like to sign up to help at Field Day.  There is a note in your student's Friday folder with a link to sign up.
• RBE 2019-2020 Sheets
• As we start looking towards next year, it is always helpful to know if students will be returning.  In the Friday folder is a paper to be filled out letting us know if your students will be returning to RBE next year.  

Important Upcoming Events

• April 10: Full day of school
• April 12: RBE shirt/school colors day
• April 12: Loren Long comes to RBE
• April 16: Field trip to Art and Archaeology Museum
• Sack lunch needed
• May 10: Runge Field Trip
• Sack lunch needed
• We will get ice cream at the end of the field trip, so $2 will be needed.  We will ask for this to be sent in with the permission slip that will come home in a few weeks. 
• May 15: Field Day
• May 17: Family Lunch Bunch
• May 17: Crazy Hair Day
• May 23: Variety Show
• May 28: Last Day of School (Dismiss at 12:10)

Reading

• This week in reading, we worked on cause and effect.  The students are able to explain that a cause is what happens to make the effect happen.  We have been working on identifying cause and effect situations in both read aloud books, as well as independent books.
• Next week, students will start to learn about point of view.  They will discuss how a different character may have a different point of view and how it can change the story.

Writing

• This week, students have been working on supporting their opinions with facts.  They will be writing an opinion piece about reusable water bottles vs. disposable water bottles.  Be sure to ask your student which they think is best and why.
• Next week in preparation for Loren Long's visit, the students will be writing their own Otis stories.  We will then give Loren Long our stories on Friday, April 12 when he is at RBE.

Math

• This week, we continued to work on Unit 8.  The students were introduced to 3-D shapes.  They also started learning about partitioning shapes into equal pieces as well.
• There is A LOT of vocabulary in this unit.  Below is a list of the vocabulary words, please review these at home.  Practicing their math vocabulary can count as a homework bingo activity.  
• side, angle, vertex (both in 2-D and 3-D), right angle, parallel lines, quadrilateral, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, polygon, edge and face.
• Next week, students will continue working on partitioning shapes into equal pieces.  They will also be creating and describing arrays.  

Fundations

• This week in Fundations, we have continued to work on vowel teams.  The students now know 4 spelling patterns for the long A and 6 spelling patterns for the long E.  We have been using our Monster book to look up the different spelling patterns.
• Next week, we will start Unit 12.  This unit continues to work on vowel teams.  The students will learn oi as in coin and oy as in boy.  These two are "easier" because oi is in the middle of words and oy is at the end of the words.

Science

• This week in science students learned about fresh water and salt water.  They learned where salt water and fresh water are found.  They also learned about 3 main bodies of water in Missouri, the Missouri River, Mississippi River and the Lake of the Ozarks.
• Next week, we will finish up learning about water and move on to erosion and glaciers.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to let us know.

Happy Spring Break

Happy Friday!

Wow!  What a great week we have had!  We wrapped it up with an ice cream party this afternoon.  We always have an ice cream party as a treat for the students when they finish their ice cream opinion writing which they did earlier this week.  Be sure to check out Twitter for pictures!

There are no Friday folders coming home this week.  Friday folders sometimes get lost over long breaks, so we decided not to send them home.  They will come home the Friday after Spring Break.

Important Info

• Runge Field Trip Chaperones
• Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to chaperone our Runge Field Trip and filled out the background check and volunteer application.  If you are still interested in chaperoning, please return the background check form and volunteer application the week we return from Spring Break so we have time to get it processed.  If needed, we can send home a copy of the forms as well.
• Loren Long comes to RBE
• Award winning author, Loren Long, is coming to RBE on April 12.  In Friday folders last week was an order form for books.  All books purchased will be signed by Loren Long.  If your student would like to order a book, please complete the form and return it to school.  There are limited quantities of each title, so sooner is better if you're planning to order.  If you need an additional order form, you can print one here, or let me know and I can get you one.
• Warmer Weather
• Hopefully after Spring Break, spring will officially be here to stay.  Please remember our first recess is at 9:55 a.m. and it is still often chilly at that time.  Please make sure your student has a jacket (or coat if winter decides to come back) with them daily.  

  

Important Upcoming Events

• Wednesday, April 3: Lunch is at 11:30, not 11:00
• Thursday, April 4: Field trip to see TRYPS play (9:00-11:00; we will eat lunch at 11:30 on April 4)
• Wednesday, April 10: Full Day of School (change from original calendar)
• Friday, April 12: Loren Long comes to RBE
• Tuesday, April 16: Field trip to MU Art and Archaeology Museum (more info after Spring Break)
• Friday, May 10: Runge Field Trip
• Wednesday, May 15: Variety Show (schedule will come closer to date)
• Friday, May 17: Lunch Bunch and Share Fair of Which is Better Project
• We invite parents/grandparents/special friends/etc. to come eat lunch with the students at 11:00 and then stay after lunch to enjoy their Which is Better Project
• Our plan is to eat from 11:00-11:45 (recess is from 11:25-11:45 if your student wants to go) and then a writing celebration starts at 11:45.
• More information will come out closer to this date, we just wanted to give you time in case 
• Thursday, May 23: Field Day (schedule will come closer to date)
• Tuesday, May 28: Updated Last Day of School (half day)

Our Learning After Spring Break

• Reading
• Students will wrap up their unit on asking questions.  The students have been asking some specific questions before, during and after reading.  They are also understanding how asking questions when reading can help you to understand what you have read.
• Please encourage your students to read just a bit over Spring Break.  😊
• Writing
• We will continue working on our opinion writing unit after Spring Break.  Students will learn to form an opinion and base it on facts supported through research.  The next opinion writing will be about whether to use a reusable water bottle or disposable water bottles.  
• Math
• We will continue working on Unit 8 in math.  This unit covers both 2-D and 3-D shapes in geometry (LOTS of vocabulary) and also introduces students to partitioning (evenly dividing) of shapes.  
• Students have learned about sides, vertices (or vertex), angles, right angles, parallel lines, polygons as well as specific names of polygons such as quadrilateral, triangle, pentagon and hexagon.  
• Science
• Students learned this week why elevation causes the temperatures to be cooler.  After Spring Break, students will learn how to differentiate between salt and fresh water.  Then they will learn
• Fundations
• We will finish up Unit 11 after Spring Break.  This unit covers the 3 vowel teams that make the long e sounds.  They are ee, ea, and ey.  The students are learning to check their monster book (mini dictionary) to identify the correct spelling option.  
• Please continue to practice trick words at home with your students.  Our goal is for the students to learn the words and then use them in their writing. 

I hope that you have a wonderful Spring Break!

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!  I hope that this week has been a good one.

Runge Field Trip Chaperones-Background Checks

• We took over all chaperone forms that were turned into us so far to Aslin today.  We will be making another trip over to drop off forms before Spring Break as well.
• If you would like to chaperone and haven't filled out the forms, please do so soon.  If you need the forms, please let us know.
• The cost of the background check is paid for by Columbia Public Schools.
• You will receive an email once your background check has been completed and cleared.  Please forward this email to me.

Playground Expectations

• We reviewed our playground expectations this week as well as our recognize, refuse, report skills.  Some students have struggled with KAHFOOTY (keep all hands, feet and other objects to yourself) lately.  We discussed that touching (whether in a kind way such as a hug or in a hurtful way such as hitting) is allowed at RBE.  We also discussed with students that games such as chase and tag are not allowed and this can often lead to hitting or kicking.
• Mr. Smith has taught the 3 R's of recognize the problem, refuse the action they don't like, and report the incident to an adult.  We discussed with the students the importance of reporting the incident to the supervising adult (teacher or classroom aide) and giving all the information to the adult.  It is important that we know everything that happened during the situation so we know all sides of the story.
• Please review our playground explectations at hom and the importance of using KAHFOOTY.

Otis Come to RBE!!

• Award winning author, Loren Long, is coming to Rock Bridge on April 12!
• In the Friday folder is an order form if you would like to purchase Loren Long books.  
• These books will be signed by Loren Long when he comes to RBE!

There will be No Friday Folders Next Friday due to Spring Break the week of March 25-29.

Class Placement

• As second grade is coming to a close and third grade is right around the corner, you might be thinking about next.  As teachers, we truly try to make the best decision for each child when placing students with classroom teachers.  We take into consideration personality, classroom structure, teaching style and what students need to help them succeed.
• If you would like to provide input regarding specific teacher characteristics you feel that would be beneficial for your student, you may request a class placement form from the RBE office.  These forms are for characteristics and not specific teacher requests.  All forms are due by April 15 to the RBE office.

This Week's Learning

• Reading
• This week students worked on asking questions before, during and after reading.
• This skill helps them to think deeper about their book.  It also helps to make connections throughout the book.
• Writing
• This week the students are working on a "delicious" writing activity.  They are writing an opinion piece about their favorite type of ice cream.  They not only have to support their opinion with 2 valid reasons (we discussed that "yummy" isn't a valid reason), but also include at least 1 counter argument about a different flavor of ice cream.  
• Math
• Your student brought home their Unit 7 test on Wednesday.  Thank you to those who have signed and returned it, if you haven't had a chance to do that yet, please do so on Monday.  
• We started Unit 8 this week in math.  This unit covers geometry and has a lot of vocabulary.  Students have learned about sides, angles, vertices, parallel lines and right angles so far.  Please review this vocabulary with your students.
• Science/Social Studies
• We continued to learn about water temperature at different locations on Earth.  The students also learned this week that there is no land at the North Pole, but it is actually a large ice cap.  Even though there is no land at the North Pole, it is actually colder at the South Pole.
• Fundations
• We wrapped up Unit 10 this week.  We continue to practice the different spelling options for words in our Monster Book.  

Next Week's Learning

• Reading
• We will continue working on asking questions while we are reading.  The students are learning this skill with Ms. Easter.  They are then practicing this skill through either an independent reading book or a guided reading group.  When your student is reading at home, be sure to ask them if they had any questions while they were reading.  
• Writing
• We will be publishing our ice cream opinion next week.  We have a sweet surprise for the students when they finish the writing.
• Math
• We will continue working in Unit 8 next week.  The students will learn the definition of a polygon and then have the opportunity to determine if a shape is or is not a polygon and explain their reasoning.  
• Science/Social Studies
• We will discuss how water temperatures based on the elevation of the land.  We will also learn to identify if water is fresh or salt water.
• Fundations
• We will start Unit 11 next week.  This unit continues to work on vowel teams (or double vowels).  We will focus on vowel teams that make the long e sound.  These are "ee", "ea" and "ey."  Please continue practicing the trick words at home also.  

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!  Please let me know if you have any questions. :)

Ms. Mottaz