Specials are Spot On

2nd Grade February News

Art

Second graders have been working hard to complete their research for their REALISTIC CLAY ANIMALS and move on to the next parts of this collaborative art/science/writing unit!

We are in the process of writing our very own NONFICTION books to describe all about our animals. We learned already during our classroom time what a NONFICTION book is, and we already show that we learned so much, as we recreate another nonfiction book all on our own, outside of our regular classroom! The art room loves an opportunity to collaborate and align art work with concepts in the classroom to strengthen learning!

We have spent the month of February refining our facts, looking closely at images of the animals we chose, and sketching REALISTIC sketches of those animals.

We have also began practicing the forming process of clay. We began creating the different shapes and forms we would need to create a three dimensional work of art. We will continue building our sculptures and writing our nonfiction books for the next few weeks.

All of our masterpieces will be on display in the library when our artwork is complete! Keep your eye out over the next month for this big display when you come to visit!

Miss Pinto and Miss Fausette

Music

During the month of February, second graders have focused on our new note, “do” (pronounced “doh”). Now that students know how to read, write and sing Do, they have four notes to work with on our solfa staircase: Do, Mi, Sol, and La. With these four notes, students are able to sing many known songs and make up songs of their own! Now, we are beginning to work on the next mystery note, located between Do and Mi on the staircase. Students use body signs to locate the note in various songs. They are anxious to find out if their guesses about the new note’s name are correct! In addition to our music literacy practice, students have enjoyed the challenge of performing songs in a “round”, where two groups perform a song, starting at different times. This is a real challenge for second graders, so we start by only clapping the rhythm of a song in a round. However, students have made tremendous progress, sometimes even performing in a three-part round! Finally, students have enjoyed playing music class games like the “Dot Game” and “Forbidden Pattern”, which both help students to improve their aural skills. Ask your child to explain the games to you! Below, you will find a picture of the current configuration of our solfa staircase, complete with a question mark for the mystery note!

Mrs. Maldonado

Physical Education

Hi everyone! The weather is warming, but March can still bring colder temperatures and some snow, so don’t start thinking spring quite yet! Hopefully during January your family was able to get outside and enjoy the warmer temperatures and fresh air. In January we continued with our ball skills units, now using our hands, as we started our beachball volleyball unit. We focus on eye hand coordination and various technical shots and reaction time, as the children move from individual work, to partner work, then to larger group activities. We concluded this unit in early Feb. with our volleying games, serving games, and modified partner games combining all the different skills we have been working on. As always, our PE classes begin with a detailed and progressive warm up, including a prolonged cardiovascular (aerobic) fitness exercise, either through jogging or running activities. We then progress through the warm up with attention to exercises and movements focusing on power, strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination. The warm up is about 50% of our class, then we move into skill based activities/units/lessons for the remaining 50% of class. Thank you very much for any support and encouragement you are able to provide at home so we can continue to keep our children thinking about all the aspects of a healthy lifestyle, for now and for many years to come!

Take care and enjoy the little burst of spring!

Coach Ruel and Coach Boscarino

Library Media

During the month of February, with Mrs. Flannery, 2nd grade students have started their research unit. Each class has chosen, or is in the process of choosing the topic they would like to explore. Examples range from what is a tsunami? to what is a black hole? to why do ladybugs have spots? Students will work as a class to plan their research; gather information from PebbleGo or MyOn; and finally to create a Voicethread, communicating what they have learned. Voicethreads will be shared with all second grade classes, so we can learn from each other!

With Mrs. Hill, students participated in the following read alouds:

Lulu’s Mysterious Mission by Judith Viorst (Nutmeg Nominee)

*Please note: The spring book fair will be held from March 13-March 17. More details will be coming home soon.

If you have any questions in regards to your child’s library experience. Please don’t hesitate to contact us or locate more information on the library webpage.

Mrs. Flannery and Mrs. Hill