
Specials are Spot On
May 2nd Grade News
Music
During the past month, second graders have had lots of fun! They learned a new rhythm called the dotted half note, which gets three beats. Some classes have tried the class rhythm card challenge and are competing to see which class can complete a stack of rhythm cards faster. So far, Mrs. Mazzotta’s class is in the lead! Students participated in a movement activity to learn about a song form called “rondo”. They created movements with a partner to find out which parts of the song repeated and which parts were new.
Some classes are composing songs for special instruments called Boom Whackers!
These colorful instruments get their name because they are “whacked” against something to make their sound. As you can imagine, these instruments inspire lots of creativity and excitement! However, this project also allows students to pull together all of the musical elements they learned about throughout the school year to create something new. It is a great learning experience. See some pictures of student composers and the Boom Whackers below!
Mrs. Maldonado
Library Media
All second grade classes have now finished their research unit, with Mrs. Flannery and have moved into reviewing call numbers and exploring the library catalog. 2nd graders have really taken to using the catalog and finding their library books. Our goal for the next few weeks and into next year is to get them to all to be independent, expert users of the library. As we finish our review we will be moving into using several new Makerspace tools for the remainder of the year. More information to follow!
With Mrs. Hill, students have participated in the following read alouds:
Lulu’s Mysterious Mission by Judith Viorst
Livingstone Mouse by Pamela Duncan Edwards
Ranger in Time; Rescue on the Oregon Trail by Kate Messner
The Sword in the Tree by Clyde Robert Bulla
Harriet the Invincible by Ursula Vernon
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
Physical Education
Hi everyone!
Things are going great in PE class, the children are working very hard, showing much improvement, and having a lot of fun! We spent March playing cooperative games, using the scooters and playing scooter soccer, and, as always, working on our fitness, flexibility, balance, coordination, strength, and power. We also finished up our Badminton and Shuffleboard units.
In mid April we will set up for our longest unit of the school year, gymnastics, a favorite of all the children! We are fortunate to have actual gymnastic equipment and we spend about 5-6 weeks on this unit.
Just around the corner, we will be sending home volunteer forms for our end of the year finale, Fun Days! Fun Day for Gr. 2 will be June 7th, with the makeup date June 9th, if necessary. Fun Day takes place for the whole day, with many fun activities and stations to visit and enjoy. We have always been very, very fortunate to have a great parent and family turnout to help with making Fun Days the great day and success it has been for decades now. Keep your eyes open for these forms, coming home early May, we hope you are able to lend a helping hand, it is a lot of fun and the children love to see their parents and people they know spending the day having fun with them!
We hope you all enjoyed your April vacation, hopefully everybody was able to spend some time outside having fun and getting in a workout in as well.
Baseball, Softball, Soccer and Lacrosse seasons are here (just to name a few!) and the children are always anxious to share stories about their games and matches with us!
Take care,
Coach Boscarino and Coach Ruel
Art
For the Month of May, students have been working with tissue paper to create spring-time inspired collages. When we were younger, we learned that we could rip and glue tissue paper. But this time, we have students cutting, ripping, folding, twisting, tearing, and crumpling the tissue paper, and MORE! It is amazing to watch how each 2nd grader has their own special way to create a collage with the same materials!
But the most exciting part of this project is that the students are designated as the teachers! We are experiencing peer leading, student-driven instruction, and problem-solving! I am amazed at how many second graders make such great teachers, and how proud they are to have the opportunity to do so!
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! 2ND GRADE ART SHOW!!! Wednesday, May 24th from 5:00pm-8:00pm
2nd Grader’s realistic clay sculptures and non-fiction books will be on display for their very OWN art show!!!! The special 2nd grade art show (featuring EVERY 2nd grader) will be held in the Library during the night of the writing celebration! We hope to see you thereJ
Miss Pinto and Miss Fausette
The Specials Team
Email: rflannery@easthamptonct.org
Website: www.easthamptonps.org
Location: Memorial School, Smith Street, East Hampton, CT, United States
Phone: 8603654020
Facebook: facebook.com/MemorialElementarySchool
Twitter: @EHPublicSchools