Thank you very much!

Dear 2A,

Thank you so much for the wonderful surprises last week! It is such an honor and privilege to teach your child(ren) and I am so grateful to have such a group of supportive parents in our class. Thank you all!

Here is what's coming up this week:

Writing and Grammar: We will be finishing up and publishing a super secret paragraph!

Literature: Little House in the Big Woods will be completed next week! We will read the very last chapter on Tuesday and complete our lap books. Thank you to all of our parents who have volunteered for reading groups! It has meant so much to our kids.

Spalding Words Next Week: We had an awesome review week last week! We will jump into new words and see if we can identify the rules.
Monday: special, specific, present, present, action, act, justice, just, gentleman, gentle
Tuesday: enclose, await, suppose, wonderful, forward, backward, toward, although, prompt, attempt
Wednesday: whose, who's = who is, who, statement, state, perhaps, their, they, imprison, written, writ

Math: We'll wrap up our last full week with a cumulative review and assessment! Keep an eye out for worksheet homework coming home in your child's "Take home" folder each night this week.

History: We will continue to learn about Civil Rights leaders next week. We will meet Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and César Chávez. We have enjoyed learning about these important people. Ask your child which one of these people they would like to meet. What would they say to them? Look for a study guide coming home on Thursday. The test will be on Monday, May 21.

Please don't forget about Muffins with Mom next Friday, May 18th at 8am - we hope to see you there!

Gratefully,

Mr. High

Good Morning 2A!

Dear 2A,

We had such a great week last week! Mrs. Gerhart and I were so proud 2A and how well they did at the concert on Wednesday. Your children have all worked very hard this year and we are so proud! 

Here is what's coming up this week:

Important Upcoming Events:
Monday, May 7: Phoenix Symphony coming to Arete ~ 9am
Friday, May 18: Muffins with Mom @ 8am! Please RSVP to your child's teacher :-)

Clubs: The final day of clubs is Friday, May 11 (exception: K-1 Art).

Next Week in 2B...

Writing and Grammar: We will be working on a super secret paragraph for a very special lady!

Literature: Little House in the Big Woods will continue through reading chapters 11 and 12. We will write about the steps involved with making cheese, be introduced to some new vocabulary, and understand how oats are harvested.

Spalding: Next week we will review some spelling words from the past, focusing on the rules used in each word.

Monday: queen, cent, gentle, hotel, tiny, nearly, words, hopping, driving, pie
Tuesday: shoes, permission, progress, delay, sign, hold, extra, almost, cheerful, bridge
Wednesday: check, June, fixed, summer, male, twelve, once, able, become

Math: We're going to review multiplication and time! Pro-tip: use some car-time this week to quiz your child over their 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 10 multiplication tables.

History: We have a full week of history next week! On Monday, your child will have a study guide coming home for the Immigration and Citizenship test. Please help them study on Monday night, the test is on Tuesday. We will begin our last unit on Civil Rights Leaders talking about Susan B. Anthony, Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt, and Jackie Robinson. Be sure to ask your child how each of these amazing people impacted civil rights.

Science: We are AHEAD of the game in our Science curriculum. Next week we will focus our Science time to complete our History units. Get ready for some awesome STEM activities and possible SLIME making before the end of the year :-).

Have a great day!

-Mr. High

Thank you for your continued support!

Dear 2A, 

Thank you so much for all of your support in helping out with Math and Reading Groups! We cannot thank you enough for your support. :) 

Here's what this week has in store for us:

Literature: We will read Chapters 9 & 10 of Little House in the Big Woods.

Writing and Grammar: We are reading a passage from Dr. Dolittle. We will also learn the difference between sentences and fragments. We will continue classifying sentences and write compound sentences, too!

Spalding Words Next Week:
Monday: entire, president, preside, famous, fame, serve, estate, remember, either, effort
Tuesday: due, dew, include, allow, position, ledge, claim, primary, result, appoint
Wednesday: information, whom, who, arrest, themselves, self, calves, calf, halves, half

Math: Our exciting geometry unit will start!

Science: Has your child told you all about Florence Nightingale, Elijah McCoy, and Daniel Hale Williams? We will review them all next week and take a short quiz.

History: We are continuing on with our Immigration and Citizenship unit next week. We will learn about the trials immigrants faced in the 1800's, as well the rights and responsibilities American Citizens have. We will also study three prominent immigrants: Andrew Carnegie, Dr. Albert Sabin, and Irving Berlin. You can ask your child about the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island or listen to some Irving Berlin music next week!

Warmest,

Mr. High

What a great week in 2A!

Dear 2A,

We had another really exciting week in second grade! We learned so much about two really strong and incredible women: Florence Nightingale, and Clara Barton. On another note, it has been so exciting to see how much our students have grown this year. Your children have worked so hard and we are very excited to see them continue to press onward and finish this year with their best! 

*A Quick Note from Our French Teachers*

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The summer is fast approaching, and with it the end of the school year! While we in the French team are excited for the break, we’re even more eager to gear up for next year—and a major part of gearing up is taking care of our books.

Unlike other class materials, which go home with our scholars, the French activity book will live on campus during the summer. In the next five weeks, we will be labeling and collecting these books for safekeeping. We want our Les Loustics program, which serves students for 2 consecutive years, to be ready and waiting for scholars when they return. During the summer, we invite scholars and families to use their French notebooks and online resources to review all material taught throughout the year.

If you plan to move to another Great Hearts Academy, especially one which follows the Les Loustics program, please contact the French team by email before the end of May to request your books. If you plan to change school networks, or if your child will not be using Les Loustics level 1 or 2 at their academy, we ask kindly that you donate it to Arete where it will surely serve a child in need. Thank you for your understanding and your cooperation in this matter.

The French Teachers,

Madame Gebara
Monsieur Gaudin

This Week in 2A:

Writing and Grammar: We will write persuasive paragraphs that focus on a specific audience. Will your audience be convinced?

Literature: Little House in the Big Woods will continue through reading chapters 7 & 8. We'll talk about how Laura escaped from the bear and learn all about sugar snow and the steps for making maple syrup.

Spalding Words Next Week: Only 20 due to no school on Monday.
Tuesday: select, connection, connect, firm, region, religion, convict, private, command, debate
Wednesday: crowd, factory, publish, represent, term, section, relative, relate, progress, progress

Math: We are spending much of this week working on reviewing some of the concepts we have not covered for a little while and will also spend some time focusing on word problems!

Science: Daniel Hale Williams is our next and last important person to learn about in our biography unit! Daniel Hale Williams was an African-American doctor who performed the first successful open heart surgery! He was a surgeon who helped set up a teaching hospital in Chicago. It was the first hospital in Chicago to have African-American doctors and nurses on its staff. ALL patients were treated well there. We have truly enjoyed learning about these important people in Science and discussing the virtues they each possessed.

History: We will take our test over the Civil War. Please help your child study for it over the weekend. We will also begin our unit on Immigration and Citizenship! Ask your child to tell you the four reasons people wanted to come to America (food, freedom, opportunity, and land).

Warmest, 

Mr.High

Good morning!

Dear 2A,

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and feel refreshed and ready for a brand new week! Here is what's coming up this week in 2A:

Literature: We will read Chapters 5 and 6 of Little House in the Big Woods. We will compare and contrast an important holiday in our own family to the Ingall's holiday. We'll learn about Grandpa and the PIG!

Writing and Grammar: We will add the last part of speech to our question and answer flow for this year ~ CONJUNCTIONS! Conjunction junction, what's your function? We will also be reading an excerpt from The Magic of Oz by Frank L. Baum!

Spalding Words Next Week:
Monday: laughter, laugh, lining, line, ocean, nephew, nineteen, noticed, notice, passengers
Tuesday: remained, retreating, style, subtract, tailor, thumb, trial, voyage, whisper, wrong
Wednesday: sometimes, engage, final, finally, terrible, surprise, period, addition, employ, property

Math: We will begin a new unit on graphs and tables. We will learn how to compare graphs, use tally marks, and create our very own graph too!

History: We are finishing up our Civil War unit this week. Ask your child why Clara Barton was called The Angel of the Battlefield. Look for a study guide to come home on Friday!

Science: We will learn about a special woman, a nurse, named Florence Nightingale. She was also known as The Lady with the Lamp. Florence always believed that her life had a special purpose and that she was meant to help others. Be sure to ask your child how she accomplished this!

Warmest,

Mr. High

Good Afternoon!

Dear 2A, 

We hope you're having a lovely weekend! Here is what's coming up this week in second grade: 

Fine Arts and French Night: It is our great pleasure to invite you to our annual Fine Arts and French Night, an evening showcasing our students' excellent work in the arts this year! This event will take place on Wednesday, April 11th. There will only be one session this year from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Parking will be available on campus and at The Falls. Our students have made great strides this academic year in both French and Fine Art, and we cannot wait for you to come get a glimpse of the beauty they have created on this special occasion. Come enjoy French performances, art workshops, student work, and snacks! This is a casual event, so uniforms are not required. We hope to see you there!

Book Reports (Visors) are due on Monday! I'm excited to see the kids wearing their visors to school on Monday!

Poetry: Students will be assessed on their recitation of Lincoln by Nancy Byrd Turner next week. Please ask your child to recite this poem in the car, at the dinner table, or in front of their stuffed animals or real animals (any kind of audience will work) :-).

Writing and Grammar: We're writing our next paragraph moving from two main points to THREE main points! If you'd like to help your child get started this weekend ask them to tell you about their 3 favorite activities :-)!

Literature: We will be reading chapters 3 and 4 of Little House in the Big Woods.

Spalding Words Next Week:
Monday: reply, sail, sale, cities, city, known, know, several, desire, nearly
Tuesday: too (more than, also), two (2), to, animal, basin, breeze, button, cabbage, careful, cough
Wednesday: cousin, dollars, excuse, excuse, island, grief, guard, guilty, hungry, language *NO Homework for these words on Wednesday

Math: We will conclude our unit on capacity and take a cumulative test over the units we have studied thus far on Friday. Please keep a sharp eye out for a study guide coming home on Thursday! (Sidenote: There will be no homework this Wednesday to celebrate our Fine Arts Night. Hope to see you there!)

Science: Our unit on biographies will begin by studying a man named Elijah McCoy. Have you ever heard the phrase: The REAL McCoy? What is something you prefer to have the real McCoy of?

History: We continue our study of the Civil War this week. Your children will learn about Abraham Lincoln, his views on slavery, and how he contributed to the start of the Civil War. Ask your child to tell you about the differences between two famous Generals: Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant.

Best,

Mr. High

Happy Easter!

Dear 2A,

We did it! We officially survived our field trip to the Pioneer Living History Museum. :) Thank you so much to our incredible chaperones and to everyone who was able to join us that day! We couldn't have done this without you. I'll upload some of the photos from that day soon!

Here's what's coming up this week in second grade: 

Writing and Grammar: We will start a new unit on dictionary skills! We will be Dictionary Daredevils! We will become alphabetical order experts, and learn to use guide words. We will also read a few tall tales! 

Literature: Please send in a copy of our newest novel: Little House in the Big Woods. We will discuss the setting and how it relates to us in Arizona. We will outline the 5 main characters in the story. After reading we will discuss how Laura’s house and our homes differ. We will learn the steps of food preservation. Ask your literature master what the vocabulary word ‘headcheese’ means!

Spalding Words Next Week:
Monday: Mrs. = Mis tress, Mr. = Mis ter, Miss, husband, amount, human, view, clerk, though, o'clock = o(f the) clock
Tuesday: support, does, goes, Tuesday, regard, escape, since, which, witch
Wednesday: length, long, strength, strong, destroy, newspaper, daughter, naughty, caught, taught, answer

Math: We're starting our unit about capacity!

Science: We will be assessed on our understanding of magnets. We will fill out a study guide on Tuesday. Please help your child review. We will take a short quiz on Thursday.

History: We will review on Monday and take a test on Wednesday over our unit about Americans moving west! We start learning about the Civil War next Friday.

Club Info!

Introduction to STEM Using Legos (Grades K-2nd)

Let your imagination run wild with tens of thousands of LEGO parts! Build engineer designed projects such as: motorcycles, castles, airplanes, and monorails. Register your child for Play-Well STEM club on Fridays from April 6th - May 18th from 3:05-4:35 p.m. The cost is $155 per student and the club is open to K-2nd grades. For questions, please call Jennifer at (602) 317-7448 or email jennifer@play-well.org. [https://play-well-registration.com/registration/new/64338]

On another note . . . We won the “Royalty for a Day” Contest!  Friday, April6th, will be the special day. 

The teachers will be crowned and our class will receive a special popcorn party! 

Our class can also wear a spirit shirt this day to celebrate! 

Many thanks to all who donated their 2017 Tax Credit to Archway Arete. 

Thank you, again!

Warmest,

Mr. High