Here we go! :D

Dear 2A Families,

It was a joy meeting you all on Friday evening! Thank you so much for your grace and patience when trying to organize supplies and complete a long "to-do" list in a crowded classroom. We really appreciate your help with organizing your child's desk and completing some paperwork too. Mrs. Gerhart and I are ecstatic to spend this year with your amazing children! We will post on the blog every Friday afternoon to keep you up to date on your child's learning for the upcoming week. 

With that being said, here is our first one!

First Homework Assignment: Brown Bag Autobiographies are due on Monday :-). We look forward to learning more about your child through this fun activity.

First Day of School: Mrs. Gerhart and I will take pictures of the students on the first day of school. I will be sure to send those your way! Don't forget to take lots of your own pictures and give a couple extra hugs and kisses to your 2nd grader! I'm sure there will be definitely some feelings of nerves and excitement. Fear not - we will help your child feel safe, comfortable, and loved all day long! Monday morning there will be teachers at drop off to assist your children out of their cars, help unload school supplies, and remind them where to go. You don't need to worry about getting out of your vehicle. 

Archway strives to create a sacred space for great works of the past. Our time with your children is so precious and important. That being said, our campus is pop-culture free. Please make sure backpacks, lunch boxes, pencil pouches, etc. don't contain any "characters" or "slogans". If you have any questions in regards to this please let me know! 

Communication: The best way to communicate with me is via email. If you need to speak with me regarding as sensitive issue the best way is to email me and I will give you a call. We can also set up a time to meet in person too!

Blog Pro-Tip: If you are looking at the blog from your smartphone and for some reason cannot see the sidebars, I'd recommend scrolling all the way down and clicking on "web version". It should then show the sidebars which have our current poem, literature, homework, and daily schedule. Let me know if there is anything else you'd like to see on the weekly blog! 

Next Week's Curriculum ...

Most of our focus next week will be on building our classroom and getting to know each other. There will also be many procedures to learn and practice. We're also going to dive right into our beautiful curriculum...

Poetry: Students will begin memorizing their first poem this week! A copy of the poem Bed in Summer by Robert Louis Stevenson will be sent home. Students will memorize one stanza each week, and present their recitation to the class the week of August 28. I will attach a copy of the recitation rubric I will be using the back of the poem.

Literature: Please send in a copy of Charlotte's Web with your child this week. We will be reading this book for the next 8 weeks. Please let me know if you need assistance in getting a copy. I have a few extras your student can borrow. We will begin reading Charlotte's Web on Monday. Students will learn key vocabulary words from chapters 1-3, be introduced to some leading characters, identify important character traits for Fern, and write a letter to Wilbur from Fern's perspective. If you have a chance to speak with you child this week about perspective that would be so helpful. Understanding how others feel and think is a skill that we will work on a lot this year!

Spalding: Students will not be assigned spelling words this week, instead we will focus on handwriting and phonogram review. Handwriting homework will be sent home in your students red folder this week, and I encourage you to review phonograms at home for five minutes each evening.

Math: We are going to start the year of with a review of how to group numbers into tens and ones, read and write number words, and skip-count by 2's and 10's. This week we will also complete a (non-graded) assessment to check understanding. Though the assessment will not receive a grade, we would encourage you to have a talk with your child to let her/him know that it's definitely okay to make mistakes and to just do her/his best!

Science: Our young scientists will learn about the steps of the Scientific Method (Observations, Problem, Hypothesis, Experiment, Results, Conclusion) through exploration of "Mystery Bags" and reading a book called 11 Experiments that Failed.

History: Over the next couple of weeks, we will be exploring maps and globes. We will begin with a review of the basic geography concepts of place, region, human and physical characteristics, and relative location. Children review that maps have symbols, keys to decipher those symbols, and that maps also show cardinal directions. Students will review the continents and identify all four oceans along with Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America on the North American Continent. Our exploration of the globe will continue through identification and location of the Equator and the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, as well as a review of the location of the North and South Poles. New concepts and vocabulary dealing with physical features will also be introduced. Upon completing the unit, students should be able to locate their state and approximate location of their community within the state, as well as keys, poles, continents, oceans, neighboring countries, and Equator.

As always, feel free to reach out to me with questions or concerns. Have a wonderful Sunday night! Please be sure your 2nd grader gets plenty of rest and eats a nice, healthy breakfast on Monday morning! Don't forget to bring your school supplies (if you haven't already), a water bottle, morning snack, and lunch. I look forward to seeing you all soon!

Warmest, 

Mr. High