2nd Grade Continued...

Ask Your Child About…

Community Building
2nd graders worked together to discuss how they want to feel at school—safe, included, and respected—and how we can support one another. From this, they created and signed the 2nd Grade Charter, promising to uphold these values. We continue to come together during morning meeting games and activities. Ask your child which one they like best so far and why.

✨ Welcome our Room Parents: Kanako (Hanako’s mom) & Tiia (Austin’s mom)! They’ll help keep 2nd grade families connected, share information, and provide support throughout the year.

Math
We’ve launched Cambridge Math, starting with identifying, naming, comparing, writing, and sorting numbers up to 1,000. It’s a big jump, but we’re taking it step by step. This week’s math homework reflects our class lessons.

Science
Students explored why a group of wild bighorn sheep would leave their usual desert habitat to visit a very different environment: a local playground. They recorded observations of the living and nonliving parts of each habitat and used their findings to understand how animals rely on their environment for food, shelter, and survival.

Literacy
Reading groups are underway! Recent read-alouds include The Bad Seed (Jory John), Say Something, Be You, and The Dot (Peter H. Reynolds), plus Owl Moon (Jane Yolen), which is inspiring our narrative writing unit. Students are learning to bring small moments alive through sensory details, sound words, and dialogue.

On September 15th, we celebrated International Dot Day with a virtual visit from Peter H. Reynolds, dot-inspired artwork, and The Dot Song, reminding us to be proud of who we are and encourage others too.

Homework Reminder
Please help your child with:

• Nightly FUNdations dictations
  
  

• Nightly reading log
  
  

• A portion of their math practice sheets
  
  

Do not move ahead with dictations or have your child complete all their math in one evening. Homework reflects lessons taught in class, so your child may encounter concepts not explicitly introduced yet (especially in FUNdations).

Announcements

• STAR Testing: Math—Sept 23, 9:30am | Reading—Sept 24, 9:30am
  
  

• Lower School Parent Afternoon: Thurs, Sept 25, 4–5pm
  
  

• Fun Run Pep Rally (students/teachers only): Mon, Sept 22
  
  

• Picture Week: Sept 29–Oct 3 (class day TBD)
  
  

• Lower School Fun Run: Thurs, Oct 2 (details coming)
  
  

• No School: Oct 10 (Teacher Workshop) & Oct 13 (VI & PR Friendship Day)
  
  

• VI Junior Duathlon: Sun, Oct 19 at Altona Lagoon (ages 5–15; flyer coming)
  
  

• Halloween Fun! Oct 31—Costume Parade (school day) + Boo Bash 4–7pm (optional snack/treat sign-up via room parents).
  
  

Extras

• Meal Prep Program: Family Wellness Cafe is offering healthy, ready-to-eat meals designed for students. Each meal is $10 and includes an entree (vegetarian or protein-packed options) plus a choice of apple or orange juice. Parents can order meals for specific days online, and meals will be delivered directly to school—making lunchtime easy, nutritious, and stress-free. Menu & ordering: vimeals.goprep.com
  
  

• Scholastic Book Orders: Families can shop anytime through our 2nd grade classroom page at orders.scholastic.com/LJT4R. Orders ship directly to the classroom and arrive within a week. This is a great way to build your child’s home library with books tailored to their reading level and interests. I’ll receive an email confirmation for each order so we can track it.

*Plastic Use Reminder: GHCDS encourages reducing one-use plastic. No plastic forks or spoons are provided. You may send compostable or recycled utensils as a backup if/when your child forgets theirs. Our goal is for students to use reusable utensils when needed - not plastic. This applies to daily use as well as classroom and school-wide celebrations.*