Week of May 24, 2010

Olympic Day was well-run & well-appreciated by students & staff alike – Thanks to Mrs. Patterson and the wonderful parent volunteers! Those students who didn’t get their fill of rock climbing can go climb for free, in River Forest, S. of Lake St at Forest.

Our year together is quickly coming to a close. Tomorrow the students will hear about 2 of the best ways to not lose the reading & math skills gained this year: the Public Library Summer reading program, and Longfellow’s own Super Summer Math. Both are housed at Maze Branch library, so you can make 1 stop there weekly, to get fun incentives for reading and doing math all summer long. I highly recommend participating in these programs!!!

Reading & Social Studies We continue learning about immigration, culture & national traditions. Our stories this week are: “A Piece of Home” about a child having to chose 1 small treasure to bring to America from his home in Russia; and “Jalapeno Bagels” about a boy who the blend of cultures of his parents in choosing what to bring to school on International Day. Our spelling words are homographs, those interesting pairs that have the same spelling but different pronunciations & different meanings. These should be easier to spell than last week’s homophones!

We will do a number of activities in math this week: increasing our skill in measuring with a ruler, finding area & perimeter, estimating measurements, as well as learning about the area of mathematics called probability: using what we know to make predictions. Quiz Fri.

Homework
Daily: Do a cursive page, read for 20 minutes, practice spelling, vocabulary & math skills
Due tomorrow: commitment form for our class talent show (performing is optional)
Due Wednesday: Spelling workbook, pages 138-141
For Thursday: final timed test on 100 addition and 100 subtraction basic facts
Friday: Mrs. Kulick Day~~wear green to honor her 34 years of service to Longfellow’s students in the lunchroom! Also… it’s Tie-Dye Day! Be ready for tests & quizes: spelling, social studies, math (measurement to the nearest ½ in. or cm., area, perimeter, probability; with up-date on median, partial sums addition, & trade-first subtraction)
Optional: share about your family’s culture and/or immigration stories with the class

Coming…
Next Monday: Happy Memorial Day—No school!
Next Tuesday, 6/1: our class Talent Show; parents are welcome to join us at 10 in the auditorium
Next Wednesday, 6/2: Walking field trip to 2nd Grade Picnic at Fox Park (see back)—families are welcome to hang out with us, enjoy the park, & help supervise the children.
Next Thursday, 6/3: Last hour of 2nd grade! We’ll have a light breakfast together – I’ll provide juice & paper goods. Students are welcome to bring finger food (fruit, muffins or quick breads) to share. PBIS Pool Party from 9:45-11:45 for all whose permission slips are in now.