One More Week!

Dear 2B Families,

Only one more week of school? How is that even possible? This year has flown by. Thank you to all of our sweet moms who attended the "Muffins" event this morning! It was a beautiful morning and we were blessed to have you join us. Here are some photos to share:

Next Week in 2B...

Desk Cleaning: Please send your child to school with a sturdy bag so they can take home items from their desk.

Poetry: We will be graded on our recitations of Harriet Tubman by Eloise Greenfield.

Writing and Grammar: We will be writing two friendly letters in class. First, a letter of advice for the first graders. Second, a letter of questions to the third graders! We will classify sentences, showing our expertise with all the parts of speech we have learned this year. We will also be making a sweet memory book.

Literature: We have completed our reading of Little House in the Big Woods! We will bring home our lapbooks.

Spalding: NO Spalding words next week due to the half days and end of year activities.

Science: We will be making SLIME! Wish us luck :-).

History: On Monday, we are taking out final history assessment! It will cover all the Civil Rights Leaders we have learned about in this unit. Please help your child study over the weekend. There was a study guide filled out and sent home on Thursday.

With a Grateful Heart,

Mrs. Dombrowski

Two More Weeks!

Dear Sweet 2B Families,

Happy Friday! I hope you all have a relaxing weekend. Especially to all of the sweet 2B moms out there! Happy Mother's Day! I hope you get spoiled this Sunday! Don't forget about Muffins with Mom next Friday, May 18th at 8am! We hope to see you there.

Here is a special video message to wish you a very Happy Mother's Day!!!

Thank you for ALL you did to help Miss Smith and I feel so loved and appreciated this week. We absolutely LOVE our jobs and we LOVE getting to spend time with your children. Thank you for blessing us this year!

We enjoyed a lovely performance on Monday from the Phoenix Symphony!

Next Week in 2B...

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.

With A Grateful Heart,

Mrs. Dombrowski

Welcome May!

Dear 2B Parents,

WELCOME MAY! We only have three more weeks of school 😭😭😭! Miss Smith and I are not ready for the year to end!

Scholar Shout-Outs:

Happy Birthday Chazley!

Your children did a great job at the Spring Concert on Wednesday. Thank you Miss Weddle for all you do to help us make beautiful music.

Some sweet moments from the week...

Last week, we voted to write our persuasive paragraph about why we need MORE P.E.! Well, GUESS WHAT?! Coach Gethings read it and GRANTED to our humble request! We enjoyed 15 more minutes of P.E. today...Thank you Coach!

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 :-).

Love,

Mrs. Dombrowski

April is Almost Over!

Greetings 2B Families!

April is almost over! Thank you for yet ANOTHER super week in 2B! We celebrated Miss Smith this week. She graduated from GCU with her Bachelors in Educational Studies! Thanks for making her feel special. The ENTIRE 2nd grade made a huge tunnel of love for her, too!

Volunteer Appreciation:

Thank you to all of our AMAZING parent volunteers! We love and appreciate you SO much! Thank you to these two sweet Room Moms for ALL they have done to make this year extra special.

Thank you also to our awesome Friday Folder helpers, Reading Group volunteers, and Math Center helpers! We love you!

Next Week in 2B...

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: Next week in math we will introduce students to geometry! We will talk about vertices, angles, and sides! Have your child identify these geometric shapes within the home. By the end of the week, we will make our own 3-D shapes!

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!

Love,

Mrs. Dombrowski

Another Great Week in 2B!

Dear 2B Families,

Another awesome week with your children has come and gone. This year continues to FLY by and I can't believe it. I feel like I just blinked and these children have grown up before our eyes. I can't imagine what that must feel like from the parent perspective 😀. Miss Smith and I are already so proud of your kiddos and how hard they've worked this year, and continue to work, to finish this year STRONG!

Scholar Shout-Outs:

Happy Birthday Mason!

Happy Birthday Drew!

Fun in P.E. with Coach Gethings!

Last week when learning about Elijah McCoy we learned the phrase THE REAL McCOY! Well, when I showed your children a picture of Florence Nightingale's lamp at a London museum the children asked, "Is that the REAL McCoy?" My teacher heart just filled up with joy! I love seeing them make connections in their learning.

*An important 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

Next Week in 2B...

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).

Love,

Mrs. D

P.S. My sweet nephew was born early Sunday morning! Andrew Thomas has arrived :-)! As you can see my niece is smitten...

April Allergies!

Dear 2B Families,

Happy Weekend! Are your allergies going crazy too?! We had a few kiddos stay indoors today due to the wind and pollen in the air. I'm loving the nice weather but not the allergies that come along with it :-).

Here are a few fun scholar shout-outs to share!

Camy was our virtue award winner for March ~ Perseverance! Great work Camy!

Our scholars just love reciting poetry on their chair! Landon and Aidan did a great job with this!

These girls stayed after the bell to tidy up the classroom! They even left sharp pencils on each desk for Monday! Thank you Lily, Olivia, and Sydney!

Sweet scholars playing...

Next Week in 2B...

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!

Love,

Mrs. Dombrowski

P.S. Personal note to share 😀...My sweet friend of 15 years asked Mr. D and I to be Godparents for her baby girl. Here's a picture of us last Saturday at her Baptism! It was a beautiful day!

Hello April!

Dear 2B Families,

We had a super first week of April!

Scholar Shout-Outs:

Happy Birthday Lily (3/31)!

Fun March Birthday Lunch last week...

Happy Birthday Emmett (4/1)!

Sweet teamwork in action by Jonathan and Diego! The students love to be in charge of changing our daily schedule.

Payten demonstrated her mental math strategies for our classroom with two word problems! Thank you Payten!

Next Week in 2B...

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.

Warmly,

Mrs. Dombrowski