The Most Wonderful Time of the Year :-)

So here’s how our Friday morning began…

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Next we went to the all school “Sing Along” … Here are some highlights! Enjoy the singing as the gym was very dark so there was not much to videotape! (P.S. Yes, I was talking to Joe M. during the end of each song… You’ll get to hear him sing in the last song quite clearly!)

Deck the Halls and Jingle Bells (You can hear me and Joey McCormick talking at the end…Whoops!)

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

Notice how I turn the camera into the crowd so you can see our blinking red noses…

Joy to the World

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

After lunch it was time to open our books from our parents… We only begged ALL day long to open them up!

Last, it was time to PARTY!!! We had such a great turn out of parents, grandparents and siblings… (There are a few pictures here from the Sing-Along as well)

This photo slideshow made with Smilebox

A special thank you to EVERYONE for making this such a fabulous day, week, month and year. I love these 26 Weckies so much and feel blessed to be spending time with them on a daily basis! Enjoy them the next few weeks – I’ll be missing my 26 kids!! Love, Mrs. Weckstein :-)

Friday, December 9th

Hello 204 Families!

It has been an excellent week here in second grade! The kids have been hard at work while eagerly anticipating everything still to come in the month of December!

Reader’s Workshop
This week in Workshop we continued our look into the three types of dialogue (simple, no-said and continuation) by finding examples within books we were reading independently, with our partners, and even a portion of a story from Pinky and Rex and the New Baby. Our readers’ have grasped on to not only the types of dialogue, but the types of punctuation we see when we come across dialogue within a text.

Writer’s Workshop
Our writers’ have been working on written retellings of short stories. This week we modeled another written retelling after reading a short story. Then we took a look at another retelling for a different story that was “kid” written. We spent time as a whole group editing and revising this retelling to make it a stronger piece. Last the kids were given the opportunity to take a familiar text of their own and write a short retelling about it.

Math Workshop
Shapes, shapes and MORE shapes... This week we moved into our geometry unit by looking at 2-dimensional shapes and learning about their properties. We focused on lines, points, vertices and edges. Then we explored 2-dimensional polygons and learned about the prefix within each name (i.e. tri-angle). Next as a whole group we practiced a writing activity where we compared two dimensional shapes – how they are alike and different. Lastly, each table group was given shapes on paper, triangles and rectangles and asked to work as a cooperative group to create new shapes on a small poster. The word “flexible” was used a lot as some worked well in their group and others needed multiple reminders about how a group works.

Science
In Science we continued our work with plants. Thank you to everyone who has sent in plant clippings. The brassica are growing large and will soon be pollinating, while our wheat and grass seeds are also growing quite well!

Social Studies
In Social Studies we learned about human and natural features. We did a sorting game with these terms. Then we read the book Letting Swift River Go and talked about the changes in the environment, both good and bad. Last the kids did a cooperative group activity with that (i.e. if lightning struck a tree – What would be good? What would be bad?)

Word Study
We spent time this week in word study looking at the middle of words. So often when we read we look at the beginning and the ending of a word to see if it is something we can recognize quickly. This week we slowed down and spent time looking at the middle letters within a word, in particular the consonants. We did a word game with cards where the kids had to recognize and say the letter name of the sound they heard within the word.


Important News and Reminders:
We are entering into a VERY busy time at Dublin. Here’s a breakdown for each day:

• Monday, Dec. 12th – Gift of Reading book DUE (Each child needs a gift-wrapped book from their parents!)
  
• Monday, Dec. 12th – LAST CHANCE to send in Holiday Traditions for your family
  
• Friday, Dec. 16th – (approximately 10:30am) All school sing-along
  
• Friday, Dec. 16th – 2:30-3:30pm – Class Holiday Party
  
• Tuesday, Jan. 3rd, 2012 – First Day Back in 2012!

Have a fabulous weekend... bundle up, it's going to get cold!!!  ~Mrs. Weckstein~

Our First Big Catch Party

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Friday, November 18, 2011

Thank you so much to everyone for coming to Parent-Teacher Conferences yesterday. I really enjoyed talking to all of our parents and hope you left feeling as proud of them as I do every day!


Reader’s Workshop


This week in Workshop we have continued our look into dialogue within text. We have been focusing on the two major types of narration in text – first person and third person. Our Reader’s have been sorting their own reading books into two categories using clues in the text to determine who is telling the story.


Writer’s Workshop


In Workshop this week our writer’s picked one color poem to take to publishing. They spent time editing and revising their original draft and many even began working on their final published copy!


Math Workshop


In Math we have continued working with money this week. YES, making change is a hard concept however it is something your child will need to be able to do. Please continue to practice this with them at home. We introduced estimating this week as well. You can ask your child about the “Rounding Chant”, a song we’ve used to help us remind ourselves to round up or round down.


Social Studies


This week with Mrs. Brown the kids spent time working with maps! They did a map scavenger hunt looking for different traits on the map. The kids learned about the Cardinal directions and even learned a song. Be sure to ask your child to sing this song to you! Next the kids participated in map stations – they got to spend time looking at different types of maps – globes, paper maps, atlases, animal maps, etc.


Science


In Ms. Chapp’s classroom our scientists were learning about the parts of plants. Then they got to plant their own brassica plants as well as their own grass plants. Ms. Chapp is looking for two students who could help take care of our plants over the Thanksgiving Break. The family that takes the grass will need to have a spot in their house where the grass can receive sunlight (as well as stay watered). The family that takes the brassica plants will need to have space for the plant tray and a light that needs to be plugged in and running all of the time. If you are able to do so, please let me know ASAP.


Word Study/Handwriting


With Mrs. Weckstein this week all second graders had practice working with common endings in words. They worked with the: -ame, -ake, -ate, -ice, -ide and –ine endings. The kids did a sort up on the SmartBoard, sorted additional words with a partner and then created a flower for the hallway specific to one ending.


Important Upcoming Dates:


-Wednesday, November 23rd: Kick-off for Student Council Pajama Drive – ALL School Pajama Day & Classroom Party (more info to come)


-Thursday, November 24th – Monday, November 28th- NO SCHOOL – Thanksgiving Break starts on Thursday! Please remember there is NO school on Monday. Classes resume on Tuesday, November 29th!


If you will be traveling this long holiday weekend, we wish you safe travels! If you are staying locally, please have a wonderful time with your family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving! Mrs. Weckstein :-)

 

Friday, November 11th - Happy Veteran's Day!

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.

Harriet Tubman

Math


In Math we have been looking at different ways to solve addition and subtraction story problems using “Change-to-More Diagrams” and “Parts-and-Total Diagrams”. We’ve also been looking at reading temperatures and temperature changes. In our Math Explorations this week we sorted attribute blocks, worked with coins and started to explore the concept of multiplication.



Social Studies


In Social Studies we spent time reviewing what we have learned about communities. Our second graders took their first Social Studies Assessment on Friday. Next week we will be moving into our second unit about the geography of our community. If you have any small maps at home (travel maps, park maps, mall maps) or any brochures that have maps that we could look at, please send them in! Please make sure your child’s name is clearly labeled on the map so we can return it at the end of the unit.



Writer’s Workshop


We took a break from our Poetry Unit to do some themed writing for Thanksgiving. During Writers’ Workshop this week, students wrote their own recipes for how to cook a turkey. Additionally our students wrote a persuasive from the position of the Thanksgiving turkey asking not to be eaten this holiday season. Look for these in the 2nd grade hallway during conferences next week!


Word Study


We began the week looking at words that have “oo”. Students learned that “oo” can sound like /oo/ as in moon or /uh/ as in look. We also tried adding on the silent ‘e’ to words to see how new words could be created. Later in the week we worked with high-frequency words as we played a game.


Reader’s Workshop


We continued with our study of Dialogue in Reader’s Workshop. Second graders spent time thinking about what dialogue looks like and sounds like when we are reading. Then we spent time brainstorming a list of “said” alternatives now that we know that said is often a clue to dialogue in a text. The kids created a giant web of alternatives like: shouted, insisted, exclaimed, whined, etc.



Important Dates & Reminders:


• Thursday, November 17th – NO SCHOOL for Students! Parent-Teacher Conferences ALL day long!


• BRRRR! The weather sure is cold and snow is just around the corner! Please make sure that your child has appropriate winter gear: jacket, gloves/mittens, hat, snow pants and boots. Also remember an extra pair of shoes for them to wear during the day (wearing boots all day is too hot). I also suggest packing an extra pair of socks in their backpack for those days when your cutie’s socks may get wet!

Have a fabulous weekend -- stay warm!! :-) Mrs. Weckstein

Friday, November 4th

It’s been quite a BUSY week in 204… From Halloween to Thanksgiving, we are making a big transition!
Reader’s Workshop
It’s been a fun, FUN week in Reader’s Workshop! We’ve moved from our Launching Unit into our Dialogue Unit. When asked what dialogue was, the initial response from the kids was classic… “Ways we choose books”, “Funny parts in stories” or “Books that have hard words”. We’ve now built the foundation that dialogue in text is when characters are talking! We’ve looked for books in our room that contain dialogue as well as for clues that indicate there is dialogue in a text (quotation marks, said, etc.). Please make sure to return ALL guided reading group books on the specified day. There is a sheet inside your child’s book bag that reminds you the days your child needs their bag at school. Parents must also sign the bottom of the reading slip form that comes home each time the bag comes home.


Writer’s Workshop
This week we read two different books that were filled with color poems! We read My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss and Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O’Neill. Each demonstrates different ways to think about colors using your senses… How would a color look? How would a color taste? How would a color feel? How would a color smell? Using the author’s craft from these poems, we have been working to create our own color poems.

Math Workshop
In Workshop this week we began the week with Pumpkin Math! We did estimations about: the number of seeds in a pumpkin, the weight of a pumpkin as well as the number of ridges on a pumpkin. We were surprised to see what the actual numbers were to each question. We also spent time this week collecting data! We learned how to collect data using a tally chart, how to find the median (middle) number in a set of data, create pictographs and create bar graphs. Then we learned the parts of a graph: title, labels, x-axis and y-axis. Lastly we learned how to read a graph. We spent time talking about the choice with the most and the choice with the fewest. As the week continued we worked with making change as we solved story problems involving a vending machine. Finally we took a look back at our Unit 3 Pre-Test before taking our Unit 3 Post-Test. We talked our way through the pre-test and came to the conclusion that we have ALL learned a lot over the course of this unit. Something that seemed difficult to us three weeks ago, is now something we come to find a lot easier to do!

Social Studies
This week in Social Studies we have learned about the three different types of communities: rural, suburban and urban. We read the story, “The Little House” by Virginia Lee Burton as the little house demonstrates life in each type of community. Then we brainstormed a list of features for each type of community before embarking on our own mini-project. Each child was asked to decide which community they would want to live in and then had to create an illustration and blurb about where they would live, where they would work and where they would play! It’s pretty neat to see where our kids would go!

Important Dates & Reminders:
• Tuesday, November 8th – NO SCHOOL for Students! Professional Development for teachers… it’s Election Day!
• Thursday, November 17th – NO SCHOOL for Students! Parent-Teacher Conferences ALL day long!


Don’t forget to turn your clocks back this weekend!!  Mrs. Weckstein
P.S. A special thank you to ALL of our parents who worked hard to make our Halloween Party a BLAST!!

Friday, October 28th

Math Workshop
In Math this week we spent time preparing our mathematicians for our first Math Benchmark.  Everyone in 204 enjoyed the math BA as we kept the atmosphere relaxed and laid back! Jadyn was VERY spirited as you can see!

We worked on making change this week by counting up as well as telling time to the nearest five-minute interval. We also worked with double frames and arrows as we looked at patterns that had two different rules. SIDEBAR: Making change is a difficult concept for second graders. Frequent reinforcement with making change at home would be very beneficial. You may want to practice making change with a hands-on activity at home. An idea could be setting a price for dinner one evening. Give your child a $5 bill to purchase the dinner. They would have to figure out the amount of change owed to them after purchasing the dinner.


Writer’s Workshop
Students became “juicy word” detectives as they listened to and read stories. One example was when they listened to the story, Pumpkin Eye. They learned about nouns and adjectives and how to use them to jazz up their writing. Our poets found interesting words and started adding them to a word list to use in their own poetry! We also learned how to write list poems and wrote a list poem together as class entitles “Fall”.

Reader’s Workshop
In Reader’s Workshop this week our students began the week talking about choosing “just right” books and using the “FIVE FINGER RULE” to help us select our “just right” books. Ask your child how to use the “FIVE FINGER RULE” at home. Students also went book shopping for the first time. While doing our shopping we stopped to talk about how to pick “Just Right” books when browsing books. We talked about being able to abandon books that are too easy or too hard for us. Next, we practiced an important comprehension strategy called visualization. As your child grows as a reader, the books that they will be reading won’t have as many pictures to help them support the meaning of the text. The second graders practiced listening to the words of a poem “My Baby Brother” in order to create mental images in their mind. This helped them comprehend the poem.



Word Study
In Word Study this week we continued to explore the world of syllables by playing a game called the Syllable Race. We also made connections between words that start the same. Some beginning sounds we worked on included consonant digraphs (i.e., sh and ch).


Our classroom smelled delicious on Wednesday when we made applesauce. Everyone lent a hand at: cutting, measuring and adding ingredients, stirring and mashing in order to make a tasty treat! Listed below is the recipe that we used so you can make some to share with your family!


CROCK POT APPLESAUCE


• 12 apples (peeled and cored)


• 1 cup water


• ½ cup sugar


• ½ teaspoon cinnamon


• ¼ teaspoon apple pie spice


• 1 tablespoon lemon juice


Peel all of the apples and slice ‘n dice into small pieces. Add all of the ingredients and heat in a crock pot. (4-6 hours on HIGH, 6-8 hours on LOW). Be sure to stir every so often. Enjoy! 


Important News & Reminders


• Monday, October 31st – Happy Halloween! Halloween Parade at 2:30 pm. outside on the soccer field & Halloween Party in our classroom afterwards


• Tuesday, November 8th– NO SCHOOL – Professional Development Day – No students


• Thursday, November 17th – NO SCHOOL – Parent/Teacher Conferences All Day

Friday, October 21st

It has been another fantastic week in 2nd Grade! We have been busy doing all sorts of neat things…

Math Workshop:

In Math this week we completed our second unit as we practiced short cuts for subtraction problems. After taking our Unit 2 Test and Unit 3 Pre-Test we moved on to look at place value using base-ten blocks. We also took time this week to look at money and created a “Table of Equivalencies” using different coin combinations. Throw in a few math games and it has been a great week in Workshop! *Just a reminder that a review packet did come home for our upcoming benchmark assessment on October 27th. This does not need to be returned to school.

Reader’s Workshop:
This week we continued to build our understanding of how partnerships work. Students helped brainstorm a list of ideas of ways they can talk about books with their partners and learned how to solve problems that may come up in their partners. We talked about noise levels and kind reminders we can give our classmates when they are making noise or distracting us from learning. Last our Reader’s got to experience Reading Conferences and find out what they will do when they meet individually with me.


Writer’s Workshop:
We did two different things in Workshop this week. We began the week with a grade level project creating cards, letters and a banner for U.S. Soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. We have a connection with one of our second graders to a man from Detroit who is currently stationed in Afghanistan. Each class worked on their own project to say “Thank You” and show our support. The second half of the week was spent writing poetry. We learned about the “Hello, Goodbye” poem, we looked at samples of kid poems and we talked about features we might put into our own poems. We have FANTASTIC poets in our class!


Social Studies:
This week was spent focused on “Needs and Wants”. We talked about the definitions of each word, read the book, But I Want It, and created a giant list of needs and wants. We spent time looking specifically at our needs as the four main things we need to survive: food, water, shelter and clothing.


Word Study:
Word Study this week focused in on the –ed and –d endings added to words in the past tense. We practiced making words that end with –ed or –d and also looked at the sounds that we get from words with these endings. Last we spent time looking at how we can break words apart into syllables to help us read new and tricky words.


Important Upcoming Dates:
-Monday, October 31st: Halloween Party – Parade at 2:30pm and party right after in our classroom


-Tuesday, November 1st: PTA Meeting – 7:00pm in the Media Center – ALL are invited to attend

Stay warm this weekend… It looks like the sun will reappear! Mrs. Weckstein

Friday, October 14th

The weather was perfect for our Fun Run this morning. Everyone was pumped up and excited to move their feet around the track. Thank you for all your Fun Run donations!

Math Workshop


We are nearing the end of Unit 2. This week our mathematicians practiced making fact families using dominoes and fact triangles. A set of fact triangles came home with your child on Monday. Please make sure that you keep them in a special place and practice them with your child. We spent significant time on frames-and-arrows, addition and subtraction number stories, function machines and some counting strategies for subtraction. Students also learned a new math game called Name That Number. A practice packet came home with your child today to help prepare for their first Math Benchmark Assessment on Thursday, October 27th. Please make sure you are completing the study guide at home.
Word Study


In Word Study this week we have taken a look at forming possessives in words. Second graders learned that to show ownership of something, you add ‘s to a word. Then we worked with words with double consonants. Students worked on identifying two-syllable words with double consonants in the middle (lad/der, muf/fin). Children sorted word parts to create their own two-syllable words! Last, we learned all about the world of synonyms. We practiced finding synonyms talked about the importance of words that have the same definition.
Reader’s Workshop


Wow! It’s been a busy week in Reader’s Workshop! We started the week exploring the importance of reading by interviewing family members about their own reading lives. Students shared their findings with their classmates. The class realized that to become good readers we need to PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! Thanks for all of your great advice. Additionally in Reader’s Workshop this week, each child set reading goals for themselves. Time was spent talking with each child about their goal and the importance of setting goals for their reading. Students were also introduced to their new reading partners and they selected their permanent comfy reading spot. They focused on how to be a good partner during partner reading. We learned that partners sit side-by-side with a book in the middle, have a cozy spot to read and plan ways to read together (choral reading, echo reading, I read, you read).
Writer’s Workshop


In Writer’s Workshop this week we started our Poetry Unit! Our writers began by brainstorming a list of familiar poetry elements and learned how to read like a writer. Students spent time with a partner exploring several great works of poetry. Next we talked about similes after reading the mentor texts As Sly as a Fox and As Quick as a Cricket. Students became simile detectives as they looked for poems that contained similes. They also tried adding similes to their own poetry.
Social Studies


We continued our unit on communities this week by reading Me on the Map and discussed where we live. Students learned the term region and how it relates to their community, state and country. Then we reinforced the concept by creating our own region books.
Important News/Reminders


• Friday, October 14th – Memory Collection Notebook photos and index cards DUE


• Thursday, October 20th – Pumpkin Sale in the New Gym, 4:30-6:30pm


• Thursday, October 27th - Math Benchmark Assessment


• Monday, October 30th – The Halloween parade starts at 2:30 and the party will follow!


• Monday, November 14th- Picture retakes from 1:00-3:00pm

Fun Run TOMORROW, October 14th at 9:30AM!!

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the Dublin Fun Run!! A large percentage of our PTA funding for various activities at Dublin comes directly from the Fun Run. Please make sure to bring back all donation envelopes TOMORROW morning to school... Thank You!!

As we are running at 9:30am PLEASE dress your child accordingly for the weather. It may be wet, it may be sunny! I tried to convince our PTA President Angie Meloche to put up a dome over the playground - we'll see if she's REALLY that good (wink wink).

Please make sure your child wears:
-comfy clothes for running (they will get their bright green "Fun Run" shirt in the morning)
-gym shoes
-weather appropriate clothing (rain coat? sunglasses?)

We hope to see you out on the soccer field tomorrow morning at 9:30 to cheer us on! We promise, it's gonna be a rockin' good time! :-) Mrs. Weckstein & the Weckies

A spirited message from the Weckies :-)

While I've never tried uploading a video to the blog, I'm eager to share this with you! I'm going to try several different formats, so we'll see which works best :-). Go Tigers!

Friday, October 7th

It’s been another fabulous week in 2^nd grade! The Weckies have been mastering the routines of daily activities and have kept me laughing a great deal as of late!

Reader’s Workshop

In Workshop this week we concluded our discussion about the kind of reader we want to be as we talked about the kind of reader we don’t want to be! Last week as you may recall, we learned about the “Wow” and the “So-so” reader. This week we talked about the “Oops” reader. Be sure to ask your child what kind of reader they want to be this year (they better say a “Wow” reader). Next we introduced our Reader’s to their Independent Reading Logs. They will learn to use their log this year as a tool to document the books that they read. It’s pretty neat to look back at these logs throughout the year to see how their reading interests and abilities will change over time.

Writer’s Workshop

Our Writer’s REALLY are enjoying Writer’s Workshop this year. This week we continued to brainstorm ideas for our list of “Writing Starters”. Each child has a heart that the decorated with drawings of things/people that are important to them. We added the heart to our list as an inspiration for stories we can write. We also added to the list that as writers we could try to re-write one of our favorite books, or write a sequel or prequel. Several of our writers’ attempted re-writing some of their favorites and added different twists to the characters and storyline!

We spent the second half of the week learning to write to a topic. A major component of the MEAP testing (3^rd grade and up) is the ability to write to a given prompt on a specific topic. Each week our writers’ will be given a new topic to write to OR they will get to spend time improving upon a piece they’ve already done for a given topic. This week we modeled to our students how to respond to the prompt, “The Best Birthday Ever” as well as one that was fitting for our theme at Dublin this week (Fire Safety) “What would you do if the fire alarm went off at your house?” As the year goes on, we’ll give our students different tips/strategies for improving their ability to respond to a topic.

Word Study

 This week in Word Study we continued our work with consonant clusters. We did a “Make-Say-Chant-Check” activity where the kids made words with consonant clusters using letter tiles and magnetic letters. Then we moved onto onsets and rimes. We talked about how words can have the same ending (rimes) and we sorted words with –ack, -ick and –it endings. Lastly we worked with high frequency words and played a LOTTO game.

Math Workshop

In Workshop this week we worked with several different strategies for addition and subtractions. We learned about “Turn-Around Facts” (2+3 is the same as 3+2), reviewed how to use “Fact Triangles” to practice addition and subtraction, learned strategies for “Doubles Facts” as well as “Doubles Plus 1”. Lastly we worked with subtraction from addition as we used the dots on dominoes to add and subtract.

Social Studies

Our first Unit in Social Studies introduces the kids to several different new terms that they will learn more about in detail in the next four units. This week we touched on maps and more importantly the word “boundary” as we went and found the boundaries of our school and then labeled them on a large map. Additionally we learned about “Human Features” and “Natural Features” through a sort and poster project!

Fire Safety Week

This week was also Fire Safety Week at Dublin. This is a VERY important topic to discuss with the kids as three firefighters from the White Lake Township Fire Department came and spoke to the students in grades K-3. We learned about the dangers of fire and smoke, how to get out of our house if the alarm is going off, what to do if there’s a fire outside of your own bedroom and how important it is to have a meeting place. PLEASE take time this weekend to talk to your child about Fire Safety. It is imperative that they know what to do in case of an emergency at your house. We had a detailed conversation around this topic and there were many questions that the kids had that would be specific to their own home.

Information on the White Lake Fire Department Open House online says:

Where/when: White Lake Fire Department, Sunday, 1 p.m.

Why go: Meet your firefighters, see firefighting equipment, watch vehicle extrication demos, enjoy hot dogs, popcorn and goodies, spray water from hoses and participate in 'Palace Patrol' activities (balloon art, basketball).

Price: Free

Computers

This week we tried something new in the Computer Lab and it was a HIT with the kids! We earned carrot sticks! What’s that you ask? Your child can practice their addition and subtraction on a website called Carrot Sticks! Use the address: www.carrotsticks.com/dublin and then your child will need to sign-in at the upper right-hand side of their screen. Their username is their “magic number” and their name all lower-case. For instance, Sophia’s user name is 1sophia and every child’s password is 204. Then your Weckie can practice their math facts and earn carrots for correct answers. They can also challenge other kids (a list on the right-hand side) to duels to see who can answer the most problems in the 30-second time period. I’ll be honest, when our computer lab time ended on Monday morning, I felt bad asking the kids to STOP doing math!!

Important Dates/Info:

If you have not yet joined the Dublin PTA we strongly encourage you to do so. PTA is responsible for so many fabulous aspects of our day at school including funding that goes directly to your child and our classroom (field trips, classroom books and classroom supplies adding up to over $500 per classroom).

·       Sunday, October 9^th – White Lake Fire Department Open House at 1pm (see note above)

·       Friday, October 14^th – Memory Collection Notebook photos and index cards DUE

·       Friday, October 14^th – Dublin Fun Run at 9:30am on the soccer field

·      Thursday, October 20^th – Pumpkin Sale in the New Gym, 4:30-6:30pm

This collage created with Smilebox

Have a wonderful weekend - enjoy these warm temperatures while they last!! ~Mrs. Weckie

Friday, September 30th

Math Workshop

Our mathematicians have been quite busy this week! First, we finished up Unit 1 and took our first math assessment.  We also worked on addition and subtraction number stories.  Our mathematicians looked at the different types of addition and subtraction strategies that will help us solve problems faster.  Finally, we learned a nifty song to help us remember our doubles facts!

Reader’s Workshop

During our Reader’s Workshop this week we have talked about our comfy reading spot and the things that we need to have in place in order to have a good reading experience.  We have really enjoyed sharing our favorite books with each other and will keep them on display for the kids to read next few weeks!  We also brainstormed ideas of how we want our Reader’s Workshop to look like and sound like in order to do our best reading work.  Then our second graders were introduced to two different types of readers.  Be sure to ask them if they are a “wow” or a “so-so” reader at school and how they know what type of reader they are.  We will be learning about the “oops” reader next week. 

Writer’s Workshop

This past week we used our writing hearts to generate story ideas during Writer’s Workshop.  We spent time talking about our “Jobs” as writers and that our routines in Writer’s Workshop will look the same way every day.  Our second graders learned how to use certain strategies as writers to increase our writing stamina, such as, rereading what we’ve written from the day before to help us add to an unfinished piece.  I’ve been very impressed with the creative ideas that our wonderful second grade authors have drafted!

Social Studies

We continued our unit on Communities this week by taking a look at what types of groups they belong to in their community:  family, school and other.  Students then made a web of how they are connected to many different sub groups in our large community.  Using their Thinking and Writing Journals, your child selected one of their groups and wrote about one way that they helped out in their group.  I was very impressed with all of our helpful second graders!

Word Study

Our second graders worked this week with short vowels like the ‘a’ in apple and the ‘e’ in egg. As table groups, students worked to put together two parts of a word to create a whole word. Then our kids worked with word patterns at the endings of words. This included endings: -aw, -ip, -ap, -ug and –ay. We also reviewed works with long vowel patterns.  Students learned how once they know how to read these patterns they can also read and write other words with the same patterns independently. *You will see many "Word Study" activities come home in Friday Packets. These are words the kids have "built" and "played" with during a partner activity. While these words will not be up on our classroom Word Wall, you can reinforce recognition and spelling of them at home. Below are photos of Word Wall Stations where the Weckies are practicing words that are "No Excuses" in 204. These are words that we will work with that are high-frequency words for second grade. These words we will be expecting them to know how to spell, hence the fun and hands-on activities for mastery!

Important Dates & Reminders

• Tuesday, October 4^th – PTA Meeting at 7:00 pm.

• Friday, October 14^th – Dublin’s Fun Run. We run around 9:20am!! Please remember to bring in your pledge envelope with the proper funds.  The PTA’s goal is to collect $50 per student to reach their goal.  Please remember that 100% of the funds collected will go to finance programs for your child during the school year.  Any donations are tax deductible!

• Please be sure that your child is reading for 20 minutes at least 5 days per week.  Your October Reading Calendars were sent home with your child today.

Have a fabulous weekend! And of course, GO GREEN!! Mrs. Weckstein 

Friday, September 23rd

Welcome 204 Families!

This free scrapbook created with Smilebox

Thank you for taking the time to check out our News Blog, your home for up to date information about the Weckies on Fridays!

We have had three fantastic weeks in Room 204… it’s actually pretty hard to believe it has only been three weeks, I feel like I’ve known these kids for a long time! The kids have really come together well as a group as I am witnessing first-hand the formation of new friendships, the patience of one student helping another with a tricky math problem, or the excitement of hands shooting up into the air as a question is posed and everyone is eager to answer. From my view, it’s an awesome time in Room 204!

Reader’s Workshop

This week we launched our Reader’s Workshop. Daily we will have Reader’s Workshop where our kids have a chance to talk about their reading, demonstrate how to be good readers and build on their interests of books on many different topics! We begin our Workshop with a mini-lesson (no more than 5-10 minutes) on a new topic. This week we have focused on our “Reading Lives” and in particular: our favorite books, our favorite reading memories and our comfy reading spots. Then the kids have time to read books back at their tables independently. Once individual reading assessments are complete in a few weeks, students will actually “shop” for new books to read once a week that will be at their own independent level. Soon we will also introduce “Partner Reading” another component of Workshop before we end with a share! At “Share Time” we reflect on our work during Workshop.

Writer’s Workshop

We also launched our Writer’s Workshop this week! In the beginning of the week we took the kids through the six steps of writing a piece that we will use to assess their writing abilities. We discussed a topic (a story about an animal – fiction or non-fiction), wrote a short plan for our story, used a story board to create detailed drawings of the beginning, middle and ending of our story, drafted the piece, revised and lastly, edited it (ALL in TWO DAYS)!! Midway through the week we created a list of “What Writer’s Workshop Needs to Look Like” and set a high goal of achieving all that we listed. As the week went on we worked on a heart that will go on the front of our writing folders. This heart will showcase things that are important to us. We will use this heart to find motivation for our writing pieces this year as the heart will be mounted to the front of our writing folders. At the end of Workshop we also have a “Share Time” like Reader’s Workshop. Our first “Share Time” featured stories from the Pink Team (shown below).

Math Workshop

Math is one thing we have been doing since the FIRST week of school! We have actually finished up the first unit in our Math curriculum this week. Unit 1 of Everyday Math provides a great review of the math topics covered in first grade while also preparing the second graders for the routine of second grade math. Topics covered the past three weeks include: number patterns in counting, counting on a number grid, patterns on a number grid, addition, subtraction, time, money (coins and dollars), number lines, calculator skills and more! Several math games were introduced or re-introduced as skill builders for the kids once they are done with their math journal work. Please look for Unit 1 math journal pages to come home next week. If you notice a page that asks for the work to be fixed, please make sure to send it back to school in a timely manner. You may have also noticed that “Homelinks” started this week. They need to be returned the next day so that if your child is having difficulty with a concept, I can be aware! Many times a concept that a student understands at school, may be something that when they get home, they need more help with. Jotting a quick note to me on their Homelink will help me to better instruct your child at school!

Here's a picture of one of those math games up on the Smartboard... I have a feeling this is going to be a VERY popular way to play math games with this group!

Important Dates & Reminders:

If you have not done so already, please consider joining the Dublin PTA. Our two new Presidents have some fabulous ideas for the upcoming school year. Additionally, PTA provides each classroom at Dublin with spending money as well as money for Field Trips. Without the membership of the Dublin families, they would not be able to offer these opportunities in a time when finances are so tight! Thank You!

     ·      Monday, September 26th: "My Comfy Reading Spot" assignment DUE

·      Wednesday, September 28^th: Scholastic Book Orders DUE (online or a check made out to: Scholastic Books brought to school) *Coming home Friday, Sept. 23*

·      Thursday, September 29^th: No School for Religious Holiday

·      Friday, September 30^th: Picture Day at Dublin (11:30am for the Weckies)

·      Friday, September 30^th: Letters about your child’s name DUE

·      Tuesday, October 4^th: PTA Meeting, 7pm in the Media Center

Have a fantastic, fall weekend with your family!! :-) Mrs. Weckstein :-)

Our FAPES Schedule:

Monday: Computers 9:20-9:50am
     P.E. 1:00-1:30pm
Tuesday: Art 9:20-10:20pm
Wednesday: P.E. 9:20-9:50am
     Music 3:10-3:40pm
Thursday: Media 9:20-9:50am
     P.E.  9:50-10:20am
Friday: Block (extra 30min recess) 10:10-11:10am
    Music 1:00-1:30pm

By golly, I think I've got it!!

You should NOW be able to post comments here!! It'll look a little bit different, but commenting anonymously should work - just use your name in your post.

THANK YOU so much for your patience with this... I've never had a problem with comments before and tried to revert back to the look of the blog "last year's" style and that seems to have helped!

Mrs. Weckstein :-)

Did you find the blog?

Greetings Weckie Families! Please comment here so that I know you made it to the blog! I apologize for any confusion that this post wasn't published earlier! Mrs. W.

What did Mrs. Weckstein do this summer?

What have YOU been up to this summer? Take a look at what I've been up to while school's been out!

Another slideshow by Smilebox

Buzzing into a New Year!!

(Letter send home via "real" mail to all of my new Weckies)

I am thrilled to have you in my 2^nd grade class this year! Can you believe how fast this summer has flown by? Let me take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Mrs. Weckstein (formerly Phillips… I got a year ago!). I have spent the past seven years at Dublin where I spent two years in second grade, jumped to fourth grade for a year, and then spent two years in second grade before teaching Kindergarten last year. I am VERY excited about the opportunity to return to 2^nd grade this coming school year and cannot wait to meet everyone!

         Let me tell you a little more about myself… I enjoy spending time with my husband Dan, my family and friends as well as with our little white dog, Nolan! I consider myself to be a pretty big Red Wings fan as well as a diehard Spartan. I love to scrapbook and read, both of which I have done a lot of this summer. We also did a lot of road-tripping this summer as we drove to Northern Wisconsin and spent time in a cute cabin on a gorgeous lake! We took Nolan on his first boat ride and he LOVED it! We also enjoy golfing and geocaching over the summer. What have you been doing this summer? Have you gone on any neat trips or been to fun places?

         This year Dublin will be hosting an “Open House” on Thursday, September 8th for students and parents to meet the teachers of Dublin. Please stop by our classroom, 204 and visit! I can easily be reached in the classroom at (248) 956-3864 or by email at JenniferPhillips@wlcsd.org. Please make note that my email uses my maiden name. My sister-in-law is a teacher at Hickory Woods Elementary in the Walled Lake School District and her name also happens to be Jennifer Weckstein! She has promised to forward any emails that go to her account by accident.

         If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact me at anytime. I look forward to an exciting year working with you and your child! I hope to see you on September 1st for the “Meet the Teachers” or on the first day of school, Tuesday, September 6^th!

Sincerely,

   Mrs. Weckstein :-)