First Communion Homework-Chapter 1

Boys and Girls,

This weekend you have the following things to complete with your family. Please bring your folder and book back to school on Monday morning.

1. Read the chapter with Mom and Dad.
2. Complete pages 16-17 by completing and writing sentences and illustrating your ideas.
3. Write your Family Thoughts about chapter one on the attached paper.
4. Do the At Home activity and find a place to hang it in your house.
5. Email Mrs. Wall a picture (or bring a picture to school) of your bulletin board by Monday morning. You do not need to bring your At Home activity to school.
6. Have fun!

Our last two weeks together...

Hello Boys and Girls, 

I am so proud of how you all worked together today as a team and all of the FUN we had learning! (Ojos!!) It is great to see how hard you can work and how intelligent you are. As always, there are lots of things happening in second grade. Please read about all of the upcoming events so you know what to expect and when things are going on at school.

Love, 

Mrs. Wall

FIRST COMMUNION MEETING FOR PARENTS

Mom and Dad must attend one of the following meetings if you are participating in First Communion this year. The meeting is in the Parish Hall at St. Lawrence. 

Wednesday, February 27th @ 6:00PM 

OR

Saturday, March 2nd @ 9:00AM

FIRST COMMUNION HOMEWORK AND PREPARATION

We have started our preparation for this special Sacrament.  This week the family homework will be coming home on Thursday and your completed work needs to returned to school by Monday morning. This week the At Home activity does NOT need to be brought to school however a PICTURE of the project needs to be emailed to Mrs. Wall by Monday morning. jwall@saintlawrence.org (You can bring a picture of it to school if you prefer also.) 

Mom and Dad, if you haven't had a chance to read your child's reflection from our First Reconciliation, please stop by our classroom before or after school to read your child's thoughts about the process.  This may help you better prepare for First Communion with your family. 

If your child is not completing the Sacrament, they do not need to complete the Family Homework each weekend, however they may want to. 

STUDENT OF THE MONTH ASSEMBLY

This Thursday, February 28th at 8:00AM we will be celebrating in the Community Center with the whole school, those students who excelled by BELIEVING and participating in Mass and our religion activities and learning about God with reverence and excitement.

ABC SUPERSTARS

We will be celebrating all of the hard work you have done during the month of February on Thursday, February 28th. If Mom or Dad would like to join us in class from 12:30-1:30, we would love to have them volunteer.  Parents, you must be fingerprinted and "volunteer compliant" if you'd like to join us. 

DR. SUESS DAY~READ ACROSS AMERICA

This Friday, March 1st,  we will be celebrating Dr. Seuss Day and Read Across America by having read-ins in the classroom. Grades Pre-K to 5 are encouraged to wear pajamas that day, within non-uniform guidelines. You must wear shoes with your pajamas, no slippers please. 

MRS. FLEMMING JOINS US

On Monday, March 4th our new teacher, Mrs. Marylinn Flemming, will be joining our classroom to learn what second grade at St. Lawrence is all about.  She will be with us in class ALL WEEK, getting to know YOU and our classroom.

ANTI-BULLYING FOR PARENTS

Workshop #1: The Amanda Network for Parents and Older Siblings Workshop on Thursday, March 7, 2013 in the evening from 6pm-7:30pm at the St. Lawrence Church.

This eye-opening workshop will help identify the signs of a bully or the victim of a bully. Ann Solorio Brownell experienced first hand the effects of her child being a victim of bullying. 

Workshop #2: No Bully Parent Workshop

on Thursday, March 21, 2013 in the evening 6pm-7:30pm at the St. Lawrence Church

Schools can only become bully-free if they secure parent support for their anti-bullying initiative. At this ninety-minute No Bully workshop, parents and guardians:

• Learn how to bully-proof their child to avoid the role of bully and victim.

• Develop skills to Solution Coach® their child through the inevitable social and emotional challenges of friendships and peer relationships. Solution Coaching is a child-centered approach to problem solving that blends empathy with action.

• Join with other parents in making school make bully-free. 

SECOND TRIMESTER REPORT CARDS

You will all receive your 2nd Trimester report cards on Friday, March 8th. Similar to 1st Trimester, please read and review this report and return to school only the bright orange page with any comments and your signature no later than Wednesday, March 13th. Thank you!

MRS. WALL'S LAST DAY

Mrs. Wall is preparing for the birth of her baby and her last day at school will be Friday, March 8th.  I will miss you all terribly and will come visit when I can. Keep doing AMAZING things everyday!

Heroes Presentation Schedule

Hooray! Our famous heroes are almost ready to visit our classrooms! Thank you boys and girls for all of your hard work this week.  You will be taking your project home this weekend to practice with Mom and Dad. We will continue to work in class tomorrow and Friday to prepare the written speech you will be delivering on your assigned day. Please remember you DO NOT have to memorize your speech but you will be expected to answer questions about your hero.

On your assigned day, please bring your costume with you in your backpack. You will have a chance to change before the presentations begin.

Monday-Presidents and American Patriots
Brian-Abraham Lincoln
Aidan-George Washington
Jacob-Theodore Roosevelt
Alejandra-Deborah Sampson
Jasmine G.-Susan B. Anthony
Amara-Molly Pitcher

Tuesday-Athletes and Famous Children
Kaila-Wilma Rudolph
Stephen-Tiger Woods
Kevin-Lou Gehrig
Aryana-Michael Phelps
Cassie-Anne Frank
Jasmine Q.-Helen Keller

Wednesday-Women Who Made a Difference
Shanna-Harriet Tubman

Allison-Joan of Arc
An-Madam C.J. Walker
Viviana-Elizabeth Keckly

Celeste-Amelia Earhart
Avery-Sadako Sasaki
Maria-Annie Oakley
Jadyn-Eleanor Roosevelt

Thursday-Medical Professionals and Civil Rights Leaders
Jonathan-Walter Reed
Charlotte-Florence Nightengale
Sydney-Clara Barton

Andrea-Sojourner Truth
Vina-Martin Luther King Jr

Denise-Rosa Parks

Friday-Explorers, Inventors, Artists, Authors, World Leaders
Vincent-Vincent can Gogh
Austin-Ernest Hemingway

Joshua-Albert Einstein
Jyeron-Daniel Boone

Mike-Johnny Appleseed
Joanne-Mary Cassatt
Natalie-Grandma Moses

Marko-Constantine

Conference Week Happenings

Good Evening Boys and Girls,

Monday was a wonderful day to start out our conferences. I was so impressed with your responsibility for working throughout the day! Thank you for showing what you know with our Math test on the computer and working so hard on your heroes project.

We will begin presentations for the Heroes Project NEXT MONDAY. We will learn the schedule for presentations on Wednesday so you will have plenty of time to practice at home (and in class).  I will be recording all of the presentations so you can share them with your families.

Please bring a snack to school each day this week as we are not going to lunch until you go home or are dismissed to Extended Care. This is over an hour after our regular lunch time, so please bring a healthy snack for morning recess.

See you all soon,

Mrs. Wall

Go 49ers! Conferences, here we come...

Good Evening Second Grade Families, 

I have a couple quick reminders and CHANGES for you regarding this week's coming events.  Tomorrow (Friday) is 49ers Spirit Day. The students may wear any red and/or gold gear to support the San Francisco 49ers. If they do not wish to wear this, they may wear their regular school uniform.

Thank you all for signing up for conferences. I look forward to meeting with all of you next week.  If you have not yet returned the orange Pre-Conference Letter that was sent home this past Monday, please return it with your student to school tomorrow. One big change for next week to our conferences is, the STUDENTS WILL NOT BE ATTENDING our conferences.  Thank you for understanding the last minute change. 

Happy Catholic Schools Week!

What's going on this week?

Happy Catholic Schools Week! 

This week we are celebrating YOU! There are many events planned throughout the week to celebrate how we all work together at St. Lawrence to make all of our school days wonderful. Thank you ALL for all of the gifts you bring to our SLEMS community each and every day.

Tuesday~Parent Appreciation Day and the 100th Day of School
Wednesday~Volunteer Appreciation Day
Thursday~Student Appreciation Day
Friday~Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day

100th Day of School

Tomorrow we will be celebrating our 100th day of second grade! Please count out and bring 100 pieces of food to share. Wash your hands BEFORE you count out your food. Bring it in a small bag. We will be doing "100 days of Math" activities with the food you bring to share.

Heroes Project Update

Today the students shared their costume ideas and many received any construction paper they requested from school.  Please remember that you DO NOT need to go buy anything. Their presentations will be happening around Valentine's Day, depending on their progress in class. A final schedule of presentations will be given to the students during conference week.

Our Class is Changing...

Today we welcomed a new friend to St. Lawrence.  Please take the time to welcome Marko to our classroom. He is a wonderful addition to our class already. Also, sadly we will be saying good-bye to our friend, Jae-Joon this Thursday. He will be leaving St. Lawrence to attend another school. We will miss him so much!

Upcoming Events and Projects

Boys and Girls,

There is A LOT happening at St. Lawrence and in our classroom over the next couple weeks.  Please read this with Mom and Dad so you all know what to expect.

Thank you,

Mrs. Wall

FIRST RECONCILIATION

The final information meeting is tomorrow morning at St. Lawrence. The meeting begins at 9:00 in the morning.  Don't forget your maple leaf.

Our First Reconciliation celebration is this Wednesday evening at 7:00 at St. Lawrence Church.  Please come dressed as you would to church on Sunday with your family.

BOOK ORDERS

Our January book order is due this Sunday. Please submit any orders you want to place at www.scholastic.com. Our class code is J29LL. Thank you for your orders!

HAPPY MLK JR. DAY!

Enjoy this coming Monday away from school.  Please

SCIENCE TEST

We have been learning about forces and motion since before Christmas.  This past week you should have taken home your vocabulary cards about these topics.  We will be having a test on Tuesday over this material.  You should know what these words mean and how the forces we have studied with Mrs. V. work from the experiments we have done. (gravity, wind, water, magnetism)

FAMOUS HEROES PROJECT

We are beginning work on our Social Studies/Writing/Speaking and Listening project.  This will be an in class project, asking only that you find and/or create your costume at home and prepare for the speaking portion by practicing yoru part with your family.  Please DO NOT buy any items for your costume as it should consist of items you have at home or construction paper that will be provided by Mrs. Wall  On Tuesday you will see some costumes that students have wore in the past.  As we work more on this project in class, there will be more information coming home to guide you.  You can always do more research at the library or online by finding more books about your hero or visiting http://gardenofpraise.com/leaders.htm.

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE FAIR

The elementary Science Fair will be coming soon.  This next Friday we will be visiting the Middle School Science Fair to get some ideas and inspiration about our upcoming projects.  At the end of January Mrs. V. will teach us more about what we need to do for our Science Fair projects. Put your thinking caps on!

OPEN HOUSE

We are having the St. Lawrence Open House event on Sunday, January 27th.  Our class will be sponsoring the 10:00 Mass.  Please join us and bring your friends to show off all of the wonderful things we have to offer at St. Lawrence.  You can find more information from our weekly Connections letter and also print off our postcard to give to your friends.  By bringing friends and other families you will have the chance to win two auction tickets, free Friday ice cream, a no homework pass (for the whole weekly packet!), and five free Valgrams! We hope to see you there!

VALGRAMS

Mrs. Hunter told us this morning about Valgrams. If you would like to create a Valgram for all of the school to buy and send to their friends all you have to do is follow the directions below. Have fun!

Valgram Design Contest

1.     Fold an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper in half, short sides together. Use either horizontally or vertically.

2.     Decorate the front using black pen or marker-- NO COLOR.

3.     On the back write:     to:___________ Room:___________

4.     Add a message on the inside very neatly. Avoid erasure marks.

5.     Your name goes on the front, in a bottom corner, not too close to the edge.

6.     Each person may enter multiple Valgrams.

7.     The winners receive 5 free Valgrams.

8.     Turn in your Valgram design to Mr. Gardner or your teacher byWednesday, January 30.

Valgrams will be for sale in the library after school February 5-11 and also in the mornings February 7-11, for 50cents each. All purchased Valgrams must be signed and returned by February 12.

Famous Heroes Project

We have begun our project about important famous heroes in our history! You each know who your famous hero is. Below is a list, just in case you forgot. You need to to tonight's homework according to the person on this list.

http://www.gardenofpraise.com/leaders.htm

Jadyn-Elanor Roosevelt
Joanne-Mary Cassatt
Cassie-Anne Frank
Jonathan-Walter Reed
Charlotte-Florence Nightengale
Kaila-Wilma Rudolph
Stephen-Tiger Woods
Amara-Molly Pitcher
Maria-Annie Oakley
Alejandra-Deborah Sampson
Natalie-Grandma Moses
Jasmine G.-Susan B. Anthony
Jae-Joon-Barack Obama
Sydney-Clara Barton
Denise-Rosa Parks
Kevin-Lou Gehrig
Celeste-Amelia Earhart
Austin-Ernest Hemingway
Mike-Johnny Appleseed
Avery-Sadako Sasaki
Andrea-Sojourner Truth
Vincent-Vincent can Gogh
Brian-Abraham Lincoln
Vina-Martin Luther King Jr.
Viviana-Elizabeth Keckly
Jacob-Theodore Roosevelt
Shanna-Harriet Tubman
Jasmine Q.-Helen Keller
Joshua-Albert Einstein
Aryana-Michael Phelps
Jyeron-Daniel Boone
Aidan-George Washington
Allison-Joan of Arc
An-Madam C.J. Walker

To complete your homework tonight, you should use information from our biography website or from a book you have read about this person.Each EVENT should be a sentence about what happened to them. Their contribution is the main reason they are a FAMOUS HERO. Have fun!

There will be LOTS more information to come tomorrow in class about what you will be doing to complete this project, along with a rubric to show you how to earn the most points and do your very best!

First Reconciliation~Chapter 5 and more...

First Reconciliation Homework~Chapter 5 Due THIS THURSDAY

1. Read chapter 5.
2. Do the At Home activities with your family.
3. Do the Family Focus.
4. Complete page 65.
5. Practice "My First Reconciliation" order of events.
6. Write your family thoughts about Chapter 5 on the back of the At Home page that is stapled in your book.
7. Return your completed work on THURSDAY.

There is also a family activity that was sent home in your Reconciliation folder today that you need to complete before Mom and Dad go the upcoming parent meeting (either January 16th or 19th). They should take your leaf with them to the meeting.

HEROES PROJECT

Please take time each night this week to read about (at least) one hero each day at http://www.gardenofpraise.com/leaders.htm. We will be choosing our heroes for the project in class on FLAMINGO Friday.

Happy 2013!!!

Boys and Girls,

Welcome back to school. Thank you for a great first two days of 2013! We are going be learning so many new things this year and it is so wonderful to see you all ready to listen and learn.

HOMEWORK

This weekend you need to read each day at www.raz-kids.com and work on your gold bars at www.mathletics.com. Have fun! Please have Mom and Dad email Mrs. Wall when you have completed ALL gold bars ("something easier" and "something harder" bars also) and she can give you more tasks.


FIELD TRIP MONDAY

We are going to see the play: Miss Nelson is Missing on Monday morning.  Please bring a small snack with you in a disposable bag (paper or plastic that you will throw away while we are away from school) that you can take with you on the field trip.  All students must be in full uniform with their RED SWEATSHIRTS on Monday morning.

STAYING WARM AT SCHOOL

It has been VERY cold in the mornings here at school.  PLEASE wear a jacket or coat to school everyday. Playing outside early in the morning is too cold not to wear something other than a sweatshirt. Please dress appropriately for the weather these next couple months.

FAMOUS HEROES

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and ALL of the important heroes that we have in the world, we are starting our Heroes Project for Social Studies this month.  Please take a look at the website: http://www.gardenofpraise.com/leaders.htm and read about a couple of the famous heroes. You will get more information about what you need to do for this project in the coming weeks.

SACRAMENT PREPARATION

We are nearing the end of our preparation! =) You should not have your folder home with you this weekend unless you have not completed something in chapters 1-4.  This next week your folder will be going home on TUESDAY night and must be returned on THURSDAY to school.  The final week (chapter 6) will be completed the same way as we are getting close to our First Reconciliation.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The St. Lawrence Talent Show and Games Club~Round 2 will be coming soon...

  Please read Connections with Mom and Dad each week AND CHECK THIS WEBSITE EVERYDAY to see what is new and going on in second grade and at St. Lawrence.