May 29, 2017

What a fantastic exhibition we had to culminate our Operation: Protect San Diego Project! The students were proud when doing their presentations about their learning and exhibited such confidence. Our calendars turned out beautiful and we are on our way to raising money to help our local burrowing owl population. 

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I also want to highlight all the great work our students have been doing during our math practice. They have been grappling with a new story problem twice a week and are very motivated to figure out how to solve them. They all also love sharing and learning about each others' strategies. I have observed a lot of growth in this area for our students and it is great to see!

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In addition, our students have had the opportunity to swim weekly at the YMCA as a part of Mr. Scott's Outdoor Leadership class. The students have had so much fun and I also want to thank all of the parent volunteers for their support in getting our students there and back safely each Thursday!

 

April 21, 2017

It has been a busy month as second grade scientists! One day, we heard from Ms. Colleen and Ms. Susanne, who are people who work at the Institute for Conservation Research and focus on helping the burrowing owl. They shared all of the things that they do to help the population of San Diego's burrowing owl. We couldn't believe how much work they put into learning and saving these adorable and special owls. 

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We were so inspired that we started to brainstorm ways we, as second graders could help out our local burrowing owls. One of the ways that felt most possible for us was to help raise awareness and money for the owls. After much brainstorming, we decided that we would create and sell a Burrowing Owl Calendar! We have been working so hard in three expert groups in order to compile the pieces of the calendar. We have a burrowing owl expert group, a conservation tips group and a design expert group. All three groups have been meeting daily, discussing and creating beautiful pieces that will be displayed in a 12 month calendar. We sure hope the funds we earn from our calendar sales will raise enough money to support our local conservation biologists in their work around the burrowing owls of San Diego County. 

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March 3, 2017

Our little researchers have been busy at work! Within our classroom, we have six research teams and each team has taken on a local endangered animal. As a group, our students have been investigating articles and have been working together in order to find and note information about their specific animal. Our students have also been learning about what it takes to be a productive and positive group member. This is a skill that does not come easily! I am very proud of our students for their determination and patience when working on this skill.

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We also were able to do some research in the field! We visited the Safari Park and the Institute for Conservation Research where our students were able to hear about how experts today are helping our local endangered animals. The building we visited is not open to the public or to elementary students, so we felt very lucky to have this opportunity! At the closing of our trip, Dr. Ron asked our students to partner with them to help save the BURROWING OWL! Our students are excited about this request and have agreed to move forward on this endeavor! Check back in to see our experiences and adventures as we learn about and work together to help our local burrowing owl population.

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February 17, 2017

Over the past two weeks, our students took a break from learning about endangered animals and instead learned about famous environmentalists. We read stories, watched videos and took notes on people who have made a difference for our environment and/or animals in nature. The environmentalists we now know about are Jane Goodall, Wangari Maathai, John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, Isatou Ceesay, Rachel Carson and our very own Kate Sessions. We have learned so much from the actions these people took in helping our natural surroundings and we are now inspired to help make change in our local environment.

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In addition to our project work, we are readers, writers and mathematicians daily! Ask your student about what they have been reading, writing and/or problem solving lately!

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February 3, 2017

We have had a great start to our project! Our students spent the past week and a half learning a bit about 10 different local endangered animals. For each animal, they watched a short video and took notes on key facts. From there, our students discussed what animals most interested them in small groups and agreed on five animals that our class would be become experts on. They are are following :

1. Armagosa Vole

2. Desert Slender Salamander

3. Coastal Cactus Wren

4. Olive Ridley Sea Turtle

5. Ringtail

6. Stephen’s Kangaroo Rat

We are super excited to learn more about these specific animals and how we can make a difference!

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January 20, 2017

We have launched our next project, Operation Protect San Diego! We launched by having a scavenger hunt at our very own, world famous San Diego Zoo! In small groups, the students visited a handful of endangered animals and used the first letter of every one to spell out a mystery word. By the end of the day, each group had discovered that "PROTECT" was our mystery word! Following the launch, we have had class discussions on what protect, endangered, and extinct means. We also heard from Dr. Ron, a conservation biologist from the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park and Institute of Conservation Research (he also happens to be Ms. Janice's husband, so we have an expert at our fingertips :-)). Over the next couple weeks we will be taking a deeper look into local endangered animals and will pick five for our class to study. Stay tuned for our upcoming findings and experiences within this project!

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January 6, 2017

Before break, our students participated in Student Led Conferences. It was really interesting to hear each of the students reflect on their learning and set personal goals. I appreciate each and every one of you for your presence in this event as it is a crucial step in your child's second grade year. During SLCs, students are required to reflect and take ownership of their own learning. I cannot wait to see the growth that happens between now and our next round of SLC's.

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During this first week back from break, our students have been learning about having a growth mindset. We have discussed how the brain works, what neurons do and what types of skills they would like to improve on. Next week, we will focus on what type of language our students can use to encourage a growth mindset and a forward way of thinking.

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December 2, 2016

I hope everyone enjoyed and learned a lot about our Monster Mash Project on Exhibition Night! I was very proud of all of our students. They presented proudly, articulated their learning and had smiles on their faces. Thank you for being our wonderful audience on our special night.

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The day before Thanksgiving Break, our students met up with their kinder buddies and gifted the puppet and dedication letters that they worked so hard on. The kindergarteners were so excited to receive a thoughtful gift and the second graders were so very generous and sweet when doing so. When I looked around the room, I could see students reading their letters to their buddies and playing with their puppets. I am so happy that this project also facilitated a connection between the two classes. We hope to have the chance to meet up with them again!

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November 10, 2016

What a busy last two weeks! Our students have been working hard on sewing their puppets and publishing their letters for their kindergarten buddies. They have worked with each other and with some HTH juniors on editing and have been able to type up their letters on the laptops! They are so excited to give these beautiful gifts to their kinder buddies next Friday!

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Last night, our class did a wonderful job at the Arte y Danza Exhibition! What determination and perseverance our students had throughout the trimester to create such beautiful work! I am extremely proud of each and every one of them!

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October 28, 2016

Happy Halloween! Our students had a blast today during the parade. They enjoyed showing off their costumes and seeing what their classmates were dressed up as. Please add your photos to our Shutterfly site when you get the chance!

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We have been hard at work on our final puppets and final letters! Our students have prepped their puppets for sewing and have worked on a second and typed draft of their letters. Thank you to all of the parent volunteers who came in to help with this!

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During math, our students have been working on using a variety of strategies to solve one story problem. They have been using math tools and have been practicing how to show their math thinking on paper.  They have also been sharing their strategies with classmates and have been collaborating with each other to figure out a solution. It is amazing to see such great math thinking happening among our students.

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October 13, 2016

Our second graders have been hard at work! They have been working on a monster puppet, which will be gifted to their kindergarten buddy in about a month!  This product will be beautiful because of the multiple steps our students have and will take to get there. First, our students made a draft that included the features that their kindergarten buddy requested through the Monster Survey.  Then, the kindergarteners were able to provide some critique which informed our students' second drafts.  From there, our students created a prototype of their puppet that was made out of construction paper and yarn. They hope to get some great feedback from their buddy so that they can make the requested changes before they sew their final product!

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In addition to the monster puppet, our students have begun to brainstorm ideas about their monster's habitat and powers. They will be creating a personalized card that will accompany the puppet and give their buddy more information about how they can cope with the worry that they identified. It is excited to see and hear about all of the fantastic ideas our students have!

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We also heard from our very own school psychologist, Dr. Kim. She taught us about how worrying affects our brains and strategies we can use to calm them (see picture to the left).  We all left with a monster stress ball to help with stress relief. It was super fun!

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September 30, 2016

Over the past couple of weeks, our students have been diving into our first project of the year, Monster Mash! Through this project, our students will be learning all about worries and how to cope with them. They will learn how to empathize with others by working with kinder buddies. So far our students have met their buddies and have interviewed them about worries that they may have. They graphed the data that they collected in order to find trends across the kindergarten class.  The students also participated in a "gallery walk" where they were able to observe monster stuffed animals and puppets so that they can gain inspiration when they make one themselves. Through interviews and the critique process, our students will design and create a monster puppet that will help their kindergartner with the worry that applies to them. We can't wait to see what they come up with!

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September 16, 2016

This week we launched our fall project, Monster Mash!  On Monday, our students worked together in order to put together pieces of a monster puzzle.  They collaborated while problem solving, coloring and discussing the monster's attributes.  It was great to see how well our students worked kindly in groups.  Later in the week, our students met their kinder buddies.  These buddies will become a very important part of our project in the coming weeks. As we move through this project, students will connect the idea of monsters to worries and also discuss ways we can cope with our worries.  Please stay tuned for more

information on our project and what we are learning about!

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September 9, 2016

What a fantastic first two weeks of school!  It has been super fun for Ms. Claire and I to get to know our class family this year! During the first week our students created a wordle that they took through the critique process.  Our students chose words that they thought described themselves and worked through multiple drafts in order to come to a beautiful final product.  During our second week, our students discussed their Hopes and Dreams for second grade. We shared, wrote and drew our ideas and from there came up with a list of three Class Family Norms.  1) Be kind to everyone 2) Believe in yourself 3) Be respectful to school materials.  Our goal is that if we follow our Class Family Norms, our Hopes and Dreams will come true!  Ask your child what their hope and dream is for this year.

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