Our MVP Luke

I love football!

 I like chicken and hamburgers.  I play football.  My football team was called the Seminoles.  We won 5 games this season. 

Look at this freaky photo on the left side!

Dressing up in football gear at the store.

Look at me playing the drums in my 1st grade music program.

I am in boy scouts.

Symmetry

This week we had our favorite math lesson of the year by FAR...symmetry!  Students loved having the opportunity to build symmetrical patterns and designs with cubes, pattern blocks, and geoblocks.  Understanding and visualizing where each design would be on the corresponding side of the line of symmetry was a bit tricky for some (like me, as I am NOT a visual/spacial person!) but a snap for others.  All and all, the lessons have been well received and well learned!

Fire Safety Month

October is Fire Safety Month and we celebrated with a visit from our local fire department.  What made it more special was that one of our visiting firefighters was the husband of one of the 2nd grade teachers!  It was fun to learn from Mr. Borden!

Students reviewed basic fire safety rules and procedures including how to stop, drop, and roll; what to do in the event of a fire when they are in bed asleep; and how to practice a fire drill at home.  They had the opportunity to look at the fire trucks and also to see a fireman in full turnout gear. 

I hope that the students never have to experience a fire in person, but I'm so glad to know that they will be prepared in case it ever does happen!  Please take a few minutes this week to check your smoke detector batteries and have a family fire drill.  It might just be the few minutes that makes a huge impact of your life.  Have a fantastic week!

The girls loved the American flag on the grille!

The Dunk Tank!!!

What to do on a chilly October day?  "Why, I think we should get into a dunk tank" said all of cool teachers (and principal) at Hickory Hill Elementary School.  So, that's exactly what we did! 

 I should mention that it was a special reward for our top fundraising sellers, and the teachers volunteered to be there.  However, we may have been more hesitant had we known in advance that dunking day would have a high of 54 degrees!  But, being the team players we are, we climbed on in and let the kiddos go to town.  We had a 100 % dunk rate - because if they missed with the balls, they got to hit the button.  :)  As an added bonus, Mr. Snyder even let all staff members dunk him for free.  I, brown-noser that I am, politely declined.  Many others took him up on it though!

For your viewing pleasure...photos of the dunk tank. (with special thanks for the photos to Mrs. Simmons and Mrs. Koehler!)

Chatting it up with the crowd.  How could they cheer for Matt and not me?

Waiting, waiting, waiting.

Still waiting...



Good thing Mrs. Heath knows how to swim!

It was a bit chilly coming out of that water!

I do believe I resemble a drowned rat!

Ms. Palatas takes her turn!

Mr. Snyder was the bomb - he must have gotten dunked 30 times!!

Our M.V.P. Mackenzie

I am 7 years old.  I live in Nebraska.  My life is fun to be in.  I like to play with other people.  I care for people and I like everybody that I know.  I have zero siblings and me, my mom, my grandpa, my grandma, and my dog live together in a 3 story house.  I play with my dog and he runs in the house to get his bone.  It is fun to be with my grandma, my granpa, my mom, and my dog because they all care about how we do our traditions.  Every night my dog comes into my room and sleeps in my room.  It's fun to have a dog but he is kind of a little crazy. 

Vocabulary, Vocabulary, Vocabulary!

Wow!  We are learning a LOT of new vocabulary this year - especially in our content areas such as science, social studies, and math!  We know that the more words student know and understand, the easier it is for them to comprehend when reading. 

Second grade is a pivotal year in that we begin to learn more and more academic vocabulary - those words that are often heard in the school setting and understanding them is crucial to what comprehending what we are learning about.  Some new academic vocabulary words they have recently learned include:  quadrilateral, polygon, angle, interrogative, declarative, exclamatory, inferring, glacier, landforms, peninsula, and bay.

Whenever possible I try to make vocabulary learning hands on so that the students have a concrete connection with it.  In the photos below you will see them doing some polygon sorting as we worked on our math vocabulary.  First they sorted quadrilaterals from other polygons, then they sorted rectangles (polygons with 4 right angles and 4 sides) from other quadrilaterals. 

How can you help build your child's vocabulary? Take time to review our weekly newsletter to know what vocabulary words we are working on and then use them in your conversations with your child.  Introduce him/her to other situations where they might hear or use that word.  Also, use a robust vocabulary when you are speaking.  They more interesting and exciting words that they hear, they more they will use!

BACK at School!

I figured I had better get pictures and get this on the blog before I changed our hallway display!

Our September hallway display featured our 2nd grade team heading "back" to school.  The students shared why they were glad to be back and also offered the opportunity for a little detective work - could you find your child by just looking at their back?  I will tell you, we had a bit of a dilema with two young men when we were passing out pictures, we couldn't figure out which was which!

Thankfully we figured it out and got everyone "back" on track to finish their project.  :)

Our M.V.P. Emily!

When I grow up I want to be a rockstar.  My rockstar name will be Puppy Love.  I like listening to rockstar music.  Rockstar music like Katy Perry gave me an idea.  I like her music too.  My favorite song is Firework.  Me and my cousin make up new dances with Firework.  That's why I want to be a rockstar when I grow up. 

Our M.V.P. Ethan

Our blog is fun.  You would like it. 

Blogging Fun

Well, this blog is a bit late - but better late than never I say!

The students are having a BALL blogging on their own blogs at Kid Blog.  They are learning about how to leave POSITIVE comments for one another, ask questions,  and how to respond to questions.  I love that many of them are taking the opportunity to get on at home and update their blogs and that some of our parents are too!

If you haven't taken the opportunity to visit your child's blog yet, please do.  Remember that in order to see anything you will need to be logged in.  This feature protects our kiddos from the world outside of our classroom.  If you need me to resend you the log in information, please let me know.

Our blogging pictures are from our first blogging experience on September 11th - thus the better late than never reference! 

Assessments 101

Elementary Rubric

We have been Sliding into 2^nd grade for 6 weeks now and it is time to ASSESS what we have learned! Assessment is not just the "Fancy Nancy" word for a test, it is a description of a process. I am not really "testing" the students but am assessing their learning to determine what still needs to be taught. The word test implies a onetime event where you either get it or don't. My philosophy, and that of our district, is to use assessment to determine what the students know and what they still need to learn. We do not assess and then just move on; students will continue to receive instruction in the material if needed.

In this post you will see a document that is my explanation of our district’s grading rubric.  This was created to be a visual example to students of how they are scored.  As you can see, 4 is the highest possible grade that is given.  But this 4 may look a little different on different assessments.  For example, our math unit assessments all have 20 possible points.  An Advanced score, which would be equivalent to a “4”, is 17 or more points.  A Proficient Score, or “3”, would be 13-16 points.  Our Oral Presentations had 12 possible points, so a “4” would be 10 -12 points, while a “3” would be 8-9.  It is a little confusing but in the end what matters is that it is a consistent grading scale for students to understand.  They know that a 3 or higher is my expectation for them, and I’m sure that it is your expectation too!  The 4, 3, 2, 1 scale is also the score that is reported to you on the report card each quarter.  If you have any questions about grading policies or your child’s assessments, please feel free to contact me directly!

Now that you have had a little "assessment" tutorial of your own...What exactly have we been assessing this past week? Our first social studies unit this has concluded and students were given a social studies assessment and an oral speaking assessment over American symbols, traditions and culture. All students were also given their first math assessment which covered addition strategies and doubling. This one was a bit more difficult as they had to EXPLAIN in writing what strategies they use when they are adding and doubling. We are also continuing our weekly spelling assessments and math facts assessments.  We did a LOT of assessing!  


I am happy to say that overall students ROCKED their assessments! They have learned a lot in our 6 short weeks together and we all have a lot more to learn. I'm grateful for assessments that remind me how much my 2nd grade friends are learning and growing! :) I will be sharing all of these assessments and more with you at conferences in just a few short weeks. I can't wait, can you???

Our M.V.P. Zak

We finally finished the book, I Survived the 9/11 Attacks. It was kind of sad because at the end of the book because his Uncle got badly injured. 

I liked the part at the beginning when a kid threw impossible throws.  The author wrote that he "leaped" not jumped.  This made it interesting. 

When I am writing I put interesting words in and some bold words.  This makes the reader get interested into it. 

What Mrs. Heath Does on the Weekends...

Are you ever curious about what the teacher does on the weekends?  Well recently, I have taken up running with some of my Hickory Hill friends.  Ms. Palatas, Mrs. Osborn and I have now run 3 5k's together over the past month.  This past Saturday I joined them and a few other buddies (including Mrs. Nichols, Mrs. Stephens, and Ms. Shimerdla) for an extreme 5K obstacle course and mud run. I was very scared to climb the 30 feet tall cargo net because I am afraid of heights but I did it! It was also really hard to climb up the wooden walls and go over the top,  but you know what made it easier?  I had friends to cheer me on.  I think our classroom is that way too.  We cheer each other on and then we are successful!   We had SO much fun at our run and got SO dirty.  I thought you might enjoy a few pictures!

Love,
Mrs. Heath

Me and my Hickory Hill buddies before the race started.  See how clean we are??  It won't last!!

This is what we looked like after our race.  We were very dirty!!



This was after the run when we were cleaned up. 

The Rose Theater Presents .... Nutrition Man!



Dannika helps identify proteins for the plate.

No gluttony for us - only proper portions sizes!

Our district is blessed to be supported by the Papillion-La Vista Schools Foundation.  The Foundation supports the district through many grants, programs, and activities - one of which is a grant to support the arts in education.  As part of that grant, our 2nd grade team got to participate in a visit from The Rose Theater.  The focus of the visit was to share an important message about eating healthy foods in proper portions and exercising daily.  This message was shared via a play put on by live actors. The students (and teachers!) learned how to choose a balanced diet that includes low fat choices from each section of the "plate" and how 60 minutes of movement a day is crucial for growing bodies.  Thanks Rose Theater and Papillion-La Vista Schools Foundation for bringing us an important message in such an enjoyable way!

A Lesson in Cultural Diversity

America is one big melting pot when it comes to culture.  But how do you demonstrate that idea to  a group of 7 and 8 year old children?  With food of course!  As part of our social studies unit we have been learning about what culture is and how it varies from country to country across the world.  Students learned about the role of language and music in culture with Mrs. Miglini and about clothing from Mrs. Borden. With me they had the opportunity to discuss food.  (Yes, I did get the best one!)  To begin we spent time discussing what students around the world would each for lunch.  We reviewed the role immigrants have played in American history and culture and discussed that fact that when people immigrated they brought with them their culture - including foods.

 

Using the foods sent in by our wonderful parents (thank you!) we began a demonstration of what food in America looks like.  Students took turns naming a country while we added each individual snack to our mix.  Food from Germany (in go some pretzels), Nepal (Cheerios), Africa (crackers), Mexico (licorice), and on we went.  I was amazed at all the different countries that they could name!  We did have a few discussion about Texas, California and Las Vegas being a PART of the United States but other than that they did well!



Once we had all of our individual ingredients, I presented the mix to them.  Just as American food is a mixture of dishes and ingredients from many other cultures and countries, so was our snack.  It is one lesson that I hope they will long remember!

The best part of any lesson dealing with food is the opportunity to eat!  All of the kiddos enjoyed their tasty snack while they went on with another staple of American culture - a free public education.  We do live in a pretty amazing country, don't we?