April 11-15

We are almost half-way through April!

Here are some important announcements :)

1)    April 20th is our Zoo Field Trip! We need TWO parent volunteers to ride the bus with us – these parents will have their zoo ticket paid for. Anyone else who would like to chaperone is more than welcome – you will meet us at the zoo and you can either pay for your ticket or use your zoo membership if you have one! Please email me if you want to come so I know how many parents we will have joining us! The first 2 parents to email me will be the two who get their ticket paid for and ride the bus! We would love to have you! Permission slips will be coming home so please fill it out and return it ASAP J

2)   Please start sending your King Size white pillow case for our togas/tunics for Winds of Time! We need these by April 19^th so you can begin sending them now! (Each student needs ONE.. please label in a ziplock bag OR on the packaging in permanent marker with their name. This is for our Winds of Time Parade costume! We will do all the work at school!) I know sometimes these come in sets of 2 so if you want to “partner up” with another parent that works as well!

3)   Also, if anyone has any extra paper towel rolls (empty) or toilet paper rolls (empty) that they would like to donate for part of our costume – please send them with your student! We will use these for Winds of Time too!

4)   Our Customary Measurement Math Test will be Wednesday so please be looking for a completed review coming home on Tuesday!

Important Dates for April and May:

        4/12 – PTA Budget Voting Meeting at 6:00 PM

        4/20 – 2^nd grade Zoo Field Trip

        4/26 – Progress Reports come home

        5/23 – Publisher’s Picnic

        5/31 – Winds of Time Parade

Here's what we are learning:

Reading: Plays - Readers use voice and volume, stage direction and expressions!

Writing: What makes a good story? We will make a criterion chart!

Math: Customary Measurement - we will test on WEDNESDAY!

Social Studies: Jobs, Income, Spending, Saving, Supply & Demand

Science: We will finish up plants!

April 4-8

Wow! Happy April!

We hope you enjoyed our Birds of a Feather play! The students loved practicing and performing for you! If you came to a performance we really appreciate it! :)

Don't forget that this THURSDAY AND FRIDAY are noon dismissal for our Spring Parent Teacher Conferences! These conferences are optional but the dismissal is at noon! The students WILL have lunch time so they will have eaten before they come home unless you tell your child's teacher otherwise. If you plan to take them to lunch or have lunch at home please send a small snack for them to enjoy during lunch instead!

Here's what we are learning this week:

Reading: We are continuing our study of plays! We are taking familiar books and making plays of our own. We are using our knowledge of voice, volume, stage directions and expression!

Writing: We will continue to look at Stories from my Life! This week we will talk about: what makes a strong story and what makes a not so strong story? We will be creating a criterion chart to help us critique these stories!

Math: We will continue Customary Measurement! We plan to have our test on Friday but that is subject to change and we will keep you updated!

Social Studies: We are continuing to study Economics. This week we will talk about jobs, spending and saving!

Science: We are beginning to learn about plants!

March 28 - April 1

Wow! We can't believe this week is going to be April!

Don't forget we have a couple important things coming up!

Our BIRDS PROGRAM is this Thursday at 6:00pm! Your child needs to be in their classroom to get ready at 5:30 - this is when doors will open for you to get seats as well!

Also, please make sure if you want a Parent Teacher Conference for April 7th or 8th you sign up on your teacher's signup genius. These can be done in person or on the phone and they are optional!

Here's what we are learning this week:

Reading: We will be taking familiar books and turning them into plays! Readers are able to navigate plays, read dialogue, interpret stage directions and present their play!

Writing: We will review craft elements!

Math: We will wrap up Metric Measurement - our test will be on Wednesday so look for a Chapter Review coming home on Tuesday!

Social Studies: We will wrap up our Economics unit!

Science: We will wrap up our Life Cycles unit and start plants!

March 21-25

WELCOME BACK! We hope you had a wonderful Spring Break! We are happy to see your students' smiling faces!

Please remember that FRIDAY is a school holiday for Good Friday!

We will not be having NEW spelling words this week but we will be reviewing our words from last week and taking another test on the same words. We will take this opportunity to dig into vocabulary with these spelling words!

We are excited to be starting our Birds program rehearsal this week!

Here's what we are learning this week:

Reading: Readers notice that some nonfiction texts give directions that can be followed! We will be studying procedural texts such as recipes, manuals, map instructions, building directions, game directions/rules, science experiments, and assignment directions.

Writing: Writers will work on publishing their poems!

Math: We will be learning about metric units of measurement: centimeters and meters!

Social Studies: We will continue to study economics: needs vs. wants, goods vs. services and jobs!

Science: We will continue to study life cycles!

We hope you have a great week and a wonderful long weekend coming up!

March 7-11

Happy almost Spring Break! It's going to be a great week this week!

Don't forget that FRIDAY is our money store! Make sure you check your email from your teacher to see how many items to bring on Friday! We will do the money store during our math time from 12:00-1:10!

Here's what we are learning this week:

Reading: Readers will use context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words, they will also notice how you can look at pictures to understand meaning of the words.

Writing: Poets can use repetition of words or phrases in their poems. Poets also create poetic language when they compare an ordinary item to something unusual. Poets reread their poems to edit them carefully! We will celebrate our poetry writing on Friday.

Math: Real world money problems - we will look at making change, spending, comparing and counting! Our money test is THURSDAY!

Social Studies: We will learn about the economy! We will look at work, income, earning, jobs, spending, community, needs vs. wants and goods vs. services!

Science: We will learn about life cycles!

5 days until Spring Break! ... but who's counting anyways? :)

February 29 - March 4

Wow - we are already moving into March! We have an exciting week this week!

2nd Grade will take our field trip to the Arboretum on Wednesday! We will leave school around 9:00am and return by 2:00pm. PLEASE make sure to send your child in their HCE Spirit Shirt and make sure they pack a sack lunch - it must all be disposable! No lunch boxes! We have to be able to throw everything away at the arboretum - thank you in advance!

Here is what we are learning this week...

Reading: Readers understand features of nonfiction texts and how they support the meaning of the book. We will look at: headings, subheadings, photos, captions, diagrams, maps, labels and the index and recognize the purpose that each feature serves!

Writing: We will continue our poetry unit! This week some things we are looking at are: poets using language to show what they mean instead of telling it, poets using precise words in their poems, poets using sensory details to help their reader visualize, and poets using patterns in their work.

Math: We will continue our unit on money looking at comparing amounts of money and real world money problems such as making change and how much money we have to spend!

Social Studies: In this part of our history unit, students will discuss how science and technology have changed the way people meet their basic needs.

Science: We will compare physical characteristics that animals share to help them meet their basic needs. We will also investigate the physical characteristics and behaviors of animals and how those characteristics help animals survive in their environment.

We are excited for marvelous March!

February 22-26

Wow! We have a crazy week ahead here at Hunters Creek! Make sure you read this entire post so you don't miss anything important!

Tuesday is our first day of the Book Fair! Here are our times that each class will visit the Book Fair this week in case you want to come shop with your child:

Howard- 9:45-10:15

Giese & Coan - 10:15-10:45

Scott & Boyd - 2:15-2:45

Tuesday night is our Family and Special Friends Night at the Bookfair! It is from 5:30-7:30PM. There will be dinner offered there by Mike's subs that includes a sandwich, chips and a cookie for $6!

Wednesday is Donuts with Dads! It is from 7:15-8:00AM. Come enjoy doughnuts provided by the Dad's Club and then browse the Book Fair!

Thursday is an EARLY DISMISSAL DAY so please plan to make arrangements to pick up your student at 1:30!

Friday is GO TEXAN DAY and 2nd grade will be performing Square Dancing at 9:00-9:50AM - visitors welcome to come watch! Just make sure to sign in to the front office!

That was a lot of announcements! Here's what we are learning this week:

Reading: We will continue studying Nonfiction texts!

Writing: We will begin writing our own Poetry!

Math: We will begin our unit on Money!

Social Studies: We will continue to learn about Important Americans!

Science: We will study basic needs of living things!